Scottish Scientists Make ‘Mind-Reading Machine’ Breakthrough

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Scottish scientists have come a step closer to creating a “mind-reading machine” that can show mental images.

A team from the University of Glasgow have successfully decoded brain signals related to vision.

Six volunteers were shown images of people’s faces displaying different emotions such as happiness, fear and surprise.

In a series of trials, parts of the images were randomly covered so that, for example, only the eyes or mouth were visible. Participants were then asked to identify the emotion being displayed while electrodes attached to the scalp measured the volunteers’ brainwaves.

The scientists were able to show that brainwaves varied greatly according to which part of the face was being looked at…

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Where is My Flying Car?

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First things first. Before we can have flying cars,
we will need to go through the era of flying delivery drones

Futurist Thomas Frey:  Imagine yourself in 2030, 20 years in the future, sitting in your living room watching your favorite show on a 3D holographic display, and you witness a product placement scene where someone is eating one of the best pizzas you’ve ever seen. The depiction is so lifelike and intense that you instantly start craving pizza, and simply utter the word “yes.”

 

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New Class of Planets Discovered that Have No Stars

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Artist’s conception illustrates a Jupiter-like planet alone in the dark of space, floating freely without a parent star.

David Bennett, University of Notre Dame astronomer, is co-author of a new paper describing the discovery of a new class of planets.  The new class of planets are dark, isolated Jupiter-mass bodies floating alone in space, far from any host star. The team of astronomers involved in the discovery believe that the planets were most likely ejected from developing planetary systems.

 

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The Alternative Transportation District

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Short video clip about the opportunities associated
with creating an alternative transportation district.
Recorded at the Plan Fort Collins event on March 3, 2010

Futurist Thomas Frey:  Over the past few years I have been carefully watching what has turned into an explosion of alternative transportation vehicles being developed all over the world. These vehicles include everything from electric and fuel cell scooters, to hybrid motorcycles, to electric skateboards, to turbo-wheelchairs, to dog-powered bikes, to Segways and Segway knockoffs.

 

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The Difference Between a Genius and an Idiot May Come Down to a Single Gene

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The brain on the left lacks normal folds and convolutions.

Out of the 3 billion letters in the human genetic alphabet only two genetic letters may spell the difference between being a genius or an idiot, according to a new report.

 

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World’s Smallest 3D Printer

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Markus Hatzenbichler and Klaus Stadlmann with their micro-printer.

A group of engineers at the Vienna Institute of Technology, claims they’ve created not only the world’s smallest 3-D printer, but also one that’s so light and inexpensive that it could conceivably pave the way for truly domestic 3-D printing. Lost an earring or a cuff-link? Print one out. That’s the future, and it might not be far off at all.

 

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First Potentially Habitable Exoplanet Found

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Gliese 581 and its exoplanets are only 20 light years away.

One of our own solar system’s closest neighboring stars and a regular point of exoplanetary interest, the red dwarf Gliese 581, can finally claim the title of owning the first confirmed potentially-habitable expolanet. French researchers running complex computer models have demonstrated that the planet Gliese 581d–once thought too cold to sustain life–indeed could possess the proper ingredients to sustain liquid water and an atmosphere.

 

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Privatizing Libraries

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Expanding our thinking about the notion of
corporate-run community libraries

Futurist Thomas Frey:  Consider the following scenario. Two years from now in November, you find yourself walking into a voting booth to decide on the fate of your local library. The issue you will be deciding affects you directly because it has to do with the management of your local library. You will be voting on one of four choices for the operational management of your library. The choices you have to pick from include Microsoft, Google, Apple, or your current city-run operation.

 

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Binge Drinking Destroys Long Term Memory Even in Young Adults

binge-drinking

Heavy alcohol consumption makes it more difficult to build new memories.

Binge drinking not only makes you forget what you did the night before but also the day before that – and the day before that, a study suggests.  Researchers have found that a big night out destroys long term memory even in young adults.

Reinventing Sales Tax

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Sales tax is a a system that is now on the verge of collapse

Futurist Thomas Frey:  As a general rule, extreme levels of complexity take a significant toll on society. The price we pay for complexity is far greater than the money involved. With upwards of 90,000 separate taxing districts in the U.S. sales tax has become an overly complicated system deeply entrenched in the fabric of society, but woefully out of touch with the times.

 

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