The SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY News Thread

[Kyuu]

Not exactly techonology... but rather... SCIENCE!! (and Sailor Moon)

For the first time in almost a decade, sky-watchers this week will be able to see all five naked-eye planets over the course of one night for several nights in a row.

The classical naked-eye planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—can be seen easily without optical aids and so have been known since ancient times.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...space-science/

Wait. Saturn? I feel stupid now. Can't even find Saturn off the diagram...

[Ithekro]

Well she'll destroy the planet anyway (To moe).

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Kokukirin

Nokia unveils a 41 megapixel phone at MWC.

Well that's a bit misleading. The camera sensor is 41MP, but the best feature of it is the oversampling that produces an incredibly nice 3/5/8 MP picture, with noise effectively eliminated. You can make super high MP pictures as output, but it would look rather crappy.

The downside is that it is a Symbian phone. But Nokia is certainly going to port it to Windows in the future.

I'm not sure I'd call the 41MP images crappy looking. The "per pixel" image quality in 41MP mode should match some of the best regarded camera phones like the iPhone 4S and Nokia N9. Yes, it has 4.8 times as many pixels as the iPhone 4S... but the image sensor itself is 5.52 times the size, so the amount of light received per pixel will actually be slightly greater (assuming the lens also scales accordingly).

That said, yes, they don't intend 41MP images to be the normal use. They want people to be able to crop 5MP or 8MP shots equivalent to other 5 or 8MP camera phones out of the 41MP ones as a replacement for a traditional zoom lens, or to downsample the 41MP to 5 or 8MP as a way of reducing noise artifacts in poor light and/or high ISO.

As for Symbian, Nokia pretty much admits it's only Symbian because they wanted to get the tech out fast and its the OS they could implement the necessary software in fastest.

(I actually still use Symbian because it's one of the few OSes that has resistive touchscreen models available (the new cameraphone isn't one) and I frequently use my phone with gloves on. I keep wondering why nobody deploys Stantum's resistive multitouch tech on a smartphone - it's not like people in cold countries don't use smartphones too.)

[MrTerrorist]

The Raspberry Pi computer goes on general sale

[AnimeFan188]

"Every day billions of people in the world boot up their computers and are
brought into the world of Microsoft Windows. Whether they're using Windows XP
or Windows 7, the layout is similar and has become familiar -- a desktop with
icons, a Start button in the corner, and lots of windows.

Today, Microsoft is pulling the curtain off of its next version of Windows --
Windows 8 -- and it looks entirely different from what those billions of people are
used to seeing every day."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/windows-8-cons...-abc-news.html

[AnimeFan188]

"The Pentagon’s new Avatar project, unveiled by Danger Room a few weeks
back, sounds freaky enough: Soldiers practically inhabiting the bodies of robots,
who’d act as “surrogates” for their human overlords in battle.

But according to Dmitry Itskov, a 31-year-old Russian media mogul, the U.S.
military’s Avatar initiative doesn’t go nearly far enough. He’s got a massive, sci-fi-
esque venture of his own that he hopes will put the Pentagon’s project to shame.
Itskov’s plan: Construct robots that’ll (within 10 years, he hopes) actually store a
human’s mind and keep that consciousness working. Forever."

See:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/02/dmitry-itskov/

[Irenicus]

Yeah. Ten years. Sure.

Not considering the technological hurdles for a moment, Mr. Itskov utterly ignores a little tiny bit of philosophical conundrum: cogito ergo sum, the one that thinks is the one that exists. I don't care if a snapshot of my priceless brain which contains my charming personality and brilliant intellect gets uploaded and torrented the world over -- well actually, I would care; I don't want to see my clones in robotic slavery or lab-mice experiments (even I have to admit nobody would probably be interested in me as a sex slave ). The problem is, *this* consciousness is what I'm concerned about. He isn't promising *me* immortality, the charlatan.

[Ithekro]

Depends. Will you still think in your new computer body? If you can still think, do you still exist?

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Depends. Will you still think in your new computer body? If you can still think, do you still exist?

Problem is, I am not *as* concerned as to my wonderfully well-equipped robotic clone's (or networked data on the Universe-Net, as the fashion goes) existential problem. It is certainly an interesting philosophical question, and perhaps even eventually empirically verifiable (not that I'm thinking very hard on how), but Robot Irenicus I-001, if he thinks, thinks on his own, free of my direct intervention. He will diverge from this one; he will be free, if he knows how to.

My identity in regards to the world is of no concern. Yes, Robot Irenicus may well to the world and even to himself replace this one's existence utterly seemlessly, but that is not the issue here. The dirty, lowly creature communicating this to you however is of prime importance -- at least to *me.*

[Ithekro]

What if it *is* you. And I don't mean a "at the same time" but more a continuation of your present and future existance? Your flesh shell begins to fail from age. Does one let it go, or does one allow itself to be placed into a new metal shell? The flesh shell dies, but your existance remains continuous from one shell to the next...still being "you".

However there is a word of a technology that can cause more distruction than either you could handle: A Railgun.

"Navy declassifies this video to terrify enemies"

http://now.msn.com/living/0229-railgun.aspx

In the latest demonstration of sci-fi weaponry coming off the drawing board, the Navy has declassified this demo of a prototype railgun, which uses electricity rather than gunpowder to propel a projectile along magnetic rails. The projectile is rocketed at hypersonic speeds between 4,500 and 5,600 mph. InnovationNewsDaily reports that Navy commanders ultimately want the weapon, which would be installed in the hull of a warship, to be capable of firing 10 guided missiles on targets 100 miles away.


So don't make us angry. You wouldn't like us when we're angry.

[Endless Soul]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

"The Pentagon’s new Avatar project, unveiled by Danger Room a few weeks
back, sounds freaky enough: Soldiers practically inhabiting the bodies of robots,
who’d act as “surrogates” for their human overlords in battle.

But according to Dmitry Itskov, a 31-year-old Russian media mogul, the U.S.
military’s Avatar initiative doesn’t go nearly far enough. He’s got a massive, sci-fi-
esque venture of his own that he hopes will put the Pentagon’s project to shame.
Itskov’s plan: Construct robots that’ll (within 10 years, he hopes) actually store a
human’s mind and keep that consciousness working. Forever."

See:

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/02/dmitry-itskov/

Spoiler for size:

Endless "Brainiac" Soul

[Dhomochevsky]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

However there is a word of a technology that can cause more distruction than either you could handle: A Railgun.

"Navy declassifies this video to terrify enemies"

http://now.msn.com/living/0229-railgun.aspx

This still looks horribly bad.
The projectile comes out completely deformed, burning, and with parts of it coming off. Then it starts tumbling sidewards instantly.
Such a broken projectile will never be able to hit something several kilometers off.
And they want to load cruise missles in there?

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Irenicus

Yeah. Ten years. Sure.

Not considering the technological hurdles for a moment, Mr. Itskov utterly ignores a little tiny bit of philosophical conundrum: cogito ergo sum, the one that thinks is the one that exists. I don't care if a snapshot of my priceless brain which contains my charming personality and brilliant intellect gets uploaded and torrented the world over -- well actually, I would care; I don't want to see my clones in robotic slavery or lab-mice experiments (even I have to admit nobody would probably be interested in me as a sex slave ). The problem is, *this* consciousness is what I'm concerned about. He isn't promising *me* immortality, the charlatan.

The tech does pose some interesting possibilities though.

...I call dibbs on loli-Irenicus.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

The tech does pose some interesting possibilities though.

...I call dibbs on loli-Irenicus.

I don't mind being implanted inside the body of a robo-loli.

As long as you give me a rocket-punch hand to knock away lolicons like Irencius and Duo.

[aohige]

What kind of question is that.
Would I abandon old, dying flesh to become a full cyborg?

OF COURSE I WOULD

[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I don't mind being implanted inside the body of a robo-loli.

As long as you give me a rocket-punch hand to knock away lolicons like Irencius and Duo.

Dibs on loli-SaintessHeart. I can think of quite a few uses for "her".

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Ascaloth

Dibs on loli-SaintessHeart. I can think of quite a few uses for "her".

What I was thinking is that I can easily charm my way around without even having to open my mouth or interrogate (Sam-Fisher-Conviction-Style) to get what I want. Social engineering is tiring work you know.

Physical strength for self-defence shouldn't be a problem with hydraulic servomotors and actuators.

[Ascaloth]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

What I was thinking is that I can easily charm my way around without even having to open my mouth or interrogate (Sam-Fisher-Conviction-Style) to get what I want. Social engineering is tiring work you know.

Physical strength for self-defence shouldn't be a problem with hydraulic servomotors and actuators.

Actually, the first thing I thought of was to present the twin-tailed, Ayanyan-voiced loli-you to the RL you.

Then sit back and watch the lulz.

[Endless Soul]

What happens if there is a massive EM pulse? Would the human consciousness be fried out of the bot, as a result?

Endless "Fried" Soul

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

...I call dibbs on loli-Irenicus.

Careful. She's high maintenance. I should know.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

As long as you give me a rocket-punch hand to knock away lolicons like Irencius and Duo.

What! This is absolutely outrageous statement. I would never do anything untoward against poor little Saintess-loli. Never.

I would just copy Ascaloth, dress her up in maid clothes and cat ears, give her to you, and enjoy the lulz.


Now, before the mods squash everything here, I'd like to remember that there's another, more biologically centered path to quasi-immortality for us more earthbound types: flatworms.

Originally Posted by io9

We know there are a few species that don't die of old age, like the giant tortoise and naked mole rat. But those species aren't truly immortal — as they still eventually die. These tiny worms might be a different story... one which could have major implications for humans trying to live longer.

[...]

The team's experiments suggest that the enzyme responsible for the flatworms' effective immortality is one known as telomerase. The telomeres are the protective "caps" found on the ends of chromosomes. As cells divide over and over, the telomeres start to fray. And when they get too short, the cells can no longer divide and replicate. This decay process is at the biological root of death of old age.

In many organisms, the enzyme telomerase works to maintain the telomeres during cell division. However, in almost all such species this enzyme is only active during the organism's development. Once it's mature, the enzyme stops functioning, and the telomeres start to winnow away. Aging has officially started.

The researchers were able to locate a possible equivalent of the telomerase enzyme in the asexual flatworms. When they blocked its function, the worms' telomeres shortened during regeneration. When they let the enzyme function normally again, it went into overdrive whenever the worms had to regenerate, meaning all their cells emerged the renewal process with pristine telomeres.

And don't worry if you're not a fan of flatworms and other squiggly nightmares. By the time we get even close to this stuff all the worms will look like this.