The World Transformed

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Amazing Engineering: Disruptive Technologies Are Transforming Everything Jun 02, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon present a roundup of amazing news stories. Augmented Reality Market Worth 117.40 Billion USD and Virtual Reality Market worth 33.90 Billion USD by 2022 Nanomaterials could double efficiency of solar cells by converting waste heat into usable energy China Unveils Elevated Bus That Passes Over Cars on the Highway Face controlled wheelchair without sensor mounted on face Airless Tires Make Flats A Thing Of The Past. You Don’t Have To Worry About Bad Roads Ever Again! Scientists Use Lasers To Regrow Teeth From Stem Cells Imagine if a trip to the dentist to treat a cavity didn’t involve a filling, root canal, or crown. What if a simple light treatment could actually get your teeth to regrow themselves using stem cells? That’s the aim of a group of researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute, led by David Mooney, who have found success in regrowing rat teeth in this manner. Join us. WT 168-475

The Winds of Robowar: Countdown to the AI Takeover Jun 01, 2016

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Are the robots really planning to take over? If so, how will they do it? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon use current news stories to show how the plan may already be unfolding! Step 1: They get inside our heads. The most popular trends in cognitive computing IBM Watson-based cognitive computing is being adopted by more and more businesses for a wide variety of applications Step 2: They take our jobs. Building robot McDonald's staff 'cheaper' than hiring workers on minimum wage A former McDonald's CEO warned that robots will take over staff jobs at the fast food empire - because it's cheaper than employing humans. Step 3: They make us depend on them. What Are We Gonna Do With All The People Who Are Automated Out of Work? Step 4: They get armed The LOCUST Is Coming: Navy Launches Swarms of Tiny Drones Drone swarms will change the face of modern warfare Join us! WT 167-474

Would You Marry a Robot? And Other Geeky Questions May 28, 2016

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There are some questions that only a geek would ask. Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon review some of these and, being geeks, attempt to answer them. Why can’t dying patients have ANY drug they can get their hands on? More on “what do we do with all the old people?” But this one applies to adults of all ages. Would you MARRY a robot? Robots could soon become intimate companions for humans and some people may even seek to marry them as they become more human-like. Can You Get High On Chocolate? German millennials are going to dance clubs that don’t serve booze and getting “high” on raw cocoa powder. Dogs and cats living together! What do we do when the robots attack? Just in case you’ve been wondering when the future will start -- the army is planning to shoot down robot aircraft using laser weapons. Youi’re welcome. Plus in OTHER GEEK news: Playing Black Fleet with the boys last weekend. Game of Thrones -- Season 6 Review / Update One boy's obsession with rubik’s cubes. Join Us! WT 166-473

Welcome to Our Amazing Universe May 26, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss just a few reasons that the universe we live in truly is an amazing place. The Incredible Story of NASA’s Forgotten ‘Rocket Girls’ An entire group of women who worked as human computers throughout the history of space exploration. Mystery of the ancient Nazca spiral holes may be solved Physicists just found a link between dark energy and the arrow of time Is dark energy the reason time moves forward? Alien Civilizations May Number In The Trillions, New Study Says Theoretical Physicist Finds Computer Code in String Theory WT 166-472

Is Technology Out to Get Us? (Or Out to Save Us?) May 24, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon review some recent news stories to confront the hard question of the overall value of technology. Is it good for us? Is it making our lives better or worse? China’s robot revolution This dark side of the Internet is costing young people their jobs and social lives Point your phone at an equation and Mathpix will solve it Solar Power Is Ready to Dominate Energy Thanks to New Tech Soon we’ll use science to make people more moral IBM May Have Just Found Out How to End Viral Infections. Yes, All of Them IBM's Watson is better at diagnosing cancer than human doctors WT 165-471

Outshining the Milky Way: Big Developments in the Final Frontier May 21, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss recent developments in space. Boeing TV Spot, 'You Just Wait Nuclear Power Can Make Rocket Engines Twice As Fast Nuclear thermal rockets could be much more efficient than conventional rockets A piece of uranium the size of a marble could get us to Mars Same technology may be used for deep-space missions where solar can’t be exploited very well Unknown Object Outshines Milky Way Galaxy by 50 Times --"Radiates Energy of 100's of Billion Suns" Kepler Mission Transmits Info Of 1,284 New Planets, Is Another Habitable Planet Discovered? Astronaut becomes first person to wear Star Trek uniform in space Plus, in Other Geek news... The ice chest air conditioner. Formula D Board Game Join us! WT 164-470

The Big, Fat Amazing: Fast Trains, Giant Robots, Universal Translator May 19, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon provide a roundup of amazing news stories: We're about to see a mind-blowing demographic shift unprecedented in human history MegaBots raises $2.4 million to create league of human-piloted, giant fighting robots Hyperloop Technologies becomes Hyperloop One, pulls in $80 million and announces global partners Hyperloop One hits 116 mph in 1.1 seconds on first public test run Diabetic Stem Cells Were Just Transformed into Insulin-Producing Cells Meet the Pilot: Smart Earpiece Language Translator A little something amazing for everyone. Join us! WT 163-469

The Robot Executive: the AI Disruption Is Just Beginning May 18, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss the tremendous career progress that robots seem to be making. Here’s the first demo of Viv, the next-generation AI assistant built by Siri creator The world's first artificially intelligent lawyer was just hired at a law firm ROSS is a piece of artificial intelligence software. It uses the supercomputing power of IBM Watson to comb through huge batches of data and, over time, learn how to best serve its users. Leaderless, Blockchain-Based Venture Capital Fund Raises $100 Million, And Counting A new entity called The DAO, created using the Bitcoin-inspired financial platform Ethereum, has collected more than $100 million worth of cryptocurrency since late April, and will use the funds to support projects in the sharing economy. The DAO is being touted as a model for a new kind of organization, created and run using blockchain software rather than conventional corporate structures. Join us! WT 162-468

The Great Unknown: Perplexing Cosmic Mysteries May 14, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss cosmic (and not-so-cosmic) puzzles that defy explanation. Parallel Universes:Theory and Evidence A Dozen Black Holes Are Mysteriously Spewing Energy In the Same Direction Which is exactly what Russ Taylor, lead author of a forthcoming study in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, thinks may be happening. As Science News reports, Taylor suspects the eruptions are all being steered by filaments, a sort of scaffolding along which matter congregates on a cosmic scale. If the hypothesis is correct, it could help explain how our universe’s present structure came to be. When we can no longer tell AI from people, should we stop trying? The Case Against Reality A professor of cognitive science argues that the world is nothing like the one we experience through our senses. Plus...Other Geek A new weekly feature -- extra geeky goodness just in time for the weekend! WT 161-467

The Age of Awesomeness: Amazing Developments and Discoveries May 12, 2016

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss amazing developments and discoveries. Skin and Hair recoloring Stretchy Second Skin New headset allows the nonverbal to communicate using their brainwaves IBM wants everyone to try a quantum computer Antidepressant Microbes In Soil: How Dirt Makes You Happy MIT is raising $5 billion to make the world a better place The institute already raised $2.6 billion. The institute lists its various projects under the campaign's six priority areas. First is basic research, which includes studies on the aging brain, exoplanets and protein interaction. Second priority covers environmental research, such as the quest for sustainable consumption and viable climate change solutions. Join us. WT 161-467

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