If you have read any science fiction, you know what a railgun is; instead of using a projectile hurled by an explosion, the idea is to use an electomagnetic current to accelerate a non-explosive bullet at several times the speed of sound. The conductive bullet or artillery moves along electrically charged parallel rails out of the barrel at speeds as high as Mach 7.
The result: a weapon that can hit a target 100 miles or more away within minutes, seven times as far as current ship-mounted guns.
The age-old dilemma: do you take your sig other's hints, buy that electronic picture frame, and load it with family highlights from holidays past (yawn)? Or do you go with your gut and get her the unexpected gift of a new XBox-360?
The atmosphere is a complex system and therefore the exact amount of warming due to greenhouse gases is the subject of scientific debate but it is proven science that clouds amplify the warming effect and a new model provides more insight into specifics, though some prominent climate skeptics have recently been arguing that clouds would act to stabilize the climate, thereby preventing greenhouse gases from causing significant warming.
Most are unaware of it but the evolutionary arms race between plants and plant diseases is always happening around us. Fungi are a major cause of plant diseases and are responsible for large-scale harvest failure in crops like maize and other cereals all over the world.
Researchers analyzed the genetic make-up of Sporisorium reilianum, an important maize parasite. Based on a comparison with the genome of a related fungal species, they succeeded in identifying new genes in maize infestation.
I went to a conference this morning at the Hope Street Group, a DC-based think tank. They had a panel of doctors, PhDs, a lawyer, consultants, John Podesta (Clinton's healthcare czar) and an economist discussing Using Open Innovation to Reinvent Primary Care.
Panel moderator was former Washington Post healthcare policy reporter Ceci Conelley who jumped ship to McKinsey probably for gobs more money.
While no one mentioned the P-word (price) a great deal of the discussion centered around reducing costs.
Some points were really interesting. Among them:
The three problems of humanity were outlined in a talk by Nick Bostrom (of Oxford University, UK) at
TED in April 2009.
In this piece I will continue to examine the "big" problems identified in the TEDTalk.
Problem #2: Existential Risk is a BIG problem.
