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FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend and concludes this weekend on the theme of the evolution of culture from a biological viewpoint. Cultural evolution is much faster than biological evolution, a fact our common experience reinforces. Culture is not strictly human, and has been found in many species. And perhaps more surprising, culture can create traits that are thought to contribute to speciation. View in LinkedIn

THOUGHT CONTROL. "Control somebody else's arm with your mind. The best (or worst?) part is that you can actually try this kind of stuff at home, thanks to Gage's company, Backyard Brains, which makes cheap and easy-to-use neuroscience equipment for people to play around with." https://lnkd.in/dd2uEKF View in LinkedIn

SLIME MOULD DUET. "Slime mould and researcher set to play piano duet. When the piano keys are played, the cultured slime mould responds by changing its shape, and this movement creates electrical energy. By capturing the slime mould’s electrical energy and transforming it into sound, this new technology allows the slime mould to provide an auditory response to Miranda’s original musical phrase." https://lnkd.in/d98X_Kx View in LinkedIn

ACCUMULATION. “However, genetic evolution is clearly also cumulative, involving the gradual accumulation of beneficial genetic modifications over time to produce complex adaptations, such as eyes or wings. Human cumulative cultural evolution bears a clear parallel with this form of cumulative genetic evolution. Indeed, the gradual accumulation of cultural innovations results in complex cultural adaptations, such as telescopes or airplanes, that resemble and rival complex genetic adaptations.” http://www.pnas.org/content/114/30/7853.full View in LinkedIn

MULTIFUNCTIONAL. "Augmented reality device turns your arm into a keyboard." https://lnkd.in/dtJ_uVc View in LinkedIn

CUMULATIVE OR EVOLVING? “Is “cumulative culture” synonymous with “cultural evolution”? In principle, evolutionary change can be noncumulative, involving changes in trait frequencies over time such as occurs with genetic drift or local adaptive changes in gene frequencies. In this sense, nonhuman, noncumulative cultural change can justifiably be called cultural evolution.” http://www.pnas.org/content/114/30/7853.full View in LinkedIn

"WORD LENS Translates Words Inside of Images. Yes Really. Ever been confused at a restaurant in a foreign country and wish you could just scan your menu with your iPhone and get an instant translation? Well as of today you are one step closer thanks to Word Lens from QuestVisual. “It tries to find out what the letters are and then looks in the dictionary. Then it draws the words back on the screen in translation.” https://lnkd.in/dk9hhKg View in LinkedIn