Technology and Body

The World Is Getting Worse, But This Time America Won’t Save It I cannot imagine any thinking person who does not believe the world is getting worse. The number of slaughtered and the number of refugees from slaughter is immense and growing. Islamic State now controls territories from Afghanistan to West Africa. Libya is in the process of being added to that list. And other sadistic Islamist movements hold additional territory. According to Pew Research, approximately 10 percent of world Muslims have a favorable opinion of the Islamic State and terror against civilians. That’s more than 100 million people. The Iranian regime has just increased the reward it will give to anyone who murders Indian novelist Salman Rushdie, is increasing its repression at home, now has more than a hundred billion additional dollars to spend on terror and regularly calls for the annihilation of Israel. Iran just received from Russia the most powerful anti-aircraft weapons that exist outside ...

Twitter Suspends Prominent Alt-Right Accounts Facebook Twitter Google+ Email Enlarge this image Twitter has suspended some accounts linked to the alt-right movement. Twitter has suspended several accounts linked to the alt-right movement, which has been associated with white nationalism. The move comes as Twitter is rolling out a series of actions to curb hate speech and abuse on its platform as criticism has mounted of the company's failure to rein in harassment, racism, sexism and anti-Semitism. Suspended accounts include those of Richard Spencer, who is considered one of the movement's founders; his magazine  Radix Journal;  an associated account, @_AltRight_; and his Virginia-based think tank called the National Policy Institute, whose website describes it as "dedicated to the heritage, identity, and future of people of European descent in the United States, and around the world." Other suspended accounts incl...

NASA unveils seasonal dust storm pattern on Mars Improving the ability to predict large-scale, potentially hazardous dust storms on Mars would have safety benefits for planning robotic and human missions to the planet's surface. NASA's Mars orbiters have unveiled a pattern of large regional dust storms occurring at about the same times each year, an advance that may help predict these hazardous events during future robotic and human missions to the red planet. After decades of research to discern seasonal patterns in Martian dust storms from images showing the dust, but the clearest pattern appears to be captured by measuring the temperature of the red planet's atmosphere. For six recent Martian years, temperature records from NASA Mars orbiters reveal a pattern of three types of large regional dust storms occurring in sequence at about the same times each year during the southern hemisphere spring and summer. Each Martian year lasts about two Ea...

Ultrathin 'E-Skin' Turns Your Hand into an Electronic Display Japanese scientists have demonstrated a superflexible electronic skin (or e-skin) display made from organic electronics. Credit: Someya Lab/University of Tokyo View full size image Your smartphone could one day be replaced by an electronic display laminated to the back of your hand, if the inventors of a new ultrathin "e-skin" have their way. For the first time, Japanese scientists have demonstrated a superflexible electronic skin (or e-skin) display, made from organic electronics, that doesn't degrade when exposed to air. And crucially, the researchers used pr...

Stephen Hawking: We Probably Won't Find Aliens Anytime Soon When it comes to finding intelligent aliens, Stephen Hawking isn't holding his breath. Credit: Screenshot of Starshot Teleconference Livestream View full size image Will humanity find intelligent alien life anytime soon? Probably not, according to theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking made the prediction yesterday (April 12) during the Breakthrough Starshot announcement in New York City. At the news conference, Hawking, along with Russian billionaire investor Yuri Milner and a group of scientists, detailed a new project that aims to send a multitude of tiny, wafer-size spa...

In first India deal, Xiaomi leads $25M round for music/movie streaming firm Hungama Xiaomi has furthered its push into India after completing its first investment in the country. The Chinese smartphone today announced it has led a $25 million round for Hungama, a video and music streaming service that claims 65 million users, and that it will integrate the company’s services into its content platform in India “in the near future.” Xiaomi has made a concerted effort to gain marketshare in India’s fast-growing smartphone market since it began selling there in 2014. It joined the government’s Make In India program and took strategic investment from top businessman Ratan Tata, and has long said on record that it would invest in startups that complement its business in India. “Xiaomi has been an Internet company from the very start. We think of smartphones as a platform for us to deliver Internet services, and this includes...

  How smartphone light affects your brain and body It may be hard to stop, but looking at your phone at night is a terrible idea. Smartphone screens emit bright blue light so you can see them even at the sunniest times of day. But at night, your brain gets confused by that light, as it mimics the brightness of the sun. This  causes the brain to stop producing melatonin , a hormone that gives your body the "time to sleep" cues. Because of this, smartphone light can disrupt your sleep cycle, making it harder to fall and stay asleep — and potentially causing serious health problems along the way. Here's how it works: