Coloradoan Death; Green Election; US Immigrants; Taking Ownership of History; Heart Fix; Bike Wash; Semi-less Chip; and Mystery Car

After 9 long years (or was it just a few months?) the U.S. presidential election has come to an end. I've made a concerted, deliberate effort since starting this blog to not post "news" about either candidate (too many lies, conspiracy theories, and fear mongering from all quarters), but that moratorium, too, is nearing an end :) Now that Trump has been given the presidency, he becomes as much fair game for bits of old news listed here as Obama, Putin, Xi, Duterte, Kim Jong Un, Merkel, and the rest of them.

Should make for some interesting days ahead...

Society

Colorado Approves a ‘Right to Die’ for Terminally Ill Patients time

The state’s legislation is modeled after a similar law in Oregon, which became the first state to enact Death With Dignity legislation in 1997. Since then Washington, California and Vermont have passed similar laws while Montana’s courts have allowed the practice.

Also see Assisted suicide is now legal in Colorado theverge

Voters in California, Massachusetts and Nevada approve recreational use of marijuana cnn v

Four other states voted whether marijuana should be used for medical reasons.

Trump effect? Canada's immigration website crashes amid U.S. election uncertainity cbsnews

There was no answer at the Canadian Immigration Services cic.gc.ca headquarters late Tuesday, so it’s unknown if the website’s outage is related to nerves from Americans on either side of the political divide.

Israel

Palestinians demand ‘return’ of Dead Sea Scrolls jns.org

During a meeting convened by the U.N.’s cultural body last month, Eitan Klein, who serves as the deputy director of the Israel Antiquities Authority antiquities.org.il, was told that the Palestinians had informally raised the issue of Israel returning the Dead Sea Scrolls, and that they were likely to make an official request to that end, the Times of Israel reported.

Medical

The Man Who Fixed His Own Heart digg

Golesworthy is neither a doctor nor any kind of medical researcher. He’s an engineer. But with characteristic self-belief he reckoned he could devise a simpler and safer way of fixing his problem. And he did. He then persuaded a surgeon to take him seriously, became the guinea pig for the first operation, and now runs a company set up to manufacture implants like the one buried in his own chest. It’s been there for a decade, and it’s keeping him alive.

This A.I. System Built by a Harvard Professor Can Invent New Kinds of Drugs inc

A Harvard professor has created an A.I. system that can create new drug compounds. According to MIT Technology Review, scientists can program the system to come up with a new molecular structure that contains certain properties. For instance, a chemist can set parameters for something that is highly soluble and that can be used to treat pain. The system then uses its structural knowledge of more than 250,000 molecules and generates suggestions that combine those properties.

Unusual Tech

Keep Your Ride Shiny With The World's First Mobile Bike-Cleaning Machine fastcoexist

The machine, which was invented in and is made in Germany, can clean any bike in five minutes, including electric bikes, and it does so using barely more than a pint of water, which it purifies before use. An on-board tank holds 30 gallons, so the machine can be used away from a main water supply. The machine also has a hand-operated spray to prewash the bike's dirtiest crannies, and to rinse it after the machine cycle is done. The machine itself uses spinning brushes, just like a car wash. Water is kept in the machine and recirculated for the duration of the wash.

Research

Scientists built a chip without semiconductors engadget

Remember those old-timey room-sized vacuum-tube-powered computers with less processing power than your smartphone? That tech might be making a comeback, thanks to work from scientists from UC San Diego ucsd.edu. They've built the first semiconductor-free, laser-controlled microelectronics device that uses free electrons, much as vacuum tubes do. The research could result in better solar panels and faster microelectronic devices that can carry more power.

Driverless Cars

Mysterious Aussie company worth $1.9b, despite no one knowing exactly what it does news.au

Co-founded by Victorian expat Tim Kentley-Klay, the mysterious start-up called Zoox zoox.co has remained in stealth mode for the two years it has been in operation.

Other...

How NASA's space suits have changed through the years chron