Hong Kong Protesters Are Furious About A 30-Year-Old Broken Promise

Seemingly out of nowhere, images of tens of thousands of protesters in the streets of Hong Kong confronting tear gas with umbrellas are dominating the media. "Occupy Central" is what those in Hong Kong are calling the movement to maintain democratic rule on the island. It has been able to assemble hundreds of thousands to demonstrate since July, when Beijing publicized that it would no longer tolerate independent rule in Hong Kong. It said that Hong Kong's constitutional autonomy was not "an inherent power." Instead of allowing free and fair elections as it has for the past 20 years, Beijing wants to select candidates who can run for political office in Hong Kong.


In a closed-door meeting with Hong Kong leaders in August the guy named Zhang Xiaoming, Beijin's liasion to Hong Kong, told Hong Kong leaders supportive of Occupy Central, "The fact that you are allowed to stay alive, already shows the countr'y inclusiveness." So what is happening now says more about changesin Beijing under President Xi Jinping that in does about any revolution on the island. To the contrary, protesters on the ground aren't fighting for change, but rather a return to the commitment that was made to them in 1997 -- that they would be able to govern themselves.

Superintelligence Could Come Into Existence

Biological brains are unlikely to be the final stage of intelligence. Machines already have superhuman strength, speed and stamina – and one day they will have superhuman intelligence. The only reasons this may not occur is if we develop some other dangerous technology first that destroys us, or otherwise fall victim to some existential risk .But assuming that scientific and technological progress continues, human-level machine intelligence is very likely to be developed. And shortly thereafter, superintelligence. 

Predicting how long it will take to develop such intelligent machines is difficult. Contrary to what some reviewers of my book seem to believe, I don't have any strong opinion about that matter. (It is as though the only two possible views somebody might hold about the future of artificial intelligence are "machines are stupid and will never live up to the hype!" and "machines are much further advanced than you imagined and true AI is just around the corner!").

New Chemical Signals From The Middle Of Our Galaxy Are A Good Sign For Alien Life

Aliens, once again. The recent discovery of molecular compounds integral to life on Earth in dusty clouds located deep in interstellar space is an encouraging sign that aliens could exist out in the universe. All amino acids make up the proteins in the human cells; Muscles, other tissues, and contain a type pf organic compound called iso-propyl cyanide, which consists of other elements. Meaning, without amino acids, there would be no life on Earth as we know it. Since amino acids were first discovered in meteorites in the early '70s, it's been clear that life on Earth got a little help from space. Just how much, however, remains unclear.

Now, scientists have taken one step further and discovered where i-propyl cyanide likely originates in our very own galaxy — the Milky Way. Located 27,000 light years from Earth toward the center of our galaxy is one of the largest molecular clouds in the Milky Way. 

New Particle Discovered After 80 Years Of Searching

A team of physicists at Princeton University and the University of Texas at Austin announced on October 2 that they have observed a new particle that has eluded detection for nearly 80 years! It only took scientists 48 years to detect the Higgs boson. No one really knew how they would go about searching for this particle until 2001, which is why it's taken the better half of a century to detect it. Meet the Majorana fermion. This new particle was first predicted by Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937, and is unique because it is the only particle in existence that can adopt both matter and antimatter characteristics simultaneously without annihilating itself in the process.

This is kind of exciting and can only be practically beneficial. Because it allows scientists to manipulate exotic particles for potenetial applications, such as quantum computing. In order to observe these particles, the team had to use a very large microscope -- a two-story tall microscope to be exact that is located at Princeont's Jadwin Hall. Pretty cool, huh?

More Than 7 Billion People Populate Earth And Each One Has A Unique Face — Here's Why

Over 7 billion people populate Earth and each one has a unique face, which is pretty atsonishig when you think about it. Why do human faces have such great diversity? A new study suggest it isn't just because we are more attuned to human faces -- it's also because humans actually have more diverse and unique faces than another animals species. When you meet someone new, what do you do you notice about them? Their clothes, height, and hair color are some of the traits that set us apart, but it's the person's face that you remember and recognize in the future.

We can thank our brains and our advances social structure for this diversity. A crucial evoltuionary trait in our brain has played a part in generating more diverse, complex, and unique faces in human beings. That's in comparsion to most other animals that do not rely on sight to recognize one another -- instead they use sound or smell; King penguins spot one another in a crowd with a unique vocal call while dogs use their incredibly sensitive noses to sniff.

Here's The Most Terrifying Thing About Ebola

As the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has spiraled out of control, affecting thousands of Liberians, Sierra Leonians, and Guineans, and threatening thousands more, the world’s reaction has been glacially, lethally slow. Only in the past few weeks have heads of state begun to take serious notice. To date, the virus has killed more than 2,600 people. This is a comparatively small number when measured against much more established diseases such as malaria,HIV/AIDS, influenza, and so on, but several factors about this outbreak have some of the world’s top health professionals gravely concerned: 

• Its kill rate: In this particular outbreak, a running tabulation suggests that 54 percent of the infected die, though adjusted numbers suggest that the rate is much higher.
• Its exponential growth: At this point, the number of people infected is doubling approximately every three weeks, leading some epidemiologists to project between 77,000 and 277,000 cases by the end of 2014.
• The gruesomeness with which it kills: by hijacking cells and migrating throughout the body to affect all organs, causing victims to bleed profusely.
• The ease with which it is transmitted: through contact with bodily fluids, including sweat, tears, saliva, blood, urine, semen, etc., including objects that have come in contact with bodily fluids (such as bed sheets, clothing, and needles) and corpses.
• The threat of mutation: Prominent figures have expressed serious concerns that this disease will go airborne, and there are many other mechanisms through which mutation might make it much more transmissible.
  
  

In truth; This virus does scare me, because we don't have a cure for it and its spreading fast, and apprantely the 'World' haven't taken precautions such as; Closing air ports, before things turn nasty. I mean, if this outbreaks in America it would probably spread throughout the entire Country in no time.

Researchers Are Saving Sea Cows, Rhinos, And Other Animals With Drones

In a case study published last year in PLOS One, Hodgson(Person conducting experiment) and her colleagues used a small aerial drone to survey dugongs, manatee-like marine mammals, in Shark Bay, Australia — the first Australian UAV survey trial. The drone captured 627 images containing dugongs, and the researchers were also able to identify a range of other marine animals, including whales, dolphins, and turtles. Since then she's conducted two additional, currently unpublished trials with the drones — another one searching for dugongs, and one with humpback whales. These studies paired human observers with the drones to test the accuracy of drones compared to people. The results are still pending, but so far Hodgson believes drones have high potential when it comes to marine research. There are several reasons for this.

Well its revolutionary I guess, but not necessary legal. The Federal Aviation Administration has strict rules when it comes to the commercial use of drones — an umbrella that includes scientific research. Before proceeding with any work involving drones, researchers must obtain a certificate of authorization, which is only available to public entities like government agencies or public (but not private) universities. That puts a strict limit on who can do drone-based research, including cutting most conservation organizations out of the game. 

Fox's Most Anticipated Fall Show 'Gotham' Is Good, But A Bit Overrated

In the first few minutes of "Gotham," you see Batman's familiar heart wrenching origin story played out. Thomas and Martha Wayne get gunned in an alleway by a man in a ski mask. A string of pearls break and fall dramatically to the concrete. The couple's son Bruce is spared, left screaming in the alleway left screaming in two pools of blood (how dramatic right?). It's a scene played throughout so many Batman adaptations that you can imagine it with your eyes closed. This one feels no more special than the rest. It's entirely predictable -- a series just going through motions. Thankfully the rest of Batman prequal "Gotham" isn't as preditable; however, it is campy enough to be jarring at moments. 

Watching the show personally and being a huge fan of Batman when growing up I can say its "progress" but Batman is so over done, the show seems really boring. Every few minutes it feels like the show drops references to another future iconic Batman character solely to keep fans interested. Not saying that "Gotham" will end up like "Birds of Prey" another bad imitation of a popular show. In some ways, "Gotham" feels similar to the set up of ABC's successful "Once Upon a Time" which showcases the origin stories of fairytale characters and villains. The Batman prequel definitely has promise. Netflix must think so anyway. 

Canada Just Solved One Of The Greatest Maritime Mysteries In Its History

Canada annouced on Sunday the discovery of one of two British explorer ships that went missing in 1846 after becoming trapped in Arctic ice. In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harpyer called the event a "truly historic moment for Cnada," noting that one of Canada's "greatest mysterious" had been solve. The HMS Erebus and HMS Terror left England in 1845, led by British captain Sir John Franklin. The ships were headed for the Northwest Passage, but they hit trouble in the Canadian Arctic. Icebound for more than a year, the crew eventually ran out of supplies. Franklin and more than twenty of his men died. THe hundred or so who did survive abandoned the ships in 1848 and headed for dry land, but none of the crew made it back home alive.

I read this before a while back. According to a Canadian researcher the reamins of the expedition memebers found on 'Beechey' Island indicated they had died of colder, hunger, and lead poisoning from canned food. The researches cannot tell of the newly dsiscovered vessel is the HMS Erebus or HMS Terror, however, I believe they are confident that finding the first ship would provide a new momentum necessary to locate its sister. Hopefully, more mysterious in the deep will rise to the surface. Only time can tell.

Greenhouse Gas Levels Have Never Been Worse

Surging levels of carbon dioxide sent greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to a new record in 2013, while oceans, which absorb the emissions, have become more acidic than ever, the UN said on Tuesday. :We know without any doubt that our climate is changing and our weathes in becoming more extreme due to human activities such as the burning of fossils fuels," said Michel Jarraud, the head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that released a report on the issue on Tuesday. Concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide all broke flesh records in 2013, said a report. Global concentratios of COW, the main culrpit in globam warming, soared to 396 parts per million last year, or 142 percent of pre-industrial levels -- defined as before as before 1750.

I don't know whether I believe in 'Global Warming' or not. Living in Georgia for the past ten years the weather has never been drastically higher or lower, but has stayed moderate throughout my stay. Though lately, it has been raining non-stop, which led to me this article. Only time can tell, for now we should only conserve our Greenhouse gases and try not to go over the 'limit'. 

Jack the Ripper -- Solved!

One of the world's greatest murder mysterious may have been solved at least. A world-renowned DNA expert claims to have finally worked out who the true identity of Jack the Ripper and says the serial killer was a 23-year old Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminiski. Dr, Jari Louhelainen made the claim after taking DNA samples from a bloody shawl of the one of the notorious London killer's victims, Catherine Eddowes. Louhelainen compared the DNA from Kosminski to relatives and said the man who emigrated from Poland, who ended up in an insane asylum, was the notorious killer. He later died in an asylum in 1899, the 'Mirror' reports.

Jack the Ripper -- as the killer was dubbed -- murdered up to five people, mostly female prostitues who worked in slum areas in east London 126 years ago. Eddowes was 46 when she was killed and mutilated in the early hours of September 30, 1888, A day later, a letter was sent and signed from "Jack the Ripper," claiming responsibility for the murder. The signature led to the killer being given the famous name. And now finally ... the theories are put to rest.

Super-harvest-moon

The Harvest Moon is the name for the full moon that is closest to the autumnal equinox, or the official start of fall, on Sept. 22. Traditionally, every full moon has special nickname that says something about the season or time of year in which it appears. For example, the Snow Moon happens in February during winter and the Flower Moon is in May during spring. Before electricity, moonlight was crucial for farmers who had to work after sundown, especially in early autumn when many crops are ready to be harvested. For that reason, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox was called the "Harvest Moon." The Harvest Moon can come either two weeks before or two weeks the autumnal equinox. This year it's a bit early.

Well when I was younger I was told the Harvest Moon is 'special' for another reason. Typically, the moon rises about fifty minutes later each day throughout the year. But when the full moon occurs near the fall equinox, the gaps between moonrises are shorter. The moon rises only about 30 minuts later ech night, appearing at sunset. This has to do with the moon's path, which makes a narrow edngle with the horizon at the beginning of autumn. Not only does the moon rise earlier than usual in the evening, but this happens for several nights in a row — before and after the full moon — resulting in three consecutive days of the moon appearing at nearly the same time. Cool. huh?

Neuroscientist Warns That Technology Is Eating Our Brains

For several years 'Lady Greenfield' has been warning of what she sees as the dangers of computers and the internet, as they move out of the office and into people's living rooms, pockets and personal lives. She has written newspaper articles and given elctures about the dangers of the digitial world. She frets, worrying that smartphones and social networks are sucking users into an unsatifying digital facsimile of reality, frying their memories, atrohpinh their social skills and generally rotting their brains. In particular, she emphasis the brain's ability to adapt to stimulu. It is this adaptability that is the source of her claim, often associated with Ms. Greenfield's pronouncements that using the internet cna alter the physical structure of your brain. That sounds scary, but should it? Virtually any experience--reading the morning paper, divorcing your wife--will alter the physical structure of your brain, because such physical alterations, in the form of creating or pruning connections between neurons, are how the brain learns. The brain you go to sleep with every night is the not the same as the brain you woke up with that morning.

Let's try to break this hypothesis down. Oh wait, it's already proven. But who are the test subjects you ask? We are. Growing up and seeing technology trascend into the pockets of every american to whereas children at eight are now playing with iPads instead of sports, or reading through a screen instead of a book. This is only the beginning and I agree with everything Ms. Greenfield has to say about the Future of the World and Technology.