Technology – Page 8 – Queer Sci Fi

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TECH: Japan’s Next Robot News Anchor

February 8, 2018 by scott

At a mere 23 years old, Japan’s latest news anchor would make her parents proud — if she had any. Erica, a lifelike android designed to look like a 23-year-old woman, may soon become a TV news anchor in Japan, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka Universityand Erica’s creator, the android will replace a human news anchor on the airwaves as soon as April, the Daily Mail said. Erica the android may be well suited for this desk job. For starters, she can capably recite scripted writing and sit … Read more

SCIENCE: One Step Closer to Cloning Humans

January 31, 2018 by scott

For the first time, researchers have used the cloning method that produced Dolly the sheep to create two healthy monkeys, bringing science an important step closer to being able to do the same with humans. Since Dolly’s birth in 1996, scientists have cloned nearly two dozen kinds of mammals, including dogs, cats, pigs, cows and polo ponies, and have also created human embryos with this method. But until now, they have been unable to make babies this way in primates, the category that includes monkeys, apes and people. “The barrier of cloning primate species is now overcome,” declared Muming Poo … Read more

SCIENCE: Space Viruses

January 30, 2018 by scott

You probably think about viruses only when you’re sick, but there’s a group of microbiologists who want to change that. In fact, they want you to consider the possibility that viruses may be found in space. In a recent review, published online Jan. 10 in the journal Astrobiology, a trio of scientists from the U.S. and Japan posited that viruses may be spread across interplanetary space. Those researchers want to convince astrobiologists to devote more time looking for these curious molecular machines. A virion — the form a virus takes outside of a host — consists of genetic material encapsulated in … Read more

SCIENCE: Levitating With Sound

January 29, 2018 by scott

A little plot bunny offered with love to all our sci fi writers: A new “tractor beam” can levitate large objects in midair, using only sound. So far, researchers have floated spheres as large as 0.6 inches (16 millimeters) in diameter and moved orbs as large as 0.8 inches (2 cm) on a tabletop using tornadoes of sound waves. Theoretically, vortices made by an array of 200 speakers by 200 speakers could hold up objects as large as 31 inches (80 cm) in diameter. “This is new to acoustics,” said study co-author Mihai Caleap, a senior research associate in engineering … Read more

TECH: Thinnest Mirrors in the World Use Quantum ‘Excitons’ to Reflect Light

January 26, 2018 by scott

Two separate teams of scientists have built the thinnest mirrors in the world: sheets of molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2), each just a single atom wide. The mirrors were developed at the same time at Harvard University and the Institute for Quantum Electronics in Zurich, and described in a pair of papers published Thursday (Jan. 18) in the journal Physical Review Letters. These engineering feats push the limits of what’s possible in this physical universe, the researchers said. Despite approaching the minimum thickness an object could possibly have and remain reflective under the laws of physics, the tiny mirrors reflected a great … Read more

TECH: Underwater Drones

January 25, 2018 by scott

Aerial drones have buzzed their way into almost every aspect of the modern world, from photography and television news coverage, to environmental monitoring and archaeology. And many of the concepts developed for aerial drones are being adopted and adapted to work in a very different environment — underwater. Here’s a look at 23 of the many ways that drones are being used beneath the waves, by oceanographic scientists, archaeologists, militaries, commercial divers, photographers and undersea explorers. By Tom Metcalfe – Full Story at Live Science

Scientists Find “Mordor Under the Sea”

January 22, 2018 by scott

Today in news best suited for sneaky little Hobbitses and Shire-folk, scientists unveiled a map of a faraway volcanic realm that has a distinct look of Mordor about it. Unfortunately for any ring bearers, the molten landscape has probably been hidden underwater for millions of years. The “Tolkienesque” region of submarine volcanoes buried beneath the sea south of Australia was discovered by a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Australia. The team employed 3D seismic reflection, a geo-mapping technique that … Read more

TECH: The Latest Tech Material: Cardboard?

January 21, 2018 by scott

Nintendo is going low-tech for its newest line of video game accessories. The Japanese company has unveiled a series of DIY cardboard toys, called Nintendo Labo kits, for its wildly popular Switch gaming console. Assembled from sheets of cardboard, the accessories are designed to interact with the Switch and its Joy-Con controllers in a variety of ways. For example, one toy is a 13-key cardboard piano that the console and controllers slot into. After putting it together, users can press the cardboard keys, and musical notes come out of the console. Another kit builds an interactive robot suit with a … Read more

TECH: Driverless Cars Without Steering Wheels Are Almost Here

January 16, 2018 by scott

Regulators will “carefully and responsibly” review General Motors’ request to test an autonomous car without a steering wheel, US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said Sunday. “It is now coming to the stage with the rapid advancement of self-driving technology that this request is now a reality,” Chao said on the sidelines of the Detroit Auto Show. “So we will view the petition carefully and responsibly.” GM on Friday unveiled the Cruise AV, an autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, announcing it had asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to exempt it from a number of federal standards … Read more

TECH & SEX: Unstoppable Male Sex Robots

January 12, 2018 by scott

The male sex robots with bionic penises have landed. We repeat, the male sex robots with bionic penises have landed. After the general public were inundated with announcements of sex robots coming into our lives left, right and centre, we thought that the madness might be over. But the sex robot wunderkinds have hit the headlines once more with the launch of an “unstoppable” male sex robot. Yes, you read correctly. Sexbot creators RealDoll are adding a male sex robot to their lines, featuring one insatiable feature – an endless erection. By Jasmine Andersson – Full Story at Pink … Read more