The Zen of Technology & Scientific Discovery! (& Robots)

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Jundo
    Treeleaf Founder and Priest
    • Apr 2006
    • 40317

    Start packing, we only have 250 million years more. But, I suspect, we won't be on the planet by then, or will find a way to fine tune the sun and volcanoes. 250 million years is a long time, after all ...

    A study predicts a mass extinction of mammals in 250 million years due to extreme heat from the formation of a supercontinent.

    The research highlights the lethal combination of a hotter sun, increased CO2, and continental effects, underscoring the importance of landmass layouts in evaluating the habitability of exoplanets.

    Unprecedented heat is likely to lead to the next mass extinction since the dinosaurs died out, eliminating nearly all mammals in some 250 million years’ time, according to a new study.

    The research, published on September 25 in the journal Nature Geoscience and led by the University of Bristol, presents the first-ever supercomputer climate models of the distant future and demonstrates how climate extremes will dramatically intensify when the world’s continents eventually merge to form one hot, dry and largely uninhabitable supercontinent.

    The findings project how these high temperatures are set to further increase, as the sun becomes brighter, emitting more energy and warming the Earth. Tectonic processes, occurring in the Earth’s crust and resulting in supercontinent formation would also lead to more frequent volcanic eruptions which produce huge releases of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, further warming the planet.

    Mammals, including humans, have survived historically thanks to their ability to adjust to weather extremes, especially through adaptations such as fur and hibernating in the cold, as well as short spells of warm weather hibernation.

    While mammals have evolved to lower their cold temperature survivable limit, their upper-temperature tolerance has generally remained constant. This makes exposure to prolonged excessive heat much harder to overcome and the climate simulations, if realized, would ultimately prove unsurvivable.

    BELOW: This image shows the geography of today's Earth and the projected geography of Earth in 250 million years, when all the continents converge into one supercontinent




    and

    https://us.cnn.com/2023/09/26/world/...scn/index.html
    But in the shorter term, although we won't be wiped out as a species, still great concerns ...

    Breaching the Limit: Global Concerns Rise As Six Key Planetary Boundaries Are Exceeded

    A new study updates the planetary boundary framework and shows human activities are increasingly impacting the planet and, thereby, increasing the risk of triggering dramatic changes in overall Earth conditions.

    For over 3 billion years, the interaction between life (represented by the planetary boundary, Biosphere Integrity) and climate have controlled the overall environmental conditions on Earth. Human activities, for example replacing nature with other land uses, changing the amount of water in rivers and in soil, the introduction of synthetic chemicals to the open environment, and the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere all influence these interactions. ... The nine “planetary boundaries” represent components of the global environment that regulate the stability and liveability of the planet for people. The degree of breaching of the safe boundary levels is caused by human-driven activities impacting the components. The planetary boundaries framework applies the newest scientific understanding of the functioning of the Earth system to identify a ”safe operating space” for humanity by proposing limits for the extent to which human activities can be allowed to impact critical processes without risk of potentially triggering irreversible changes in the Earth conditions that support us.

    ... “Crossing six boundaries in itself does not necessarily imply a disaster will ensue but it is a clear warning signal. We can regard it as we do our own blood pressure. A BP over 120/80 is not a guarantee of a heart attack but it increases the risk of one. Therefore, we try to bring it down. For our own – and our children’s – sakes we need to reduce the pressure on these six planetary boundaries.” ...


    https://scitechdaily.com/breaching-t...-are-exceeded/
    In happier news, we are slowly getting ready for that jump to the stars ...

    (Just a little note that the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA, already accomplished this a couple of years ago, so this is only a milestone for NASA ... )

    Astrophysicist explains why NASA milestone is 'incredible'

    NASA returned its first ever asteroid sample to Earth seven years after launching into space. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth to deliver the pristine sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.


    More here: https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/12013...-back-to-earth

    NASA is also making waves here ...

    NASA’s Cosmic Vision: Simulating Our Galaxy Through Gravitational Waves

    Using simulated data, astronomers have depicted the sky through gravitational waves, revealing the need for space observatories to detect binary systems. Future projects like LISA aim to uncover thousands of these hard-to-detect systems, marking a paradigm shift in space observation. (Artist’s illustration — see video below for simulation.)

    Astronomers using simulated data have produced a glimpse of the sky as it would appear in gravitational waves, cosmic ripples in space-time generated by orbiting objects. The image shows how space-based gravitational wave observatories expected to launch in the next decade will enhance our understanding of our galactic home.

    BELOW: Watch as gravitational waves from a simulated population of compact binary systems combine into a synthetic map of the entire sky. Such systems contain white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes in tight orbits. Maps like this using real data will be possible once space-based gravitational wave observatories become active in the next decade. Brighter spots indicate sources with stronger signals and lighter colors indicate those with higher frequencies. Larger colored patches show sources whose positions are less well known. The inset shows the frequency and strength of the gravitational signal, as well as the sensitivity limit for LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), an observatory now being designed by ESA (European Space Agency) in collaboration with NASA for launch in the 2030s. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center


    https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-cosmi...ational-waves/
    And more music of the spheres ...

    Stellar Concert: Astronomers Tune In to the Sounds of Twinkling Stars

    Northwestern University scientists have developed the first 3D simulations to study the energy rippling from a massive star’s core to its outer surface, providing new insights into stars’ inherent ‘twinkle’.


    The team also converted these waves into sound, enabling listeners to ‘hear’ the inside of a star and its natural twinkle.


    Merging Black Holes ...

    Using new simulation technology, scientists predict the existence of massive merging black holes in Milky Way-like galaxies, challenging established theories.

    ... Stellar-mass black holes are celestial objects born from the collapse of stars with masses of a few to low hundreds of times that of our sun. Their gravitational field is so intense that neither matter nor radiation can evade them, making their detection exceedingly difficult. Therefore, when the tiny ripples in spacetime produced by the merger of two black holes were detected in 2015, by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), it was hailed as a watershed moment. According to astrophysicists, the two merging black holes at the origin of the signal were about 30 times the mass of the sun and located 1.5 billion light-years away. What mechanisms produce these black holes? Are they the product of the evolution of two stars, similar to our sun but significantly more massive, evolving within a binary system? Or do they result from black holes in densely populated star clusters running into each other by chance? Or might a more exotic mechanism be involved? All of these questions are still hotly debated today.

    ... “Models prior to POSYDON predicted a negligible formation rate of merging binary black holes in galaxies similar to the Milky Way, and they particularly did not anticipate the existence of merging black holes as massive as 30 times the mass of our sun. POSYDON has demonstrated that such massive black holes might exist in Milky Way-like galaxies” ...

    https://scitechdaily.com/challenging...f-black-holes/
    A possible hint of life in Europe ... I mean, on "Europa" ...

    Webb spots a building block of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa

    Two independent teams of astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe the frozen surface of Europa, and each analysis of the space observatory’s detections revealed an abundance of carbon dioxide within a specific region of the frigid terrain. Both studies describing the findings were published September 21 in the journal Science. ... Europa is one of several ocean worlds in our solar system besides Earth where scientists believe life could exist. Beneath a thick ice shell, Europa harbors a subsurface global ocean that may contain twice as much water as our planet’s oceans.

    But environments suitable for life need more than water — they also require a supply of organic molecules and an energy source, according to NASA. “We now think that we have observational evidence that the carbon we see on Europa’s surface came from the ocean. That’s not a trivial thing. Carbon is a biologically essential element,” said Samantha Trumbo, lead author of the second study and a 51 Pegasi B Fellow at Cornell University, in a statement. Scientists have long questioned whether Europa’s ocean contained carbon and other chemicals necessary for life. ...

    https://us.cnn.com/2023/09/27/world/...scn/index.html
    Building blocks in deep space too ...

    Never Before Detected – Organic Molecule Essential for Life Found in Interstellar Space

    Tryptophan is among the 20 vital amino acids necessary for protein synthesis, crucial for life’s evolution on Earth. This amino acid has many spectral features in the infrared, as had been previously characterized by Susana Iglesias Groth, an IAC researcher.

    Utilizing data from the Spitzer Space Observatory, she identified over 10 emission bands for this molecule, the strongest according to her laboratory measurements. ... The study presents evidence that tryptophan-associated emission lines may also be present in other star-forming regions and suggests that its presence, and possibly that of other amino acids, is common in the gas from which stars and planets form. “It is likely that amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, may be enriching the gas in the protoplanetary discs and atmospheres of young, newly formed exoplanets and perhaps accelerating the emergence of life there,” says Iglesias-Groth. ...

    ... “It is well known that amino acids are part of meteorites and may have been present as early as the formation of the Solar System” explains Iglesias-Groth. “The discovery of tryptophan and, hopefully, of other amino acids in the future, could indicate that protein-building agents, which are key to the development of living organisms, exist naturally in the regions where stars and planetary systems form, and that life may be more common in our Galaxy than we could have predicted” she concludes ...


    https://scitechdaily.com/never-befor...stellar-space/
    And more ways to look into space are coming ...

    Constructing the World’s Largest Optics: The Giant Magellan Telescope’s Final Mirror Fabrication Begins

    The Giant Magellan Telescope is finalizing its last primary mirror, with the goal to surpass current space telescopes in sensitivity and resolution. ... Together, the mirrors will collect more light than any other telescope in existence, allowing humanity to unlock the secrets of the Universe by providing detailed chemical analyses of celestial objects and their origin. ...

    ... Last week, the University of Arizona Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab closed the lid on nearly 20 tons of the purest optical glass inside a one-of-a-kind oven housed beneath the stands of the Arizona Wildcats Football Stadium. The spinning oven will heat the glass to 1,165°C (2,129°F) so as it melts, it is forced outward to form the mirror’s curved paraboloid surface. Measuring 8.4 meters (26.7 feet) in diameter—about two stories tall when standing on edge—the mirror will cool over the next three months before moving into the polishing stage.


    https://scitechdaily.com/constructin...cation-begins/
    Now, from the very vast to the very small ...

    Unveiling the Quantum World: Scientists Capture Quantum Entanglement of Photons in Real-Time

    Researchers have pioneered a technique for swiftly and efficiently reconstructing the full quantum state of entangled particles, utilizing advanced camera technology to visualize the wave function of two entangled photons in real time. The innovative method is exponentially faster than previous ones, taking minutes or seconds instead of days, and holds the potential for advancing quantum technology by enhancing quantum state characterization, quantum communication, and quantum imaging techniques.

    https://scitechdaily.com/unveiling-t...-in-real-time/
    No antimatter anti-gravity levitation! There goes my anti-matter hoverboard!

    Antimatter Levitation Debunked: Groundbreaking CERN Experiment Reveals Gravity’s Pull on Antihydrogen

    An experiment by the ALPHA collaboration at CERN has shown that antihydrogen, a combination of an anti-proton and an antielectron, is pulled downward by gravity, dispelling the idea of antigravity for antimatter. This aligns with Einstein’s general relativity theory, which predates antimatter’s discovery and suggests that all matter, regular or anti, reacts identically to gravitational forces.

    ... “The bottom line is that there’s no free lunch, and we’re not going to be able to levitate using antimatter.” ...

    ... Nevertheless, the idea that antimatter and matter might be affected differently by gravity was enticing because it could potentially explain some cosmic conundrums. For example, it could have led to the spatial separation of matter and antimatter in the early universe, explaining why we see only a small amount of antimatter in the universe around us. Most theories predict that equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been produced during the Big Bang that birthed the universe. ...



    Maybe genetics can help us adapt to the new super hot super-continent??

    Scientists Successfully Genetically Modify Individual Cells in Living Animals

    Researchers have developed a technique using CRISPR-Cas to simultaneously modify multiple genes in the cells of adult animals, creating a mosaic-like pattern that simplifies studying genetic diseases. This approach has uncovered new insights into the genetic disorder 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and holds the potential to decrease the number of animal experiments in the future. Credit: ETH Zurich

    One proven method for tracking down the genetic origins of diseases is to knock out a single gene in animals and study the consequences this has for the organism. The problem is that for many diseases, the pathology is determined by multiple genes, complicating the task for scientists trying to pinpoint the contribution of any single gene to the condition. To do this, they would have to perform many animal experiments – one for each desired gene modification.

    Researchers led by Randall Platt, Professor of Biological Engineering at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Zurich in Basel, have now developed a method that will greatly simplify and speed up research with laboratory animals: using the CRISPR-Cas gene scissors, they simultaneously make several dozen gene changes in the cells of a single animal, much like a mosaic.

    While no more than one gene is altered in each cell, the various cells within an organ are altered in different ways. Individual cells can then be precisely analyzed. This enables researchers to study the ramifications of many different gene changes in a single experiment.

    https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-...iving-animals/
    It is sometime good to marry your cousin ...

    A Genetic Paradox: Inbreeding Can Be Beneficial in the Long Run

    Despite the challenges of inbreeding and limited genetic diversity, the Svalbard reindeer have remarkably adapted to harsh living conditions in an extraordinarily short period, a situation researchers term a genetic paradox. However, the question remains: can they withstand the impacts of climate change?

    ... Evolutionary theory suggests this is a poor starting point since inbreeding can quickly lead to an accumulation of harmful mutations and genetic variants followed by disease and death. But this has not prevented the Svalbard reindeer from evolving into what is today a viable population of more than 20,000 animals. “Despite the low genetic diversity, they have managed to develop a number of adaptations to life in the High Arctic. They are, for example, smaller in size and have shorter legs than other northern reindeer and caribou subspecies,” says Dussex. ... “In this case, we are dealing with a population that suffers from a high degree of inbreeding, which is usually bad news for a small population. But inbreeding can also help a population to get rid of harmful mutations, a phenomenon technically called ‘purging’,” says Martin. ...

    [But] It is far from certain that the Svalbard reindeer will be able to adapt as well to the rapid changes that result from global warming. The adaptations the reindeer have developed for the extreme arctic climate may fall short as the archipelago is now rapidly warming, which is changing both snow cover and vegetation. ...

    https://scitechdaily.com/a-genetic-p...-the-long-run/
    Well, we can't survive the hot age, but got through the ice age ...

    Unraveling an Ice Age Mystery – New Study Reveals Surprises About Early Human Migration

    A recent study analyzed pollen data around Lake Baikal in Siberia to uncover details about early human migration across Europe and Asia 45,000-50,000 years ago. The evidence suggests that warming temperatures supported expanding forests, facilitating human migration into Siberia, and contradicting some previous archaeological perspectives.

    ... the pollen data suggest that the dispersal of people occurred during some of the highest temperatures in the late Pleistocene, which also would have featured higher humidity. The ancient pollen record shows coniferous forests and grasslands characterized the region, able to support foraging and hunting by humans. Goebel said the environmental data, combined with archeological evidence, tell a new story.

    “This contradicts some recent archaeological perspectives in Europe,” said the KU researcher. “The key factor here is accurate dating, not just of human fossils and animal bones associated with the archaeology of these people, but also of environmental records, including from pollen. What we have presented is a robust chronology of environmental changes in Lake Baikal during this time period, complemented by a well-dated archaeological record of Homo sapiens’ presence in the region.” ...

    BELOW: Map showing theorized migration routes of early Homo sapiens from Africa across Eurasia.


    https://scitechdaily.com/unraveling-...man-migration/
    Mysteries and discoveries still remain right here on earth ...

    Scientists Discover New Insect Genus in Peruvian Rainforest

    Capitojoppa amazonica is a large parasitoid wasp species that has only been discovered in the Allpahuyao-Mishana National Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon. Here, the wasp is photographed from the front.


    https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-...an-rainforest/
    We won't need sex soon ... or, on the brighter side, anyone soon can have a child ... fairly soon, anyway ...

    Japanese scientists race to create human eggs and sperm in the lab

    ... Hayashi, a developmental geneticist at Osaka University in Japan, is a pioneer in one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG.

    The goal of IVG is to make unlimited supplies of what Hayashi calls "artificial" eggs and sperm from any cell in the human body. That could let anyone — older, infertile, single, gay, trans — have their own genetically related babies. Besides the technical challenges that remain to be overcome, there are deep ethical concerns about how IVG might eventually be used. ... IPS cells can be made from any cell in the body and then theoretically can morph into any other kind of cell. This versatility could one day help scientists solve a long list of medical problems.

    Hayashi was the first to figure out how to use iPS cells to make one of the first big breakthroughs in IVG: He turned skin cells from the tails of mice into iPS cells that he then turned into mouse eggs. ...

    ... Researchers at a biotech startup called Conception, based in California, claim they're about to lap the Japanese scientists. Within a year, they say they'll be ready to make human eggs they hope to try to fertilize to make human embryos. But the Americans have released few details to back up their claim.

    Hayashi's skeptical.

    "It's impossible," Hayashi says. "In my opinion — one year — I don't think so."

    Unraveling the biology of human egg development just doesn't move that fast, he says.

    That said, Hayashi thinks it's not a question if IVG will ever happen. It's more a question of when, he says, and that he and his colleagues in Japan are at least as close as the Americans to making "artificial" human embryos.

    Hayashi predicts they'll have an IVG egg ready to try to fertilize within five to 10 years. ...

    ... In addition to waiting to publish their research before making any claims, the Japanese scientists also warn that many years of experimentation would be needed to make sure artificial IVG embryos aren't carrying dangerous genetic mutations.

    "They may cause some sort of diseases, or maybe cancer, or maybe early death. So there are many possibilities," Saitou says. "Even single mutations or mistakes are really disastrous." ...

    ... IVG would render the biological clock irrelevant, by enabling women of any age to have genetically related children. That raises questions about whether there should be age limits for IVG baby-making.

    IVG could also enable gay and trans couples to have babies genetically related to both partners, for the first time allowing families, regardless of gender identity, to have biologically related children.

    Beyond that, IVG could potentially make traditional baby-making antiquated for everyone. An unlimited supply of genetically matched artificial human eggs, sperm and embryos for anyone, anytime could make scanning the genes of IVG embryos the norm.

    Prospective parents would be able to minimize the chances their children would be born with detrimental genes. IVG could also lead to "designer babies," whose parents pick and choose the traits they desire.

    "That [would] mean maybe exploitation of embryos, commercialization of reproduction. And also you could manipulate genetic information of those sperm and egg," says Misao Fujita, a bioethicist at the University of Kyoto who's been studying Japanese public opinion about IVG.

    The Japanese public is uncomfortable with IVG for those reasons. But the Japanese would even be uneasy about using this technology to create babies outside of traditional family structures, she says.

    "If you can create artificial embryos, then that mean[s] maybe a single person can create their own baby. So who is [the] mother and father? So that means social confusion," Fujita says.

    They're leading in the development of IVG, new fertility technology that could make sperm and eggs from practically any cell in the body. The results could transform human reproduction.

    Maybe after the mammals are gone, AI will replace us ... or figure out how to save us ...

    ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak

    We are beginning to roll out new voice and image capabilities in ChatGPT. They offer a new, more intuitive type of interface by allowing you to have a voice conversation or show ChatGPT what you’re talking about.

    Voice and image give you more ways to use ChatGPT in your life. Snap a picture of a landmark while traveling and have a live conversation about what’s interesting about it. When you’re home, snap pictures of your fridge and pantry to figure out what’s for dinner (and ask follow up questions for a step by step recipe). After dinner, help your child with a math problem by taking a photo, circling the problem set, and having it share hints with both of you.




    ChatGPT’s voice capability is “powered by a new text-to-speech model, capable of generating human-like audio from just text and a few seconds of sample speech,” Open AI said in the blogpost. The company added that it collaborated with professional voice actors to create the five different voices that can be used to animate the chatbot. ... The new features roll out in the app within the next two weeks for paying subscribers of ChatGPT’s Plus and Enterprise services. (Subscriptions to the Plus service are $20 a month, and its Enterprise service is currently only offered to business clients).


    And getting smarter ...

    100x Efficiency: MIT’s Machine-Learning System Based on Light Could Yield More Powerful Large Language Models

    MIT system demonstrates greater than 100-fold improvement in energy efficiency and a 25-fold improvement in compute density compared with current systems.

    ChatGPT has made headlines around the world with its ability to write essays, email, and computer code based on a few prompts from a user. Now an MIT-led team reports a system that could lead to machine-learning programs several orders of magnitude more powerful than the one behind ChatGPT. The system they developed could also use several orders of magnitude less energy than the state-of-the-art supercomputers behind the machine-learning models of today.

    https://scitechdaily.com/100x-effici...nguage-models/
    But the humans are still ahead ... for now ...

    Radiologists vs. Robots: Outperforming AI in Identifying Lung Diseases on Chest X-Rays

    Radiologists surpassed AI in accurately detecting three common lung diseases from chest X-rays, as per a study in the Radiology journal. AI tools, while sensitive, produced more false positives, making them less reliable for autonomous diagnoses but useful for second opinions.

    https://scitechdaily.com/radiologist...-chest-x-rays/
    AI is already doing so good things, however imperfectly ...

    Revolutionary AI Set To Predict Your Future Health With a Single Click

    Researchers from Edith Cowan University developed software that rapidly analyzes bone density scans to detect abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), a predictor of cardiovascular events and other health risks. The software processed images with 80% agreement with experts and could revolutionize early disease detection during routine clinical practice.

    https://scitechdaily.com/revolutiona...-single-click/
    This is AI HUGE!

    Paralyzed man regains some [Hand] function after world-first surgery

    A 46-year-old Swiss man who was paralyzed after a devastating fall has regained some movement following groundbreaking surgery that appeared to successfully install an implant on his brain using artificial intelligence.

    A 46-year-old Swiss man who was paralyzed after a devastating fall has regained some movement following groundbreaking surgery that appeared to successfully install an implant on his brain using artificial intelligence. CNN’s Nick Watt reports.


    Paralyzed Man Can Use Feel Again Thanks to Groundbreaking AI

    AI can often more understanding of human behavior and movement ...

    GlowTrack: Unleashing the Power of AI To Track Human and Animal Behavior

    Current cutting-edge methods utilize artificial intelligence to automatically track parts of the body as they move. However, training these models is still time-intensive and limited by the need for researchers to manually mark each body part hundreds to thousands of times.

    Now, Associate Professor Eiman Azim and team have created GlowTrack, a non-invasive movement-tracking method that uses fluorescent dye markers to train artificial intelligence. GlowTrack is robust, time-efficient, and high definition—capable of tracking a single digit on a mouse’s paw or hundreds of landmarks on a human hand.

    https://scitechdaily.com/glowtrack-u...imal-behavior/
    But AI can also track and spy on us in other ways ...

    Exposing the secretive company at the forefront of facial recognition technology

    Facial recognition technology is convenient when you use it to unlock your phone or log into an app. But you might be surprised to know that your face is most likely already in a facial recognition database that can be used to identify who you are without you even being aware it's happening or knowing who's using it and why.

    A company expanding the technological possibilities of this technology and testing its legal and ethical limits is Clearview AI. It's a startup whose clients already include some law enforcement and government agencies. If you haven't already heard of it, it's in part because the company didn't want you to know it existed. It did its best to remain secretive until it was exposed by my guest, Kashmir Hill. She's a New York Times tech reporter who first wrote about Clearview AI in 2020. She describes her beat as the future tech dystopia and how we can try to avoid it. Kashmir has continued to report on Clearview AI and other developments in facial recognition technology. Now, she has a new book called "Your Face Belongs To Us: A Secretive Startup's Quest To End Privacy As We Know It."

    ... For police use of this technology, you know, it can be very useful for solving crimes, but, you know, it can also be wielded in a way that could be very chilling or intimidating. Say, if there are protesters against police brutality and the government is able to very easily identify them. And we have seen this already happen in other countries, not with Clearview AI's technology but with other facial recognition technology. In China, you know, this kind of technology has been used to identify protesters in Hong Kong, to identify Uyghur Muslims and for more surprising uses like naming and shaming people who wear pajamas in public or making sure that somebody in a public restroom doesn't take too much toilet paper. They have to look at a face recognition camera, only get a little bit of toilet paper and then wait a certain amount of time until their face can unlock more. ...

    JUNDO: A fascinating interview, highly recommended:

    NYT reporter Kashmir Hill says Clearview AI has a database of billions of photos scraped from the internet, which it sells to governments and police departments. Her book is Your Face Belongs To Us.

    AI and automation might help places like Japan with a labor shortage, but also unemployment caused by AI!!!

    Japan labor market set for change as huge worker shortage looms

    Japan's labor market may be at an inflection point as the nation braces for a shortfall of millions of workers, the rise of generative AI and risks to economic security. ... In the short term, labor shortages are evident in the pandemic-hit services sector, with labor-intensive areas like nursing care and construction already struggling. ... The institute estimates 9.7 million jobs will be lost by 2035 due to the effects of digitalization, including AI. But labor will still be in short supply that year as a result of a push for green and digital transformations and efforts to boost the nation's semiconductor industry. ... One challenge for the broader Japanese labor market is that the percentage of workers with non-routine, or "creative," tasks in relation to routine ones is lower than in countries like the United States and Britain, the institute said, expecting a severe labor shortage for professional technical occupations. ...
    The International Labor Organization says generative AI, which is neither inherently good nor bad, will "augment" rather than destroy jobs. The U.N. agency is calling for governments and others to design the right policies to ensure a smooth transition because costs to affected workers will be "brutal." ...
    https://mainichi.jp/english/articles...0m/0bu/037000c
    Hopefully, we will regulate AI better than the internet ... doubtful ...

    FCC [in USA] to reintroduce rules protecting net neutrality

    he US government aims to restore sweeping regulations for high-speed internet providers such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, reviving “net neutrality” rules for the broadband industry — and an ongoing debate about the internet’s future.

    The proposed rules from the Federal Communications Commission will designate internet service — both the wired kind found in homes and businesses as well as mobile data on cellphones — as “essential telecommunications” akin to traditional telephone services, said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The rules would ban internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking or slowing down access to websites and online content.

    In addition to the prohibitions on blocking and throttling internet traffic, the draft rules also seek to prevent ISPs from selectively speeding up service to favored websites or to those that agree to pay extra fees, Rosenworcel said, a move designed to prevent the emergence of “fast lanes” on the web that could give some websites a paid advantage over others.

    https://us.cnn.com/2023/09/26/tech/f...ers/index.html
    Maybe we will handle AI better than atomic weaponry ... which, sadly, is far from over ...

    Birthplace of atomic bomb braces for biggest mission since the Manhattan Project

    The community is facing growing pains as Los Alamos National Laboratory takes part in the country’s most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since World War II


    ... 80 years later, as Los Alamos National Laboratory takes part in the nation’s most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since World War II. The mission calls for modernizing the arsenal with droves of new workers producing plutonium cores — key components for nuclear weapons. ...

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...ect-rcna117097
    Gassho, J

    stlah
    Last edited by Jundo; 09-30-2023, 06:25 AM.
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

    Comment

    • Jundo
      Treeleaf Founder and Priest
      • Apr 2006
      • 40317

      A rather silly article, but I like the advice ...

      Black holes can teach us how to live our best lives

      ... One such researcher is Priyamvada Natarajan, an astrophysicist and the chair of the astronomy department at Yale University. Natarajan studies supermassive black holes. These are black holes that are at the center of almost all galaxies whose masses range from over a hundred thousand Suns to a few billion. And after talking with Natarajan about the science of black holes, I realized that these enigmatic objects are actually overflowing with valuable life lessons.

      Lesson One: Push the limits, even if others doubt you

      Lesson Two: Reputation isn't everything

      Lesson Three: Do your thing, whether people get you or not

      https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/12037...t-life-lessons
      The connection to black holes is a bit of a stretch (the same thing that happens if you fall in one! ), but sound advice nonetheless.

      Gassho J

      stlah
      ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

      Comment

      • Jundo
        Treeleaf Founder and Priest
        • Apr 2006
        • 40317

        Speaking of black holes ... space sounds! ...

        Echoes Across Space: The Universal Sound of Black Holes

        ... Scientists at HITS, Germany, have predicted that the ‘chirp’ noise generated when two black holes merge preferentially occurs in two universal frequency ranges. ... The merger of two stellar-mass black holes releases gravitational waves with escalating frequency, known as the chirp signal, which can be detected on Earth. By analyzing the progression of this frequency (the chirp), scientists can calculate the “chirp mass,” a mathematical representation of the combined mass of the two black holes.



        Attaboy for the attosecond ...

        Nobel Prize in physics won by trio who created rapid flashes of light to ‘capture the shortest of moments’

        The 2023 Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to a team of scientists who created a ground-breaking technique using lasers to understand the extremely rapid movements of electrons, which were previously thought impossible to follow.

        Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier “demonstrated a way to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy,” the Nobel committee said when the prize was announced in Stockholm on Tuesday. ... The movements of electrons inside atoms and molecules are so rapid that they are measured in attoseconds – an almost incomprehensibly short unit of time. “An attosecond is to one second as one second is to the age of the universe,” the committee explained. ... “This is another transformative moment in physics and in science, where a whole new (way) to probe the universe was opened up by the work of these three physicists,” Moloney added.


        The 2023 Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to a team of scientists who created a ground-breaking technique using lasers to understand the extremely rapid movements of electrons, which were previously thought impossible to follow.

        So extreme ... like on other worlds ...

        Surviving the Extremes: Exploring the Existence of Life at 52°C/124°F

        Biologists from Syracuse University are examining the processes that enable microbial eukaryotes to flourish in the harsh environment of ... some of the harshest environments on Earth: extremely hot and acidic geothermal lakes. ... Oliverio notes that the team’s genome-scale findings will contribute important missing data into reconstructions of the tree of life. “This will further our understanding of the distribution and evolution of life on Earth.” ...

        https://scitechdaily.com/surviving-t...f-life-at-125/
        Where life came from?

        From Atoms to Organisms: “Assembly Theory” Unifies Physics and Biology To Explain Evolution and Complexity

        Assembly theory bridges the gap between physics and biology in explaining how complex objects are identifiable as products of evolution and how reusability of parts allows novelty and identical intricate items to be constructed by selection in nature ... “Assembly Theory provides a completely new lens for looking at physics, chemistry, and biology as different perspectives of the same underlying reality,” explained lead author Professor Sara Walker, a theoretical physicist and origin of life researcher from Arizona State University. “With this theory, we can start to close the gap between reductionist physics and Darwinian evolution – it’s a major step toward a fundamental theory unifying inert and living matter.” ...

        https://scitechdaily.com/from-atoms-...nd-complexity/
        Conscious nonsense? ... panpsychic panning ...

        Consciousness & Controversy: Why Leading Theory Faces “Pseudoscience” Backlash

        Tensions are high in consciousness research, with over 100 researchers criticizing the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) as pseudoscientific. While IIT suggests that consciousness is more widespread than traditionally believed, critics argue that its broad claims lack comprehensive empirical support. ...

        Integrated information theory – often referred to as IIT – is a very ambitious theory of consciousness proposed by neuroscientist Giulio Tononi. It ultimately aims to give mathematically precise conditions for when any system – a brain or some other lump or matter – is or is not conscious. The theory revolves around a mathematical measure of integration of information, or interconnections, labeled with the Greek letter ϕ. The basic idea is that a system becomes conscious at the precise moment when there is more ϕ in the system as a whole than in any of its parts. IIT implies that many more things are conscious than we ordinarily suppose. This means it gets close to a kind of “panpsychism” – the view that consciousness pervades the physical universe. Having said that, there are big differences between IIT and the new wave of Bertrand Russell-inspired panpsychism which has recently been making waves in academic philosophy, and which has been the focus of much of my research. IIT even implies, as pointed out by the computer scientist Scott Aaronson, that an inactive grid of connected logic gates would be conscious.

        https://scitechdaily.com/consciousne...ence-backlash/
        A practical invention that will save lives ...

        MIT’s New Desalination System Produces Freshwater That Is “Cheaper Than Tap Water”

        Engineers at MIT and in China are aiming to turn seawater into drinking water with a completely passive device that is inspired by the ocean, and powered by the sun. ... The configuration of the device allows water to circulate in swirling eddies, in a manner similar to the much larger “thermohaline” circulation of the ocean. This circulation, combined with the sun’s heat, drives water to evaporate, leaving salt behind. The resulting water vapor can then be condensed and collected as pure, drinkable water. In the meantime, the leftover salt continues to circulate through and out of the device, rather than accumulating and clogging the system. ... The researchers estimate that if the system is scaled up to the size of a small suitcase, it could produce about 4 to 6 liters of drinking water per hour and last several years before requiring replacement parts. At this scale and performance, the system could produce drinking water at a rate and price that is cheaper than tap water.

        “For the first time, it is possible for water, produced by sunlight, to be even cheaper than tap water,” says Lenan Zhang, a research scientist in MIT’s Device Research Laboratory. The team envisions a scaled-up device could passively produce enough drinking water to meet the daily requirements of a small family. The system could also supply off-grid, coastal communities where seawater is easily accessible.


        https://scitechdaily.com/mits-new-de...han-tap-water/
        A bunch of AI issues ...

        AI girlfriends imperil generation of young men

        Using Artificial Intelligence apps, "young men get in these AI relationships," says Professor Liberty Vittert. "And because the AI learns from you exactly what you like and don't like, you end up having these perfect relationships. So when you go into real life...there's ups and downs they are not able to deal with."


        https://us.cnn.com/videos/business/2...ion-of-men.cnn
        Pop idols who don't need to be paid ...

        ‘The only thing we can’t do is sign autographs’: The rise of virtual K-pop bands

        Built using AI technology, Eternity is one of the latest South Korean acts pushing the boundary between real and virtual entertainment. And the group’s creator and management company, Pulse9, believes that computer-generated stars have a significant edge over their real-life counterparts.

        As with most popular K-pop groups, Eternity’s members include a group leader, vocalists, rappers and dancers. But one member in particular, Zae-in, can do it all. “Zae-in has (a combination of) characteristics that most human artists would be hard-stretched to pull off,” said the firm’s CEO Park Ji-eun. “She can sing very well, rap very well and she can be creative as a (fashion) designer. And she’s a natural-born actress.”

        A video by Eternity ...


        https://us.cnn.com/style/kpop-virtua...hnk/index.html
        Fake Hanks ...

        Tom Hanks says dental plan video uses ‘AI version of me’ without permission

        Hollywood star Tom Hanks has “nothing to do with” an artificial intelligence version of himself that is promoting “some dental plan,” he said on Instagram on Sunday. ... Hanks also suggested on the same podcast that the technology could allow him to keep appearing in new movies after he dies.

        “Anybody can now recreate themselves at any age they are by way of AI or deep fake technology … I could be hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on and on and on,” he added. ...

        https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/02/entert...cli/index.html
        AI make me Neurotic ...

        OpenAI is encouraging people to use ChatGPT for therapy. That’s dangerous.

        Just because a chatbot can recite language that appears therapeutic doesn’t mean its empathetic.


        This is a disconcerting development. That the company’s head of safety and its president are encouraging the public to think of a chatbot as a way to get therapy is surprising and deeply reckless. OpenAI profits from exaggerating and misleading the public about what its technology can and can’t do — and that messaging could come at the expense of public health.

        Weng’s language anthropomorphized ChatGPT by talking about feeling “heard” and “warm,” implying the AI has an ability to listen and understand emotions. In reality, ChatGPT’s humanlike language emerges from its ultra-sophisticated replication of language patterns that draws from behemoth databases of information. This capability is robust enough to help ChatGPTS users conduct certain kinds of research, brainstorm ideas and write essays in a manner that resembles a human. But that doesn’t mean it’s capable of performing many of the cognitive tasks of a human. Crucially, it cannot empathize with or understand the inner life of a user; it can at best only mimic how one might do so in response to specific prompts.

        https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-...nai-rcna118058
        Lighting up the brain ...

        Theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment could reduce cigarette cravings.

        A recent study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine indicates a potential alternative method to address cigarette cravings.

        The research demonstrates that by using theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) – powerful and quickly changing magnetic pulses that influence brain activity – individuals may experience enhanced self-control, diminished cravings, and subsequently, decreased cigarette consumption.

        https://scitechdaily.com/goodbye-cig...ne-dependence/
        We share genes with vegetables too ...

        Being a vegetarian might be in your DNA

        The study published Wednesday in PLOS One found that there are four genes associated with how well someone is able to adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle.

        “At this time we can say is that genetics plays a significant role in vegetarianism and that some people may be genetically better suited for a vegetarian diet than others,” said lead study author Dr. Nabeel Yaseen, professor emeritus of pathology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

        https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/04/health...ess/index.html
        Gassho, J

        stlah
        Last edited by Jundo; 10-05-2023, 03:44 PM.
        ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

        Comment

        • Jundo
          Treeleaf Founder and Priest
          • Apr 2006
          • 40317

          Discoveries and JUMBO mysteries up there ...

          Unprecedented discovery seems to defy fundamental astronomical theories

          The Orion Nebula, a glowing cloud of dust and gas, is one of the brightest nebulae in the night sky and identifiable as the sword in the Orion constellation. Located 1,300 light-years from Earth, the nebula has long presented astronomers with a wealth of celestial objects to study, including planet-forming disks around young stars and brown dwarfs, or objects with a mass between that of planets and stars.
          [Astonomers using Webb] zoomed in on the Trapezium Cluster, a young star-forming region that’s about 1 million years old, filled to the brim with thousands of new stars. In addition to the stars, the scientists spotted brown dwarfs, which are too small to kick-start the nuclear fusion at their cores to become stars.

          On the hunt for other low-mass isolated objects, the astronomers found something they had never seen: pairs of planet-like objects with masses between 0.6 and 13 times the mass of Jupiter that appear to defy some fundamental astronomical theories ... The astronomers found 40 pairs of JuMBOs and two triple systems, all on wide orbits around one another. Although they exist in pairs, the objects are typically about 200 astronomical units apart, or 200 times the distance between Earth and the sun. It can take between 20,000 and 80,000 years for the objects to complete an orbit around each other.

          ... But no existing theories explain how the JuMBOs formed, or why they’re present in the Orion Nebula ... For instance, some may consider the JuMBOs to be like rogue planets, or objects of planetary mass that freely travel through space without orbiting stars. But many rogue planets begin by orbiting stars before being ejected, and it would be hard to explain how pairs of them were kicked out at the same time while remaining gravitationally connected to each other. ... Pearson said. “The main thing that we learn from this is that there is something fundamentally wrong with either our understanding of planet formation, star formation, or both.”

          BELOW: Five JuMBOs can be seen in this image, which zoomed in on the finer details of the larger Webb portrait of the Trapezium Cluster in the Orion Nebula.

          Astronomers find unexpected pairs of unusual planet-like objects in the Orion Nebula using the James Webb Space Telescope.
          Explosive mysteries ...

          Hubble’s Hitchcock Moment: A Bizarre Explosion in Unexpected Place

          A clear starry night is deceptively tranquil to backyard skygazers. In reality, the sky is ablaze with things that go pop in the night – like paparazzi flash cameras going off. Most of these flashes are stellar explosions or collisions. They are so faint they can only be captured by the unblinking eye of telescopes that continually keep watch on the nighttime sky for such transients.

          Among the rarest of these random cosmic events are a small class called Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients (LFBOTs). They shine intensely in blue light and evolve rapidly, reaching peak brightness and fading again in a matter of days, unlike supernovae which take weeks or months to dim.

          The first LFBOT was found in 2018. Presently, they are captured once a year and so only a handful are known. There are several theories behind what causes the powerful explosions. But Hubble came along and made this phenomenon even more mysterious.

          One LFBOT popped up in 2023 in a place where no one expected it be – far between two galaxies. Only Hubble could exactly pinpoint its surprising location. If a flavor of extraordinarily powerful supernovae causes LFBOTs, they should blow up in the spiral arms of galaxies where star birth is underway. The massive newborn stars behind supernovae don’t live long enough to go wandering off beyond their nesting ground inside a galaxy.

          BELOW: A Hubble Space Telescope image of a Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient (LFBOT) designated AT2023fhn, indicated by pointers. ... The surprise is that this latest transient, seen in 2023, lies at a large offset from both the barred spiral galaxy at right and the dwarf galaxy to the upper left.


          https://scitechdaily.com/hubbles-hit...xpected-place/
          A Billion-Year-Old “Circumnuclear Ring ...

          Hubble Captures Galaxy With Brilliant Blue Arms and Billion-Year-Old “Circumnuclear Ring”

          NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured this detailed image of NGC 6951 ... an intermediate spiral galaxy 78 million light-years away in the Cepheus constellation. ... Turbulent regions of gas, shown in dark red, surround the bright blue pinpricks that are star clusters. ... At the center of NGC 6951 lies a supermassive black hole surrounded by a ring of stars, gas, and dust about 3,700 light-years across. This “circumnuclear ring” is between 1 and 1.5 billion years old and has been forming stars for most of that time. Scientists hypothesize that interstellar gas flows through the dense, starry bar of the galaxy to the circumnuclear ring, which supplies new material for star formation. Up to 40 percent of the mass in the ring comes from relatively new stars that are less than 100 million years old. Spiral lanes of dust, shown in dark orange, connect the center of the galaxy to its outer regions, contributing more material for future star formation. ...


          https://scitechdaily.com/hubble-capt...mnuclear-ring/
          Psyched up about psyche ...

          For the first time, a NASA mission is setting off on a distant journey to visit a metal world in our solar system.

          Getting up close with the asteroid known as Psyche is the only way to determine whether it’s the rare exposed core of an early planetary building block, according to scientists. The metal-rich asteroid is in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The namesake Psyche spacecraft is expected to lift off Thursday. ... The giant space rock is about 235 million to 309 million miles (378 million to 497 million kilometers) from the sun. After launch, the mission will arrive in orbit around the asteroid in 2029 and spend about two years studying Psyche with a suite of scientific instruments to determine its true nature. ... Scientists believe that studying Psyche could help them address key questions about planet formation. Earth, Mercury and Mars have metallic cores, but they are too deep below their planets’ rocky shells to be seen or studied directly. ...

          Artist's conception below:


          https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/06/world/...scn/index.html
          Mysteries remaining inside us ... liking physics and biology ...

          Challenging Long-Held Assumptions: New Research Reveals How Nuclear Spin Impacts Biological Processes

          Researchers discovered the significant impact of nuclear spin on biological processes, specifically oxygen dynamics in chiral environments [Chirality, or handedness, means that an object or molecule cannot be superimposed on its mirror image by any translations or rotations]. This breakthrough could revolutionize biotechnology, quantum biology, isotope separation, and NMR technology. ... Scientists have long believed that nuclear spin had no impact on biological processes. However, recent research has shown that certain isotopes behave differently due to their nuclear spin. ... This connection between the tiny world of particles and living beings likely goes back billions of years when life began and molecules with a special shape called chirality appeared. Chirality is important because only molecules with the right shape can do the jobs they need to in living things. ...

          https://scitechdaily.com/challenging...cal-processes/
          Parts of us get overlooked ...

          Princeton Scientists Discover Overlooked Parts of Proteins That Are Critical to Fundamental Functions of Life

          Protein condensates (shown here in a microscope image) are critical to the process of gene expression in cells, and condensate formation depends on proteins’ intrinsically disordered regions. ...

          According to textbooks, proteins work by folding into stable 3D shapes that, like Lego blocks, precisely fit with other biomolecules. However, this depiction of proteins, the “workhorses of biology,” doesn’t tell the whole story. Around half of all proteins have stringy, unstructured bits hanging off them, dubbed intrinsically disordered regions, or IDRs. Now, a multi-institutional collaboration has uncovered how a key aspect of cell biology is controlled by IDRs. Their study, recently published in the journal Cell, reveals that IDRs have specific and important interactions that play a central role in chromatin regulation and gene expression, essential processes across every living cell. ... The researchers focused on disordered regions of the human cBAF complex, a multi-component group of proteins in the nucleus that works to open up the densely coiled-up DNA inside cells called chromatin, enabling genes along DNA to be expressed and turned into proteins. ... In particular, the study revealed that the IDRs form little droplets called condensates that separate out from surrounding cellular fluid, just like drops of oil in water. The specific interactions that happen in these condensates allow proteins and other biomolecules to congregate in particular locations to carry out cellular activities. ...



          Who discovered America?

          Scientists say they’ve confirmed evidence that humans arrived in the Americas far earlier than previously thought

          When the discovery of fossilized footprints made in what’s now New Mexico was made public in 2021, it was a bombshell moment for archaeology, seemingly rewriting a chapter of the human story. Now new research is offering further evidence of their significance. While they look like they could have been made yesterday, the footprints were pressed into mud 21,000 to 23,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dating of the seeds of an aquatic plant that were preserved above and below the fossils.

          This date dramatically pushed back the timeline of humans’ history in the Americas, the last landmass to be settled by prehistoric people. The 61 dated prints, which were discovered in the Tularosa Basin, near the edge of an ancient lake in White Sands National Park, were made ... around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum, a period between 19,000 and 26,000 years ago when two massive ice sheets covered the northern third of North America, reaching as far south as New York City, Cincinnati and Des Moines, Iowa. The ice and cold temperatures would have made a journey between Asia and Alaska impossible during that time, meaning the people who made the footprints likely arrived much earlier.

          Speaking of climate changes ... maybe some good news ... but still seems like a drop in the bucket ...

          U.S. transition to clean energy is happening faster than you think, reporter says

          Recently, a team of reporters at the New York Times produced what kind of feels like an optimistic break from the doom and gloom of climate news. Huge swaths of our country are turning away from fossil fuels as an energy source and investing in wind, solar and other renewable energy. We're talking places like Texas and Oklahoma, once dominated by oil and gas, now building essentially new industries. The New York Times' three-part series called "The Energy Transition" explores the speed, challenges, politics and economics of this move toward newer sources of energy.

          https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/12038...-reporter-says
          ... and then there is climate ignorance ...

          People working on climate solutions are facing a big obstacle: conspiracy theories

          Climate disinformation in the past — sometimes paid for by fossil fuel interests — often related to false ideas that global warming is a scam or that the threat is overblown. Those falsehoods are still around, but what we're seeing a lot more of these days are attacks on climate solutions even if we don't always know who funds them. Think attacks on renewables. False ideas that wind turbines cause cancer or cause birth defects in animals. Disinformation may be spreading because solutions are really spreading.

          For instance, this weekend we'll have a story about a trend in urban planning called 15-minute cities — designing cities so that you access amenities in a short walk, bike ride or trip on public transport. Now there's a conspiracy theory saying that this is a way to restrict people's movement or to trap people in an open-air prison. ...

          ... Different kinds of false information spread in different ways. But if you're considering misleading claims about climate — that's predominantly on the right. And that involves an information ecosphere defined by Joe Rogan, as we heard above, but also Alex Jones, Breitbart, the Daily Wire, the Daily Mail, the New York Post, and above all Fox News. ...

          https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/12038...disinformation
          AI may be an improvement over human idiocy ... The billionaire guy who makes my Japanese smart phone says ...

          SoftBank CEO says artificial general intelligence will come within 10 years

          SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said he believes artificial general intelligence (AGI), artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence in almost all areas, will be realized within 10 years.

          Speaking at the SoftBank World corporate conference, Son said he believes AGI will be ten times more intelligent than the sum total of all human intelligence. He noted the rapid progress in generative AI that he said has already exceeded human intelligence in certain areas.

          “It is wrong to say that AI cannot be smarter than humans as it is created by humans,” he said. “AI is now self learning, self training, and self inferencing, just like human beings.”

          Son has spoken of the potential of AGI — typically using the term “singularity” — to transform business and society for some years, but this is the first time he has given a timeline for its development.

          He also introduced the idea of “Artificial Super Intelligence” at the conference which he claimed would be realized in 20 years and would surpass human intelligence by a factor of 10,000.

          Son is known for several canny bets that have turned SoftBank into a tech investment giant as well as some bets that have spectacularly flopped.

          He’s also prone to making strident claims about the transformative impact of new technologies. His predictions about the mobile internet have been largely borne out while those about the Internet of Things have not [JUNDO: Yet! ].

          https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/04/tech/j...ntl/index.html
          Crispr gets Crispier ...

          Gene-Editing Breakthrough: Compact Enzyme Promises More Effective Treatments

          A new CRISPR gene-editing tool, AsCas12f, smaller than the commonly used Cas9, has been engineered for better efficiency and effectiveness in treating genetic disorders. Tested successfully in mice, this tool could lead to more compact and efficient genome-editing applications in humans. ... The compact size means that more of it can be packed into carrier viruses and delivered into living cells, making it more efficient.

          Researchers created a library of possible AsCas12f mutations and then combined selected ones to engineer an AsCas12f enzyme with 10 times more editing ability than the original unmutated type.


          Gassho, J

          stlah
          ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

          Comment

          • Jundo
            Treeleaf Founder and Priest
            • Apr 2006
            • 40317

            FROM SCI-FI TO REALITY: DOES A BRAIN IN A DISH HAVE MORAL RIGHTS?

            Inventors of brain-cell-based computers collaborate with a global team of ethicists to examine the ethical applications of bio-computing.

            Bio-computing, once a concept confined to science fiction, is now a reality. As such, it’s crucial to begin contemplating its ethical research and application, according to a global assembly of specialists.

            The creators of DishBrain have collaborated with bioethicists and medical scientists to outline a comprehensive framework. Their insights and recommendations on addressing this emerging field can be found in a recently published article in Biotechnology Advances.

            “Combining biological neural systems with silicon substrates to produce intelligence-like behavior has significant promise, but we need to proceed with the bigger picture in mind to ensure sustainable progress,” says lead author Dr. Brett Kagan, Chief Scientific Officer of biotech start-up Cortical Lab. The group was made famous by their development of DishBrain – a collection of 800,000 living brain cells in a dish that learned to play Pong.

            ...

            The researchers point out that it is worth working through these moral issues, as the potential impact of bio-computing is significant.
            “Silicon-based computing is massively energy-hungry with a supercomputer consuming millions of watts of energy. By contrast, the human brain uses as little as 20 watts of energy – biological intelligences will show similar energy efficiency,” says Dr Kagan.

            “As it stands, the IT industry is a massive contributor to carbon emissions. If even a relatively small number of processing tasks could be done with bio-computers, there is a compelling environmental reason to explore these alternatives.”



            Gassho, J

            stlah
            ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

            Comment

            • Jundo
              Treeleaf Founder and Priest
              • Apr 2006
              • 40317

              Big discovery in those recovered asteroid samples ...

              Building Blocks of Life? NASA Reveals 4.5-Billion-Year-Old Asteroid Bennu Sample

              Initial studies of the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu sample collected in space and brought to Earth by NASA show evidence of high-carbon content and water, which together could indicate the building blocks of life on Earth may be found in the rock.

              BELOW: A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu can be seen on the middle right.


              https://scitechdaily.com/building-bl...-bennu-sample/
              Diamond Sutra ...

              So you should view this fleeting world --
              A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream ...

              Supernova Bubble Captured in Hubble Time-Lapse Movie – 20,000-Year-Old Explosion Still Expanding at 500,000 MPH

              A blink between Hubble images taken in 2001 (with Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2)) and 2020 (with Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)) shows gossamer filaments of glowing hydrogen in orange and cooling ionized oxygen in blue. The hydrogen filaments resemble lines in a wrinkled bedsheet seen from the side. The wrinkles arise as the shock wave encounters more or less dense material in the interstellar medium. Analyzing the shock wave’s location, astronomers found that the filaments have not slowed down at all in the last 20 years of Hubble observations, and they haven’t changed shape. The material is speeding into interstellar space at over half a million miles per hour—fast enough to travel from Earth to the Moon in less than half an hour. The shock wave is moving toward the top of these images.


              https://scitechdaily.com/supernova-b...at-500000-mph/
              I like Gaga in 'A Star is Born' more than Streisand, but the classic is Judy Garland ...

              NASA’s Webb Reveals Breathtaking Glimpse of Star Birth in Ethereal Depths

              This video compares images of star-forming region NGC 346 taken in visible light with the Hubble Space Telescope’s ACS instrument, near-infrared with the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam instrument, and mid-infrared with Webb’s MIRI instrument. Hubble’s visible-light image is filled with thousands of stars, as well as curtains of hydrogen and oxygen gas colored blue. In Webb’s near-infrared image, pink represents energized hydrogen, while orange represents dense, molecular hydrogen. Webb’s mid-infrared image highlights bright patches of star formation, diffuse pink emission from warm dust, and blue filaments of dusty and sooty material. ... The field of view shown in this image is approximately 150 light-years across. ...


              https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-webb-...hereal-depths/
              A speedy subaru ...

              Revolutionary “New Lens” Into the Universe’s Most Energetic Particles

              Scientists from Osaka Metropolitan University have harnessed the Subaru Telescope to observe cosmic-ray showers with unprecedented clarity. This new method could lead to profound discoveries about the Universe, including insights into dark matter. ...

              ... When a high-energy cosmic ray collides with the Earth’s atmosphere, it generates an enormous number of particles known as an extensive air shower. ...

              BELOW: An example of a cosmic-ray extensive air shower recorded by the Subaru Telescope. The highlighted tracks, which are mostly aligned in similar directions, show the shower particles induced from a high-energy cosmic ray.

              https://scitechdaily.com/revolutiona...tic-particles/
              From vast space to smallest time ...

              Understanding Attoseconds: The Tiny Time Scale Behind Nobel Prize-Winning Research

              The 2023 Nobel Prize in physics recognized three researchers for their work with attosecond light pulses, revolutionizing the study of rapid electron movements and broadening understanding in various fields of physics and chemistry.

              “Atto” is the scientific notation prefix that represents 10-18, which is a decimal point followed by 17 zeroes and a 1. So a flash of light lasting an attosecond, or 0.000000000000000001 of a second, is an extremely short pulse of light.

              In fact, there are approximately as many attoseconds in one second as there are seconds in the age of the universe.

              https://scitechdaily.com/understandi...ning-research/
              So very slow, compared to an attosecond ...

              One-Millionth of One-Millionth of a Second – Scientists View the “Transition State” of a Photochemical Reaction in Real-Time

              Scientists used ultrafast electron diffraction to image the structure of the pericyclic minimum, the “transition state” of electrocyclic reactions.

              In chemical reactions, molecules proceed during their transformation from reactants into reaction products through a critical geometry. In chemistry, geometry refers to the arrangement of atoms in a molecule. Scientists often call critical geometry in reactions a transition state. This state has an almost incomprehensibly short lifetime of less than one-millionth of one-millionth of a second.

              BELOW: Artist’s illustration of the observed photochemical “transition state” structure (center).


              https://scitechdaily.com/one-million...-in-real-time/
              Lost plate found ...

              Surprising Tectonic Discovery: Geologist Unexpectedly Finds Remnants of a Lost Mega-Plate

              A geologist has successfully reconstructed a previously unknown tectonic plate named Pontus, once approximately one-fourth the size of the Pacific Ocean. This discovery was made through field research in various regions, including Japan, Borneo, and the Philippines.

              Some amazing medical stories ...

              It is said that this little girl will be largely fine, leading a very normal life ...

              Doctors disconnect half of SoCal 6-year-old's brain

              A 6-year-old girl with a rare neurological disease recently underwent life-saving surgery that disconnected half of her brain.



              ALSO:

              A monkey pig or a pig monkey ... a ponkey kidney ...

              Gene-edited pig kidney keeps monkey alive for 2 years, trial finds, a step toward longer-lasting human transplants

              The scientists genetically modified the pigs so their kidneys could be transferred to another species and to improve the chances that the organs wouldn’t be rejected. Even when a human donates an organ to another human, the recipient has to take drugs to suppress their immune system for the rest of their lives so their body does not reject the donor organ.

              With previous pig-to-primate donation experiments, even those involving genetically modified pigs, scientists had to use a significant number of immunosuppressant drugs, meaning the experiments would not be translatable to a human organ donation experiment, researchers said. But with this trial, the genetic modifications were effective enough that they needed only about as much medicine as a human could tolerate.

              The team transplanted pig kidneys into more than 20 monkeys, although not all of the pigs had all of the gene edits.

              None of the monkeys that got kidneys from the pigs without the seven human genes survived more than 50 days. The monkeys that got the full combination lived a lot longer: Five lived for more than a year, and one lived for more than two. Tests showed that the single donated kidney seemed to perform as well as two natural kidneys.

              About 13 people die every day while waiting for a kidney transplant because of a lack of organ donors, but some scientists think pigs could be the answer. In a new trial that researchers say is the largest of its kind, researchers transplanted kidneys from genetically modified pigs into monkeys that lived for what’s considered a record amount of time.
              Problems for AI to solve ...

              Shaking Up Predictions: Deep Learning Revolutionizes Earthquake Forecasts

              Scientists have developed a deep learning model, RECAST, to forecast earthquake aftershocks. This model demonstrates superior adaptability and scalability compared to the existing ETAS model, especially with larger seismological datasets. The model could lead to improved forecasts, even in areas with limited data, by leveraging information from multiple global regions.

              https://scitechdaily.com/shaking-up-...ake-forecasts/
              EVEscape: The AI Revolution in Forecasting Viral Variants Before They Emerge

              New AI tool called EVEscape uses evolutionary and biological information to predict how a virus could change to escape the immune system. The tool successfully predicted the most concerning new variants that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers say the tool can help inform the development of vaccines and therapies for SARS-CoV-2 and other rapidly mutating viruses.

              https://scitechdaily.com/evescape-th...e-they-emerge/
              New proteins, better batteries: Scientists are using AI to speed up discoveries

              On Thursday, the U.S. National Academies convened a two-day meeting on the potential for AI to change science. "AI scientists can really be more systematic, more comprehensive and not make errors," says Yolanda Gil, director of AI and data science initiatives at the Information Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California, who is attending the event.

              Rather than using AI to do all science, she envisions a future in which AI systems plan and execute experiments, in collaboration with their human counterparts. In a world facing increasingly complex technical challenges, "there's not enough humans to do all this work," she says.

              https://www.npr.org/sections/health-...ns-drugs-solar
              AI-Powered Lasers: A Modern Solution to Space Debris

              Hang Woon Lee, director of the Space Systems Operations Research Laboratory at WVU, said a junkyard of human-made debris, including defunct satellites, is accumulating around Earth. The more debris in orbit, the higher the risk that some of that debris will collide with manned and unmanned space assets. He said he believes the best chance for preventing those collisions is an array of multiple lasers mounted to platforms in space. The artificial intelligence-powered lasers could maneuver and work together to respond rapidly to debris of any size.


              https://scitechdaily.com/ai-powered-...-space-debris/
              Some AI problems ...

              Jevons’ Paradox: AI Could Use As Much Electricity As Entire Countries

              Generative AI models, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, consume large amounts of energy during training and operational use. While global efforts are underway to improve AI’s energy efficiency, the increased efficiency might inadvertently boost demand due to Jevons’ Paradox. Given current projections, AI’s electricity consumption could rival that of entire nations by 2027. The researchers stress the importance of mindful AI application due to its energy-intensive nature. ...

              https://scitechdaily.com/jevons-para...ire-countries/
              Some AI problems solved ...

              AI Game-Changer: Nanoelectronic Devices Uses 100x Less Energy

              Northwestern University’s new nanoelectronic device offers energy-efficient, real-time AI tasks without relying on the cloud. Ideal for wearables, it processes data instantly and diagnosed heart conditions with 95% accuracy in tests. This innovation promises faster, efficient, and private health monitoring.

              ... With its tiny footprint, ultra-low power consumption, and lack of lag time to receive analyses, the device is ideal for direct incorporation into wearable electronics (like smartwatches and fitness trackers) for real-time data processing and near-instant diagnostics.

              “Today, most sensors collect data and then send it to the cloud, where the analysis occurs on energy-hungry servers before the results are finally sent back to the user,” said Northwestern’s Mark C. Hersam, the study’s senior author. “This approach is incredibly expensive, consumes significant energy and adds a time delay. Our device is so energy efficient that it can be deployed directly in wearable electronics for real-time detection and data processing, enabling more rapid intervention for health emergencies.”

              https://scitechdaily.com/ai-game-cha...x-less-energy/
              Empathizing with empathetic AI ...

              AI Empathy: Is It Technology or Just Our Perceptions?

              Study shows users can be primed to believe certain things about an AI chatbot’s motives, which influences their interactions with the chatbot. ... Researchers from MIT and Arizona State University found that priming users — by telling them that a conversational AI agent for mental health support was either empathetic, neutral, or manipulative — influenced their perception of the chatbot and shaped how they communicated with it, even though they were speaking to the exact same chatbot. ... Most users who were told the AI agent was caring believed that it was, and they also gave it higher performance ratings than those who believed it was manipulative. At the same time, less than half of the users who were told the agent had manipulative motives thought the chatbot was actually malicious, indicating that people may try to “see the good” in AI the same way they do in their fellow humans.


              crAIvings ...

              Emotional Bytes: Can AI Crave a Favorite Food?

              Penn State researchers are developing an electronic tongue that simulates the human process of gustation, which could influence AI to make decisions more like humans. This innovation is part of an effort to incorporate the emotional intelligence aspect, often overlooked in AI research. This electronic gustatory system can currently detect all five primary tastes and has numerous potential applications, from AI-driven diets to personalized restaurant offerings. ... Electronic tongue’ holds promise as possible first step to artificial emotional intelligence.

              https://scitechdaily.com/emotional-b...favorite-food/
              AI has feelings ... but trees don't ...

              Scientists Debunk the Myth: Do Trees Really Have Feelings?

              Researchers scrutinized claims made in two popular books about trees having human-like traits and emotions. Published in Trends in Plant Science, their findings challenge many of these claims as unscientific. They caution against anthropomorphizing plants and highlight issues like the flawed “mother tree concept” and the dangers of making decisions based on appealing but inaccurate narratives, especially in the context of climate change adaptation.

              ... The researchers report that in those works, trees are attributed with human characteristics and behaviors, including the ability to feel pain and pleasure, to communicate with one another, and to act altruistically. ...

              ... Finally, the authors point out the fatal consequences such claims could have for the adaptation of forests to climate change if political decisions are “based on pleasant-sounding but false messages” rather than scientific fact, adds Robinson. ...



              https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-...have-feelings/
              I don't know how practical this really is, but I want one!

              See Japanese 'ARCHAX' robot with $3 million price tag

              I want one of these too ...

              The blimp is back – and this time, it’s tiny

              South African startup Cloudline has received millions of dollars in investment for its mini blimps. Just over 18 meters (60 feet) long and with a miniscule net weight of two to three kilograms (around four to seven pounds), the company is pitching them as an alternative to helicopters and other vertical take-off and landing aircraft, and with payload capacities outstripping those of drones.

              Cloudline has already received approval from local authorities to begin flying its airships in South Africa and is in talks with partners in Namibia, Mozambique and Kenya to begin operations, says CEO Spencer Horne.

              The helium-filled blimps are fitted with solar panels and backup batteries to power their engines, have a flight time of up to 12 hours and a range of up to 400 kilometers (249 miles), flying at a height up to 1,220 meters (4,000 feet) above take-off level.

              Flight is fully autonomous, with each blimp following predetermined waypoints. In the event an airship encounters an abnormality, it will reroute to a predetermined point and wait for instruction from a human, who has access to its telemetry data.

              Startup Cloudline is dreaming small with a fleet of mini autonomous airships. Could the idea take off?


              Genetics surprises ...

              Divergent DNA: The Accidental Discovery That’s Shaking Genetics

              Researchers found an unexpected genetic variation in a new protist species, challenging established understanding of DNA-to-protein translation and emphasizing the mysteries that nature still holds. ...

              https://scitechdaily.com/divergent-d...king-genetics/
              Why fix what ain't broken?

              Darwin’s Dilemma: “Paradox of Stasis” Lizard Study Challenges the Rules of Evolutionary Biology

              By lassoing lizards, putting tiny chips on their legs, and tracking them for three years, Georgia Tech’s James Stroud revealed why species often appear unchanged for millions of years despite Charles Darwin’s theory of constant evolution. ...

              To his surprise, Stroud found that the stabilizing form of natural selection — that which maintains a species’ same, average features — was extremely rare. In fact, natural selection varied massively through time. Some years, lizards with longer legs would survive better, and other years, lizards with shorter legs fared better. For other times, there was no clear pattern at all. “The most fascinating result is that natural selection was extremely variable through time,” Stroud said. “We often saw that selection would completely flip in direction from one year to the next. When combined into a long-term pattern, however, all this variation effectively canceled itself out: Species remained remarkably similar across the entire time period.”

              https://scitechdaily.com/darwins-dil...onary-biology/
              People even lost their shoes back then ...

              'Prehistoric footwear' was discovered in Spanish cave by miners, scientists reveal in new study
              Some 20 pairs of sandals are said to be at least 6,200 years old


              What may have been the oldest pair of shoes in Europe were discovered in a cave in Spain and are now thought to be much older than scientists previously thought.

              About 20 pairs of the sandals are at least 6,200 years old — and possibly older — while other woven objects in the cave are dated back 9,500 years, according to a new study by scientists. The shoes measured around 20.5cm — or a little over 8 inches.

              The news emerged after scientists used carbon-dating on 76 objects from the Cueva de los Murciélagos, Albuñol, near Granada, that had been dug out by miners in the 19th century.


              https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/pr...entists-reveal
              Mr. Musk could fall on your head ...

              SpaceX fires back at FAA report suggesting its Starlink internet constellation could be deadly

              The 35-page analysis, compiled in part by the nonprofit research group The Aerospace Corporation, offers a dire picture of the potential dangers associated with large networks of satellites such as Starlink, suggesting that by 2035, “if the expected large constellation growth is realized and debris from Starlink satellites survive reentry … one person on the planet would be expected to be injured or killed every two years.”

              It also estimates that the probability of an aircraft being downed by a collision with falling space debris could be 0.0007 per year by 2035.



              https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/10/world/...scn/index.html
              Gassho, J

              satLAH
              ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

              Comment

              • Jundo
                Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                • Apr 2006
                • 40317

                Slower than the post office ... but fast as light ...

                8 billion-year-old radio signal reaches Earth


                Astronomers have detected a mysterious blast of radio waves that have taken 8 billion years to reach Earth. The fast radio burst is one of the most distant and energetic ever observed. ... The burst, named FRB 20220610A, lasted less than a millisecond, but in that fraction of a moment, it released the equivalent of our sun’s energetic emissions over the course of 30 years, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.

                ... “Using ASKAP’s array of (radio) dishes, we were able to determine precisely where the burst came from,” ... The research team traced the burst to what appears to be a group of two or three galaxies that are in the process of merging, interacting and forming new stars. ...

                https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/19/world/...scn/index.html
                Funny, you don't look very neanderthal ...

                Why do some groups of people today have more Neanderthal DNA than others? A new study offers answers

                Most humans alive today can trace a very small percentage of their DNA to Neanderthals — a result of prehistoric sexual encounters between our ancestors and the now-extinct Stone Age hominins before the latter disappeared around 40,000 years ago.

                However, Neanderthal DNA is slightly more abundant in the genomes of East Asian populations.

                This discrepancy has long perplexed scientists because Neanderthal remains have been found extensively across Europe and the Middle East but not further east of the Altai Mountains in Central Asia. “So what’s puzzling is that an area where we’ve never found any Neanderthal remains, there’s more Neanderthal DNA,” said study coauthor Mathias Currat, a senior lecturer of genetics and evolution at the University of Geneva.

                On average, Neanderthal DNA accounts for about 2% of the genetic makeup of people in Eurasia, while in East Asia the proportion can be as high as 4%, Currat said.

                Currat and his colleagues at the University of Geneva came up with an explanation for this inconsistency by analyzing the distribution of the DNA inherited from Neanderthals in the genomes of humans over the past 40,000 years. The researchers found that, over time, the distribution of Neanderthal DNA didn’t always look as it does now. ... The study team thereby concluded that the current pattern of a higher percentage of Neanderthal ancestry in Asian populations compared with those in Europe must have developed at a later stage, mostly likely during the Neolithic transition when farming began to replace hunting and gathering as a way of life some 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. At this point in time, the first farmers from Anatolia, in what’s now western Turkey and the Aegean, began to mix with the existing hunter-gatherers in Western and Northern Europe. This resulted in a lower proportion of Neanderthal DNA observed in European genomes during this period.

                “The thing was that they had less Neanderthal ancestry so they diluted the (Neanderthal ancestry) in European populations,” Currat said.

                https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/18/world/...scn/index.html
                But they were smarter than one might think ...

                20-Year Study Reveals: Neanderthals Were As Intelligent as Homo sapiens

                Neanderthals knew how to control fire and used it to cook food. Researchers have learned about their habits and diet from the traces found near hearths. Angelucci: “More than different species, I would speak of different human forms.” ... Neanderthals were capable of symbolic thought, could create artistic objects, knew how to decorate their bodies using personal ornaments, and had an extremely varied diet. Add to that that, based on our findings, we can say with certainty that they habitually ate cooked food. This ability confirms that they were as skilled as the sapiens who lived millennia later.” ... The oldest layers of the Gruta de Oliveira, which includes a number of passages, date back to about 120,000 years ago, the most recent to about 40,000: it is believed that Neanderthals inhabited this place between 100,000 and 70,000 years ago. ...

                https://scitechdaily.com/20-year-stu...-homo-sapiens/
                Neanderthals couldn't do this with their brains ...

                Decoding the Human Brain: Detailed Cell Maps Pave Way for Next-Gen Therapies

                Researchers have mapped the genetic and cellular makeup of human and nonhuman primate brains, providing deeper insights into brain functions and potential treatments for disorders.

                https://scitechdaily.com/decoding-th...gen-therapies/
                Decoding Humanity: The 3,000+ Brain Cell Types Revealing Our Secrets

                Researchers, through a massive collaboration supported by the BRAIN Initiative, unveil detailed studies on human and primate brain cellular structures, identifying over 3,000 distinct brain cells and contributing to the expansive Human Cell Atlas project.
                Scientists built the largest-ever map of the human brain. Here's what they found

                https://www.npr.org/sections/health-...-schizophrenia

                Decoding Complexity: MIT’s Insight Into Individual Neurons and Behavior

                MIT researchers studied a single neuron in the C. elegans worm, discovering its role in regulating multiple behaviors. This neuron utilizes various neurotransmitters and can “borrow” serotonin, potentially providing insights into psychiatric treatments in more complex organisms. ... “Our results reveal how a single neuron can influence a broad suite of behaviors over multiple timescales and show that neurons can ‘borrow’ serotonin from one another to control behavior,” the researchers report in Current Biology. ...

                https://scitechdaily.com/decoding-co...-and-behavior/
                Gassho, J

                stlah
                ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                Comment

                • Doshin
                  Member
                  • May 2015
                  • 2641

                  I have always been proud of my 3% Neanderthal lineage, I am also proud of my Devonian ancestors (though I don’t know much about them). This reveal may explain things about me to my Sangha family

                  Doshin
                  Stlah

                  Comment

                  • Jundo
                    Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                    • Apr 2006
                    • 40317

                    Originally posted by Doshin
                    I have always been proud of my 3% Neanderthal lineage ...
                    I would have guessed something closer to 30%, but okay.

                    Gassho, J

                    stlah
                    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                    Comment

                    • Jundo
                      Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                      • Apr 2006
                      • 40317

                      A few more science stories from this week (I feel asleep posting em last night) ...

                      AI need never fall asleep ...

                      From AI Black Boxes to Physics: The New Frontier of Protein Folding Prediction

                      The University of Tokyo’s new protein folding model, WSME-L, offers enhanced predictions over traditional models. This breakthrough can impact medical research, including studying Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and help in designing functional proteins for medical and industrial uses. ... Proteins are important molecules that perform a variety of functions essential to life. To function properly, many proteins must fold into specific structures. However, the way proteins fold into specific structures is still largely unknown. ... By knowing more about this folding process, researchers can better understand more about the processes that constitute life itself. Such knowledge is also essential to medicine, not only for the development of new treatments and industrial processes to produce medicines, but also for knowledge of how certain diseases work, as some are examples of protein folding gone wrong. So, to say proteins are important is putting it mildly. Proteins are the stuff of life.

                      https://scitechdaily.com/from-ai-bla...ng-prediction/
                      Japan police to stamp out online criminal activity with help of AI

                      Japanese police said Thursday they will introduce artificial intelligence technology to identify social media posts in which people are recruited to commit crimes like robbery and fraud.

                      Starting Friday, the National Police Agency will use AI to look for posts promising large payments for "yami baito," an expression implying shadowy illegal work, coupled with wordings that solicit people to conduct other more specific criminal acts such as transporting or receiving money obtained via fraudulent means. ... Using natural language processing technology, the AI will not only look for specific keywords but also identify posts suspected to contain harmful information based on context, the agency said.

                      For the time being, X, formerly called Twitter, and introduction posts and comments on YouTube videos will be targeted for enhanced surveillance, it said.

                      The center will report the data it collects to another outside organization, the Internet Hotline Center, which can request website operators and internet service providers delete posts it determines to be illegal or harmful.


                      MIT’s New Generative AI Outperforms Diffusion Models in Image Generation

                      ... Since its inception, the “Poisson Flow Generative Model ++” (PFGM++) has found potential applications in various fields, from antibody and RNA sequence generation to audio production and graph generation. The model can generate complex patterns, like creating realistic images or mimicking real-world processes. PFGM++ builds off of PFGM, the team’s work from the prior year. PFGM takes inspiration from the means behind the mathematical equation known as the “Poisson” equation, and then applies it to the data the model tries to learn from. To do this, the team used a clever trick: They added an extra dimension to their model’s “space,” kind of like going from a 2D sketch to a 3D model. This extra dimension gives more room for maneuvering, places the data in a larger context, and helps one approach the data from all directions when generating new samples. ...

                      https://scitechdaily.com/mits-new-ge...ge-generation/
                      Nature Meets Tech: How Ecological Principles Could Reinvent AI

                      Researchers propose a synergy between AI and ecology, believing that ecology can inspire more resilient AI and that AI can address global ecological challenges. ...

                      Contemporary artificial intelligence platforms often draw inspiration from the human brain’s structure and functionality. In a recent study, experts propose that looking towards ecology, another realm of biology, could pave the way for AI systems that are powerful, resilient, and socially responsible. ... “Compared to other statistical models, AI can incorporate greater amounts of data and a diversity of data sources, and that might help us discover new interactions and drivers that we may not have thought were important,” said LaDeau. “There is a lot of promise for developing AI to better capture more types of data, like the socio-cultural insights that are really hard to boil down to a number.” ...

                      Artificial intelligence systems are notoriously fragile, with potentially devastating consequences, such as misdiagnosing cancer or causing a car crash. The incredible resilience of ecological systems could inspire more robust and adaptable AI architectures, the authors argue. In particular, Varshney said that ecological knowledge could help to solve the problem of mode collapse in artificial neural networks, the AI systems that often power speech recognition, computer vision, and more.

                      “Mode collapse is when you’re training an artificial neural network on something, and then you train it on something else and it forgets the first thing that it was trained on,” he explained. “By better understanding why mode collapse does or doesn’t happen in natural systems, we may learn how to make it not happen in AI.”

                      Inspired by ecological systems, a more robust AI might include feedback loops, redundant pathways, and decision-making frameworks. These flexibility upgrades could also contribute to a more ‘general intelligence’ for AIs that could enable reasoning and connection-making beyond the specific data that the algorithm was trained on. ...

                      https://scitechdaily.com/nature-meet...d-reinvent-ai/
                      And AI may take a leap ...

                      Light Speed Ahead: 3D Photonic-Electronic Hardware Revolutionizes AI

                      Researchers have developed an integrated photonic-electronic hardware capable of processing 3D data. This innovation significantly improves data processing parallelism for AI tasks.
                      • A breakthrough development in photonic-electronic hardware could significantly boost processing power for AI and machine learning applications.
                      • The approach uses multiple radio frequencies to encode data, enabling multiple calculations to be carried out in parallel.
                      • The method shows promise for outperforming state-of-the-art electronic processors, with further enhancements possible.
                      2D to 3D ...

                      Hologram Breakthrough – New Technology Transforms Ordinary 2D Images

                      Researchers have developed a novel deep-learning method that simplifies the creation of holograms, allowing 3D images to be generated directly from 2D photos captured with standard cameras. This technique, involving a sequence of three deep neural networks, not only streamlines the hologram generation process but also outperforms current high-end graphics processing units in speed. It doesn’t require expensive equipment like RGB-D cameras after the training phase, making it cost-effective. With potential applications in high-fidelity 3D displays and in-vehicle holographic systems, this innovation marks a significant advancement in holographic technology.
                      In other news, not about AI ... although I bet AI is involved somehow ...

                      Teleportation ... not quite ready for Star Trek though ...

                      Quantum Breakthrough: Record-Breaking Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over Metropolitan Range

                      Quantum teleportation enables the transfer of quantum information to distant locations through the use of quantum entanglement and classical communication. This concept has been realized in various quantum light systems, ranging from laboratory-based experiments to practical real-world tests. Notably, by utilizing the low-Earth orbit Micius satellite, scientists have successfully teleported quantum information over distances exceeding 1200 km. However, there hasn’t been a quantum teleportation system yet whose rate can reach the order of Hertz. This hinders future applications of the quantum internet. ...

                      [Now] In a paper published in Light Science & Application, a team of scientists, led by Prof. Guangcan Guo and Prof. Qiang Zhou from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) cooperating with Prof. Lixing You from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have improved the teleportation rate to 7.1 qubits per second for the first time based on the “No. 1 Metropolitan Quantum Internet of UESTC”.

                      https://scitechdaily.com/quantum-bre...politan-range/
                      I thought that we fixed the ozone hole when we gave up on hairspray ...

                      Ozone Hole Swells to 10 Million Square Miles – One of the Biggest on Record

                      Measurements from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite show that this year’s ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the biggest on record. The hole, which is what scientists call an ‘ozone depleting area,’ reached a size of 26 million sq km (10 million sq miles) on September 16, 2023. This is roughly three times the size of Brazil. ... The size of the ozone hole fluctuates on a regular basis. From August to October, the ozone hole increases in size – reaching a maximum between mid-September and mid-October. When temperatures high up in the stratosphere start to rise in the southern hemisphere, the ozone depletion slows, the polar vortex weakens and finally breaks down, and by the end of December, ozone levels return to normal. ...

                      BELOW: animation uses Sentinel-5P total ozone measurements and shows the evolution of the ozone hole over the South Pole from September 1 to September 29, 2023.


                      https://scitechdaily.com/ozone-hole-...est-on-record/
                      This is one of the few stories this week that I can get a grip on ...

                      Revolutionizing Prosthetics – Scientists Develop Bionic Hand That Merges With User’s Nervous and Skeletal Systems

                      A woman who lost her arm in a farming accident and experienced phantom limb pain, received a groundbreaking bionic prosthesis that integrates with her skeleton and nervous system, significantly improving her quality of life. ... In addition to her intractable pain, she found that conventional prostheses were uncomfortable and unreliable, and thus of little help in daily life. All this changed when she received groundbreaking bionic technology that allowed her to wear a much more functional prosthesis comfortably all day. The higher integration of between the bionic and Karin’s residual limb also relieved her pain. ...

                      ... human-machine interface that allows for the prosthesis to be comfortably attached to the user’s skeleton via osseointegration, while also enabling electrical connection with the nervous system via electrodes implanted in nerves and muscles. ... The robotic hand developed by Prensilia, namely Mia Hand, featured unique motor and sensory components that allowed the user to carry out 80% of the activities of daily living ...


                      https://scitechdaily.com/revolutioni...letal-systems/
                      He's rich, and wants to live forever ... but it might be more fun to use the money other ways??

                      Tech billionaire on journey to immortality says there is a ‘low probability’ humans will survive without AI

                      Johnson's health regimen includes a strict bedtime, collecting stool samples and a device to monitor erections


                      ... Bryan Johnson, a 46-year-old tech entrepreneur, spends millions yearly on a team of experts monitoring his health and conducting experiments. The goal: Get his organs to look and act like that of an 18-year-old.

                      Some of his regiments include a strict bedtime of 8:30 p.m., taking 111 pills daily, collecting his stool samples, and having a small device attached to his penis to monitor nighttime erections. ... Johnson admits that achieving his health goals requires a lot of nuance and detail. However, most of these measures can be boiled down to a few small achievable mantras: Going to bed on time, exercising every day and avoiding things that cause harm.

                      "I joke in that I am a rights activist where I liberated my organs from the tyranny in my mind," Johnson said with a grin. "I can say that with tongue in cheek. It's kind of funny, but you think about it, and it's like, for entire life, my mind got exactly what it wanted, and my heart never did, nor did my lungs and nor did my kidney." ...

                      Jundo: He does look good. Here he is (can you tell which is him, which his son)?


                      Tech mogul Bryan Johnson, who is on a quest to reverse aging, said he does not believe humans will survive without the help of artificial intelligence.

                      (to be continued ) ...
                      ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                      Comment

                      • Jundo
                        Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                        • Apr 2006
                        • 40317

                        Are we living in a simulation? Is Elon Musk a simulation?

                        Is Our Reality a Computer Simulation? A New Law of Physics Could Prove Elon Musk Is Right

                        ... A University of Portsmouth physicist has explored whether a new law of physics could support the much-debated theory that we are simply characters in an advanced virtual world.

                        The simulated universe hypothesis proposes that what humans experience is actually an artificial reality, much like a computer simulation, in which they themselves are constructs.

                        The theory is popular among a number of well-known figures including Elon Musk, and within a branch of science known as information physics, which suggests physical reality is fundamentally made up of bits of information. ...

                        ... In 2022, he discovered a new law of physics that could predict genetic mutations in organisms, including viruses, and help judge their potential consequences.

                        It is based on the second law of thermodynamics, which establishes that entropy – a measure of disorder in an isolated system – can only increase or stay the same.

                        Dr. Vopson had expected that the entropy in information systems would also increase over time, but on examining the evolution of these systems he realized it remains constant or decreases. That’s when he established the second law of information dynamics, or infodynamics, which could significantly impact genetics research and evolution theory. ... A new paper, published on October 6 in AIP Advances, examines the scientific implications of the new law on a number of other physical systems and environments, including biological, atomic physics, and cosmology. ... Key findings include:

                        Biological
                        • Systems: The second law of infodynamics challenges the conventional understanding of genetic mutations, suggesting that they follow a pattern governed by information entropy. This discovery has profound implications for fields such as genetic research, evolutionary biology, genetic therapies, pharmacology, virology, and pandemic monitoring.
                        • Atomic Physics: The paper explains the behavior of electrons in multi-electron atoms, providing insights into phenomena like Hund’s rule; which states that the term with maximum multiplicity lies lowest in energy. Electrons arrange themselves in a way that minimizes their information entropy, shedding light on atomic physics and stability of chemicals.
                        • Cosmology: The second law of infodynamics is shown to be a cosmological necessity, with thermodynamic considerations applied to an adiabatically expanding universe supporting its validity.


                        “The paper also provides an explanation for the prevalence of symmetry in the universe,” explained Dr. Vopson.

                        “Symmetry principles play an important role with respect to the laws of nature, but until now there has been little explanation as to why that could be. My findings demonstrate that high symmetry corresponds to the lowest information entropy state, potentially explaining nature’s inclination towards it. ...

                        ... Dr. Vopson’s previous research suggests that information is the fundamental building block of the universe and has physical mass. He even claims that information could be the elusive dark matter that makes up almost a third of the universe, which he calls the mass-energy-information equivalence principle. ...



                        HIS PAPER: https://pubs.aip.org/aip/adv/article...namics-and-its
                        Gassho, Jundo

                        stLAH
                        ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                        Comment

                        • Jundo
                          Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                          • Apr 2006
                          • 40317

                          Can you spot where you are on the map?

                          From Big Bang to Big Picture: A Comprehensive New View of All Objects in the Universe

                          Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have developed the most comprehensive view of the universe’s history. The study highlights the transformation of the universe from its inception 13.8 billion years ago to its current state, filled with objects like protons, atoms, and galaxies.

                          [They suggest that] it may have originated from an “instanton” rather than a singularity. This revelation, visualized through two innovative plots, also delves into the mysteries of the universe’s boundaries. ...

                          ... To show this process in the simplest possible way, the researchers made two plots. The first shows the temperature and density of the universe as it expanded and cooled. The second plots the mass and size of all objects in the universe.

                          The result is the most comprehensive chart ever created of all the objects in the universe. ... “Parts of this plot are ‘forbidden’ – where objects cannot be denser than black holes, or are so small, quantum mechanics blurs the very nature of what it really means to be a singular object.” Mr. Patel said. ... The researchers also emphasize that the plot boundaries and what potentially lies beyond them remain a major mystery.

                          “At the smaller end, the place where quantum mechanics and general relativity meet is the smallest possible object – an instanton. This plot suggests the universe may have started as an instanton, which has a specific size and mass, rather than a singularity, which is a hypothetical point of infinite density and temperature,” Mr. Patel said.

                          “On the larger end, the plot suggests that if there were nothing – a complete vacuum – beyond the observable universe, our universe would be a large, low density black hole. This is a little scary, but we have good reason to believe that’s not the case.”



                          A oceanic exoplanet discovery, long anticipated ... hydrogen carbon and methane (but no ammonia), possible signs of an ocean ... and maybe signs of life ...

                          'Huge deal': Lead scientist explains new exoplanet discovery

                          A planet 120 light-years away from Earth appears to have chemicals that could indicate the presence of life. Lead author professor Nikku Madhusudhan from the University of Cambridge joins CNN to explain the study.

                          A planet 120 light-years away from Earth appears to have chemicals that could indicate the presence of life. Lead author professor Nikku Madhusudhan from the University of Cambridge joins CNN to explain the study.


                          and

                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onyd39z0P4U
                          This is heavy, man ...

                          Cosmic Collision: Life-Essential Elements Forged in Massive Space Explosion

                          In one of the most luminous gamma-ray bursts observed, scientists detected the creation of rare chemical elements following a neutron star merger named GRB 230307A. Using various telescopes, including NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, researchers identified the presence of heavy chemical elements, such as tellurium. This discovery offers insights into the synthesis of heavy elements essential for life and challenges previous assumptions about gamma-ray bursts’ durations. Future research will focus on understanding these mergers more deeply and their elemental implications for the universe.



                          The explosion, observed on March 7, was the second brightest gamma-ray burst ever witnessed by telescopes in more than 50 years of observations, over one million times brighter than the entire Milky Way Galaxy combined. ... This particular burst, called GRB 230307A, was likely created when two neutron stars — the incredibly dense remnants of stars after a supernova — merged in a galaxy about one billion light-years away. In addition to releasing the gamma-ray burst, the merger created a kilonova, a rare explosion that occurs when a neutron star merges with another neutron star or a black hole, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

                          ... Astronomers have long believed that neutron star mergers are the celestial factories that create rare elements heavier than iron. But it’s been difficult to track down the evidence. ...

                          Multiple telescopes observed a rare cosmic explosion called a kilonova that created heavy elements in space, including some necessary for life.

                          Billions of Years Burst ...

                          Galactic Flashbacks: 8 Billion-Year-Old Radio Burst Unlocks Universal Secrets

                          Astronomers have identified the oldest and most distant fast radio burst (FRB) yet, about eight billion years old, supporting theories on FRBs and their ability to reveal “missing” matter between galaxies. This discovery promises more insights into the Universe’s structure with future telescopic advancements. ... The source of the burst was shown to be a group of two or three galaxies that are merging, supporting current theories on the cause of fast radio bursts. ...

                          https://scitechdaily.com/galactic-fl...ersal-secrets/
                          The moon is no kid ...

                          Lunar dust collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in the 1970s has revealed that the moon is 40 million years older than previously believed.

                          ... A new analysis of that sample detected zircon crystals and dated them to 4.46 billion years old. Previous estimates put the moon, formed by a massive celestial collision, at 4.425 billion years old. ...

                          https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/23/world/...scn/index.html
                          Earth is leaking ...

                          Earth’s core is leaking, scientists say

                          Scientists have detected a surprising amount of a rare version of helium, called helium-3, in volcanic rocks on Canada’s Baffin Island, lending support to the theory that the noble gas is leaking from Earth’s core — and has been for millennia. ... Helium leaking from Earth’s core doesn’t affect our planet or have any negative implications, he said. The noble gas does not chemically react with matter, so it won’t have an impact on humanity or the environment.

                          https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/27/world/...scn/index.html
                          A better map of the brain too ... Can you spot where you are on the map?

                          First Single-Cell “Atlas” of the Human Brain Reveals Inner Workings an Unprecedented Level

                          A global collaboration has created the world’s most comprehensive primate brain atlas with 4.2 million cells, unveiling region-specific functionalities and associations with neurological diseases, paving the way for future brain research and disease interventions. ... A longstanding mystery in science is how the over 100 million individual neurons work together to form a network that forms the basis of who we are – every human thought, emotion, and behavior. ...

                          ... From the gene expression profiles, they were able to identify hundreds of molecularly distinct brain cell types. They also found that cell composition differed extensively across the brain, revealing cellular signatures of region-specific functions, from the neurotransmitters involved in brain cell communication to support cells that help feed and protect the brain from diseases like Alzheimer’s. ...

                          https://scitechdaily.com/first-singl...edented-level/
                          CRISPR gets crispier too ...

                          Redefining Gene Therapy: CRISPR’s Innovative “Find-and-Replace” Genome Editing

                          Genome editing, specifically the CRISPR-Cas9 method, offers a revolutionary solution to Severe Combined Immunodeficiencies (SCIDs) and other genetic disorders. Bar-Ilan University researchers have enhanced this approach with their GE x HDR 2.0 strategy, aiming for precise gene replacement. ... “This groundbreaking technique, which involves replacing entire coding sequences or exons while retaining critical regulatory elements, brings hope to patients with RAG2-SCID and holds promise for the treatment of various other genetic disorders.” ...https://scitechdaily.com/redefining-...enome-editing/
                          A modern model ...

                          Breakthroughs in race to create lab models of human embryos raise hopes and concerns

                          ... The embryo-like structures are essentially clumps of cells grown in a lab, which are smaller than a grain of rice and represent the very earliest stages of human development, before any organs have formed. They don’t have a beating heart or a brain.

                          The most advanced models, revealed in September by an Israeli team that Hanna was part of, show all the cell types that are essential for an embryo’s development — the placenta, yolk sac, chorionic sac (outer membrane) and other tissues that an embryo needs to develop.

                          The structures were left to develop for eight days — reaching a developmental stage equivalent to day 14 of a human embryo in the womb — an important moment when natural embryos acquire the internal structures that enable them to proceed to the next stage: developing the progenitors of body organs.

                          Hanna said they were the most accurate models developed so far and, unlike those created by other teams, no genetic modification had been made to turn on the genes necessary to generate the different types of cells, only chemical nudges.

                          “It’s not only you put the cells together, and they’re there,” he said. “But you see the architecture, you start also seeing very fine details,” Hanna said. ...

                          https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/26/health...scn/index.html
                          Did I freely choose to make this post, do you freely choose to read it?

                          Does Free Will Exist? New Study Challenges Classic Libet Experiments

                          The results of Libet’s experiments have generated a lot of controversy about free will, and some neurophysiologists have even concluded that it does not exist. Moreover, Libet’s experiment has been repeated using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and it turns out that the decision of the subject can be predicted even 6-10 seconds before their conscious awareness of it. ... [But] Neuroscientists from HSE University have questioned the conclusions of famous studies ... Libet’s experiments in the 1970s and 1980s used EEG to show that brain activity indicating a decision occurred before individuals were consciously aware of their intention to act. The HSE team’s recent research suggests flaws in Libet’s measurement of intention awareness and asserts that the readiness potential doesn’t directly correlate with the decision itself. ...

                          https://scitechdaily.com/does-free-w...t-experiments/
                          For really tiny hands ...

                          Revolution in Nanotech: A Motor That’s 1/10,000th of a Millimeter

                          An international team of scientists headed by the University of Bonn has developed a novel type of nanomotor. It is driven by a clever mechanism and can perform pulsing movements. The researchers are now planning to fit it with a coupling and install it as a drive in complex machines. ... This novel type of motor is similar to a hand grip trainer that strengthens your grip when used regularly. However, the motor is around one million times smaller. Two handles are connected by a spring in a V-shaped structure.



                          Of course, AI keeps getting smarter ...

                          The Future of Machine Learning: A New Breakthrough Technique

                          Researchers have developed a technique called Meta-learning for Compositionality (MLC) that enhances the ability of artificial intelligence systems to make “compositional generalizations.” This ability, which allows humans to relate and combine concepts, has been a debated topic in the AI field for decades. Through a unique learning procedure, MLC showed performance comparable to, and at times surpassing, human capabilities in experiments. This breakthrough suggests that traditional neural networks can indeed be trained to mimic human-like systematic generalization.

                          https://scitechdaily.com/the-future-...ugh-technique/
                          Ancient faces ... modern problems ...

                          Ancient face carvings exposed as Amazon water level drops to record lows

                          Human faces sculpted into stone up to 2,000 years ago have appeared on a rocky outcropping along the Amazon River since water levels dropped to record lows in the region’s worst drought in more than a century.


                          Human faces sculpted into stone up to 2,000 years ago have appeared on a rocky outcropping along the Amazon River since water levels dropped to record lows in the region’s worst drought in more than a century.

                          A big advance here in my home ... Ibaraki, Japan ...

                          World's largest nuclear fusion experimental device successfully generates plasma for the first time

                          The National Institute for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, a national research and development agency, is using the world's largest nuclear fusion experimental device located in Naka City, Ibaraki Prefecture to create, for the first time, the state called "plasma" required to cause a nuclear fusion reaction. announced that it was successful.
                          Full-scale experiments will begin toward the realization of a technology that is expected to become a next-generation energy source.
                          https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/mito/20...070022595.html
                          Has a missing law of evolution been found??

                          A new “law of increasing functional information” reveals that complex natural systems, beyond just life on Earth, evolve towards higher complexity. This discovery expands traditional evolutionary theory, offering insights from cosmology to astrobiology.

                          ... In essence, the new law states that complex natural systems evolve to states of greater patterning, diversity, and complexity. In other words, evolution is not limited to life on Earth, it also occurs in other massively complex systems, from planets and stars to atoms, minerals, and more. ...

                          ... In the case of stars, the paper notes that just two major elements – hydrogen and helium – formed the first stars shortly after the big bang. Those earliest stars used hydrogen and helium to make about 20 heavier chemical elements. And the next generation of stars built on that diversity to produce almost 100 more elements.

                          “Charles Darwin eloquently articulated the way plants and animals evolve by natural selection, with many variations and traits of individuals and many different configurations,” says co-author Robert M. Hazen of Carnegie Science, a leader of the research.

                          “We contend that Darwinian theory is just a very special, very important case within a far larger natural phenomenon. The notion that selection for function drives evolution applies equally to stars, atoms, minerals, and many other conceptually equivalent situations where many configurations are subjected to selective pressure.” ...

                          https://scitechdaily.com/beyond-biol...-of-evolution/
                          In any case, it may all be a simulated universe (I think such beliefs not incompatible with Buddhism, by the way) ...

                          Redefining the Fabric of Reality: The Growing Evidence for a Simulated Universe

                          The simulated universe theory proposes that our reality is a complex computer simulation, an idea echoed throughout history and popular culture. The second law of infodynamics, a concept introduced using information theory, suggests that information entropy must decrease or remain constant over time. This new law might provide evidence for the simulated universe theory, as it implies universal data optimization and compression, which are characteristics of a simulation. ... The simulated universe theory proposes that our reality is a complex computer simulation, an idea echoed throughout history and popular culture. The second law of infodynamics, a concept introduced using information theory, suggests that information entropy must decrease or remain constant over time. This new law might provide evidence for the simulated universe theory, as it implies universal data optimization and compression, which are characteristics of a simulation. ...

                          ... it also indicates that genetic mutations are at the most fundamental level not just random events, as Darwin’s theory suggests. Instead, genetic mutations take place according to the second law of infodynamics, in such a way that the genome’s information entropy is always minimised. ...

                          ... A super complex universe like ours, if it were a simulation, would require built-in data optimization and compression in order to reduce the computational power and the data storage requirements to run the simulation. This is exactly what we are observing all around us, including in digital data, biological systems, mathematical symmetries and the entire universe. ...

                          Gassho, J

                          stlah
                          Last edited by Jundo; 10-28-2023, 08:00 AM.
                          ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                          Comment

                          • Jundo
                            Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                            • Apr 2006
                            • 40317

                            Rethinking reality ...

                            Quantum Breakthrough: Scientists Rethink the Nature of Reality

                            Quantum physicists from Hiroshima University have revealed that the results of quantum measurements are fundamentally tied to the interaction dynamics between the measuring device and the system, challenging traditional views of fixed physical properties and suggesting that reality is shaped by the context of these interactions. Their findings point to a need to rethink the interpretation of quantum experimental data.

                            ... “Our results show that the physical reality of an object cannot be separated from the context of all its interactions with the environment, past, present, and future, providing strong evidence against the widespread belief that our world can be reduced to a mere configuration of material building blocks,” said Hofmann.

                            https://scitechdaily.com/quantum-bre...re-of-reality/
                            Organics on Jupiter's moon ... and they don't mean there's a health food store ...

                            NASA’s Juno Mission Discovers Organics on Jupiter’s Giant Moon Ganymede

                            NASA’s Juno mission has observed mineral salts and organic compounds on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. ... Ganymede is the biggest of Jupiter’s moons and has long been of great interest to scientists due to the vast internal ocean of water hidden beneath its icy crust. ... “This suggests we are seeing the remnants of a deep ocean brine that reached the surface of this frozen world.”

                            https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-juno-...moon-ganymede/
                            You are standing atop Theia ...

                            Scientists say they’ve finally found remnants of Theia, an ancient planet that collided with Earth to form the moon


                            Scientists widely agree that an ancient planet likely smashed into Earth as it was forming billions of years ago, spewing debris that coalesced into the moon that decorates our night sky today.

                            The theory, called the giant-impact hypothesis, explains many fundamental features of the moon and Earth.

                            But one glaring mystery at the center of this hypothesis has endured: What ever happened to Theia? Direct evidence of its existence has remained elusive. No leftover fragments from the planet have been found in the solar system. And many scientists assumed any debris Theia left behind on Earth was blended in the fiery cauldron of our planet’s interior.

                            A new theory, however, suggests that remnants of the ancient planet remain partially intact, buried beneath our feet.

                            Molten slabs of Theia could have embedded themselves within Earth’s mantle after impact before solidifying, leaving portions of the ancient planet’s material resting above Earth’s core some 1,800 miles (about 2,900 kilometers) below the surface, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

                            ... They were already aware that there are two massive, distinct blobs that are embedded deep within the Earth. The masses — called large low-velocity provinces, or LLVPs — were first detected in the 1980s. One lies beneath Africa and another below the Pacific Ocean. ... If Theia were a certain size and consistency, and struck the Earth at a specific speed, the models showed it could, in fact, leave behind massive hunks of its guts within Earth’s mantle and also spawn the debris that would go on to create our moon. ...


                            https://us.cnn.com/2023/11/03/world/...scn/index.html
                            Dinosaur killer and more ...

                            Asteroid that doomed the dinosaurs halted a key process for life on Earth, scientists say


                            The age of the dinosaurs ended 66 million years ago when a city-size asteroid struck a shallow sea off the coast of what is now Mexico.

                            But exactly how the mass extinction of 75% of the species on Earth unfolded in the years that followed the cataclysmic impact has remained unclear.

                            Previous research suggested that sulfur released during the impact, which left the 112-mile-wide (180-kilometer-wide) Chicxulub crater, and soot from wildfires triggered a global winter, and temperatures plunged.

                            However, a new study published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience suggests that fine dust made from pulverized rock thrown up into Earth’s atmosphere in the wake of the impact likely played a greater role. This dust blocked the sun to an extent that plants were unable to photosynthesize, a biological process critical for life, for almost two years afterward.

                            “Photosynthesis shutting down for almost two years after impact caused severe challenges (for life),” said lead study author and planetary scientist Cem Berk Senel, a postdoctoral researcher at the Royal Observatory of Belgium. “It collapsed the food web, creating a chain reaction of extinctions.” ... The team determined that this fine dust could have remained in the atmosphere for up to 15 years after the asteroid strike. The researchers suggested the global climate may have cooled by as much as 15 degrees Celsius.

                            Their research marked the first time these dust particles had been studied in detail.

                            “It had been long assumed that the main killing mechanism was extreme cold following the Chicxulub impact, but of course the cessation of photosynthesis after impact is a mechanism itself,” Senel said.

                            “Within a few weeks, months (of the impact), the planet underwent a global shutdown in photosynthesis, which continued for almost two years during which photosynthesis is completely gone,” Senel added. “Then it starts getting back to recovery after these two years. … Within three to four years, it reaches a complete recovery.”

                            https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/30/americ...scn/index.html
                            Old fossils new fuel ...

                            They went hunting for fossil fuels. What they found could help save the world


                            When two scientists went looking for fossil fuels beneath the ground of northeastern France, they did not expect to discover something which could supercharge the effort to tackle the climate crisis. ... That could make it one of the largest deposits of “white hydrogen” ever discovered, Pironon said. The find has helped fuel an already feverish interest in the gas.

                            White hydrogen – also referred to as “natural,” “gold” or “geologic” hydrogen – is naturally produced or present in the Earth’s crust and has become something of a climate holy grail. ...
                            White hydrogen is “very promising,” agreed Isabelle Moretti, a scientific researcher at the University of Pau et des Pays de l’Adour and the University of Sorbonne and a white hydrogen expert.

                            “Now the question is no longer about the resource… but where to find large economic reserves,” she told CNN.

                            https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/29/climat...ate/index.html
                            Memorial for a pioneer ...

                            Second person to receive experimental pig heart transplant dies nearly six weeks after procedure


                            Lawrence Faucette, the second living person to receive a genetically modified pig heart in a transplant, has died six weeks after the experimental procedure. The University of Maryland Medical Center, where the experimental procedure had been performed, said the heart began to show signs of rejection in recent days. ... One month after his surgery, his doctors said they believed his heart function was excellent and had withdrawn any drugs to support his heart function.

                            “We’ve had no evidence of infections and no evidence of rejection right now,” Griffith said at the time.

                            Doctors had treated Faucette with an experimental antibody treatment to further suppress the immune system and prevent rejection. However organ rejection is “the most significant challenge with traditional transplants involving human organs as well,” said UMMC in a statement.

                            https://us.cnn.com/2023/10/31/health...ransplant-dies
                            Crispr for Sickle Cell ... at great cost ...

                            FDA moves closer to sickle cell cure that uses gene editing

                            If approved by the FDA, it would be the first medication on the market that uses the groundbreaking gene-editing tool CRISPR.


                            ... “The promise of a universally available, potentially curative option for individuals with sickle cell disease is revolutionary,” said Dr. Biree Andemariam, a hematologist and the director of the New England Sickle Cell Institute at the University of Connecticut. Andemariam has consulted for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which makes exa-cel.

                            The illness is chronic, and the only known cure is a bone marrow transplant from a donor, which carries the risk of rejection.

                            The gene-editing drug, from Vertex along with CRISPR Therapeutics, would eliminate the need for a donor. Instead, it works by changing the DNA in the patient’s blood cells.

                            Exa-cel uses CRISPR, a gene-editing tool that’s able to target certain stretches of DNA and snip them out, essentially deleting the unwanted section that, in the case of sickle cell disease, causes the cells to take on a crescent shape. ...

                            ...
                            No drug that uses CRISPR gene-editing — which was invented in 2009 — has been granted FDA approval. What’s more, Tuesday’s meeting looked different from past advisory committee meetings. In this case, the panel was not asked to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Vertex’s drug, which is seeking approval for people ages 12 and up with severe illness.

                            Instead, the focus was on the “off-target” effects of CRISPR — that is, when the technology makes cuts to other stretches of the DNA other than the intended target — and how the FDA should think about those risks moving forward. ...

                            ... Vertex Pharmaceuticals presented research findings on 46 people who received the treatment. Among the 30 patients with a minimum of 18 months of follow-up, 29 no longer experienced severe pain crises.

                            The company said there was no evidence of “off-target” effects from the therapy, but committee members questioned whether Vertex’s analysis was thorough enough. ...

                            ... Vertex has not disclosed the price of gene therapy, but, if it is approved, it is expected to be extremely expensive, potentially costing as much as $2 million per patient, according to a report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a nonprofit group that helps determine fair prices for drugs.

                            Dr. Stephan Grupp, the chief of the therapy and transplant section of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who consults for Vertex, said in an email that if it is approved, the step next would be to make sure patients can get access. ...
                            Brain game ...

                            Neural Networks Go Nano: Brain-Inspired Learning Takes Flight

                            Researchers from the University of Sydney and UCLA have developed a physical neural network that can learn and remember in real-time, much like the brain’s neurons. This breakthrough utilizes nanowire networks that mirror neural networks in the brain. The study has significant implications for the future of efficient, low-energy machine intelligence, particularly in online learning settings. ... The result opens a pathway for developing efficient and low-energy machine intelligence for more complex, real-world learning and memory tasks. ...

                            ... “This is a significant step forward as achieving an online learning capability is challenging when dealing with large amounts of data that can be continuously changing. A standard approach would be to store data in memory and then train a machine learning model using that stored information. But this would chew up too much energy for widespread application ...

                            https://scitechdaily.com/neural-netw...-takes-flight/


                            High mobile phone use may impact sperm count, study says

                            Male sperm count has fallen by more than 50% globally in the last 50 years, leaving researchers scrambling to understand why. Could it be pollution, PFAS and other potential toxins in our food and water, an increase in obesity and chronic disease, or even the ever-present mobile phone? A new study explored the role of cell phones and found men between the ages of 18 and 22 who said they used their phones more than 20 times a day had a 21% higher risk for a low overall sperm count. The men also had a 30% higher risk for a low sperm concentration, a less important measure of sperm count in a milliliter of semen. The study did not specify whether the men called or texted or used their phones to do both.

                            On the positive side, researchers found that as phone technology improved over the 13 years of the study, the impact on sperm count began to ease.

                            “I am intrigued by the observation that the biggest effect was apparently seen with older 2G and 3G phones compared to modern 4G and 5G versions. This is not something I am able to explain,” ...

                            ... Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields are greatly reduced when texting and highest when downloading large files, streaming audio or video, when only one or two bars are displayed, and when in a fast-moving bus, car or train, according to the California Department of Public Health.

                            The agency recommends keeping the phone away from the body and head — use the speakerphone or headphones instead — and carry the phone in a backpack in a backpack, briefcase or purse. ... Results showed that men who used their phones one to five times a day or less than once a week had much higher sperm counts and concentration. As cell phone usage climbed, sperm count dropped, with the lowest levels among men using their phone 20 or more times a day.

                            Researchers also evaluated the impact of cell phones over different periods of time. The greatest association between low sperm count and concentration and phone use were between 2005 and 2007. As companies moved from 2G up to 5G, the association weakened, in line with the “corresponding decrease in the phone’s output power,” the study said.

                            “It’s very, very difficult to draw a definitive conclusion from this type of study because it’s not controlled well enough to be able to do that,” Pastuszak said. “They can’t control for the day-to-day exposures of living in an urban environment, and those should not be understated. Even stress levels can impact spermatogenesis and hormone production.”

                            As an infertility expert who works daily with couples trying to conceive, Pastuszak points to the fascinating complexity of factors that impact infertility, for which sperm count and concentration are minor players.

                            https://us.cnn.com/2023/11/01/health...ess/index.html
                            I empathize with R2D2 ...

                            Embarrassed for a Robot? How Humans Relate to Machines on an Emotional Level

                            A virtual-reality study led by Toyohashi University of Technology revealed that humans can experience empathic embarrassment for robots in awkward situations. Participants showed emotional reactions, both in self-reported feelings and physiological responses, towards both human and robot avatars in embarrassing contexts. However, cognitive empathy was stronger for human avatars. These insights have implications for the future of human-robot interactions and our understanding of human empathy.



                            https://scitechdaily.com/embarrassed...otional-level/
                            Gassho, J

                            stlah
                            Last edited by Jundo; 11-05-2023, 02:24 PM.
                            ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                            Comment

                            • Jundo
                              Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                              • Apr 2006
                              • 40317

                              Some ASTOUNDING views of the Heavens this week, including from the new Euclid space telescope ...

                              Galactic Wonders Unveiled: Euclid’s Deep Dive Into the Perseus Cluster

                              ... This incredible snapshot from Euclid is a revolution for astronomy. The image shows 1000 galaxies belonging to the Perseus Cluster, and more than 100,000 additional galaxies further away in the background, each containing up to hundreds of billions of stars. ... Many of these faint galaxies were previously unseen. Some of them are so distant that their light has taken 10 billion years to reach us. By mapping the distribution and shapes of these galaxies, cosmologists will be able to find out more about how dark matter shaped the Universe that we see today.


                              Euclid ... was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Euclid Consortium and was launched on 1 July 2023. ... The objective of the Euclid mission is to better understand dark energy and dark matter by accurately measuring the accelerating expansion of the universe. https://www.esa.int/Science_Explorat...uclid_overview

                              Euclid’s wide perspective can record data from a part of the sky 100 times bigger than what NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s camera can capture. ... “We have never seen astronomical images like this before, containing so much detail. They are even more beautiful and sharp than we could have hoped for, showing us many previously unseen features in well-known areas of the nearby Universe. Now we are ready to observe billions of galaxies, and study their evolution over cosmic time,” said René Laureijs, ESA’s Euclid project scientist, in a statement. https://us.cnn.com/2023/11/07/world/...scn/index.html

                              ALSO


                              Euclid’s advanced imaging presents a spectacularly detailed panorama of the Horsehead Nebula, located within the Orion constellation.

                              At approximately 1375 light-years away, the Horsehead – visible as a dark cloud shaped like a horse’s head – is the closest giant star-forming region to Earth. ... In Euclid’s new observation of this stellar nursery, scientists hope to find many dim and previously unseen Jupiter-mass planets in their celestial infancy, as well as young brown dwarfs and baby stars.

                              https://scitechdaily.com/euclids-cos...sehead-nebula/
                              Euclid’s Eye on the “Hidden Galaxy” – A Spiral Revelation in Infrared

                              Euclid, with its powerful imaging technology, has unveiled the intricacies of the ‘Hidden Galaxy’, IC 342, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the Universe’s structure. ... This galaxy, also known as IC 342 or Caldwell 5, is difficult to observe because it lies behind the busy disc of our Milky Way, and so dust, gas, and stars obscure our view. ...

                              Cosmic Fossils Unearthed: Euclid Unravels the Ancient NGC 6397 Cluster

                              Euclid has captured a comprehensive image of the NGC 6397 globular cluster, located in the Milky Way’s disc and containing stars that offer insights into the galaxy’s history. Observing the entire cluster, especially the faint stars in its outer regions, has been a challenge for existing telescopes. Euclid’s capabilities, however, allow it to distinguish these faint stars, enabling the search for ‘tidal tails’ that can indicate past interactions and help map dark matter within the Milky Way. ... Located about 7800 light-years from Earth, NGC 6397 is the second-closest globular cluster to us. Together with other globular clusters it orbits in the disc of the Milky Way, where the majority of stars are located.



                              Telescopes spot the oldest and most distant black hole formed after the big bang

                              Astronomers found the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays using the Chandra and Webb space telescopes. The Abell 2744 galaxy cluster dominates this image, while the closeups from each telescope show the more distant galaxy UHZ1 and the black hole it hosts. ... a growing black hole within the early universe just 470 million years after the big bang, which occurred 13.8 billion years ago.

                              ... Astronomers think the discovery will help them to better understand how supermassive black holes appeared and reached their monstrous masses so soon after the beginning of the universe. The researchers want to know whether the giant celestial objects formed when massive clouds of gas collapsed or if they resulted from the explosions of the very first massive stars. ...



                              Two NASA telescopes discovered the oldest known black hole, which formed just 470 million years after the big bang created the universe.


                              ALSO





                              Hubble’s Stellar Detective Work: Unmasking the Milky Way’s Hidden Jewel

                              This colorful image of the globular star cluster Terzan 12 is a spectacular example of how dust in space affects starlight coming from background objects.

                              A globular star cluster is a conglomeration of stars, arranged in a spheroidal shape. Stars in globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards the center. The Milky Way has about 150 ancient globular clusters at its outskirts. These clusters orbit around the galactic center, but far above and below the pancake-flat plane of our galaxy, like bees buzzing around a hive. ...

                              The cluster is about 15,000 light-years from Earth. ...


                              https://scitechdaily.com/hubbles-ste...-hidden-jewel/
                              Galactic Collision Captured in Stunning Detail: NASA’s Webb & Hubble Unite To Create Most Colorful View of Universe

                              This panchromatic view of galaxy cluster MACS0416 was created by combining infrared observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. ... The result: A vivid landscape of galaxies along with more than a dozen newfound, time-varying objects. ... The resulting panchromatic image combines visible and infrared light to assemble one of the most comprehensive views of the universe ever taken. Located about 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, MACS0416 is a pair of colliding galaxy clusters that will eventually combine to form an even bigger cluster.

                              ‘Puzzling’ discovery spotted in new images from NASA mission’s asteroid flyby

                              Dinkinesh, a small asteroid that NASA’s Lucy mission visited last week, continues to surprise. ... there was more to the shadowy asteroid than expected. At first, images suggested that the space rock was part of a binary pair, with a smaller asteroid orbiting Dinkinesh. However, additional images taken by the spacecraft just after the flyby’s closest approach have now revealed that the smaller asteroid is actually a contact binary — two smaller space rocks that touch each other. “Contact binaries seem to be fairly common in the solar system,” said John Spencer, Lucy deputy project scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, in a statement. “We haven’t seen many up-close, and we’ve never seen one orbiting another asteroid. ...

                              And behold ... our Milky Way doppelganger ...

                              Cosmic Surprise: Webb Spots Milky Way’s Twin in Early Universe

                              Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope, have discovered ceers-2112, the most distant barred spiral galaxy observed to date. This challenges prior assumptions about galaxy evolution, showing that galaxies became orderly earlier than previously believed, and may lead to changes in theoretical models of galaxy formation. ... “This galaxy, named ceers-2112, formed soon after the Big Bang,” said coauthor de la Vega, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “Finding ceers-2112 shows that galaxies in the early universe could be as ordered as the Milky Way. This is surprising because galaxies were much more chaotic in the early universe and very few had similar structures to the Milky Way.”

                              https://scitechdaily.com/cosmic-surp...arly-universe/
                              Well, no termites up there ...

                              Japanese scientists want to send a wooden satellite into space

                              ... A researcher at Kyoto University in Japan, Murata has been exploring how biological materials could be used in space.

                              Murata wondered if he “could build a wooden house on the moon or Mars,” and decided to test the theory — by creating a wooden satellite.

                              Recent research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found that 10% of atmospheric aerosol in the stratosphere contained metallic particles from spacecraft, including satellites. The long-term impact of these metal fragments is unknown, but scientists are concerned it could damage Earth’s fragile ozone layer. Wooden satellites would be better for the planet while still providing the same functionality as their metal counterparts, says Murata.

                              “At the end of their life, satellites re-enter the atmosphere. The difference is, the wood in the LingoSat will burn up and eventually become a gas, whereas metals become fine particles instead,” says Murata.

                              It’s not just a pipedream: Murata and his team have been working on the project for four years and sent wood samples to space in 2021 to test the material’s resilience to space conditions.

                              Now, they are working with Japan’s space agency (JAXA) and NASA to send the prototype satellite, called LingoSat, into orbit early next year. ... “There is not much reduction in strength from minus 150 to 150 degrees Celsius (-238 to 302 degrees Fahrenheit), we confirmed that in our experiments,” says Murata. “But a satellite goes round the Earth and has these huge temperature differences in 90 minutes. We don’t know to what extent the satellite can withstand this intense, repeated cycle of temperature difference, so this has to be investigated.” ...


                              Researchers at Kyoto University have developed a satellite made from wood, which they plan to launch next year.

                              From ice to planets ...

                              Webb’s Window Into Cosmic Birth: Ice Pebble Drift Sparks Planetary Life

                              How are planets born? Scientists have long proposed that ice-covered pebbles are the seeds of planet formation. These icy solids are thought to drift toward the newborn star from the cold, outer reaches of the disk surrounding it. The theory predicts that, as these pebbles enter the warmer region closer to the star, they would release significant amounts of cold water vapor, delivering both water and solids to nascent planets.

                              Now, the James Webb Space Telescope has witnessed this process in action, revealing the connection between water vapor in the inner disk and the drifting of icy pebbles from the outer disk. This finding opens exciting, new vistas into the study of rocky planet formation.

                              https://scitechdaily.com/webbs-windo...lanetary-life/
                              From space to civilization ...

                              Scientists Uncover Mysterious Cosmic Gift That Sparked Agricultural Revolution in Ancient Syria

                              Agriculture in Syria started with a bang 12,800 years ago following a comet fragment’s explosive entry into Earth’s atmosphere. This cataclysmic event, coupled with ensuing environmental changes, compelled the hunter-gatherers of the prehistoric Abu Hureyra settlement to adopt agricultural practices for survival. ... The papers are the latest results in the investigation of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis, the idea that an anomalous cooling of the Earth almost 13 millennia ago was the result of a cosmic impact. ...

                              “In this general region, there was a change from more humid conditions that were forested and with diverse sources of food for hunter-gatherers, to drier, cooler conditions when they could no longer subsist only as hunter-gatherers,” said Earth scientist James Kennett, a professor emeritus of UC Santa Barbara. The settlement at Abu Hureyra is famous among archaeologists for its evidence of the earliest known transition from foraging to farming. “The villagers started to cultivate barley, wheat, and legumes,” he noted. “This is what the evidence clearly shows.” ... Before the impact, the researchers found, the inhabitants’ prehistoric diet involved wild legumes and wild-type grains, and “small but significant amounts of wild fruits and berries.” In the layers corresponding to the time after cooling, fruits, and berries disappeared and their diet shifted toward more domestic-type grains and lentils, as the people experimented with early cultivation methods. By about 1,000 years later, all of the Neolithic “founder crops” — emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, hulled barley, rye, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chickpeas, and flax — were being cultivated in what is now called the Fertile Crescent. ... To be clear, Kennett said, agriculture eventually arose in several places on Earth in the Neolithic Era, but it arose first in the Levant (present-day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and parts of Turkey) initiated by the severe climate conditions that followed the impact. ...

                              ... In the 12,800-year-old layers corresponding to the shift between hunting and gathering and agriculture, the record at Abu Hureyra shows evidence of massive burning. The evidence includes a carbon-rich “black mat” layer with high concentrations of platinum, nanodiamonds and tiny metallic spherules that could only have been formed under extremely high temperatures — higher than any that could have been produced by man’s technology at the time.

                              The airburst flattened trees and straw huts, splashing meltglass onto cereals and grains, as well as on the early buildings, tools and animal bones found in the mound — and most likely on people, too.

                              https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-...ancient-syria/
                              AI in SPACE ...

                              SONATE-2’s Space Odyssey: Testing AI’s Limits in Space

                              SONATE-2, a nanosatellite developed by JMU, is scheduled for launch in March 2024 to test novel AI technologies and other advanced systems in space. ... The satellite will test novel artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and software technologies in near-Earth space. The goal is to use it to automatically detect anomalies on planets or asteroids in the future.

                              ... “What is unique about our mission is that the AI is trained on board. Normally, this training is done on Earth with powerful computers. ... Sending this data to Earth first and then training the AI by remote control would take a long time for missions far from Earth. A higher level of autonomy supported by AI directly on board would be more powerful. It would lead to interesting objects and phenomena on the asteroid being detected much more quickly. ...



                              The Würzburg SONATE-2 satellite is about the size of a shoebox. Its solar panels are folded out here.

                              AI helps CRISPR too ...CRISP-AI-R ...

                              Revolutionizing CRISPR: Quantum Biology and AI Merge to Enhance Genome Editing

                              Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have advanced CRISPR Cas9 technology for microbial genome editing by using quantum biology and explainable artificial intelligence. This breakthrough allows for more precise genetic modifications in microbes, expanding the potential for renewable fuel and chemical production. ... The CRISPR Cas9 tool relies on a single, unique guide RNA that directs the Cas9 enzyme to bind with and cleave the corresponding targeted site in the genome. Existing models to computationally predict effective guide RNAs for CRISPR tools were built on data from only a few model species, with weak, inconsistent efficiency when applied to microbes. ... To improve the modeling and design of guide RNA, the ORNL scientists sought a better understanding of what’s going on at the most basic level in cell nuclei, where genetic material is stored. They turned to quantum biology, a field bridging molecular biology and quantum chemistry that investigates the effects that electronic structure can have on the chemical properties and interactions of nucleotides, the molecules that form the building blocks of DNA and RNA.

                              The way electrons are distributed in the molecule influences reactivity and conformational stability, including the likelihood that the Cas9 enzyme-guide RNA complex will effectively bind with the microbe’s DNA, said Erica Prates, computational systems biologist at ORNL. ... The scientists built an explainable artificial intelligence model called iterative random forest. They trained the model on a dataset of around 50,000 guide RNAs targeting the genome of E. coli bacteria while also taking into account quantum chemical properties, in an approach described in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

                              The model revealed key features about nucleotides that can enable the selection of better guide RNAs. “The model helped us identify clues about the molecular mechanisms that underpin the efficiency of our guide RNAs,” Prates said, “giving us a rich library of molecular information that can help us improve CRISPR technology.”

                              https://scitechdaily.com/revolutioni...enome-editing/
                              Is AI like the BrAIn? Is the BrAIn like AI?

                              MIT’s Brain Breakthrough: Decoding How Human Learning Mirrors AI Model Training

                              MIT research reveals that neural networks trained via self-supervised learning display patterns similar to brain activity, enhancing our understanding of both AI and brain cognition, especially in tasks like motion prediction and spatial navigation.

                              Two MIT studies find “self-supervised learning” models, which learn about their environment from unlabeled data, can show activity patterns similar to those of the mammalian brain. ... The researchers found that when they trained models known as neural networks using a particular type of self-supervised learning, the resulting models generated activity patterns very similar to those seen in the brains of animals that were performing the same tasks as the models.

                              The findings suggest that these models are able to learn representations of the physical world that they can use to make accurate predictions about what will happen in that world, and that the mammalian brain may be using the same strategy, the researchers say. ... “We can’t say if it’s the whole brain yet, but across scales and disparate brain areas, our results seem to be suggestive of an organizing principle.” ...


                              HIGH may lead to more "Hi, How are you?" ...

                              Boosting Brain Connectivity: Cannabis May Enhance Empathy and Emotional Perception

                              A study in the Journal of Neuroscience Research suggests that regular cannabis users may have an improved ability to understand others’ emotions, supported by stronger connectivity in the anterior cingulate, a brain region associated with empathy ... offering potential insights into treatments for social interaction disorders.

                              https://scitechdaily.com/boosting-br...al-perception/
                              A pharmacy which can be implanted within ...

                              Breathing Life Into Medicine: “Living Pharmacy” Implant Gets Oxygenating Boost

                              New device could improve the outcomes of cell-based therapies. Cell-based therapies show promise for drug delivery, replacing damaged tissues, harnessing the body’s own healing mechanisms, and more. But keeping cells alive to produce therapies has remained a challenge Researchers used a smart, energy-efficient version of water splitting to produce oxygen for these cells New approach maintains cells in vitro and in vivo, showing promise for both acute and chronic applications.

                              https://scitechdaily.com/breathing-l...enating-boost/
                              $3 ...

                              The $3 Lifesaver: New Blood Test Could Detect Common Deadly Cancers Sooner

                              Researchers have developed a cost-effective, multi-cancer blood test that can detect a protein, LINE-1-ORF1p, produced by cancer cells, potentially leading to early detection. This protein is elevated in many cancers and the test’s ability to spot it early can save lives. ...

                              https://scitechdaily.com/the-3-lifes...ancers-sooner/
                              Less weight, less side-effects ... less mouse ...

                              New Drug Reverses Obesity Without Side Effects in Preliminary Tests

                              Scientists have developed a nanogel-based delivery system that successfully targets and reverses obesity in mice by delivering drugs directly to the liver, avoiding side effects and enhancing drug efficacy. ... “The treated mice completely lost their gained weight, and we did not see any untoward side effects,” says S. Thai Thayumanavan, distinguished professor of chemistry and biomedical engineering. “Considering 100 million Americans have obesity and related cardiometabolic disorders, we became pretty excited about this work.”

                              ... “We realized we needed to deliver this drug selectively to the liver because if it goes to other places, it could cause complications,” he says. ... “We came up with a very simple approach, using our unique invention – nanogels that we can direct selectively to different targets, which we call IntelliGels,” Thayumanavan says. “They were custom-designed for hepatocyte delivery in the liver.” ...


                              Two monkeys in one ... but, sadly, an abrupt end ... I wonder why they ended it so quickly? ...

                              Scientists create chimeric monkey with two sets of DNA

                              Scientists based in China have created a monkey chimera with two sets of DNA, experimental work they say could ultimately benefit medical research and the conservation of endangered species.

                              The monkey, which lived for 10 days before being euthanized, was made by combining stem cells from a cynomolgus monkey — also known as a crab-eating or long-tailed macaque, a primate used in biomedical research — with a genetically distinct embryo from the same monkey species. It’s the world’s first live birth of a primate chimera created with stem cells, the researchers said. ... “It is encouraging that our live birth monkey chimera had a big contribution (of stem cells) to the brain, suggesting that indeed this approach should be valuable for modeling neurodegenerative diseases,” ... ...

                              ... Wu wasn’t involved in the study but has worked on human-animal chimeras. ...



                              https://us.cnn.com/2023/11/09/world/...scn/index.html
                              Some questions about gene studies ... Have they made a monkey of all of us? ...

                              Inaccuracies in Genetic Studies Exposed by NIH – European Ancestry Under the Microscope

                              NHGRI researchers have found that failing to account for mixed ancestries in genetic studies of European populations may have led to incorrect associations between genetic variants and traits. ... By considering mixed genetic lineages, researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), demonstrated that previously inferred links between a genomic variant that helps digest lactose and traits such as a person’s height and cholesterol level may not be valid. As such, the results from previous genome-wide association studies that do not account for admixture in their examinations of people with European ancestry should be re-evaluated. ...

                              https://scitechdaily.com/inaccuracie...he-microscope/
                              How breast implants helped save a man with severe lung damage

                              Doctors turned to an unusual tool to help keep 34-year-old Davey Bauer alive after his lungs stopped working: large breast implants. Experts say it was an innovative solution to give Bauer's body time to fight off a nasty infection so it could accept a lifesaving double lung transplant.

                              How does she taste the tea?

                              'Will AI replace performers?': Japan-first TV ad with artificial model draws attention

                              A television commercial featuring a model generated by artificial intelligence (AI) -- reportedly a first for Japan -- has drawn attention on social media, with users expressing surprise and questioning whether AI will replace human performers.

                              The ad by Japanese beverage company Ito En Ltd. is for its "Oi Ocha catechin green tea" drink. Comments on social media about the commercial included, "I was wondering who this celebrity was, only to discover it was AI," and, "Is the industry for performers going to be replaced by AI?"

                              ... it is the first TV ad in Japan using an AI performer. The theme of the commercial is "The time to change the future is now!" with the storyline being that a woman starts drinking catechin green tea so that she can live healthily in the future. The AI entertainer's age in the commercial changes and she is depicted skipping around, drinking the tea and smiling. ...

                              Maybe she uses her AI tongue ...

                              Meet HyperTaste, an AI-Assisted Electronic Tongue IBM researchers built an e-tongue that can analyze the chemical composition of liquids

                              https://spectrum.ieee.org/meet-hyper...ctronic-tongue
                              Gassho, J

                              stlah
                              Last edited by Jundo; 11-12-2023, 06:37 AM.
                              ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                              Comment

                              • amal88
                                Member
                                • Nov 2023
                                • 4

                                What makes a human - human? Does blessing machines means we use our times wisely?

                                Comment

                                Working...