Futuristic Predictions That Came True in 2016

The replicant Pris from Blade Runner. Could synthetic humans be right around the corner?

Gizmodo: The Most Futuristic Predictions That Came True in 2016

Another year has passed, which means we’re another step closer to the tomorrow of our dreams. Here are the most futuristic developments of 2016.

An artificial intelligence finally defeated a grandmaster at Go

In a tournament that rivaled the historical importance of Deep Blue vs chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1996 and Deep Blue vs the best Jeopardy champs in 2011, Google’s AlphaGo won four of the five games it played against Go world champion Lee Sedol. Going into the tournament, some experts naively presumed that the machine wouldn’t have a chance against a human in a game notorious for its complexity and sophisticated gameplay.

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CSN Editor: The quick development of driver-less cars is what surprised me.

What Happens When Your Smart Phone Is Stolen (Video)

Laughing Squid: Dutch Filmmaker Intentionally Lets His Phone Get Stolen In Order to Follow Its Path Through Spyware

Dutch filmmaker Anthony van der Meer decided to intentionally allow a thief to steal his mobile phone in order to find out what happens afterwards, using spyware that he installed ahead of time. The resulting film, entitled “Find my Phone” shows how just much information a thief can get with someone else’s phone.

In the Netherlands, 300 police reports a week are filed for smartphone-theft. Besides losing your expensive device, a stranger has access to all of your photos, videos, e-mails, messages and contacts. Yet, what kind of person steals a phone? And where do stolen phones eventually end up? The short documentary ‘Find My Phone’ follows a stolen phone’s second life by means of using spyware.

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CSN Editor: I can deal with losing my phone. But losing my photos, videos, and other personal information ... that is where it really hurts.

“I Know What You Download” Is A Website That Claims To Know What You Have Donwloaded

The Independent: 'I Know What You Download': Website claims to let people see everything their friends have torrented

The company appears to be using the intrusive website as a way of marketing its services to police and content owners, but serves a reminder of the kind of information made readily available on the internet

A new website claims to be able to show everything you – and your friends – have torrented.

“I Know What You Download” gathers information frm across the internet to find out the things that people have been downloading. And it even provides an easy way for friends to make that information available, too – meaning that you may already have been tricked into exposing your torrenting habits.

The tool works simply by looking up the IP address of the person using it. While torrents might feel secret, unless they are protected they are attached to those same unique IP addresses – meaning that anyone looking to find a download can be identified by others doing so at the same time.

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CSN Editor: more proof that there are no longer any secrets when it comes to the World Wide Web. The website “I Know What You Download” is here.

These Are The 7 Greatest Scientific Breakthroughs Of 2016

RT: The 7 greatest scientific breakthroughs of 2016

From the discovery of an Earth-like planet to the unraveling of one of the great mysteries of physics, 2016 has been a blockbuster year for scientific breakthroughs.
Gravitational waves

Perhaps the biggest scientific feat of 2016 was the detection of gravitational waves in the fabric of space-time, from a pair of colliding black holes. The development added more weight to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity.

The researchers backed up their findings by repeating the feat a few months later. The discovery was named Physics World Breakthrough of the Year and is hotly tipped to earn a Nobel Prize.

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CSN Editor: I found this to be the most interesting discovery .... Disposing of 'cellular litter' could prolong life by up to 35% - study (RT).

Russia Has A ‘Colossal’ Supercomputer

Building of Russian Ministry of Defence at Frunzenskaya Embankment. Moscow, Russia. Wikipedia. Wikipedia

RT: Army’s brain: Russia’s ‘colossal’ supercomputer helps predict wars, defense minister says

A “colossally powerful” supercomputer installed at Russia’s military headquarters helps the country’s armed forces tackle emerging threats by analyzing previous conflicts, such as the Yugoslavian war and the like, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said.

The supercomputer is a key part of the headquarters’ IT infrastructure and is so powerful that the military uses less than half of its capacity, Shoigu told Rossiya 24 TV channel, which filmed a documentary about Russia’s National Defense Management Center (NDMC).

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CSN Editor: It looks like Russia wants to build its own Skynet computer system .... Powerful Russian supercomputer to ‘speak’ to any robotic system, no matter which manufacturer (RT).

A Tribute To The Classic Star Trek Uniform

Popular Mechanics: An Ode to the Classic Star Trek Uniform

To boldly dress...

In "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," an episode of the original Star Trek, the good ship Enterprise accidentally time warps back to 20th Century Earth. A gung-ho U.S. Air Force colonel captures our hero Captain Kirk and, upon giving him the once-over, snarls, "What is that? Is that a uniform of some kind?"

"This little thing?" replies a coy William Shatner. "Something I slipped on."

Actually, it was a lot more.

In today's over-the-top world of fantasy entertainment, where everyone from Batman on down wears self-conscious, rubbery body armor, there is something reassuringly relaxed and classic about the original Star Trek uniform. Trekkies still embrace that quality as the 50th anniversary of the premiere of their beloved NBC series approaches on September 8.

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CSN Editor: I loved those mini-skirts.

Report: 900 Million Android Phones Have A Serious Security Flaw

The flaws affect devices containing Qualcomm chips

BBC: Android bug fear in 900 million phones

Serious security flaws that could give attackers complete access to a phone's data have been found in software used on tens of millions of Android devices.

The bugs were uncovered by Checkpoint researchers looking at software running on chipsets made by US firm Qualcomm.

Qualcomm processors are found in about 900 million Android phones, the company said.

However, there is no evidence of the vulnerabilities currently being used in attacks by cyberthieves.

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CSN Editor: Oh oh .... I have an Android phone.

The Entire History Of Civilization In One Chart

Business Insider/Slate: The Entire History Of The World In One Chart

This “Histomap,” created by John B. Sparks, was first printed by Rand McNally in 1931.

This giant, ambitious chart fit neatly with a trend in nonfiction book publishing of the 1920s and 1930s: the “outline,” in which large subjects (the history of the world! every school of philosophy! all of modern physics!) were distilled into a form comprehensible to the most uneducated layman.

The 5-foot-long Histomap was sold for $1 and folded into a green cover, which featured endorsements from historians and reviewers. The chart was advertised as “clear, vivid, and shorn of elaboration,” while at the same time capable of “holding you enthralled” by presenting:

the actual picture of the march of civilization, from the mud huts of the ancients thru the monarchistic glamour of the middle ages to the living panorama of life in present day America.

The chart emphasizes domination, using color to show how the power of various “peoples” (a quasi-racial understanding of the nature of human groups, quite popular at the time) evolved throughout history.

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WNU Editor: This is so cool. For a fully zoomable version go here.

Batteries Are Now Reaching Their Physical Limits

DW: Batteries are hitting physical limits

The performance of today's lithium-ion batteries can't be improved much further. Grand hopes for the future of e-vehicles now depend on driving down battery prices and on prototype silicon-air super-batteries.

Electric cars are meant to solve many environmental problems: Assuming they're charged with 'green' electricity from sources like wind, solar or hydropower, they'll be practically emission-free - apart from the large amounts of energy involved in the manufacturing process for vehicles of any kind, of course, whether fossil-fueled or battery-powered. E-cars reduce noise pollution, too, as they glide along streets almost silently. And they're fun to drive, with better acceleration than regular cars, and often better handling.

But driving e-cars has a drawback: Constant worry about how much charge is left in the battery. Once it's empty, if there's no recharging station in the area, the fun is over, and calls to a towing service are next on the menu.

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WNU Editor: This is a good summary on where this technology is going.

Reading Books Will Help You Live Longer

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times

New York Times: Read Books, Live Longer?

Reading books is tied to a longer life, according to a new report.

Researchers used data on 3,635 people over 50 participating in a larger health study who had answered questions about reading.

The scientists divided the sample into three groups: those who read no books, those who read books up to three and a half hours a week, and those who read books more than three and a half hours.

The study, in Social Science & Medicine, found that book readers tended to be female, college-educated and in higher income groups. So researchers controlled for those factors as well as age, race, self-reported health, depression, employment and marital status.

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Editor: As one who loves to read .... I cannot disagree with this conclusion.

The Oldest Known Evidence Of Human Warfare Has Been Confirmed

Part of a man’s skeleton found lying in the lagoon. The skull has multiple lesions on the front and left side consistent with wounds from a blunt implement. Photograph: Marta Mirazón Lahr

The Guardian: Stone-age massacre offers earliest evidence of human warfare

Researchers say remains of 27 murdered tribespeople in Kenya prove attacks were normal part of hunter-gatherer relations

Some 10,000 years ago a woman in the last stages of pregnancy met a terrible death, trussed like a captive animal and dumped into shallow water at the edge of a Kenyan lagoon. She died with at least 27 members of her tribe, all equally brutally murdered, in the earliest evidence of warfare between stone age hunter-gatherers.

The fossilised remains of the victims, still lying where they fell, preserved in the sediment of a marshy pool that dried up thousands of years ago, were found by a team of scientists from Cambridge University.

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CSN Editor: 27 victims .... men, women, and children .... all killed in the same place and time .... and violently. This was a deliberate massacre where taking prisoners was not a priority.

More News On The Confirmation Of The Oldest Known Evidence Of Human Warfare

Prehistoric Massacre Hints at War Among Hunter-Gatherers -- New York Times
Prehistoric massacre in Kenya called oldest evidence of warfare -- Reuters
10,000-Year-Old Battered Bones May Be Oldest Evidence of Human Warfare -- Live Science
Attack 10,000 years ago is earliest known act of warfare -- Science News
Anthropologists in Kenya find evidence of 10,000-year-old massacre -- DW
Prehistoric site shows brutal human attacks -- USA Today
War is as old as time: Cambridge University researchers unveil massacred bodies dating back 10,000 years -- The Independent
A Prehistoric Mass Grave Suggests Hunter-Gatherers Weren’t So Peaceful -- The Atlantic
10,000-year-old mass killing is still a mystery -- Ars Technica
Photos: The Oldest Known Evidence of Warfare Unearthed -- Live Science

This Map Represents Where The World's Population Lives

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Zero Hedge: How do you view your country relative to others? Chances are if it’s based on most world maps, your view is distorted.

As the world turns its gaze to the rich and pretty people in Davos this coming week, The World Economic Forum unleashed the following cartogram, created by Reddit user TeaDranks, that could change your entire perception of the world. Cartograms scale a region’s geographic space according to a particular attribute and in this case each square now represents 500,000 people.

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CSN Editor: I feel small.

Watch The Biggest Ever Drone Swarm (100 Drones) Take To The Sky In Style

Endgadget: Watch Intel's record-setting drone light show

The chip giant's robotic performance really did make it into Guinness' books.

Intel talked a big game when it said that it set a Guinness World Record for the most drones controlled by a single person, but it now has the evidence to back up that braggadocio. Guinness has posted a video of the feat, which saw 100 drones perform a light show (coordinated by Intel software, of course) while humans played Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 on the ground. Is it a publicity stunt? Absolutely. But it's still fun to watch, and it's proof that drone swarms are easier to control than ever.

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CSN editor: OK .... I am impressed.

Has The Elixir For Extending Life Been Found?

From the Anti-Aging Blog

Daily Mail: Have scientists discovered the elixir of youth? Hormone 'extends lifespan by 40%, protecting the immune system against the ravages of age'

* FGF21 is produced by the thymus gland and extends lifespan by 40%
* Scientists discovered it protects the immune system from effects of age
* Hope it could help treat elderly, obesity, cancer and type 2 diabetes

It is the Holy Grail of health research, discovering the key to help people live longer.

Now scientists believe they may be one step closer.

A team at Yale School of Medicine have identified a hormone, produced by the thymus glad, extends lifespan by 40 per cent.

Their findings reveal increased levels of the hormone, known as FGF21, protects the immune system against the ravages of age.

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CSN Editor: We are still far away from any practical implementation of this discovery .... but it is an eye opener on how we age.

Twitter Is Being Sued For Providing Material Support To The Islamic State

Reuters: Twitter sued by U.S. widow for giving voice to Islamic State

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) is being sued by the widow of an American killed in Jordan who accuses the social media company of giving a voice to Islamic State, adding to the pressure to crack down on online propaganda linked to terrorism.

Tamara Fields, a Florida woman whose husband Lloyd died in the Nov. 9 attack on the police training center in Amman, said Twitter knowingly let the militant Islamist group use its network to spread propaganda, raise money and attract recruits.

Lawyers specializing in terrorism said Fields faces an uphill battle, though the case could lead to more calls for social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook Inc (FB.O) to take down posts associated with terrorist groups.

In her complaint filed on Wednesday, Fields said San Francisco-based Twitter had until recently given Islamic State, also known as ISIS, an "unfettered" ability to maintain official Twitter accounts.

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More News On Twitter Being Sued For Providing Material Support To The Islamic State

Florida Woman Sues Twitter for Giving ISIS a Platform -- Wired
Lawsuit accuses Twitter of providing material support to ISIS -- The Hill
Twitter sued by widow for alleged aid to ISIL -- USA Today
Widow sues Twitter over ISIS' 'unfettered ability' to use platform -- FOX News
Twitter Enabled ISIS Recruitment And Propaganda Efforts, Lawsuit Alleges -- IBTimes
Twitter sued for helping ISIS -- RT
A terrorist killed this woman’s husband, and now she’s suing Twitter -- The Verge
Twitter provides material support to ISIS, lawsuit alleges -- Ars Technica
Can Islamic State victim’s widow win suit against Twitter? -- Alison Frankel, Reuters

CSN Editor: Twitter's defense sounds eerily like the defense that gun manufacturers use .... "it's not their fault that their users commit crimes". Will this defense fly .... I am not sure. But if she wins her case .... it will definitely social media as we know it.

The US Government Has An Internet Killswitch

Anti-Media: The US Government Has an Internet Killswitch — and It’s None of Your Business

The Supreme Court has refused to hear a petition concerning the Department of Homeland Security’s secretive internet and cellphone killswitch program.

On Monday the Supreme Court declined to hear a petition from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) that sought to force the Department of Homeland Security to release details of a secret “killswitch” protocol to shut down cellphone and internet service during emergencies.

EPIC has been fighting since 2011 to release the details of the program, which is known as Standard Operating Procedure 303. EPIC writes, “On March 9, 2006, the National Communications System (‘NCS’) approved SOP 303, however it was never released to the public. This secret document codifies a ‘shutdown and restoration process for use by commercial and private wireless networks during national crisis.’”

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CSN Editor: The last that I heard of a U.S. "internet kill switch" was in 2011 .... Will The U.S. Get An "Internet Kill Switch"? It looks like it is now operational .... and yes .... according to the government it is none of our business.

Is President Obama's Commitment To Find The Cure For Cancer Real Or Rhetoric?

Jen Christensen, CNN: Is the cure for cancer real or rhetoric?

(CNN)President Barack Obama's State of the Union address announced a new national "moon shot" effort to cure cancer.

"For the loved ones we've all lost, for the family we can still save, let's make America the country that cures cancer once and for all," the President said.

But is finding a cure for cancer realistic or merely rhetoric?

"Is it realistic? In a word 'no,' " said Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. "In my world, 'cure' is a four letter word, but we are going to cure some people."

He said it's important to remember there are at least 200 kinds of cancer. Finding one "cure" to fix all of them is probably impossible.

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CSN Editor: Government does play a role .... but government is not the institution that will "discover" the cure and/or better treatments for cancer.

Genetically-Modified Human Embryos One Step From Reality

Shutterstock

The Independent: IVF: First genetically-modified human embryos 'could be created in Britain within weeks'

Scientists are about to learn whether their research proposal has been approved by the fertility watchdog.

The first genetically-modified human embryos could be created in Britain within weeks according to the scientists who are about to learn whether their research proposal has been approved by the fertility watchdog.

Although it will be illegal to allow the embryos to live beyond 14 days, and be implanted into the womb, the researchers accepted that the research could one day lead to the birth of the first GM babies should the existing ban be lifted for medical reasons.

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CSN Editor: Welcome to the Brave New World.

The Scramble To Save The World’s Chocolate Supply

Cocoa beans are pictured in Ghana's eastern cocoa town of Akim Akooko September 6, 2012. REUTERS/KWASI KPODO

Market Watch: The $1 billion scramble to save the world’s chocolate supply

ABANKROM, Ghana -- Yaa Amekudzi bounces along dirt roads in a sport-utility vehicle from one village to the next as part of a $1 billion scramble by the world’s top chocolate makers to fix the industry’s most vexing problem.

Demand for chocolate is stronger than ever, especially now that more consumers in China and India are buying bars and bonbons long considered an unaffordable luxury. But cocoa production is down, including a steep slide last year in Ghana, the second-largest cocoa-growing country. Cocoa prices have jumped nearly 40% since the start of 2012.

As a result, the pressure is on Amekudzi and her team of five employees at Mondelez International Inc. MDLZ, +1.55% , the maker of Cadbury Dairy Milk bars and Oreo cookies, to help cocoa farmers boost their dwindling crop yields.

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CSN Editor: I saw how high the prices for chocolate were this past Christmas. Sighhh .... the days of cheap chocolate appear to be coming to an end.

This Is What It Is Like To Have 8,000,000 Instagram Followers

Daily Mail: Ever wondered what it's like to have 8m followers on Instagram? Former Holland midfielder Demy de Zeeuw posts video of non-stop notifications

* Demy de Zeeuw posted a 20-second video of notifications on his iPhone
* Hundreds of push notifications roll in from his Instagram page
* De Zeeuw is a free agent after leaving NAC Breda last summer
* The 32-year-old midfielder played for Ajax and won 27 caps for Holland

If anything was needed to illustrate how much of an effort is required by footballers to keep up with their social media notifications, then this video from Demy de Zeeuw should do it.

Former Ajax and Holland midfielder De Zeeuw has shown what happens when he switches on push notifications on his iPhone for the Instagram account of his social sports community, 433.

During the 20-second video, hundreds of notifications come through with photos and videos on the page which has more than eight million followers.

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CSN Editor: People definitely love following their soccer stars.