Mind Set Daily

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Does America Need a Bacon Intervention?" Has America's obsession with all things bacon gone hog wild? U.S. bacon sales climbed 9.5 percent in 2013 to an all-time record of almost $4 billion. Much to the alarm of cardiologists nationwide, America now seems to be completely wrapped up in bacon — not unlike many of its favorite foods: Virtually any item that can be consumed — and many that can't — now comes in a bacon-infused style.   "Brain Implants that can Restore Memories and Experiences" DARPA, at the behest of the US Department of Defense, is developing a black box brain implant — an implant that will be wired into a soldier’s brain and record their memories. If the soldier then suffers memory loss due to brain injury, the implant will then be used to restore those memories. The same implant could also be used during training or in the line of duty, too. Find out more by listening to this episode or by visiting the links. Support Mind Set Centr

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Is the Loch Ness Monster Dead?" A veteran custodian of Loch Ness monster sightings is concerned that Nessie has not been seen in well over a year, and may be gone, according to a news report. This is the first time in nearly 90 years that such a lengthy lag in sightings has occurred. But fear not, monster lovers and Inverness Tourism Board: If history is any indication, eventually there will be more sightings of Nessie, whether they exist or not. There are enough things in the lake that can be mistaken for a monster, including large fish, strange waves, and even the occasional hoax, to keep the sightings going and the tourist dollars coming.   "Vein Scan Payment System Launched" We live in a world where the security of our finances is just as important of a concern as the security of our homes. Identity theft, fraudulent payments, and accidental misuse of funds are all realities in our fast paced economy. In recent years however, technology has pl

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Android Robocops to Patrol Crime-Riddin Areas" The local neighborhood watch may be beefing up its robotic arsenal if a new technology startup gets its way anytime soon. In a bid to make local communities safer and give local law enforcement agencies more tools to fight crime, California-based Knightscope recently unveiled a line of K5 robots that it believes will “predict and prevent crime with an innovative combination of hardware, software and social engagement.” The new K5 units have a look that resembles R2-D2 from “Star Wars,” but their casual design masks a highly advanced robot that its creators hope will drastically cut down on crime. "Cancer-Sniffing Glowing Fruit Flies" A lot of animals have an amazing sense of smell, so they can often pick up things that even sensitive odor sensing machines might miss. We already know that dogs and even bees have an impressive ability to sniff out diseased cells, but now a group of scientists in Germany have

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Visions of Life Before Conception" While Christian theology denies such a thing is possible, the concept that life precedes physical fertilization is a given for people who believe in reincarnation. But is such an idea learned? Or is it based on an innate feeling about our own immortality? "Through a Face Scanner Darkly" NameTag, an app built for Google Glass by a company called FacialNetwork.com, offers a face scanner for encounters with strangers. Facial Recognition for the masses. "Neanderthal DNA lives on in modern humans" Some of the DNA acquired by human ancestors who mated with Neanderthals is found in some people today, including genes that control the development of skin and hair, studies find. Until Next Time... Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Lawsuit Alleges NASA Is Failing To Investigate Alien Life" You may recall, NASA recently announced that a strange rock had somehow "appeared" in front of its Mars Opportunity rover. The explanations for the mystery rock were straight-forward: maybe some kind of nearby impact sent a rock toward the rover, or, more likely, the rover knocked the rock out of the ground and no one noticed until later. The lawsuit, filed recently in a California court, is aimed at NASA and its Administrator, Charles Bolden, requesting that the agency "perform a public, scientific, and statutory duty which is to closely photograph and thoroughly scientifically examine and investigate a putative biological organism. The "rock," according to the lawsuit, was there the whole time, it just grew until it became visible. "The refusal to take close up photos from various angles, the refusal to take microscopicimages of the specimen, the refusal to release high resolution photos, is in

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Google buys artificial intelligence start-up DeepMind" In an apparent move to feed its smart-hardware ambitions, Google has bought an artificial intelligence startup, DeepMind, for somewhere in the ballpark of $500 million. Considering all of the data Google sifts through, and the fact that it might be getting into robotics, it's not completely absurd that they'd want some software to give a robotic helping hand. But the other part of this story is a little stranger: the deal reportedly came under the condition that Google create an "ethics board" for the project. "Who Died in Your House?" Been hearing strange noises in the night? Thinking your house just may be haunted? Well, now you can get answers, at DiedInHouse.com. As the name suggests, the website tells you who, if anyone, has died in the place you call home. Find out more by listening to this episode! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Google Smart Contact Lenses" The smart contacts are being developed in Google's famous Google X labs, a breeding ground for projects that could solve some of the world's biggest problems. The corporation is still in talks with the Food and Drug Administration and plan to partner with experts in bringing products like this to the market and it's very eye opening just think about it... "Robots May Replace One-Fourth of U.S. Combat Soldiers by 2030" By the middle of this century, U.S. Army soldiers may well be fighting alongside robotic squadmates. General Robert Cone revealed the news at an Army Aviation symposium last week. Cone is in charge of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), the part of the Army responsible for future planning and organization. If the Army can still be as effective with fewer people to a unit, TRADOC will figure out what technology is needed to make that happen. Listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind S

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "China is cloning pigs on 'an industrial scale'" The Beijing Genomics Institute produces 500 cloned pigs a year, according to a BBC News report, making it the world’s biggest centre for cloning the animals. It is also the world’s largest centre for gene sequencing of species of animals, particularly those that are "cute" or "taste good". The BGI has a gene sequencing centre with 156 machines, huge when compared with Europe’s largest sequencing centre, the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge which has 30. "Blackphone: A secure, encrypted smartphone for the post-Snowden era" Riding on the recent revelations of the NSA’s widescale and seemingly indiscriminate interception of communications, Silent Circle and Geeksphone are teaming up to produce the “Blackphone” — a customized Android smartphone that has the necessary hardware and software to make secure phone calls, send secure messages, store and transfer files securely, and to browse the web priv

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Supercomputer Duplicates Human Brain Activity" The most accurate simulation of the human brain to date has been carried out in a Japanese supercomputer, with a single second’s worth of activity from just one per cent of the complex organ taking one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers 40 minutes to calculate. Researchers used the K computer in Japan, currently the fourth most powerful in the world, to simulate human brain activity.   "Hollywood Figures Spied for CIA" It’s well known that Hollywood loves a good spy story. But what is also true, according to a new book by a former senior CIA official, is that movie makers regularly do some real-life spying. “The CIA has long had a special relationship with the entertainment industry, devoting considerable attention to fostering relationships with Hollywood movers and shakers—studio executives, producers, directors, big-name actors,” John Rizzo, the former acting CIA general counsel, wrote in

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Can a Pill Give You Perfect Pitch?" Before your next karaoke contest, you might want to visit a pharmacist: Researchers have found that a drug known as valproate, or valproic acid, might help people learn how to produce perfect pitch. The use of any drug to enhance learning by inducing greater neuroplasticity also poses some thorny ethical issues, just think about it...   "Crop Circle Was a Publicity Stunt: Why 'Experts' Were Fooled" It remained a mystery until Sunday night (Jan. 5), when at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the real circle makers stepped forward:  a marketing team hired by a computer-graphics company. The "crop circle" was not an astronomical calendar forewarning of an impending comet, but instead a drawing of the company's new processing chip.  A small team of British crop-circle artists created the complex pattern expertly and without detection. It was a great publicity stunt, and one that left many people wondering ho

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Disney Can Track Your Every Move with NSA-Style Wristbands" Families planning trips to one of Disney’s theme parks can now get waterproof rubber wristbands embedded with computer chips in lieu of paper tickets. When scanned, the bands can act as a park entry ticket, a FastPass, a hotel room key and a credit card. The “Magic Bands” — which are currently optional — are part of a new MyMagic+ “vacation management system” that can track guests as they move throughout the park.   "Study Finds No Time Travelers On The Internet" If you had traveled from the future to the present, you might be likely to mention some things that you'd learned there (for example: buy this lottery ticket). Using this logic, physicists searched for prescient mentions of future events on the present-day internet, scouring Twitter, Facebook, Google, Google+ and Bing. They used these services to see if anybody had mentioned Pope Francis or the comet ISON before these terms existed

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Can A Human Fall In Love With A Computer?" Short Answer: Love conquers all. he film Her, which opens across the country this month, tells a love story between a man and some software. It may seem far-fetched, but researchers say it’s plausible. If so inclined, they could stitch together existing systems into one irresistible romance algorithm.   "The Internet Of You" When people describe the Internet of Things, they’re referring to a network of Web-enabled devices that speak to one another. But the next step is to take the user out of the loop and connect our personal data to the world around us. For this to happen, we’ll need a wearable network of gadgets, an Internet of You. Find out more by listening to this episode! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Facebook Self-Censorship" Facebook knows pretty much everything about you — and that includes when you type out posts but decide not to hit “enter.”   "Google Wants To Move Into Your Home" Google is already heavily criticized for trying to know almost everything about us, and now the firm wants to get inside our homes, literally. Listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Scientists Reveal Life May Have Developed Below Ground" How life on Earth came into existence is still one of the greatest mysteries in science but new research into the “deep biosphere” indicates that the first replicating life-forms on the planet may have originated deep underground rather than, as commonly believed, on the surface. Scientists have now discovered microbes living and reproducing as deep as 3.1 miles below ground and studies have shown that they are likely to have survived in complete isolation from the surface biosphere for millions and perhaps even billions of years. Knowledge of the Earth’s deep biosphere and how it survives such environmental extremes could also help astrobiologists searching for life on Mars, where the planetary surface is known to be hostile for living organisms. To gain the knowledge and answers we may just have to go underground, just think about it...   "200,000 People Apply to Live on Mars" If you have a

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Clearing China’s Smog with Artificial Rain" China is notorious for smog emergencies, thanks to its severe air pollution. Smog has done everything from grounding planes at major airports to closing schools across the country. China’s smog is so dense that it’s even crept over to Japan and across other parts of Asia. Although the country is working on putting measures into place to combat pollution, China still needs a more immediate solution for clearing up the heavy smog. This is why the country is putting its hopes on artificial rain, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Instead of cloud seeding, though, maybe they could experiment with using lasers for rain creation — or even better, invest in a smog-sucking vacuum. Both are alternative ideas to cloud seeding and Right now, the results are literally up in the air. Just think about it...   "The NSA Has Been Infiltrating Online Games" To the National Security Agency analyst writing

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "The River of Blood" Villagers' shocked as Slovakian waterway turns red overnight like something from a horror film. Rumours were swirling in a Slovakian town this week when a river running through it turned bright red. The river is in a small community on the border to the Czech Republic, and it had changed colour over night and turned into 'blood'. Police have been called in to investigate the matter, but it is believed to be a faulty filtering system from a slaughterhouse upstream.   "Radio Beams to Remotely Disable Vehicles" End of the high-speed car chase? Engineers invent system that disables a vehicle's engine remotely using radio beams. The RF Safe-Stop system uses blasts of electromagnetic pulses to remotely shut off any car engines that targeted by the device. RF Safe-Stop works because the targeted radio frequency pulses ‘confuse’ the electronics within the car, and this causes the engine to cut out as a safety measure. Find our more by

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Japan Wants To Turn The Moon Into A Giant Power Plant" Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese architecture and engineering firm, has a plan to effectively turn the moon into a giant solar power plant. Once complete, this hypothetical plant could continuously send energy to "receiving stations" around the globe by way of lasers and microwave transmission. This idea gets around two major hurdles for solar power, as there is no weather or darkness to curb electricity production on the moon.   "Google Glass Makes Its Way Into Operating Rooms" Hands-free devices like Google Glass can be really transformative when the hands they free are those of a surgeon. While average users might find Glass’s tiny display tiring to look at, surgeons are already accustomed to looking through magnifying glasses while they work.     "Battle over Google Glass etiquette" Man thrown out of diner for wearing Google Glass may prove the latest tech vs. privacy flashpoi

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Mysterious Arrows" Giant Concrete Arrows That - Point Your Way Across America... The Internet has been buzzing in recent weeks with chatter about a mysterious series of giant arrows. They trace a sort of dotted line across northern Utah and several other states.     "The Iron Man Suit" U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) wants its operators to be protected with what it informally calls an Iron Man suit, named after the fictional superhero. In September, SOCOM made a Broad Agency Announcement for proposals for prototypes of the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS. Find out more by listening to this episode! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Inside the Head of a Headbanger" New research suggests that, for some fans, heavy metal music fills deep-seated psychological needs. Heavy metal fans tend to be stereotyped as angry, alienated, and rebellious. The genre “attracts the misfits and the crazies,” as an Arizona music writer put it last year. “The aggression and precision speaks to them, gives them an outlet for their pent-up rage or whatever hard-to-define thing lives inside them.” A newly published study attempts to explain that hard-to-define thing. A research team at the University of Westminster paints a psychological portrait of those who love metal, reporting that fans “show a particular constellation” of personality traits. "US Oil Dominance will be Short Lived" The International Energy Agency says North America’s shale boom doesn’t diminish the supremacy of the Middle East in the global oil market. The fossil fuel boom underway in the United States has transformed the global energy

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Do We Live in the Matrix?" Tests could reveal whether we are part of a giant computer simulation — but the real question is if we want to know... In the 1999 sci-fi classic The Matrix, the protagonist, Neo, is stunned to see people defying the laws of physics, running up walls and vanishing suddenly. These superhuman violations of the rules of the universe are possible because, unbeknownst to him, Neo’s consciousness is embedded in the Matrix, a virtual-reality simulation. Physicists can now offer us the same choice, the ability to test whether we live in our own virtual Matrix, by studying radiation from space. As fanciful as it sounds, some philosophers have long argued that we’re actually more likely to be artificial intelligences trapped in a fake universe than we are organic minds in the “real” one. So should we say yes to the offer to take the red pill and learn the truth — or are the implications too disturbing? Just think about it... "Robo-Frie