Futurism
Bulldozing science: As America slips, China is overtaking U.S. as superpower
The Trump administration has taken a bulldozer to science funding over the last year and change, wiping out more than 7,800 research ...
‘Holding back scientific process’: Chinese scientist widely condemned for gene-hacking a baby attacks what he calls naive ethical standards
It's been nearly three years since controversial Chinese biophysicist He Jiankui was released from prison for gene-hacking human babies — and ...
Artificial General Intelligence: The billion dollar challenge of scaling up AI to AGI that would surpass human intelligence
[A] new report ... which queried 475 AI researchers and was conducted by scientists at the Association for the Advancement ...
‘It looks to me like what we would call bullshitting: The ‘smarter’ the AI, the more it cleverly lies
Beware the smart ones: they seem to have all the answers, but can also weave the most convincing lies. It ...
Viewpoint: Is 23andMe a ‘sinking ship?’ Stock value plummets in face of dwindling customer base and data breaches
The consumer genome sequencing company 23andMe is a sinking ship – and its CEO is conducting the orchestra ...
Viewpoint: Despite a sea of environmental activist disinformation, GMO plants have more than lived up to the hype
There is a great deal of misinformation out there regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs). From monikers like "Frankenfoods" to general skepticism, there has ...
Experimental treatment using CRISPR to dramatically lower cholesterol under scrutiny after two patients suffer heart attacks and one dies
Researchers have been able to reduce bad cholesterol in human subjects after injecting them with an experimental gene editing treatment ...
If we gene hacked humanity to be more like our bonobo cousins, would militarism become obsolete (and sex more frequent)?
Bonobos are a species of primate believed to be humankind’s second-closest living ancestor. That’s intriguing, because zoologists have long observed ...
Taiwan Ironman project: Exoskeleton gives soldiers superstrength
Taiwan says it’s created a battery-powered exoskeleton suit that can allow its soldiers to run faster and carry heavy objects ...
80% less greenhouse emissions generated: The world’s first cell-based, lab grown meat factory just opened in Israel
Israeli biotech company Future Meat has opened what it claims to be the “world’s first industrial cultured meat facility,” a ...
Israeli scientists have used gene editing to extend the life expectancy of mice by 23 percent. Can it be done to humans?
Researchers at the Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel said they’ve been able to increase the supply of SIRT6, a protein ...
‘Gene hacking’ fall armyworm moths: Biotech company Oxitec behind Florida Keys gene drive mosquitoes approved for pest-release test run in Brazil
Oxitec, the British biotech firm behind the genetically engineered mosquitoes that just took flight in the Florida Keys [recently], is ...
Some Florida Key residents incensed about pending release of Zika- and malaria-stopping GMO mosquitoes, but others believe cutting-edge science will help control health menace
Oxitec will release half a billion gene-hacked mosquitoes, engineered to kill off the local bloodsucker population along a lengthy swathe ...
GM trees that suck up more CO2 could help stem growing threat of climate change
In order to fight the growing threat of global climate change, scientists are now suggesting that we genetically modify trees ...
‘Regulatory Wild West? DNA startups claim they can assess sexual preferences, depression risk, longevity and drinking proclivity
Genomelink is just one of a growing number of shady DNA testing startups now operating in the regulatory Wild West ...
Why China’s willingness to push ethical boundaries with CRISPR research ‘could end up benefiting us all’
Today, [China] serves as the global center for CRISPR animal experiments, with its scientists being the first to use the ...
Rapid mutation: Why future Mars’ colonists could evolve into a ‘completely different species’
In a new interview with Inverse, evolutionary biologist and Rice University professor Scott Solomon thinks it’s worth asking what will happen to Mars colonists in ...
Video: Tomorrow’s crops could be grown indoors, without soil or pesticides
As the world's population grows and climate change accelerates, farmers are increasingly turning to biotechnology, engineering and data science to ...
Computer modeled on biological brains could ‘jump-start’ new era in AI research
A new research project aims to harness the power of quantum computers to build a new type of neural network — work the ...
Video: Lab-grown human heart tissue beats ‘like the real thing’
A tiny pulsing strip of muscle could help save the lives of 33 million people. That’s how many people suffer ...
Is a robotic dog as good as the real thing?
Scientists have long understood the psychological benefits of computerized companions. Studies have shown they can help combat loneliness among the elderly, motivate students in ...
Life in a coma: Can a machine tell us whether someone will ever wake up?
When somebody falls into a coma, they lose all motor functions. Brain activity slows significantly. In most cases, no external ...
Electrical stimulation to the spine helps paralyzed man walk with assistance
For many patients, total lower limb paralysis caused by spinal cord damage means a lifetime in a wheelchair. But a ...
E-tattoos? 3D printable electronics could make them possible
In April [2018], Michael McAlpine, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Minnesota, published a study in the journal Advanced Materials in which he ...
Viewpoint: Everyone needs to feel the benefits of an ‘AI-reliant society’
[A]rtificial intelligence technology could actually boost the global economy. If it’s allowed to play a major role, AI will make our ...
Giving artificial intelligence a ‘memory’ and why that’s so remarkable
AI systems’ tendency to forget the things it previously learned upon taking on new information is called catastrophic forgetting. … For ...
Could artificial intelligence protect the world from humanity’s ‘shortsightedness’?
There are fears that tend to come up when people talk about futuristic artificial intelligence — say, one that could ...
Pursuing artificial intelligence that’s free of bias
As the problems caused by algorithmic bias have bubbled to the surface, experts have proposed all sorts of solutions on how to make ...
