Scientists use defects to create a new programmable material
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Programmable materials are a new class of revolutionary materials that can be manufactured once and then programmed to alter their properties and shape on demand to suit a limitless number of use cases. New research by a team at Purdue University has shown that honeycomb...
Scientists turn nuclear waste into diamond batteries that last forever
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Nuclear waste is normally buried beneath ground and left forever, this new breakthrough gives nuclear processing companies a new option and a new revenue stream. Researchers at the University of Bristol have developed a method to turn radioactive graphite blocks, a waste product of...
Accidental discovery pauses life and puts embryos into suspended animation
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to put embryos, cells, organisms and people into suspended animation could have a significant impact on anti-ageing, cancer treatments, IVF and space travel. A new study by researchers at the University of California San Francisco published in Nature this week has shown, for...
Scientists may have discovered the algorithm for Human intelligence
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF It seems algorithms rule the world, now scientists think they have identified the algorithm responsible for human intelligence, if true then it could revolutionise artificial intelligence. Little might you realise but as you read this article there’s a good chance your brain is running...
Scientists have created the worlds first artificial neuron
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Neurons play a crucial role in helping ensure our bodies run smoothly, but when they’re damaged, or degrade there can be dire consequences, from dementia to quadriplegia, this breakthrough might let us restore, or even enhance, neurological functions. Researchers have built the world’s first...
This rookie used brainwaves to control a plane flying around the skies of Seattle
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As we continue to unravel the mysteries of our brain and how it operates we will inevitably be able to harness it and use it to communicate, control and interact directly with the people and things around us, and in us. Earlier this week...
The end of all disease by 2115, Zuckerberg shows off the team hoping to cure the world
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Many big moonshots fail not because of the technology but because of the lack of coordination and for, perhaps the first time ever, we now have both thanks to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative A while ago I wrote an article about how, given all...
Scientists confirm our brains have unique fingerprints
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Our brains are unique – even more so than our eyes, faces and fingerprints – but now it’s been confirmed this discovery will open the door for new neurological healthcare treatments as well as accelerate the rise of new brainwave biometric security technologies People...
Chinese researchers trial the worlds first cancer vaccine on humans
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The CRISPR gene editing technique is being used to create everything from new forms of life that are resistant to every known virus on Earth to vaccines for cancer, it will, and is already, revolutionising life and wellbeing In July this year a team...
Scientists have found a way to turn your body into a computer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A chemical computer, one that doesn’t use electrical signals to communicate, means that we now, potentially, have a way to send computer instructions around the human body that won’t interfere with our nervous system. You probably take it for granted that the devices that...
Researchers used Jennifer Aniston to discover how we form long term memories
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Understanding how our brain creates memories paves the way for new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders and one day could help us discover new ways to improve memory retention and learning. Brain researchers in the UK and US have collaborated to make “a spectacular discovery”...
British girl who died of cancer wins right to be cryogenically frozen
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In an age where we are making so many advances in healthcare it is increasingly conceivable that we may be able to bring people back from the dead which opens up a myriad of moral, ethical and religious questions about life and death. A...
Scientists have designed a nanoscale computer that’s smaller than a virus
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Nanoscale computers could work inside, or outside the body to help control, direct and interact with other atomic, molecular or nanoscale devices and systems. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. While the...
Researchers 3D print body parts that work like the real thing
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The ability to 3D print body parts, or parts of bodies, on demand changes the long term health and survivability prospects for every person on the planet. It will let us all live healthier, longer lives and is nothing less than revolutionary. Using 3D...
Researchers think our cellular powerhouses may be responsible for aging
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Unravelling the mysteries of aging requires a multi-disciplinary approach, but as scientists gather more evidence the possibility of slowing, or reversing aging becomes more of a reality Mitochondria — the structures within cells mostly known for converting nutrients into usable energy — may play...
Scientists might have found the source of human conciousness
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF If humans can understand where consciousness comes from then it’s possible we can one day understand how it “works”, and once we understand how something works we can re-create it in, for example, an AI. Right now your eyes and your optic nerves are...
Australian researchers reproduce the effects of excercise with a pill
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Exercise has undisputed benefits when it comes to helping us live longer, healthier lives but for those people with chronic conditions, or for those who can’t exercise, a medical alternative would dramatically change their lives for the better. Firstly, let me say this about...
The internet pioneer behind Apache pushes blockchain to fuel the next big internet revolution
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Everyone agrees that blockchain is a disruptive technology, and a technology that could help revolutionise not just one industry but all of them but in order for it to really change the world it first needs to be embedded into the “plumbing” of the internet,...
Second Sight’s bionic eye helps restore a woman’s sight
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Neuroprosthetics provides individuals with crippling or debilitating conditions, whatever their origin, with the opportunity to regain sensations and capabilities, such as sight and hearing, that would otherwise be impossible. Over the past several years, people with degenerative eye diseases could recover some their vision...
Japanese researchers have built a computer brain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Being able to model the human brain will help us create better treatments for neurological conditions, and might also help answer questions about consciousness and sentience. Researchers in Japan have used the powerful Riken K computer, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, to simulate...
