News

Artificial Intelligence Opens the Vatican Secret Archives

Known as In Codice Ratio, it uses a combination of artificial intelligence and optical-character-recognition (OCR) software to scour these neglected texts and make their transcripts available for the very first time. If successful, the technology could also open up untold numbers of other documents at historical archives around the world.

Google gVisor, a sandboxed container runtime

To that end, we’d like to introduce gVisor, a new kind of sandbox that helps provide secure isolation for containers, while being more lightweight than a virtual machine (VM). gVisor integrates with Docker and Kubernetes, making it simple and easy to run sandboxed containers in production environments.

Random quantum circuit easiest way to beat classical computer

The key question: what computation should be performed? A team of researchers is suggesting that computing the state of a random quantum circuit that exhibits chaotic behavior would be perfect for the task. Let’s delve into why that might be.

CoreOS Introduces the Operator Framework: Building Apps on Kubernetes

You may be familiar with Operators from the concept’s introduction in 2016. An Operator is a method of packaging, deploying and managing a Kubernetes application. A Kubernetes application is an application that is both deployed on Kubernetes and managed using the Kubernetes APIs and kubectl tooling.

White House Considers Restricting Chinese Researchers Over Espionage Fears

The White House is discussing whether to limit the access of Chinese citizens to the United States, including restricting certain types of visas available to them and greatly expanding rules pertaining to Chinese researchers who work on projects with military or intelligence value at American companies and universities. The exact types of projects that would be subject to restrictions are unclear, but the measures could clamp down on collaboration in advanced materials, software and other technologies at the heart of Beijing’s plan to dominate cutting-edge technologies like advanced microchips, artificial intelligence and electric cars, known as Made in China 2025.

A Radically Conservative Solution for Cosmology’s Biggest Mystery

The conflicting measurements have vexed astrophysicists and inspired rampant speculation as to whether unknown physical processes might be causing the discrepancy. Maybe dark matter particles are interacting strongly with the regular matter of planets, stars and galaxies? Or perhaps an exotic particle not yet detected, such as the so-called sterile neutrino, might be playing a role.

Earth’s magnetic field may not be flipping

Going back millions of years into Earth’s history, our planet’s magnetic field has frequently gone its own way. The magnetic north pole has not only wandered through the north, but it has changed places with the south magnetic pole, taking up residence in the Antarctic. Going back millions of years, there’s a regular pattern of pole exchange, with flips sometimes occurring in relatively rapid succession.

Finding the longest straight line you could sail without hitting land

Particle Physics Resurrects Alexander Graham Bell’s Voice

In 1880, Alexander Graham Bell decided to go head-to-head with Thomas Edison. His goal: improving—and commercializing—the phonograph. Bell established the Volta Laboratory in Washington, D.C., using prize money he’d received from the French government for his invention of the telephone.

Disney unveils a prototype virtual-reality jacket

This special jacket is being developed by researchers at Disney to help take the VR experience to another level at a time when the adoption rate has been slow. Connected to computer software that controls a series of inflatable compartments, the jacket can reproduce a variety of sensations, adding new kinds of perception and depth to VR. In collaboration with researchers at MIT Media Lab and Carnegie Mellon University, Disney hopes the jacket can augment VR experiences typically limited to visual displays seen through a headset and simple hand vibrations felt through joysticks.