Anyone With A Younger Brother Or Sister Knows It’s Not Always An Easy Ride (unless You Happen To Be

does anyone know of any good science blogs? I want to follow more.

this is why we need vaccines (x) | follow @the-future-now

This Year in Space (infographic)

From Pluto to the most Earth-like planet ever discovered…this years was a fantastic year in space. Here are the most notable astronomical events from 2015.

May you all journey well into 2016.

See all our infographics at: http://futurism.com/infographics/

The plate is called a Chladni plate. When he plays it with a bow (you know, like a violin) the couscous aligns itself it certain patterns. We’re not sure if this is science or magic.

The world’s oldest known fossils have been found - and they’re 3.7 billion years old

They could push back evidence for life on Earth by 220 million years.

The oldest fossils ever discovered have been found in Greenland, and they appear to have preserved the earliest signs of life of Earth.

Dated to around 3.7 billion years ago, the fossils contain evidence of stromatolites - layers of sediment packed together by ancient, water-based bacterial colonies - and could push back the origins of life in the fossil record by 220 million years.

Read more… 

Studies show that people decide if you’re trustworthy, adventurous, successful, smart, extroverted, or likeable within 3 seconds of meeting you. Source

What you’re looking at are human beings assembling humanity’s most advanced space telescope to date. At this very moment, the James Webb Space Telescope (@NASAWebbTelescp) is being assembled. To keep up to date on its progress, you can visit NASA’s dedicated web page on the scope.

Here’s what you should know. 

The James Webb Space Telescope (aka JWST or Webb) will be a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror, launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in October 2018, and will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. JWST will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System. Formerly known as the “Next Generation Space Telescope” (NGST); it was renamed in Sept. 2002 after a former NASA administrator, James Webb. 

JWST is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the development effort, with the main industrial partner being Northrop Grumman; the Space Telescope Science Institute will operate JWST after launch. Over 1000 people in more than 17 countries are developing the James Webb Space Telescope. Shown above are team members in front of the JWST full-scale model at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Several innovative technologies have been developed for JWST. These include a primary mirror made of 18 separate segments that unfold and adjust to shape after launch. The mirrors are made of ultra-lightweight beryllium. JWST’s biggest feature is a tennis court sized five-layer sunshield that attenuates heat from the Sun more than a million times. The telescope’s four instruments - cameras and spectrometers - have detectors that are able to record extremely faint signals. One instrument (NIRSpec) has programmable microshutters, which enable observation up to 100 objects simultaneously. JWST also has a cryocooler for cooling the mid-infrared detectors of another instrument (MIRI) to a very cold 7 degrees Kelvin so they can work.

Of the myriad of capabilities Webb will have over the now 25 year old Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the most fascinating aspects of the JWST will be all we expect to learn, along with discoveries it will enable of which we couldn’t possibly anticipate. To expand on this further, see the video ‘Beyond Hubble: The James Webb Space Telescope’ (below), courtesy of Coconut Science Laboratory:

Although there’s so much more to say about the JWST, I recommend visiting http://jwst.nasa.gov/ to browse the trove of resources available. And because @nasa prides itself on being a transparent and inclusive organization, everyone can view the past and present progress being made through the live web cams which provide fresh views every 60 seconds! 

Watch the Webb In Progress

Share this with everyone! We are all crew members aboard this terrestrial spaceship, and although we all share the same window to the universe, not everyone has the influences around them to assist in helping refine their questions, and ultimately, change their perspective regarding their ‘place in space’. Every person you reach and inform about the incredible science that’s being done around our busy world, the immeasurable impact you could have on their life and the subsequent lives they influence. Engage and educate! 

– Rich @sagansense 

 Still curious about JWST? Take a 3D tour and explore it for yourself!

Artificial Intelligence, Boon or Bane? University of Cambridge Set to Find an Answer

Today’s science and technology are nearing a point where computers can recreate human-level intelligence. While it is difficult to say when exactly this will happen, some researchers are suggesting that this could take place sometime this century. In the press release, Stuart Russell, a world-leading AI researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that such a development would be “the biggest event in human history.”

Professor Stephen Hawking agrees, and adds that it remains to be seen whether or not artificial intelligence will be our greatest benefit or greatest downfall. He states, “when it eventually does occur, it’s likely to be either the best or worst thing ever to happen to humanity, so there’s huge value in getting it right.”

In anticipation of this, the University of Cambridge is to establish a new interdisciplinary research centre, the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, which will bring together computer scientists, philosophers, social scientists, and others to examine the technical, practical, and philosophical questions that artificial intelligence raises (or will raise) for humanity in the coming century.

It will be funded by a £10 million grant from the Leverhulme Trust.

Read more at: http://futurism.com/links/19069/

The God Brain: Roundtable Discussion on God and Spirituality for Brain Games

NeuroscienceNews was invited by National Geographic’s Brain Games to participate in a virtual roundtable discussion on the question:

“Is belief in God innate in our brains, as if it were installed by some divine programmer? Or is spirituality a more complex evolving adaptation that has both helped and harmed us as a species?”

Let us know what you think.

Image: Jason Silva sits with Jonathan, a grad student at IDC Herzliya as they test out the virtual reality EEG cap and goggles. Photo Credit: NG Studios/Andy Fram.

Magnified Universe [more]