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‘Finally, neural networks that actually work.” So reads the headline in Wired, and, really, haven’t we all been waiting? (Yes, we have, even if we do not know it.) The article concerns artificial-intelligence innovator Jeff Dean, who as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota 25 years ago created a rudimentary “neural network” — a computer system sophisticated enough to learn — but was hobbled by the available computing power of the time. Now working at Google, he’s helping to create vastly powerful and subtle networks that recognize faces and spoken language. A few pages over, there’s a wonderful if...

Former Department of Defense Official and Author Releases New Cyber Security Book New book, “Essays in Technology, Security and Strategy,” now available on KindleThis press release was originally distributed by ReleaseWireOlympia, WA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/28/2015 -- Technology security visionary Dr. Stephen Bryen has published a new collection of pivotal essays on national security and cyber security to help policy makers and citizens understand the real threats facing the security of the United States. "Essays in Technology, Security and Strategy," provides unique insight and new information from Dr. Bryen who has more than 40 years of experience in government and...

It’s a wild request to ask a nation to consider electing you as their president, especially when you’re a transhumanist—someone who advocates for using science and technology to radically change and improve the human species. But I’m doing it. Last October, I declared my 2016 US candidacy under the newly formed Transhumanist Party, which I founded, and promised my community of techno-optimists I’d do everything I could to use my campaign as a way to speed up the arrival of robotic hearts, brain implants, artificial limbs, exoskeleton suits, and indefinite lifespans—all of which are just a small part of the...

Here’s another, more recent one: The thorium-turbine powered car. Heat energy from the thorium – a weakly radioactive element (named after the Norse god Thor) that is estimated to be 3-4 times more naturally abundant than uranium and which contains 20 million times the energy as an equivalent lump of coal – is used to generate steam, which is then used to power a small turbine, which provides the motive force. The beauty of the system is that – like a nuclear submarine – the fuel lasts almost forever. Well, longer than you will last, probably. How’s 100 years sound?...

[Ha, ha! These Luddites don't like it that people who make money rather than spending their lives complaining move into their neighborhoods. I bet rent control has kept new housing low in this part of California, so the leftists probably created the problem they complain about!] Protesters Say "Block The Tech Commute" Was A Bust By James King A May Day protest intended to shut down the shuttle system that transports employees for tech companies like Facebook, Apple and Google from the Bay Area to their offices in Silicon Valley was a bit of a flop, according to several accounts...

There is tremendous progress being made within the area of 3D bioprinting. In fact, there are companies working to print human organs as we speak, and within the next decade such organs may, if we are lucky, be available for human transplantation. With that said we still are a ways away from such an accomplishment. There are multiple obstacles researchers must first overcome. When considering the organ printing space in general, the printing of complicated vascular networks is the main obstacle currently preventing progress. On the other hand, when printing cellular musculoskeletal tissues the main obstacle in this space is...

The Mobile Justice app is unique in the sense that it will allow videos captured by the app to be preserved in the case police seize or destroy the device.The ACLU of Northern California launched a free cell phone recording app Thursday which would allow people to record and send videos to their local ACLU affiliates when they feel their rights are being violated by police. The app comes as protests decrying police violence are taking over the country, most recently for the controversial death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old man who died after suffering a spinal cord injury...

The use of drones to photograph people on their own property could soon be illegal in the Sunshine State. On Tuesday, the Florida Legislature sent a bill to Gov. Rick Scott that places limits on the use of remote-controlled drones... ....drones could not be used to photograph or record images of people or their property from the air. The restrictions would also apply to state and local governments. The legislation does not call for any criminal penalties...

The Texas Medical Board views rules it adopted April 10 as “expanding telemedicine opportunities,” but business and industry groups insist they’ll instead serve to “drive a stake through the heart” of telemedicine in the Lone Star State. At the center of the issue is whether a video consultation is enough to establish the requisite doctor-patient relationship for physicians to prescribe medication or provide a diagnosis. That convenience is critical if an overarching goal of telemedicine is to deliver care to the underserved, particularly in rural areas where geography and provider shortages create access issues. The board’s rules, however, require either...

he Baltimore Police Department has used an invasive and controversial cellphone tracking device thousands of times in recent years while following instructions from the FBI to withhold information about it from prosecutors and judges, a detective revealed in court testimony Wednesday.. The testimony shows for the first time how frequently city police are using a cell site simulator, more commonly known as a "stingray," a technology that authorities have gone to great lengths to avoid disclosing. The device mimics a cellphone tower to force phones within its range to connect. Police use it to track down stolen phones or find...

On Tuesday, microcontrollers and touch-technology developer Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML) released samples of a new type of super-low power, ARM-based family of microcontrollers (MCUs). Many are already saying that the SMART SAM L21 family of MCUs has the potential to revolutionize the way the Internet of Things (IoT) works. 411 On These Chips Made by Atmel and based on ARM Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ: ARMH) technology, these chips can last for over 10 years on a single battery charge. According to Atmel, this family of MCUs delivers power consumption down to 35 microamps per megahertz in active mode and to...

Stanford University scientists have invented the first high-performance aluminum battery that's fast-charging, long-lasting and inexpensive. Researchers say the new technology offers a safe alternative to many commercial batteries in wide use today. "We have developed a rechargeable aluminum battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames," said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford. "Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it." Dai and his colleagues describe their novel aluminum-ion battery in "An ultrafast rechargeable aluminum-ion battery," in...

The reason for the arachnid’s sensitivity to temperature doesn’t rely chiefly on their muscles to move, but they rather employ their blood which also called hemolymph. The spider’s fluid is sensitive to temperature. Hence, when the hydraulic fluid flows into their tube-like legs, it makes them quite loosened and enlarged. An associate professor of biology at Harvey Mudd College in California and who spearheaded the study quipped that temperature can alter the thickness, or viscosity, of hemolymph. Ahn said that at colder temperatures, the spiders moved at a slower pace since the hemolymph has become more viscous than at higher...

NY Times: Samsung finally seems to understand the many criticisms that have long been leveled at its phones: the plastic hardware looked cheap, the most promoted features were mostly useless and the software was too complicated,” Farhad Manjoo writes for The New York Times. “Samsung, according to Samsung, has realized the errors of it ways.” “The realization was born out of necessity. Samsung’s market share and profits in the smartphone business have plummeted over the last year. The company, which is based in South Korea, is in the unenviable position of getting squeezed from the bottom by the affordable phones...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The following is about infrastructure. Don't nod off just yet. To be specific, it's about pavement — basic, boring road surface. In the six decades since Interstate 70 began to creep across Missouri, how we view pavement hasn't changed much. Now meet Tim Sylvester, 33. He sees pavement as an electronic tablet with a concrete touch screen, The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/1MWYIxn) reports.

Faith’s left forearm and hand were amputated when she was 9 months old, according to Build It Workspace, where her new limb was printed in 24 hours. It took less than a month to design and plan for the hand, and the final pieces were printed Tuesday morning. The family was put in touch with Build It Workspace President Mark Lengsfeld through the Lucky Fin Project, a nonprofit devoted to children with different abilities related to their limbs. Lengsfeld authorized full use of the facility to make Faith’s hand. “It’s just an amazing opportunity to be here just to help...

Only months after moving into his new home in Washington state, Consumerist reader Seth is already looking to sell his house. He didn’t lose his job or discover that the property is haunted. No, Seth can’t stay much longer because no one can provide broadband service to his address; even though Comcast and CenturyLink both misled him into thinking he’d be connected to their networks and in spite of the fact that his county runs a high-speed fiberoptic network that goes very near to his property. Like an increasing number of Americans, Seth works from home, meaning that it’s vital...

The study is the first ever to prove that acoustic phonons (particles responsible for the transmission of both sound and heat) contain magnetic properties, The Ohio State University reported. The team of researchers demonstrated that a magnetic field about the size of an MRI was able to reduce the amount of heating flowing through a semiconductor by about 12 percent. "This adds a new dimension to our understanding of acoustic waves," said Joseph Heremans, Ohio Eminent Scholar in Nanotechnology and professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State. "We've shown that we can steer heat magnetically. With a strong enough magnetic...

China and US molten salt nuclear reactor cooperation china, energy, future, molten salt, nuclear, science, technology, united states A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, between ORNL and SINAP focuses on accelerating scientific understanding and technical development of salt-cooled reactors, specifically fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactors, or FHRs. The project will draw on ORNL’s expertise in fuels, materials, instrumentation and controls, design concepts, and modeling and simulation for advanced reactors, as well as the lab’s experience in the design, construction and operation of the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, the only molten salt reactor ever built. The Chinese Academy of Sciences...

Are smartphones making our children mentally ill?Leading child psychotherapist Julie Lynn Evans believes easy and constant access to the internet is harming youngsterstelegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11486167/Are-smartphones-making-our-children-mentally-ill.html