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.

Read more ....

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.’”

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: People definitely love following their soccer stars.

Report: Global Warming Has Postponed The Next Ice Age

Reuters: Global warming could stave off next ice age for 100,000 years

OSLO (Reuters) - Global warming is likely to disrupt a natural cycle of ice ages and contribute to delaying the onset of the next big freeze until about 100,000 years from now, scientists said on Wednesday.

In the past million years, the world has had about 10 ice ages before swinging back to warmer conditions like the present. In the last ice age that ended 12,000 years ago, ice sheets blanketed what is now Canada, northern Europe and Siberia.

In a new explanation for the long-lasting plunges in global temperatures that cause ice ages, scientists pointed to a combination of long-term shifts in the Earth's orbit around the sun, together with levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Read more ....

Update: Climate change could delay the next ICE AGE by 100,000 years, researchers find in 'mind boggling' discovery (Daily Mail)

CSN Editor: I always laugh at these forecasts. They cannot predict the weather next year .... let alone 100,000 yeasr from now.

People Are Losing Interest In Buying Personal Computers

REUTERS/NACHO DOCE

CNET: PC shipments continued their downward spiral in 2015

With the exception of Apple, worldwide shipments of personal computers continued to tumble in the final months of 2015.

Personal computers wheezed their way to the end of 2015, even as Apple managed to gain ground.

Buffeted by consumer infatuation with tablets and phones, worldwide shipments of PCs continued spiraling lower in the final three months of 2015, according to research firms IDC and Gartner. Consumer interest in PCs was so weak, shipments for the year fell to the lowest point since 2008, according to IDC.

In addition to mobile devices, which are well suited to posting videos and photos to social sites, an array of hardware options, like touchscreens and detachable keyboards prompted consumers to hesitate before making purchases. Wearables, like connected watches and health trackers, also attracted consumers during the holiday shopping season.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Everyone is into smart phones and tablets.

Google Forms A Virtual Reality Division

USA Today: Google forms virtual reality division as Facebook rivalry heats up

SAN FRANCISCO — Google has formed a division to focus on virtual reality, a move that comes in the face of growing competition from Facebook and its subsidiary Oculus.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has appointed one of his deputies, Clay Bavor, to run the division. Google declined further comment.

The development was first reported by technology news outlet Re/code.

Bavor, vice president for product management, ran Google apps such as Gmail and Drive. Responsibility for apps will now fall to Diane Greene, the enterprise software veteran and Google board member who now runs Google's cloud computing business.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Google is a little late in the game .... but they have the resources to catch up quick.

".cn" Is The World's Most Commonly Used Country Domain Name

Xinhuanet: ".cn" is world's largest country domain name

Other news on China’s Internet development. China’s country code domain 'dot-C-N', is now the world’s most commonly used. According to the domain’s manager, China Internet Network Information Center, there were over 16.4 million users of the domain name by 2015, overtaking Germany’s “dot-D-E”.

The domain is widely used by Chinese institutions and companies. All central and provincial governments in China, as well as most telecom companies and commercial banks are the users. Many multi-nationals have also registered their domain names in “dot-cn”, in a move to facilitate their business with Chinese consumers.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: A prediction .... India's ".in" domain will surpass the .cn domain name in a  few years.

Hydrogen Bomb vs. Atomic Bomb: What’s The Difference?

Tesla Elon Musk: Apple Is Making An Electric Car

BBC: Tesla chief Elon Musk says Apple is making an electric car

Tesla's owner, Elon Musk, has said it is an "open secret" that Apple is making a rival electric car.

He also predicted vehicles that could not drive themselves would become a "strange anachronism" before too long.

The tech entrepreneur's comments were made during an exclusive interview with the BBC at his design studio near Los Angeles.

Tesla vies with Nissan and BMW to be the world's bestselling electric-car brand, but currently runs at a loss.

Read more ....

Update: Elon Musk says Apple has hired a thousand engineers to make an electric car (Next Big Future)

CSN Editor: Elon Musk must have some inside information. And yes .... Apple does have a lot to offer (see above video).

Airplane Manufacturer Airbus Has Revealed A 'Drone Killer' System That Can Disable UAVs

Airbus has revealed a new 'drone killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one.

Daily Mail: Airbus reveals 'drone killer' camera system that can automatically detect and disable UAVs

* Cameras and sensors can scan large areas
* Signals can be 'spoofed' to allow operators to hijack it
* Drone can also be jammed to stop in functioning
* System can work out exactly where it is being controlled from

They have begun a growing threat to airports, power stations and even public events.

Now, Airbus has revealed a new 'drone killer' system that can automatically monitor an area - and disable the drone by jamming its signals if it spots one.

The system can even analyse signals from the drone to work out exactly where it is being controlled from.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: I suspect that the market for this is going to be huge.

The Evolution Of Robots In Movies and TV

From Gizmodo: Science fiction movies and TV shows don’t really count unless they have iconic robot characters. That’s a completely true statement, by the way. Nobody cares how good a story is unless they can pretend living in a reality where sentient robots, awesome droids, and fun little machine pals exists. We want to live in the future where Roombas go on adventures with us! Artist Scott Park illustrated all our favorite robots from movies and TV shows—think R2-D2 and HAL 9000 and Optimus Prime and Johnny Five—to show the evolution of these synthetic characters.

What Are Those Bright Spots On The Dwarf Planet Ceres

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Gizmodo: There's Something Surprising Lurking in Ceres' Mysterious Bright Spots

Dwarf planet Ceres’ bright spots are perhaps the strangest of all its features. Now we’re finally in a low-enough altitude to get an unprecedented close-up look—and what we’re seeing may only have deepened the mystery.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft swung into its lowest orbit yet—a cool cruising height of 240 miles and started snapping pictures of a variety of features of the dwarf planet. Most of the shots are detailed images of things we’d already caught in broad-stroke versions, but there’s also a clue to something perhaps bigger.

Read more ....

Update: New images of dwarf planet Ceres (Space Daily)

CSN Editor: So typical of space exploration .... find an answer to a mystery, but then a bigger one shows up. For more on Ceres go to Wikipedia .... the link on Ceres is here.

This 11-Year-Old Scored the Highest IQ Score Possible

#Indian -Origin girlTops Mensa Test in UK, Beats #Einstein and #Hawking In IQ https://t.co/qySfj3xURv #KashmeaWahi pic.twitter.com/KbAehrPWv0

— Latest News India (@latestnewsind) January 11, 2016

Mental Floss: An 11-Year-Old Just Earned the Highest IQ Score Possible

Kashmea Wahi, an 11-year-old student from the UK, just earned a place among the world’s intellectual 1 percent by getting a perfect score on her IQ test. The test’s maximum score is 161 for adults and 162 for test-takers below the age of 18. To make her achievement even more impressive, her score of 162 puts her two points higher than the likes of Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein.

After stumbling upon the Mensa test while surfing on her iPad, Wahi decided to test herself as a way of proving a point to her parents, both IT management consultants at the Deutsche Bank in London. She figured an impressive score might be an effective way to stop her parents from nagging her to study.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: A perfect score .... wow.

Inside The Mind Of A Hacker (Video)

David Bowie's Favourite 100 Books

Anyone else remember this Bowie poster from your library as a kid? pic.twitter.com/HsY8srwrwv

— Eric Smith (@ericsmithrocks) January 11, 2016

L.A. Times: Remembering David Bowie through his 100 favorite books

Although David Bowie was best known for his music, he also made countless contributions to the worlds of art, fashion and film.

But the singer, who died Sunday, was also devoted to literature. In 2013, Bowie left the world something other than his groundbreaking albums to remember him by — a list of his 100 favorite books. Bowie's favorite books list was featured in an exhibit honoring the musician at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

Bowie's list is as eclectic and surprising as he was. He paid tribute to the classics, including Homer's "Iliad," F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," George Orwell's "1984" and D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover."

Read more ....

CSN Editor: This artist was doing everything. Not many sci-fi/speculative fiction books in his list.

Why Are Amazon's Data Centers In The 'Heart' Of Spy Country?

Amazon Data Center CNN

The Atlantic: Why Amazon's Data Centers Are Hidden in Spy Country

The company powers much of the Internet, but its cloud facilities are difficult to find.

Once in a while—not quite often enough to be a crisis, but just often enough to be a trope—people in the United States will freak out because a huge number of highly popular websites and services have suddenly gone down. For an interminable period of torture (usually about 1-3 hours, tops) there is no Instagram to browse, no Tinder to swipe, no Github to push to, no Netflix to And Chill.

When this happens, it usually means that Amazon Web Services is having a technical problem, most likely in their US-East region. What that actually means is that something is broken in northern Virginia. Of all the places where Amazon operates data centers, northern Virginia is one of the most significant, in part because it’s where AWS first set up shop in 2006. It seemed appropriate that this vision quest to see The Cloud across America which began at the ostensible birthplace of the Internet should end at the place that’s often to blame when large parts of the U.S. Internet dies.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Convenience, an existing infrastructure, lower costs, the U.S. government not far away .... all of these are good reasons on why Amazon has its centers in northern Virginia. But what I found even more interesting after reading this report was this sobering statistic .... Today, up to 70 percent of Internet traffic worldwide travels through this region.

After Ebola Two Tropical Diseases Pose New Threats

Reuters: After Ebola, two other tropical diseases pose new threats

LONDON (Reuters) - A little-known bacterial disease may be killing as many people worldwide as measles, scientists said on Monday, while a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika is also raising global alarm.

The spread of Ebola in West Africa last year shows how poorly-understood diseases can emerge and grow rapidly while researchers race to design and conduct the scientific studies needed to combat them.

Researchers in the journal Nature Microbiology called for a bacterial infection called meliodosis, which is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, to be given a higher priority by international health organizations and policy makers.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: I know about the Zika virus .... a nasty outbreak in Brazil. But Melioidosis .... this is something new. The above video is on the Zika virus. The video below is on Melioidosis.

Google Chairman: Artificial Intelligence Can Help Solve World's ‘Hard Problems’

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Alphabet Inc. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Bloomberg: Google Chairman Thinks AI Can Help Solve World's ‘Hard Problems’

* AI could help with population growth, education, Schmidt says
* Field getting crowded with Facebook, Microsoft also investing

Google’s chairman thinks artificial intelligence will let scientists solve some of the world’s "hard problems," like population growth, climate change, human development, and education.

Rapid development in the field of AI means the technology can help scientists understand the links between cause and effect by sifting through vast quantities of information, said Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet Inc., the holding company that owns Google.

“AI will play this role to navigate through this and help us.”

It can also aid companies in designing new, personalized systems. In the future, Schmidt would like to see “Eric and Not-Eric,” he said at a conference in New York, where “Eric” is the flesh-and-blood Schmidt and“not-Eric is this digital thing that helps me.”

Read more ....

CSN Editor: We are far away from what he is envisioning.

Scientific Breakthroughs In 2015

Nature 

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The Independent: Scientific breakthroughs in 2015 that could change the world

Advances in biology and cosmology have dominated the science year.

Growing a “brain in a dish”, the prospect of creating designer babies, and the possibility of detecting the first signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence – these are just some of the most important scientific news stories of 2015, according to some of the world’s leading scholars celebrating the year’s achievements.

The question posed to the top thinkers was this: what do you consider the most interesting recent scientific news and what makes it important? Back came a smorgasbord of essay-length answers from more than 100 contributors to Edge.org, the online salon for scientists, philosophers and followers of the “third culture” merging science and the humanities.

Read more ....

The Pace Of Scientific Innovation Is Speeding Up

Image from Atelier

Wall Street Journal: Science Is Stepping Up the Pace of Innovation

Big advances in astronomy and genetics.

Every year on the website Edge, scientists and other thinkers reply to one question. This year it’s “What do you consider the most interesting recent news” in science? The answers are fascinating. We’re used to thinking of news as the events that happen in a city or country within a few weeks or months. But scientists expand our thinking to the unimaginably large and the infinitesimally small.

Despite this extraordinary range, the answers of the Edge contributors have an underlying theme. The biggest news of all is that a handful of large-brained primates on an insignificant planet have created machines that let them understand the world, at every scale, and let them change it too, for good or ill.

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CSN Editor: Are we in a new age of scientific discovery .... it looks like it.

Have Gravitational Waves Finally Been Detected?

Binary stars may generate gravitational waves. R. Hurt - Caltech/JPL

Popular Science: Physicist Tweets Rumour That Gravitational Waves May Have Finally Been Detected

If true, the discovery would support one of Einstein's major predicitons.

In September, the Caltech theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss tweeted:

Rumor of a gravitational wave detection at LIGO detector. Amazing if true. Will post details if it survives.

— Lawrence M. Krauss (@LKrauss1) September 25, 2015

The folks on the LIGO experiment neither confirmed nor denied the rumor, and in Krauss's rumor-mongering raised hackles in the astrophysics community.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Waiting for the official announcement.

10 Essential David Bowie Songs

Wired: 10 Essential David Bowie Songs to Remember the Iconoclast

DAVID BOWIE, WHO died Sunday at the age of 69, released more than 20 studio albums (and dozens of singles) during a decades-long career that found him infatuated with everything from starry-eyed space-folk to guitar-hero glam-rock to gurgling electronica. Reducing that output to a single best-of list is impossible, but here are 10 tunes that, at the very least, display his verve, his vigor, and his ongoing love of the new:

Read more ....

Can You Run A Silicon Valley Startup Without A Cellphone?

That’s right: I do not own a cellphone; I do not use a cellphone. I do not have a phone. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

The Guardian: I run a Silicon Valley startup – but I refuse to own a cellphone

In the heart of the most tech-obsessed corner of the planet, Steve Hilton hasn’t had a phone in years. He’s relaxed, carefree, happier. His wife on the other hand ...

Before you read on, I want to make one thing clear: I’m not trying to convert you. I’m not trying to lecture you or judge you. Honestly, I’m not. It may come over like that here and there, but believe me, that’s not my intent. In this piece, I’m just trying to ... explain.

People who knew me in a previous life as a policy adviser to the British prime minister are mildly surprised that I’m now the co-founder and CEO of a tech startup . And those who know that I’ve barely read a book since school are surprised that I have now actually written one.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Yes .... it is possible that you can do a Silicon Valley start-up without owning a cellphone (I have done it myself). But you will need email (and a land-line).

The Toilet You Only Clean Once A Year

BBC: CES 2016: The toilet you only clean once a year

An "intelligent" toilet that opens when you approach it and self-cleans with every flush is on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

It also cleans the user with an aerated wand, which delivers warm water and warm air "from a seated position", a spokeswoman said.

Despite a $9,800 (£6,704) price tag, more than 40 million earlier versions of the Neorest toilets have been sold.

Bathroom firm Toto said the new prototype was still in development.

CSN Editor: $9.800 price tag .... please. But they have sold 40 million of them.

David Bowie Was An Internet Pioneer

BBC: David Bowie: The internet pioneer

David Bowie is best remembered for his music - but he was also groundbreaking in his use of technology, not least his internet service, BowieNet, which launched in September 1998.

In a time before Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or even MySpace, most artists provided little if any online material to their followers.

But Bowie's platform not only offered a wide variety of exclusive content, but also several ways to interact with the singer himself.

"In my view, BowieNet had to be the most groundbreaking reachout to fans that I have ever seen any artist ever do," Craig Carrington, one of its users, says.

"He just had the attitude that if he was going to do it, he was going to do it right."

Update: BowieNet: how David Bowie's ISP foresaw the future of the internet (The Guardian).

WNU Editor: He may be gone, but his music will last for the ages.

Who Owns Antarctica?

CSN Editor: Its complicated.

This Is What Happens When You Reply To Spam Email (Video)

From TED: Suspicious emails: unclaimed insurance bonds, diamond-encrusted safe deposit boxes, close friends marooned in a foreign country. They pop up in our inboxes, and standard procedure is to delete on sight. But what happens when you reply? Follow along as writer and comedian James Veitch narrates a hilarious, weeks-long exchange with a spammer who offered to cut him in on a hot deal.

CSN Editor: Hilarious and true.

10 Mysterious Extinct Human Species (Video)

The Future Of TV

CBS: The future of TV, virtual reality on display at CES 2016

If CES 2016 is anything to go by, the future of how we enjoy home entertainment is here.

From the new wave of High Dynamic Range (HDR) televisions to the arrival of virtual reality, the floor of the consumer electronics and technology trade show in Las Vegas has been filled with examples of how home entertainment is changing. CNET reporter Kara Tsuboi was on hand to take a look at the screens of the future and the new ways people will be viewing them in their living rooms.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Bring the costs .... and they will become popular.

There Are Nine Members In The Nuclear Club

Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY: The Nuclear Club: Who are the 9 members?

Nine countries are known to possess nuclear weapons.

The United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have among them approximately 15,850 nuclear weapons — 4,300 of them deployed with operational forces, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The institute, an independent organization whose research centers on global security, said 1,800 of those weapons are kept in a state of high operational alert.

The number of nuclear weapons in the world is declining, mainly because Russia and the United States are reducing their stockpiles. The two countries' arsenals make up more than 90% of nuclear weapons globally, according to the institute.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Nine today .... tomorrow .... who knows?

Do The Clintons Believe In Aliens?

Daily Mail: Hillary to open the X-Files: Clinton promises to 'get to the bottom' of Area 51 if she becomes President and stuns reporter by saying 'I think we may have been visited already'

* Hillary Clinton reportedly made the promise when speaking with The Conway Daily Sun in New Hampshire
* Clinton had previously interviewed with the same reporter in 2007
* In 2014, Bill Clinton told late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel that he wouldn't be surprised if aliens visited Earth
* Hillary Clinton appeared to agree with her husband's comments last week
* She said she would 'get to the bottom' of questions over what the government knows about UFOs and aliens

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has said that if she is elected, she will 'get to the bottom' of questions over what the government knows about UFOs and aliens.

She made the promise when speaking with Daymond Steer of The Conway Daily Sun in New Hampshire. She had previously interviewed with the same reporter in 2007.

When asked if she would support UFO disclosure group efforts, she enthusiastically said 'yes'.

In 2007, Clinton said the most common freedom-of-information requests her husband Bill Clinton received at his library were about UFOs.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: I guess even the Clintons like to believe.

More News On Hillary Clinton Promising To Reveal The Truth Of Area 51

Hillary Clinton plans to investigate Area 51 if she’s elected -- Red Orbit
Hillary Clinton says aliens may have paid us a visit -- CNET
Aliens May Have Visited Earth Already, Hillary Clinton Says -- Space.com
Hillary Clinton (jokingly) pledges UFO probe -- CNN
I want to believe: Hillary Clinton says aliens may have visited Earth -- RT

What Are The Most Valuable Substances By Weight?

Click on Image to Enalrge

Zero Hedge: Visualizing The Most Valuable Substances By Weight

While gold is undoubtedly one of the most traded substances on earth, it also happens to be one of the most valuable substances by weight. Although prices fluctuate, one gram of gold will cost you on average around $35. This got us thinking about how much other primarily naturally occurring substances out there cost.

This new infographic, via ValueWalk, explores how much you would pay for a gram of everything from saffron, widely recognised as the world’s most expensive spice, to platinum and rhodium. While the market for these goods can’t match the sizeable gold market, whose depth and liquidity is unparalleled, the trading prices of these substances can widely surpass that of gold; though like gold, the prices of these substances are subject to fluctuations.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: For more information on Californium (the world's most expensive substance by weight), go here.

The Radical Plan To Manipulate Gravity

André Füzfa from the University of Namur has proposed a method to produce and detect gravitational fields, and says it’s achievable with current technologies.

Daily Mail: The radical plan to manipulate GRAVITY: Researcher reveals scheme to create and control gravitational fields using current technology

* Mathematical proposal aims to unlock new era of experimental gravity
* Researcher says current technologies could let humans to control gravity
* Experiment could put Einstein's theory of relativity to the ultimate test

Creating artificial gravitational fields that humans can manipulate and observe may seem like an idea from science fiction, but one researcher is now looking to turn the concept into a reality.
André Füzfa from the University of Namur has proposed a method that would allow humans to control gravity, and says it’s achievable with current technologies.
In the mathematically supported proposal, Füzfa describes the device which would take on this task, and be used to observe how magnetic fields bend space-time.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: I wish them luck.

The 10 Corporations That Control The World’s Food

Revealed! The 10 Corporations that Control the World's #Food! Click for more: https://t.co/Yg4wQCcMEg pic.twitter.com/QWW3P47Zp9

— Good Shopping Guide (@EthicalCompany) January 7, 2016

The Good Shopping Guide: The 10 Corporations that Control the World’s Food

A significant amount of well-known brands are produced by just ten food companies. Between these ten largest food and drink manufacturers, which control most of the world’s food production, it is estimated that they make 1 billion US dollars per day.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: A lot of junk food companies in this bunch.

The Endless Mini Is A $79 Desktop CPU (Video)

CSN Editor: Their website is here.

Reducing Brain Inflammation Shown To Be A Key For An Alzheimer's Treatment

The dots in the picture are immune cells called microglia (highlighted with a black stain), which are more prevalent in brains affected by Alzheimer’s. Photograph: Carol Colton lab, Duke Universit/PA

The Guardian: Alzheimer's treatment closer as brain inflammation shown to be key

Study shows inflammation-reducing chemical prevents memory and behavioural problems in diseased mice, raising hopes for human treatment

Scientists have fresh hopes for an Alzheimer’s treatment after experiments to reduce inflammation in diseased mouse brains prevented memory and behavioural problems in the animals.

Alzheimer’s disease has long been linked to disruption in the brain’s immune system, but the latest research adds to evidence that inflammation in the brain is not so much caused by the disease, but is a driver of the disorder.

Researchers at Southampton University studied tissues from healthy human brains and others affected by Alzheimer’s disease. They found that Alzheimer’s brains had more immune cells, known as microglia, than healthy brains.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Faster please.

See The Latest In Boating Tech Before It Hits The Water (Video From The New York Boat Show)

How Did Dinosaurs Woo Mates?

The Guardian: Dinosaurs performed dances to woo mates, according to new evidence

‘Dinosaur foreplay’ was a ritual, bird-like dance, according to paleontologists who studied huge scrape marks left behind by the animals in western Colorado

Predatory dinosaurs performed a ritual, bird-like dance to woo their mates, according to paleontologists who have studied huge scrape marks left behind by the animals in western Colorado.

Paleobiologists have long speculated that dinosaurs had mating rituals like those of their descendants, modern birds, but the scrapes would be the first physical evidence of “dinosaur foreplay”, lead scientist Martin Lockley said.

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Editor: These scrapes could have been caused by dinosaurs clipping their long nails ... bottom lone is that we do not know. But the mating ritual theory is definitely more interesting.

Study: Memories Can Be Recovered In Just A Tenth Of A Second

Using a brain scanner (stock image), scientists have found memories can be recovered in a tenth of a second - around a third of the time needed to blink. The study also found retrieval can be obstructed by the use of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), in which a magnetic coil is placed on their head

Daily Mail: Your brain recovers memories faster than the blink of an eye: Retrieval happens FIVE times quicker than thought

* Events can be recalled in 100 milliseconds, compared to 300 for a blink
* Mechanism of memory recovery starts with activation of sensory areas
* The process can be interfered with by placing magnetic coils on the head

The blink of an eye is one of the fastest reactions the human body can make - but is a slow process compared to the recovery of memory.

Using a brain scanner, scientists have discovered that memories can be recovered in just a tenth of a second - around a third of the time needed to blink.

Previous research had estimated this at around five tenths of a second.

The researchers also found retrieval can be obstructed if the person is subjected to repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), in which a magnetic coil is placed on their head.

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Editor: That is definitely fast.

This Program Can Read Emotions From Looking At A Person's Face

Daily Mail: Apple buys artificial intelligence firm that can read EMOTIONS from looking at a person's face

* Algorithm originally designed to analyse responses to ads
* Can sort through and analyse thousands of images a day to track emotion
* Has been user to spot angry drivers and disgruntled shoppers

Apple has bought an artificial intelligence firm developing software that can tell a person's emotion from their facial expression.

The software was originally developed by Emotient to help assess viewer reactions to their ads, but has also been used to look for signs of pain in patients, and even monitor shopper's facial expressions.

However, it is unclear what Apple plans to use the technology for.

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CSN Editor: The applications for this tech is unless.

VR Porn Is The Next Big Thing In Adult entertainment

Mashable: VR porn is here and it's scary how realistic it is

I've tried a lot of different virtual reality experiences. Some good, some extraordinarily amazing, and some terrible. But mostly good.

I've never, however, tried VR porn. So when Naughty America, one of the U.S.'s largest pornography production companies, invited me to try out VR porn for myself at CES, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Would I merely be a spectator in a room watching people get freaky? Or would I actually be having VR sex?

I got my answer as soon as I slipped on a Samsung Gear VR headset and hit play on a VR porn video.

As the Naughty America title screen faded away, I found myself transported into a bedroom. Kneeling before me was a female porn star who was seductively talking dirty to me. I looked down and saw some guy's muscular body. Well, that's not mine, I thought to myself. I was confused. Whose body was this? Then I realized, I was now this guy.

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CSN Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... the porn industry is probably going to make a lot of money from this, and the manufacturers of these headsets even more..

Chinese Chef's Knife Skills (Video)

CSN Editor: Wow .... I am impressed.

How Do You Train A Dog To Sniff-Out Bombs

Photo credit: Sgt. Joshua LaPere for the U.S. Army

Priceonomics: How Do You Train a Dog to Sniff Bombs?

To a well-trained dog, nothing is more exciting than finding a bomb.

When Lucca, a German shepherd–Belgian Malinois mix, smelled explosives in the Nahri Saraj District of Afghanistan in March 2012, her tail started wagging. She looked toward her handler, Marine Corporal Juan Rodriguez. He patted her side and said in a singsong voice, “Good girl, Lucca!” before alerting his unit that Lucca had found a hidden improvised explosive device.

The thirteen-year war in Afghanistan was the longest in American history. The Iraq War lasted another eight, and America’s involvement in both countries has not truly ended.

In both cases, American troops faced insurgents whose most lethal weapon was the improvised explosive device (IED): explosives rigged to radio transmitters, timers, or motion sensors (stripped from washing machines, security floodlights, and garage openers) and buried along routes taken by American patrols.

The Department of Defense spent $19 billion researching the best way to detect IEDs before settling on an old technology: dogs. Lucca was one of over 2,500 dogs trained to associate the scent of explosives with a reward, teamed up with a soldier-handler, and sent to Afghanistan or Iraq.

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CSN Editor: So typical of the Pentagon .... after spending billions they then go back to what always worked before .... in the case of finding bombs .... dogs. But having said that ... this is a fascinating read.

Bad Military Tactics In The New 'Independence Day' Movie?

Joseph Trevithick, War Is Boring: The new Independence Day is full of terrible military tactics

The original 1996 movie Independence Day pitted American pilots and troops — and eventually the entire world — against an extraterrestrial threat armed with laser cannons and energy shields. Marine aviators, including Will Smith's character Capt. Steven Hiller, watch helplessly as their missiles disintegrate.

Nimble otherworldly fighters quickly pick off the F/A-18 fighter jets, killing most of the pilots. By the dramatic climax, very little has changed. Even after Hiller and David Levinson — played by Jeff Goldblum — succeed in disrupting the alien shields in a near-suicidal mission, the invaders wield considerable firepower and inflict heavy casualties.

But according to the December trailer for the sequel Independence Day: Resurgence, the American military did very little soul searching in the interceding two decades. "I spent 20 years trying to get us ready for this," Goldblum's Levinson says in the teaser as we see the first images of the new flying machines.

CSN Editor: I am still going to see the movie. :)

Blame Our Ancient Ancestors For Our Allergies

Researchers found large numbers of people carry genes for Toll-like receptors, which play an key role in the immune system, that were inherited from Neanderthals. In the map (pictured), orange and green segments are proportional to number of people in each population with these Neanderthal and Denisovan genes

Daily Mail: Suffer from allergies? Blame Neanderthals! Genes inherited from our ancient human relatives made our immune systems 'oversensitive'

* Two studies reveal our immune systems were shaped by Neanderthal DNA
* Neanderthals are thought to have interbred with humans 50,000 years ago
* One to 6 per cent of DNA in modern Eurasians is from these early humans
* Scientists have found variants of three genes from Neanderthals that have made our immune systems more sensitive and so produce allergies

They died out around 45,000 years ago as our ancestors moved into their territory and perhaps even killed them off, but Neanderthals may have had the last laugh - by causing us to suffer from allergies.

A new genetic study has revealed the genes inherited by modern humans from Neanderthals after our species interbred 50,000 years ago play a key role in our immune system today.

While these genetic variations have increased the ability of those who have them to ward off infection, they have also left large numbers of people more prone to allergies.

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CSN Editor: Unfortunately .... as a sufferer .... this news does not give me any comfort from the symptoms that I am suffering right now.

Hoverboard Patent Disputes Are Now Out In The Open

The Chinese firm calls its vehicles "surfing electric scooters"

BBC: CES 2016: Hoverboard booth raided following patent complaint

US marshals have raided a Chinese hoverboard-maker's stand at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.

The officials confiscated all the company's one-wheeled vehicles and took down its signs after a Silicon Valley-based rival filed a patent infringement claim.

The case is set to return to court in a week's time.

The Chinese firm, Changzhou First International Trade, told the BBC it did not believe it had broken the law.

It claimed it had developed its hoverboard a long time ago and had hidden it until now to avoid it being copied by other Chinese firms. It added that this was the first time it had been involved in such an incident.

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CSN Editor: Here is an easy prediction .... this Chinese company is going to lose its case.

A Look At North Korea's Newly-Opened Science And Technology Center

CNN: Inside North Korea: High-tech science center lauds nuclear advances

Pyongyang, North Korea (CNN)At the Korean demilitarized zone, speakers are blasting propaganda and troops are massing, but in the heart of Pyongyang, talk is only of the purported success of North Korea's first hydrogen bomb test.

As dictator Kim Jong Un celebrated his birthday, CNN, the only U.S. broadcaster operating in the country, spoke to North Koreans at the newly-opened Science and Technology Center.

Architecture student Lee Won, visiting the center that is the public face of the government's push to develop its technological and scientific capabilities, said that it was "one of his favorite places."

Asked what he thought of the purported H-bomb test, the 27-year-old said: "I think it is very wonderful, it is a very good result for our country's safety."

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CSN Editor: Pure North Korean propaganda via through CNN.

Half Of The World Lives On 1% Of The Land

Land covers 196.9 million square miles of the planet, which is broken up into 196 countries that are home to 7.125 billion people. With so much land available on Earth you would think people are spread out evenly throughout the world - but a stunning new map reveals that isn't the case. An entrepreneur used data from Nasa to understand where most of the world’s population resides and found half of us are crammed into just one percent of the world.

Daily Mail: Where the world lives: Map shows half the planet's population lives on just 1% of its land

* The map was created using gridded population data compiled by Nasa
* Yellow means there are over 8,000 people, which is 900 people for every square mile
* World is evenly split between yellow and black, but map shows yellow is only in one percent of the Earth’s surface
* Map reveals half of the world's population lives in urban areas

Land covers 196.9 million square miles of the planet, which is broken up into 196 countries that are home to 7.125 billion people.

With so much land available on Earth you would think people are spread out evenly throughout the world - but a stunning new map reveals that isn't the case.

An entrepreneur used data from Nasa to understand where most of the world’s population resides and found half of us are crammed into just one percent of the world.

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CSN Editor: Looking at Asia .... yup .... that is where the people are.

U.S., Russia, And China Are In A Race To Have 'Super Soldiers' And Artificial Intelligence

Next Big Future: USA, Russia and China among early entrants in race for Super Soldiers and Artificial Intelligence.

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work warned that America would soon lose its military competitive advantage if it does not pursue technologies such as employing artificial intelligence.

Altering human beings from the inside to more effectively fight in combat is claimed to presents ethical dilemmas for American scientists and military planners.

Work says those ethical concerns typically don't apply to authoritarian governments like Russia's or China's, but their lack of hesitation in developing EHOs may force America's hand.

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CSM Editor: I always find it fascinating that what was once labelled science fiction is now being seriously developed today. This is one of those cases.

How Much Does It Cost To Be 'Buried' In Space?

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Priceonomics: The Business of Space Funerals

In November 2015 near the beaches of Hawaii, the latest incarnation of a military rocket dating back to the early 1960s called the Super Strypi launched its inaugural voyage. At first operations appeared normal. The rocket lifted off, departed the white sands, began spinning, which stabilizes the craft, and seemed destined for a planned orbit about 260 miles above the planet.

But about a minute after takeoff something went wrong –– the Defense Department doesn't share specifics –– and the Super Strypi came crashing back to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific. Failed rocket launches aren't noteworthy by themselves. But this vessel had a curious payload: human remains, packed into metal cubes.

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Editor: Bottom line .... it's not cheap.

How Can You Tell The Difference Between A Nuclear Bomb Test And An earthquake

Ko Yun-hwa (L), Administrator of Korea Meteorological Administration, points at where seismic waves observed in South Korea came from, during a media briefing at Korea Meteorological Administration in Seoul, South Korea, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

Defense One: How to Tell The Difference Between a Nuclear Bomb Test and an Earthquake

The preliminary data suggests that the event in North Korea was not, in fact, the end of the world

Shortly after North Korea claimed it had tested a hydrogen bomb — a weapon potentially hundreds of times more powerful than the fission bombs the country had already set off — seismologists at the United States Geological Survey, or USGS, went to work trying to understand the event. Their early findings suggest that a nuclear bomb test did occur but that it wasn’t a hydrogen bomb. So how do you tell the difference?

First, you try to rule out the possibility that North Korea was just trying to claim credit for an earthquake. Geologists and seismologists look at several factors to determine whether a seismic event is natural or manmade. One is the location: is it on a known fault line, a place where there’s a lot of mining activity, etc.? Another factor is the seismological waveform itself, the waving lines that appear on the seismograph. An explosion forms wiggles that are different from the ones generated by an earthquake, according to USGS seismologist Paul Earle.

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CSN Editor: Yup .... the science that is used in telling the difference between an earthquake and a nuclear test is very detailed and exact.

Are Advanced Alien Civilizations Living In Globular Star Clusters?

Space.com: Advanced Alien Civilizations Could Live in Globular Star Clusters

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Densely packed groups of stars may make excellent cradles for complex space-traveling life to evolve. Despite studies that claim these environments, known as globular clusters, may be too harsh for life, a new study argues for a more optimistic view based on the evolving understanding of where planets lie outside the solar system.

"A globular cluster might be the first place in which intelligent life is identified in our galaxy," lead study author Rosanne Di Stefano, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said in a statement. Di Stefano presented the new research today (Jan. 6) here at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society.Globular clusters are massive groupings of millions of stars in a region only 100 light-years across. The clusters date back to the early life of the Milky Way — nearly 10 billion years ago. (For comparison, the universe is approximately 13.7 billion years old.) Although these clusters' age raises some questions, it also provides ample time for civilizations that emerged to evolve and become complex.

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More News On The Investigation Of Alien Life Living In Globular Star Clusters

Dense Star Fields Might Be Home To Extraterrestrial Life -- National Geographic
Star Clusters Could Be Best Place to Look for Intelligent Alien Life: Study -- AP
In search for alien life, focus on globular star clusters -- CBS
Star clumps harbour 'sweet spot' in search for alien life -- BBC
Old stars may have some new tricks – possibly even life -- CSM
Do Extraterrestrials Exist? Alien Life Could Thrive In Globular Star Clusters -- tech Times
Alien Life May Be Hiding in These Brilliant Star Clusters -- Gizmodo

George Putic Shows Us What's Hot at CES Las Vegas (Video)

The World is Experiencing A 'Volcano Season' Right Now

Express: Yellowstone about to blow? Scientists warning over SUPER-VOLCANO that could kill MILLIONS

SCIENTISTS have warned the world is in "volcano season" and there is up to a 10% chance of an eruption soon killing millions of people and devastating the planet.

Instances of volcanic eruptions are their highest for 300 years and scientists fear a major one that could kill millions and devastate the planet is a real possibility.

Experts at the European Science Foundation said volcanoes – especially super-volcanoes like the one at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, which has a caldera measuring 34 by 45 miles (55 by 72 km) - pose more threat to Earth and the survival of humans than asteroids, earthquakes, nuclear war and global warming.

There are few real contingency plans in place to deal with the ticking time bomb, which they conclude is likely to go off within the next 80 years.

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CSN Editor: Yellowstone has exploded before .... so it will probably happen again in the future. The question is .... when?

Is Vinyl Making A Comeback?

Tech Times: The Turntable Is Alive And Well: Sony Unveils Direct-Drive PS-HX500 To Battle Panasonic’s Technics SL-1200

The turntable is something many audiophiles still enjoy using, and that is not going to change anytime soon, not with Sony pushing its PS-HX500 turntable to those who are interested.

There aren't many differences to the PS-HX500 when compared to other high-end turntables. If you want it to do the regular turntable stuff, this Sony offering will do just fine, but so will other competing products.

What the Japanese giant is betting on is the device's analog-to-digital conversion. Other competing products similar to the PS-HX500 do not come with this feature, so that's a huge defining thing Sony will surely want to transform into a selling point.

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CSN Editor: YES!!!! Being one who grew up with vinyl .... and who still has a large vinyl collection .... this puts a smile on my face because this type of music is great to listen to.

More News On Sony's New Turntable For Music Lovers

It's all about the audiophile as Sony shows off light-bulb speaker, high-tech turntable -- CNet
CES: Sony debuts high-tech turntable, super-thin TVs, 4K video camera -- FOX News
Sony Unveils LP Turntables for High-Resolution Audio Era -- WSJ
This new Sony turntable is turnt -- The Verge
Sony's New PS-HX500 Turntable Will Make You Want To Start A Record Collection -- Tech Times

The Coolest Technology At CES 2016

ABC News: CES 2016: The Coolest Technology We've Seen So Far

The annual CES technology show is a time when we're given a glimpse into what the future could look like, new technology stars can be born and of course, zany ideas are celebrated.

"With 2.4 million square feet of space and so many categories from robotics to 3D printing to drones and driverless cars, there is a lot going on," Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association told ABC News.

The 49th annual show, officially kicks off in Las Vegas on Wednesday, but ABC News has already checked out some new technology ahead of the event.

What will we be talking about when this week comes to a close? Here are some of the biggest standouts we've seen so far. Check back throughout the

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Visible Light Has Been Detected From Black Holes For The First Time

A Nasa illustration of a supermassive black hole. Before the V404 Cygni observations, similar outbursts had only been seen as intense flashes of x-rays and gamma-rays, using high-spec telescopes. Photograph: Nasa/Reuters

The Guardian: Visible light from black holes detected for first time

Scientists observing V404 Cygni discovered that even amateur telescopes are capable of capturing violent outburst from black holes closest to Earth.

Astronomers have discovered that black holes can be observed through a simple optical telescope when material from surrounding space falls into them and releases violent bursts of light.

The apparent contradiction emerges when a black hole’s gravity pulls in matter from nearby stars, producing light that can be viewed from a modest 20cm telescope.

Japanese researchers detected light waves from V404 Cygni - an active black hole in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan - when it awoke from a 26-year-long slumber in June 2015.

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CSN Editor: More proof that black holes do exist.

The World's First 'Autonomous Aerial Vehicle' For Transporting People Is Unveiled At The CES Show In Las Vegas

Daily Mail: The MEGADRONE big enough to carry a passenger: Chinese firm says self-flying craft could be used as a smart taxi

* The all-electric vehicle has four arms with eight propellers at the end allowing it to travel up to 60mph
* Ehang says the 184 is autonomous, so all the passenger has to do is enter their final destination into an app
* FAA regulators have not approved the drone for human use in the US, but Ehang is hopeful they will do soon
* Cost is yet to be revealed and the company claims a commercial version of the craft will be available this year

A Chinese drone maker has revealed a giant quadcopter big enough to fit a passenger.

EHang claims to be building the world's first 'Autonomous Aerial Vehicle' for transporting people.

Unveiled at CES in Las Vegas and called the 184, the all-electric vehicle has four arms with a total of eight propellers at the end.

'You know how it feels to sit in a Ferrari? This is 10 times better,' George Yan, co-founder of Ehang said in an interview with DailyMail.com.

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CSN Editor: They have their work cut out for them .... but my gut is telling me that this product is going to do well .... especially if they can bring down the price.

What Are The Biggest Health Risks For Humans In Space

YouTube

Gizmodo: The Biggest Health Risks to Humans in Space

With the The Martian rocketing to the top of box offices worldwide this week, the challenge of surviving on Mars is on everyone’s mind. But while the science in The Martian is pretty solid, there is one obstacle Mark Watney rarely had to cope with: his own body.

During his two years alone on the Red Planet, Mark Watney never fell sick. He never had to splint his own bones or pass a kidney stone, never suffered a bout of insomnia or depression, never got cancer. But real astronauts traveling to Mars could face all of these unpleasantries and more. That’s why NASA has tasked a small army of biomedical researchers with studying how the human body and mind are impacted by long stints in space. Gizmodo spoke with the experts to learn about the biggest health risks facing our astronauts, and what we can do to mitigate them.

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CSN Editor: This article was posted in the fall of 2015 .... but it is still relevant for today.

The Quest To Build An Artificial Brain Gets A Big Financial Boost

Denver Post/Washington Post: Microsoft co-founder launches $500M quest to build an artificial brain

Building a machine that reasons well enough to pass a high school science test will be more complex than engineering the first Windows OS.

SEATTLE — Paul Allen has been waiting for the emergence of intelligent machines for a very long time.

As a young boy, Allen spent much of his time in the library reading science fiction novels in which robots manage our homes, perform surgery and fly around saving lives like superheroes. In his imagination, these beings would live among us, serving as our advisers, companions and friends.

Now 62 and worth an estimated $17.7 billion, the Microsoft co-founder is using his wealth to back two separate philanthropic research efforts at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence that he hopes will hasten that future.

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CSN Editor: I am slightly late on this news item. AI has always been a fascination of Microsoft founder Bill Gates .... and now we know that his partner (Paul Allen) shares the same interest.

Why Do Poor Costa Ricans Outlive Poor Americans?

Bloomberg: A Longevity Puzzle: Why Do Poor Costa Ricans Outlive Poor Americans?

In the U.S., income and health go hand-in-hand. That's not the case everywhere.

Does being poor mean being less healthy? In the United States, the answer is generally yes: Income and health are intertwined, and the richer you are, the healthier you’re likely to be.

Still, the link between poverty and poor health isn't ironclad. Take Costa Rica, where the poorest 25 percent of people live longer than their counterparts in the U.S., according to an analysis published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Costa Rica punches above its weight on many measures of health and social welfare. It’s a middle-income democracy with a population of 4.8 million—about the size of Alabama—and a per-capita gross domestic product about one-fifth that of the U.S. In other words, it's much less wealthy than the U.S. As you would expect, the rich in America enjoy lower mortality rates than do the rich in Costa Rica. But when you look at the other end of the socio-economic scale, the reverse is true.

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CSN Editor: Forget about Costa Rica. I live in Canada, and some of the healthiest people that I know are also the poorest. It is all a question of lifestyle, good eating habits, sleep, and staying away from stress.