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A collection of news articles and stories relating to the accelerating nature of technology
URL: http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/
Updated: 13 weeks 1 day ago

Japan eyes 'mind-reading' devices, robots by 2020

Fri, 04/23/2010 - 09:22
Brain-machine interfaces that send text messages composed by thought alone and robots that know when an elderly or physically disabled person needs help carrying a heavy load are among planned developments in a new Japanese initiative, a partnership between the government and the private sector. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news191142116.html)

To learn better, take a nap

Fri, 04/23/2010 - 09:09
People who take a nap and dream about a task they've just learned perform it better upon waking than either those who don't sleep at all or those who sleep but don't report any associated dreams, a Harvard Medical School study has found. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news191165716.html)

Chips, worms and gray matter: more similar than you think

Fri, 04/23/2010 - 08:58
Scientists have discovered "striking similarities" between human brains, the nervous system of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and computer chips. They found that all three shared two basic properties, probably because they represent the most efficient way of wiring a complex network in a confined physical space:
  • A Russian doll-like architecture, with the same patterns repeating over and over again at different scales.
  • Rentian scaling, a rule used to describe the relationship between the number of elements in a given area and the number of links between them. More info: University of Cambridge News (Source: )

    • Facebook: The Entire Web Will Be Social

    Thu, 04/22/2010 - 10:16
    Facebook's master plan, announced Wednesday, is to make the rest of the web social: Social plugins bring Facebook to the rest of the web, offering "instant personalization" on websites, where you'll see which friends have also logged in there, what their activity is, and a set of recommendations based on their actions. If you indicate you like an article, a band, a restaurant, etc., a site using Facebook's open graph protocol can create a persistent relationship with you around that content. Facebook's Graph API aims to make developing on its platform much simpler. (Source: http://gigaom.com/2010/04/21/facebook-gives-outside-sites-persistent-connections-to-its-users-2/)

    Can't Stand to Sit Too Long? There's a Desk for That

    Thu, 04/22/2010 - 09:58
    The adjustable-height "sit/stand" desk, such as the GeekDesk, offers a potentially healthier way to work. (Anthro Corporation Ryan Krauter) (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/technology/personaltech/22basics.html?ref=technology)

    U. scientist links one gene to intelligence

    Thu, 04/22/2010 - 09:46
    A research team led by University of Utah neuroscientist Julie Korenberg has identified a gene, STX1A (which helps control electrochemical processes at synapses), whose expression can be linked to intelligence. In studies of Williams Syndrome patients, they found the STX1A gene can account for 15.6 percent of variation in cognitive function, according to findings published Wednesday in the on-line journal PLoS ONE. (Source: http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14932330)

    Bizarre matter could find use in quantum computers

    Thu, 04/22/2010 - 08:31
    "5/2 quantum Hall liquids" -- ultracold mixes of electrons caught in magnetic traps -- could have the necessary properties for constructing fault-tolerant quantum computers, Rice University and Princeton University physicists have discovered. The bizarre state of matter acts like a particle with one-quarter electron charge and has a "quantum registry" that is immune to information loss from external perturbations. More info: Rice University News (Source: )

    Caltech researchers create 'sound bullets'

    Thu, 04/22/2010 - 08:17
    Caltech researchers have built a nonlinear acoustic lens that produces highly focused, high-amplitude acoustic "sound bullets" that could be used for more powerful medical ultrasound imaging and for hyperthermia procedures. The device is a longer version of a Newton's cradle toy, which consists of a line of identical balls suspended from a frame by wires. In the lens, a pulse is excited at one end by an impact with a striker, and nonlinear waves are generated within chains of balls. Concept drawing of a nonlinear acoustic lens used to generate a sound bullet for hyperthermia procedures. The colored spheres depict nonlinear acoustic waves traveling within sphere chains. The curvature of the wavefront is induced by precompressing each row, and is used to generate appropriate time delays to focus acoustic energy at a desired focal point. The stylized image depicts a sound bullet superposed onto a brain MR image (Spadoni & Daraio/Caltech). More info: Caltech News (Source: )

    Real-Time Search

    Thu, 04/22/2010 - 07:46
    Google is on a quest to track and rank real-time (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.) data to incorporate it into search results. Google continuously scans for shifts in language and other deviations from predicted behavior. For example, users whose tweets are often retweeted by other users, or Facebook users with more friends can generally be assumed to have more authority. (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25079/?a=f)

    Brain Images Predict Suicide Risk

    Thu, 04/22/2010 - 07:27
    UCLA researchers are using "quantitative EEG" (QEEG) -- an algorithm that mathematically analyzes data from EEG electrodes to transform the results into a map of brain activity -- to detect markers of antidepressant-induced suicidal thoughts. Patients on antidepressants who indicated an increase in suicidal thoughts showed a drastic decrease in activity in the midline- and right-frontal (MRF) portion of the brain just 48 hours after starting their meds--six times the decrease shown in subjects with no change in suicidal thoughts. Brain activity measured using quantitative EEG. Blue indicates a decrease in activity, red an increase. (UCLA Laboratory of Brain Behavior and Pharmacology). (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25171/)

    Carbon Nanotubes Boost Cancer-Fighting Cells

    Wed, 04/21/2010 - 10:28
    Yale University engineers have found that defects in carbon nanotubes cause T cell antigens to cluster in the blood and stimulate the body's natural immune response in one third the time normally required. (Tarek Fahmy/Yale University) (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news190988587.html)

    RNA Interference Delivered Using Nanoparticles Hits Target in Human Patients

    Wed, 04/21/2010 - 10:01
    The first proof that a targeted nanoparticle can traffic into tumors, deliver double-stranded small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and turn off the production of an important cancer protein using a mechanism known as RNA interference (RNAi) has been published in Nature by a multi-institutional team of researchers and clinicians. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news191047320.html)

    Robots with skin enter our touchy-feely world

    Wed, 04/21/2010 - 09:42
    For humanoid robots, a fleshy covering could be essential to making them socially acceptable, and a touch-sensitive coating could prevent such machines from accidentally injuring people. Robot skin designs are in the works. (Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627566.800-robots-with-skin-enter-our-touchyfeely-world.html)

    Life Recorder

    Wed, 04/21/2010 - 09:18
    Security expert Bruce Schneier suggests that a wearable "life recorder" (records everything that happens to a person in audio + video) could also be used for personal security by adding GPS and the capability to call for help and accurately report details of an attack. (Source: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/04/life_recorder.html)

    Fatal Flaw Discovered In Invisibility Carpet Cloaks

    Wed, 04/21/2010 - 09:08
    Isotropic invisibility carpets cloaks turns out to have a flaw that makes the objects they hide detectable: the carpet cloaking effect has a limited angle of view, MIT scientists have shown. (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25070/)

    3D printer could build moon bases

    Tue, 04/20/2010 - 10:22
    An Italian inventor, Enrico Dini, chairman of the company Monolite UK Ltd, has developed a huge three-dimensional printer called D-Shape that can print entire buildings out of sand and an inorganic binder. The printer works by spraying a thin layer of sand followed by a layer of magnesium-based binder from hundreds of nozzles on its underside. The glue turns the sand to solid stone, which is built up layer by layer from the bottom up to form a sculpture, or a sandstone building. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news190873132.html)

    DARPA announces plans for self-piloted flying car

    Tue, 04/20/2010 - 10:08
    DARPA announced that it is inviting proposals to tackle its latest project: Transformer X, a "vertical takeoff and landing roadable air vehicle" ready for testing by 2015. It would have a maximum payload capacity of 1,000 pounds so that it can carry four passengers and their gear, be capable of flying itself automatically, achieving an altitude of 1,000 feet, and traveling 250 miles on a single tank of fuel. The Terrafugia Transition roadable aircraft, tested last year, lacks autopilot and off-road features. (Source: http://www.physorg.com/news190913356.html)

    Study identifies small molecules mimicking key brain growth factor

    Tue, 04/20/2010 - 09:59
    Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have identified several small molecules that mimic BDNF, a key protein in the brain, a discovery that could open the door to new therapies for a variety of brain disorders. BDNF belongs to a family of proteins called nerve growth factors, which are critical during development of the nervous system. When a growth factor binds to its receptor on the surface of a neuron, it can trigger a cascade of signals inside the cell that direct the cell to survive, grow a projection extending to nearby or distant cells, or form a specialized connection with another cell that lets those two cells communicate. Its activity is diminished in certain neurodegenerative disorders, such as Huntington's disease, and its levels decline gradually with age. More info: Stanford School of Medicine news (Source: )

    Projected MultiTouch Screen

    Tue, 04/20/2010 - 09:36
    Light Blue Optics' interactive projector transforms any flat surface into a multitouch screen, due out from partners to the market in late 2010. (Light Blue Optics)Touch (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25130/)

    Over the Horizon: Computing beyond Silicon

    Tue, 04/20/2010 - 09:32
    Researchers are getting ready for the next paradigm beyond Moore's law by developing alternate materials such as gallium arsenide, graphene, and carbon nanotubes. (Source: http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/25142/)