Does Watson Know the Answer to IBM’s Woes?
IBM is betting that research on more human-like artificial intelligence will help it turn things around.As cheap cloud computing services erode IBM’s traditional hardware business with alarming speed,...
View ArticleWater-Repellent Coating Could Make Power Plants Greener
A startup has created a water-repellent coating that could significantly increase power plants’ efficiency.Applying a novel coating to part of the machinery in power plants could significantly reduce...
View ArticleA Sleek Wristband That Can Track Seizures
A startup wants to make it easier for people with epilepsy to detect seizures and let others know when they need help.A new wristband from a startup called Empatica is built for people with epilepsy—it...
View ArticleCuba’s Internet Revolution Faces Economic and Political Realities
The new White House approach could help Cubans gain access to the Internet—but the question is whether the regime will play ball.Cubans could be about to enjoy vastly improved access to communications...
View ArticleErase Obstructions from Photos with a Click
Researchers at Google and MIT came up with an algorithm that could make taking pictures of obstructed scenes like taking a panoramic photo.If your attempts at mimicking Ansel Adams with your smartphone...
View ArticleIs It Really Only $1,000 to Sequence a Genome?
Technological improvements have dramatically lowered the cost of reading all your DNA, though most people still don’t have an incentive to have it done.It cost $2.7 billion to sequence the first human...
View ArticleToyota Investing $50M with Stanford, MIT for Autonomous-Car Research
The auto maker has lured the organizer of the DARPA Robotics Challenge to lead its new AI research effort.Toyota is investing $50 million with Stanford and MIT for autonomous-vehicle research that it...
View ArticleFinally, Fusion Takes Small Steps Toward Reality
The focus of research on fusion power has moved from big government programs to startups with novel designs.After three decades of expensive government-funded research that has failed to produce...
View ArticleStore Surveillance Keeps an Eye on Your Hair and Clothes
Retailers can now use software to track one person across multiple surveillance cameras, possibly helping them improve store layouts.A startup is trying to make it easier for store owners to figure out...
View ArticleCRISPR Dispute to Be Decided by Patent Office
A “patent interference” proceeding will determine who controls foundational patents on gene editing.As this magazine and others have detailed, CRISPR-Cas9—the powerful gene-editing technology being...
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