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POPSFluoride of the Future: Population Level Cognitive Enhancement It seems likely that widespread population level cognitive enhancement will be irresistible. Studies based on removing lead, which reduces cognitive ability, from the water and paint, have estimated that a 3 point IQ increase would lead to: Poverty rate -25% Males in jail -25% High school dropouts -28% Parentless children -20% Welfare recipiency -18% Out-of-wedlock births -15%
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POPSRight and wrong lessons from biology The opposite view stresses that evolution is an extremely effective way of searching parameter space, and that in consequence is that we should assume that biological design solutions are likely to be close to optimal for the environment for which they’ve evolved. Where these design solutions seem odd from our point of view, their unfamiliarity is to be ascribed to the different ways in which physics works at the nanoscale. At its most extreme, this view regards biological nanotechnology, not just as the existence proof for nanotechnology, but as an upper limit on its capabilities.
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POPSMars Soil Sample Reveals Presence of Nutrients for Plants to Grow “We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life whether past, present or future,” said Samuel P. Kounaves during a telephone news conference on Thursday. “The sort of soil you have there is the type of soil you’d probably have in your backyard.”
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POPSThe Planet's Most Massively Awesome Computer -The Large Hadron By some, it certainly seems to be one of the most outrageously wasteful projects upon the earth. Perhaps it is. I, for one do not think so. I think that understanding the universe as far as we can understand it justifies almost any economical price. Because this is part of what makes us human; the desire to uncover the mysteries of the universe. All this to capture one tiny hypothetical particle. Is it not amazing?
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POPSSpace Experts Call for ‘Fewer Astronauts, More Robots’ The suggestion sure makes a lot of economical sense. Resources should be focused to develop better technologies to carry load into orbit and beyond, because this is the real bottle neck of space exploration as of now. On the other hand, we cannot overlook the fact that sending men and women to space, ignites the imagination and inspires the coming generations. Space is the next frontier of adventure and mystery. The myth and the story are not less important than the economical aspect.
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