Mark Muhn is used to watching from his wheelchair as his kids win trophies for their achievements on the sports field. He's been in that wheelchair since 2008, when a skiing accident crushed his spine and left him paralyzed from the chest down. Last Saturday, though, Mark was the one on the podium with a gold medal draped around his neck. "I've watched my kids win, but this time they got to watch me," he says. Muhn won gold at the Cybathlon, the world's first cyborg Olympics, which took place this weekend in a sold-out stadium in Zurich, Switzerland.

I know, it doesn't seem like there's any possible way that a transmission system could be interesting enough that we'd dedicate an entire article (and video!) to it. But here we are: As soon as SRI explained how their new Abacus transmission worked, we were absolutely sure that it was cool enough to share. In a nutshell, here's why: It's the first new rotary transmission design since Harmonic Drive introduced its revolutionary gear system in the 1960s*, and it might give harmonic gears a literal run for their money. The physics of most electric motors generally dictates that the motors are happiest when they're spinning very fast. Unless you want to use them to simply spin a thing very fast, you'll need to add a rotary transmission that can convert low torque, high speed rotation into higher torque, lower speed rotation. If you've got the budget, the way to do this is with a high-performance harmonic gear like the ones offered by Harmonic Drive.

Europe's Schiaparelli lander did not behave as expected as it headed down to the surface of Mars on Wednesday. Telemetry data recovered from the probe during its descent indicates that its parachute was jettisoned too early. The rockets it was supposed to use to bring itself to a standstill just above the ground also appeared to fire for too short a time. The European Space Agency (ESA) has not yet conceded that the lander crashed but the mood is not positive. It is necessarily a high-speed approach that has to be just right or the spacecraft runs the risk of smashing into the ground.

Mission controllers appear to have lost contact with a tiny craft that was Europe's big hope for Mars exploration. The paddling pool-sized "Schiaparelli" lander appeared to have made its way safely through the harsh atmosphere of Mars and onto its surface. But something appears to have gone wrong while it did so – and mission controllers are now unable to speak with it. The lander sent communications to its mothership, the Trace Gas Orbiter, on its way down. But the signal was lost before touchdown.

Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that artificial intelligence could develop a will of its own that is in conflict with that of humanity. It could herald dangers like powerful autonomous weapons and ways for the few to oppress the many, he said, as he called for more research in the area. But if sufficient research is done to avoid the risks, it could help in humanity's aims to'finally eradicate disease and poverty', he added. He was speaking in Cambridge at the launch of The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, which will explore the implications of the rapid development of artificial intelligence. All great achievements of civilisation, from learning to master fire to learning to grow food to understanding the cosmos, were down to human intelligence, he said. 'I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer.

In the run-up to important exams, you can find yourself worrying that all the information you've crammed in might not stay in your memory. But it appears that the answer to retaining information may lie away from the books. New research has shown that going for a run can improve the chances of remembering information in exams. In the study, the researchers asked 60 men aged 16-29 to memorize a range of information, from learning a route on a city map to memorizing German-Turkish word pairs. They were then split into three groups: one group played a violent computer game, one went for a run and one spent time outside.

Stephen Hawking has been provided his visionaries about AI(Artificial Intelligence). Professor Stephen Hawking has warned that the creation of powerful artificial intelligence will be "either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity", and praised the creation of an academic institute dedicated to researching the future of intelligence as "crucial to the future of our civilisation and our species". Hawking was speaking at the opening of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (LCFI) at Cambridge University, a multi-disciplinary institute that will attempt to tackle some of the open-ended questions raised by the rapid pace of development in AI research. "We spend a great deal of time studying history," Hawking said, "which, let's face it, is mostly the history of stupidity. So it's a welcome change that people are studying instead the future of intelligence."

As algorithms become entrenched into society, the debate about their effects rages on. In essence, algorithms are sequences of instructions used to solve problems and perform functions in computer programming. As mathematical expressions, algorithms existed long before modern computers. While they vary in application, all algorithms have three things in common: clearly-defined beginning and ending points, discrete sets of "steps," and design meant to address a specific type of problem. On the one hand, algorithms play the role of prime suspect -- responsible for the recent UK pound's Brexit-induced flash crash, used for political and informational manipulation on social networks, and part of what Harvard Professor Shoshanna Zuboff calls "surveillance capitalism".

Donald Trump refused to guarantee that he would accept the result of the US election if he loses, in a fiery third and final presidential debate in which Hillary Clinton accused her Republican rival of being a "puppet" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to a YouGov poll, 49 per cent of respondents said Mrs Clinton won the debate, while 39 per cent thought Mr Trump the victor. Here is what FT readers thought. Airbnb faces fight for survival in NYC Governor Andrew Cuomo is preparing to sign a bill that would in effect end the home-sharing company's business in New York City. The San Francisco-based company has waged a last-minute campaign to thwart the law, which would impose fines of up to 7,500 on any host who advertised short-term accommodation through Airbnb.

So many works of film and fiction are hooked on the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and what it might mean for humanity. They are often apocalyptic tales – Blade Runner, Alien, Terminator – where mankind comes off badly. But now that AI is being spearheaded by internet giants such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon, and our daily lives are increasingly affected by AI systems – chat bots, purchase prediction, news generation – what will really happen? In 2015 the UK media widely picked up on American media organisation NPR's calculator that could predict which jobs are susceptible to computerisation. The calculator, using research by the University of Oxford, said accountants have a 95% chance of losing their jobs as machines take over the number crunching and data analysis.