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.

What Happens After Intelligent Life is Found?

Tom Chmielewski, The Atlantic: After Intelligent Life Is Discovered

Here’s what happens if astronomers make contact with a civilization on another planet.

The false alarm happened in 1997.

The Green Bank Radio Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, was picking up some unusual signals—and Seth Shostak, then the head of the Center for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Research in Mountain View, Caifornia, was convinced that they had come from intelligent life somewhere in the universe.

“It looked like it might be the real deal,” Shostak recalled. Within a few hours, he had a call from The New York Times.

But within a day, it became clear that the source of excitement was actually a European satellite. To make matters worse, a second telescope in Georgia, which would have told the scientists about the true nature of the signal, wasn’t working.

Yet Shostak says that false alarm proved to be a valuable dry run for the astronomers, giving them a small taste of what would happen if the signal turned out to be real. In 1989, the International Academy of Astronautics adopted its SETI Post-Detection Protocols, a set of guidelines for how to proceed once intelligent life is discovered among the stars. SETI researchers hope that one day soon, they’ll have a chance to use them.

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CSN Editor: If first contact is made .... it is a guarantee that the whole world will be paying attention.

How Coffee Loves Us Back

Harvard Gazette: How coffee loves us back

Health benefits a recurring theme in Harvard research

Coffee, said the Napoleon-era French diplomat Talleyrand, should be hot as hell, black as the devil, pure as an angel, sweet as love.

Bach wrote a cantata in its honor, writers rely on it, and, according to legend, a pope blessed it. Lady Astor once reportedly remarked that if she were Winston Churchill’s wife, she’d poison his coffee, to which Churchill acerbically replied: “If I were married to you, I’d drink it.”

Coffee is everywhere, through history and across the world. And increasingly, science is demonstrating that its popularity is a good thing.

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CSN Editor: A cup every morning is my routine .... 7 days a week, 365 days a pear.

Spinning Bowling Ball Trick Shot!

From YouTube: I have had several people ask me to make a video of some of my trick shots, and by far this one is at the top of the list! Attempted in Springfield, Mo on 3/30/14 by Michael Long. Please like and share if you think it deserves the credit.. Thanks for watching! If you want, subscribe and check out my other videos!! This video is represented by Break.com

CSN Editor: OK .... I am impressed.

What Causes The Social Order In Bee Colonies To Collapse

A hive of Apis dorsata (giant honey bees) I photographed whilst in Mt Abu, India. Wikipedia

AFP: Sexual rebellion and murder among the bees

Scientists revealed Wednesday the trigger that can plunge a colony of obedient and sterile worker bees dutifully serving their queen into a chaotic swarm of sexual rebellion and regicide.

It's in the beeswax, according to a study published in the British journal Royal Society Open Science.

Biologists have long puzzled at what, exactly, tips the ordered world of many social insects -- rigidly divided by caste, function and hierarchy -- into murderous mayhem of sometimes Shakespearean dimensions.

In this case, the actor subject to observation and experimentation was Bombus terrestris, more commonly known as the bumblebee.

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CSN Editor: I have been fascinated with bees since I was a kid. But this AFP report is an excellent post that summarizes how a bee colony functions.

The Work To Reclaim Looted Antiquities From Iraq Is Starting

Neanderthal remains were found, along with a plinth of sediment, in Shanidar Cave in Iraq. GRAEME BARKER

Discovery: ISIS Gone, Archaeologists Return to Key Iraq Sites

As the terrorist group ISIS is pushed out of northern Iraq, archaeologists are resuming work in the region, making new discoveries and figuring out how to conserve archaeological sites and reclaim looted antiquities.

Several discoveries, including new Neanderthal skeletal remains, have been made at Shanidar Cave, a site in Iraqi Kurdistan that was inhabited by Neanderthals more than 40,000 years ago.

Additionally, though ISIS did destroy and loot a great number of sites, there are several ways for archaeologists, scientific institutions, governments and law enforcement agencies in North America and Europe to help save the region's heritage, said Dlshad Marf Zamua, a Kurdish archaeologist and doctoral student at Leiden University in the Netherlands. [Photos: Restoring Life to Iraq's Ruined Artifacts]

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CSN Editor: Unfortunately .... a lot of history has already been destroyed.

A Super-Fast 50mph Drone For The General Consumer

A series of sensors help keep the Parrot stable while in flight. On the bottom of the drone, a camera and ultrasound help maintain its balance. Pictured is exhibitor Fabien Laxague

Daily Mail: The superfast 50mph flying wing 'stealth drone' you can launch by THROWING it into the air

* Parrot Disco can fly for 45 minutes on a single charge
* Can reach speeds of 50mph and fly automatically
* Pilots can take control from their phone, or even via a VR headset

Parrot has unveiled what could be the fastest drone on the market for home users - capable of reaching 50mph.

Called the Disco, a prototype was unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, and it expected to go on sale before the end of the year - although no price was announced.

It will fly for 45 minutes on a single charge, and can fly itself via an app, with smart software allowing pilots to take control from their phone, or even via a VR headset.

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CSN Editor: When I read stories like this one .... I shudder on what terrorists can do with this type of tech in their hands.

NASA's Kepler Telescope Has Found 100 New Exoplanets

The artist's illustration shows NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft operating in its second-chance K2 mission. Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T Pyle

Space.com: NASA's Kepler Comes Roaring Back with 100 New Exoplanet Finds

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — NASA's Kepler spacecraft has bounced back nicely from the malfunction that ended its original exoplanet hunt more than two years ago.

Kepler has now discovered more than 100 confirmed alien planets during its second-chance K2 mission, researchers announced today (Jan. 5) here at the 227th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

The $600 million Kepler mission launched in March 2009, tasked with determining how commonly Earth-like planets occur throughout the Milky Way galaxy. Kepler has been incredibly successful, finding more than 1,000 alien worlds to date, more than half of all exoplanets ever discovered.

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CSN Editor: Kudos to this team. The Kepler project is not done yet.

The Story Of Math Genius Ramanujan

Photo: Srinivasa Ramanujan. Wikiedia

Cosmos: Ramanujan – a humble maths genius

Ramanujan’s extraordinary mathematical ability has become the stuff of legend. Paul Davies tells his story.

The number 1,729 is not one to make the average person’s pulse race, but it is the subject of one of the most remarkable stories in the history of mathematics.

Most of us learnt basic arithmetic at school, and we all remember that some students were better at it than others – the bright girl who could do sums twice as fast as the rest of us, or the boy who could prove theorems in a trice. Of course all subjects attract a range of skills, but almost unique to mathematics are a handful of extreme outliers who are so good it seems they are deploying some form of magic. The best-known genius of this type was Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Born in 1887, Ramanujan was an eccentric young Indian student who lived in obscurity in the town of Kumbakonam in the state of Tamil Nadu. Bestowed with remarkable analytical skills, by the age of 13 he had devised his own scheme for computing the digits of pi that is still in use today. He spent much of his spare time scribbling formulae in notebooks or on a small blackboard.

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CSN Editor: Wikipedia has an excellent list of links on the work that this mathematical genius did. The Wikipedia entry is here.

Facebook's Oculus Rift Due To Be Launched Later This Year

The first commercial headset of Facebook's Oculus Rift is due to go on sale within weeks and will cost more than £300. An earlier iteration given to developers is pictured above

Daily Mail: Virtual reality is the future of TV: Facebook's Oculus Rift headset could give sport fans 360-degree views of games

* Oculus Rift is due to be launched later this year and will cost around £300
* The first content is likely to be for the computer games industry
* But virtual reality could find major new markets in television and sport

Imagine sitting in the cockpit of a star ship in the midst of an intergalactic dogfight or sharing the fun in the stands of the World Cup final.

Virtual reality headsets that put the wearer in the middle of the action - with a 360-degree view - are set to be the breakthrough gadgets of 2016.

At the heart of this revolution is a battle between the world's biggest and richest tech giants, notably Facebook, Microsoft, Sony, Samsung and HTC.

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CSN Editor: When virtual reality reaches its "hoped-for" potential .... this will be the hottest item that every consumer will need to have. Unfortunately .... we are still far away from that.

Trained Dogs Can Help In Treating Veterans With PTSD

NPR: Veterans Say Trained Dogs Help With PTSD, But The VA Won't Pay

At a warehouse near Dallas, a black Lab named Papi tugs on a rope to open a fridge and passes his trainer a plastic water bottle with his mouth.

Service dogs are often trained to help veterans with physical disabilities. Now, a growing number are being trained to meet the demand from vets with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

Those dogs learn extra tricks — how to sweep a house for intruders, for example, so a veteran feels safe.

"We teach them something called perimeter, where they go into the house and they check, they just touch all the doors and all the windows," says Cheryl Woolnough, training director at Patriot PAWS, a nonprofit in Rockwall, Texas, that provides service dogs.

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CSN Editor: Everyone who has had a dog in his or her life knows how much of a support they can be during difficult times. But for veterans who are suffering PTSD .... their needs are different, and this is where a trained dog can provide a valuable service. Unfortunately .... dollars and cents are the priority here, and not taking of care of the patient.

Twitter Considering To Increase Character Limit To As High As 10,000

Forbes: Report: Twitter Explores 10,000 Character Limit For Tweets

Twitter’s investors have long clamored for bold changes that would reenergize the company, attract new users and lift the stock out of its doldrums. Three months into his tenure as permanent CEO, Jack Dorsey appears to be listening to their pleas.

Twitter is said to be working on a feature that would allow users to create tweets with as many as 10,000 characters, obliterating the 140-character limit that’s been synonymous with the microblogging service since its inception, according to a report in the tech blog Re/code.

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More News On Reports That Twitter Is Considering Increasing Its Character Limit To As High As 10,000

Twitter considering 10,000-character limit for tweets - report -- Reuters
Twitter to Expand Tweet’s 140-Character Limit to 10,000 -- WSJ
Twitter’s rumored new character limit would allow 2.5-page, single-spaced essays -- Washington Post
Twitter May Increase Tweets To 10,000 Characters, But Hide All Past 140 -- Tech Crunch
Twitter may soon let you write 2,000-word tweets -- CNet
So long, 140! Twitter may soon let you share 10,000 characters per post -- Mashable
Here’s What 10,000 Characters Looks Like -- Tech Crunch

What Happens When You Suddenly Stop Drinking For One Month?

The Guardian: Going booze-free? The effects of a month without alcohol

With the start of another new year, people are once again swearing off alcohol for at least a month, often for charity. What are the potential effects of suddenly cutting all alcohol from your system?

Alcohol. It’s a popular social lubricant, provides pleasure, and often tastes nice. It also has long term health consequences, and imposes a heavy burden on our society. Overall, it’s a mixed blessing.

At present it’s becoming ever-more fashionable, even charitable, to abstain from alcohol for the month of January. After the indulgence of the Christmas period, it’s hardly surprising people will want to do something healthy, and what could be healthier than giving up alcohol?

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CSN Editor: Speaking personally .... being irritable will be the first reaction .... but after one month .... the cravings will be there but the impact of not drinking will not.

Will This Powerboat Break The World Record By Sailing From Cornwall To New York On A Single Tank Of Fuel?

A group of British engineers is building a boat capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean between Cornwall and New York in just 48 hours. The design (illustrated in a CGI image) will make the crossing with an average speed of (105km/h), beating the current two day, ten hour and 54-minute record for the crossing that has been held since 1992

Daily Mail: Crossing the Atlantic in just 48 HOURS: Wave-piercing powerboat will attempt to break the world record by sailing from Cornwall to New York on a single tank of fuel

* A group of engineers from Team Great Britain has designed a 112ft (34 metre) wave-piercing powerboat
* Led by Richard George, the team will travel from Cornwall in the UK to New York - a total of 3,100 miles (4,988km)
* The vessel will also attempt the journey on a single tank of fuel and it is hoped the boat will one day be capable of carrying passengers as a high-speed ferry
* The current record for the crossing is two days, ten hours and 54 minutes held by Aga Khan's powerboat Destriero

It is a journey that takes even the speediest cruise liners up to a week, but a group of British engineers is hoping to cross the Atlantic by boat in under two days - on a single tank of fuel.
Led by businessman Richard George, the team is building a boat capable of smashing the world record for the 3,100 mile trip (4,988km), yet said it will also be capable of carrying commercial passengers.
The wave-piercing 112ft (34 metre) powerboat, which will have a seven-man crew, will make the trip between Cornwall and New York at an average speed of 65mph (105km/h) in just 48 hours.

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CSN Editor: Before everyone gets excited, they will still have to build and test this powerboat.

Faraday Future Reveals Their Car

The automotive future, according to Faraday Future, looks a lot like a Corvette crossed with the Batmobile. The California-based company today unveiled its sleek electric concept during the annual CES show that focuses on consumer gadgets

Daily Mail: Faraday Future unveils the 'Tesla killer': Mysterious Chinese-backed firm reveals its bizarre 1,000-horsepower electric car

* Concept car has adjustable chassis that can house strings of batteries
* It was revealed at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today
* The company predicts they will start being produced within two years
* The firm is backed by 'China's Steve Jobs', multibillionaire Jia Yueting

The future of cars, according to Faraday Future, looks like a Corvette crossed with the Batmobile.

The California-based company today unveiled its sleek electric concept during the annual CES show that focuses on consumer gadgets.

The company is dubbing today's debut FFZero1, but others are nicknaming it the 'Tesla-killer'.

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CSN Editor: On the surface it looks impressive. But what is under the hood is also important, and we will not kinow about that until they start producing these cars in two years.

Elon Musk Artificial Intelligence Quotes

Tech Emergence: (All) Elon Musk Artificial Intelligence Quotes – A Catalogue of His Statements

Over the last two years there has been a general “up-tick” in media attention around the risks of artificial general intelligence, and it seems safe to say that though Bill Gates, Stephan Hawking, and many others have publicly articulated their fears, no one has moved the media needle more than Elon Musk.

When I set out to gather perspectives from businesspersons on AI risk, I aimed to sift through the “whiz-bang” re-blogged articles about Musk’s statements and figure out what the man actually said about the matter… and as it turns out, that was rather difficult. Due to the possibly sensational and novel claims (combined with Musk’s growing celebrity attention), most of the articles about “what Musk said” are in fact not about “what Musk said,” but about what some reporter said about what a reporter said about what Musk said.

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CSN Editor: Yup .... all of his comments and concerns are here.

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.

Read more ....

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.

Read more ....

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.

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CSN Editor: Scary stuff here.