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Scientists bio-hacked E. coli to create synthetic life

May16
by on May 16, 2019 at 11:50 pm
Posted In: Around the Web


Escherichia coli, nobody’s favorite dinner guest, just had the distinction of becoming the first living organism to have its entire DNA code successfully replaced with a synthetic genome. We’ve played with nature’s creations before, but this is the first time we’ve completely reprogrammed them. The experiment was conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and led by biologist Jason Chin. It involved creating a complete artificial genome with everything the scientists believed an organism needs to live – and nothing it doesn’t. This streamlined code then replaced the E coli bacteria’s until the new life form no longer had…

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The new Motorola Razr looks tiny when folded, according to this video

May16
by on May 16, 2019 at 9:34 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Plugged


We’ve known for a while Motorola is planning on reviving its Razr brand, jumping on the folding phone bandwagon with its own take on the concept that far removed from Huawei or Samsung’s. Though we’ve leaked materials showing what the phone will look like when open, a video posted on Weibo gives us a good look at what the folding mechanism may look like – and how compact the phone will be when closed. You might’ve noticed the text on the screen reads “concept by @WaqarKhanHD,” so it’s not an official render. However, according to Engadget, the video was “an edited…

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Total War: Three Kingdoms is a triumph of beauty and slaughter

May16
by on May 16, 2019 at 7:57 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, gaming


Creative Assembly’s Total War: Three Kingdoms is a triumph. There’s no other way to put it. It’s a gorgeous fantasy epic wrapped inside a fine-tuned battle simulator that’s been updated to make it more delightfully frenetic and jaw-dropping than ever. Everything about this game is better than its predecessors, including Warhammer II. The graphics, sound, gameplay and UI have all been fine-tuned to produce what’s almost certainly the most robust entry in the franchise. But also, possibly, the easiest to approach. But before we get into the gameplay and experience, we have to discuss the belle of this ball: the setting.…

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Here’s why your Facebook groups went secret overnight

May16
by on May 16, 2019 at 7:20 pm
Posted In: Around the Web


Over the last day, you may have noticed that several of your Facebook groups have switched their settings to “Secret,” for no apparent reason. That may have been to avoid the attentions of a particular virulent group inserting itself into other communities solely for the purpose of getting them banned. According to KnowYourMeme, several public Facebook groups were being banned after a single member joined and began flooding them with non-standard-compliant images, then reporting the groups in order to get them banned. Most of the groups being targeted appear to be meme or “shitposting” groups, with one of the biggest…

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Driverless cars are years away, but self-driving forklifts have arrived

May16
by on May 16, 2019 at 4:24 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, artificial intelligence, Cars, syndication


For several years, executives of tech and automobile companies have been promising that fully autonomous vehicles will soon become a common sights in streets and roads. But we’re well into 2019, and self-driving cars are still making stupid mistakes. In many ways, the short history of self-driving cars is reminiscent of the early decades of artificial intelligence research. Scientists constantly promised that human-level AI (or artificial general intelligence) was just around the corner. But as they dug deeper and deeper, they faced the hard truth that replicating the functions of the human mind is more challenging than we thought. Seven decades of…

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