Science – GeekWire

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Allen Institute launches new immunology division with $125M from its late founder

by Alan Boyle on December 12, 2018December 12, 2018 at 4:34 pmComment

Billionaire philanthropist Paul Allen died two months ago, but before he passed away, he passed along a $125 million commitment to a new research frontier: the Allen Institute for Immunology.… Read More

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Bees with backpacks? Gnat-sized systems turn swarms of bugs into sensor networks

by Alan Boyle on December 11, 2018December 11, 2018 at 11:28 amComment

Bees with tiny electronic devices on their backs could sound like a researcher’s dream come true, or like a science-fiction novelist’s nightmare come true. Shyam Gollakota, an associate professor at… Read More

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Can a climate change candidate win in 2020? Washington Gov. Jay Inslee thinks so

by Monica Nickelsburg on December 11, 2018December 11, 2018 at 8:05 amComment

“We defeated fascism. We went to the moon. We can beat climate change. I fundamentally believe that.” Speaking like a presidential candidate — though he didn’t confirm he is one… Read More

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Lift unveils an ultralight aircraft made for fun flights, with Seattle on its radar screen

by Alan Boyle on December 11, 2018December 10, 2018 at 7:20 pmComment

A startup created by Matt Chasen, the founder of the uShip online shipping marketplace, aims to sell rides on electric-powered aircraft that are so simple to operate that tourists can… Read More

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The team behind Bezos-backed 10,000 Year Clock is looking forward to visitors

by Alan Boyle on December 9, 2018December 10, 2018 at 10:31 am 5 Comments

With $42 million in funding from Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, the Long Now Foundation can afford to take the long view about a massive clock designed to run for 10,000… Read More

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‘Bathtubs Over Broadway’ unearths the wacky world of corporate musicals: Where did they go?

by Alan Boyle on December 8, 2018December 9, 2018 at 1:55 pmComment

No fan of Broadway musicals should miss classics like “I Never Enjoyed My Operation More,” “My Insurance Man” and “My Bathroom Is a Private Kind of Place.” What’s that? Never… Read More

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Morgan Stanley says market for self-flying cars could rise to $1.5 trillion by 2040

by Alan Boyle on December 7, 2018December 8, 2018 at 10:35 amComment

The market for autonomous flying cars — also known as eVTOL aircraft, air taxis or personal air vehicles — could amount to nearly $1.5 trillion by the year 2040, according to… Read More

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How climate change choked ancient life to death — and why it could happen again

by Alan Boyle on December 6, 2018December 6, 2018 at 11:21 am 6 Comments

Scientists say rapidly warming oceans played a key role in the world’s biggest mass extinction, 252 million years ago, and could point to the risks that lie ahead in an… Read More

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AI2 joins forces with Microsoft Research to upgrade search tools for scientific studies

by Alan Boyle on December 5, 2018December 5, 2018 at 5:00 pmComment

The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, also known as AI2, is partnering with Microsoft Research to widen the sphere of scientific search tools by connecting AI2’s Semantic Scholar academic search… Read More

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Experts say it’s high time to create new cryptography for quantum computing age

by Alan Boyle on December 4, 2018December 4, 2018 at 5:38 pmComment

A new report from computer scientists estimates that it’s likely to be at least a decade before quantum computing tools become powerful enough to compromise the current system of public-key… Read More

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Tweets document ‘major’ damage after 7.0 Alaska quake rocks Anchorage

by Alan Boyle on November 30, 2018November 30, 2018 at 2:47 pmComment

Buildings in downtown Anchorage were damaged and roads were ruined when a magnitude-7.0 earthquake hit Alaska’s biggest city today. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 8:29 a.m.… Read More

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A fossil named after Burke Museum curator tells whale of a tale about evolution

by Alan Boyle on November 30, 2018November 30, 2018 at 9:54 amComment

A whale that lived 33 million years ago when present-day Oregon was part of the ocean floor has been newly named after a curator at the Burke Museum of Natural… Read More

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GM shifts its president, Dan Ammann, to the CEO position at Cruise Automation

by Alan Boyle on November 29, 2018November 29, 2018 at 5:38 pmComment

General Motors has shuffled its executive team to put its president, Dan Ammann, into the CEO spot at its autonomous-vehicle subsidiary, Cruise Automation. Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt will move out… Read More

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Human gene-editing experiment is put on hold in China amid international furor

by Alan Boyle on November 28, 2018November 28, 2018 at 2:11 pmComment

The Chinese researcher behind a controversial experiment to produce gene-edited children took the stage at a Hong Kong conference to explain his work, and acknowledged that the international outcry has… Read More

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Investigation of Lion Air 737 crash focuses on faulty sensor: Why wasn’t it fixed?

by Alan Boyle on November 27, 2018November 28, 2018 at 12:16 amComment

Right from the start of last month’s fatal flight of a Lion Air 737 MAX jet from Indonesia, pilots were struggling with an automatic flight control system that had caused… Read More

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Airbus and Audi demonstrate mini-me version of flying car at Amsterdam show

by Alan Boyle on November 27, 2018November 27, 2018 at 7:13 pmComment

A flying car developed by Airbus, Audi and Italdesign took a high-profile test flight today at the Amsterdam Drone Week conference, but its size was low-profile. The modular vehicle was… Read More

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Reports about gene-edited babies give birth to investigations in China and U.S.

by Alan Boyle on November 26, 2018November 26, 2018 at 8:04 pmComment

Multiple investigations are being sought in the wake of reports that a Chinese laboratory facilitated the birth of twin girls whose genes had been edited to protect them against the… Read More

Bill Gates: Why renewable energy is not enough to solve climate change

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 26, 2018November 26, 2018 at 9:10 am 4 Comments

Renewable energy is getting cheaper and more efficient. Environmentalists, like Bill Gates, celebrate that as progress toward reducing our reliance on polluting power sources. But it is also a source… Read More

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Chinese scientist says first gene-edited babies have been born in effort to fight HIV

by Alan Boyle on November 25, 2018November 25, 2018 at 10:34 pmComment

A Chinese researcher says his lab facilitated the first birth of gene-edited children — twin girls who are said to possess genetic alterations that could protect them from HIV, the virus… Read More

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White House issues grim Black Friday outlook for wildfires and more climate woe

by Alan Boyle on November 23, 2018November 24, 2018 at 10:37 amComment

If current climate trends continue, the Pacific Northwest will have more summer wildfires, less winter snowpack and smaller numbers of the salmon for which our region is famous. The skiing… Read More

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Boeing and SparkCognition launch SkyGrid venture to build software for air mobility

by Alan Boyle on November 20, 2018November 20, 2018 at 6:37 amComment

Four months after announcing that they were linking up to create a traffic management system for drones, Boeing and SparkCognition say they’re kicking things up a notch with a new… Read More

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GM’s Cruise Automation self-driving car venture plans Seattle office with up to 200 engineers

by Alan Boyle on November 19, 2018November 29, 2018 at 5:13 pmComment

Cruise Automation, General Motors’ autonomous-vehicle subsidiary, says it’s getting ready to open up an office in the Seattle area that could employ as many as 200 engineers within a year.… Read More

Elon Musk celebrates Boring Company’s big breakthrough at end of test tunnel

by Alan Boyle on November 16, 2018November 29, 2018 at 2:17 pmComment

The Boring Company’s “cutting-edge technology” got a shout-out from billionaire founder Elon Musk tonight after the venture’s tunneling machine, nicknamed Godot, broke through into a vertical exit shaft in Hawthorne,… Read More

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Boeing subsidiary says its solar-powered Odysseus drone will fly high in 2019

by Alan Boyle on November 14, 2018November 14, 2018 at 9:17 pm1 Comment

Aurora Flight Sciences, a pioneer in experimental flying vehicles that became a Boeing subsidiary last year, says its solar-powered, high-altitude, long-endurance Odysseus drone will take on its first flight in… Read More

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Census shows that U.S.-Russian polar bear population is stable … at least for now

by Alan Boyle on November 14, 2018November 14, 2018 at 7:30 pmComment

The first census of polar bears living around the Chukchi Sea, straddling Alaska and eastern Siberia, suggests that the population has been stable and healthy over the past decade. That… Read More

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What did pilots know about 737 MAX control issue? Debate swirls after crash

by Alan Boyle on November 13, 2018November 14, 2018 at 12:01 am1 Comment

What did 737 MAX pilots know, and when did they know it? That’s become a subject of debate in the wake of last month’s fatal Lion Air crash in Indonesia… Read More

Jeff Bezos unveils Amazon Prime Air’s flying tribute to veterans: Valor

by Alan Boyle on November 12, 2018November 12, 2018 at 6:44 pmComment

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is big on veterans, and in honor of Veterans Day, he presided over the vet-friendly christening of Valor, Amazon Air’s 40th Boeing 767 freighter. In a… Read More

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American Heart Association and Allen Institute select teams for brain campaign

by Alan Boyle on November 9, 2018November 9, 2018 at 5:46 pmComment

Medical researchers know all about the blood-brain barrier, but Seattle’s Allen Institute and the American Heart Association have selected three teams to participate in a $43 million initiative to study… Read More

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FBI says Horizon Air plane thief Richard Russell acted alone, crashed intentionally

by Alan Boyle on November 9, 2018November 9, 2018 at 3:56 pmComment

After a three-month investigation, the FBI has concluded that Horizon Air employee Richard Russell acted alone when he crept into a secure area of Sea-Tac International Airport, stole an airplane… Read More

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Scientists design protein filaments that snap themselves together like Lego blocks

by Alan Boyle on November 8, 2018November 8, 2018 at 8:18 pmComment

Researchers have created molecular building blocks that can weave themselves into long threads of protein. Well, maybe not all that long. Each protein-based building block measures only a nanometer in… Read More

Allen Institute launches new immunology division with $125M from its late founder

Bees with backpacks? Gnat-sized systems turn swarms of bugs into sensor networks

Can a climate change candidate win in 2020? Washington Gov. Jay Inslee thinks so

Lift unveils an ultralight aircraft made for fun flights, with Seattle on its radar screen

The team behind Bezos-backed 10,000 Year Clock is looking forward to visitors

‘Bathtubs Over Broadway’ unearths the wacky world of corporate musicals: Where did they go?

Morgan Stanley says market for self-flying cars could rise to $1.5 trillion by 2040

How climate change choked ancient life to death — and why it could happen again

AI2 joins forces with Microsoft Research to upgrade search tools for scientific studies

Experts say it’s high time to create new cryptography for quantum computing age

Tweets document ‘major’ damage after 7.0 Alaska quake rocks Anchorage

A fossil named after Burke Museum curator tells whale of a tale about evolution

GM shifts its president, Dan Ammann, to the CEO position at Cruise Automation

Human gene-editing experiment is put on hold in China amid international furor

Investigation of Lion Air 737 crash focuses on faulty sensor: Why wasn’t it fixed?

Airbus and Audi demonstrate mini-me version of flying car at Amsterdam show

Reports about gene-edited babies give birth to investigations in China and U.S.

Bill Gates: Why renewable energy is not enough to solve climate change

Chinese scientist says first gene-edited babies have been born in effort to fight HIV

White House issues grim Black Friday outlook for wildfires and more climate woe

Boeing and SparkCognition launch SkyGrid venture to build software for air mobility

GM’s Cruise Automation self-driving car venture plans Seattle office with up to 200 engineers

Elon Musk celebrates Boring Company’s big breakthrough at end of test tunnel

Boeing subsidiary says its solar-powered Odysseus drone will fly high in 2019

Census shows that U.S.-Russian polar bear population is stable … at least for now

What did pilots know about 737 MAX control issue? Debate swirls after crash

Jeff Bezos unveils Amazon Prime Air’s flying tribute to veterans: Valor

American Heart Association and Allen Institute select teams for brain campaign

FBI says Horizon Air plane thief Richard Russell acted alone, crashed intentionally

Scientists design protein filaments that snap themselves together like Lego blocks

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