May 2014

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IBM has acquired for its Watson group, the business unit that develops the eponymous artificial intelligence system, the startup Cognea, which works in just that field. The figure paid for the acquisition hasn’t been disclosed. Cognea develops software for artificial intellegenza to create virtual employees that can work as a personal assistant, coach or as an employee of other types. For IBM, this is another step towards the use of Watson in companies.

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NASA has approved the mission K2, also called “Second Light”, for the Kepler space telescope. The funding is available for the next two years and allows to reactivate an astronomical instrument that gave tremendous success as a planet hunter but seemed lost because of a fault at its gyroscopic system that kept its pointing with extreme precision. NASA scientists devised a new way to keep Kepler pointed, albeit with certain limitations, to use it not only as a planet hunter but also for other astronomical research.

The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole

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The novel “The Monsters Inside” by Stephen Cole was published for the first time in 2005.

The Ninth Doctor brings Rose Tyler to another planet. The girl expects to find some aliens, instead she and the Doctor find human beings and they discover that it’s the Justicia system, a huge prison that includes the system’s six planets. The presence of the two travelers is immediately discovered and guards quickly arrive to capture them.

The Doctor and Rose are separated, imprisoned in different sections of the prison. The prison authorities believe that they’re criminals came to free some inmates and don’t believe in their innocence. The two travelers must find a way to escape from a prison in which humans but also aliens from various systems are locked up and the presence of Slitheen suggests that there’s something very strange.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashing down (Photo courtesy SpaceX. All rights reserved)

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A few hours ago the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft ended its CRS-3 (Cargo Resupply Service 3) mission on behalf of NASA smoothly splashing down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California a few hours after leaving the International Space Station. Shortly after, the Dragon was recovered by SpaceX boats that will carry it to the coast. The cargo brought back to Earth will be delivered to NASA in the following hours. The Dragon spacecraft reached the International Space Station on April 18, 2014 .