Friday Futures: Stephen Hawking, dark web, DARPA Biostasis

Image credit: 3Dsculptor / Shutterstock.com

Welcome to Friday Futures, our weekly guide to the latest visions of The Future from around the web. This week: Stephen Hawking and the fate of earth; the dark web; Biostasis; cervical cancer; tectonics and extinction.

Stephen Hawking was not optimistic about our future

Stephen Hawking will leave behind a deeply important legacy. But his paranoia about the future of humanity, especially in his later years, may prove to be one of the most lasting (and pertinent) aspects of that legacy. Read more…

How to take down a dark web operation

When Dutch police got onto the trail of the popular dark-web marketplace Hansa in the fall of 2016, they decided on a different approach: Not a mere takedown, but a takeover. Read more…

How to escape from those clingy social networks

Whether you want your free time back or don’t like your information scattered about on the internet, you may be considering deactivating some accounts. It’s harder than it sounds, and there’s a good reason for that. Read more…

DARPA announces its Biostasis program

DARPA has announced the Biostasis program, a five-year initiative aimed at extending the “golden hour” — the period of time between when a soldier sustains an injury and the point at which medical treatment is unlikely to prevent death. Read more…

Australia on course to eliminate cervical cancer

Australia’s efforts to distribute a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for free in schools have been a resounding success. The sexually transmitted infection causes 99.9% of cases of cervical cancer. Read more…

Exploring tectonics might keep our planet habitable

Scientists are helping to improve understanding of how rocks in Earth’s hot, deep interior enable the motions of tectonic plates, which regulate the water cycle that is critical for a habitable planet. Read more…

Half of our richest species could be gone by 2100

Up to half of plant and animal species in the world’s most naturally rich areas, such as the Amazon and the Galapagos, could face local extinction by the turn of the century due to climate change if carbon emissions continue to rise unchecked. Read more…

(Compiled by Alex Leslie; edited by John C. Tanner)

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