Why Roman Concrete Endured Thousands of Years of Seawater Pounding, While Ours Can't - ExtremeTech: Roman concrete's durability and strength blows our own out of the water (in this case, literally). And after years of research, we're getting better at understanding why. It seems that the sea water may...
Source: extremetech.com
Gigabyte Announces Tiny PC More Powerful and Upgradeable Than Raspberry Pi - ExtremeTech: The Raspberry Pi has proven itself to be a versatile little computer, and you can get them for pocket change. It's a bit light on power, though. Now, Gigabyte is preparing to launch a similar device called the GA-SBCAP3350.
Source: extremetech.com
Evidence suggests that the planet may be in the opening strains of a geomagnetic chicken dance, the likes of which we haven't seen for almost a million years. Don’t start running around like your hair’s on fire, but this might actually matter. The Earth’s magnetic field is so discombobulated over...
Source: extremetech.com
China, already dominant in supercomputers, shoots for an exascale prototype in 2017 - ExtremeTech: China is working on a prototype exascale (1,000-petaflop) system that it aims to complete by the end of this year, according to state media.
Source: extremetech.com
The $800 laundry-folding robot for those who don't have a housekeeper - ExtremeTech: Foldimate will fold a laundry basket of clothes in about 3 minutes. Shirts, T-shirts, pants yes; tablecloths, beach towels and socks, no.
Source: extremetech.com
The Internet Archive just got a bit more useful - and a lot more political - ExtremeTech: Archive.org seems to think the Trump Administration will be so disastrous for data freedom that it is literally moving (a copy) to Canada.
Source: extremetech.com
Meet Microsoft's new chatbot, Zo: Now with (hopefully) 100% less Nazism - ExtremeTech: Microsoft is throwing its hack back into the AI chatbot ring, this time with a new AI, dubbed Zo. Hopefully this one won't turn into a Nazi spambot within 24 hours of launch.
Source: extremetech.com
V2V - vehicle to vehicle communication is coming ... perhaps. "Feds push hard for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, at least until Jan. 20 - ExtremeTech: Feds want V2V short-range safety communications on cars in the next five years. Whether that happens depends more on President Trump's transportation...
Source: extremetech.com
Baby dinosaur tail found preserved in amber, complete with feathers - ExtremeTech: Still have a hard time accepting dinosaurs had feathers? Here are some preserved in amber.
Source: extremetech.com
Homeopathic Syrup for the Treatment of Pediatric Colds: Randomized Controlled Nonsense is Still Nonsense. "Jacobs and Taylor describe the results of this study as “provocative.” I disagree. After admitting their complete failure to find any benefit in the primary outcome being measured, or in any...
Source: sciencebasedmedicine.org
Good read. The most good you can do by Peter Singer. This is about effective altruism. If you are going to give away your money how can ensure you give it to the most effective resources? More than that if you've decided to give away money what is the best job that you can do? There are some extreme...
Source: amazon.co.uk
When anyone tries to predict what the financial markets will do just remind them that complex adaptive systems are tricky.
"It is clear that the financial system exhibits all of the classic characteristics of a [Complex Adaptive System], with the consequence that analysis of the likely reaction of...
Source: ssrn.com
GiveDirectly: Send money directly to the extreme poor: GiveDirectly allows donors to send money directly to the poor with no strings attached. Our approach is guided by rigorous evidence of impact and our values of efficiency, transparency, and respect.
Source: givedirectly.org
NASA is designing a massive solar sail to reach interstellar space | ExtremeTech: NASA wants to reach the edge of the solar system faster, so it's designing a solar sail that could do it in just 10 years.
Source: extremetech.com
Hans Rosling asks: Has the UN gone mad? The United Nations just announced their boldest goal ever: To eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, already by 2030. Don't Panic. End Poverty.
Source: gapminder.org
Amazon bans cheap USB-C cables in wake of Google engineer’s crusade | ExtremeTech: Amazon has agreed to formally disallow the sale of cables that don't conform to the USB-C specification after one Google engineer found a number of faulty cables -- including cables that destroyed hardware. It's a small...
Source: extremetech.com
United States Geological Survey confirms it: Fracking causes earthquakes | ExtremeTech: Entities all around the world, from cities to whole countries, have issued moratoria on fracking pending conclusive evidence of its risks. Well, some of that evidence is in: fracking causes earthquakes.
Source: extremetech.com
Plastic-eating bacteria set to revolutionize waste disposal | ExtremeTech: Genetically engineering a bacterium that eats plastic could fix the world's spiraling problem of waste disposal.
Source: extremetech.com
Vietnam twins found to have different fathers in rare case - BBC News: A pair of Vietnamese twins have been found to have different fathers, in an extremely rare case.
Source: bbc.co.uk
Google neural network can tell where photos were taken better than humans | ExtremeTech: This neural network has virtually visited millions of locations to learn what the world looks like.
Source: extremetech.com