<h2>Artificial Island</h2>
Faced with a critical land shortage, the city of Hong Kong is planning to build one of the most ambitious artificial islands in the history of the world, an extraordinary development project that would change the face of modern development.
The Lantau Tomorrow Vision project, which would cost $79 billion, would give the city an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/20/hong-kong-to-build-one-of-worlds-largest-artificial-islands">additional 1,000 hectares of land</a> to build 260,000 new residential properties — but the mammoth undertaking is generating stiff internal resistance.
<h2>Riskiest Infrastructure</h2>
According to CNN, a group called Save Lantau is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/asia/hong-kong-lantau-artificial-island-intl/index.html">pressuring the government</a> to reconsider the artificial island, citing a price tag that would reportedly wipe out half the city&#8217;s financial reserves.
&#8220;(This) will be the most expensive, complex and riskiest infrastructure project in Hong Kong&#8217;s history,&#8221; the group said in a statement.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/20/asia/hong-kong-lantau-artificial-island-intl/index.html">Hong Kong reveals plan to build one of the world&#8217;s largest artificial islands</a> [CNN] 

More on artificial islands: <a href="https://futurism.com/denmark-building-nine-gigantic-artificial-islands">Denmark Is Building Nine Gigantic Artificial Islands</a>

"(This) will be the most expensive, complex and riskiest infrastructure project in Hong Kong's history."

Hong Kong is planning a $79 billion artificial island

Future Society

Faced with a critical land shortage, the city of Hong Kong is planning to build one of the most ambitious artificial islands in the history of the world.

Hong Kong Is Planning a $79 Billion Artificial Island

Hong Kong wants to build one most ambitious artificial islands in the history of the world.

Recently, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/4/15544156/potholes-self-healing-materials-infrastructure-transportation">developers at Delft University have developed</a> a steel-infused asphalt that can be heated to get rid of potholes, cracks and loose stones, thereby saving millions on road repairs. The technology works by adding steel wool to bitumin, the binding agent that asphalt usually uses to hold the tiny stones together
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erik_Schlangen">Christopher Schlangen</a>, a PhD student at Deflt University, has shown that if asphalt that contains these steel fibers is heated using an induction machine, the bitumin melts and therefore cracks and potholes rejoin. This could double their lifespan. Although he uses a microwave rather than an induction machine in the TED Talk below, its enough to show you the premise.
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<a href="https://futurism.com/videos/introducing-100-recycled-maintenance-free-roads/">The potential to heal roads</a> has a multitude of positive consequences. Firstly, there are the economic impacts: Schlangen estimates that the Dutch government could <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/07/self-repairing-roads/">save 9 million</a> by implementing his roads, despite the 25% more money they require to install.
In addition to this, self-healing roads would mean fewer loose stones to flick up and chip windscreens, fewer potholes to damage axles or wheels, and fewer roads being closed for repair.
Although he is focusing on a means of perfecting his healing formula, Schlangen envisages a possible future use: charging cars at traffic lights. He said that &#8220;putting steel fibers in the asphalt means that you can send information to it, so it might be possible to <a href="https://futurism.com/solar-road-tiles-to-be-tested-near-historic-route-66/">charge electric cars on the road they&#8217;re driving on.</a>&#8221;
These discoveries are similar to recent developments made in self-healing concrete by <a href="https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/656689-boost-for-self-healing-concrete">Cardiff University</a>. Their project involves using bacteria to create self-healing concrete, according to the same principles as bone remineralization.

Advanced Transport

Christopher Schlangen at Deflt University has developed an altered form of asphalt that can be heated in order to heal cracks and holes.

The Next Revolution in Transport? Roads That Heal Themselves

Roads of tomorrow will rejuvenate themselves.

And imagine where we’ll be 100 years from now.

And imagine where we'll be 100 years from now.

Here’s How Life in 1917 Compares to Today

We can finally study key stages of embryonic development.

Hard Science

The Breakthrough of the Year Will Open New Doors Into Medicine and Fertility

<a href="http://arxpax.com/about/">Arx Pax</a>, a company that first gained notoriety with its <a href="https://futurism.com/a-real-hoverboard/">hoverboards that actually hover</a>, has announced they are going to start selling their engines to companies looking to incorporate hover-based technology into their development. Greg Henderson, Arx Pax CEO, told <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/06/09/real-hoverboard-company-arx-pax-will-now-sell-hover-engine.html">FoxNews.com</a>, “For the first time ever, we’re putting out this technology for anyone that is interested in its potential.”
Arx Pax first burst onto the tech scene <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/142464853/hendo-hoverboards-worlds-first-real-hoverboard/description">with a Kickstarter</a> to raise capital for a hovering board similar to previously fictional technology seen in the 1989 film, Back to the Future Part II. Prior to this, the market was flooded with <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/15/eight-lessons-from-the-hoverboard-craze/">self-balancing scooters</a> that were named hoverboards but did no actual hovering. The company&#8217;s Hendo Hoverboard promises to be &#8220;<a href="https://futurism.com/a-real-hoverboard/">the world&#8217;s first hoverboard.</a>&#8221;
World famous skateboarder Tony Hawk has been filmed taking a prototype for a test ride.
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The engines use Magnetic Field Architecture which <a href="http://arxpax.com/technology/">has been trumpeted</a> as a new technology that can eventually be developed to help levitate buildings to &#8220;protect people and property from earthquakes, floods and sea-level rise.&#8221;
The technology made available for sale to companies <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2016/06/09/real-hoverboard-company-arx-pax-will-now-sell-hover-engine.html">is said to be able to</a> lift up to about 100kg (220lbs), under favorable conditions. The applications of this technology are only limited by the imaginations of the companies using the technology in their development.
Henderson explains that his tech &#8220;could be used in semiconductor manufacturing where delicate components must not be exposed to moving parts while the heavy load capabilities of the engines could be useful in industrial manufacturing.&#8221; Two companies (Ball Aerospace and Pampa Technologies) have signed on as beta testers of the engine&#8217;s potential.
HE3.0 model engines are being sold for $9,999 for a set of two, and a bundle of four less powerful engines will cost $1,589.

Robots & Machines

A Los Gatos California based company, Arx Pax, is selling its technology to companies for use in new product development....new hoverboard product development, that is. 

Want to Make a Hoverboard? Now You Can Buy Your Own Mag-Lev Engine

Anyone can now create "Back to the Future" technology. 

For the second time, Brazilian researcher Joâo Botelho has achieved an <a href="http://phys.org/news/2016-03-molecular-reverses-evolution-birds-dinosaur-like.html">experimental reversal</a> to a dinosaur-like trait in birds. In this case, the scientist inhibited a maturation gene in a <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-discover-new-strange-state-of-matter-in-chickens-eyes/">chicken</a>, causing it to develop with leg bones resembling those of its prehistoric ancestors.
It&#8217;s a bit reminiscent of palaeontologist Jack Horner&#8217;s TED Talk &#8220;Building a Dinosaur From a Chicken,&#8221; but scientists assure us their aim is to understand the genetics of the transition between theropod dinosaurs and modern birds.
<h5>Turning Back Time</h5>
In every chicken, there is a long, spine-like bone in the drumstick called the fibula, one of the two long bones of the lower leg. In dinosaurs, this bone is tube-shaped and reaches all the way down to the ankle. Over time, as dinosaurs evolved into birds, the fibula lost its lower end, and no longer connects to the ankle, being shorter than the other bone in the lower leg, the tibia.
<figure id="attachment_26805" style="width: 475px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-26805 size-full" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/03/imageschickdino.jpg" alt="" width="475" height="181" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">From tasty to terrifying. <a href="http://kazani.gr/2010/02/19/funny_weird_sxy_vol726.html">Source</a></figcaption></figure>
Scientists noted long ago that bird embryos first develop a tubular, dinosaur-like fibula. Afterward, it becomes shorter than the tibia and acquires its adult, splinter-like shape. Botelho, working at the lab of Alexander Vargas (University of Chile), noticed this change, and began to study the mechanisms that underlie this transformation.
In normal bone development, the shaft matures and ceases growth long before the ends do. Botelho found that molecular mechanisms of maturation were active early at the lower end, ceasing cell division and growth. Inhibiting a maturation gene called &#8220;Indian Hedgehog&#8221; resulted in the tubular fibula and the tibia developing in an identical way to a dinosaur&#8217;s.
Botelho and his collaborators believe that the early growth at the lower end of the fibula occurs because of the influence of a nearby bone in the ankle, the calcaneum. Unlike other animals, the calcaneum in bird embryos presses against the lower end of the fibula.
Botelho proposes that at this stage, the lower end of the fibula receives signals more like those at the bone shaft. In normal development, the calcaneum then becomes detached from the fibula. However, its distal end has already become committed to shaft-like development, and matures early. In the chickens with experimentally dinosaur-like lower legs, the calcaneum was attached to the fibula. Botelho also confirmed the calcaneum strongly expresses a gene that allows growth at the ends of bones.
<h5>The Evolution of Development</h5>
<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evo.12882/abstract;jsessionid=2172D495270D52B8BA2618B88E888198.f02t04?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+unavailable+for+up+to+3+hours+on+Saturday+19th+March+2016+from++11%3A00-14%3A00+GMT+%2F+07%3A00-10%3A00+EDT+%2F+19%3A00-22%3A00+SGT+for+essential+maintenance.++Apologies+for+the+inconvenience.">The results of the entire study</a> have been published in the academic journal Evolution. Previously, Botelho had managed to &#8220;undo&#8221; the evolution of the perching toe of birds to produce a non-twisted, non-opposed toe, as is found in dinosaurs.
&#8220;The experiments are focused on single traits to test specific hypotheses,&#8221; says Vargas. &#8220;Not only do we know a great deal about bird development, but also about the dinosaur-bird transition, which is well-documented by the fossil record. This leads naturally to hypotheses on the evolution of development, that can be explored in the lab.&#8221;
So, it seems that the scientists aren&#8217;t trying to undo evolution to create dinosaurs. We&#8217;re happy to report this isn&#8217;t a precursor to a Jurassic Park-type disaster.

Researcher Joâo Botelho has achieved an experimental reversal to a dinosaur-like trait in birds. The scientist inhibited a maturation gene in a chicken, causing it to develop with leg bones like a dinosaur. 

Dino-Drumsticks: Scientists Grow “Dinosaur Legs” on a Chicken

You've eaten drumsticks. Now explore the science behind them. 

This new <a href="http://www.winbeta.org/news/leaked-video-gives-us-our-closest-look-yet-at-hololens-ui">leaked video</a> shows the <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/a-preview-of-microsoft-hololens-coming-in-2016/">Microsoft HoloLens</a> user interface in detail that we&#8217;ve never seen before. In fact, outside of official, scripted onstage demos, we&#8217;ve barely seen anything.
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<h5>Astronauts, Goats, and Abe Lincoln</h5>
The woman in the video introduces herself as Christina, the Community Manager for Actiongram, a <a href="http://winbeta.org/news/hololens-might-get-a-bluetooth-clicker-for-easier-interaction-actiongram-app-coming-too">movie making app</a> that will work with the HoloLens device. This seems to be one in a series of tutorial videos for users, as Christina begins by saying, &#8220;by now you know how to fit the HoloLens correctly on your head, connect it to wifi, and log in to your Amazon account.&#8221;
Then all of a sudden, we&#8217;re seeing the HoloLens interface. It looks a lot like the Windows 10 interface with tiles. Christina exemplifies how to &#8220;air tap&#8221; (as in tap the air with your finger) to click and navigate the interface. This doesn&#8217;t necessarily seem intuitive, and might take some getting used to. In addition, the navigation seems pretty precise, but Christina (or whoever is really behind the camera) is probably a practiced user.
In a slightly humorous moment, Christina instructs the user to wait until the Actiongram logo appears to move on. If you don&#8217;t see it, you might have to go on a quick scavenger hunt around the room to find it. &#8220;Look up and down as well,&#8221; she instructs. That logo could be hiding anywhere.
Once the app is ready, a screen comes up showing different characters that a user can input into their &#8220;mixed reality video creation.&#8221; Some of these include:
<ul>
<li class="p1">Abraham Lincoln</li>
<li class="p1">A bulldog wearing reindeer antlers</li>
<li class="p1">A mime</li>
<li class="p1">Jupiter</li>
<li class="p1">An astronaut</li>
<li class="p1">Theodore Roosevelt</li>
<li class="p1">A goat</li>
<li class="p1">A UFO</li>
</ul>
Christina chooses the astronaut (which is titled &#8220;Astro Moonbounce&#8221;) and places him onto her couch. He stands heroically on the cushion. She looks away in order to position the character elsewhere so she can work on her creation undistracted. The next time we look at the astronaut, he&#8217;s surrounded by a goat and a cloud.
&#8220;Continue watching the next video for more information on how to select and manipulate your holograms.&#8221;
We would if we could, Christina. 
<h5 class="p1">Into Developer Hands</h5>
Credit for finding the video goes to <a href="https://twitter.com/h0x0d/statuses/702009075500916736">WalkingCat on Twitter</a>. Microsoft doesn&#8217;t seem to be ready to showcase the use of the HoloLens in public, yet. Until then, WalkingCat has gotten us the next best thing. The Microsoft HoloLens isn&#8217;t going to be in consumer hands for some time. Developers, however, will soon be getting access to HoloLens development kits so they can start developing apps for the device.
In fact, just today Microsoft <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/devices/2016/02/29/announcing-microsoft-hololens-development-edition-open-for-pre-order-shipping-march-30/">announced</a> that developer applicants will start receiving invitations to purchase the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition. This edition will begin shipping on March 30th. The company refers to this as a &#8220;monumental step forward.&#8221;

Virtuality

A leaked video shows the Actiongram app being used on the Microsoft HoloLens. This is one of our first looks into how the technology's user interface works. 

/Development

Future Society

Hong Kong Is Planning a $79 Billion Artificial Island

Advanced Transport

The Next Revolution in Transport? Roads That Heal Themselves

Future Society

Here’s How Life in 1917 Compares to Today

Hard Science

The Breakthrough of the Year Will Open New Doors Into Medicine and Fertility

Robots & Machines

Want to Make a Hoverboard? Now You Can Buy Your Own Mag-Lev Engine

Hard Science

Dino-Drumsticks: Scientists Grow “Dinosaur Legs” on a Chicken

Virtuality

Check out a Sneak Preview of the Microsoft HoloLens User Interface

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