A collection of perforated pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may represent a new key milestone in the development of rotational tools – including wheels – experts say.
More than a hundred of the mostly-limestone pebbles were unearthed at the Nahal-Ein Gev II dig site, featuring a circular shape perforated by a central hole.
They date back approximately 12,000 years.
Researchers believe these stones were likely used as spindle whorls – round, weighted objects that are attached to a spindle stick, allowing it to efficiently gather up fibres such as wool and spin them into yarn.
For a company with a reputation for being conservative, it comes as quite a surprise that Honda has designed one of the most radical new engine designs in recent history with a liquid-cooled 75° V3 equipped with an electric compressor.
Unlike a turbocharger, which uses exhaust gas, or a supercharger which is typically spun with a pulley connected to the engine, the V3 uses electricity to spin the impeller. This allows the engine to compress the air intake independently from the engine speed, providing boost even at low rpm, where superchargers need faster speeds to provide the necessary compression, and without the lag typical of a turbo. Honda’s electrical compressor also does not require an intercooler.
At the moment, Honda has remained cagey on more specific details. We don’t know the displacement of the engine or any performance figures, but Honda says it intended to “apply the new V3 engine to larger displacement models in the future,” with plans toward mass production.
1. We are being fooled about technology in China (and Asia generally). Why? To promote war? Or serve some other agenda?
2. We are told that China test launched a hypersonic missile in 2021, but only managed to launch commercial flights of its own aircraft (Comac C919) in 2023. Really?
3. The hypersonic missile test development site (wind tunnel) was funded by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2016. Is this new arms race even real?
4. Two years ago China went from producing 7 nm chips to 14 nm when the U.S. pulled chip technologists out.
A US startup company is offering to help wealthy couples screen their embryos for IQ using controversial technology that raises questions about the ethics of genetic enhancement.
The company, Heliospect Genomics, has worked with more than a dozen couples undergoing IVF, according to undercover video footage. The recordings show the company marketing its services at up to $50,000 (£38,000) for clients seeking to test 100 embryos, and claiming to have helped some parents select future children based on genetic predictions of intelligence. Managers boasted their methods could produce a gain of more than six IQ points.
Selecting embryos on the basis of predicted high IQ is not permitted under UK law. While it is legal in the US, where embryology is more loosely regulated, IQ screening is not yet commercially available there.
Asked for comment, managers at Heliospect said the company, which is incorporated in the US, operated within all applicable law and regulations. They said Heliospect was in “stealth mode” before a planned public launch and was still developing its service. They added that clients who screened fewer embryos were charged about $4,000, and that pricing on launch would be in line with competitors.
Leading geneticists and bioethicists said the project raised a host of moral and medical issues.
A Heliospect employee, who has been helping the company recruit clients, outlined how couples could rank up to 100 embryos based on “IQ and the other naughty traits that everybody wants”, including sex, height, risk of obesity and risk of mental illness.
Katie Hasson, associate director of the Center for Genetics and Society, in California, said: “One of the biggest problems is that it normalises this idea of ‘superior’ and ‘inferior’ genetics.” The rollout of such technologies, she said, “reinforces the belief that inequality comes from biology rather than social causes”.
For Michael Christensen, Heliospect’s Danish CEO and a former financial markets trader, genetic selection promises a bright future. “Everyone can have all the children they want and they can have children that are basically disease-free, smart, healthy; it’s going to be great,” he boasted during a video call in November 2023.
This technology is wonderful. I see zero moral problem with making healthy, intelligent embryos for those who want them. There is no question this tech will advance rapidly and soon be widely used. Besides making healthier and smarter people, it will also end lineage and race conceits as, eventually, genes will be sharable across lineages. Not so far in the future the day will come when parents can select traits from brochures. ABN
A Gibraltar-based company specializing in catalyzed fusion has achieved a significant breakthrough in power generation. ENG8, which has been developing a range of catalyst fusion reactors called EnergiCells, achieved a world-first milestone in the race for fusion energy.
Their system, based on low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) technology, is reported to be capable of operating indefinitely without any external input power.
The self-powering system will also be able to export net electricity, according to the company. This is claimed to be the global-first milestone for catalyzed fusion.
Independent validation confirms the company’s claim of achieving a device capable of indefinite operation without external power.
“We can consider that the device can operate indefinitely without any external input power,” said Dr Jean-Paul Biberian, an LENR expert who was commissioned by an investor to conduct technical due diligence on an EnergiCell.
Catalysed fusion specialists at ENG8® International have confirmed the results of the recent independent validation of its EnergiCell®, conducted by world-renowned LENR (low energy nuclear reactions) expert Dr Jean-Paul Biberian.
The validation showed that the system can be self-powering and export net electricity.
Dr Jean-Paul Biberian said: “We can consider that the device can operate indefinitely without any external input power.”
Dr Biberian was commissioned by an investor to conduct technical due diligence on an EnergiCell. His report concluded: “The technology is capable of sustained operations producing kilowatts of output energy, with a net three times more power output than input.”
“ENG8 has a team of competent scientists very focused on plasma physics, and they have good engineers.”
EnergiCells fuse hydrogen nuclei producing photons or light as well as directly producing electrons or electricity. They are currently producing electricity on the scale of milliwatts to tens of kilowatts. This power output is suitable for powering devices like phones and laptops, appliances such as ovens and washing machines, and in time, houses, cars and factories.
Good news for Japan. Does not pay to import low-IQ and unassimilable workers. ABN
UPDATE: Most readers of this site probably cringe at mention of Larry Fink. I posted this clip because he actually made a good argument against mass immigration. If his faction of the elite can see this, they may moderate their avaricious zeal for destroying Western civilization. I hope everyone can see and absorb what Fink is saying. As we move rapidly into a very new and unprecedented future, our wants and needs will change. A good way to understand the present is to imagine the future and how to get to a good one. ABN
American Buddhist Net 