NASA Seeks Wisdom of Crowd for Mars Robot Missions
Scientists and engineers worldwide can submit papers for a conference dedicated to brainstorming ideas for future Mars exploration.
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Will Computers Ever Know Everything?
An essay in Science magazine by Andrew Hodges, the dean of Wadham College at Oxford University, suggests that Alan Turing’s greatest contribution was defining the limits of what computers can “know”—that is, what is computable. By formalizing the computability question in 1936, Turing illuminated the deeper issue of what humans could know: Is our knowledge…
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Digital Textbooks Will Change the Way Students Learn
Science can advance quickly, rendering existing textbooks obsolete. Now new digital textbooks are emerging intended to better engage students and keep them up-to-date on the latest research. These e-books will cost (and weigh) less than the average printed tome. In January, Apple announced its iBooks 2 textbook platform for the iPad, and publishers, including McGraw-Hill,…
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Scientists Build First Working Quantum Network
Scientists at the Quantum Dynamics division of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany announced that they have built the very first, elementary quantum network comprised of a pair of entangled atoms that transmit information to each other via single photons. That and a couple of bucks will get you a cup of…
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Humans vs. Robots: Who Should Dominate Space Exploration?
Many space scientists, engineers and politicians argue that virtually anything a human can do on another planet, a robot can do, only cheaper and without the risk of losing a life. But the battle between humans and robots for the starring role in the next chapter of space exploration is not yet settled. Robots have…
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Cooperating Mini-Brains Show How Intelligence Evolved
Working together can hasten brain evolution, according to a new computer simulation. When programmed to navigate challenging cooperative tasks, the artificial neural networks set up by scientists to serve as mini-brains “learned” to work together, evolving the virtual equivalent of boosted brainpower over generations. The findings support a long-held theory that social interactions may have…
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DARPA Seeking to Build (Friendly) Terminators
The government is looking for a few good robots. But never fear, this year’s DARPA Robotics Challenge isn’t a casting call for positronic killing machines—instead, teams are being asked to design robots capable of driving a vehicle, using power tools to bash through walls, and even replace a cooling pump, for a $2 million grand…
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Opening the Gate to Robust Quantum Computing
Scientists have overcome a major hurdle facing quantum computing: how to protect quantum information from degradation by the environment while simultaneously performing computation in a solid-state quantum system. The research, reported in a recent issue of Nature, opens the door to robust quantum computation with solid-state devices and using quantum technologies for magnetic measurements with…
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Facebook: Big Friend or Big Brother?
Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon are the masters of this new universe. Each dominates an overlapping realm of activity and enterprise on the Internet – social media, search engine, hardware design, software and online commerce. And each is now so huge that they can kill or buy most competitors and set the standards for…
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Proposed Satellite Would Beam Solar Power to Earth
An energy-hungry Earth is in need of transformational and sustainable energy solutions. For decades, researchers have been appraising the use of power-beaming solar-power satellites. But the projected cost, complexity and energy economics of the notion seemingly short-circuited the idea. Now, a unique new approach has entered the scene, dubbed SPS-ALPHA, short for Solar Power Satellite…