Science technology in future

MIAMI (AP) — Forget the dystopian future of science fiction stories, where Skynet endoskeletons stomp on dry human bones or people slumbering in fluid-filled pods serve as living batteries. Electronic music producer and DJ Steve Aoki imagines a future where humans live in harmony with technology, and he’s sharing that vision in a new comic book series called “Neon Future.” Although science fiction narratives commonly depict cybernetic machines turning on their human masters, as in “The Terminator” or “The Matrix,” Aoki doesn’t buy it. “A general plot is that technology is destroying humanity,” Aoki said. “The robots are going to make us their slaves, or the human species is going to be exterminated by technology. But in this case, we are going to become augmented. ... We use technology for the good. It’s a different kind of story.” ″Neon Future “I believe that technology will merge with … [Read more...] about Neon Future: DJ Steve Aoki’s comic book sees techno-optimism

Congress today overwhelmingly passed the 2016 spending bill. The House of Representatives this morning voted 316 to 113, with a majority of Republicans and nearly all Democrats favoring the $1.1 trillion package for all federal agencies. The Senate concurred a few hours later with a vote of 65 to 33. President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law later today. Early on 16 December, congressional leaders released the text of an omnibus spending bill that will fund all federal agencies for the rest of the 2016 fiscal year. We’ve taken a look at how individual agencies fared under the bill (see bullets below). Science has also compiled a table showing the budgets of key research agencies and programs. 2016 spending bill gives NIH $2 billion raise, largest in 12 years At long last, Congress to make R&D tax credit permanent White-nose bat study funded FDA gets 5% bump and ban on gene editing NASA science budget rises 6.6% NOAA research rises 4% in new budget … [Read more...] about Updated: Budget agreement boosts U.S. science

From botox to face-lifts, there are a number of procedures you can have done to make you look younger. But while these methods may knock years off your appearance, they won’t actually help you to gain extra years of life. Now, billionaires are looking at ways to actually get a few more years in - and some of their tactics are pretty wacky. From ‘young blood’ transfusions to colonising space, many billionaires are turning science fiction into reality, in their quest for immortality. ABC Finance has rounded up some of the weirdest and most wonderful ways that billionaires are investing in immortality. 1. ‘Young blood’ transfusions Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, has hit the headlines in recent years for his interest in young blood transfusions. As the name suggests, the procedure involves young, healthy patients donating blood to older recipients. While trials in mice have shown that younger blood invigorates older mice, few human trials have been … [Read more...] about The weird and wonderful tactics billionaires are using to become IMMORTAL

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Climate change is happening, it's almost entirely man's fault and limiting its impacts may require reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero this century, the U.N.'s panel on climate science said Sunday. The fourth and final volume of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's giant climate assessment didn't offer any surprises, nor was it expected to since it combined the findings of three earlier reports released in the past 13 months. But it underlined the scope of the climate challenge in stark terms. Emissions, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, may need to drop to zero by the end of this century for the world to have a decent chance of keeping the temperature rise below a level that many consider dangerous. Failure to do so, which could require deployment of technologies that suck greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, could lock the world on a trajectory with "irreversible" impacts on people, like altering the male-female ratio, and on the … [Read more...] about “There is no ambiguity” on climate change, U.N. concludes

In well over 100 years there have been only 25 men who have tasted the Olympian heights and laid claim to the title "Fastest Man on Earth". It is an elite and also an eclectic club. The stories of these fast men are an extraordinary blend of success and disaster, as well as glory and tragedy; ranging from amazing wealth to grinding poverty; superstar adulation and national hero status to bankruptcy, shame, prison, even suicide. As a compelling human interest story, it's been an extraordinary rolling soap opera. And it doesn't look like stopping any time soon. With arguably the sport's greatest ever sprinter Usain Bolt on a one-man mission to rewrite the history books, it looks likely the fastest men that follow him will need to be even more extraordinary. But what about these future fast men? Who will they be and just how fast could they go? And is it now a cast-iron fact, at least at the elite level, that white men can't sprint? These are perennial questions for fans of track and … [Read more...] about Beyond Usain Bolt: can the world’s fast men get faster still?