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By Suzanne Jacobs — MIT Technology Review

Last week Google and Novartis announced that they’re teaming up to develop contact lenses that monitor glucose levels and automatically adjust their focus. But these could be just the start of a clever new product category. From cancer detection and drug delivery to reality augmentation and night vision, our eyes offer unique opportunities for both health monitoring and enhancement.

“Now is the time to put a little computer and a lot of miniaturized technologies in the contact lens,” says Franck Leveiller, head of research and development in the Novartis eye care division.

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Written By: — Singularity Hub
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Japan likes robots. And while some Americans raised on a confusing sci-fi diet of Star Wars, Terminator, and iRobot are perhaps a little wary of advanced AI and robotics—Japan simply can’t wait for the “robot revolution.”

In a recent tour of Japanese robotics firms, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe declared his intention to create a government task force to study and propose strategies for tripling the size of Japan’s robotics industry to $24 billion.

And one more thing, Abe said, “In 2020, I would like to gather all of the world’s robots and aim to hold an Olympics where they compete in technical skills.”

While mere mortals compete in the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo—in a stadium somewhere nearby, the world’s most advanced robots may go head to head in events showcasing their considerable prowess (hopefully by then, right?).

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By Smitha Mundasad — BBC News
Picture of children reaching for foodScientists have discovered a central hub of brain cells that may put the brakes on a desire to eat, a study in mice shows.
And switching on these neurons can stop feeding immediately, according to the Nature Neurosciences report.
Researchers say the findings may one day contribute to therapies for obesity and anorexia.
Experts say this sheds light on the many complex nerve circuits involved in appetite control.

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By Susan Young Rojahn — MIT Technology Review

Researchers and investors are already dreaming up ways to devise medical treatments based on the near-fantastical findings that the blood of young mice can rejuvenate older mice. In some cases, a single protein found circulating in the blood is sufficient to restore muscle tissue and improve brain activity.

The excitement is spurred by three newly published studies that showed that components of blood from young mice were able to repair damage and improve the function of the muscles and brains of older mice. Previous work from one of the research teams involved has also shown that a specific component of young blood can repair the damaged hearts of older mice.

“We started this work more than a decade ago, with a kind-of crazy hypothesis that there might be something in the blood that influences tissue repair with age,” says Amy Wagers, a researcher at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, who is a coauthor on two of the three new works. (MIT Technology Review has covered Wagers’s work in the past, in “Young Blood Reverses Signs of Aging in Old Mice”; however, the study in question in that story was later retracted due to questions over the role of particular cells: “Research on Rejuvenating Effect of Young Blood Retracted.”) Last year, Wagers had reported that linking the circulatory systems of an older mouse and a younger mouse at the hip helped improve the appearance and function of the weakened, enlarged hearts of older mice. The team then screened the blood of young and old mice to look for differences and found that older mice had less of a protein growth factor called GDF11, which is also found in human blood.

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By: Emily Singer — Quanta Magazine

Applying game theory to the behavior of genes provides a new view of natural selection.

In what appears to be the first study of its kind, computer scientists report that an algorithm discovered more than 50 years ago in game theory and now widely used in machine learning is mathematically identical to the equations used to describe the distribution of genes within a population of organisms. Researchers may be able to use the algorithm, which is surprisingly simple and powerful, to better understand how natural selection works and how populations maintain their genetic diversity.

By viewing evolution as a repeated game, in which individual players, in this case genes, try to find a strategy that creates the fittest population, researchers found that evolution values both diversity and fitness.

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By: Natalie Wolchover — Quanta Magazine

Efimov trimers.

More than 40 years after a Soviet nuclear physicist proposed an outlandish theory that trios of particles can arrange themselves in an infinite nesting-doll configuration, experimentalists have reported strong evidence that this bizarre state of matter is real.

In 1970, Vitaly Efimov was manipulating the equations of quantum mechanics in an attempt to calculate the behavior of sets of three particles, such as the protons and neutrons that populate atomic nuclei, when he discovered a law that pertained not only to nuclear ingredients but also, under the right conditions, to any trio of particles in nature.

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By — gizmag
The Philips LED lighting can be controlled and monitored using the CityTouch control panel
LED lighting offers a host of benefits for cities, such as reduced energy usage and costs. For Buenos Aires, which is in the process of having its lighting infrastructure upgraded, one of the benefits is the increased level of control it provides. Gizmag took a look at technology being used.

It was announced towards the end of last year that Philips had been selected to replace 91,000 street lights across Buenos Aires with LED lighting. That’s more than 70 percent of the city’s lighting. Philips says that it is the biggest city deployment of its kind. A total of 28,000 lights have now been replaced and are already being controlled remotely.

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Written By: — Singularity Hub
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Absent an outright cure, it’s thought that early diagnosis of terminal diseases like cancer make treatment more effective and raise the probability of survival. But diagnosis is not always straightforward and often requires costly and invasive tests.

Simple, cheap, and accurate tests looking for the markers of disease may help.

One such method may be a blood test for cancer from University of Bradford researchers. The Lymphocyte Genome Sensitivity (LGS) test observes how DNA in lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) is damaged under varying intensities of ultraviolet (UV) light.

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A Hologram Might Be Running for the Presidency in 2016
http://betabeat.com/2014/07/a-hologram-might-be-running-for-the-presidency-in-2016/#ixzz39Afg9QPz

THE ATLANTIC: Just How Likely Is Another World War? http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/just-how-likely-is-another-world-war/375320/

We’re heading into a jobless future, no matter what the government does https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140731045824-8451-we-re-heading-into-a-jobless-future-no-matter-what-the-government-does?trk=prof-post

Nasa validates ‘impossible’ space drive http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-07/31/nasa-validates-impossible-space-drive

Solar Stories Tell Different Tales http://www.21stcentech.com/solar-stories-tales/

Hubble Space Telescope still pushing the frontiers of astronomy http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hubble-space-telescope-still-pushing-the-frontiers-of-astronomy/

Engineered biomaterial may regenerate damaged skeletal muscle http://www.kurzweilai.net/engineered-biomaterial-may-regenerate-damaged-skeletal-muscle

Nanostructured metal-oxide catalyst efficiently converts CO2 to methanol http://www.kurzweilai.net/nanostructured-metal-oxide-catalyst-efficiently-converts-co2-to-methanol

Google Glass app aims to improve surgeon training in Stanford University Medical School www.kurzweilai.net/google-glass-app-aims-to-improve-surgeon-training-in-stanford-university-medical-school

Artificial intelligence identifies the musical progression of the Beatles http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140724134025.htm

Getting the Client’s Board On-board! https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140801204807-34427457-getting-the-client-s-board-on-board

Twitter Picked Up 16M Active Users In Q2 http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/29/twitter-q2-user-growth/

NYPD Mission: Develop 35,000 Ethical Protectors http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/column/832035-nypd-mission-develop-35000-ethical-protectors/

Worldwide water shortage by 2040 http://phys.org/news/2014-07-worldwide-shortage.html

REUTERS: Gaza truce over, Israel soldier captured, 70 dead in Rafah shelling http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/01/us-mideast-gaza-idUSKBN0G008720140801

REUTERS: Facebook restores service after outage in many countries http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/01/us-facebook-disruption-idUSKBN0G14NL20140801

REUTERS: Tape emerges of Clinton discussing bin Laden day before 9/11 attack http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/01/us-usa-clinton-binladen-idUSKBN0G14J720140801

Cellular Surgeons: The New Era of Nanomedicine http://www.exponentialtimes.net/videos/cellular-surgeons-new-era-nanomedicine

Finding quantum lines of desire http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/27133.aspx

Alibaba Is Investing Huge Sums in an Array of U.S. Tech Companies http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/01/technology/alibaba-is-investing-huge-sums-in-an-array-of-us-tech-companies.html?ref=technology&_r=0

Judge Rules That Microsoft Must Turn Over Data Stored in Ireland http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/judge-rules-that-microsoft-must-turn-over-data-stored-in-ireland/?ref=technology

Upstart French Telecom Iliad Bids $15 Billion for a Majority Stake in T-Mobile US http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/french-upstart-makes-offer-for-t-mobile-usa/?ref=technology

Stanford creates ‘Holy Grail’ lithium battery, could triple smartphone and EV battery life http://www.extremetech.com/computing/186952-stanford-creates-holy-grail-lithium-battery-could-triple-smartphone-and-ev-battery-life

Lifeboat Foundation Worldwide Ambassador White Swan Update and Published Amazon Author by Andres Agostini at www.amazon.com/author/agostini AND www.linkedin.com/in/andresagostini

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Economist: Social Security Is Insolvent, In Worse Shape Than Detroit’s Pension Funds https://www.trunews.com/economist-social-security-insolvent-worse-shape-detroits-pension-funds/

Nanopropeller could be used for microscopic medicine http://www.kurzweilai.net/nanopropeller-could-be-used-for-microscopic-medicine

A ‘nanosubmarine’ that could deliver drug molecules to cells http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-nanosubmarine-that-could-deliver-drug-molecules-to-cells

A rice genome to feed the world http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-rice-genome-to-feed-the-world

Brainwaves of a few people predict mass audience reaction to TV programs and ads http://www.kurzweilai.net/brainwaves-of-a-few-people-can-predict-mass-audience-reaction-to-tv-programs-and-ads

Turning Pollution into Plastic http://www.33rdsquare.com/2014/07/turning-pollution-into-plastic.html

“WHAT IS THE CORRECT DIAGNOSIS? (SIC.)” http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140731223140-34427457-what-is-the-correct-diagnosis-sic

Amazon Launches 3D Printing Services http://www.supplychain247.com/article/amazon_launches_3d_printing_services

A.P.: CIA spied on Senate, internal review finds http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_289563/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=P6fsJyhU

REUTERS: S&P500 index posts worst fall since April; indexes down for July http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/31/us-markets-stocks-idUSKBN0G019T20140731

REUTERS: Argentine markets fall post-default, NY hearing on Friday http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/31/us-argentina-debt-idUSKBN0G00DX20140731

REUTERS: India’s demands block $1 trillion WTO deal on customs rules http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/31/us-india-trade-wto-idUSKBN0G009R20140731

The Wake-Up Call: Europe Toughens Stance against Putin http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/europe-prepares-tough-sanctions-against-russia-a-983224.html

China’s Enforcers http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141688/deborah-m-lehr-and-leigh-wedell/chinas-enforcers

Climate change new engine of China, US ties http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2014-07/09/content_17683820.htm

Lifeboat Foundation Worldwide Ambassador White Swan Update and Published Amazon Author by Andres Agostini at www.amazon.com/author/agostini AND www.linkedin.com/in/andresagostini