Science!

[Kong]

A thread to post and discuss interesting science.

I'll start it off with this
The First Gear Discovered in Nature - Popular Mechanics (http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/the-first-gear-discovered-in-nature-15916433)

A bug evolved a mechanical gear in it's legs.
It is the only creature known to have gears.
It is one of (but not the) fastest animal accelerators.
It's body is less than 1/10th an inch and it can jump over 8 mph at nearly 400 g's.
Humans die at less than 20 g's.

It's "hip" bones.
http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_09/2703.jpg
http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_09/2704.gif


Post more science.

[Slime Slayer]

Recent advancements in quantum teleportation.
A world first! Success at complete quantum teleportation #DigInfo - YouTube

[Kong]

Just an FYI as I understand that.

By teleportation they do not mean "beam me up Scotty" style.

If perfected I think it would have two primary uses.
1. Make computer processors extremely fast.
2. Make communication between Earth and space extremely fast. Which would be really handy if we ever start to really explore space.

Pretty sure they are first working on #1.

[Barra]

Pretty cool. Although Kong is right, its more of a communication rather than a teleportation.

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_09/2707.jpg


Polymer regenerates all by itself | Chemistry World (http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/09/polymer-regenerates-elastomer-heals-independently)

Terminators are not too far away.

---------- Post added 09-16-2013 at 05:02 PM ---------- Previous post was 09-15-2013 at 09:44 PM ----------

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_09/2713.jpg


A 1,476-foot tower equipped with its very own cloaking device (http://io9.com/a-1-476-foot-tower-equipped-with-its-very-own-cloaking-1300809867)

Super cool but super pointless. Low flying aircraft crash just waiting to happen.
We start making invisible things and the first thing we make is a building. Why?

[DrunkN]

Super cool but super pointless. Low flying aircraft crash just waiting to happen.

That was my first thought. Who would fund something like this?

[Barra]

That was my first thought. Who would fund something like this?

"...the project is being backed by Korea Land & Housing Corporation — a state-owned land and public housing developer"

No completion date yet though so maybe they are still looking for funding.

[Kong]

Two Monkeys Were Paid Unequally: Excerpt from Frans de Waal's TED Talk - YouTube

[CrispyChicken]

Bill Nye the Science Guy was on Dancing With the Stars yesterday. He was pretty bad but the crowd loved him and started chanting "Bill! Bill! Bill!".

Bill Nye & Tyne - Cha Cha - DWTS 17 (Opening Night) - YouTube

While this has barely anything to do with science, I figured this would be the perfect place to post this since Bill Nye is The science guy :p And I definitely didn't want to make a topic just on this XD

[Dudebro]

Bill Nye gets a pass on anything(within reason obviously) he does because he's so cool.

[Kong]

I like that they incorporated his personality into the dance. Good song choice for him.

Is anyone (everyone) else super annoyed by all the formulaic 3 judge panel shows? I totally felt like the judges were reading a script and knew what they were going to say irregardless of his performance.

[CrispyChicken]

I like that they incorporated his personality into the dance. Good song choice for him.

Is anyone (everyone) else super annoyed by all the formulaic 3 judge panel shows? I totally felt like the judges were reading a script and knew what they were going to say irregardless of his performance.

Yeah I really don't watch the show. My mom does and I watched yesterday when I heard Bill Nye was going to be on lol.

[Barra]

Why is Bill Nye so cool? I havent watched much of his stuff.
Personally as a science geek I like Michio Kaku

[Slime Slayer]

He's had a children show about putting baking powder in vinegar and such. I have no idea why he's exploded off the top of the cool charts over the last couple years.

[Dudebro]

@Kong- Yeah the panel judge thing is getting really old. It seems like they always have a formula, like one judge will be mean no matter what.

@steven- I assume he's popular again because he's out spoken about his belief that stuff like creationism is bad for kids and that climate change is very real. He's sick of the misinformation and he's not making any apologies if it offends people. He's not a jerk about it though.

[CrispyChicken]

I grew up watching Bill Nye videos in 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th grade. He's fun. He loves his job, and he's good at it too. I've learned a lot from him and he keeps kids interested. Plus he's just a fun character in general lol.

[Slime Slayer]

@Kong- Yeah the panel judge thing is getting really old. It seems like they always have a formula, like one judge will be mean no matter what.

@steven- I assume he's popular again because he's out spoken about his belief that stuff like creationism is bad for kids and that climate change is very real. He's sick of the misinformation and he's not making any apologies if it offends people. He's not a jerk about it though.

Gotcha, I'm a bit out of the loop when it comes to stuff like that.

[CrispyChicken]

Bill Nye: Magnetism - YouTube

Here's an episode of his show. He pretty much teaches basic science for kids to learn. Honestly, it really did help me in middle school and early high school. Its a fun way to learn, which is hard to find in school for the everyday student.

[DrunkN]

I grew up watching Bill Nye videos in 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th grade. He's fun. He loves his job, and he's good at it too. I've learned a lot from him and he keeps kids interested. Plus he's just a fun character in general lol.

Ditto. I never knew anyone who hated Nye or his show. Even when I was a freshman in high school we occasionally watched clips from his stuff with minimal groaning at the (by then) simple material.

@Barra: I like Kaku as well, but I a big factor in the popularity is Nye's show. A lot of people who were exposed to it are in college and highschool now.

To get back to Science a little bit, I'm adding this;
Wide-Faced Men Make Others Act Selfishly (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130916140451.htm)

[Barra]

Oh right so its more about Nye's character/persona which has the mass appeal. I guess you can see it as Nye being the kids scientist and Kaku being the adults'....hehe

[Mikman]

On the main topic, I believe that teleportation could be possible not through disintegration and reintegration, like on Star Trek, but through mini-wormholes and quantum singularity. I once saw a show which stated that the software data alone for "Trek transport" is beyond even near future tech, and that disintegration would essentially kill the passengers.

[Dudebro]

and that disintegration would essentially kill the passengers.
Don't worry Star Trek didn't gloss over this part. In that story there's a debate about what actually happens when someone is beamed up. Are they still the same person or a copy? When they were first used in starships most people still preferred other transport, like shuttlecraft. Even as late as TNG they made a point of showing that Bones(DeForest Kelley) hates using it because he doesn't want his atoms scattered. Obviously they show that the vast majority of people don't think twice about doing it but here and there they show some reluctance and outright refusal.

[Mikman]

Aha, some were sketchy about it. On Star Trek, they have a device which solves the uncertainy principle, but how does that work?

When do you believe teleportation will become feasible for regular use?

[Dudebro]

To both questions- Who knows. It's science fiction. It might never happen.

[CrispyChicken]

Sleep is important!

What If You Stopped Sleeping? - YouTube

[Mikman]

Much of what was sci-fi is now sci-fact.

Strangely, though, little sci-fi media predicted the internet, or at least it's role in society.

[joz]

Cool guest on the Daily Show.

Exclusive - Richard Dawkins Extended Interview Pt. 1 - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 09/24/13 - Video Clip | Comedy Central (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-24-2013/exclusive---richard-dawkins-extended-interview-pt--1)

[Seahawk]

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_10/2838.jpg

A unique 46-million-year-old mosquito fossil with a belly full of dried blood has been found in a Montana riverbed, according to United States researchers.

"It is an extremely rare fossil, the only one of its kind in the world," Dale Greenwalt, lead author of the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), said.

Cutting-edge instruments detected the unmistakable traces of iron in her engorged abdomen, but just what creature that blood came from is a mystery since DNA cannot be extracted from a fossil that old.Rare mosquito fossil found in Montana riverbed shows insect's blood-filled belly - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-15/rare-mosquito-fossil-shows-female27s-blood-filled-belly/5022426)

[Dudebro]

Jurassic park was right!

[Mikman]

That anyone actually create "Jurassic Park" is far-fetched because one needs exact DNA and a proper device in which the creature would develop, and we don't have near that tech, supposedly.

[Dudebro]

Far fetched doesn't mean impossible! Maybe we can use them for war instead of entertainment?
http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_10/2839.jpg
!

[RU Joe]

Seems like I posted the 'Hold on to your butts' pic in the wrong thread.
{damn, what a waste!}

MM:
That anyone actually create "Jurassic Park" is far-fetched because one needs exact DNA and a proper device in which the creature would develop, and we don't have near that tech, supposedly.
I'd go with 'supposedly'.
Mankind's sum total of technological development is not reflected in the latest 'i Phone', nor in the '3D printer', nor in anything else available to the general public online or elsewhere.
If you want to get a better idea of what the real level of technology is, look to the Military, then think ahead about 30 years beyond what you see.

I believe that would be the kind of stuff you'd find in the secret underground labs and such.
Furthermore I think it is possible for them to extract the D.N.A. from that mosquito, with existing {secret} technology.

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_10/2840.jpg

---------- Post added at 01:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:14 PM ----------

Cool guest on the Daily Show.

Exclusive - Richard Dawkins Extended Interview Pt. 1 - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 09/24/13 - Video Clip | Comedy Central (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-24-2013/exclusive---richard-dawkins-extended-interview-pt--1)
Bummer.
Video 'not available in my area'.

The synopsis read:
In this exclusive, unedited interview, Richard Dawkins takes issue with religion's anti-scientific tendencies and considers the possibility of life on other planets.

My guess is 'religion' doesn't want me to watch the video.
I may go looking beyond the church for answers.
Next we'll understand ourselves and the Universe better, then we'll begin Starfleet Academy, and we can't have that, can we?
:snicker:

[Dudebro]

I know you don't believe the official story of anything but it makes sense that DNA would degrade beyond viability if it's that old and fossilized. I agree with you about tech not being what we see of it though.

[Mikman]

By "supposedly" I meant what the general public knows. I don't doubt that the military and other secret government ops have more advanced tech, although it may not be complete yet. However, I agree with that any fossilized DNA would have degraded too far. Of course, in the far future, new tech could reverse even this.

[kernzy]

it's funny.
someone said above "science fiction becomes science fact."
this is true.
it's almost like the writers/directors of science fiction movies actually give scientists/inventors something to aim for. maybe the writers mind can invent a device in their mind, but not practically, and the inventors can make stuff, but not think it up for themselves.
i've been trying to find a star trek related video. for example, Ohura used what we now call a blue tooth headset. that is just one of many...
http://www.starship-obready.org/images/Star%20Trek%20oreillette.jpg

[Mikman]

The evolutions of fictional technologies and real ones often influence each other. However, that few people predicted the internet, at least in its current form, always suprises me.

[Kong]

YaleNews | Researchers rewrite an entire genome — and add a healthy twist (http://news.yale.edu/2013/10/17/researchers-rewrite-entire-genome-and-add-healthy-twist)

[Mikman]

Do you believe that the advantages of DNA engineering outweigh the disadvantages?

[DrunkN]

Do you believe that the advantages of DNA engineering outweigh the disadvantages?

List some disadvantages.

[Kong]

List some disadvantages.
Warfare, terrorism, class warfare, invasive species, accidents.

The good, is we create super species including super humans and animal slave like robots (is that good?), cure diseases including viral, bacterial and hereditary diseases. Solve fossil fuel, climate and environment issues.

The list of good and bad possibilities are huge and at this point purely theoretical and mostly sci-fi.


Science is neither good nor evil, it is just simply powerful. The people who use science can choose to use it for good or evil.

So the question is not is this science bad but are we humans ready for it.

USA, Isreal and China all are actively engaged in covert cyber warfare. For me that sadly says we are not ready for this much power at all and I do find that incredibly disappointing. :'(

[Mikman]

Of course the current governments aren't ready for anything of the sort. Only morally upright people should have and use powers of science and technology. That's why we should change the political and economic systems of the world, because the most selfish persons seemingly rise above everyone else.

[DrunkN]

Reach Through the TV with MIT's Amazing Kinect-Controlled Project (http://kotaku.com/reach-through-the-tv-with-mits-amazing-kinect-controll-1465867158)

It's cooler than it sounds, but this I'd say this is more "tech" news than "science" news. Should we make a new thread?

[CrispyChicken]

Sort of related.
Yeah Science! - YouTube

[Kong]

Should we make a new thread?
I think they can be combined.

[Mikman]

What kind of purpose could this new technology have?

[Ballas]

What about LG's new self healing phone. Heals itself when scratched...
Watch LG's G Flex Self-Heal After a Knife Attack (http://gizmodo.com/watch-lgs-g-flex-kinda-self-heal-after-a-knife-attac-1468100430)

[Kong]

Why would someone want to inhale bees?

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2013_11/3034.jpg

Susana Soares: Bee´s / Project (http://www.susanasoares.com/index.php?id=56)

[Seahawk]

Finally, science is about to benefit the common man.

Next-gen USB connector will (finally!) fit both ways | PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2068940/planned-new-usb-connector-will-fit-both-ways.html)

[Dudebro]

http://whyevolutionistrue.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/08_22_2012_fractal-life.gif?w=500&h=375

the final stop of this zoom, which spans multiple orders of magnitude, is a little bacterium. That bacterium is resting on a diatom, a class of algae that are known for their silica shells. The diatom is, in turn, sitting on an amphipod, a type of shell-less crustacean.

There’s a bacterium on a diatom on an amphipod on a . . . you know the rest « Why Evolution Is True (http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/theres-a-bacterium-on-an-amphipod-on-a-you-know-the-rest/)

[Seahawk]

Multiverse panderings

Multiverse gets real with glimpse of big bang ripples - space - 18 March 2014 - New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25249-multiverse-gets-real-with-glimpse-of-big-bang-ripples.html?full=true)

[CrispyChicken]

I was talking to my physics teacher from last year about this today. It's pretty cool stuff.

[Mikman]

By multiverse do they mean multiple alternate universes which arise from temporal variations?

[Ballas]

That anyone actually create "Jurassic Park" is far-fetched because one needs exact DNA and a proper device in which the creature would develop, and we don't have near that tech, supposedly.

Well 10 years ago I didn't believe that a beef patty can be grown in a lab either.

[KATZ]

Well 10 years ago I didn't believe that a beef patty can be grown in a lab either.

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2014_03/3531.jpg

they also sound different than normal patties

[Mikman]

Science can truly faster than how we predict. However, do we really know the economic and environmental effects of lab-grown food?

Do you believe that multiple universes exist?

[Barra]

Believe in it all you want, or dont. Doesnt make a difference. There is no way to know. Theories can be presented but they will likely never be proved right or wrong. (well you can never prove a theory correct, but thats another argument)

[RU Joe]

C.E.R.N. is attempting to solve these mysteries of alternate Universes, the 'Big Bang' theory, and most frightening, Black Holes.

In the Sci - fi series Star Trek, they would just launch a probe toward the Black Hole or whatever, but the Scientists at C.E.R.N. seem to think it better to make one here on Earth ..

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2014_03/3545.jpg

Alternate Universes are mathematically provable, and I remember reading there are about 11 or so.
Mathematically provable.
Apparently this is different from provable provable.
::)

[Barra]

[/B]Alternate Universes are mathematically provable, and I remember reading there are about 11 or so.
Mathematically provable.
Apparently this is different from provable provable.
::)

Theories are theories!

[Mikman]

Sometimes our math doesn't account for unknown quantities. I wonder, though, if we could actually travel to an alternate universe, even if they exist. We can't truly know right now, but the potential effects could interest us, as could those of a multiverse. According to theory, another version of each of us could exist in one or more other universes.

[Seahawk]

HUMANITY DOOMED - GIANT VIRII RESURRECTED FROM PERMAFROST

Giant virus resurrected from 30,000-year-old ice : Nature News & Comment (http://www.nature.com/news/giant-virus-resurrected-from-30-000-year-old-ice-1.14801)

[Dudebro]

still able to infect amoebae despite having spent 30 millennia in a frozen state.
Yikes!

If it was possible to revive a plant, I wondered if it was possible to revive a virus
Totally irresponsible.

[Mikman]

In The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, the woken dinosaur accidentally released a virus which infected many persons. Could this and/or future similar incidents cause real outbreaks?

That article mentioned resurrected plants. Could ancient plants become modern food sources?

[RU Joe]

MM:
I wonder, though, if we could actually travel to an alternate universe, even if they exist.I think it would be like going from 2D to 3D; think of poor Paper Mario (http://www.retrouprising.com/arcade.php?act=Arcade&do=play&gameid=11649) » Nintendo 64 (http://www.retrouprising.com/arcade.php?act=Arcade&ssearch=21)

Sea:
HUMANITY DOOMED - GIANT VIRII RESURRECTED FROM PERMAFROSTPfft.
{the sound it made while escaping from the ice}



still able to infect amoebae despite having spent 30 millennia in a frozen state. Yikes!

If it was possible to revive a plant, I wondered if it was possible to revive a virus



WHAT!?
http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2014_03/3552.jpg


REPORT TO THE DISINTEGRATION CHAMBER AT ONCE!!!


DB:
Totally irresponsible.
It makes me wonder about a lot of the things people do 'in the name of Science'.
I realize they get paid a lot; fast car, big house, vacations, and fabulous prizes IF they turn a blind eye to the possibility what they're doing may have permanent repercussions?
Maybe they don't have families or anyone to care about but still, where's their natural instincts? - maybe I'm just being a Weenie again ..

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2014_03/3553.jpg

.. and we should 'nuke the whales', just to see how fast they'd cook?
IN the name of Science of course.
:talktohand:

I understand there's also the plants involved and as MM pointed out they may be able to use them for food .. which would be nice to see.

[Dudebro]

Some people are just too curious.

[Barra]

You think scientists dont know that what they are doing could have negative consequences as well as positive ones??
This is the exact reason controls are put in place to PREVENT such things happening.

Of course I realise that there will always be an exception to the rule, where the main objective is to use science in an inhumane way, but a small exception at best.

[gastrainga]

Believe in it all you want, or dont. Doesnt make a difference. There is no way to know. Theories can be presented but they will likely never be proved right or wrong. (well you can never prove a theory correct, but thats another argument)
Not true. In order to be a scientific theory, it must be testable and make falsiable predictions. So you can't prove it is correct, but you CAN prove it is incorrect. If it isn't falsiable, it isn't scientific.

What's more to qualify as a "scientific theory" it should have started as a scientific hypothesis which only became recognized as a scientific theory over time as it became a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly confirmed thorough observation and experimentation.

So it is fairly easy to claim a scientific hypothesis, but if it's a scientific theory, it's probably already gone under a LOT of peer review.

-George

[Barra]

Not true. In order to be a scientific theory, it must be testable and make falsiable predictions. So you can't prove it is correct, but you CAN prove it is incorrect. If it isn't falsiable, it isn't scientific.

What's more to qualify as a "scientific theory" it should have started as a scientific hypothesis which only became recognized as a scientific theory over time as it became a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly confirmed thorough observation and experimentation.

So it is fairly easy to claim a scientific hypothesis, but if it's a scientific theory, it's probably already gone under a LOT of peer review.

-George

More or less what I was getting at.

[RU Joe]

I appreciate the fact there are safety precautions taken in almost every kind of Scientific research.
I once worked in Canada's only toxic waste dump, in Alberta - and even at that facility, multiple layers of safety precautions sometimes failed .. but not often.

All I'm saying is that certain experiments such as this possible revival of an Eons - frozen virus seems a bit risky.


http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2014_04/3555.jpg

:thinking:

[RevJ]

Multiverse panderings

Multiverse gets real with glimpse of big bang ripples - space - 18 March 2014 - New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25249-multiverse-gets-real-with-glimpse-of-big-bang-ripples.html?full=true)

TLDR: RevJ is overly excited about this and thinks he is a smarty and that others will read his unwieldy wall of text

This only caused a blip in our mass media, probably because the importance of this apparent finding is hard to describe easily. I never thought they'd find 'gravity waves' because the waves would be so hard to detect, so this report (which didn't have the media build-up prior to the discovery of the Higgs mechanism) is astounding. Sure they need to verify things, but the signal is so big there are a number of other instruments they can use (and I believe in October they will be able to have a look).

They've basically found the gravity wave equivalent of the microwave background radiation, which points to what happens ridiculously early in the formation of the universe. This backs up theories of inflation (which I used to think was a real ugly ad-hoc fix), which in turn suggests that new universes can inflate out of almost nothing at any time (hence the multiverse). The research also suggests that gravity is quantised, so there may be particles to find and a way to better link gravity to the other forces. Scientists will be dancing with joy again if the findings can be corroborated with further evidence.

I firmly believe that the multiverse, in some form, is real. It used to be the thoughts of science fiction writers, but there are a numbers of reasons why the mutliverse may actually exist. Inflationary particles as above. An infinite universe where sooner or later far, far, far away there is another version of yourself. Perhaps the universe is really just numbers and mathematics, so anything that can be expressed mathematically is allowed to exist? Why is the universe so finely tuned to allow us our existence? Maybe because all possible universes exist, allowing amongst the trash a nice universe handy for us? Or what about the cat in the box - can it really be both dead or alive until we check on it's welfare? It makes more sense (to me anyway) if both universes exist and we live on in both with the cat being only half as lucky.

Personally I think all the options for a multiverse are mathematically equivalent anyway. Getting proof in more than a philosophical sense might be tricky though. There's an interesting possibility though - seeing as we can;t consciously experience ourselves in a state of deadness, the only option might be that we continue to experience ourselves living, longer and longer - 120 years, 150 years, 200 years? Maybe by then we will believe in the multiverse, but won't be able to convince anyone else about it? :bulgy-eyes:

[RU Joe]

RevJ:
TLDR: RevJ is overly excited about this and thinks he is a smarty and that others will read his unwieldy wall of textAutomatic huge bonus points for spacing it out, even I can read it now!!
This backs up theories of inflation (which I used to think was a real ugly ad-hoc fix), which in turn suggests that new universes can inflate out of almost nothing at any time
Like when you have nachos with salsa and refried beans?:redface:

Seriously though I find that idea frightening but then if there are alternate universes who's to say the cat isn't dead/ alive - as we likely would be ourselves if that were the case.



ALL the possibilities!

http://www.retrouprising.com/img/2014_04/3560.png

Maybe because all possible universes exist, allowing amongst the trash a nice universe handy for us?
We need to sort out our collective heads first, in my opinion - beginning with better and more responsible leaders who actually care about the future.
:clap:
, but the point is that here we are on the brink of colonizing Mars .. and we still have religious/ political/ financial shenannigans keeping us down, fighting each other in senseless wars, polluting the environment, etc. with no end in sight.

Until that nonsense gets fixed we can only expect the same problems everywhere else we go.
Same trash, different planets.

Why is the universe so finely tuned to allow us our existence?

Perhaps we are only an anomaly, and it only seems to be 'tuned' for us.

There's an interesting possibility though - seeing as we can;t consciously experience ourselves in a state of deadness, the only option might be that we continue to experience ourselves living, longer and longer - 120 years, 150 years, 200 years? Maybe by then we will believe in the multiverse, but won't be able to convince anyone else about it?
I would only want good people to be able to live longer.
What if really evil people lived for 200 + years?
The old farts ruining this world have lived long enough already in my opinion.

On the multiverse, I think you would enjoy a documentary called 'What the bleep do we know?' which deals with such things as whether observation and thought affect things like light particles - I don't know how much is reliable info but it's an interesting watch.

.................................................. .................................................. ......................

In other news, this:

Science! - YouTube

[Seahawk]

Miku Jackson/Hatsune Michael

Billboard Awards preview: Michael Jackson imagery is ‘as if he’s still alive’ - Las Vegas Sun News (http://lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2014/may/17/billboard-awards-preview-michael-jackson-imagery-i/)

A “real-life” Michael Jackson will appear halfway through the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday at MGM Grand Garden Arena despite last-minute lawsuits and court filings to block the spectacle.

“It’s as if he’s still alive. He’s totally real. It’s absolutely uncanny. People who have seen just a little of it have become so emotional, they have tears running down their face. They are sobbing because it’s as if he didn’t die,” I was told.

“It was two years in development and took an additional six months to create for this network premiere,” I was told. “This is way, way beyond a hologram. It is way, way beyond what you know as 3D. This isn’t even digital. It is far more advanced and a totally new process.”

I also exclusively learned that Michael will be seen dancing with a cast of dancers. He will be seen moonwalking back and forth the entire MGM Grand Garden Arena stage. He also will be seen dancing up and down stairs.

“This is the most emotional piece of television we have ever produced in our 40-year TV careers,” two Dick Clark Productions execs told me. “A few people have seen it, a tiny portion of it, already in the arena and have been crying — it’s that powerful. Incredibly, it plays even better on the TV screen, so imagine how viewers will react at home.

“They will be in a state of disbelief. It’s as if he’s still alive at the height of his career.”

“This has never been done before. It is 100 steps beyond anything anybody has ever thought you’d experienced as a hologram. It is so real, it is so lifelike, there is no way an audience would know the artist is not there in front of them. So real an artist would actually never have to go out on tour again or need makeup for an appearance. The artist is there without being there. You cannot tell the difference."

A few key major city radio DJs were given a 30-second sneak preview of the spectacle after signing secrecy agreements. Under strict promises of remaining anonymous, I was told: “Within 10 seconds, I was shaking. Then I started sobbing. Michael was alive. I had goose bumps. He was as real as the day I last saw him alive."

[Mikman]

I like the idea of holograms but this seems crass and pointless. Why don't they usefully use this?

[Seahawk]

Humans just got a step closer to being able to think a message into someone else's brain on the other side of the world: in a first-of-its-kind study, an international team of researchers has successfully achieved brain-to-brain transmission of information between humans.
The team, comprising researchers from Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Starlab Barcelona in Spain, and Axilum Robotics in Strasbourg, France, used a number of technologies that enabled them to send messages from India to France -- a distance of 5,000 miles (8046.72km) -- without performing invasive surgery on the test subjects.


Brain-to-brain verbal communication in humans achieved for the first time - CNET (http://www.cnet.com/news/brain-to-brain-verbal-communication-in-humans-achieved-for-the-first-time/)

Full study: PLOS ONE: Conscious Brain-to-Brain Communication in Humans Using Non-Invasive Technologies (http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0105225)

[Krendall]

So we've invented telepathy? That crosses the line from awesome to creepy IMHO.

[Kong]

Click bait headline.

The sender converts the word they want to say to binary. They think about their hands for a 1 and their feet for a 0. The computer reads the hand and feet thoughts then sends the binary over the internet. The receiving computer gets the binary and makes the receiving person think they see a light to the left for a 1 and to the right for a 0. Then the receiver has to convert the blinking light binary back to text.

It is cool and all, but it is not new and it is not telepathy.

[DrunkN]

Inside Adam Savage's Cave: Awesome Robot Spider! - YouTube

[Seahawk]

I watched the Orion capsule test launch on Friday at work, had a stream on my second monitor.

As someone who used to watch the space shuttles launch from my great uncle's house in Florida it was really exciting to see a space launch and landing again.

The footage provided by the UAVs during landing was cool, watching the thing fall (it was falling really fast!) and then the chutes deploy. Super neat.

Semi related: NASA gets fancy digital countdown display, retires Apollo clock - CNET (http://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-gets-fancy-new-digital-countdown-clock/)

[Dudebro]

It's Alive! NASA's New Horizons Pluto Probe 'Wakes Up' for Work - NBC News (http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/its-alive-nasas-new-horizons-pluto-probe-wakes-work-n262996)

New Horizons woke up after 9 years and 3 billion miles of traveling. It's on its way to Pluto to take some awesome pictures of that wanna be planet. We might see new planetoids, ice rings, ice volcanoes and who knows what else(probably lots of ice). The team had some famous tenor record a version of this song for the occasion-

Star Trek: Faith of the Heart - YouTube

Originally recorded by Rod Stewart but I like to think they chose it because of it's connection to Star Trek.

[DrunkN]

Japan Fires The World's Most Powerful Laser | Popular Science (http://www.popsci.com/researchers-japan-fired-worlds-most-powerful-laser)

As I understand it, the laser is activated for around one trillionth of a second, and to run that long takes as much energy as it does to power a microwave for a few seconds. It can't be left on for long, as we just don't produce enough energy on earth to power it.

To blow up Earth, you would need 2×10^32 Joules of energy. That's something like as much as around a trillion billion USAs produce.

By logic of sketchy math, we now have a laser that's one billionth the power of the Death Star.

[Kong]

LFEX = Japan LASER
LFEX + (Cold Fusion (X(gallons) h20)) = Death Star.

Solve for X. Not sure what X is but there should be way more than enough on earth to fuel Death Star.