The stunning maps made from three million satellite images... The'golden cigar' UFO: Strange object flashes red and blue... The future of flying: NASA tests radical new embedded jet... Would YOU grow cannabis in your kitchen? The stunning maps made from three million satellite images... The'golden cigar' UFO: Strange object flashes red and blue...

IMAGE: The Argonne research team that has pioneered the use of machine learning tools in 2-D material modeling. Machine learning, a field focused on training computers to recognize patterns in data and make new predictions, is helping doctors more accurately diagnose diseases and stock analysts forecast the rise and fall of financial markets. And now materials scientists have pioneered another important application for machine learning -- helping to accelerate the discovery and development of new materials. Researchers at the Center for Nanoscale Materials and the Advanced Photon Source, both U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facilities at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory, announced the use of machine learning tools to accurately predict the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of nanomaterials. In a study published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, a team of researchers led by Argonne computational scientist Subramanian Sankaranarayanan described their use of machine learning tools to create the first atomic-level model that accurately predicts the thermal properties of stanene, a two-dimensional (2-D) material made up of a one-atom-thick sheet of tin.

Cruz opened up last Wednesday's hearing by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness with an abrupt reminder that AI is becoming such a predominant part of our lives that investments in it will increase by 300 percent in the new few years. "Whether we recognize it or not," Cruz said, during the meeting, "artificial intelligence is already seeping into our daily lives." The speech was one in a number of rare addresses concerning artificial intelligence on the Senate floor. During the hearing, Dr. Andrew Moore from Carnegie Mellon University and Dr. Eric Horvitz, Managing Director at Microsoft Research Lab, discussed how a variety of technologies have created an "inflection point" whereby computing speed, automation, and deep learning will combine to drive AI technology further into human lives. Several speakers, including Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, discussed the impact AI would have on the human workforce and, ultimately, the economy.

IBM has launched the Watson for Cyber Security beta program to encourage companies to include Watson in their current security environments. Starting off with such organizations as California Polytechnic State University, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and University of Rochester Medical Center, the program will grow over the next few weeks to encompass 40 companies spanning industries like banking, travel, energy, automotive, health care, insurance, and education. For the past few months, IBM Security has been working with eight universities -- California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, Penn State, MIT, New York University, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, and Canada's universities of New Brunswick, Ottawa, and Waterloo -- to help teach Watson the "language of cybersecurity." The research project involved feeding Watson's AI brain thousands of documents annotated to help the system understand what a threat is, what it does, and what indicators are related. Watson for Cyber Security combines machine learning and natural language processing to make associations in unstructured data like blogs, research reports, and documentation that security analysts can then use to make better, faster decisions.

Propulsion expert warns NASA's'impossible drive' results could be caused by a'mundane error' in experiments EmDrive creates thrust by bouncing microwaves around a chamber The system has caused a stir as it it'goes against' the laws of physics A paper from NASA engineers shows the technology works in a vacuum Expert says the findings are likely the result of a mundane experimental error The system has caused a stir as it it'goes against' the laws of physics A fuel-free engine, described as'impossible' to create, may now be a step closer to reality, according to leaked Nasa documents. Fifty shades of Pompeii: Erotic wall paintings reveal the... Elon Musk forced to keep SpaceX rockets grounded until... Incredible X-rays show how lithium-ion batteries explode:... Know your place, robots! Fifty shades of Pompeii: Erotic wall paintings reveal the... Elon Musk forced to keep SpaceX rockets grounded until... Incredible X-rays show how lithium-ion batteries explode:... Know your place, robots! The tests managed to generate powers of 1.2 millinewtons per kilowatt (mN/Kw), a fraction of the current state of the art Hall ion thruster, which can achieve a massive 60 mN/Kw (illustrated) In the new study, which tested if the device could operate in a vacuum, the researchers found that'thrust data from forward, reverse, and null suggested that the system was consistently performing at 1.2 0.1 mN/kW1.2 The technology has been dubbed the'warp drive' for its similarity to the fictional propulsion system seen in the Star Trek series Leaked NASA paper shows the'impossible' EM Drive really does work - ScienceAlert EmDrive: Leaked Nasa peer review paper replicates Roger Shawyer's 2006 results Q-Thruster In-Vacuum Fall 2015 Test Report.pdf

When you envision three-dimensional city models that you can navigate, explore and alter in virtual reality, there's a good chance the first thing that comes to mind is a video game, or a sci-fi movie that takes place many years in the future. These technologies are hardly far-fetched, however. Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform, for example, is just such an innovative tool. The technology influences how urban planners, architects and government officials plan for the future. Singapore is one of the forward-thinking cities using the technology in innovative ways.

Richard Lee's attempt to renew his passport was blocked after he submitted the picture to an online passport photo checker run by New Zealand's department of internal affairs. The automated system told the 22-year-old engineering student the photo was invalid because his eyes were closed, even though they were clearly open, according to a copy of the notification posted on social media site Facebook. "No hard feelings on my part, I've always had very small eyes and facial recognition technology is relatively new and unsophisticated," Lee told Reuters. "It was a robot, no hard feelings. I got my passport renewed in the end."

In the west, AI and machine learning startups and tech giants of all stripes have been doing the M&A dance. Google, Apple and the like have been busy snapping up AI/ML startups and according to CB Insights, 30 companies in the space have been acquired since 2011 (five in this year alone). Activity in Asia has been decidedly quieter, with AI research and development mostly happening at the institutional and corporate level. In the region, it seems that Japan, South Korea and China are front runners in terms of AI activity. While Japan's Toyota is putting in $1 billion to ramp up AI research, mainly into autonomous vehicles, the South Korean government is also reportedly injecting $860 million into an AI research institute.

"We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances." "When you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better." One famous example of Occam's Razor in action is found in conspiracy theories surrounding the NASA moon landings. Many conspiracy theorists believe that the first Moon Landing was staged and filmed in a studio, part of an elaborate hoax. Their justification relies upon many twisted and convoluted theories, whereas the NASA argument is fairly straightforward.

When a satellite runs out of fuel or fails to deploy its solar panels, who you gonna call? There's currently no reliable way to physically repair things in orbit, which means a multimillion-dollar satellite can be rendered useless by a small glitch. But NASA has been eyeing a solution. This week, the space agency announced it's setting aside $127 million to fund a satellite that repairs and refuels others in orbit. The Restore-L satellite is being developed by a company called Space Systems Loral in Palo Alto, California.