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Tuesday December 11, 2012 Daily edition   News and Blog Headlines New optical tweezers trap specimens just a few nanometers wide US needs new deep-space Agency, Apollo astronaut says Brain cells made from urine The many maps of the brain How to focus light at the nanoscale Latest News New optical tweezers trap specimens just a few nanometers wide December 11, 2012   A technique known as optical trapping uses beams of light as tweezers to hold and manipulate tiny particles. Stanford researchers have found a new way to trap particles smaller than 10 nanometers — and potentially down to just a few atoms in size — which until now have escaped light’s grasp. To grasp and move … more… US needs new deep-space Agency, Apollo astronaut says December 11, 2012   The U.S. should create a new agency dedicated to manned exploration of the moon, Mars and other destinations in deep space, says former Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Space.com reports. Schmitt suggests the new agency be called the National Space Exploration Administration. The new deep-space agency should “stay young, and develop a management structure that is not … more… Brain cells made from urine December 11, 2012   Some of the waste that humans flush away every day could become a powerful source of brain cells to study disease, and may even one day be used in therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists have found a relatively straightforward way to persuade the cells discarded in human urine to turn into valuable neurons, Nature News … more… The many maps of the brain December 11, 2012   Your brain has at least four different senses of location — and perhaps as many as 10 — and each is different, according to new research from the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The brain has a number of “modules” dedicated to self-location, they found. Each module … more… How to focus light at the nanoscale December 11, 2012   California Institute of Technology (Caltech) engineers have created a device that can focus light into a point just a few nanometers (billionths of a meter) across — an achievement they say may lead to next-generation applications in computing, communications, and imaging. The Caltech device complements IBM’s just-announced “silicon nanophotonics,” which allows for the integration of … more… New VIDEOS   Back to the Moon for power?   Europa mission a Go in new sci-fi film New books Cybernetic Revelation: Deconstructing Artificial Intelligence author JD Casten   Cybernetic Revelation explores the dual philosophical histories of deconstruction and artificial intelligence, tracing the development of concepts like the “logos” and the notion of modeling the mind technologically from pre-history to contemporary thinkers like Slavoj Žižek, Steven Pinker, Bernard Stiegler and Daniel C. Dennett. The writing is clear and accessible throughout, yet the text probes … more… A Newer World: Politics, Money, Technology, and What’s Really Being Done to Solve the Climate Crisis   Here is a story that has not previously been adequately told: the story of the developments, trends, and visionary people that are, in many ways, mitigating the climate crisis and turning sustainable development into reality, not just a grand concept. In A Newer World, the environmentalist Bill Hewitt explores the advances in business and finance, … more… Visit KurzweilAI.net You are currently subscribed to the KurzweilAI.net newsletter as *|EMAIL|* To unsubscribe, please click here. To change your email preferences, please click here. *|LIST:ADDRESS|*.