Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Is social media ruining the world?Dramatic political polarization. Rising anxiety and depression. An uptick in teen suicide rates. that spreads like wildfire.The common denominator of all these phenomena is that they’re fueled in part by our seemingly innocuous participation in digital social networking. But how can simple acts like sharing photos and articles, reading the news, and connecting with friends have such destructive consequences?These...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Is social media ruining the world?Dramatic political polarization. Rising anxiety and depression. An uptick in teen suicide rates. that spreads like wildfire.The common denominator of all these phenomena is that they’re fueled in part by our seemingly innocuous participation in digital social networking. But how can simple acts like sharing photos and articles, reading the news, and connecting with friends have such destructive consequences?These...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Even as toddlers we’re good at inferences. Take a two-year-old that first learns to recognize a dog and a cat at home, then a horse and a sheep in a petting zoo. The kid will then also be able to tell apart a dog and a sheep, even if he can’t yet articulate their differences.This ability comes so naturally to us it belies the complexity of the brain’s data-crunching processes under the hood. To make the logical leap, the child first needs to...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Even as toddlers we’re good at inferences. Take a two-year-old that first learns to recognize a dog and a cat at home, then a horse and a sheep in a petting zoo. The kid will then also be able to tell apart a dog and a sheep, even if he can’t yet articulate their differences.This ability comes so naturally to us it belies the complexity of the brain’s data-crunching processes under the hood. To make the logical leap, the child first needs to...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.People have a bottomless appetite for all things space these days. Some space news is truly mind-blowing, like the last year or this year’s . Then there’s news of the less mind-blowing variety. Second only to full coverage of every supermoon are headlines of near (but harmless) misses by asteroids.However, while a supermoon isn’t too much more breathtaking than a run-of-the-mill full moon—those harmless near-misses actually do hint at something...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.People have a bottomless appetite for all things space these days. Some space news is truly mind-blowing, like the last year or this year’s . Then there’s news of the less mind-blowing variety. Second only to full coverage of every supermoon are headlines of near (but harmless) misses by asteroids.However, while a supermoon isn’t too much more breathtaking than a run-of-the-mill full moon—those harmless near-misses actually do hint at something...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Rose Pastore | Gizmodo“A new way of producing powerful X-ray beams—the brightest on Earth—is now making it possible to create 3D images of matter at astounding resolutions. …These X-ray beams will image the interiors of fossils, brains, batteries, and countless other interesting items down to the atomic scale, revealing unprecedented information and supercharging scientific research.”Luke Dormehl | Digital Trends“Dendra’s work might sound (and is)...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Rose Pastore | Gizmodo“A new way of producing powerful X-ray beams—the brightest on Earth—is now making it possible to create 3D images of matter at astounding resolutions. …These X-ray beams will image the interiors of fossils, brains, batteries, and countless other interesting items down to the atomic scale, revealing unprecedented information and supercharging scientific research.”Luke Dormehl | Digital Trends“Dendra’s work might sound (and is)...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.“Image Credit: fromGet the latest news from Singularity Hub!Singularity University, Singularity Hub, Singularity Summit, SU Labs, Singularity Labs, Exponential Medicine, Exponential Finance and all associated logos and design elements are trademarks and/or service marks of Singularity Education Group.© 2020 Singularity Education Group. All Rights Reserved.Singularity University is not a degree granting institution.…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.“Image Credit: fromGet the latest news from Singularity Hub!Singularity University, Singularity Hub, Singularity Summit, SU Labs, Singularity Labs, Exponential Medicine, Exponential Finance and all associated logos and design elements are trademarks and/or service marks of Singularity Education Group.© 2020 Singularity Education Group. All Rights Reserved.Singularity University is not a degree granting institution.WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The Earth’s biosphere contains all the known ingredients necessary for life as we know it. Broadly speaking these are: liquid water, at least one source of energy, and an inventory of biologically useful elements and molecules.But the recent discovery of possibly biogenic phosphine reminds us that at least some of these ingredients exist elsewhere in the solar system too. So where are the other most promising locations for extra-terrestrial...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The Earth’s biosphere contains all the known ingredients necessary for life as we know it. Broadly speaking these are: liquid water, at least one source of energy, and an inventory of biologically useful elements and molecules.But the recent discovery of possibly biogenic phosphine reminds us that at least some of these ingredients exist elsewhere in the solar system too. So where are the other most promising locations for extra-terrestrial...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Air travel has plummeted during the pandemic; not only do a lot of people not feel safe being in airports or on planes, but with everything we used to do being closed or canceled, we don’t really have anywhere to go.With all the reduced human movement caused by the pandemic—not just in air travel, but transportation of all kinds—has come a reckoning about our impact on the planet, and calls to find ways to continue the emissions reductions caused...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Air travel has plummeted during the pandemic; not only do a lot of people not feel safe being in airports or on planes, but with everything we used to do being closed or canceled, we don’t really have anywhere to go.With all the reduced human movement caused by the pandemic—not just in air travel, but transportation of all kinds—has come a reckoning about our impact on the planet, and calls to find ways to continue the emissions reductions caused...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Even for high-tech California, the man strolling around UCLA was a curious sight.His motion capture suit, sensor-embedded gloves, and virtual reality eyewear were already enough to turn heads. But what stopped people in their tracks and made them stare was a bizarre headgear, tightly strapped to his head through a swimming cap-like device embedded with circular electrode connectors. Several springy wires sprouted from the headgear—picture a...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Even for high-tech California, the man strolling around UCLA was a curious sight.His motion capture suit, sensor-embedded gloves, and virtual reality eyewear were already enough to turn heads. But what stopped people in their tracks and made them stare was a bizarre headgear, tightly strapped to his head through a swimming cap-like device embedded with circular electrode connectors. Several springy wires sprouted from the headgear—picture a...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Chris Baraniuk | OneZero“That higher, attentive level of processing is not always necessary — or even desirable — but it seems to be crucial for humans to learn new skills or adapt to unexpected challenges. A.I. systems and robots could potentially avoid the stupidity that currently plagues them if only they could gain the same ability to prioritize, focus, and resolve a problem.”Antonio Regalado | MIT Tech Review“It might seem scary to imagine...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Chris Baraniuk | OneZero“That higher, attentive level of processing is not always necessary — or even desirable — but it seems to be crucial for humans to learn new skills or adapt to unexpected challenges. A.I. systems and robots could potentially avoid the stupidity that currently plagues them if only they could gain the same ability to prioritize, focus, and resolve a problem.”Antonio Regalado | MIT Tech Review“It might seem scary to imagine...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.““undreds of companies that license its innovations, including Apple, Samsung, HuaweiQualcomm,Image Credit:Get the latest news from Singularity Hub!Singularity University, Singularity Hub, Singularity Summit, SU Labs, Singularity Labs, Exponential Medicine, Exponential Finance and all associated logos and design elements are trademarks and/or service marks of Singularity Education Group.© 2020 Singularity Education Group. All Rights...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.““undreds of companies that license its innovations, including Apple, Samsung, HuaweiQualcomm,Image Credit:Get the latest news from Singularity Hub!Singularity University, Singularity Hub, Singularity Summit, SU Labs, Singularity Labs, Exponential Medicine, Exponential Finance and all associated logos and design elements are trademarks and/or service marks of Singularity Education Group.© 2020 Singularity Education Group. All Rights...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.With increasing frequency, I notice sudden silences, like sonic black holes opening around me. There’ll be the white noise of a person puttering about followed by a profound ceasing of movement. Inevitably, I find somebody frozen in the middle of a room or open doorway, eyes glued to the screen. Talking to them is no use, because talking assumes presence.That our attention is a commodity in the information age is no secret. The so-called attention...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.With increasing frequency, I notice sudden silences, like sonic black holes opening around me. There’ll be the white noise of a person puttering about followed by a profound ceasing of movement. Inevitably, I find somebody frozen in the middle of a room or open doorway, eyes glued to the screen. Talking to them is no use, because talking assumes presence.That our attention is a commodity in the information age is no secret. The so-called attention...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Earth’s sister planet, Venus, has not been regarded as a high priority in the search for life. Its surface temperature of around 450°C is thought to be hostile to even the hardiest of micro-organisms, and its thick, sulfurous, and acidic atmosphere has kept the surface almost completely free from visiting spacecraft.We have only had the briefest of glimpses of a barren landscape from the two that made it down to the ground back in the 1980s. So...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Earth’s sister planet, Venus, has not been regarded as a high priority in the search for life. Its surface temperature of around 450°C is thought to be hostile to even the hardiest of micro-organisms, and its thick, sulfurous, and acidic atmosphere has kept the surface almost completely free from visiting spacecraft.We have only had the briefest of glimpses of a barren landscape from the two that made it down to the ground back in the 1980s. So...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.A little over two years ago, a shipping container-sized cylinder bearing Microsoft’s name and logo was off the northern coast of Scotland. Inside were 864 servers, and their submersion was part of the second phase of the software giant’s . Launched in 2015, the project’s purpose is to determine the feasibility of underwater data centers powered by offshore renewable energy.A couple months ago, the deep-sea servers were brought back up to the...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.A little over two years ago, a shipping container-sized cylinder bearing Microsoft’s name and logo was off the northern coast of Scotland. Inside were 864 servers, and their submersion was part of the second phase of the software giant’s . Launched in 2015, the project’s purpose is to determine the feasibility of underwater data centers powered by offshore renewable energy.A couple months ago, the deep-sea servers were brought back up to the...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.As the ills of factory farming become more pronounced, people are increasingly gravitating towards vegetarian or pescatarian diets. Besides producing a large percentage of our total greenhouse gas , raising livestock uses up a third of the to grow feed, not to mention that the animals themselves are often terribly mistreated.Eating fish, then, seems preferable to meat. In fact, according to the , 3.1 billion people around the world now rely on...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.As the ills of factory farming become more pronounced, people are increasingly gravitating towards vegetarian or pescatarian diets. Besides producing a large percentage of our total greenhouse gas , raising livestock uses up a third of the to grow feed, not to mention that the animals themselves are often terribly mistreated.Eating fish, then, seems preferable to meat. In fact, according to the , 3.1 billion people around the world now rely on...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.What will it take for CRISPR babies to become medically acceptable? Earlier this month, an international commission of scientists released detailing the steps needed to turn a gene-editing fiasco into a powerful treatment that could wipe out genetic diseases throughout generations.The conclusion: Editing the genome of human embryos to make CRISPR babies isn’t yet safe. But as the technology matures, it could be, and there will be countries that...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.What will it take for CRISPR babies to become medically acceptable? Earlier this month, an international commission of scientists released detailing the steps needed to turn a gene-editing fiasco into a powerful treatment that could wipe out genetic diseases throughout generations.The conclusion: Editing the genome of human embryos to make CRISPR babies isn’t yet safe. But as the technology matures, it could be, and there will be countries that...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Image Credit:Get the latest news from Singularity Hub!Singularity University, Singularity Hub, Singularity Summit, SU Labs, Singularity Labs, Exponential Medicine, Exponential Finance and all associated logos and design elements are trademarks and/or service marks of Singularity Education Group.© 2020 Singularity Education Group. All Rights Reserved.Singularity University is not a degree granting institution.…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Image Credit:Get the latest news from Singularity Hub!Singularity University, Singularity Hub, Singularity Summit, SU Labs, Singularity Labs, Exponential Medicine, Exponential Finance and all associated logos and design elements are trademarks and/or service marks of Singularity Education Group.© 2020 Singularity Education Group. All Rights Reserved.Singularity University is not a degree granting institution.WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.For years it can seem as if the world is predictable, and then all at once, everything changes.Most of us have been blown away by the speed at which the coronavirus, Covid-19, has swept the world. But 2020’s pace is more comprehensible if you see the pandemic as an exponential phenomenon.When spreading unchecked, coronavirus infections were doubling over a short time frame, and the doubling time itself was decreasing. This made for a classic...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.For years it can seem as if the world is predictable, and then all at once, everything changes.Most of us have been blown away by the speed at which the coronavirus, Covid-19, has swept the world. But 2020’s pace is more comprehensible if you see the pandemic as an exponential phenomenon.When spreading unchecked, coronavirus infections were doubling over a short time frame, and the doubling time itself was decreasing. This made for a classic...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Kyle Wiggers | TechCrunch“The enhanced DeepSpeed leverages three techniques to enable ‘trillion-scale’ model training: data parallel training, model parallel training, and pipeline parallel training. …Thanks to these and other performance improvements, Microsoft says a trillion-parameter model could be scaled across as few as 800 Nvidia V100 GPUs.”Loren Grush | The Verge“$25,000 may seem like a measly amount compared to the millions of dollars it...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Kyle Wiggers | TechCrunch“The enhanced DeepSpeed leverages three techniques to enable ‘trillion-scale’ model training: data parallel training, model parallel training, and pipeline parallel training. …Thanks to these and other performance improvements, Microsoft says a trillion-parameter model could be scaled across as few as 800 Nvidia V100 GPUs.”Loren Grush | The Verge“$25,000 may seem like a measly amount compared to the millions of dollars it...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.If I were to picture futuristic bots that could revolutionize both microrobotics and medicine, a Pop-Tart with four squiggly legs would not be on top of my list.I was so wrong.Last week, Drs. Marc Miskin*, Itai Cohen, and Paul McEuen at Cornell University that tackled one of the most pressing problems in microrobotics—getting those robots to move in a controllable manner. They graced us with an army of Pop-Tart-shaped microbots with seriously...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.If I were to picture futuristic bots that could revolutionize both microrobotics and medicine, a Pop-Tart with four squiggly legs would not be on top of my list.I was so wrong.Last week, Drs. Marc Miskin*, Itai Cohen, and Paul McEuen at Cornell University that tackled one of the most pressing problems in microrobotics—getting those robots to move in a controllable manner. They graced us with an army of Pop-Tart-shaped microbots with seriously...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to quickly adapt to circumstances that were unimaginable a year ago. Companies are finding new ways to do business, and in the process we’re seeing an acceleration of technologies that, though they were already in the pipeline, would have taken several more years to really pick up speed.One of these technologies is . Though the regulations around them are still somewhat piecemeal, drones have seen a steady...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to quickly adapt to circumstances that were unimaginable a year ago. Companies are finding new ways to do business, and in the process we’re seeing an acceleration of technologies that, though they were already in the pipeline, would have taken several more years to really pick up speed.One of these technologies is . Though the regulations around them are still somewhat piecemeal, drones have seen a steady...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Of the hundreds of potential Covid-19 vaccines in development, six are in the final stages of testing, known as phase three clinical trials. One of these—ChAdOx1 nCoV-19—is the vaccine we’re developing at the University of Oxford.To be approved, vaccines need to go to show that they’re safe and effective. A of the Oxford vaccine has demonstrated that it is safe—with only short-term side-effects and no serious unexpected events reported—and that it...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.Of the hundreds of potential Covid-19 vaccines in development, six are in the final stages of testing, known as phase three clinical trials. One of these—ChAdOx1 nCoV-19—is the vaccine we’re developing at the University of Oxford.To be approved, vaccines need to go to show that they’re safe and effective. A of the Oxford vaccine has demonstrated that it is safe—with only short-term side-effects and no serious unexpected events reported—and that it...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The coronavirus pandemic has been an all-around nightmare, but there are a few silver linings. One of these is a renewed focus on the environment. worldwide when countries went into lockdown in the spring, and cities have since been implementing new measures to keep pollution down and get people to be more active and environmentally conscious.In keeping with the trend, ridesharing market leader Uber that it will transition to a 100 percent...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The coronavirus pandemic has been an all-around nightmare, but there are a few silver linings. One of these is a renewed focus on the environment. worldwide when countries went into lockdown in the spring, and cities have since been implementing new measures to keep pollution down and get people to be more active and environmentally conscious.In keeping with the trend, ridesharing market leader Uber that it will transition to a 100 percent...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The technology—power transmission via microwave energy—has been around for decades. But to make it commercially viable, you have to minimize energy losses. Kushnir said metamaterials developed in recent years are the difference-maker.The company uses metamaterials to more efficiently convert the microwave beam back into electricity. The relays, which are like “lenses” extending the beam beyond line-of-sight by refocusing it, are nearly lossless....…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The technology—power transmission via microwave energy—has been around for decades. But to make it commercially viable, you have to minimize energy losses. Kushnir said metamaterials developed in recent years are the difference-maker.The company uses metamaterials to more efficiently convert the microwave beam back into electricity. The relays, which are like “lenses” extending the beam beyond line-of-sight by refocusing it, are nearly lossless....WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.If you were to stack up all the electronic waste produced annually around the world it would weigh as much as all the commercial aircrafts ever produced, or 5,000 Eiffel towers. This is a growing “tsunami” , and it’s fed by all the phones, tablets and other electronic devices that are thrown away each day.Of the 44.7 million metric tonnes of electronic waste (often shortened to “e-waste”) produced around the world in 2017, 90 percent was sent to...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.If you were to stack up all the electronic waste produced annually around the world it would weigh as much as all the commercial aircrafts ever produced, or 5,000 Eiffel towers. This is a growing “tsunami” , and it’s fed by all the phones, tablets and other electronic devices that are thrown away each day.Of the 44.7 million metric tonnes of electronic waste (often shortened to “e-waste”) produced around the world in 2017, 90 percent was sent to...WW…

Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The UN population forecast predicts that by 2050 there will be almost people on the planet. They’ll live mostly in cities and have an older median age than the current global population. One looming questions is, what will they eat?The of the 1960s used selective breeding to double crop yields of rice and wheat in some areas of the world, rescuing millions of people from food shortages and even famine. Now, the fast-growing global population...…Sign inWelcome! Log into your accountyour usernameyour passwordPassword recoveryRecover your passwordyour emailA password will be e-mailed to you.The UN population forecast predicts that by 2050 there will be almost people on the planet. They’ll live mostly in cities and have an older median age than the current global population. One looming questions is, what will they eat?The of the 1960s used selective breeding to double crop yields of rice and wheat in some areas of the world, rescuing millions of people from food shortages and even famine. Now, the fast-growing global population...WW…