Society
Proposed law in Russia would ban proselytizing washingtontimes
Should the new law go into effect, citizens wishing to share their faith will have to “secure a government permit through a registered religious organization, and they cannot evangelize anywhere besides churches and other religious sites,” according to the evangelical Christian magazine. “The restrictions even apply to activity in private residences and online.”
Also see Russia's Proposed Law: No Evangelizing Outside of Church
U.S. military's timetable to lift transgender ban has some top brass worried nola
Senior military leaders expressed deep concerns this week that the launch of new Pentagon rules allowing transgender service members to serve openly in the U.S. military is moving too quickly, arguing that a number of details and questions must still be resolved, several senior U.S. officials told The Associated Press.
Also see Pentagon Lifts Ban on Transgender Service Members v
The UN Votes To Create Its First LGBT Rights Watchdog buzzfeed
The person appointed to this role will be known as an “independent expert” and the position is charged with monitoring “violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
This was the most ambitious effort yet to advance LGBT rights within the United Nations system, and the resolution included the strongest language to date suggesting LGBT rights should be a concern of international human rights law.
AI Morality
The Partnership of the Future slate w!
[Solving society’s greatest challenges like beating disease, ignorance, and poverty] however, requires a bold and ambitious approach that goes beyond anything that can be achieved through incremental improvements to current technology. Now is the time for greater coordination and collaboration on A.I.
This continues the ongoing public discussion in society as to how to define 'morality' for machines. See also Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has 10 commandments for how AI and humans should act
Research
SELF-ASSEMBLING NANOMACHINES MAY HELP DETECT DISEASE digitaltrends
Dubbed OPTIMuS (Oligo-Propelled Technology for Interrogating Molecular Systems), the dumbbell-shaped machines use nanoscale DNA springs to move a ring along a central cylinder or “handle.” The ring’s default position is attached to one side of the “dumbbell” via something like molecular velcro, but when a particular molecule interacts with the velcro, the ring is released. When that happens, anyone with a simple smartphone app can detect a macroscopic fluorescent signal and, therefore, detect a disease.
Heat, light stimulate self-assembly: Researchers develop shape-changing 'smart' material phys.org v
This is the first time researchers have been able to combine several smart abilities, including shape memory behavior, light-activated movement and self-healing behavior, into one material. They have published their work in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Brexit
Map: Which Countries are in the European Union, Which Aren't, and Which Want to Join? polgeonow
What unites the countries of the European Union is a set of laws that all members are required to share. Mostly these are laws about things like the economy, trade, natural resources, and immigration (a major sticking point in Britain). Some countries or territories have exemptions from certain laws, but overall, being an EU member means agreeing to follow a set of rules set out by the collaborative union government in Brussels.
A good "cheat sheet" of the EU for those of us on this side of the pond :)
Syria
[OPINION] RUSSIA IS IN CHARGE IN SYRIA: HOW MOSCOW TOOK CONTROL OF THE BATTLEFIELD AND NEGOTIATING TABLE warontherocks
Russia has leveraged its September 2015 military intervention on behalf of the Assad regime to establish itself as the central military actor in Syria’s war. With its punishing air campaign in January and February of this year, Russia gave the opposition and its backers a lesson in the destruction Russia can inflict on rebel factions, civilian centers, and key infrastructure. Russia’s intervention successfully stabilized the regime and served to deter the sort of unilateral U.S. action advocated by these State Department officials. Russia has used its military primacy to oblige others — including the United States — to treat it as the gatekeeper to a negotiated solution to the conflict.
Also see Obama Administration Offers Russia Deal on Military Cooperation in Syria
Creatures
Horrific' First Amphibious Centipede Discovered news.nationalgeographic
With some difficulty, Beccaloni captured the centipede and later put it in a large container of water. He says it immediately dove to the bottom and swam powerfully like an eel, with horizontal undulations of its body. When he took the centipede out of the container, the water rolled off its body, leaving it totally dry.
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