Paleontologists have discovered a feathered dinosaur tail inside a piece of amber.
While, this is not the first time scientists have discovered dinosaur feathers, this dinosaur tail is in incredible condition. The discovery was reported in the journal of “Current Biology” and illustrates the details of dinosaur feathers and how dinosaurs evolved over time.
University of Geosciences in Beijing researcher, Lida Xing, is the lead author of the study. Xing revealed that the specimen was found in Myanmar at a market. People were selling the pieces of amber reportedly explaining the amber contained some type of prehistoric plant and would make for an interesting piece of jewelry. However, Xing was able to recognize the details within the amber as a piece of prehistoric history. Xing contacted Royal Saskatchewan Museum researcher Ryan McKellar to research the new discovery.
Dinosaur Tail encased in Amber (Ryan McKellar/Royal Saskatchewan Museum)
Together the research team used technological instruments to analyze the piece of amber in extreme detail. Researchers argue that the feathered tail belonged to a coelurosaur – a carnivorous dinosaur that existed 99 million years ago.
In a statement, McKellar explained “The material preserves a tail consisting of eight vertebrae from a juvenile; these are surrounded by feathers that are preserved in 3D and with microscopic detail.”
Xing and McKellar are now looking for more fossils preserved in amber. “Amber pieces preserve tiny snapshots of ancient ecosystems, but they record microscopic details, three-dimensional arrangements, and…tissues that are difficult to study in other settings,” McKellar explained.
McKellar added, “This is a new source of information that is worth researching with intensity and protecting as a fossil resource.”
133 million year old Dinosaur brain discovered in England (Jamie Hiscocks/University of Cambridge)
There have been a flurry of recent prehistoric finds lately. Last October, paleontologists discovered a brain tissue from a dinosaur. A man found the fossil in East Sussex, England in 2004 and after researching an object that looked more resembles a rock than brain, researchers discovered the fossil actually contained blood vessels, tissue, and other features found in the outer layer of the brain. David Norman, the researcher in the study, explained, “It’s not the entire brain — it’s just remarkable preservation of soft tissues you wouldn’t expect to have preserved.”
On Tuesday, Google’s virtual reality headset, Google Daydream, announced a new set of applications available on the VR platform. The announcement, which was posted on the company’s website, revealed the launch of HBO Now, Lego games, NextVR and several other virtual reality applications. Google also announced Netflix will soon become available on the Daydream platform.
The HBO NOW app now allows HBO subscribers to watch movies and original TV shows in virtual reality. However, at the moment the video quality is not full-immersive 3-D virtual reality. But, HBO could be working on creating and developing VR content specifically for the growing virtual reality audience.
In addition to HBO NOW, Google’s Daydream released several new games including: Lego BrickHeadz Builder VR, Gunjack 2: End of Shift, Wands, Underworld Overlord, Layers of Fear: Solitude.
Daydream View, VR Headset by Google (Image Courtesy of Google.com)
Google’s VR platform for Android is currently available on the Pixel phone but, many other phone manufacturers are expected to build upon Google’s virtual reality platform.
Outside of Google’s VR platform include Facebook’s Oculus Rift, HTC which announced on Tuesday the release of the Oculus Touch – a $199 package that includes controllers and a tracking camera that works alongside the $599 Oculus Rift.
The Oculus Touch controllers track the movements of a user’s hands along with providing buttons to increase interactivity. In fact, the sensors within the Oculus Touch allow for the computer to determine if a user is making hand movements such as pointing, shaking or even waving. Features that are not available on other major VR products. In addition, Oculus features well over 50 games. Far more than Google’s Daydream.
Stock Photo: Los Angeles, CA – USA – August 29, 2015: Guy tries virtual glasses headset during VRLA Expo, virtual reality exposition, event at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles. (betto rodrigues / Shutterstock.com)
The biggest difference between Facebook’s Oculus Rift and Google’s Daydream, is that the Daydream View headset is not dependent upon computers or a specific manufacturer and the fact that the Daydream headset can be used by compatible smartphones making it cheaper than Facebook’s $599 VR headset.
Popularity for VR has grown substantially. According to reports, the number of search queries regarding VR has increased by nearly 400% percent in the past 12 months. In addition, a 2015 study by the Ericsson Consumerlab found that shopping was the main reason why smartphone users were interested in virtual reality; 64 percent said “seeing items in real size and form when shopping online” is the main reason for being interested in virtual reality.
On Tuesday, Apple posted a response to battery issues related to the iPhone 6S which have gained much attention amongst social media users in China over the past month. The statement which was posted on the company’s customer support page relegated the issue to a ‘small number of customers’.
Stock Photo: Gothenburg, Sweden – November 30, 2016: Close-up of the Touch Bar on the new Apple MacBook Pro 15″ laptop, released in 2016. Focus is on the touch bar that is filled with emojis. (chrisjohnsson / Shutterstock.com)
However, the problem, which causes phones to shutdown to ‘protect its electronics’, may be much larger than originally anticipated.According to reports, the phones in question were manufactured in the Fall of 2015 and the battery problem is due to a handling issue during assembly. While the company is reportedly working on a software update to solve the issue, it is unclear how this will solve the problem.
Stock Photo: SHANGHAI, CHINA – Sept.23. 2016:: A couple of new Apple Watch Sport sit at the retail store. (August_0802 / Shutterstock.com)
Apple has remained relatively silent on the issue, which first surfaced on social media more than a month ago. According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, a Shanghai-based consumer activist group with ties to the Chinese government is pressuring Apple to be more forthcoming about issue.
In addition to reports of battery failures leading to the phones shutting down, the Shanghai Consumer Council has also received complaints of iPhones spontaneously catching fire.These complaints add to Apple’s woes in China and have rekindled fears following similar issues with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7.
The Samsung phones were ultimately recalled after several countries banned their use due to public safety concerns.While Apple has been quick to point out that the iPhone 6S battery problems do not pose a risk to consumers, many users in China remain skeptical.
Stock Photo: HONG KONG, CHINA – FEB 12: Children learn to use phones in the Apple store on February 12, 2016. (Viktoria Roy / Shutterstock.com
China represents an important market for Apple as growth in high-end mobile phones has slowed in the U.S. and Europe.However, Apple has struggled to gain share in China in the face of strong local competition which includes the likes of Oppo, Huawei, and Xiaomi who have moved in the higher-end phones in recent years.Many of these phones are more tailored for the needs of the Chinese market.
While Apple is facing growing concerns in China, initial reports indicate that U.S. sales of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus grew at a faster rate than last year’s iPhone 6s.Some analysts believe this may be due to the nature of iPhone releases as the company announces a completely new model in even numbered years with an incremental increase in odd numbered years.
Stock Photo: HOUSTON, US-AUG 27, 2016: Apple Store in Houston Galleria Shopping Center. (Trong Nguyen / Shutterstock.com)
Even though the jump in iPhone 7 sales has helped to move Apple’s market share in the U.S. market above 40% for the first time in years, Samsung still retains a dominant position with nearly 58% of all cell phones in the U.S.As such it is unclear whether the jump in market share is a short-term phenomenon or an indication of Apple’s ability to win back share in its home market.
As of Thursday morning, in New York shares of Apple were trading up .72% at $111.83.
The Food and Drug Administration approves new trials for Ecstasy as a treatment for PTSD.
On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration agreed to new trials for Ecstasy as relief for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients.
The Food and Drug Administration gave approval on Tuesday for a large-scale, Phase 3 clinical trial of the drug, which is the final step before the approval of Ecstasy as a prescription drug. If successful, the new ecstasy trials could transform an illegal substance to an available treatment for those suffering from PTSD.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a mental health condition that is caused by a stressful event. Symptoms include nightmares, severe anxiety, and panic attacks. A 2012 study found that patients suffering from PTSD reported a decrease in symptoms by nearly 60 percent. By the end of the study, more than 66 percent of the patients reported having PTSD.
It is important to point out that a recent study found that PTSD has quickly become a growing epidemic among American soldiers. In fact, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs believes that PTSD affects over 30 percent of Vietnam veterans, 10 percent of Desert Storm veterans, 11 percent of Iraqi war veterans.
Stock Photo: ANN ARBOR, MI – APRIL 5: Iraq war veteran Dakota Serna speaks of the benefits of marijuana in managing his PTSD at the 43rd annual Hash Bash rally in Ann Arbor, MI April 5, 2014. (Susan Montgomery / Shutterstock.com)
In 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a panel discussing PTSD and how it has evolved over the decades. The committee called the meeting, “The Nexus Between Engaged In Combat With The Enemy And PTSD In An Era Of Changing Warfare Tactics.”
Ian C. De Planque, assistant Director of Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission pointed out one of the biggest problems with PTSD and the VA is the the claims process.
Planque illustrates a story in which two soldiers, an infantry man and a mechanic both see a horrific incident. But, because of their jobs and circumstances, after returning home from combat, the soldiers may receive different treatments despite reporting the same symptoms.
“They must prove that the alleged incident occurred. Here is where the two soldiers are then treated differently,” Planque explains. “The first veteran, the infantryman, has a combat infantry badge. As long as his story is consistent with the hardships and circumstances of combat, which we can all agree that it is, the VA cedes the existence of the event and a claim is granted.”
Meanwhile, the second veteran has no combat decoration and is forced to actually prove he has seen combat. In addition to suffering from PTSD. “This veteran must now prove several things happened. He must prove that he was on the convoy. This can be difficult. If not impossible,” Planque says.
Stock Photo: NEW YORK – JUL 16, 2016: Donald Trump speaks during a press conference on July 16, 2016 in New York. (JStone / Shutterstock.com)
With Donald Trump becoming the next President of the United States, Trump has outlined his plans to help veterans. According to Donald Trump’s Veterans Affairs Reform plan, Trump’s vision includes:
Ensure our veterans get the care they need wherever and whenever they need it. No more long drives. No more waiting backlogs. No more excessive red tape. Just the care and support they earned with their service to our country.
Support the whole veteran, not just their physical health care, but also by addressing their invisible wounds, investing in our service members’ post-active duty success, transforming the VA to meet the needs of 21st century service members, and better meeting the needs of our female veterans.
Make the VA great again by firing the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down, by modernizing the VA, and by empowering the doctors and nurses to ensure our veterans receive the best care available in a timely manner.
It is projected that by year 2017, the number of active troops will be slightly more than 1,281,900 plus another 801,200 in seven reserve components; this is the lowest number of active troops since WWII. Also, the Department of Defense budget was $598.5 billion or 54% of our federal discretionary spending in 2015.
The number of active troops is important because it answers the basic question, how many fronts can the US afford to fight in at the same time? In addition, the number of active troops addresses this by factoring in how and when can troops be rotated in and out of a conflict – The stress of war can wear people down, mentally and physically, most notably, PTSD.
Stock Photo: WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 6: Signage at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC on June 6, 2015. It includes a quote about caring for him wounded in battle and his widow and his orphan. (JStone / Shutterstock.com)
However, two of the biggest issues most Veteran Organizations have are the quality and speed of healthcare services Veterans receive. In 2015, a VA hospital in Phoenix, Arizona reported having more than 8,000 requests for health care and that many former soldiers had to wait longer than 90 days to receive any sort of care.
The U.S. government spent billions to fix the Veterans Health Administration and combat long wait-list times, a 2016 report found that the the agency still suffered serious problems. A Congressional committee in charge of trying to fix the Veterans Health Administration found “many profound deficiencies” at the government agency that “require urgent reform”. In addition, the commissioners argued, “America’s veterans deserve a better organized, high-performing health care system”.
Someone renamed Donald Trump’s midtown Manhattan building to “Dump Trump” on Google Maps.
Last week, Google Maps announced new features that will allow users to determine how busy a place is in real time. In addition, Google Maps added a new feature called “Areas of Interest”. On the Maps application users will now see “hot spots”. These are popular areas, calculated by Google’s algorithm. Since the 2016 Presidential election, one of the most popular areas in New York City is the Trump Tower.
But on Saturday, Google Map users discovered the Trump Tower had a new name. In fact, the Fifth Avenue Midtown Manhattan building was now called “Dump Tower”.
Google later corrected the “Dump Trump” name and changed it back to “Trump Tower”.
Trump Tower is a 58-story skyscraper located on Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. At the moment, Trump Tower is the headquarters for the Trump Organization and residence of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Trump Tower broke ground in 1979 and was completed four years later. Now, the Trump Tower features 13 office floors, 60 stories, and 40 condominium floors. Some of the world’s biggest celebrities, stores and athletes reside in the Trump Tower including: Bruce Willis, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Gucci’s flagship store. In addition, several famous celebrities used to live in the Trump tower such as Michael Jackson.
Since the 2016 presidential election results, the Trump Tower has become a focal point for protests against President-elect Donald Trump. Many celebrities including Madonna, Cher and Lady Gaga took part in protests against Donald Trump.
Stock Photo: NEW YORK CITY – NOVEMBER 12 2016: Thousands of activists gathered in Union Square Park for another rally and protest against the election of Republican President-elect Donald Trump. (a katz / Shutterstock.com)
Donald Trump has not commented on “Dump Trump” but, recently focused his attention on the the pending Presidential election recount. Green Party’s Jill Stein announced a plan to review ballots in three swing states. Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced they would support Stein’s recount. Trump went on Twitter dismissing the recount.
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally
Jill Stein filed a petition in Wisconsin on Friday to recount votes in the state. Donald Trump nearly defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by roughly 30,000 votes.
A Massachusetts General Hospital study found that mice that drank aspartame-sweetened water gained weight.
Researchers found that mice that drank artificially sweetened water blocked a crucial stomach enzyme making the mice more likely to gain weight and develop diabetes.
Researchers explained the enzyme IAP – intestinal alkaline phosphatase – is crucial to preventing obesity and stopping the development of diabetes.
“This enzyme — intestinal alkaline phosphatase or IAP — is very beneficial in terms of preventing obesity and diabetes. So the aspartame, by blocking this enzyme, had its negative effects on the mice,” explains Massachusetts General and Harvard Medical School Professor of Surgery Richard Hodin, the study’s senior author.
Previous studies have found that aspartame, an ingredient found in many popular sodas, caused an increase in weight gain instead of weight loss. Hodin says this new study illustrates a possible reason as to why so many people gain weight after drinking diet soda.
“There is a lot of evidence that aspartame, as well as other sugar substitutes, don’t work the way they’re supposed to,” Hodin says, “and the reasons for them not working are not very clear.” Theories have included the possibility that artificial sweeteners increase appetite. “But our experiments give at least a likely explanation for why aspartame may not work, and that’s because it blocks this gut enzyme, IAP.”
There are trillions of bacteria living inside the human stomach and Hodin explains the IAP enzyme helps create an environment conducive to a healthy digestive system.
In 2013, Hodin published a study in “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” that revealed feeding IAP to mice on a high-fat diet could prevent the development of metabolism disorders. Phenylalanine is a known inhibitor of IAP enzyme, and is produced when aspartame is digested, which led Hodin and his team to see how the artificial sweetener has an impact on weight-loss.
Researchers examined four groups of mice over the course of 18 weeks. Two groups were fed a normal diet, one receiving drinking water sweetened with aspartame, the other group received regular water. The other two groups were fed a high-fat diet, along with aspartame laced water or regular water. Animals in the normal diet group that received aspartame-infused water gained more weight than those on the same diet that received regular water. In addition, mice receiving aspartame water also had higher blood sugar levels.
“People do not really understand why these artificial sweeteners don’t work. There has been some evidence that they actually can make you more hungry and may be associated with increased calorie consumption. Our findings regarding aspartame’s inhibition of IAP may help explain why the use of aspartame is counterproductive,” says Hodin. “While we can’t rule out other contributing mechanisms, our experiments clearly show that aspartame blocks IAP activity, independent of other effects.”
On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump bashed what he called a “scam” from Green Party nominee Jill Stein, after Stein aimed for a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Stock Photo: LAS VEGAS NEVADA, DECEMBER 14, 2015: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at campaign event at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino the day before the CNN Republican Presidential Debate ( Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com)
President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement regarding the recount calling it “ridiculous” and arguing “the people have spoken and the election is over.”
“And as Hillary Clinton herself said on election night, in addition to her conceding by congratulating me, ‘We must accept this result and then look to the future,'” Trump said.
President-elect argued that he won the vast majority of battleground states.
“This recount is just a way for Jill Stein, who received less than 1% of the vote overall and wasn’t even on the ballot in many states, to fill her coffers with money, most of which she will never even spend on this ridiculous recount,” he said. “All three states were won by large numbers of voters, especially Pennsylvania, which was won by more than 70,000 votes.”
“This is a scam by the Green Party for an election that has already been conceded, and the results of this election should be respected instead of being challenged and abused, which is exactly what Jill Stein is doing,” he continued.
Jill Stein filed petitions in Wisconsin on Friday to conduct a recount in the state, where Donald Trump nearly defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by roughly 30,000 votes. Jill Stein has also started raising money for potential recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Donald Trump appears to have won by only 10,000 votes and 70,000 votes respectively.
Stock Photo: New York, New York, USA; June 7th, 2016; Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at her primary night victory rally at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in New York. (Krista Kennell / Shutterstock.com)
On Saturday, the Hillary Clinton campaign announced that they would participate in the recount but, argue they found it unlikely the recount will change the outcome of the election.
“We had not planned to exercise this option ourselves, but now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides,” a Clinton campaign representative, Mark Elias wrote.
The Obama Administration announced that they have seen no evidence that hackers tampered with the 2016 presidential election.
In their statement, the administration said, “The Kremlin probably expected that publicity surrounding the disclosures that followed the Russian government-directed compromises of emails from U.S. persons and institutions, including from U.S. political organizations, would raise questions about the integrity of the election process that could have undermined the legitimacy of the president-elect.”
Google announced on Monday the release of version 10.0 of their Firebase App indexing programming interface (API), which will now allow mobile application developers to integrate content from their mobile app into search results.
Last September, Google announced a new way to search for content on Android devices. Product manager Timo Mertens, explained the new feature as a “new way for you to search for information in your apps on your Android phone.” The new search mode, called In Apps, can search and find content from apps already installed on an Android phone. To access this feature, users simply visit their Google App on their Android phone and click the In Apps tab. The new feature initially only worked for apps such as Gmail, Spotify and Youtube. Now, the In Apps feature now available to all Android developers and Android mobile apps.
“Starting with version 10.0, the Firebase App Indexing API on Android lets apps add their content to Google’s on-device index in the background, and update it in real-time as users make changes in the app,” Google software engineer Fabian Schlup wrote in a blog post.
Stock Photo: Mountain View, California, USA – August 15, 2016: Android Nougat replica in front of Google office in Google headquarters building. (Benny Marty / Shutterstock.com)
Google also wanted to highlight and respect user’s personal information and privacy with this new technological update.
“The personal content index only exists on the user’s device. None of the user’s personal content is uploaded to Google servers and it only remains on the device while the app is installed,” Google explained.
Google explains their mission with this new feature is to help increase user engagement on Android apps by providing more personal content in the In Apps feature.
“Integrating with Firebase App Indexing helps increase user engagement with your app, as users can get back to their personal content in an instant with Google Search,” Google explained in their blog post.
Stock Photo: Lisbon, Portugal – May 30 2014: Image of a Google search page. Google is an internet related search engine providing several services and products and was created in 1998. (Archiwiz / Shutterstock.com)
Google is working on making their features more user-friendly. Last October, Google announced changes to how they feature search results and how the company ranked its search listings. Google explained they will be using a new mobile-first index – Google will rank its search listings based on the mobile version of the content, even for desktop users. This change comes as more people are using their mobile phones to search the web rather than traditional laptops or desktop computers.
Google explained, “Although our search index will continue to be a single index of websites and apps, our algorithms will eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages from that site, to understand structured data, and to show snippets from those pages in our results.”
Facebook announces new ways for nonprofits to raise money.
One truism that non-profit organizations face is that nonprofits must invest in technology, get up to speed and stay current, or suffer the consequences.
Computers and smartphones are now a part of every aspect of our lives. Every small business, corporation, foundation, etc. has some sort of computer system that they depend on. The gathering of information and the analysis of that data could/should help the organization to design a stronger strategic plan, which in turn helps it to meet its mission. This is done by knowing their audience.
Having and maintaining an informative website is critical to delivering information about programs and asking the audience to participate in the cause. In standard marketing terms, data allows you to sell deeper. Furthermore, websites are now the new business cards that are working on the organization’s behalf 24/7 – the website augments the promotional effort by increasing availability and reach. In addition, a website can be setup to measure the number of hits, conversion, and illustrate the demographics, all of which can increase a nonprofit’s marketing strategy effectiveness.
Example of the Facebook Live Donate Program (Image courtesy of Facebook.com)
Facebook is working on making it even easier for nonprofits to make money, reach larger audiences, and increase their donations. The social media company released a new update on Thursday that allows users to fundraise for their favorite nonprofits through Facebook Live. The new feature allows for Facebook users to connect fundraiser pages directly to a Facebook Live, displaying a donate button and fundraiser progress on the live video.
Facebook users can now choose from more than 750,000 nonprofits when they choose to launch a fundraiser. Nonprofits have to go through an official Facebook verification process in order receive Facebook donations. Nonprofits that are not approved can still request approval from Facebook.
Naomi Gleit, vice president of Facebook’s Social Good program, hopes that the new Live tools will increase the success of rate nonprofit campaigns.
“We believe that the best way to do the most good is not to fundraise ourselves —it’s to empower the community to,” Gleit said at a Social Good Forum in New York City.
Facebook is working on addressing issues many nonprofits face. Sometimes a nonprofit may have a need for a specific software package to address a specific program that is being administered but, a good Donor based program can cover everything else – all donations, profiles on major donors, events, membership and reminders for renewal.
Example of the Facebook Live Donate Program (Image courtesy of Facebook.com)
Facebook hopes the new nonprofit donation model will help solve the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge problem. An issue that occurred after millions of people shared videos in support of ALS but, the ALS Association could not reach, handle or receive donations from a large percentage of people that were involved.
“We realized it would have been easier if you could donate directly to ALS from Facebook,” Gleit said at the event. “This would remove a bunch of clicks and steps. We have an existing payment platform, and we can handle the traffic.”
Example of the Facebook Live Donate Program (Image courtesy of Facebook.com)
Facebook also announced that the company will be kicking off this new feature for the Movember movement.
“For the month of November, people in the U.S. can use Facebook to collect donations and increase awareness for their Movember Foundation campaign in support of men’s health. They’ll be able to sync their fundraisers then raise money through both Movember.com and Facebook.”
However, Facebook is not helping nonprofits raise money for free. Facebook has a standard processing fees on donations, which amounts to 5 percent of each donation.
Stephen Hawking asserts humans have 1,000 years to find a new planet to live.
Theoretical scientist and astronomer Stephen Hawking says humanity will not make it another 1,000 years on earth because of nuclear weapons, global warming and artificial intelligence.
Speaking earlier this week at Oxford University Union, Hawking says our best chance for survival would be to leave Earth and live on other planets.
“Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next 1,000 or 10,000 years,” Hawking argued. “By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.”
Stock Photo: February 2015, theoretical physicist Professor Stephen Hawking arrives at the 2015 BAFTA film awards ceremony in London. (Martin Hoscik / Shutterstock.com)
Hawking did offer some advice to humanity. “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, wonder about what makes the universe exist,” he said. “Be curious. However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”
Stephen Hawking is an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author at the University of Cambridge. Hawking is a major proponent of the many-worlds theory of quantum mechanics – a theory that argues that there is an infinite number of universes where everything that could have happened in our past, but did not occur, has actually occurred in some alternate universe.
This is not the first time Hawking warned the world was coming to an end. In 2006 Hawking said, “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?” Hawking later added, “I don’t know the answer. That is why I asked the question, to get people to think about it, and to be aware of the dangers we now face.”
Humanity may be moving to Mars, if SpaceX’s CEO Elon Musk has anything to do with it. Musk announced a plan to send people to Mars. In a speech two months ago at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico, Musk announced that SpaceX is planning on moving 100 people and their cargo to Mars. In addition, NASA is currently planning an unmanned mission to Mars as soon as 2018 and a manned mission by the 2030s.
However, the transition from Earth to Mars does come with a long list of inherent risks. Mars is over 140 million miles away and the journey would take nearly a year to complete. In addition, researchers have found evidence that traveling to Mars could cause brain damage and long-term space travel causes nervous system damage.
