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David Bowie died a year ago today. Back in 1999 he made this incredible prediction about how the internet would change our lives forever pic.twitter.com/ITF9Wv6jlC

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) January 10, 2017

A Giant Asteroid Was Spotted Only 24 Hours Before It Passed Earth

Slooh's broadcast said 2017 AG3 was 'roughly the same size as the asteroid that struck Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013,' meaning had it hit, the effects would have been similar.

Business Insider: An asteroid just flew by Earth about 50% closer than the moon, and we barely saw it coming

Early Monday morning, while the US East Coast was making coffee, dropping kids off at school, and cursing in traffic, a space rock as big as a 10-story building slipped past Earth.

The asteroid, dubbed 2017 AG13, was discovered only Saturday by the University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey, according to an email from Slooh, a company that broadcasts live views of space.

It's between 50 and 111 feet (15 to 34 meters) long, and when it swung by Earth, 2017 AG3 was moving at 9.9 miles per second (16 kilometers per second). The near-Earth object, or NEO, came within about half the distance that the moon is from Earth, according to Slooh.

Read more ....

Update #1: Phew! Giant asteroid passed just 120,000 miles from Earth last night - and was only spotted 24 hours earlier (Daily Mail)
Update #2: Another near miss: Is Earth ready for an incoming asteroid? (Charlie Wood, CSM)

CSN Editor: There has been closer calls.

Retroviruses Are Almost Half A Billion Years Old

Seeker: Retroviruses, Including HIV, Are Almost Half a Billion Years Old

According to scientists, retroviruses probably developed in marine vertebrates, not placental mammals.

Tracing the ancient origin of retroviruses — the family of viruses that includes HIV — is a big undertaking, partly because of the absence of fossils. But a new study conducted by researchers at Oxford University suggests that retroviruses are nearly half a billion years old, significantly older than previously thought.

Until now, scientists thought that retroviruses traced back roughly 100 million years, about as old as terrestrial placental mammals. But at half a billion years old, retroviruses probably developed in marine vertebrates.

According to the study, retroviruses made the transition from the sea to land along with the evolution of terrestrial vertebrates. "Their widespread distribution is a result of ancient origins, not simply the tendency of retroviruses to cross species boundaries," Aris Katzourakis, associate professor at Oxford University's Department of Zoology and author of the study, told Seeker.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: It looks like retroviruses have been around since the beginning of time.

Apple's iPhone Turns 10 On January 9

It was on January 9 2007 that late Apple founder, Steve Jobs, went on stage at the company´s Macworld event to announce it was about to reveal 'an iPod, a phone and an internet communicator'. Pictured is the original iPhone

Daily Mail: Apple's iPhone turns 10 today: Here's how the iconic handset has changed over the years

* Steve Jobs described it as 'an iPod, a phone and an internet communicator'
* Since its unveiled, Apple has sold more than a billion iPhones around the world
* Last year saw sales of the iPhone drop for the first time in the device´s history
* Last week, a never-before-seen alternate version of the iPhone design was discovered that looked similar to an iPod design

The iPhone, the device that redefined the mobile phone and has helped make Apple the most valuable company in the world, is 10 years old today.

It was on January 9 2007 that late Apple founder, Steve Jobs, went on stage at the company´s Macworld event to announce it was about to reveal 'an iPod, a phone and an internet communicator'.

But rather than three separate products being revealed, one of the first truly smart phones was unveiled.

Read more ....

Update: Apple proved a phone can change the world in just 10 years (AP)

CSN Editor: Only 10 years?!?!?! Wow .... if feels like it has been around forever.

The Earth's Core Is Made Up Of Iron, Nickel, And Silicon

This study suggests silicon exists in the Earth's inner core with iron and nickel

BBC: New candidate for 'missing element' in Earth's core

Japanese scientists believe they have established the identity of a "missing element" within the Earth's core.

They have been searching for the element for decades, believing it makes up a significant proportion of our planet's centre, after iron and nickel.

Now by recreating the high temperatures and pressures found in the deep interior, experiments suggest the most likely candidate is silicon.

The discovery could help us to better understand how our world formed.

Lead researcher Eiji Ohtani from Tohoku University told BBC News: "We believe that silicon is a major element - about 5% [of the Earth's inner core] by weight could be silicon dissolved into the iron-nickel alloys."

Read more ....

CSN Editor: key points of this post .... The innermost part of Earth is thought to be a solid ball with a radius of about 1,200km (745 miles).

Also ....

It is mainly composed of iron, which makes up an estimated 85% of its weight, and nickel, which accounts for about 10% of the core.

The Pentagon Will Continue To Tap Some Of Science And Technology's Greatest Minds To Help Innovate U.S. Military Capabilities And Culture,

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson interacts with Pepper, a social humanoid robot, during the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York, Sept. 28, 2015.

VOA: Top Scientists, Tech Experts to Innovate Military Under Trump Administration

THE PENTAGON — The Pentagon has tapped some of science and technology's greatest minds to help innovate U.S. military capabilities and culture, and members of the panel say they will continue serving in the Trump administration if asked.

Eric Schmidt, the chairman of the board and chairman of Google's parent company, Alphabet, said he expects everyone to stay on to serve under retired General James Mattis, if the board is invited to continue its work.

"No one has told me they are leaving," Schmidt told reporters Monday at the Pentagon after the first board meeting since the presidential election.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: No surprises here. America's top minds have always worked with the military to give them a heads up on emerging technologies (Einstein and the atomic bomb) to today's leaders from Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

Iran's 'Porn Blockers' Are Impacting Access To These Sites In Other Countries

A visitor takes pictures of an adult film actress during the Eros Show in the Bulgarian capital Sofia April 2, 2008. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

The Independent: Porn blocks in Iran break the internet across the world

The country’s strange technique was meant to stop people watching adult videos, but had a much broader effect than intended

Iran introduced blocks on pornography so aggressive that they broke the internet around the world.

The country's censorship laws on adult websites are infamously stringent, and require access pornographic websites to be cut off. But last week the state internet provider did so not only for those in Iran but for people across the world – as far away as Russia and Hong Kong.

The strange ban was the result of the way that the internet provider cut off access to those sites. It did so using some of the basic mechanisms of the web – not just stopping people in Iran accessing the websites, but changing the directions that power the internet so that nobody could.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: I am sure that this is "pissing-off" some people.

Quantum Computing Could Make Supercomputer Obsolete In 5 Years

Multilayer microwave integrated quantum circuit (left) uses silicon wafers with features etched using MEMS techniques to create enclosures that serve as high-Q resonators as well as providing shielding. Superconducting metalization (blue) covers the walls of these enclosures to provide low-loss wafer-to-wafer bonding. A cross-section of the rectangular cavity resonator (upper right) shows interlayer aperture coupling between the cavity and transmission lines above. 3D superconducting transmission lines (lower right) could be constructed using membranes (green) in the MEMS structure where qubits and act as a compact low-loss quantum bus.

(Source: Yale)

Next Big Future: Universal Quantum computers could replace supercomputers within 5 years

Some researchers are predicting that the market for "universal" quantum computers that do everything a supercomputer can do plus everything a supercomputer can not do — in a chip that fits in the palm of your hand — are on the verge of emerging. The rise of quantum computing may be as important a shift as John von Neumann's stored program-and-data concept.

Here are some of the scientists and breakthroughs that will enable this shift.

Robert Schoelkopf (Yale, Quantum Circuits inc) claims a number of "world's firsts," the latest of which is the longest "coherence time" for a quantum superposition.

Read more ....

Update: Quantum Computing on Cusp - Researchers say supercomputer obsolete in 5 years -- EETimes

CSN editor: To me the 5 years is too optimistic .... but the trend lines are that Quantum computers will replace supercomputers in the near future.

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Science experiments you can recreate... pic.twitter.com/mpiwmo6pAO

— kengarex (@kengarex) January 9, 2017

Mark Zuckerberg Talks About AI And Its Future In The World (Video)

Astronomers Predicty A Supernova Will Appear In The Sky In 2022

Our night sky could be set to include a new star in 2022, if the predictions of a group of astronomers turn out to be correct, because of a supernova explosion. Supernovas are intense explosions caused when two stars merge together. Pictured is an artist's impression

Daily Mail: Mark your calendars! A dazzling supernova will appear in the sky in 2022, predict astronomers

* Scientists have studied a binary star system for years and claim it will explode
* The supernova explosion is 'boldly' predicted for 2022, give or take a year
* If they are correct, it will be the first time anyone has predicted a supernova
* Will be one of brightest star in the night sky when it appears, astronomers say

Our night sky could be set to include a new star in 2022, if the predictions of a group of astronomers turn out to be correct.

A professor who has been studying a binary star system, two stars orbiting each other, claims they will soon start to merge together to create what he has dubbed 'Boom star'.

The stars will end their lives in an explosion, known as a supernova, he says.

This will be will make them ten thousand times brighter than they already are - producing one of the brightest stars visible in our sky.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: If it is bright enough .... for everyone this will be a once in a lifetime experience.

Would You Take A Blood Test That Predicts How Long You Will Live?

REUTERS/Luis Galdamez

Daily Mail: Would YOU take it? Scientists discover breakthrough blood test that could 'predict how long people will live'

* Experts at Boston University claim to have discovered the game-changing test
* They believe biomarker patterns in the blood will help predict a person's probability of developing cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes
* The discovery means patients will be able to identify realistic health risks early - and, crucially, modify behaviour to change the outcome

It may sound like the premise of a science fiction film.

But, believe it or not, scientists at Boston University claim to have discovered a game-changing blood test that could help predict lifespans.

The study, published in the journal Aging Cell on Friday, used biomarker data collected from 5,000 blood samples and analysed it against the donors' health developments over the subsequent eight years.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: I wold definitely take it .... and avoid (or minimise) the risk factors that such a test would discover.

15 Sci-Fi Films We Want To See In 2017

Popular Mechanics: 15 Sci-Fi Films We Want To See in 2017 (and 4 We Don't)

The blockbusters, the hopeful sleepers, and the bottom feeders.

2017 holds plenty of uncertainty, but great sci-fi movies look like a sure thing. We'll see the return of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049 and finally get some Luke Skywalker in the eighth installment of the Star Wars saga. But 2017 is full of exciting releases, crossing huge franchises, wonderful one-offs, and some more artsy types as well. These are the films that have us excited for 2017 (and few that we'll likely be skipping.)

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Blade Runner is on the top of my list.

How To Defeat Facial Recognition Software

An image of a Hyperface pattern, specifically created to contain thousands of facial recognition hits. Photograph: Adam Harvey

The Guardian: Anti-surveillance clothing aims to hide wearers from facial recognition

Hyperface project involves printing patterns on to clothing or textiles that computers interpret as a face, in fightback against intrusive technology

The use of facial recognition software for commercial purposes is becoming more common, but, as Amazon scans faces in its physical shop and Facebook searches photos of users to add tags to, those concerned about their privacy are fighting back.

Berlin-based artist and technologist Adam Harvey aims to overwhelm and confuse these systems by presenting them with thousands of false hits so they can’t tell which faces are real.

The Hyperface project involves printing patterns on to clothing or textiles, which then appear to have eyes, mouths and other features that a computer can interpret as a face.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: It's good to know that the surveillance state can still be defeated.

Virtual Reality Was A Disappointment At This Year's CES

The words of the day at CES were "incremental improvement."

Photo by Josh Miller/CNET

CNET: Virtually boring: VR really disappoints at CES this year

Virtual reality promises to be a mega-trend that upends how we use computers and just plain get along. So why's it such a snooze at the world's biggest tech expo?

Call it a virtual disappointment. Or virtually unsurprising. I'll just say I was virtually underwhelmed.

Whatever pun you choose, the virtual reality industry has some explaining to do after this year's Consumer Electronics Show, during which the biggest product announcements can largely be categorized as "more of the same."

Consider computer maker Lenovo, which showed off a VR headset whose primary selling point is that it's cheaper than competitors like the $599 Oculus Rift from Facebook or the $799 HTC Vive -- though Lenovo isn't discussing prices yet and the prototype on display doesn't actually work.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: When you consider all the hype for the past year in regards to VR .... satisfying everyone's expectations was a tall order.

Latest X-Ray Images Are Giving Astronomers A Revealing Look At The History Of Black Holes

The image is from the Chandra Deep Field-South. The full field covers an approximately circular region on the sky with an area about two-thirds that of the full moon. However, the outer regions of the image, where the sensitivity to X-ray emission is lower, are not shown here. The colors in this image represent different levels of X-ray energy detected by Chandra. Here the lowest-energy X-rays are red, the medium band is green, and the highest-energy X-rays observed by Chandra are blue. The central region of this image contains the highest concentration of supermassive black holes ever seen, equivalent to about 5,000 objects that would fit into the area of the full moon and about a billion over the entire sky. Image courtesy X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State/B. Luo et al. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Space Daily: Deepest X-ray image ever reveals black hole treasure trove

An unparalleled image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is giving an international team of astronomers the best look yet at the growth of black holes over billions of years beginning soon after the Big Bang. This is the deepest X-ray image ever obtained, collected with about 7 million seconds, or 11 and a half weeks, of Chandra observing time.

The image comes from what is known as the Chandra Deep Field-South. The central region of the image contains the highest concentration of supermassive black holes ever seen, equivalent to about 5,000 objects that would fit into the area of the full Moon and about a billion over the entire sky.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: It is hard to fathom how massive these objects really are .... ranging in mass from about 100,000 to 10 billion times the mass of the Sun.

Tweet For Today

From astronomy to mathematics to neuroscience: meet the #30Under30 in science https://t.co/pxS4yqobBT pic.twitter.com/ykmr6Evix4

— Forbes (@Forbes) January 8, 2017

NASA Can Now Better Predict A Total Solar Eclipse's Path

Using of a number of NASA datasets, notably the global elevation maps from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the shape and location of the shadow is depicted with unprecedented accuracy.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/SVS/Ernie Wright

Science Daily: NASA moon data provides more accurate 2017 eclipse path

On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, millions in the U.S. will have their eyes to the sky as they witness a total solar eclipse. The moon's shadow will race across the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina. The path of this shadow, also known as the path of totality, is where observers will see the moon completely cover the sun. And thanks to elevation data of the moon from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, coupled with detailed NASA topography data of Earth, we have the most accurate maps of the path of totality for any eclipse to date.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: This will be a rare opportunity for many who live in the U.S..

This Robot Can Play Chess With A Chessboard

A robot developed by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute plays chess at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 8, 2017 ©Rob Lever (AFP)

AFP: For 'intelligent' robot, chess is just a hobby

A robot developed by engineers in Taiwan can pour coffee and move chess pieces on a board against an opponent, but he's looking for a real job.

The robot developed by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, which spent the week playing games against opponents at the Consumer Electronics Show, was displaying what developers call an "intelligent vision system" which can see its environment and act with greater precision than its peers.

With this enhanced vision, the robot can perform variety of tasks for service and manufacturing, and can also learn on the job with artificial intelligence.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: Playing chess with a robot has just got interesting.

Huge Iceberg Is About To Break Off From Antarctica

An iceberg one-fourth the size of Wales is about to break off of Antarctica.

Credit: Copyright MIDAS Project, A. Luckman, Swansea University

Live Science: Delaware-Size Iceberg Is About to Break Off from Antarctica

An icy thread measuring a mere 12 miles (20 kilometers) long is all that's anchoring a massive iceberg the size of Delaware to its home in West Antarctica, climate scientists report.

If the iceberg breaks away — an event known as calving — the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica will lose more than 10 percent of its area, which amounts to about 2,000 square miles (5,000 square km), according to Project MIDAS, an Antarctic research project based in the United Kingdom.

MIDAS researchers noticed the rift in 2014, and have used satellite and other data to monitor it ever since. The rift made headlines late last year when NASA's IceBridge mission snapped a photo showing the eerily immense crack, which measured 70 miles (112 km) long, more than 300 feet (91 meters) wide and about one-third of a mile (0.5 km) deep as of Nov. 10, 2016.

Read more ....

CSN Editor: At its current rate, this will split within 2 years .... unless the region experiences a greater cooling trend.