Change your genes, change your life?

A new technology known as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) as been created that can potentially change genes so that people will be not subject to certain diseases or illnesses. It is comparable to word correcting features on our devices, in which when a word has been spelled incorrectly, the computer automatically corrects it for us. In addition, it is also not too expensive, which will allow it to be more accessible.
One simplistic way of describing one way CRISPR works is that DNA from certain viruses and bacteria is cut up and sent to a CRISPR technology, which creates new RNA that targets and protects against the invading DNA from the viruses and bacteria.
Another way CRISPR is used is that a small piece of RNA is created (which is linked to specific portion of the DNA strand) and bound to an enzyme called CAS9 (or another enzyme). The RNA identifies the portion of the DNA to be cut, and then the enzyme is used to cut the DNA so that scientists can modify the DNA at the specific area.


https://futurism.com/a-new-gene-editing-breakthrough-could-forever-change-life-on-earth/
https://www.neb.com/tools-and-resources/feature-articles/crispr-cas9-and-targeted-genome-editing-a-new-era-in-molecular-biology
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/genomeediting

Google's Duplex Has Even More Human Qualities

Google unveiled the Duplex, an artificial intelligence voice technology in the early week of May 10. It is supposed to be used with Google Assistant, and it can book your appointments and reservations over the phone. According to Richard Nieva of Cnet, Duplex sounds "jaw-droppingly human." The release of Duplex has created some controversy because in the past, Google had said that they wanted to make sure that people know if they're talking to a robot. However, the Duplex sounds so realistic that it can be mistaken for a human. It even has the ability to identify itself to humans. It uses verbal ticks like "uh" and "um," and it speaks as if it's a real person. This is shown when it pauses before responding as if it is thinking about their reply, and when they sound out certain words as if they want to buy themselves some time to think about what to say.

The creation of this voice technology could be the next step to creating a robot that's on par with a human, but as robots keep growing to mimic humans, problems of deceiving arise. People are questioning whether robots have to identify themselves as robots, or if they should be allowed to just roam free without letting others know that they're a robot.

Link: https://www.cnet.com/news/google-says-its-designing-duplex-with-disclosure-built-in/

Natural Gas that doesn't Produce Carbon

A company on the outskirts of Houston called Net Power have found a way to capture the Carbon Dioxide released by Natural Gas and turn it into energy again. What the company did was find a way to capture the carbon dioxide released by the production of natural gas and then put it under high pressure and convert it into a type of CO2 that will drive a machine that will eventually recycle carbon dioxide and produce more energy for future use. This is very important, because it means we can use natural gas without causing damage to the environment through the release of CO2. By cutting our carbon emissions, we can lessen out carbon footprint.

https://www.citi.io/2018/03/12/top-breakthrough-technologies-for-2018-zero-carbon-natural-gas/

Holographic Phone

A US-based company called RED is going to be releasing a phone, and it's surprising because they are known for building cinema cameras for Hollywood and they have never made a phone. The phone costs $1595 for the titanium version, and $1195 for the aluminum one. RED's phone will have two modes: a regular 2D mode and then a 4-View holographic mode (4V). According to the people who have seen the 4V view in person, they have reacted with gasps, swears, and grins. The 4V mode is said to be better than a 3D image, and it does not require glasses. There are also add ons for battery and camera, and the modules can be added onto each other. The camera module seems to have the greatest interest because it allows a phone to have a camera with the quality of cameras used in Hollywood cinema. The release of this phone may lead to a whole different dimension (4D?) and a lot more functions for phones, a day-to-day technology used by almost everyone.

Link: https://www.cnet.com/news/red-hydrogen-one-holographic-phone-might-actually-ship-this-summer/

Drug Testing on Animals is a thing of the past

For years, we have always used animals to test products designed for humans. However, scientists have determined that computer models of organs, such as the heart, are more accurate in testing new drugs developed for humans. These models can run from a few cells to a 3D model of the heart. The few cells can take a few minutes to run, whereas a complete 3D heart can take up to hours and use up a lot of energy. Despite this, scientists believe that this simulation has great potential in reducing the number of animals that will be used for drug testing, and that the testing of drugs for humans and its effects on our bodies will be more efficient with these simulations.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/why-we-should-test-heart-drugs-on-virtual-human-instead-animals-180968588/

The First Ever Projector Smartwatch?

Similar to a hologram, a smartwatch developed by researched at Carnegie Mellon University and ASU Tech projects an interactive surface area on the wearer's arm or hand. This means that you can tap or swipe on your skin to use the watch. The watch is made up of a logic board, projector, depth sensor, metal enclosure, and battery. The projection is bright enough to be seen outdoors and can be used for 1 hour of continuous projection. However, with intermittent use, it is anticipated to last an entire day.

Although this smartwatch is not the first to project images on the wearer's skin, it is the first to project a useable on-body interface. However, this function causes the smartwatch to be bulkier than average. But with further research, the abilities of the smartwatch would be improved, and the size may also be reduced.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/4/27/17289572/lumiwatch-projector-smartwatch-arm-touch-screen

How AI Can Help Us Make New Materials

The traditional way of discovering new materials is going into a lab and trying to physical and chemical structures that could combine to create the material the scientist wants. This can be very time consuming and may not even yield any results. However, with the use of artificial intelligence, this process can become much easier and quicker for scientists. All scientists need to do is tell AI the type of material they want, and the AI would tell them the best experiment to run to make the new material. AI could also be used to store all the procedures to make certain types of materials, which would make accessing information much easier. The use of AI in material science would speed up creation of new materials.
Currently, MIT is trying to make the use of AI even more accurate by teaching it to read databases and come up with new recipes on its own.

Low Cost Genetic Testing

A new era of medicine has been started by the publication of the full human genome sequence. The sequencing of the genome actually took 10 years, and it cost around $30 billion, but today, the cost has fallen to as low as $500. A hand-held reader for genetic materials has been developed by Oxford Nanopore, and the firm wants to create a real time connection with DNA information using those readers.

The hand-held DNA readers can be used for restaurants, food factories, water supplies, crime scenes, and more. It doesn't have to be limited to healthcare, like genetic modification originally was. Dr Gordon Sanghera, the chief executive of Oxford Nanopore, called it "the ultimate barcode." The handheld reader is called the MinION, and it can read each strand of DNA by squeezing them through a tiny hole called the nanopore and analyzing the electrical signals.

Sanghera believes that the MinION can be used to diagnose infections at home and reduce trips to the doctor. It can also prevent the over-prescription of antibiotics. It can also help help to access genetic dispositions for diseases at birth, in order to create a stable plan of action to prevent the disease from getting worse.

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43897018

Pain Free Vaccines and Injections?

A company called portal instruments is selling a new piece of technology that allows people to inject vaccines and medicines into their bodies without the use of a needle. This technology was created by researchers at MIT, and it utilizes a small, hand-held, portable device that inserts a stream of vaccine into a person's arm. This jet is extremely thin, and it delivers vaccines in a almost painless manner. This is good for people who have anxiety about getting shots through needles. For each vaccine, you have to use a new capsule that you will attach to the handheld device. This device also comes with an application that monitors your health.


https://www.portalinstruments.com/blog/a-better-jet-injection-system/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9LHa0YHeEQ

Sea Bubbles

Sea Bubbles are flying taxis created by Bertrand Lambert. They have been tested successfully in June 2017, and Lambert says that these Sea Bubbles will be able to be used from May-June of 2018. Some problems that Lambert faced was the issue of accessibility to the public and the speed of the flying taxi. They can fly at a maximum speed of 32 miles per hour, and that speed cannot be reduced. However, the Sea Bubbles are set to drive at 7.5 miles per hour in the center of Seine and 11.2 miles per hour around Seine. The final speed that they decided at for these flying taxis is 15.53 miles per hour.

Sea Bubbles can seat 4 passengers in addition to a pilot, and it's electric and simple to use. The flying boat is set up so that there are wings run by two electric motors, and when the boat is started up, they will touch the water, but will lift off the surface of the water a little bit.

After testing, it is expected that they will be available to use across Paris and get passengers to different locations within 15 minutes in groups of 5-10 in each port. This can lead to new water transportation for many other cities in the world.

Link: https://www.sortiraparis.com/news/in-paris/articles/133643-sea-bubbles-flying-taxis-testing-in-may-june-2018/lang/en

Become a Bird with the FlyJacket

Is the time where humans can fly finally here??? Sorry but despite how it may sound in the title, no. The FlyJacket is actually just a VR headset and soft upper-body exoskeleton that you can wear to control a drone. When you wear this exoskeleton, you spread your wings like a bird and your body movements would control the drone. The exoskeleton detects bending forward/backwards and bending sideways, and the company wants to further improve this by allowing users to control the speed of the drone. Wait- why can't you just use a controller to control the drone? Well, according to the company, it is much more effective and easier to control than a traditional controller. The goal of the researchers is to make this into a commercial product, so they are keeping their materials relatively cheap and affordable. So, in the near future, you may be able to fly like a bird! Virtually.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/18/17251132/drone-exosuit-bird-control-ieee

Arms, real or fake?

People in need of prosthetic limbs often have difficulty adapting to the use of their new limbs. They require months of physical training in order to be able to use their prothetic limbs naturally. However, with a new innovation in bionic arms, people can now use their prosthetics naturally within minutes of receiving them. The innovation in this prosthetic is the implementation of small electrodes on the limb that senses the motion that the user wishes to make, and translates that wish into movement on the arm. in addition, a joystick attached to the user's foot can help people move the prosthetic in a more complex way. This new technology (electrodes) will help people adapt easier to the "bionic arm" more efficiently.

http://bestofwhatsnew.popsci.com/deka-luke-arm

3d printed rc car

Open RC f1 is a fully 3D printed RC car based off of a F1 car, it was designed by Daniel Noree.
He made this to show how powerful 3D printing can be.
Here are two examples of the RC car, If you look closely you can see that even the tires are 3D printed.
 
Daniel Noree made his design public which means anyone can down load on ad make it for themselves. He even made a build guide to help people but it together. 

links 
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1193309
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6SvgLBYgeQ

Semanic Experiences

On April 13th, Google announced their new A.I. experiments from the research division that works with semantics and language. Google is a company that is known for their textual search engine, and the advancement that they made can help them to expand their business and make software that can understand human language.

Google now has many A.I. language tools, also known as the Semantic Experiences. It uses word vectors, which is a type of natural language that matches similar phrases to other points based on similarity in ideas and language. Word vectors allows algorithms to use actual language usage to relate words.

One of the experiments released is called Talk to Books, and it basically allows the user to speak with an algorithm based on learning. The algorithm brings up answers to questions with relevant texts. It's different from Google Search because the user doesn't need to click on links to get their information. The algorithm displays the passages that are relevant for the user.

A limitation to this experiment is that it is mainly good for answering factual questions, and it's not as good at answering questions about geopolitics, culture, and historical importance. Despite these limitations. Talk to Books is a nice way to learn on the web. It is the start to future education.

Link: https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/13/17235306/google-ai-experiments-natural-language-understanding-semantics-word-games

The End to Passwords?

On Tuesday, April 10th, a web standards milestone was announced. The new standard is called WebAuthn, and it defines a standard application program interface that can be used for browsers and websites. It may be the beginning to the end of passwords on the internet.

Security online has always been a problem, and although there are many other problems, passwords ultimately creates the biggest problem of privacy online. WebAuthn protects consumers online by allowing them to reveal a credential secret in order to authenticate their identity. Because WebAuthn is written by the FIDO Alliance, FIDO helps to create a way to authenticate the consumer's identity without asking them to reveal a secret (a password).

Google, Microsoft, an d Mozilla have already consented to using WebAuthn for their browsers. and it is starting to be implemented into Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, and Android. Although WebAuthn will probably experience rapid growth, some challenges it might face in the future are catching up to the authentication technologies that are already in place. There are other technologies that work better than FIDO, and they have the advantage of low cost and efficiency. Another problem is the resiliency of passwords; passwords have been used for many years, and some people will probably be uncomfortable with not using them. However, as the benefits of WebAuthn is expressed to the public, it could possibly change the security online forever.

Link: https://www.technewsworld.com/story/Standards-Milestone-Could-Mark-Beginning-of-End-for-Passwords-85268.html

AMD's second generation Ryzen processors

AMD hasn't released full details of their new Ryzen processors; however, they have offered some information for preorders. There are four new second-generation Ryzen chips next week. The best one is the Ryzen 7 2700X which has a speed of 3.6 GHz with a boost to 4.3 GHz. AMD's release of their new and improved processors offers its first real competition to Intel's market-dominating power. This could cause both companies to work harder against their competitor, which can ultimately increase productivity in this field. In the future, we could be seeing even faster processors for our laptops and computers.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/4/13/17233630/amds-second-generation-ryzen-processors-available-preorder

Eat some Stem Cells

Throughout my entire life, I have had to deal with many issues related to my stomach. Doctor's and scientists run many tests to see if they missed anything with their bare eyes. In the end, it always turns out to be nothing and the only thing left to say to the patient (me) is "This seems to be related to stress and anxiety, we can sign you up for therapy if needed?" However, my cousin suffers far more worse then me when it was realized he got diagnosed with Crohn's disease. This ailment is so harsh and complex to deal with because it directly attacks the entire digestive system especially the intestines. People living with this disease constantly struggle with their joints, muscles, and insides being inflamed and their digestive tract is being devoured, there are minimal options for treatment. 

For many years Crohn's has been a big course of discussion in the medical world and we have't been so lucky so far... "As the disease worsens, the lining of the digesting tract may be destroyed, resulting abnormal connections (fistulas) or even blockages. Eventually, surgery may be needed to remove damaged parts of intestine, and over time patients may be left with very little of their gut intact.Therapies to control Crohn’s include anti-inflammatory drugs and immunological therapies. Currently, there is no cure for this disease." More and more research has been conducted over the years and stem cells have been shown to be effective. Scientists have started experimenting with animals and inserting stem cells into their digestive tract to translate the cells they already have. This is seeming to be effective and have started treatment on my cousin as well. He is going for insertions a few times every month which will hopefully change the harmful cells and allow him to be healthy again.

Crohn's Disease

3D Printing Metal

Currently a company called Desktop Metal's Studio is building a printer that can 3D print metal. This can make prototyping creations faster and cheaper (essentially more efficient). This new printer can help engineers prototype their ideas and help large companies mass produce their products. In addition, it can use a variety of alloys to make many different structures of different strength. Desktop Metal also offers software that can help make designing a product easier and basic models that can make printing easier.

https://newatlas.com/desktop-metal-3d-printing/50654/

Earbuds that Allow You to Understand Any Language

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to communicate with anyone in the world? To be able to effortlessly understand anyone, because there was no language barrier? Well, GOOGLE has created earphones that can translate 40 different languages and allow you to understand what other people are saying. Currently, laboratory tests show that the languages can be translated fast enough by the earbuds to help people hold a conversation. However, there are many external factors in our regular environment can can potentially hinder the earphones abilities to translate languages quickly. Nevertheless, these earphones have the potential to help break down language barriers across the world.

https://qz.com/1094638/google-goog-built-earbuds-that-translate-40-languages-in-real-time-like-the-hitchhikers-guides-babel-fish/

Walk it , talk it

Every individual that was put on this earth, was placed here for a reason. Each and every person has something special about them that sets them apart from others. What we don't see, is the problems that every individual has to face on their own and how much of an effect it could have on daily life. In the modern world, several people have to deal with Multiple Sclerosis which makes difficulty when walking. Without being able to walk, it puts a lot of pressure on the lives of these people since they aren't allowed to be the free individual that they once were. They now need assistance from a person or technology in order for them to get from point A to point B. Doctors and scientists have to come to see that this is a real problem in our society and a change is needed. They have been through many hours of devotion to enable them to fix this ailment. They have found that they are able to inject new stem cells into the bone marrow of patients dealing with this disease. Once this taken into place, the immune system is completely replaced. This is a one time procedure that has proven to change the outcome of individuals living with this condition.

http://myregenmed.com/5-advancements-in-stem-cell-therapy-that-will-excite-you/

Fingerprint Recognition Guns!

IDENTILOCK, the Fingerprint Recognition system, claims that their mission is not only to bring new technology to the gun lock world, but it is to prevent gun-related accidents and lift the negative stigma that surrounds firearms.  However, the problem with this is that this type of technology is largely untested and not failsafe. Batteries do go dead. Technology glitches do happen. Firearms malfunction as well, but generally speaking, if you keep your tool of self-defense in decent condition and fire and clean it regularly, these types of occurrences are fairly rare. In addition, this technology is very elitist. Guns are not cheap to purchase, and adding this technology only makes it that much more expensive. Although this technology has some negative consequences, however, it could prevent unauthorized discharge of a firearm by children, people attempting to commit suicide, and people untrained to use the weapon.

Tiniest Computer Chip in the World?

The chip on the person's finger in the picture shown above seems pretty small right? And squishing everything that makes up a computer on that tiny chip seems pretty impressive right? Well, that is actually made up of "64 motherboards, each of which holds two of this tiny computer". I don't know about you, but I was mind-blown by that. Below is a picture of the actual computer on a pile of salt.

Can you even see the computer?

Although this isn't a reality yet, IBM is saying that they would create this 1mm x 1mm computer within the next five year. Apparently, they cost less than 10 cents to make as well! The obvious advantage of a tiny chip is that electronics would be build smaller while performing the same (or even better).

Robot Fish

SoFi is a robot fish designed to swim in open water and spy on the fishes living there. It has one eye, and a camera that can record the behaviors of the relationship between the predators and the prey. Scientists at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory created it, and they created SoFi with the motive of not impacting the natural habitat of the fish, and not rising any suspicions among the fish in that specific area.

There have already been test runs for SoFi, including one in Fiji's Rainbow Reef, where SoFi swam for 40 minutes in 50 feet of water. A diver was able to control the robot from 32 feet away using a Super Nintendo controller. The movement of SoFi is said to be graceful, smooth, and independent.

The introduction of this fish-like robot can help biologists to collect data and observations about ocean life. The creation of the robot fish can also lead to the creation of other animals, which can lead to further analysis of wildlife.

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/21/technology/mit-fish-robot/index.html

What AI Can Do to Music

If you've ever made music using synthesizers before, you'll probably be confused as how artificial intelligence can change your creation experience. Google's new NSynth Super is an AI-backed touchscreen synthesizer. The NSynth generates sounds of real instruments, learns the core qualities of each individual sound, and then is able to combine sounds to create something completely new. The NSynth is split into 4 sections, each assigned a particular instrument. You can mix sounds by gliding your finger across multiple cells; however, the unique part of the NSynth is that it doesn't just layer sounds on top of one another; it synthesizes an entirely new sound based on the qualities of each sound. However, a drawback to the NSynth is that it is expensive and isn't 100% user friendly.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/3/13/17114760/google-nsynth-super-ai-touchscreen-synth

Humans Fired a Burger Flipping Robot

Flippy, a robot built by Miso Flippy, is called "the world's first autonomous robotic kitchen assistant." It was used for a helper for fast-food restaurants. Flippy was made to operate with humans and to increase the speed in which fast-food restaurants could provide food. Flippy is especially talented in cooking and grill maintenance, and it has a spatula-tipped arm.

Although Flippy was made to assist humans, he ended up grilling patties faster than humans could assemble burgers. He was fired after two days. Flippy has an arm that can hold a spatula or grill scraper, and he also has a cloud-based AI and thermal vision that help it to determine how cooked the burger is. His skills proved to be too much for humans to handle, and he acted more as a human worker than an assistant.

Link: https://www.livescience.com/61994-flippy-burger-flipping-robot-flops.html

Can your phone help you detect abnormalities in your body?

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered a way in incorporate ultrasound technology in smartphones in order to help people detect abnormalities in their bodies. These Ultrasound Probes are in USB form and able to be connected to your smartphone, so that when your body is being screened, the images will appear on your phone. It can help image organs such as kidneys and livers, in addition to veins, in order to help people see the activities inside their bodies. This medical imaging is effective and convenient, and has the potential to help people in areas of the world where technology, especially medical technology, is not easily accessible. It could also help people with diseases control and adjust the amount of medicine they have to take by themselves through the changes in activity in their body.

https://source.wustl.edu/2009/04/ultrasound-imaging-now-possible-with-a-smartphone/

The Future of Entertainment

James Ryan is working on a project that plays a podcast that is different for everyone. The podcast is called "Sheldon's County", and to listen to it, the person must first input a random number. This would start-up a process that creates random characters, relationships, and everything else that would make a juicy story. This would then be turned into text, which would be read by a voice synthesizer.  Surprisingly, for his project, Ryan turns to old-fashioned AI techniques that guide the process through a set of rules and instructions instead of modern AI techniques. He says that modern AI techniques are not as helpful because they are more about mining data to look for patterns (deep learning). Although Sheldon's County is still very young in progress, it shows us a glimpse of what the future of entertainment might look like.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/11/17099578/ai-generated-podcast-procedural-storytelling-art-sheldon-county

Artificial Embryos to create human life

Scientists from the University of Michigan have discovered that the growth of stem cells resemble structures of initial forms of human embryos. The only difference, is that the stem cells are unable to form organs such as the brain in order to provide human functions. In addition, embryos grown in labs die after a little more than a week. Still, to scientists, this proves that stem cells are able to remember the bodily functions that cells are suppose to do and grow to, which gives scientists hope that they will one day be able to grow humans in laboratories. However, there are ethical concerns regarding experiments such as these, and "embryos" cannot be studied for more than two weeks. Despite this, these scientists hope that their discoveries will one day allow them to grow human organs that can be given to people in need. The result will be that organ donations will no longer be necessary, because people who need new organs will be able to easily access he ones grown in laboratories.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608173/artificial-human-embryos-are-coming-and-no-one-knows-how-to-handle-them/

A Wristband That Tells You If You're Too Drunk to Drive

A wristband that can monitor your blood alcohol content was created, and it has begun shipping at full production capacity in late 2017. Drunk driving is a huge problem in the modern world, and there are breathalyzers that people can use to measure their blood alcohol content, they are inefficient and awkward to use. Proof is a wristband that can analyze your blood alcohol content through your skin. This can help prevent the amount of drunk driving accidents.

Gadgets like these can help society today refrain from creating accidents, but as technology grows, the self driving car industry will also grow and come to replace many things. Although this gadget is useful now, in the future, when self-driving cars are the main form of transportation, this gadget will not be useful anymore because people will no longer need to know how to drive.

Link: https://www.ranker.com/list/cool-new-tech-2018/eric-vega?var=8&utm_expid=16418821-388.pwrOe5-lSJetLqzNW0S00A.3&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Frozen in Time

As life goes on, new advancements are being made in every field of the world and we have no idea about it. For all we know, there could be a rocket taking off to go to space right now. Humans keep making incredible inventions, and along with these new inventions, comes higher level products. We seem to have all the tools we could need in this world we just need to find out where and how to use them. The human species have done incredible things which is why preserving our lives for the longest time possible has been the goal for scientists for many years. Recently, they have found that when freezing/cooling something it seems to stay in tact for longer and store everything the way it was left. This ideology was applied to humans and the after life. Researches have found that by freezing the human and injecting special stem cells, we can actually "freeze them in time" and revive them on a later date. Mr. Kowalski who is a big founder of this invention says that if he can do something this amazing, maybe one day some scientist will unfreeze these humans and use reverse engineering to revive them. There are still many tests to be done and research to be conducted before this actually starts to take effect and potentially change the way humans live.

New Blood

While doing research, I came across the topic of stem cells in the human anatomy and how big of a role it actually plays. There are many complications that come with blood transfusions and just dealing with blood in general. Recent studies have shown how with these stem cells, we are able to have more efficient transfusions and less issues. Scientists have been studying this for many years and are finally able to include their discovery in everyday life and help. They plan to do this by increasing the number of stem cells. By doing this, we have a limitless supply of clean blood that is ready for use.

Humans Teaching Robots to Fight Back

In this article by Live Science, Tia Ghose reveals that a robot dog that can fight off a human has been created. There was a video of a robot dog refusing to let the human get in his way of opening the door. It is said that when the dog is trying to open the door and a human comes to try to move the dog away from the door knob, the robot dog continues to open the door and stands there while the human tries to move him away.

Normally, robots are made to help humans and perform tasks that humans wouldn't want to do themselves, and this robot dog has these features. However, this robot dog created by Boston Dynamics isn't designed to help people in a disaster situation. He is more like an assistant, and he has more capabilities than a disaster robot. This robot is designed to be able to maneuver through challenges like doorways. slippery floors, and other obstacles. Giving robots the ability to fight back to their creators makes them more and more like humans. Maybe in the future, robot pets similar to live animals will be created and replace them.

Link: https://www.livescience.com/61840-robot-dog-fights-off-human.html

An Upgrade to Security Cameras

In a world where murders and robberies are the norm, it isn't surprising that people would want to protect themselves and their homes. A common way they do this is by installing security cameras. Security cameras are used to record an area and save the data, so in case of a robbery, the user will be able to go back and see the data recorded by the camera. However, sometimes, this may not be enough. So, Lighthouse has created a newer, better type of camera -- an AI smart security camera that can learn to recognize people who live in the house. It is able to differentiate between inorganic motion and organic motion, and is also able to differentiate between humans and animals. One of the most important aspects of this camera is that you can set it to notify you via phone for a variety of situations. For example, if the camera sees someone that is unfamiliar, or if the camera doesn't see someone within a certain time period.

Although the AI smart security camera is a good way to secure your home, its necessity is debatable.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/2/17009158/lighthouse-ai-security-camera-review-nest-google-amazon-smart-home

ROBORACE

ROBORACE is going to be the world first robotic racing series. They are using something they call devbot which is a version of their car with a drivers seat so that they can program on move. Their devbot can go 137 mile per hour but their race cars will be able to go 207 miles an hour.

roborace
roborace youtube

The Fingerprint Sensor on Your phone is Not Safe!

A touch of a finger can unlock a phone with no password. However, this convenience has left a gaping security hole. New findings published monday by researchers at NYU and Michigan State University suggests that smartphones can easily be fooled by fake fingerprnts digitally composed of many common features found in human print. In computer simulations, the researchers from the universities were able to develop a set of artificial "Masterprints" that could match real prints similar to those used by phones as much as 65% of the time. The researchers did not test their approach with real phones, and other security experts said the match rate would significantly lower in real life conditions. Still, the findings raised troubling questions about the effectiveness of fingerprint security on smartphones. Full human fingerprints are difficult to falsify, but the fingerscarrs on phones are so small they only read partial fingerprints. Phonemakers can increase security by adding a larger fingerprint scanner and adding some newer biometric security options, such as an iris scanner. Also, phone user can protect themselves by turning off fingerprint authentification for their most sensitive apps, such as mobile payments.

Detecting Heart Disease Through the Eye

Recently scientists have been able to combine artificial intelligence and machine learning in order to help detect and predict patterns of heart disease in a person. This procedure is non-invasive, because it involves the use of cameras to observe the blood vessels behind the eyes of a patient, and then, judging from previously observation patterns from other people (Databases), the program is able to predict the trajectory of a patients heart health throughout their lives. This method is more efficient than other methods of testing for heart disease, because the results come back faster and it is non-invasive (less harmful to the body). By looking at the changes in pressure and flow of the blood vessels behind a patients eyes, the machine is able to help provide the health of your heart, so preventative measures can be taken early on. This is ultimately also help lower the expense of healthcare, because preventative measures are less expensive than that of measures taken when heart disease is in its later stages.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health/google-develops-artificial-intelligence-assess-heart-health/

New York Faces A Big Cyber Threat

New York is the home of the most valuable stock exchange in the entire world.  In the past 2 years there has been an increase in Cyber Attacks due to the wanting of money and people's personal information by black hat hackers.  Right now, the NYDFS is very worried about their bank's online security since the number of online banking hacks has increased over the course of the past 2 years.  The whole point of a bank is that the people trust the banks to hold their money, and if their money and information get stolen, the bank will lose the people's trust.  That is the biggest fear of the NYDFS, is to lose all consumers due to Cyber Attacks, therefore, they are making big changes to their CyberSecurity regulations.

Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-cybersecurity-regulations-protect-wall-street-2018-2

3D Metal Printing

Up until now, 3D printing that involves materials that's not plastic has been really tedious and time consuming. However, it's becoming more efficient and accessible. The advancement in 3D metal printing can change the way our society produces manufacturing parts. It wouldn't be necessary to have a large storage for big parts because they would be able to print an object when they need it. This can help for replacing parts on an old car. The advancement in this technology can change the conventional metal fabrication methods. It can result in a more in depth knowledge of the structure of metals. 

Some examples of this advancement today is the creation of a 3D printing method by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that can create stainless-steel parts two times as strong as the traditional parts in 2017. There was also a 3D printing company called Markforged that released the first 3D metal printer for just under $100,000 in 2017. Desktop Metal, a company in Boston, began to sell the metal prototyping machines in December 2017, and they are looking to sell machines that are 100 times faster than the slow metal printing methods of the past. 

Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/lists/technologies/2018/ 

A monkey with three loving parents

In the past years, there have been many experiments that have been conducted to create a species with more than two parents to create the offspring. Time and time again this has failed with animals such as mice, and previously monkeys. After seeing that the insertion of the stem cels seemed to be ineffective and perhaps may have died in the animal, the scientists at Oregon National Primate Research Center decided to take a different approach. Since this insertion did nothing, they decided to try even younger embryos which makes it even more flexible and allows it to develop into any type of cell. By having this insertion, they deemed to be successful and the result: three male rhesus macaques—twins Roku and Hex, and the singleton, Chimero. By having this experiment succeed and have three parents for the offspring, it gives hop for scientist to now get this done with humans and other species. Nobody knows how this will turn out to be if it does work with a human. They will have traits from not only two, but now three parents and potentially could work out in their favor.

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/april/1-more-than-two-parents

Placenta Stem Cell Extraction

Stem cells derived from a human placenta hold the key to unlocking a myriad of potentials in regenerative medicine and are the focus of X-Prize and Singularity University founder Peter Diamandis’ new endeavor.

Called Celularity, the startup is a spinout from Celgene, a global biopharmaceutical company creating gene therapies. Diamandis teamed up with Dr. Robert Hariri, the founder of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, to create Celularity in the hopes of using stem cells found in the human placenta to quickly regenerate tissue and organs needed to treat cancer and other diseases. The idea is these types of cells can do a better job of helping us live longer, fuller, healthier lives.

It’s a wild proposal and, seemingly, the stuff of science fiction often tossed around in certain Silicon Valley circles — create a startup focused on a medical breakthrough to make us live forever — or at least much, much longer than we currently do. But stem cell technology has been around for some time.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/peter-diamandis-new-startup-is-all-about-taking-stem-cells-from-placentas-so-we-can-live-forever/

Robots in the Future of the Mining Industry.

The floor of the ocean is rich with ore, much more than the surface is. This makes underwater mining very valuable. The issue with this is that at deeper points, it is difficult for human operators to mine effectively using the usual machinery. That is why a lot of research and development has gone into robotic vehicles to make this kind of mining possible. The Canadian company, Nautilus Minerals, has created three different robots for this. They are operated from a ship using feedback from the numerous cameras and sensors aboard the mining vehicles. They each serve different purposes too. One clears away the mining site since the bottom of the ocean is often rough. Another digs up the ground and loosens the ore from the rock. The last then sucks up a combination of ore, rock, and sea water, which will be sorted later. This new technology could prove to open up massive new potential for mining companies. Not only this, but technology like this can be applied to other industries besides mining, such as oil companies.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a16674275/underwater-robot-mining-nautilus-solwara-1-papua-new-guinea/

AI and Earthquakes

You'd think that the abilities of seismologists to detect earthquakes are already quite advanced; however, they are still unable to detect smaller earthquakes, much less predict them. The idea of using artificial intelligence to amplify the sensitivity of seismographs was proposed by Thibaut Perol and his colleagues when they were investigating the cause of a spike in the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma. Their idea proved to be effective since it is capable of detecting 17 times more earthquakes than older methods in only a fraction of the time. This technique is similar to the voice detection software used by digital assistants, like Alexa or Siri, that ignores background noise to listen to voice commands. The seismograph cancels out the natural rumbling of Earth to spot small or far away earthquakes. Perol says that "with this method, we are able to detect earthquakes of magnitude zero or minus one, and these are signals you wouldn't be able to see with a human eye." This is a huge step for seismologists because it increases the possibility of using AI to predict earthquakes by looking for patterns in data.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/14/17011396/ai-earthquake-detection-oklahoma-neural-network

Something is missing...

Something Missing

It may seem foreign, but today I learned that there are people in the world with such diseases whom do not have fingerprints. There are two diseases that result in the persons lacking of fingerprints. Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Thomas Jefferson University report that defects in the protein keratin 14 may be responsible for both diseases, known as Naegeli syndrome and dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis (DPR). Other symptoms include thickening of palms and soles of feet. Patients suffer from anomalies in the development of their teeth, hair, and skin, where pigmentation can appear patchy and uneven. This often causes abnormalities in the ability to sweat, which can lead to heat strokes as well as general overheating which is considered to be very dangerous to the carrier of these diseases.

In terms of our project and the field as a whole, this leaves scientists and analysts with no way to identify such persons other than DNA testing. In the police and investigation field, this could prohibit or at the very least, slow the process. There are other ways to identify criminals, however, because there are some criminals who burn their fingerprints in order to prevent authorities from identifying them.

Source: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060922-fingerprints_2.html

Are Fingerprint Patterns Inherited?

Yes, there is an inheritable quality to fingerprints. Pattern types are often genetically inherited, but the individual details that make a fingerprint unique are not. Humans, as well as apes and monkeys, have friction-ridge skin (FRS) covering the surfaces of their hands and feet. FRS comprises a series of ridges and furrows that provide friction to help in grasping and preventing slippage. FRS is unique and permanent. No 2 individuals (including identical twins) will have the exact same FRS arrangement. Also, the arrangement of the features do not change throughout our lifetimes. The term fingerprints refer to the FRS on the ends of our fingers.

Fingerprints translates into 3 major pattern types-- whirl, loop, or arch. It is possible to have just 1, 2, or all 3 of the patterns among your fingers. However, an individual cannot be identified from fingerprints by pattern type alone. An examiner must look for a specific path of ridges and the breaks or forms in the ridges (minutiae.)

Asteroid mining

Deep space industry is using The Comet-1™ electrothermal thruster uses the most abundant resource in the solar system—water—as propellant. It is intrinsically inert, launch safe, and cost-effective. This low-power, low-profile, high total impulse micropropulsion system is CubeSat-compatible but incorporates a highly-flexible interface suitable for a wide range of spacecraft sizes. they are using this to try to start mining materials from asteroid belts.

Pill that can be used to detect Certain Types of Cancer

Recent advancements in the Biomedical field have included a pill that can be swallowed to detect cancer. Inside this pill, there is a sponge-like object that expands as it goes inside your body. As it expands, it collects cells from inside your esophagus/gullet and when the sample is collected, a string attached to the sponge is used to pull it out. This method is more effective than other methods of detecting esophageal cancer, because it is able to collect more cells in a larger area in your esophagus. A biopsy (a type of procedure used to detect cancer), only uses a small area to detect cancer, and may not be as accurate. In addition, because this pill method is more effective at detecting cancer, it can help catch oesophageal cancer earlier so that treatment can start sooner. Oesophageal cancer is difficult to treat if not caught early enough, and it begins when cells in your esophagus begins to multiply and change shape, which can eventually spread to your stomach. Thus, this new treatment can help catch signs of cancer earlier, especially in those with Barrett's oesophagus (a condition that makes people more prone to Oesophageal cancer).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11751447/Pill-on-a-string-can-detect-cancer-without-need-for-biopsy.html

Self-Healing Fungi for Construction Use

As many buildings start to show their age and need to be repaired a new solution has been proposed by many scientists, specifically mycologists who study fungi, which is to use fungi for building material. Mycelium, which is a network of germinated fungal spores, can be used as a building material and can be grown. It's like growing bricks and then having them expand to the environment you want. The process would begin with germinated spores which act like eggs for a fungus, and then optimizing the growing environment for the hyphae (one germinated spore) which then in turn form mycelia which acts like sturdy foam.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180117152511.htm

Using Face-Detecting Systems to Authorize Payments

In an article by Will Night, he talks about the new use of technology at the Face++ company in China. When he walked into the company building, his face was added to their database through their face-detecting system. The addition of his face in their data system allows them to track his movements within the building. Night says that this technology used by Face++ can transform the way people go about in their everyday lives; how they interact with workers at banks and stores, and even transportation.

Night says that this technology is already being used in China by a mobile payment app called Alipay, where you can pay for anything online with just your face. A ride-hailing company called Didi also uses the face-detecting software of Face++ to check that the driver is legitimate. This can prevent robbery cases.

The use of this technology can change society completely; many jobs will be replaced, and overall, there would be a lot less interaction in our everyday lives. It's not a sure fact that this technology will be used in America because it is functioning in China because they have different attitudes towards their right to privacy.

Link: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603494/10-breakthrough-technologies-2017-paying-with-your-face/

Normal-Looking Smart Glasses

On February 5th, 2018, Intel released their new Vaunt smart glasses. Unlike the Google Glass, the Vaunt smart glasses actually look normal and is almost indistinguishable from traditional glasses. The Vaunt team's primary design goal was wearability-- the smart glasses didn't only needed to look like normal glasses, but they had to feel like them. Hence, the electronics and battery were carefully placed so the weight was evenly distributed.

So what can a smart glasses do for you? The Vaunt smart glasses shines a monochrome image onto a holographic reflector, which is then reflected directly into the retina. But worry not! The laser is so low-power that it falls in the bottom end of class-one lasers. Thus, everyday use of the smart glasses would be danger-free. The use of a smart glasses would decrease most of the work on the phone, like a smart watch but better because you can see the notifications without having to raise a single finger. By linking the smart glasses to your iPhone or Android via Bluetooth, you can get directions or notifications. The notifications will not pop up directly in your line of sight, but almost in your peripheral vision so that it is noticeable but not annoying. 

Intel is thinking of improving the smart glasses by including a microphone so the consumer can easily communicate with their smart glasses, much like how they communicate to Alexa or Siri. They also want to include cool features such as walking down the street and seeing restaurant information from Yelp as you look at a restaurant. Your phone tracks your location, and the glasses track the direction you look in, so this is a very possible feature for the future. \

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/5/16966530/intel-vaunt-smart-glasses-announced-ar-video

Falcon Heavy Launch

Falcon Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two. With the ability to lift into orbit nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 lb)---a mass greater than a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage and fuel--Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost. Falcon Heavy draws upon the proven heritage and reliability of Falcon 9.

Its first stage is composed of three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores whose 27 Merlin engines together generate more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft. Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit. Falcon Heavy was designed from the outset to carry humans into space and restores the possibility of flying missions with crew to the Moon or Mars.

Fingerprint Ridge Thinning

Ridge thinning is to eliminate the redundant pixels of ridges till the ridges are just one pixel wide.  In each scan of the full fingerprint image, the algorithm marks down redundant pixels in each small image window (3x3) and finally removes all those marked pixels after several scans. The thinned ridge map is then filtered by other Morphological operations to remove some H breaks, isolated points and spikes. In this step, any single points, whether they are single-point ridges or single-point breaks in a ridge are eliminated and considered processing noise. In previous testing, the parallel thinning algorithm had bad efficiency, but it got an ideal thinned ridge map after enough scans.
Below is an image of a thinned version of a fingerprint image:

Reversing Paralysis

People usually don't have to think about reaching their hand up to scratch their nose, or moving their legs as they walk, but those of us who can do this are very privileged. There are many people who suffer from paralysis, which can range from minor, such as not being able to move a finger, to not having control over anything below the neck. Thanks to recent discoveries though, scientists think that they may have discovered a way to restore muscle control to patients. Using neural implants and electrodes connected to muscles, the chip can read brain signals and then send electrical pulses to the muscles through the electrodes, imitating the neural system. The results are there to back it up as well. A test performed by neurological scientist Grégoire Courtine on a monkey with paralysis of its right leg showed that the system worked. After the chip was implanted and the electrodes connected, the monkey was able to flex its leg and even walk. In another experiment, a man that had no control below his shoulders was given full control over one of his arms after the chip was connected to his brain. This type of technology has been used in other areas as well, such as curing deafness. There is even hope to cure blindness with this technology, and even returning lost memories for people with Alzheimer's disease. This is the first time that scientists have looked to cure paralysis with this technology though, and the results so far are extremely promising. Hopefully, in the near future, paralysis will be an ailment of a world long forgotten.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603492/10-breakthrough-technologies-2017-reversing-paralysis/

3D Printed Bones and Implants

When we think of 3D printing, we often imagine a machine that uses hot plastic to form shapes and objects used in everyday life. However, with new technology, 3D printing is being redefined. 3D printing is stil used to make objects used in everyday life, but these objects are usually not seen. Bone replacements printed using a mix of hydroxyapatite (a natural calcium found in bones) and polymer are flexible and durable. In addition, due to its synthetic nature, this "hyperelastic bone" is cheaper than normal procedures used for accommodating missing bones.
In addition to "hyperelastic bone," a new material was created to hold bones together after surgery, that was ceramic initially, but would turn into bone over time as the wound from the surgery heals. This procedure is considered more effective than normal procedures, because it is able to dissolve in the human body as it heals, unlike bone transplants, in which the immune system of the patient needs to be considered and there is a chance that the patient's body will reject the "foreign" object.
In both "hyperelastic bone" and "Ceramic Implant," the experiments done so far were few but successful. Hopefully as time goes on, these procedures will be used on humans in order to improve and make more effective the healing process and aftermath of surgery of individuals in need of orthopedic surgery.


https://www.naturalnews.com/2018-02-07-3d-printed-ceramic-implant-holds-bones-together.html
https://www.designnews.com/materials-assembly/3d-printed-artificial-bones-aimed-replacing-surgery/68974044057381
https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/28/13094642/hyperelastic-bone-graft-substance-unveiled

The Amazing Race

While growing up, kids have an incredible imagination and dream so big in the area they want to work in. Most children dream of becoming an astronaut or a race car driver since it seems so thrilling and cool. By having so man generations dreaming of the same thing, it becomes boring and a change is needed which is why these "dreams" are actually the most crucial part to the process of advancement. Every single person has different thoughts which allows the inventions of many different advancements. The future of our world seems to be technology in any size, shape, or form. Because of this, Computers have been the most complex and competitive industry to go into because everyone seems to know so much about the way these machines work.

Throughout life, I have grown to learn so many important ideas, but one of the most important is to keep to yourself and keep pushing yourself grow. You can't trust other people and there is a reason that everything happens. This being said, it is important to go through with dreams an experiment because you don't know if your right until you've been wrong many, many times before. Just by assembling robots, I have learned to critique every situation in different perspectives and allows me to try to understand how things function. There are many aspects to every situation which is why research and preparation is needed. It is nobodies duty but our own to complete tasks and understand the situation.

Augmented reality

Some of the newest augmented-reality work is SixthSense. In February 2009, at the TED
conference, Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry presented their augmented-reality system,
which they developed as part of MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces Group. It relies on
some basic components that are found in many augmented reality systems.

SixthSense is remarkable because it uses very simple, off-the-shelf components that
totals up to cost about $350. It is also notable because the projector essentially turns any
surface into an interactive screen. The device works by using the camera and mirror to
examine the surrounding world, feeding that image to the phone and then projecting
information from the projector onto the surface in front of the user, whether it's a wrist, a
wall, or even a person. Because the user is wearing the camera on his chest, SixthSense
will augment whatever he looks at; for example, if he picks up a can of soup in a grocery
store, SixthSense can find and project onto the soup information about its ingredients,
price, nutritional value -- even customer reviews.

mandyLOVESrobots

Last week, we added construction paper to our structure, which helped build the contrast between the white fingerprint ridges and the background. We put it on the opposite side of the camera so it would not be in the reflection within the prism.

Hey THERE! 2/9/18
This is an updated post for this week!
This week we scanned many fingerprints of the class, during which we adjusted our camera a few times to focus it to what we needed exactly. For some prints, we decided to turn the light off to make the print clearer and reduce the light spots within the fingerprint. 
 This is an example of a fingerprint that needed heavy adjusting on the scanner. We are still unsure of how exactly to fix this problem, but we struggled with capturing some prints that had light spots like the one on the bottom left side of this one. 

HEY - this week we are working on our code. Using MATLAB, we are testing different ways to enhance our fingerprint images using code ideas found on the online MATLAB File Exchange.

2/15/18
HEYY
I'm back
It's not really Friday, but there's no school tomorrow so its FAKE FRIDAY. Over this past week, our team worked on our Matlab code, which simultaneously scanning more of the classes' prints.