Russian Arsenal Stored During The Time Of Ivan The Terrible Discovered Outside Of Moscow

A 16th century storehouse holding distinctive spiked helmets (pictured) and weapons intended for elite soldiers has been discovered near Zvenigorod, a town west of Moscow. The helmets were found stored in leather boxes along with sabres, belts and arrows, intended for use by a powerful group of Russian soldiers

Discovery: Ivan the Terrible Military Arsenal Found

The full arsenal of a military commander who served Ivan the Terrible has been uncovered in Russia, the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences has announced.

Found during a survey for a highway expansion outside Zvenigorod, an ancient town 18 miles west of Moscow, the cache consists of helmets stored in leather boxes, sections of sabers, arrows and and a type of armor known as kolchugs.

The location of the finding was the 16th century village of Ignatievskoe, once the homeland of the Dobrynins, a family belonging to the Russian boyar nobility.

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More News On The Discovery Of A Russian Arsenal During The Time Of Ivan The Terrible

Ivan the Terrible's military arsenal discovered: 16th century storehouse holds spiked helmets, sabres and arrows for soldiers of the notorious Tsar's army -- Daily Mail
Cache of military-grade weapons from the era of the Ivan the Terrible found near Moscow -- Ancient Origins
Ivan the Terrible's 'hand-picked thousand' arsenal discovered, with spiked helmets and military swords -- IBTimes
Private, 16th-Century Arsenal Unearthed in Russia -- Archaeology
Archaeologists uncover Ivan the Terrible’s weapon cache in Russia -- Red Orbit

Research: Blocking 200 Genes Boosts Lifespan By 60%

© Pichi Chuang / Reuters

RT: Key to longevity? Blocking over 200 genes boosts lifespan by 60%, study reveals

Once a bucket of genes linked to aging is removed, the lifespan of cells increases significantly, American scientists discovered during ten years of meticulous research, stressing that the results could be applied to humans.

An “exhaustive, ten-year effort” allowed scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the University of Washington to identify some 238 genes which could be targeted to improve human health and possibly extend life spans by 60 percent. The paper was published on Thursday in the journal Cell Metabolism.

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CSN Editor: We are still far away from human trials, but this is a start.

Prediction: Robots Will Outnumber Humans By 2040

Photo: 20th Century Fox

Business Insider: A programmer turned sci-fi author has predicted that robots could outnumber humans as early as 2040

There will be as many robots as there are humans within the next 24 to 39 years, according to a blog post published yesterday by a writer who is penning a new science fiction novel.

Logan Streondj, a software programmer and author, wanted to figure out when the population of robots will reach that of humans for his book titled “A home for robots or-else artilect war.”

Streondj used a variety of sources to determine the date. First, he turned to statistics website World Counts, which states there are roughly 350 thousand humans born every day, the equivalent of 130 million a year. The growth rate is around 1%.

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CSN Editor: There will be about 8 billion humans by 2040 .... I doubt that there will be 8 billion robots. But .... I have to admit that the math that was used in making this projection does make sense.

How To Make Sure There Are No Dead Wi-Fi Spots In Your House

Gizmodo: D-Link's Wireless Router Twins Ensure There Are No Dead Spots in Your House

Even with countless antennas pointing in all directions, most consumer-level routers can’t create a wifi network that covers every last corner of a large house. So instead of selling you a wireless extender once you realize that, D-Link now has a kit with twin routers that guarantees comprehensive wifi coverage from day one.

The Unified Home Wi-Fi Network Kit is D-Link finally admitting that today’s McMansions are too large for even an expensive home wifi router to provide complete coverage. So for $370, available sometime in the second quarter of 2016, the company has bundled its AC4300 Tri-Band MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Router, and its AC1300 Gigabit Wi-Fi Extender, so that consumers can finally ensure that their wifi network, even in those distant back bedrooms, is rock solid from the moment it’s up and running.

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CSN Editor: I definitely need this for my home.

World's Oldest Wooden Statue Older Than The Pyramids

(Photo: Shigir Idol, Tolmachev V.Y, Wikimedia Commons Public Domain)

USA Today: World's oldest wooden statue twice as old as pyramids

(NEWSER) – When scientists first tried in 1997 to date the famous Shigir Idol wooden sculpture —originally found in a Siberian peat bog in 1890—radiocarbon dating suggested the art was so old the findings were widely disputed. Now, armed with better tech, scientists turned to one of the world's most advanced accelerated mass spectrometry labs in Germany to put the issue to rest, and are announcing that Shigir Idol is indeed ancient—in fact, at 11,000 years of age it's actually 1,500 years older than first thought, reports the Siberian Times. Not only is it the oldest known wooden sculpture, but it's more than twice as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza, three times as old as the ancient city of Babylon, and five times as old as the ruins of Al Khazneh in the ancient city of Petra, reports the Huffington Post.

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CSN Editor: Wow .... this wooden carving is old.

The First International Beauty Contest That Will Be Judged By Robots

Miss Universe

Tech Crunch: The First International Beauty Contest Judged By Robots

Robots are starting to appear everywhere: driving cars, cooking dinners and even as robotic pets.

But people don’t usually give machine intelligence much credence when it comes to judging beauty. That may change with the launch of the world’s first international beauty contest judged exclusively by a robot jury.

The contest, which requires participants to take selfies via a special app and submit them to the contest website, is touting new sophisticated facial recognition algorithms that allow machines to judge beauty in new and improved ways.

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CSN Editor: It is just not the same.

A New Error Code Tells Users When A Website Is Being Censored

A mockup of the new error, using dummy text originally proposed by author Tim Bray, indicates that a particular website is being censored. Jeff Ward-Bailey

CSM: Error 451: How to tell when websites have been censored

A new online error code tells users when a site is unavailable for legal, rather than technical, reasons. Error 451, a nod to Ray Bradbury's novel 'Fahrenheit 451,' indicates that a site has been censored by a government.

If you’ve ever tried to visit a webpage that’s no longer available, you’ve seen the “404 Not Found” error alerting you that the sever can’t find that page. The “404” part of that message is an HTTP status code, one of a collection of standard codes that provide information about data transfers to your web browser.

As of last week, there’s a new status code indicating that a site can’t be accessed – not because of a broken link, but because the content is being blocked by a government.

The code, Error 451, is a nod to Ray Bradbury’s 1953 dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451” about book burning and the suppression of ideas. It tells the user that the site he or she is trying to access is working and reachable, but that they’re being prevented from accessing it for legal reasons.

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CSN Editor: It is better than receiving this message.

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Wants To Build An Artificially Intelligent Butler

The Independent: Mark Zuckerberg to build robot butler to look after his child as part of 2016 New Year's resolution

The system will be able to control his lights and music as well as helping him run his company

Mark Zuckerberg intends to build a robot to look after his house and keep tabs on his newborn daughter.

The Facebook founder and CEO’s resolution for 2016 is to build an artificially intelligent system that will be able to control his house, watch over his child and help him to run Facebook.

Mr Zuckerberg has in the past taken on “personal challenges” that have included reading two books per month, learning Mandarin and meeting a new person each day. But now he has undertaken perhaps his most ambitious plan — an artificially intelligent robot that seems to be able to run his whole house.

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More News On Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Wants To Build An Artificially Intelligent Butler

Mark Zuckerberg unveils 2016 plans for artificially intelligent butler -- Reuters
Mark Zuckerberg plans to make his own AI butler - like Jarvis in Iron Man -- The Guardian
Mark Zuckerberg’s 2016 Challenge: Code an Artificial Intelligence Assistant -- WSJ
Facebook founder Zuckerberg wants to build artificially intelligent butler -- FOX News/SKY News
Mark Zuckerberg's 2016 goal: Code his own personal assistant -- CNN
Mark Zuckerberg wants to develop his own A.I. butler -- CBS
Mark Zuckerberg Wants to Make an A.I. Butler Like the One in Iron Man -- Slate
Why Mark Zuckerberg’s New Year’s challenge to himself just might work -- Jena McGregor, Washington Post

It Will Soon Be Possible To Read An Electronic Display That Can Also Be Rolled Up

(LG Display)

FOX News: CES: LG Display to showcase 18-inch panel that rolls up like a newspaper

LG Display will use this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to showcase a prototype display technology that can be rolled up.

The OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) technology is “the world’s first 30R 18-inch rollable display that can be rolled-up like a newspaper,” according to a press release from LG Display.

OLEDs feature images with enhanced clarity, deeper color saturation and sharper contrast than liquid crystal displays.

Although additional details of the innovative foldable display have not yet been released, the technology could serve as a compact companion display for smaller mobile devices such as smartphones.

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CSN Editor: The article says that additional details on what this tech is capable of ave not been released .... that is not surprising .... their are probably getting their patents right now.

New ‘Star Trek’ Stamps Are Coming In 2016

Image: (© U.S. Postal Service)

Washington Post: Trekkies rejoice: New ‘Star Trek’ stamps are coming in 2016

The U.S. Postal Service is giving Trekkies an extra reason to mail things the old-fashioned way in 2016: four stamps celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original "Star Trek" television series.

The stamps are among a slate of new designs that the Postal Service just announced will be released in the coming year.

The "Star Trek" set features images based on the Starship Enterprise, a crewman being beamed up, the Starfleet insignia and the Vulcan salute made famous by Spock. The stamps were created by the design firm Heads of State under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá.

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Editor: I am a Star Trek fan .... and a stamp collector. Guess who is going to get a sheet to add to his collection. :)

Is Marijuana Wine The Next Big Thing?

Vine Pair: The latest Craze In Winemaking: Marijuana-infused Wine

There’s been a lot of buzz about pot and wine recently. It’s hard to separate the toga party contingent’s thirst for a potion into which two psychoactive substances have been crammed, from the more sober, scholarly consideration of the 3,700+ year history of fortifying wine with cannabis. And the allegedly potent healing powers of cannabis-wine are almost always overlooked, advocates complain.

Come on. Isn’t pot-wine just an elevated partying tool? Or can it actually help people who suffer from various maladies? Also – is it any good? And where can we get it?

Historically, wine fortified with cannabis hasn’t been guzzled at the average Thirsty Thursday happy hour. Instead, pot-wine has been consumed during religious rituals and used as a form of anesthesia in surgery. Yes, it’s that powerful.

Records of the marijuana plant being utilized for medicinal purposes date back to the 28th century B.C. In China during the second century A.D., archeologists found records showing that the founder of Chinese surgery, Hua T’o, used wine fortified with cannabis resin to reduce pain during surgery.

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Editor: If marijuana becomes legal to grow .... I can see this trend booming.

Study Shows San Fransisco Earthquake-Faults Are Connected

Red Orbit: Study shows San Fransisco area faults may be connected, raises possibility of massive earthquake

A new seismic study has found that two San Francisco faults may be connected, raising the possibility of a highly-destructive, massive earthquake.

The study looked at the Hayward Fault, which ruptured in a devastating 19th century Bay Area quake, and the Rodgers Creek Fault, which sits beneath San Pablo Bay. The possibility of the two being connected would pose the threat of a far more powerful quake in the future, a new seismic study has found.

US Geological Survey researcher Janet Watt conducted the study underwater using an acoustic instrument.

Read more ....

Update #1: New data on 2 Bay Area faults cause worry about next big quake (SFGate)
Update #2: Alarming discovery with SF's 2 most dangerous quake lines (CBS News)

Editor: My brother lives in San Mateo (south of San Francisco). This is news that I know he never likes to hear.

The Best-Designed Cars Of 2015

Mercedes-Benz F 015 Concept: This groundbreaking concept bravely explores how vehicles as we know them today may be transformed by the coming age of "automobility." The concept demonstrates the importance of designing holistically for a new category of vehicles made possible with the emergence of an autonomous vehicle fleet. Unique affordances for communicating intent to pedestrians, interior privacy, new interior configurations, and new ways to work with digital content all make this design particularly noteworthy. — Danny Stillion, executive design director at IDEO CHRISTIE HEMM KLOK/WIRED

Wired: Behold the Best-Designed Cars of 2015

THE AUTO INDUSTRY is in a transitional era. Consumers expect their cars to do everything their smartphones do, so automakers are adding more and more features to keep us coddled and connected even as they take the first steps toward the day robots do the driving. This presents an increasingly tricky challenge: Incorporating sophisticated infotainment systems and apps, complex semi-autonomous technology, and myriad other features without making the car confusing, overwhelming, or distracting.

Meanwhile, exterior design is ever more homogeneous. Fuel economy requirements demand efficient aerodynamics, and because everyone must adhere to the laws of physics, it’s hard to design a car that’s both sleek and original. Safety standards—another set of rules and regulations everyone must follow—also make it hard to stand out.

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Editor: My personal favourite is the Mazda RX-Vision Concept.

Apple Ad-Blocking Software Is Scareing Publishers

The Guardian: A proxy war: Apple ad-blocking software scares publishers but rival Google is target

Apps that prevent ads making it to the screens of mobile phones topped the charts this year. What will the consequences be in 2016?

When Apple revealed that its new operating system for mobile phones, iOS 9, would feature what the company called “content-blocking Safari extensions”, no one really blinked.

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, didn’t even detail the feature on stage at the lavish launch for iOS 9 in July.

Instead, details of the content-blocking extensions were buried in technical documents, and an in-depth explanation was given only on the fifth day of Apple’s worldwide developer conference in San Francisco.

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Editor: For Publishers .... ad-blockers have devastated their revenues.

The Growing Global Economic Cost Of Illiteracy

The Guardian: Illiteracy will cost global economy $1.2tn in 2015

Report by the World Literacy Foundation says almost 800m people worldwide who can’t read or write are ‘trapped in a cycle of poverty’

Illiteracy is “a worldwide crisis” that will cost the global economy $1.2tn (£760bn) this year, the World Literacy Foundation (WLF) has warned. More than 796 million people are either completely illiterate, meaning they can’t read or write, or functionally illiterate, meaning they can’t perform basic tasks such as reading a medicine label, the WLF said in a report released on Monday (pdf).

People in rich and poor countries are “trapped in a cycle of poverty with limited opportunities for employment or income generation” because of illiteracy, the report said.

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CSN Editor: One of the greatest gifts that a person can receive is being taught how to read and write.

Four New Elements Are Added To The Periodic Table

The Guardian: Periodic table's seventh row finally filled as four new elements are added

Discovery of four super-heavy chemical elements by scientists in Russia, America and Japan has been verified by experts and formally added to table

Four new elements have been added to the periodic table, finally completing the table’s seventh row and rendering science textbooks around the world instantly out of date.

The elements, discovered by scientists in Japan, Russia and America, are the first to be added to the table since 2011, when elements 114 and 116 were added.

The four were verified on 30 December by the US-based International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the global organisation that governs chemical nomenclature, terminology and measurement.

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CSN Editor: Time to update the science books.

How Much Time Will YOU Spend Working, Sleeping And Having Sex In Your Lifetime?

The tool predicts how much time you'll spend doing tedious chores before you die, as well as more pleasureable activities and was created by WatchShop.com in Reading. To begin, users have to specify which sex they are, before using a slider bar to specify how long they spend doing a task each week. These include commuting, sleeping, showering, having sex, drinking, exercising, cleaning and even talking about the weather. Once all the sections have been completed, or the option 'None of your business, that's private' is selected, users will see a screen telling them how they'll spend their days if they continue their current habits (pictured).

Daily Mail: How much time will YOU spend working, sleeping and having sex in your lifetime? Quiz analyses your habits to reveal all

* Interactive tool calculates how much time - based on an average lifespan of 83 - a user will devote to tedious tasks
* These include the time spent on cleaning and commuting, as well as pleasures such as sleeping and having sex
* Company collected data from 1,300 people who have taken the quiz to reveal the nation's habits in 2015
* This revealed men slept more than women, but had less sex - three days in 2015 compared to four

It is often said that no-one on their deathbed ever wishes they had spent more time at the office.

Now there's an interactive tool that predicts how much time you'll spend commuting, cleaning and doing other chores before you die.

It then compares these tedious tasks to more enjoyable activities, such as the amount of hours you may spend sleeping, drinking and having sex to reveal how you'll spend the rest of your life.

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CSN Editor: Hmmmm .... too close to home.

Advances In Astronomy Will Help Find Other Worlds

The first super-Earth identified as a rocky exoplanet

BBC: Advance in astronomy 'can help find other worlds'

The pull of gravity on a distant star can now be measured more accurately, shedding light on other worlds, say astronomers.

The method makes it possible to study even the faintest of stars.

"Our technique can tell you how big and bright is the star, and if a planet around it is the right size and temperature to have water oceans, and maybe life," said Prof Jaymie Matthews.
The findings appear in the journal, Science Advances.

Surface gravity is the intensity of the force that pulls everything on the surface of a star or celestial body towards the centre.

It is usually calculated by measuring a star's light or brightness - but this only works well for the closest, brightest stars.

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CSN Editor: It is only a question of time that we will be able to not only determine how many planets may be revolving around a distant star .... but to also be able to determine what are the  gases/climate/conditions on these distant planets.

2015: The Year in Science and Technology

VOA: A Look Back at 2015: The Year in Science and Technology

Scientists and technology experts were busy in 2015.

From fighting climate change, to space exploration and developing drones, here is a look back at some of the science stories we covered at VOA Learning English.

Climate change agreement reached

Most recently, representatives from nearly 200 nations gathered in Paris to fight climate change.

Almost every country agreed to limit a rise in global temperatures. They agreed that the world should not get any warmer than 2 degrees Celsius above what it was in the mid-1700s. The agreement says 1.5 degrees is an even better target.

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CSN Editor: Whether you agree with it or not .... an international agreement to combat climate change is the big story for 2015.

A Robot That Looks And Acts Human

Prof Nadia Thalmann (left) posing beside Nadine, a life-like social robot capable of autonomously expressing emotions and gestures. Credit: Image courtesy of Nanyang Technological University

Science Daily: Prof Nadia Thalmann (left) posing beside Nadine, a life-like social robot capable of autonomously expressing emotions and gestures.

Say hello to Nadine, a "receptionist" at Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore). She is friendly, and will greet you back. Next time you meet her, she will remember your name and your previous conversation with her.

She looks almost like a human being, with soft skin and flowing brunette hair. She smiles when greeting you, looks at you in the eye when talking, and can also shake hands with you. And she is a humanoid.

Unlike conventional robots, Nadine has her own personality, mood and emotions. She can be happy or sad, depending on the conversation. She also has a good memory, and can recognise the people she has met, and remembers what the person had said before.

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CSN Editor: This is the first generation .... one can only imagine what "she" will look like 10 years from now.

World GDP rankings in 2031

Next Big Future: World GDP rankings in 2031

Currently on a nominal exchange rate basis countries are ranked as follows

1. USA $18 trillion
2. China $11.4 trillion
3. Japan $4.1 trillion
4. Germany $3.3 trillion
5. UK $3.0 trillion
6. France $2.4 trillion
7. India $2.1 trillion
8. Italy $1.8 trillion
9. Brazil $1.8 trillion
10. Canada $1.56 trillion
11. South Korea $1.39 trillion

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CSN Editor: The full CEBR report is here .... World Economic League Table 2016 Highlights (CEBR)

Q-Carbon, A Product That Is Harder Than Diamonds

(Credit: clearviewstock/Shutterstock)

Discover Magazine: Q-carbon Puts Diamonds in Second Place

Long ago, ancient scientists attempted to master the craft of alchemy, or the mythical process of turning lead into gold. Alchemy has since been proven to be a hopeless task, but modern scientists have successfully unlocked the secrets to an even more stunning transformation: turning carbon, the basic building block of life, into diamonds.

A new, simple carbon-transforming technique that uses a laser to produce tiny diamond “seeds” is yielding even more sparkling results. Researchers, in a new study, used their method to create an entirely new phase of carbon that surpasses even diamonds in terms of hardness, and the new material could have a number of applications in medical and industrial fields.

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CSN Editor: The applications are endless.

Documentary: How Big Oil Conquered The World

A Flying Car In The Near Future?

Discover: One Small Step for Flying Cars

A drone’s flying test may help pave the way for flying cars. In early December, U.S. regulators gave their approval for unmanned hover tests of a miniature flying car model made by the company Terrafugia. Such testing would provide feedback for eventually building a full-size version of a flying car capable of hovering for vertical takeoff and landing.

Contrary to some more breathless news headlines, this does not mean the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared a hover-capable flying car for flight tests in U.S. airspace. Instead, Terrafugia only received special permission to operate a “one-tenth scale TF-X vehicle” under the classification of a small Unmanned Aircraft System weighing less than 55 pounds. The small-scale model of the TF-X prototype—basically a small drone—will have to operate at altitudes below 400 feet and at speeds under 100 miles per hour. Still, it’s a crucial step on the road to creating a flying car with the likeness of the futuristic vehicles seen in science fiction films such as “Back to the Future,” “Blade Runner” or the “Star Wars” prequels.

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CSN Editor: I want one.

Has A Cure For PTSD Been Found?

DEA

PsyPost: PTSD-related study finds a single dose of MDMA helps conditioned fear go extinct

Researchers have discovered that MDMA — commonly known as ecstasy or molly — speeds up the extinction of the conditioned fear response in mice. The findings help explain why the psychedelic drug is of benefit to people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Clinical studies have found that using MDMA as an aid during psychotherapy resulted in long-lasting improvements in PTSD symptoms. But Matthew Young of Emory University and his colleagues wanted to understand the psychological mechanism behind these results.

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CSN Editor: A reader of this blog sent me this link a few days ago. I forgot his name (sorry about that), but I kept the link and I have only gotten the chance to read it now. Wow .... I hope this works. I know a lot of people who are suffering from PTSD, and it will be Godsend to the many soldiers and families who are suffering because of it.

This Video Shows Why Joss Whedon's Serenity Was A Unique, Genre-Bending Movie

CSN Editor: For Serenity out-takes see the video below.

Here Comes The Robot Cops

Tech Crunch: Meet Knightscope’s Crime-Fighting Robots

The robots might one day rise up and take over, but a Palo Alto startup called Knightscope has developed a fleet of crime-fighting machinery it hopes to keep us safe.

Knightscope’s K5 security bots resemble a mix between R2D2 and a Dalek from Doctor Who – and the system behind these bots is a bit Orwellian. The K5’s have broadcasting and sophisticated monitoring capabilities to keep public spaces in check as they rove through open areas, halls and corridors for suspicious activity.

The units upload what they see to a backend security network using 360-degree high-definition and low-light infrared cameras and a built-in microphone can be used to communicate with passersby. An audio event detection system can also pick up on activities like breaking glass and send an alert to the system as well.

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CSN Editor: Robocop it is not .... but they are getting there.

Hot To Spot A Psychopath

Like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, (played by Christian Bale, pictured) psychopaths can be intelligent and charming, while hiding a lack of empathy. Now a self-confessed psychopath has shared how he generally behaves to gain the trust of others and then use them to his own advantage

Daily Mail: How to spot a psychopath: Expert reveals the traits to look out for in others and how to tell if YOU have the personality disorder

* Self-professed psychopath Jacob Wells posted his advice on Quora
* He described how he befriends people then uses them to his advantage
* Description matches psychopathic traits such as charm and manipulation

Like Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, psychopaths can be intelligent and charming, while hiding a lack of empathy.

So given their ability to manipulate others, how easy it is for you to spot one?

Self-professed psychopath Jacob Wells has revealed how he behaves in different situations and has listed questions that may help others identify whether they have any psychopathic traits - as well as recognise them in others.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Scary stuff here.

The Problem Of Space Debris Keeps On Growing

Daily Mail: See decades of space debris swarm the Earth in 60 seconds: Video reveals how the planet's orbit has become a 'junkyard'

* Video shows decades of debris ringing the planet in just one minute
* Earth's orbit is a spacecraft junkyard and has been steadily growing
* UCL researcher animates 20,000 pieces of junk amassing around Earth

It is difficult to keep track of just how much stuff we throw away each day, but imagine trying to capture that on a global scale, for almost sixty years, and in space.
A new video has achieved this staggering feat by visualising decades of space debris as it accumulates around the Earth.
Dr Stuart Grey, a lecturer at University College London, generated the visualisation which captures the accumulation from 1957 through to 2015.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Houston .... we have a problem.

There Is A Scientific Reason Why New Year's Eve Is Generally Terrible

The Independent: New Year’s Eve: The scientific reason why it is generally terrible

Those who plan to have a great time on New Year's Eve are likely to be the most miserable of all.

In the movies, New Year’s Eve is always full of excitement and intrigue, attractive people in sparkly outfits, and surprise kisses at midnight. So why does real-world New Year’s Eve always seem to consist of losing your friends in a crowded bar, standing in line forever for drinks, and waiting an hour in the cold for a ridiculously priced Uber?

Research done by a team of psychologists and economists on how we experience happiness actually offers an explanation. In a 1999 study called “The pursuit and assessment of happiness can be self-defeating,” Jonathan Schooler, now of the University of California Santa Barbara, Dan Ariely of Duke University and George Loewenstein of Carnegie Melon offer evidence that those who plan to have a great time on New Year's Eve are likely to be the most miserable of all.

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CSN Editor: Yup .... it always comes down to high expectations that never pan out.

High Expectations For Faraday Future's Car

Daily Mail: Faraday Future teases the ‘Tesla killer’: Mysterious Chinese-backed firm provides the first glimpse of its electric car

* Teaser video of vehicle driving around shows its wheel but not much else
* It will be revealed at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday
* The company predicts a production model will hit the roads by 2020
* The firm is backed by 'China's Steve Jobs', multibillionaire Jia Yueting

Faraday Future has provided a glimpse of its top-secret electric car, billed the 'Tesla-killer', ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week.

The secretive Chinese-backed company today posted a teaser video of vehicle driving around showing not much more than a wheel.

The car, which is set to be revealed at CES in Las Vegas on Monday, will be a concept vehicle with a production model set to hit the roads by 2020.

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CSN Editor: I am looking forward to this unveiling.

The 10 Most Expensive Cars In The World

Photo by Clément Bucco-Lechat. Source: wikipedia creative commons

Daddu: 10 Most Expensive Cars In The World

Some cars are designed just to get you from point A to point B. Some cars are designed to get you from point A to point B really fast. And then there are cars designed with such lavish style and breath-taking performance that point B doesn’t even matter anymore – just driving it is the point.

These cars fall into the latter category. They are built with a level of luxury that most of us will never even see in person, let alone get the chance to own. But we don’t all get to own a Rembrandt or Monet, either. That doesn’t stop us from enjoying a trip to the museum. And the cars on this list are more than just cars – they are triumphs of engineering, works of art on wheels.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the 10 most expensive cars in the world

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CSN Editor: Sighhhh .... I can only dream ....

An App To Police The Cops

The Economist: How three teenagers invented an app to police the cops

The high-school students want citizens to rate their interactions with officers

THE Christian siblings were doing their homework when the police arrived. Two officers entered the house, guns drawn, pursuing what was evidently a prank tip-off about a captive being held at their address. The guns stayed out even when the mistake became apparent; they ran the details of the children’s father—who, like them, is black—through the police system on the off chance of turning something up.

The family was traumatised. The incident (in 2013) brought home to Ima Christian, now 18, that Americans could be vulnerable to rough policing “no matter where you live, or who you are”; her sister Asha, who is 16, says it is “not until you are face to face with an officer that you realise what the deal is.” The sisters—from Stone Mountain, just outside Atlanta—didn’t get even, exactly. Instead, with their brother Caleb (now 15), they developed an app, called Five-O, intended to help improve police behaviour and community relations. It lets citizens rate their experiences with officers, record both parties’ race and sex and the purpose of the interaction, and find aggregate scores for county forces.

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CSN Editor: Police departments should embrace this .... but I suspect that many will not.

Oetzi, The Tyrolean Iceman Is The Oldest Tattooed Human

Ötzi the Iceman on a sheet-covered autopsy table. Wikipedia

Discovery News: Oetzi the Iceman Has World's Oldest Tattoos

Oetzi, the Tyrolean Iceman entombed beneath an alpine glacier some 5,300 years ago, is the oldest tattooed human, according to a new study.

The mummy boasts tattoos grouped across 19 body parts. Earlier this year, Marco Samadelli and colleagues from the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Italy, spotted a new tattoo on the mummified body, bringing the total count of the Iceman’s skin markings up to 61.

Published in the February 2016 edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the research reveals how an error in reading radiocarbon data wrongly attributed the record to an unidentified South American mummy.

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CSN Editor: Wow .... it looks like man and his fascination for tattoos goes back thousands of years.

8 Ingenious Ways To Split Wood (Without An Ax)

Off The Grid News: 8 Ingenious Off-Grid Ways To Split Wood (Without An Ax)

I’ve had a pile of firewood sitting in the backyard for a while — actually for a few years. This pile was made up of branches that I’d cut off our various trees, either because the branches were dead or I needed to cut back branches of the trees because they were spreading too far. Regardless of the reason, there was a stack of tree limbs that needed to be dealt with.

Finally, though, I got around to building a firewood rack, so that I’d have a place to put all of that wood. Setting the rack beside the garden shed, I started stocking it. So far so good. Some logs had to be cut to length, “bucking” them for firewood, but that wasn’t much of an issue, either. The problem came when I tried to split them.

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CSN Editor: I am sold on all 8 of them.

Growing Fears That This Year's El Nino Will Lead To Hunger In Africa

El Nino has contributed to making 2015 the warmest year on record and will continue to influence in 2016

BBC: Worries grow over humanitarian impacts of 'strongest El Nino'

The strongest El Nino on record is likely to increase the threat of hunger and disease for tens of millions of people in 2016 aid agencies say.

The weather phenomenon is set to exacerbate droughts in some areas while increasing flooding in others.

Some of the worst impacts are likely in Africa with food shortages expected to peak in February.

Regions including the Caribbean, Central and South America will also be hit in the next six months.

This periodic weather event, which tends to drive up global temperatures and disturb weather patterns, has helped push 2015 into the record books as the world's warmest year.

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CSN Editor: Another example on how interconnected the world's weather systems are.

Here Comes Google Glass 2.0

IBTimes: 'Glassholes' Rejoice: Google Glass Is Back In Sleeker, Foldable Form

It’s a new year for Google Glass, the ubiquitous computer headset everyone thought was a flop. Google has filed for new equipment authorization by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The filing, submitted in May but only recently made available on the FCC’s website, indicates that a new version of Google Glass is coming soon, this time with a few new features.

The “Enterprise Edition,” of Google Glass appears to be foldable, sleeker, has improved internal hardware, and a larger prism (the clear rectangle that displays the information and images). Here are some of the prototype images.

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CSN Editor: if at first you do not succeed .... try .... try .... try again.

More News On The Comeback Of Google Glass

How Google Is Learning From Past Mistakes With New Version of Glass -- ABC News
Google Glass Redux: High-Tech Wearable Gets Ready for Business -- Live Science
Google Glass version 2: New photos appear in FCC filing -- PC World
This is Google Glass: Enterprise Edition in the flesh [Gallery] -- 9to5Google
Next Generation of Google Glass Aimed at Enterprise Users -- Top Tech News
Here's a first look at the new foldable Google Glass for the workplace -- Verge
Google Glass making a comeback? -- SF Chronicle/L.A. Times
Google Glass is still a bad idea -- Gizmodo

The Early Inhabitants Of Ireland Came From Beyond The Black Sea

BBC: Ancient DNA sheds light on Irish origins

Scientists have sequenced the first ancient human genomes from Ireland, shedding light on the genesis of Celtic populations.

The genome is the instruction booklet for building a human, comprising three billion paired DNA "letters".

The work shows that early Irish farmers were similar to southern Europeans.

Genetic patterns then changed dramatically in the Bronze Age - as newcomers from the eastern periphery of Europe settled in the Atlantic region.

Details of the work, by geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and archaeologists from Queen's University Belfast are published in the journal PNAS.

More News On Gene Testing that Reveals That Irelands First Inhabitants Were From The Black Sea And The Middle East

Irish Genome Sequenced, Revealing Early Celtic Origins -- Nature World News
Secrets of 5,200-year-old Irish woman, 4,000-year-old men revealed in genome project -- Irish Central
Ancient Irish genome reveals a massive migration from the east -- Washington Post
Irish have roots in the Middle East and Black Sea, scientists discover -- Independent.ie
From The Middle East To Meath: Early Settlers Came To Ireland From Beyond The Black Sea -- Yahoo News
Ancient DNA Traces Irish Roots To Mass Migrations -- Forbes
First Sequences of Ancient Irish Human Genomes Support Mass Migration History -- Genome Web

U.S. Marine Corps Cancels Robotic Dog/Mule Project

Washington Times: Marines shelve Google’s $42M robot ‘AlphaDogs’ because they are too noisy

Marines will not be using robotic mules called “AlphaDogs” any time soon because the machines were deemed too noisy to be useful in a combat situation.

Boston Dynamics, the robotics company owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, has been working with DARPA, the Pentagon’s research division, to build the robots designed to carry supplies for troops.

The AlphaDog robots, also called the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), were designed to carry up to 400 pounds and provide much-needed relief for soldiers, Military.com reported.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: I concur .... it was too noisy.

More News On The U.S. Marine Corps Cancels Robotic Dog/Mule Project

Marine Corps Shelves Futuristic Robo-Mule Due to Noise Concerns -- Military.com
U.S. Marine Corps rules out robotic dog, mule -- UPI
Robot Mule Put Out to Pasture by Marine Corps -- NBC
Noisy Robotic Mule Sidelined by Marines -- VOA
Hee-Haw! DARPA’s noisy robotic ‘pack mule’ mothballed over fears it could spill the beans -- RT
The Marines Are Shelving Their Robot Dogs -- Inverse
The US Marines won’t be using Google’s robot dogs because they fail a pretty basic test -- Quartz
US military says robotic pack mules are too noisy to use -- Verge
US Marine Corps doesn’t want Google’s ‘Alpha Dog’ LS3 robots because they’re too loud -- Digital Trends
AlphaDog Robot Sidelined by the Marines Because It’s Way Too Noisy -- Epoch Times
Marines’ LS3 robotic mule is too loud for real-world combat -- Ars Technica
U.S. Military Puts Down Its Robot Mule for Being Too Loud -- Popular Mechanics

3-D Printing Is About To Cause Major Disruptions In Global Trade

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

T.X. Hammes, War On The Rocks: 3-D Printing Will Disrupt The World In Ways We can barely Imagine

In the last few years, additive manufacturing, also known as 3-D printing, has transformed from an interesting hobby to an industry producing a wide range of products. It is on the path to causing major disruptions in global trade — and changing the international security environment. The explosion of additive manufacturing means it is virtually impossible to provide an up-to-date list of materials that can be printed, but a recent top ten list includes: metals, such as stainless, bronze, steel, gold, nickel steel, aluminum, and titanium; carbon fiber and nano-tubes; stem cells; ceramics; and food. Researchers are exploring the application of 3-D printing to fields from agriculture and biology to design and manufacturing. MIT developed a $7,000 multi-material printer than can print ten materials in the same object during a single fabrication process. As businesses learn to use these multi-material printers, the range of products they will be able to print will expand exponentially.

CSN Editor: An excellent summary on how 3D printing will revolutionize the world.

A Look At Current Existing Longevity Treatments

The Next Big Future: Currently existing longevity treatments are feasible but expensive and difficult to access

If you want to do something about your long-term health and life expectancy that are available then focus on exercise and calorie restriction - nothing else at that same level of easy availability is anywhere near as effective or as proven.

Fighting Aging describes the first gene therapies, stem cell transplants, and glimmerings of SENS-like repair therapies capable of removing some of the metabolic wastes associated with age-related diseases.

In order to actually undergo one of these new therapies, you would have to undertake some combination of the following:
(a) spend money at early adopter levels, high in comparison to the cost a customer would pay for a final product years down the line,
(b) network for connections to find access to the necessary services and other items,
(c) persuade the small number of current developers to depart from their current practice of adhering to regulation and provide you access,
(d) break (the unjust and largely horrible) laws related to provision of medical services,
(e) travel to a less restrictive jurisdiction as a medical tourist, and
(f) accept a fair degree of risk of failure - that even if everything else goes well, and all involved do their jobs, the present implementation of the treatment just doesn't work, or the present understanding of the science and data provides a false and inflated impression of what the treatment can achieve.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Bottom line .... sleep, reducing stress, exercise, and proper diet .... these are the best and most effective solutions

The Most Detailed View Of The Earth's Seafloor To Date Has Been Released

This map shows a global view of gravity changes. Shades of orange and red represent areas where seafloor gravity is stronger than the global average, a phenomenon that mostly coincides with the location of underwater ridges, seamounts, and the edges of Earth’s tectonic plates. Shades of blue represent areas of lower gravity, corresponding largely with the deepest troughs in the ocean

Daily Mail: The most accurate ocean floor map ever made: Scientists reveal the alien landscape beneath the sea in incredible detail

* The map was created by measuring the shape and gravity field of Earth using a series of satellites
* Shades of orange and red represent areas where seafloor gravity is stronger than the global average
* This phenomenon mostly coincides with the location of underwater ridges, seamounts and tectonic plates
* Shades of blue represent areas of lower gravity, corresponding largely with the deepest troughs in the ocean

We have more complete maps of the surface of Mars than we do of some areas on Earth.
In an effort to change this, scientists have created the most detailed view of the Earth's seafloor to date, revealing huge mountains and giant crevices beneath the ocean.
The map was created by measuring the shape and gravity field of Earth, a relatively-new discipline known as geodesy. It provides gives an accurate picture of seafloor topography at a scale of 3.1 miles (5km) per pixel.

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CSN Editor: A smart concept .... using gravity as a means to map out the sea-floor.

Calculating The Cost Of Rescuing Matt Damon In The Movies

20TH CENTURY FOX

UPROXX: Here’s How Much Money Has Been Spent Saving Matt Damon

Scotty still doesn’t know what Fionna and me are doing in my van every Sunday, but someone figured out how much money has been spent saving Matt Damon. It goes beyond Saving Private Ryan (France), Interstellar (space), and The Martian (space again; someone keep him on Earth and away from Nazis, please) — Damon also needed assistance in Courage Under Fire, Titan A.E., Syriana, Green Zone, and Elysium. And it’s cost a lot of potatoes.

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CSN Editor: Hint .... it costs a lot.

MIT Technology Review's 2015 Annual Summary On Developments In Robots And AI

Will Knight, MIT Technology Review: What Robots and AI Learned in 2015

It was the year that self-driving cars became a commercial reality; robots gained all sorts of new abilities; and some people worried about the existential threat posed by super-intelligent future AI.

The robots didn’t really take over in 2015, but at times it felt as if that might be where we’re headed.

There were signs that machines will soon take over manual work that currently requires human skill. Early in the year details emerged of a contest organized by Amazon to help robots do more work inside its vast product fulfillment centers.

The Amazon Picking challenge, as the event was called, was held at a prominent robotics conference later in the year. Teams competed for a $25,000 prize by designing a robot to identify and grasp items from one of Amazon’s storage shelves as quickly as possible (the winner picked and packed 10 items in 20 minutes). This might seem a trivial task for human workers, but figuring out how to grasp different objects arranged haphazardly on shelves in a real warehouse is still a formidable challenge for robot-kind.

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CSN Editor: A brief and concise summary of the year.

Will Artificial Intelligence Doom Mankind?

Raffi Khatchadourian, New Yorker: The Doomsday Invention

Will artificial intelligence bring us utopia or destruction?

I. OMENS

Last year, a curious nonfiction book became a Times best-seller: a dense meditation on artificial intelligence by the philosopher Nick Bostrom, who holds an appointment at Oxford. Titled “Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies,” it argues that true artificial intelligence, if it is realized, might pose a danger that exceeds every previous threat from technology—even nuclear weapons—and that if its development is not managed carefully humanity risks engineering its own extinction. Central to this concern is the prospect of an “intelligence explosion,” a speculative event in which an A.I. gains the ability to improve itself, and in short order exceeds the intellectual potential of the human brain by many orders of magnitude.

Such a system would effectively be a new kind of life, and Bostrom’s fears, in their simplest form, are evolutionary: that humanity will unexpectedly become outmatched by a smarter competitor. He sometimes notes, as a point of comparison, the trajectories of people and gorillas: both primates, but with one species dominating the planet and the other at the edge of annihilation. “Before the prospect of an intelligence explosion, we humans are like small children playing with a bomb,” he concludes. “We have little idea when the detonation will occur, though if we hold the device to our ear we can hear a faint ticking sound.”

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Update: Some scientists fear superintelligent machines could pose a threat to humanity (Washington Post)

CSN Editor: A thought provoking article on the implications of developing AI platforms. I still believe that mankind .... because of its survival instincts .... will never put itself in a position where it may be destroyed. Still .... one has to wonder and it is on this issue that this New Yorker post is a must read.

For Drone Owners, Beware Of Drone Jamming Zones

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

CREDIT: Brown Bird Design

Daily Mail: Drone-jamming equipment to be deployed at public events to stop terrorists using cheap unmanned aircraft in killer attacks

* System was installed for the first time on the roof of Scotland Yard
* Specialised equipment can detect, track and even intercept drones
* The £700,000 device could be used to defend critical infrastructure

A device to block drones flown by terrorists will be used at major public and sports events following a successful trial at London’s Remembrance Sunday parade.

The system was installed on the roof of Scotland Yard, close to where the commemoration took place – the first time it has been deployed by police in the UK.

The equipment, designed and built by a British consortium, can detect, track and intercept small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flown by enemies – potentially saving hundreds of lives.

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CSN Editor: I guess it will only be a matter of time before this tech becomes affordable and widely used.

23 Science Fiction Books Are Being Adapted Into TV Shows

Outer Places: 23 Science Fiction Books Being Adapted into TV Shows

Comic book adaptations might be all the rage right now, but TV execs are rapidly seeking inspiration from the world of science fiction writing for their next shows. With studios gobbling up adaptation rights to everything from Asimov's classics to as-yet-unreleased stories, our TV screens are soon going to be littered with some of the greatest stories this genre has ever told.

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CSN Editor: I have already seen Childhood's End (I give it 3 stars out of 4). I am definitely anxious to see what they will do with Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

After Every Star Wars Movie Babies Have Been Named After The Characters

Quartz: After each Star Wars film come the Star Wars babies

Star Wars is everywhere. With the latest installment of the film series about to be released, there are Star Wars toasters, Star Wars tape dispensers, and Star Wars soup.

There are even Star Wars babies.

Our analysis of the Social Security Administration’s data on American baby names shows that the film franchise has definitely moved the needle on naming trends in the US. Star Wars created hundreds of Lukes, Leias, Hans, Landos, and even, yes, Darths.

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CSN Editor: Who in his (or her) right mind wound name their kid "Darth"?

Will Future Wars Be Waged Using Quantum Computers?

Zoe Hawkins, National Interest: How to Fight a War With a Quantum Computer

The Australian Government recently announced plans to invest $26 million in the development of quantum computing technology as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA). Prime Minister Turnbull has argued that NISA is part of a new “ideas boom” designed to “create a modern, dynamic and 21st century economy for Australia.” It emphasizes quantum computing as an important area for government investment based on its ability to produce “jobs and economic growth.” And while this industry could certainly be “worth billions,” it offers much more than financial prosperity: quantum technologies could play a significant role in our future defense and security.

Quantum technology harnesses the obscure properties of subatomic matter to achieve computing processes unobtainable with classic computers. Today’s computers run on binary digits, or bits, which exist as either 1s or 0s. In contrast, quantum bits, or qubits, exploit the bizarre principle of superposition that enables them to occupy all possible states (both 1 and 0) at the same time. This allows quantum computers to undertake multiple calculations in parallel, unlocking unprecedented processing power that could “solve problems that would take conventional computers centuries.”

CSN Editor: This BBC report explains why the Pentagon and the NSA want Quantum computers .... Why Google and the Pentagon want 'quantum computers' (BBC).