Google researchers say they have simulated the emergence of life

Tiny Trailblazers Life, uh, finds a way — and apparently, so does a jumble of little strings of simple code. In an experiment that simulated what would happen if you left a bunch of random data alone for millions of … Continued

“Goldene” — The World’s Newest Super Material

In the ever-evolving landscape of material science, a groundbreaking discovery has emerged that may redefine the boundaries of what’s possible with elemental materials. Dubbed “goldene,” this new material is the world’s thinnest gold leaf, measuring a mere single atom in thickness. … Continued

Scientists found microplastics in every human semen sample they examined

A team of researchers has found microplastics in all 40 semen samples they examined from healthy men, highlighting the urgent need to study how these tiny particles could affect human reproduction. In a paper published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, researchers … Continued

Earthquakes caused by mysterious blobs inside Earth, Scientists say

Researchers are increasingly suspicious that a powerful collision between the Earth and a Mars-sized object dubbed Theia some 4.5 billion years ago may have left “mysterious blobs” buried deep within Earth’s interior — an impact so violent that it ejected enough material … Continued

In a global first, scientists create, store, and retrieve quantum data

A collaboration of scientists from various universities in the UK and Europe have stored and retrieved data from quantum computers, marking a “crucial connection for ‘quantum internet,’” in a global first. This is an essential step in quantum networking as … Continued

Cornstarch-inspired material promises tougher electronic wearables

Researchers from the University of California, Merced, have made strides in developing a novel material with adaptive durability, inspired by the unique behavior of cornstarch in cooking. This innovative material toughens up when subjected to hits or stretches, offering enhanced … Continued

Advancing towards a quantum internet – scientists achieve a quantum memory breakthrough at room temperature

In a groundbreaking development, scientists have achieved a significant milestone in building a “quantum internet” by creating a network of “quantum memories” operating at room temperature. The researchers successfully stored and retrieved two photonic qubits – quantum bits made from … Continued

Evolutionary System Translates Silent Thoughts Into Text for Speech-Impaired Individuals

Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have introduced a groundbreaking system that can convert silent thoughts into text without invasive procedures, offering a transformative communication method for people with speech impairments. The technology combines a wearable EEG cap … Continued

Bridging the gap: How the world is becoming a better place

Ready for some more data-driven optimism?   Today, I’ll be sharing charts showing how the world is improving across several dimensions, including rising worldwide democracy and freedom, higher levels of literacy, and even falling homicide rates.   Again, it’s essential … Continued

Something almost entirely killed out ancient ancestors, scientists say about 98.7 of human ancestors were lost

Before Homo sapiens could even evolve, new research suggests that our ancient ancestors were faced with near-total extinction. A study published in the journal Science found genomic evidence of a staggering population implosion of an unknown human predecessor 900,000 years ago. After some mysterious catastrophe, … Continued

James Webb telescope spots possible signs of life on a distant planet – this could be a big deal

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has spotted an early yet tantalizing piece of evidence that an exoplanet some 120 light years away could be covered in a massive ocean — that’s possibly harboring life. The telescope detected a molecule called dimethyl sulfide (DMS) — … Continued

Japanese Schools Installing Telepresence Robots for Students Who Want to Stay Home

Feeling anxious about going to school? A school district in Kumamoto, Japan thinks it might have a solution. According to the Japanese newspaper The Mainichi, the southwestern Japanese city will soon allow some students to attend class via telepresence robot in a … Continued

IBM unveils an analog AI chip that works like a human brain

The chip’s components work in a way similar to synapses in human brains. Tech corporation IBM has unveiled a new “prototype” of an analog AI chip that works like a human brain and performs complex computations in various deep neural … Continued

Computer chip with built-in human brain tissue gets military funding

Last year, Monash University scientists created the “DishBrain” – a semi-biological computer chip with some 800,000 human and mouse brain cells lab-grown into its electrodes. Demonstrating something like sentience, it learned to play Pong within five minutes. The micro-electrode array at the heart of … Continued

How Gen Z Fixes The Future

Despite the brutal world around them, Gen Z has the unique potential to shape the future’s narrative through superior diversity, curiosity and data literacy. THERE HAS NEVER been a period in the history of humanity where a person’s expectations of the … Continued

Intel Unveils Quantum Research chip: Tunnel Falls Chip with 12 qubits

Intel has announced the release of its new quantum research chip, Tunnel Falls, a 12-qubit silicon chip, and is making it available to the quantum research community. The company collaborates with the Laboratory for Physical Sciences (LPS) at the University … Continued

CSIRO roadmap charts Australia’s food and nutrition security by 2050

Australia now has a new roadmap to support our food systems to become more sustainable, productive and resilient for the future. Australia’s food systems must change now to remain sustainable in the future according to a new roadmap released today … Continued

Brain-Based Strategic Foresight: Enhancing the Capability and Capacity to Think about the Future (PART 1)

EVERY BRAIN THINKS ABOUT THE FUTURE…BUT SOME BRAINS DO IT BETTER THAN OTHERS. From a neuroscience or brain-based perspective, foresight can be understood as the ability of the brain to imagine and anticipate possible future scenarios. The future thinking brain … Continued

A new material called a mechanical neural network can learn and change its physical properties

The big idea A new type of material can learn and improve its ability to deal with unexpected forces thanks to a unique lattice structure with connections of variable stiffness, as described in a new paper by my colleagues and me … Continued

Best futurists ever: How Isaac Asimov shaped robotics and space exploration and predicted the Internet

Some futurists try to foresee the future. Others attempt to shape it. Yet prolific science-fiction author and biochemist Isaac Asimov did both. Asimov not only invented the word “robotics,” his “Three Laws of Robotics,” first written as part of a … Continued