Day's Headlines: North Carolina Backs Down; Obama's Stump Speech; The Next Long Range Satellite; Heady Dog Test; Radioing Emotions; Cancer Anti-Virus; and Self-Driving Government

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

North Carolina Backs Down; Obama's Stump Speech; The Next Long Range Satellite; Heady Dog Test; Radioing Emotions; Cancer Anti-Virus; and Self-Driving Government

Society

North Carolina Governor Drops 'Bathroom Bill' Lawsuit Against U.S. npr.org

In court documents Friday, Gov. Pat McCrory cited "substantial costs to the State" as one reason for dropping his lawsuit against the federal government, writing that it did not serve the "interests of judicial economy and efficiency."

UN

US cannot solve world’s problems alone': Obama addresses UNGA (FULL SPEECH) youtube v

I knew you wouldn't want to miss Obama's campaign, er I mean farewell, speech at the UN. Also see US President Obama urges world to eschew division and pursue global integration at UN Assembly un.org

North Korea

North Korea's Kim guides new rocket engine test, calls for satellite launch reuters

Kim asked scientists and engineers to make "preparations for launching the satellite as soon as possible on the basis of the successful test," the official KCNA news agency said, indicating the North may soon launch another long-range rocket.

Frankenstein

It’s time for a serious debate about head transplants newscientist

It is one thing to find the science risibly weak, but on the bigger issue of head transplants – or more accurately, full-body transplants – nobody is laughing. The surgery seems macabre but is scientifically feasible and could offer real benefits to some people. But it is medically, not to say ethically, very challenging.

Also see Human head transplant scientist says promising animal studies mean first procedure could take place next year independent.co.uk

Research

MIT 'radio' uses wireless signals to identify emotions engadget

According to the team, the device is 87 percent accurate with your measurements on file, but it's still up to 70 percent accurate without them. "Just by generally knowing what human heartbeats look like in different emotional states," team member and PhD student Mingmin Zhao said, "we can look at a random person's heartbeat and reliably detect their emotions."

Microsoft's "Biological Computing" Lab Aims To Fight Diseases By Reprogramming Cells fastcompany

The technology behemoth is best known for its operating systems and business software, and since 2014, under CEO Satya Nadella, it's focused much of its energy on plotting a future for mainstay products such as Windows and Office. But the company has also quietly built up a presence in medical research. In Cambridge, U.K., it has 150 scientists and software developers working on a wide variety of projects at its little-known "biological computation" unit microsoft, which includes a newly installed wet lab. The company says its eventual goal is to make cells into living computers that could someday be programmed—and even reprogrammed—to treat diseases like cancer. In the near term, it is building computer-modeling tools to assist pharma companies in drug discovery and development.

Automation

U.S. Government Releases Outline of Plan to Get Self-Driving Cars on the Road time

States have historically set the rules for licensing drivers, but when the driver becomes a computer “we intend to occupy the field here,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox transportation.gov said. States, he said, should stick to registering cars and dealing with questions of liability when they crash.

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