Virgin Galactic Powers Up New SpaceShipTwo Vehicle (Video)
The lights just went on inside Virgin Galactic’s next spaceliner. The Spaceship Co., Virgin Galactic’s manufacturing subsidiary, recently wrapped up a landmark “Power On” test of the third SpaceShipTwo vehicle [https://www.space.com/19021-spaceshiptwo.html], which is being assembled in Mojave, California. “This test verified the
We May Finally Know How the Universe's Heavy Elements Formed
For the first time, scientists have detected a newly born heavy element in space, forged in the aftermath of a collision between a pair of dead stars known as neutron stars. The findings shed light on how the universe’s heaviest elements are created, providing a missing piece of the
MIT just discovered a way to mass-produce graphene in long rolls
Scientists used to make graphene-based membranes in small batches in a laboratory. But a new breakthrough at MIT enables researchers to spool out long rolls of high-quality graphene. The continuous manufacturing process can produce five centimeters of high-quality graphene per minute. The longest run was nearly four
Lyft is helping low-income people commute to job interviews and training
Lengthy and costly commutes have long been a scourge for low-income workers. A 2015 study even found a link between longer commutes and smaller chances of upward mobility for low-income families. Seeking to ease this struggle, ride-hailing service Lyft has recently partnered with non-profits to help
These $10 Sensor-Packed Gloves Could Give Robots a Sense of Touch
Machines are mastering vision [https://singularityhub.com/2019/01/28/can-ai-tell-the-difference-between-a-polar-bear-and-a-can-opener/] and language [https://singularityhub.com/2012/05/15/let-the-computer-talk-speech-synthesis-is-giving-machines-the-chance-to-have-their-voices-heard/] , but one sense
The Crucial Role of Brain Simulation in Future Neuroscience
“Do we have a chance of ever understanding brain function without brain simulations?” So asked the Human Brain Project [https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/brain-simulation/] (HBP), the brainchild of Henry Markram [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-brain-project-digital-simulation-neuron/] , in a new paper [https://www.cell.
IBM Introduces ‘Quantum Volume’ to Track Progress Towards the Quantum Age
Quantum computing companies are racing to squeeze ever more qubits into their devices, but is this really a solid sign of progress? IBM is proposing a more holistic measure it calls “quantum volume” (QV) that it says gives a better indication of how close we are to practical devices. Creating
Three Invaluable Ways AI and Neuroscience Are Driving Each Other Forward
DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis [https://www.1843magazine.com/features/deepmind-and-google-the-battle-to-control-artificial-intelligence] once pointed to the human brain as a paramount inspiration for building AI with human-like intelligence. He’s not the only one. The meteoric success of deep learning showcases how insights
How Will We Store Three Septillion Bits of Data? Your Metabolome May Have the Answer
Thanks to the cloud, it’s hard to imagine that we’ll ever run out of data storage. But by 2040, we may be swarmed by three septillion bits of data, and Earth will run out of chip-grade silicon. According to one estimate, current data farms will last a