#14: We're Back!

Look. Just because there's a huge collection of albino ignoramuses occupying downtown Cleveland doesn't mean there aren't good, hard-working folks out there trying to level us up as a species. So let's give a few of them a shout out today and just say a huge fucking thank you.

On to the news!


1. New map of the brain may help unlock future treatments and diagnoses, hidden Pikachu - Popular Science

"...if a person has a learning disability, this map may allow doctors and researchers to better understand what area of the brain is different compared to someone without this learning disability. It may also give surgeons a noninvasive way to achieve a detailed and individualized map of the person’s brain on which they are planning to operate."

+ MY NOTES: Love the comparison of old map vs the new map to earth-based telescopes vs. space-based. Paradigm shift.


2. It's a tight race: are we gonna nuke ourselves into oblivion first, or traverse interstellar space? Either way, we need to know more about how to survive radiation. These Chernobyl fungi might provide some answers. - Popular Science

"Outside the protective bubble of Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere, the high-energy charged particles shoot into our squishy bodies like tiny bullets, damaging cells and causing DNA mutations that can lead to cancer. But pharmacologist Clay Wang is hoping the radiation on the International Space Station will induce some good changes in a group of microorganisms."

+ MY NOTES: These sort of tests can't be understated. Cracking radiation-protection would be a monumental game-changer for space travel. 


3. And then there's these fuckers. Enemy number one: nominee for Vice President of the United States of America "doubts climate change". - Scientific American

"“I don’t think he is crazy anti-science, anti-climate change. I basically think he doesn’t care,” Filippelli said in an interview. “He was opposing these things because [to him] the science is not settled, not that we’re all fraud scientists, which is at least better than some people.”"

+ MY NOTES: Wonder if his constituents are doubting climate change this week.


4. New British PM hustles to close climate change office. Because why not? - The Independent

"The news came after the appointment of Andrea Leadsom – who revealed her first question to officials when she became Energy Minister last year was “Is climate change real? – was appointed as the new Environment Secretary."

+ MY NOTES: Just another isolated island, sinking into the ocean.


5. Would like to welcome our newest subscriber, Skynet! - Ars Technica

"The winning versions of the (fighter-pilot) AI were then "bred" with each other, with the best-performing traits carried on to the next generation of ALPHA code. These were then let loose on each other to simulate natural selection. In the end, through subsequent generations of pitting AI versions against each other, only one remains—the alpha ALPHA, so to speak.

In October, Lee took on ALPHA himself as the first human opponent. The former fighter combat instructor scored no kills against ALPHA's simulated aircraft—in fact, every simulated engagement ended in him being shot down. "I was surprised at how aware and reactive it was," Lee said. "It seemed to be aware of my intentions and reacting instantly to my changes in flight and my missile deployment. It knew how to defeat the shot I was taking. It moved instantly between defensive and offensive actions as needed.""

+ MY NOTES: Byeeeee