China is building a $9 billion global navigation system to rival and eventually replace GPS in the country.   The alternative system, called Beidou, is currently being developed by the Asian superpower as the nation hopes to lessen its dependence on US tech.   Beidou is the Chinese name for the famed star constellation known in many other cultures as the 'Big Dipper'.

Escalating tensions between the two superpowers has made officials increasingly uncomfortable with the reliance on the US-owned GPS.

Beidou is currently operational in China and neighboring regions and will be globally available by 2020, the country claims.   It is set to be implemented in a wide variety of systems including smartphones, autonomous cars, planes and ships.

Analysts have said the endeavor is one of China's more ambitious undertakings; a remarkable feat for a nation also working towards conquering commercial space flight, cheap energy via an 'artificial sun' and a man-made moon.

'They don't want to depend on the US's GPS.  The Chinese don't want to be subject to something that we can shut off,' Marshall Kaplan, a professor in the aerospace engineering department at the University of Maryland, told Bloomberg Quint.

China started developing Beidou in the 90s and the total bill is expected to reach an estimated $8.98 billion to $10.6 billion by 2020.  That is the prediction of a 2017 analysis by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

This year the project has achieved major milestones as it launched 18 satellites, taking the total in operation to more than 40.  A further 11 are expected to be launched before the 2020 global roll-out.

President Xi Jinping has aspirations of transforming China into a global leader for emerging technologies and is relentlessly pursuing several avenues in the field of space exploration.  Beidou will likely have the most far-reaching implications for governments, companies and consumers .  The secondary global navigation system will require the manufacture and installation of unique infrastructure, materials, components and software.  A shift away from the US monopoly on the field and the introduction of a competitor is forcing the industry to embrace the imminent change.  As China prepares to eradicate traces of GPS in the country, firms are scrabbling to make devices Beidou compatible for the 2020 switch-over.

Beijing-based NavInfo, which supplies Tesla BMW, hopes to begin mass producing semiconductors for Beidou navigation in the next two years, according to Wang Yan, a project director.  It is expecting demand of up to 15 million Beidou-compatible chips a year for autonomous vehicles alone.   The firm began providing Beidou-enabled mapping and positioning services for the Singapore government in September.

'China needs to have its own satellite navigation system from a long-term, strategic perspective. Beidou is the only option,' Mr Wang said.

China is the world's largest and most lucrative largest auto market and the government wants all cars to be using Beidou by 2020.   German giant Volkswagen is preparing for the changing of the guard and modifying its equipment ahead of time to allow for Beidou network access.    The Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said: 'At the moment, Volkswagen Group China does not sell cars with Beidou-enabled equipment, but the next infotainment system generation for cars in the Chinese market will be rolled out in 2020.  This system will be ready to receive Beidou information.'  Toyota, the Japanese car manufacturer, is also in discussions about integrating Beidou with its existing technology.

Smartphones are another major user of navigation technology and most handsets from Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi support Beidou as well as GPS.   US-based company Qualcomm is the world leader in the production of smartphone chips and said it has been supporting Beidou 'for a long time'.

China is using the technology in its planes as and the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or COMAC, installed the tech last year.  It was became the first plane to use Beidou.  Planes built outside the country currently do not have Beidou but it is believed the nation will require planes flying in China to use the system.

Extracted from: www.dailymal.co.uk

Pasta prepared with mealworms raised in your own home?

The unusual dinner idea could soon be a reality, if Hong Kong entrepreneur Katharina Unger has her way.  The 28-year-old is the founder of Livin Farms, a start-up that has been making insect incubators since 2016, and is now working on a compact model to cultivate mealworms it says is suitable for use in kitchens, and in biology classrooms.

Unger said: 'In 2050, we're going to be nine billion people on the planet, so we have to find new solutions to feed ourselves, and to feed the next generations.  Insects offer a really great alternative to current meat production because they can be grown on food waste, with very little space, with very little water, and they taste great.'

The firm will also send buyers a magazine with regular recipes from chefs, along with experiments owners can carry out to try and boost their output.

While many people squirm at the prospect of eating insects, they are common fare in countries such as Thailand and China.

'They are high in protein and low in cholesterol,' said Li Ching, owner of the People of Yunnan restaurant in Hong Kong, adding that he considered deep-fried grasshoppers, stick-bugs and silkworms to be beneficial for his health.

However, Hong Kong-based nutritionist Miles Price says the production of alternative proteins such as insects remains largely unregulated, and this may have significant implications for food safety and consumer acceptance.  'We need to enforce a more rigorous approach to production ... which will give confidence to consumers to say that this is a safe protein source,' he said.

Livin Farms believes that their self-contained hive system provides a do-it-yourself solution, as the mealworms can be fed with food scraps, harvested weekly, frozen and then cooked in various ways.  It can produce 10-20g every week while still keeping the system running.  This versatility of the inch-long larvae of the mealworm beetle, which is found in many part of the world, is an additional advantage.

'Unlike meats, I can prepare this in two different ways, savoury and sweet. I think it's really dynamic, I can play around with this,' said Livin Farms head of operations Clayton Wong, as he demonstrated cooking mealworms with peppers, tomatoes and onions in a tomato mascarpone pasta sauce.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Watching superhero movies just might help you become a better person.

A new study has found that exposure to superhero imagery, even in subtle forms, can inspire people to help others and engage in pro-social activities.  While the imagery wasn’t enough to reshape participants’ perception of their own purpose, the researchers found it did boost their helping intentions, which in turn caused some to feel their lives had more meaning.

Dr Jeffrey Green of the Virginia Commonwealth University says: ‘Given that superheroes are an increasingly large and accessible part of our cultures, even if merely symbolically, we were interested in exploring their role in inspiring virtuous and meaningful lives.  Heroes come in many shapes and forms.  Some are fictional and others are real-life role models.  We decided to study the effect of well-known fictional heroes, such as Superman or Spiderman, as people may tend to be more motivated to emulate behaviors where there is a little realism.’

More than 200 participants in the study were exposed to common household images which either contained superheroes or neutral objects, such as a bicycle.  Those who were primed with the superhero imagery reported they were more likely to partake in prosocial behaviors.

In a second experiment, participants were invited to actually help with a tedious experiment, rather than simply report their intentions.  And, the team found those who had been primed with a Superman poster were much more likely to help than those exposed to neutral imagery.

‘These experiments highlight how even the subtle activation of heroic constructs through visual images of superheroes may influence intentions to help as well as actual helping behaviour,’ Green says.

In the future, the team says it would be useful to explore the effects of real-life heroic figures as well, instead of just fictional superheroes.

Different types of media, including talking or writing about a hero, may also influence a person’s prosocial inclinations.

Green says: ‘Heroes loom large as exemplars of morality.  They often embody virtues that we wish to express in our lives.  If subtle images of heroes trigger such positive behaviors, their inspirational role may well have the potential to extend beyond the prosocial behaviors explored in this study.’

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Researchers have unveiled a new AI system that can predict how old you are simply by looking at a photo of part of your face.  And, in what may not come as much of a surprise to many, the experts say the corners of your eyes are the biggest giveaway.  The new technique tested on more than 8,000 photos could pave the way for more precise age estimations even when just a small portion of the face is visible, and lead to more personalized skin care treatments.

In a new study, researchers from AI skin care firm Haut.AI used 8,414 anonymized high-resolution images to test the accuracy of their system.  They found the skin near the corners of the eye, and the general eyelid area, were the most effective in predicting age.  This type of information can be used to evaluate different factors that affect aging, including lifestyle, medical, and cosmetic interventions.

Anastasia Anastasia Georgievskaya, CEO of Haut AI, said: ‘The future of consumer business is in personalization and I hope that this study will lay the foundation for AI-powered consumer skincare and healthcare.  Understanding the many biological processes in skin using AI may lead to the many breakthroughs down the road.’

The system was able to predict the correct age with 2.3 years Mean Absolute Error (MAE).

According to the researchers, the work is a step toward AI-driven ‘aging clocks’ that could measure every step of the aging process.  This could play out in a number of formats, including smart sensors in clothing and other wearables, they say.

Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, CEO of Insilico Medicine, said: ‘Deep neural networks (DNNs) are often perceived as the black boxes, however, this is a common misconception.  Aging research helps make DNNs more interpretable.  This study shows what area of the face is most important for age estimation but when you do it on other data types like gene or protein expression, it is possible to see what genes are more important and construct the casual networks.  I personally believe that the AI aging clocks are among the most important breakthroughs in longevity biotechnology and we will see the many advances resulting from similar studies.  As for this study, you may want to take care of the eye corners if you want to look younger to some of the age predictors.’

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

A 2,500-year-old Celtic chariot has been found buried in Wales for the first time.

The metal detectorist who uncovered the chariot in a Pembrokeshire field believes there would have been a chieftain or queen buried with it, although bones are yet to be found.  High-ranking chiefs in the Iron Age were generally laid to rest with their chariot, horses, tack and weapons.

Mike Smith, 45, first found what he thought was a medieval brooch but turned out to be part of a Celtic horse harness - dating to around 600 BC.  Mr Smith, from Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, went straight back the following day and found more red enamel pieces.

He said: 'I knew the importance of them straight away.  It was just instinct. I'd read all about chariot burials and just wished it could have been me, so finding this has been a privilege.'

Experts told Mr Smith, who has been a metal detectorist for 30 years, that the chariot is the first of its kind to be found in Wales.  The exact location of his amazing find, which is from somewhere in south Pembrokeshire, is being kept secret in anticipation of a major dig.  He was digging there by chance because his favourite digging spot was waterlogged.

Dyfed Archaeological Trust and National Museum Wales were then brought in to help with the dig.

Ground penetrating radar showed a pattern of buried ditches and walls - suggesting a large Celtic settlement.  Then a trial excavation revealed the tops of a pair of chariot wheels.

Mr Smith said: 'Often the wheels were laid flat but this one appeared to have been buried intact.  It could have had the chieftain or queen sitting in it.  There would have been a mound over it but that has gone.'

He believes past ploughing might have brought the finds closer to the surface.

The site has now been recovered and is set to get legal protection, with a full excavation planned for next year.  But what is still exciting Mr Smith is a three-metre metal anomaly shown up by the scans and actually underneath the chariot.  Mr Smith said: 'It could be weapons... or it could be treasure.'

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

A newfound species unearthed in Brazil is the oldest long-necked dinosaur ever discovered.  Three 'exceptionally well-preserved' dinosaur skeletons dug up in Rio Grande do Sul are estimated to have walked the Earth 225 million years ago.

The species, known as Macrocollum itaquii, was vegetarian, stood at around 12 feet long and five feet tall, and weighed around 200 pounds.  One of the most striking features of animal was its long neck - and scientists now believe it to be the oldest long-necked sauropodomorpha ever discovered.  Its 'remarkably elongated' neck would have 'provided a competitive advantage' when gathering food resources, a report published Royal Society journal Biology Letters said.

The species would have existed on Earth during the Triassic period, when Brazil was still a part of super-continent Pangaea.

The dinosaur is also a distant cousin of sauropods like the Brontosaurus - a long-necked herbivore who walked on four legs and was ten times its size.  But unlike these giant beasts, Macrocollum itaquii walked on two legs when it roamed South America.  This discovery is particularly remarkable as experts believe it proved the dinosaurs chose to live in groups rather than alone.

Rodrigo Müller from the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil, told the Independent: 'There are three articulated skeletons in five tons of rock.  This is unique.  It suggests these animals probably died together, as they share the same degree of disarticulation.  So if they died together, these dinosaurs probably lived together.'

The dinosaur skeletons were unearthed after Mr Müller's uncle found a group of fossils on a rural property in Agudo, southern Brazil in 2012.  This tip led to the discovery of the three skeletons, two of which had perfectly preserved skulls.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

The human brain has two internal 'clocks' that predict our immediate future.  That's according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, which suggests our neural wiring predicts the forthcoming milliseconds.

One of the 'clocks' relies on past experiences, while the other is dependent on rhythm - but both are crucial to how we navigate the world.  These inbuilt clocks allow humans to know when to press the accelerator pedal in a car momentarily before the light goes green and the cognitive timekeeping feature also allows us to know when exactly to start singing the next line of a song.

The internal timepieces were discovered after experts studied the accuracy of anticipatory timing amid people with Parkinson's disease.

'Whether it's sports, music, speech or even allocating attention, our study suggests that timing is not a unified process, but that there are two distinct ways in which we make temporal predictions and these depend on different parts of the brain,' said the study's lead author Assaf Breska.

The findings, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, offer a new perspective on how humans calculate when to make a move.

'Together, these brain systems allow us to not just exist in the moment, but to also actively anticipate the future,' said senior author Richard Ivry.

Breska and Ivry studied the anticipatory timing strengths and deficits of people with Parkinson's disease and people with cerebellar degeneration.  They connected rhythmic timing to the basal ganglia and interval timing – an internal timer based largely on our memory of prior experiences – to the cerebellum.  Both are primal brain regions associated with movement and cognition.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Technology may provide the solutions to some of the world’s most pressing concerns – but if we’re not careful, it could also bring about the downfall of humanity, a new paper warns.

The paper titled The Vulnerable World Hypothesis investigates the possibility of the emergence of technology that is both destructive on a large scale, and easy to access.

While humankind has already created technology that has the potential for mass devastation, such as nuclear weaponry, such developments have been limited by a number of factors, including cost and rarity of the materials required to make them.  But, according to Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom, that’s only because we’ve been ‘lucky’ thus far.

In the paper, Bostrom explains that we have yet to achieve technology that, as a result, ‘civilization almost certainly gets devastated by default’ – in other words, creating what Bostrom refers to as a ‘vulnerable world.’

So far, the Future of Humanity Institute director says we’ve managed to achieve technology that has been, for the most part, beneficial to society.  These he refers to as ‘white’ balls pulled from a hypothetical urn.  Those such as nuclear weaponry could be considered grey.  But at this stage, that’s as far as we’ve gotten.

‘What we haven’t extracted, so far, is a black ball – a technology that invariably or by default destroys the civilization that invents it.  The reason is not that we have been particularly careful or wise in our technology policy.  We have just been lucky,’ Bostrom argues.

According to Bostrom, ‘The most obvious kind [of black ball] is a technology that would make it very easy to unleash an enormously powerful destructive force.’  This could, for example, include advances in biohacking that would allow a person with basic training to cause mass illness.

Bostrom revisits historical examples such as the creation of the atomic bomb to investigate how things could go awry.  Had the ingredients for the atomic bomb relied on widely available materials such as ‘a piece of glass, a metal object, and a battery arranged in a particular configuration’ instead of plutonium or uranium, Bostrom notes, preventing a global disaster could be a near-impossible task.

‘In the present age, when one can publish instantaneously and anonymously on the Internet, it would be even more difficult to limit the spread of scientific secrets,’ the researcher notes.

To prevent the destabilization of civilization, or to re-stabilize, the world would have to take harsh steps.  It would be impossible to ban access to ubiquitous materials such as glass or metal, and even attempting to do so could spark violent backlash.  This type of technology could also push the world into a mass surveillance state, or spark global arms races.

Bostrom also considers the world may establish ‘extremely effective preventive policing,’ or attempt to ‘establish effective global governance.’  Each scenario presents its own set of challenges and potential consequences.

While we may not be in a ‘vulnerable’ state quite yet, the research highlights just how difficult it could be to manage if we do stumble upon the ‘black ball’ technology.  And, it raises questions on what should be done to prevent us from getting there in the first place.

‘Even if we became seriously concerned that the urn of invention may contain a black ball, this need not move us to favor establishing stronger surveillance or global governance now, if we thought that it would be possible to take those steps later, if and when the hypothesized vulnerability came clearly into view.  We could then let the world continue its sweet slumber, in the confident expectation that as soon as the alarm goes off it will leap out of bed and undertake the required actions.  But we should question how realistic this plan is,’ Bostrom says.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

McLaren has taken the covers off its latest model - a 106-unit only hyper GT car that has more power than 10 Ford Fiestas combined.  Called the Speedtail, it's the fastest road car the iconic British manufacturer has ever produced, capable of speeds of 250mph, thanks to a 1035 horsepower petrol-electric hybrid powertrain derived from Formula One.  It's been dubbed as the modern continuation of the iconic '90s McLaren F1 featuring a similar three-seat cabin layout, with the driver sat slap-bang in the middle of the cockpit like a fighter pilot.

Even if the eye-watering price of £1.75 million plus taxes - so £2.1 million for Britons - wasn't a stumbling block, you can't have one, as every example to be built has already been reserved by a deep-pocketed buyer.

First codenamed the BP23, the Speedtail has been a long-awaited successor to the glorious F1.  The three-seat arrangement is like nothing else on the market today, with the driver positioned centrally and marginally in front of the two passengers who will flank the lucky individual at the controls.  The driver can choose from which side they want to enter and exit the car, too, as this time around there's no gear lever for them to clamber over due to the use of an automatic gearbox.

This teardrop-shaped cockpit sits in what can only be described as an enormously sleek body.  Measuring in at 5.2 metres long, the nose to tail distance is the same as a long-wheelbase Mercedes S-Class limousine - and bigger than the average-size car parking space.  Making up the vast majority of the length is the dramatic rear end, which features one of the most extended rear overhangs of any vehicle in production today.

What also draws the eyes are the fixed-cover front wheels.  These are designed to keep the air fed through the front-bumper vents as clean as possible as it channels down the profile of the bodywork.  Like a reversal of a time-trial bicycle - which in some cases have a solid wheel at the back - the rear wheels are a traditional alloy, giving the car a unique look.  If the 106 owners don't like it, they can have the fixed front-wheel covers removed on request.

Another high-tech feature includes the lack of wing mirrors.  Instead, the Speedtail features cameras that extend from the doors to provide a wide-angle image that displayed to the driver in real time via a pair of screens mounted in the dashboard.

Under the incredibly svelte panels is a petrol-electric hybrid system that combines a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with electric motors to produce a whopping 1035 horse power.  The hybrid system isn't for economy, though - while there are batteries on board, there is no scope for electric-only running.  It's purely about sheer performance.

And there's plenty of that on tap.  With the Speedtail tipping the scales at just 1,430 kg - less than a Ford Mondeo family car - it can deliver a top speed of 250 mph.  Getting there shouldn't take long.  McLaren says it can accelerate from zero to 186 mph in just 12.8 seconds.  That's 186 mph in the same time it takes a decent sprinter to run 100 metres and almost four seconds faster than the acceleration of the Woking manufacturer's track-focused P1 hypercar.  That's even more impressive when you consider this is purely a road vehicle.

Even the extended tail design, while incredibly dramatic, has a fairly practical purpose, offering a decent size boot.  And not only is there a central luggage compartment at the back, there's space below the front bonnet that can hold a bespoke set of Speedtail bags that can hold enough clothing for three occupants.

Production will commence towards the end of next year and each person who has put down a deposit has only been allowed to buy one of the limited-run creations.  And don't expect any of the Speedtails produced to cost the £2.1 million price tag.  With a range of optional extras, the price is likely to creep closer to the £3 million mark.  The model seen here has, according to McLaren, £470,000 of extras specced.

Mike Flewitt, ceo at McLaren Automotive, described the hyper-GT Speedtail as 'a fusion of art and science' that 'combines an astonishing maximum speed with an iconic central-driving position and a truly pioneering approach to bespoke personalisation'.

'A ground-breaking hybrid powertrain sits within a lightweight carbon fibre body reminiscent of sleek ‘streamliners’ that once set world speed records, while the luxurious three-seat cockpit offers a sublime combination of an incredible driving experience, unmatched individualism and innovative materials never seen before in a road-going vehicle,' he added.

McLaren says interest in the model has been incredible, having received over 300 serious enquires from established customers who wanted to get their hands on one of the 106 examples, even despite the mesmerising asking price.  Those who didn't get the nod to take one home have instead been given priority for the Senna and Senna GTR track cars revealed in the last 12 months.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk

Bubbles containing trapped bacteria can act as tiny 'microbial grenades', new research shows.  Scientists found these tiny natural explosives had the power to launch microorganisms into the air at speeds of more than 30 feet a second.

A single droplet is thought to carry up to thousands of microorganisms, and each bubble can emit hundreds of droplets.  A bubble covered in bacteria floating on the water's surface also lasts ten times longer than an uncontaminated one, scientists also found.  During this time the cap of the contaminated bubble gets thinner, according to researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  The thinner the bubble, the higher the number of droplets it is able to launch when it explodes into the air.

'We discovered bacteria can manipulate interfaces in a manner that can enhance their own water-to-air dispersal,' said Lydia Bourouiba, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT.

Bacterial secretions may reduce a bubble's surface tension, making it more elastic and more resistant to perturbations, scientists believe.  This makes it more likely to live longer on the water's surface.  This behaviour is much like how detergents work when they form bubbles.

Professor Bourouiba has spent years imaging uncontaminated bubbles.  'We first had to understand the physics of clean bubbles before we could add organisms like bacteria to see what effect they have on the system,' she said.

Researchers first noticed bacteria's effect by accident.  The team was in the middle of moving to a new lab space, and in the shuffle a beaker of water had been left out in the open.  When the researcher used it in subsequent experiments, the results were not what the team expected.

'The bubbles produced from this water lived much longer and had a peculiar thinning evolution compared to that of typical clean water bubbles,' said co-author graduate student Stephane Poulain.

Professor Bourouiba suspected the water had been contaminated and this hypothesis was soon proved correct.  They analysed the water and found evidence of bacteria that are naturally present indoors.

The team set up an experiment in which they filled a column with a solution of water and various bacteria species, including E. coli.  The researchers developed a system to generate bubbles with an air pump, one at a time, inside the column, in order to control the volume and size of each bubble.  When a bubble rose to the surface, the team used high-speed imaging coupled with a range of optical techniques to capture its behavior, at the surface and as it burst.

'Bacteria are alive, and like anything alive, they make waste, and that waste typically is something that potentially could interact with the bubble's interface,' Professor Bourouiba said.

The team found that a single bacteria-laden bubble can create ten times more droplets, which are ten times smaller and ejected ten times faster than what a clean bubble can produce.

Andrea Prosperetti, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Houston, who was not involved in the research said: 'The mechanism [Bourouiba] identified is also at work when foam bubbles burst at the surface of the ocean.  The size of these tiny film droplets determines how well they can be picked up and carried by the wind.'

He said this process has significant implications for climate and weather.

'The same basic process affects the health hazards of oil spills in the ocean: The tiny film drops carry hazardous chemicals from the oil, which can be inhaled by people and animals in the coastal regions.  So, these humble, tiny drops have outsized consequences in many processes crucial to life', he said.

Extracted from: www.dailymail.co.uk