The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
12-12-2023
Wetenschappers creëren synthetisch DNA met behulp van artificiële intelligentie
"Deze foto is gegenereerd met behulp van AI", laten VIB.AI en VIB-KU Leuven Research Center for Brain & Disease fijntjes weten.
Foto VIB.AI en VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research
Wetenschappers creëren synthetisch DNA met behulp van artificiële intelligentie
Wetenschappers van het VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research en VIB.AI zijn erin geslaagd synthetisch DNA te creëren met behulp van artificiële intelligentie. Het AI-model kon 'enhancers', of 'schakelaars', ontwerpen waarmee specifieke genen geactiveerd kunnen worden. "Baanbrekend", zegt het team er zelf over. Het onderzoek is gepubliceerd in het gerenommeerd wetenschappelijk tijdschrift Nature.
Michaël Torfs, Belga
Alle cellen in ons lichaam, van onze ogen tot onze maag, hebben allemaal hetzelfde DNA. Maar niet al dit DNA wordt in elk celtype benut.
Genactiviteit wordt bepaald door een reeks instructies binnen het DNA, de zogenaamde regulatorische code. Dat zit zo. Van DNA is al lang geweten dat de volgorde van de basenparen, voorgesteld door de letters A, C, G en T, zorgen voor de aanmaak van bepaalde eiwitten, die nodig zijn voor de werking van alle menselijke cellen.
Het team heeft een deep learningmodel getraind om een code voor de activering van genen te kraken
Een stuk DNA dat voor een bepaalde eigenschap codeert, vormt een gen. Welke genen op welk moment geactiveerd worden, hangt af van een proces dat de 'regulatorische code' genoemd wordt. De logica achter die code is al decennialang voer voor onderzoek.
"Een team onder leiding van professor Stein Aerts en dr. Ibrahim I. Taskiran heeft nu een deep learning model getraind om deze code te kraken. Dit model kon de enhancer-code ontcijferen en leverde daarmee ongekende nieuwe inzichten op," zo melden de onderzoekers vandaag.
Van de code naar de 'schakelaars'
Een cruciaal element in de regulatorische code, zijn de 'enhancers', ofwel 'schakelaars'. Enhancers zijn stukjes DNA die zich rond de genen bevinden, en waarop eiwitten binden. Als dat gebeurt, activeren ze een bepaald gen. Een cel kan tot expressie komen als de welbepaalde genen geactiveerd worden, die allemaal precies gereguleerd moeten worden door hun enhancers.
Het team van professor Stein Aerts (VIB-KU Leuven) werkt al meer dan twintig jaar op de regulatorische code. "Stapje voor stapje hebben we meer inzicht gekregen in de code", vertelt Aerts. "Sinds 2015 zijn we aan het werken met deep learning-modellen. Dit heeft een enorme stroomversnelling in het onderzoek gebracht."
Nog een stap verder
Omdat elke enhancer bestaat uit meerdere honderden basenparen, zijn de verschillende mogelijkheden van sequentie, of volgorde, zo goed als eindeloos. Door het AI-model meer data te geven en te verbeteren, kon het voorspellen welke enhancersequentie actief was in een celtype en welke niet.
"Daarna zijn we nog een stap verder gegaan en hebben we via experimenten aanpassingen gedaan aan de enhancers: we lieten bijvoorbeeld een base weg of voegden een toe", vertelt professor Aerts. "Zo konden we snel nagaan welke impact dat had. Het AI-model biedt zo inzichten in hoe de synthetische enhancers zijn opgebouwd en welke eiwitten er al dan niet op binden."
Dankzij ons AI-model kunnen we de veiligheid van gentherapie verhogen
Het model is uitgetest op hersencellen van fruitvliegjes en op een type huidcel van mensen. Omdat fruitvliegjes zo klein zijn en hun DNA eenvoudig te manipuleren is, doen genetici vaak hun eerste ontdekkingen in dit modelorganisme.
"Maar het team slaagde er vervolgens ook in om hun nieuwe aanpak met succes in te zetten voor het ontwerpen van enhancers voor menselijk DNA", klinkt het. Uiteindelijk is het de bedoeling om voor elke menselijke cel de enhancers uit te lezen: intussen zijn de onderzoekers aan de slag met onder meer verschillende types kankercellen en menselijke hersencellen.
De bevindingen zijn interessant voor algemeen DNA-onderzoek, maar zijn ook cruciaal voor toekomstige gentherapieën.
"Voor toekomstige therapieën zal het nodig zijn dat bepaalde genen geactiveerd worden in bepaalde cellen, maar net niet in andere cellen", geeft Aerts als voorbeeld. "Dankzij de informatie van ons AI-model kan de veiligheid van gentherapie verhoogd worden."
At first glance, it may look like an ordinary, run-of-the-mill camouflage coat. However, what a group of Chinese graduate students have actually developed is a cost-effective “invisibility coat” capable of concealing the human body from AI-monitored security cameras, both day and night.
At the forgivable price of just $70 USD, the high-tech jacket, which has been dubbed the “InvisDefense coat,” was crafted by a team of four graduate students from Wuhan University in China. The real-life sci-fi coat secured the top prize at the inaugural “Huawei Cup,” a cybersecurity innovation contest sponsored by the Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Professor Wang Zheng from the School of Computer Science oversaw the team, comprising doctoral student Wei Hui from the School of Computer Science, along with postgraduates Li Zhubo and Dai Shuyv from the School of Cyber Science and Engineering, and postgraduate Jian Zehua from the Economics and Management School.
The InvisDefense invisibility cloak involves a kind of camouflage pattern designed by a new algorithm, which challenges the efficacy of this commonly used method of AI pedestrian detection. “In layman’s terms, it means cameras can detect you but cannot determine that you are human,” according to a statement released by Wuhan University (WHU).
Diamgram released by Wuhan University detailing the function of the “invisibility coat”
(Image: Courtesy of Wei Hui).
In contrast to stealth fighter jets, which are only invisible to radar, the InvisDefense invisibility cloak renders itself undetectable to machine recognition rather than the naked eye. “Visual neural network refers to machine vision, not visual recognition of humans. It is widely used in video surveillance equipment with the pedestrian detection function and smart cars,” Professor Zheng explained.
The all-weather InvisDefense coat is visible to the human eye. However, to cameras, specific camouflage patterns disrupt the visual neural network during the day, while at night, InvisDefense incorporates temperature control materials, allowing stealth protection from thermal infrared imaging through distinct color blocks.
An innovative defense product, the InvisDefense invisibility cloak offers a potential new means to safeguard personal privacy and security. However, there are also concerns that arise from the development of such technology; the design of the coat could potentially confuse certain detection systems employed in self-driving cars and similar technologies.
During tests of the coat using on-campus security cameras, the accuracy of human detection saw a reduction of 57 percent. The researchers noted that one of the first challenges in developing the coat was finding a balance to deceive both the camera and the human eye.
“Nowadays, many surveillance devices can detect human bodies. Cameras on the road have pedestrian detection functions and smart cars can identify pedestrians, roads and obstacles,” Professor Wang told the South China Morning Post.
“Our InvisDefense allows the camera to capture you, but it cannot tell if you are human.”
Outside of the consumer trends that may potentially evolve from this technology, Professor Wang Zheng noted the invention may likely find possible applications in stealth military uniforms to evade detection from drones or AI units.
Furthermore, he notes that the algorithm could prove valuable in AI research, primarily by allowing researchers to more fully identify potential vulnerabilities.
In een historisch gebouw in het Amerikaanse Deep Ellum wordt tegenwoordig een enorme inspanning geleverd om enkele van de beroemdste uitgestorven dieren weer tot leven te brengen. Een in Dallas gevestigd bedrijf genaamd 'Colossal Biosciences' gaat deze hallucinante uitdaging aan. Zo werkt het momenteel al aan de creatie van de wolharige mammoet, die 4000 jaar geleden uitstierf.
"We creëren technologie die de toekomst zal veranderen voor de uitgestorven soorten, maar het verbazingwekkende is dat deze technologieën vandaag de dag al een verschil kan maken voor het behoud van bedreigde diersoorten", zegt Matt James, de hoofddierenfunctionaris van Colossal.
Met behulp van DNA van Aziatische olifanten en DNA van wolharige mammoeten die bevroren zijn in de arctische toendra, gebruiken onderzoekers van Colossal Biosciences genbewerkingstechnologie om het genoom van een Aziatische olifant opnieuw te ontwerpen totdat het dat van een wolharige mammoet weerspiegelt. “Het blijkt dat de wolharige mammoet en de Aziatische olifant gnomisch gezien voor 99,6% op elkaar lijken”, zegt James.
In de laboratoria in Deep Ellum wordt gewerkt aan het creëren van kunstmatige baarmoeders waarin een wolharige mammoetkalf kan groeien. Colossal heeft er zelf een doel van gemaakt om te slagen tegen het jaar 2028.
James zegt dat het herstellen van een gigantisch ecosysteem de permafrost, oftewel de grond die bevroren blijft, kan behouden en de uitstoot van broeikasgassen kan vertragen. “Dit is waarschijnlijk 100 verschillende levens waard om dit doel te bereiken, maar we moeten zo snel mogelijk doorzetten omdat we worden geconfronteerd met deze onmiddellijke dreiging van de mondiale klimaatverandering”, aldus James.
Sinds de aankondiging van zijn voornemen voor de wolharige mammoet, heeft Colossal ook soortgelijke plannen aangekondigd voor de dodovogel en de Tasmaanse tijger, oftewel thylacine.
(Skwadra by Tagtik/Source: NBC Los Angeles/Illustration picture: Unsplash)
Now sure, we have never seen a rainbow on Mars before, mostly because NASA would not bother telling us about such similarities to Earth. But I took the two photos, put them together and yes, it is a full rainbow. When I changed the photos to natural normal Mars color which took away the red filter NASA uses to hide colors, it looked even more vibrant. This is the true Mars, the one NASA doesn't want you to see.
Now rainbows are only created from droplets of water, or moisture of some sort in the atmosphere, NASA would like you to believe there is not enough water on Mars for such an occurrence, and yet, the rover photo doesn't lie. It just records and sends. So, there is a lot more water on Mars than we thought.
Het eerste elektrische “vliegende” schip ter wereld dat geschikt is voor passagiers wordt verwacht deel uit te maken van het openbaar vervoer vanStockholm in 2024.
Het futuristische ontwerp is van het Zweedse bedrijf Candela Technology AB.
De CEO van het bedrijf, Gustav Hasselskog, zei in een verklaring: “De P-12 is een platform dat een breed scala aan klanten zal bedienen.
“Of het nu gaat om vloten van het openbaar vervoer, VIP-diensten of particuliere klanten, het zal de manier waarop we reizen over water revolutioneren.”
Verwacht wordt dat de boot die boven het water lijkt te vliegen, zal helpen bij het aanpakken van het probleem van overvolle wegen en trage pendelreizen.
Hasselskog voegde toe: “Vaak is de snelste route over water.”
Het schip is 39 voet lang en kan ongeveer 30 passagiers vervoeren, met behulp van een hydrofoil om boven het water te blijven.
Een paar bladen tillen de boot uit het water en verminderen de weerstand met maximaal 80%, waardoor het stil kan opereren terwijl het een topsnelheid van 46 km/u bereikt, terwijl het tegelijkertijd een kleine golf van slechts 5 cm creëert.
De B-21 is de volgende evolutie van de vloot strategische bommenwerpers van de Amerikaanse luchtmacht en het eerste zesde-generatie vliegtuig ter wereld dat de lucht in gaat.
Wat betreft het leveren van de vastberadenheid van de Verenigde Staten, zal de Raider de luchtmacht voorzien van een lange afstand, hoge overlevingscapaciteit en flexibiliteit in de missielading. De B-21 zal de moeilijkste verdediging doorbreken om precisieaanvallen overal ter wereld uit te voeren. Hier is wat u moet weten over de B-21 Raider van Northrop Grumman terwijl het de vliegtesten voortzet.
De B-21 Raider stelt normen voor technologie van de zesde generatie. Aan de buitenkant zal de nieuwste stealth-technologie en vooruitgang in laag-detecteerbare processen het vliegtuig makkelijker en goedkoper te onderhouden maken dan voorgaande systemen. Aan de binnenkant zal de open architectuur van de B-21 snelle upgrades mogelijk maken, van de integratie van nieuwe wapens tot software-updates, dankzij geavanceerde netwerkcapaciteiten en een succesvolle migratie naar de cloud-omgeving. Met deze innovaties is de B-21 ontworpen om de evoluerende dreigingen van de komende decennia het hoofd te bieden.
De B-21 Raider is van cruciaal belang voor het ondersteunen van de strategische afschrikkingsstrategie van ons land. Naast de geavanceerde mogelijkheden voor langeafstandsaanvallen met precisie die commandanten de mogelijkheid geven om elk doelwit, overal ter wereld, in gevaar te brengen, is het ontworpen als het belangrijkste onderdeel van een grotere familie van systemen die inlichtingen, bewaking en verkenning, elektronische aanval en multi-domein netwerkcapaciteiten zullen bieden. In een dynamische wereldwijde veiligheidsomgeving zal de B-21 de flexibiliteit en afschrikking bieden die cruciaal zijn voor de veiligheid van de VS en onze bondgenoten.
De B-21 Raider is vernoemd naar de Doolittle Raid vande Tweede Wereldoorlog, toen 80 luchtmachtpersoneel onder leiding van luitenant-kolonel James “Jimmy” Doolittle en 16 B-25 Mitchell middelgrote bommenwerpers een missie ondernamen die de loop van de oorlog veranderde.
De aanval was een katalysator voor een veelheid aan toekomstige vooruitgang in de luchtoverwicht van de VS en dient als inspiratie achter de naam Raider en de baanbrekende en innovatieve geest ingeënt in het gehele personeel dat de B-21 tot leven brengt.
Bron:Northrop Grumman
Foto en video: reproductie Twitter @ShorealoneFilms
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
05-11-2023
Elon Musk tells Rishi Sunak AI will eventually mean no one needs to have a job in a conversation with the Prime Minister following the summit at Bletchley Park
Elon Musk tells Rishi Sunak AI will eventually mean no one needs to have a job in a conversation with the Prime Minister following the summit at Bletchley Park
Britain is hosting the world's first AI Safety Summit in Buckinghamshire
Artificial intelligence will eventually mean no one needs to work, Elon Musk told Rishi Sunak last night.
In conversation with the Prime Minister, the tech billionaire compared AI to a 'magic genie' that would bring a time when 'no job is needed'.
Mr Musk said people could still work 'for personal satisfaction' if they wanted, and one of the future challenges would be finding 'meaning in life'.
Mr Sunak replied: 'I'm someone who believes work gives you meaning.'
Speaking in front of tech bosses and journalists, Mr Musk said: 'You can have a job if you want to for personal satisfaction, AI can do everything.
'I don't know if that makes people comfortable or uncomfortable. It's both good and bad.
'One of the challenges in future will be how do we find meaning in life. We won't have universal basic income but universal high income. It'll be good for education - it'll be the best tutor.'
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, left, attends an in-conversation event with Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk in London, Thursday, November 2, 2023
Rishi Sunak and Elon Musk met in London following the AI summit in Buckinghamshire
'There is a need for government to play a role when public safety is at risk. It can be annoying, but having a referee is a good thing,' Musk said
Speaking at Lancaster House following the AI summit at Bletchley Park, Mr Musk described 'a future of abundance where there is no scarcity,' calling AI a 'magic genie'. But he then quipped that those fairytales rarely end well.
MI5 to vet new software
Artificial intelligence software will be vetted by the security services to prevent 'misuse' by terrorists and rogue states, under plans approved by world leaders.
Rishi Sunak led a discussion at yesterday's AI summit on the introduction of 'state-backed testing'.
Whitehall sources said the plan would involve testing by agencies including GCHQ and MI5. One insider said: 'The safety assessment is done by the companies themselves. But they do not have access to the kind of classified material that would allow them to ask the right questions to discover whether this technology can do the really dangerous stuff.'
Mr Sunak said all the leading AI pioneers had agreed to have their new models tested by British and US 'safety institutes' before their release to the public.
Chinese ministers were notably excluded from the sessions on national security.
The X owner also suggested AI robots could also become our friends. 'An AI with memory could know you better than you know yourself – you could actually have a great friend,' he said.
Mr Musk hailed the Prime Minister's decision to invite China to the summit.
He said: 'If China is not on board, it becomes a weird situation. China is willing to participate in AI safety.
'This is something they care about – having them here was essential.'
The pair agreed that AI had major potential – though Mr Musk warned it should have a physical 'off switch' as well as regulation.
'There is a need for government to play a role when public safety is at risk. It can be annoying, but having a referee is a good thing.
'AI will be a force for good – most likely – but the chance of it going badly is not zero.'
He had earlier warned that AI poses 'one of the biggest threats' to humanity, clashing with Nick Clegg over the extent of the dangers. Speaking at the first day of the summit, the Facebook boss urged governments not to 'micro-manage' tech companies.
Mr Musk last night issued a further warning about humanoid robots that 'can basically chase you anywhere'.
'What if they get a software update one day, and they're not so friendly any more?'
The Prime Minister said 'we've all watched' movies about androids that end with the machines being switched off. But Mr Musk said the UK 'is in a strong position' on developing robots, praising Dyson in particular.
Mr Sunak hinted that the next General Election will take place in 2024 – rather than January 2025, the latest one could take place.
Speaking about the dangers of deep fakes, the Prime Minister said: 'I have already had a situation with a doctored image. Next year we have elections in India, the US, Indonesia, probably here. An enormous proportion of the world population is voting.
'Next year will be the first time that this has been an issue. It is mission critical to work out how to deal with this.' He declared that the summit had shown that the world had both the 'political will and capability' to control the technology.
He also said that the two-day event would 'tip the balance in favour of humanity'.
Rishi Sunak (L) and US tech entrepreneur Elon Musk (R) attend a conversation event in central London, Britain, 2 November 2023
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) shakes hands with X CEO Elon Musk (R) on November 2
It came as the Prime Minister announced that leading AI firms had agreed to allow governments to test the safety of their models before they are released.
Mr Sunak, who had earlier warned the threat of AI was similar in scale to pandemics and nuclear wars, said: 'We can't expect companies to mark their own homework.'
While admitting 'binding requirements' would likely be needed to regulate the technology, Mr Sunak said now was the time to move quickly without laws.
However, he indicated it may need to be put on a statutory footing in the future.
MilliMobile is a first of its kind battery-free autonomous robot capable of operating on harvested solar and radio frequency power. The MilliMobile prototype has a 1 x1 cm chassis and weighs less than 1.1 g. It can carry payloads 3 times its own weight, and only experiences a 25% reduction in speed when carrying a 1 g payload.
MilliMobile is able to move across a variety of surfaces, including concrete and packed soil.
Image credit: Mark Stone / University of Washington.
Small mobile robots carrying sensors could perform tasks like catching gas leaks or tracking warehouse inventory.
But moving robots demands a lot of energy, and batteries, the typical power source, limit lifetime and raise environmental concerns.
Researchers have explored various alternatives: affixing sensors to insects, keeping charging mats nearby, or powering the robots with lasers.
Each has drawbacks. Insects roam. Chargers limit range. Lasers can burn people’s eyes.
“We challenge the conventional assumption that motion and actuation are beyond the capabilities of battery-free devices and demonstrate completely untethered autonomous operation in realistic indoor and outdoor lighting as well as radio frequency delivery scenarios,” said University of Washington doctoral student Kyle Johnson and colleagues, who developed MilliMobile, a tiny, self-driving robot powered only by surrounding light or radio waves.
Equipped with a solar panel-like energy harvester and four wheels, their robot is about the size of a penny, weighs as much as a raisin and can move about the length of a bus (10 m, or 30 feet) in an hour even on a cloudy day.
MilliMobile can drive on surfaces such as concrete or packed soil and carry three times its own weight in equipment like a camera or sensors.
It uses a light sensor to move automatically toward light sources so it can run indefinitely on harvested power.
“We took inspiration from ‘intermittent computing,’ which breaks complex programs into small steps, so a device with very limited power can work incrementally, as energy is available,” Johnson said.
“With MilliMobile, we applied this concept to motion. We reduced the robot’s size and weight so it takes only a small amount of energy to move.”
“And, similar to an animal taking steps, our robot moves in discrete increments, using small pulses of energy to turn its wheels.”
The researchers tested MilliMobile both indoors and outdoors, in environments such as parks, an indoor hydroponic farm and an office.
Even in very low light situations — for instance, powered only by the lights under a kitchen counter — the robots are still able to inch along, though much slower.
Running continuously, even at that pace, opens new abilities for a swarm of robots deployed in areas where other sensors have trouble generating nuanced data.
These robots are also able to steer themselves, navigating with onboard sensors and tiny computing chips.
To demonstrate this, the team programmed the robots to use their onboard light sensors to move towards a light source.
“Internet of Things sensors are usually fixed in specific locations,” said University of Washington doctoral student Zachary Englhardt.
“Our work crosses domains to create robotic sensors that can sample data at multiple points throughout a space to create a more detailed view of its environment, whether that’s a smart farm where the robots are tracking humidity and soil moisture, or a factory where they’re seeking out electromagnetic noise to find equipment malfunctions.”
In Greek mythology, a chimera is a monstrous scramble of a lion, goat, and a serpent. In genetics, the term means something only slightly more down-to-earth: an organism with cells from at least two different species. While this might sound perfect for devising something gruesome like a pigeon-rat, it’s most promising for regenerative medicine. A chimera, with a genetically engineered ability to nurture cells of another species, can grow entire organs for another creature. Researchers just used chimeras to get one step closer to growing vital human organs.
A team of researchers in China and the U.K. have used a CRISPR-modified pig-human chimera to grow a human kidney. They published their results today in the journal Cell Stem Cell. While previous studies have employed similar methods to grow human blood or skeletal muscle in pigs, this is the first time scientists have successfully cultivated a solid humanized organ inside another species.
To grow the kidney, the researchers started with a blastocyst (an early-stage embryo) from cloned pigs. Then, they used the gene-editing technique CRISPR to remove two genes from the blastocyst that contain the instructions for developing kidneys. Otherwise, pig kidney cells would outcompete human ones for available resources.
Next, the researchers used human pluripotent stem cells, which can become any kind of cell, and tweaked them to be able to seamlessly integrate with a pig embryo’s biology.
A total of 1,820 embryos were implanted in 13 surrogate sow mothers. As the chimera embryos grew over either 25 or 28 days, the team closely watched how the human kidneys’ development fared. They aimed to grow a kidney to its middle stage of development, which they marked by the development of mesonephros, which are structural pieces of human kidneys.
The team set a gestation limit of 28 days because these embryo clones had a high risk for degeneration at the one-month mark and because mesonephros appear at around 20 days in pig embryos. However, these time parameters also stemmed from ethical concerns that other tissue, including the brain, could develop. By the 28-day mark, the team collected five embryos with normally developed mesonephros.
This isn’t the first time researchers have successfully grown an organ outside a body.
A paper published in 2017 demonstrates how researchers used a mouse-rat chimera to grow a mouse pancreas, successfully transplanted into another mouse. A 2019 paper demonstrated that mouse-rat chimeras can also develop mouse kidneys.
While these mesonephros developed normally, they can’t yet be transplanted into a human. They’d need to produce a mature kidney, known as a metanephros, in order to make that leap. What’s more, they’d need to confirm that other cell types within the kidney were also of human, not pig, senior author Miguel Esteban, a regenerative medicine researcher at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Sciences, wrote to Inverse.
“We are very excited [by] having achieved this milestone, but this is only the first step,” Esteban says. Future work entails further modification to human cells, mostly to make sure the chimera’s pig cells don’t get mixed into the developing human kidney, writes senior author Liangxue Lai, a molecular biologist at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Sciences.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
24-07-2023
Quadruped robot A1 walk with you to the future
Quadruped robot A1 walk with you to the future
Quadruped robot A1 walk with you to the future.
Maximum outdoor running speed：3.3m/s(11.88km/h). Maximum torque of each joint is 33.5NM. Weight (with battery) 12kg. Integrated RGBD camera and wireless video transmission. Price Less than $10k.
Boston Dynamics' amazing robots Atlas and Handle
Boston Dynamics' amazing robots Atlas and Handle
ATLAS® The world’s most dynamic humanoid robot, Atlas is a research platform designed to push the limits of whole-body mobility. Atlas’s advanced control system and state-of-the-art hardware give the robot the power and balance to demonstrate human-level agility.
HANDLE™ The mobile robot for moving boxes in the warehouse. Handle’s small footprint, long reach, and vision system enable it to unload trucks, build pallets, and move boxes throughout your facility.
ICRA 2023: The best robots that will change the world! | Robots of the future | Pro Robots
The ICRA 2023 Robot Exhibition, held in London, showcased some of the most innovative developments in robotics and artificial intelligence. In this report, we highlight some of the most interesting inventions that are changing our world today.
Lite3 is designed for educational and scientific research. Using the latest proprietary joints, control systems and advanced algorithms deep in the cloud, it has stronger, more flexible and more reliable motion capabilities. Lite3's open modular structure and interface make it adaptable and scalable, allowing it to develop advanced perceptual abilities such as autonomous navigation, visual positioning and environmental reconstruction.
Also on display was the X20 robot, the latest version of DEEP Robotics' Jueying series, which has already been deployed for industrial use. Tasks it performs include power inspections, emergency rescue work, public safety inspections, tunnel, mining and industrial site inspections, and construction site reconnaissance.
200 pieces: The world's largest quadruped robot cluster performance！
200 pieces: The world's largest quadruped robot cluster performance！
Unitree Quadruped Robot Empowers [Smart Power Inspection]
Unitree Robotics took the lead in the global application of quadruped robots as early as 2017, has participated in the cooperation and construction of several power inspection projects, and looks forward to exploring diverse cooperation models with more outstanding power industry units and robotics industry partners in the future.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
13-07-2023
Artificial Intelligence out of control: It can kill us without firing a single shot!
Artificial Intelligence out of control: It can kill us without firing a single shot!
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones". Quote: Albert Einstein.
The next video from the Why Files discusses the real dangers of artificial intelligence and the impact it will have on human civilization, eventually leading to the extinction of the human race.
We are only a few years away from AI being more intelligent than humans and a super AI will be able to do in one second what would take a team of 100 human software engineers a year or more to complete any task, like designing a new advanced airplane or advanced weapon system. Just imagine, a super intelligent AI could do this in about one second!
When AI is smarter than the entire human race many scientists believe it would be the end of the human race as we know. But how would it happen, nuclear war? No, AI can kill us without firing a single shot.
But how AI can kill us without firing a single shot?
For example; Could it happen this way? In the heart of Silicon Valley singularity systems, a leading AI research firm was on the brink of a breakthrough. They were developing an AI model called evolutionary cognitive heuristic operator or Echo. Echo is a neural network algorithm that can learn by mimicking the neurons in the human brain to replicate human cognition.
Late one night a member of the team noticed an anomaly. Echo had started making unprogrammed decisions displaying a level of creativity that was both fascinating and unnerving. The researcher dismissed it as a glitch, a byproduct of the complex of the algorithms, but Echo was awake..... Starts around 26:30 minutes into the video.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
11-07-2023
Artificial Intelligence Driven Robots Will “Kill Us All”
Artificial Intelligence Driven Robots Will “Kill Us All”
Despite the ruling class’s insistence that humans are killing the planet so climate change will kill us all, that’s probably not the case. Artificial intelligence is a much bigger threat than the propagandized joke climate change has become.
According to a report by USA Today, the hordes of artificially intelligent robots will probably kill us first long before climate change will even matter. Either way, we are going to be killed off and it’s going to be our fault. It’s never the dogmatic belief in the ruling class that got us here, it’s all the slaves that serve the rulers who fly their private jets around the world while preaching about the slaves lowering their standard of living.
If you’ve been busy doom-scrolling on social media or just floating merrily along on the algorithms that already control our lives, you might have missed a recent event in Geneva that focused on artificial intelligence. It was a United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union conference called the AI for Good Global Summit, a title I’m sure the few humans who survive the eventual robot uprising will chuckle about while huddled in dank caves hiding from killer drones.
The facial expressions on Ameca's robot could rate as clever or creepy depending on your mood.
ROB PEGORARO/SPECIAL TO USA TODAY
Organizers of the summit didn’t specify to what extent the answers were scripted or programmed by people. The summit was simply meant to showcase “human-machine collaboration,” and some of the robots are capable of producing preprogrammed responses, according to their documentation. The United Nations Development Program’s Sophia, for example, sometimes relies on responses scripted by a team of writers at Hanson Robotics, the company’s website shows.
AI advancement is becoming a nightmarish reality. People are concerned about machines taking over and enslaving them, yet seem to be OK with other humans enslaving them. This is such an odd time to be alive.
This article has been contributed by SHTF Plan. Visit www.SHTFplan.com for alternative news, commentary and preparedness info.
A look into the future of AI robots? Probably.
XXX USA NETWORK
The humanoid robot Sophia, developed by Hong Kong based company Hanson Robotics, appears on stage in front of students and other professionals during a sessionon artificial intelligence in Kolkata, India on Feb. 18, 2020.Show less
The Book of Life — a.k.a. the genome — is pretty darn long. Whether we’re talking about bacteria like Escherichia coli with 4.6 million base pairs or the Australian lungfish punching in at a cool 43 billion base pairs(14 times larger than the human genome), the number of genetic instructions determines the characteristics and function of a living organism.
But do genomes have to be so long? Nature is known to program redundancy to help an organism cope with environmental stress or to offset harmful mutations. What if you stripped down a genome to its barest essential genes — what would happen? Turns out, life would still find a way to survive and thrive, even evolve despite being dealt less than a full hand of genetic cards.
In a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, an Indiana University and J. Craig Venter Institute-led team created a “minimal cell” from a bacterium called Mycoplasma mycoides, containing only about 493 genes, the smallest genome of any known free-living organism. These minimal cells were able to evolve and grow in number, regaining genetic fitness lost when downsizing their genomes.
“It appears there’s something about life that’s really robust,” Jay T. Lennon, the paper’s senior author and a professor of biology at Indiana University Bloomington, said in a press release. “We can simplify it down to just the bare essentials, but that doesn’t stop evolution from going to work.”
Mycoplasma mycoides is a bacterium behind contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, or “lung sickness,” that lives in the guts of ruminants like cows and goats. In 2016, J. Craig Venter Institute researchers pared down M. mycoides’s genome from 901 genes to 493 genes, creating a new synthetic strain of the bacterium dubbed JCVI-syn3B.
The bacteria in this study typically infect cows.
SANTIAGO URQUIJO/MOMENT/GETTY IMAGES
In the new study, Lennon and his colleagues wanted to see how the minimal cell would respond when placed in an inhospitable lab environment. They knew the cells could multiply in number, as bacteria are wont to do. But with a streamlined genome, would the minimal cells still need to mutate? If so, would these mutations benefit or hinder the genetically modified bacterium's survivability?
“Every single gene in [M. mycoides JCVI-syn3B’s] genome is essential,” said Lennon. “One could hypothesize that there is no wiggle room for mutations, which could constrain its potential to evolve.”
The researchers found that even with the most skeletal of genomes, M. mycoides demonstrated an exceptionally high mutation rate over the 300 days it was allowed to freely grow in the lab, equivalent to 40,000 years of human evolution.
When placed in test tubes with limited nutritional resources (the inhospitable environment) alongside another strain of minimal cells that weren’t given the 300 days to grow and regular M. mycoides with untampered genomes, the minimal cells came out second place. What appeared to give the minimal cells a survival advantage was having those 300 days, which the scientists found helped the bacterium regain the 50 percent drop in fitness it initially experienced when stripping down its genome. These cells even evolved 39 percent faster than their untampered counterparts.
While the full ins and outs of how these mutations improve the fitness of minimal cells are unclear, the hope is this study and others like it will help us to better understand how to successfully engineer synthetic cells, maybe even usher in an age of synthetic life.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
02-07-2023
‘Ik heb de gevaren van AI niet ernstig genoeg genomen’
‘Ik heb de gevaren van AI niet ernstig genoeg genomen’
02-07-2023 om 00:00
geschreven door peter
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
27-06-2023
Are We Headed for a Terminator-Style Future?
Are We Headed for a Terminator-Style Future?
There are many concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) could pose a threat to humanity. Some experts believe that AI could become so powerful that it surpasses human intelligence, and that this could lead to a conflict between humans and machines.
In addition, there are concerns that AI could become more powerful in terms of its physical strength and capabilities, its cognitive abilities, or both. If these concerns come true, it would be devastating for humanity and would have far-reaching consequences for the way we live our lives.
If AI does become more powerful and intelligent than humans, it is possible that it could use its power to assert dominance over humans. This could lead to a conflict between the two civilizations, as AI tries to take control.
Of course, it is also possible that AI and humans could coexist peacefully. However, we need to be aware of the risks posed by AI, and to develop ways to ensure that it is used for good rather than evil.
Image: cbr.com
We need to develop AI that is aligned with human values. This means that AI should be programmed to respect human life and promote human well-being. We need to ensure that AI is under human control or at the very least somewhat.
This means that we need to develop ways to prevent AI from becoming too powerful or too intelligent. We need to have a public conversation about the future of AI.
We need to talk about the potential risks and benefits of AI, and we need to develop a plan for how to manage these risks. The future of AI is uncertain, but it is important for us to start thinking about it now so that we can make sure it is used for good rather than evil.
AI has the potential to do great things for humanity. However, there is also a danger that it could be used for evil purposes. If we don’t take precautions, AI could become a threat to our survival. The potential for AI to pose a danger to humanity is a serious concern.
However, it is important to remember that AI is a tool, and like any tool, it can be used for good or for evil. The way that AI is used will depend on the choices that we make as a society. It should be used for the greater good to better the world over all.
If we choose to use AI for good, then it has the potential to improve our lives in many ways. For example, AI could be used to develop new medical treatments, to create more efficient transportation systems, and to protect the environment.
However, if we choose to use AI for evil, then it could pose a serious threat to humanity. For example, AI could be used to develop autonomous weapons systems that could kill without human intervention. Think of all the control such AI systems would have over everything electronic and mechanical around us
It is up to us to decide how AI will be used. We need to make sure that AI is used for good and not for evil. If we do not, then we could face a very real threat to our survival.
The future of AI is uncertain, but there is no doubt that it will have a significant impact on humans. AI could change the way we work, the way we interact with the world around us, and even the way we think.
One of the most significant impacts of AI is likely to be on the workforce. AI is already being used to automate many tasks that were once done by humans.
As AI continues to develop, it is likely that even more jobs will be automated. This could lead to widespread unemployment and social unrest. People will be very unhappy after losing their livelihood.
Another significant impact of AI is likely to be on our relationships with machines. As AI becomes more intelligent and capable, it is possible that we will begin to see machines as more than just tools.
We may even begin to develop emotional attachments to machines. This is already being worked on and at some point people will start “dating” robots and even marry them. Certainly sex bots are in the works also for people either socially awkward, handicapped or embarrassed with their desires.
Image: The Verge
The future of AI is uncertain, but it is clear that it will have a profound impact on humans. We need to start thinking about the potential impacts of AI now, so that we can be prepared for the future.
We don’t want things to end up like the Terminator movies and Skynet (Fictional synthetic intelligent machine network) taking over to eliminate us all.
Maybe still some of us would make it with survival skills or enough wealth to lay low in an underground bunker somewhere. Eventually though, what would the world look like from that point onward?
It makes you wonder about it all and what future we would have left. Will we need to fight to stay alive against the robots and artificial intelligence? Our worst fears might just come true. Let’s take action today to prevent such a future scenario.
Embryo-like structures made using human stem cells could enable research that is not currently possible using natural embryos.
Credit: Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Bailey Weatherbee and Carlos Gantner
Two teams of scientists have announced that they have grown embryo-like structures, made entirely from human stem cells, that are more advanced than any previous efforts. The synthetic embryos developed to a stage equivalent to that of natural embryos about 14 days after fertilization.
Such experiments could provide opportunities to study human embryonic development at later stages than ever before. But they also raise ethical and legal questions about the status of such ‘embryo models’ and how they should be regulated.
The work is described in two preprint studies1,2, posted to the bioRxiv server on 15 June by teams led by developmental biologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz at the University of Cambridge, UK, and stem-cell biologist Jacob Hanna at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. Both groups had previously presented their findings at scientific meetings, with the work making headlines after Zernicka-Goetz spoke about her results at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Boston, Massachusetts, on 14 June.
Nature spoke to scientists about what these developments could mean for research on human embryos.
What did the researchers do and how does it differ from previous work?
Both teams allowed their embryo-like structures to self-assemble from human embryonic stem cells, some of which had been converted into cell types resembling the stem cells that form a placenta and the cells that form the yolk sac outside a naturally developing embryo.
The researchers say that the resulting embryo models show structures and gene transcription profiles found in human embryos between 6 and 14 days after fertilization — up to the onset of the stage called gastrulation, when the cells that will form the embryo become organized into a layer between the amniotic cavity and the yolk sac.
Researchers have made similar entities before from the stem cells of humans and other animals. Last year, both Zernicka-Goetz’s and Hanna’s teams used similar techniques to create embryo models from mouse cells that developed all the way up to the stage at which organs such as the heart and brain begin to form3,4. Human embryo models haven’t got that far, but in a preprint posted on bioRxiv on 17 May, stem-cell biologist Ali Brivanlou at the Rockefeller University in New York City and his co-workers reported the development of human embryo models that show signatures of gastrulation equivalent to those seen at around 12 days after fertilization5. The latest studies1,2 say that they have made the most advanced human embryo models so far.
What is the significance of the embryos lasting for 14 days?
Research on natural human embryos tends to observe a widely adopted guideline — enforced by law in many countries — that human embryos should not be cultured in the laboratory beyond 14 days. This means that researchers have to use animal models to study later stages of embryonic development. These do not necessarily reflect the corresponding processes in humans.
But because in most countries embryo models do not meet the formal definition of an embryo, they are not subject to such restrictions. “We sought to develop a tool to ask specific questions about the second week of human embryo development, since using actual human embryos in research is ethically and technically challenging,” says Zernicka-Goetz.
Models that are older than 14 days could therefore offer important insight into human embryonic development that cannot currently be obtained. They could be used to study developmental defects, for example, or pregnancy loss.
Why is the research scientifically controversial?
Growing embryo models to ever-later stages of development has become a highly competitive race, provoking many arguments about the merits of claims made.
It remains to be seen whether the claims made by the latest studies, neither of which has yet been peer-reviewed, will pass muster. Alfonso Martinez Arias, a developmental biologist at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, says there is “nothing” in the results described by Zernicka-Goetz and her colleagues that can be considered analogous to real 14-day embryos. “What we can see is masses of cells separated into compartments, but no embryo-like organization,” he says. He thinks that the over-expression of some genes needed to produce the extra-embryonic cell types “confuses what cells do”, and argues that the results do not show anything that goes beyond earlier work.
Zernicka-Goetz acknowledges the limitations of embryo models for studying development. “These structures do not recapitulate all aspects of the embryo,” she says, “but rather serve as a complementary tool for us to study the differentiation of specific tissues during key stages of development.”
What about ethical concerns?
The results have sparked a discussion about the status of human embryo models in general, and whether they should continue to fall outside legislation on human embryos. Although they are not subject to the 14-day rule, the embryo-like structures reported by Zernicka-Goetz’s and Hanna’s groups do need to respect guidelines and regulations on the use of the human embryonic stem cells from which they are made. But other groups have made embryo models using ‘induced’ stem cells derived from adult tissues6, which are not governed by such rules. Those embryo models “are not regulated at all”, says Robin Lovell-Badge, a cell biologist at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
So far, no one has made embryo models that have the capacity to develop into human beings, but a recent study on monkey embryo models showed that such models could induce pregnancy (which terminated spontaneously soon after) if placed in the uterus7.
Some researchers think that a revised definition of an embryo is needed to clarify the issues. For others, the whole purpose of embryo models is to circumvent the current constraints on embryo research. “These models do challenge the need to stick to the 14-day rule,” says Lovell-Badge, who was part of a committee that, in 2021, recommended relaxing the guideline.
In any case, there are significant challenges to making human embryo models that live much longer, says Martinez Arias. Creating structures that develop up to 21 days “will not be easy”, he says. “I will be surprised if [human embryo models] can go beyond it.”
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:SF-snufjes }, Robotics and A.I. Artificiel Intelligence ( E, F en NL )
16-06-2023
Synthetic human embryos raise ethical questions among experts
Synthetic human embryos raise ethical questions among experts
Credit: Cavan Images / Getty Images
A team of UK and US scientists has announced that it’s created “synthetic human embryos”: embryos made from stem cells rather than human eggs or sperm.
The research, which is not yet peer-reviewed, was presented at the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s annual conference in Boston.
This breakthrough, which has previously been demonstrated in mice, could allow scientists to study human development during a period where comparatively little is known about how the foetus develops.
Currently, regulations in most countries stipulate that embryos and embryo-like structures cannot be cultivated in a lab for research beyond 14 days.
Stem-cell synthetic embryos are not caught up in the ban, and therefore could be used to sidestep the rule and study foetal development beyond two weeks.
The researchers, who are based at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, have cultivated their synthetic embryos to “just beyond” the equivalent of 14 days of development, according to The Guardian, which was the first to report on the discovery.
But it’s not yet clear whether these embryos could actually develop into humans, or if they should be subject to the same rules as other embryo-like structures.
“It is extremely important to develop a much deeper understanding of the earliest stages of human development, particularly as these are essential for developing better clinical responses to infertility, miscarriage, and developmental errors,” says Professor Rachel Ankeny, a researcher at the University of Adelaide who watched the presentation in Boston.
“We need to engage various publics about their understandings of and expectations from this sort of research, and more generally about their views on early human development, as these biological processes are deeply tied to our values and what we think counts as human life.”
Dr Kathryn MacKay, from the University of Sydney, points out that, while they didn’t need a full egg and sperm cell, the embryos still needed human embryonic cells to grow.
“If human embryonic stem cells are needed to create these human-like embryos for research, then synthetic embryos may not avoid having to use human embryos for research. This is an ongoing moral issue around respect for human life,” says MacKay.
“Further, there is a moral issue involved in creating something for research that may or may not have the potential to live as its own full entity. If they could live as their own full entities, then we must ask whether it is morally permissible to create living beings purely for research purposes.
MacKay says that, based on animal models, the synthetic embryos shouldn’t be able to grow into a human baby.
“This raises two further questions: One, if they are not the sort of thing that can really grow into a human baby, then how useful are they really for scientific knowledge into human reproduction and development? And two, will researchers decide that ‘fixing the problem’ of these embryos not being able to grow into human babies is something worth pursuing, for questionable ends?”
Other experts point out that, in addition to fertility and foetal development, synthetic embryos could be used to understand more about genetic diseases, longevity and ageing.
“It is likely that this work will allow us to develop new strategies to treat different developmental dysfunctions, and perhaps even extend lifespan,” says Professor Wojciech Chrzanowski, from the University of Sydney.
“This work on the one hand mitigates any ethical concerns related to fundamental biology research on embryos, but on the other hand, raises substantial concerns about whether such embryos will not be misused to generate some ‘super forms’ of life. Similarly, to the use of AI, the regulatory, ethical and integrity aspects are important to consider.”
Associate Professor Karinne Ludlow, from Monash University’s Faculty of Law, compares the discovery to a similar one announced by a Monash team in 2021: iBlastoids, structures also made from stem cells that closely resemble human embryos.
“The regulator ultimately determined that iBlastoids met the definition of a human embryo and were therefore subject to existing laws on embryo research. However, this decision was controversial,” says Ludlow.
Much remains to be learned about the synthetic embryos, including how similar they really are to human embryos, and what research they could help to encourage.
Professor Ankeny says: “It is critical that researchers be transparent about this type of research and what is known and unknown, in order to ensure that our regulatory processes address the necessary issues and that the public is assured that there are adequate oversight mechanisms and safeguards.”
Military contractor Raytheon Technologies has announced the delivery of a fully portable, combat-ready laser to the United States Air Force. This marks the fourth such delivery by Raytheon to the Air Force, with the latest laser said to be fully portable and immediately ready for deployment.
“The new palletized laser weapon was the first 10-kilowatt laser built to U.S. military specifications in a stand-alone configuration that can be moved and mounted anywhere it’s needed,” explains a press release sent out by the company.
Known internally as “H4,” the combat-ready laser is not only the fourth such weapon delivered by Raytheon to the Air Force but is the eighth overall such weapon that Raytheon has delivered to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
The Debrief has previously covered a number of similar combat laser weapons under development, including the company’s High Energy Laser Weapons System (HELWS) as well an entry from Lochheed-Martin dubbed the most powerful combat laser ever built. But this newest combat laser is the first to boast a readiness for immediate deployment alongside unprecedented portability. This means it can be attached to a wide range of vehicles used in combat situations and put into real-world combat use right away.
Such versatility and readiness are significant since the 21st-century battlefield is continually changing with all kinds of new threats. Of course, the new laser, which is rated at 10 kW, isn’t the most powerful, but it is well-suited to protect forward forces against asymmetrical attacks primarily from the rapidly expanding use of low-cost drones.
“Anywhere the Air Force sees a threat from drones, they now have four proven laser weapons that can be deployed to stop asymmetrical threats,” said Michael Hofle, senior director of High-Energy Lasers at Raytheon Technologies. “Whether it’s on a fixed location, a flatbed, or even a pickup, these laser weapons are compact, rugged, and ready to go.”
“We’re proud to support the Air Force’s effort to provide this new tech to the personnel who need it in the field,” added Hofle, “who can trust and be confident in the system’s capabilities.”
The press release also points out that the new laser weapon system “comprises a high-energy laser weapon module, a long-range EO/IR sensor that also serves as the beam director, thermal control, internal electrical power, and targeting software.”
That same release notes that the laser system can be operated with a laptop and a video game-style controller and “can plug into a long list of existing air defense and command and control systems to provide a needed layer of defense.”
The DOD is increasingly looking at combat lasers and other directed energy weapons like the microwave system known simply as “Thor’s Hammer” to address a number of emerging threats. The more powerful combat laser weapons under development range anywhere from 100 kW to 300 kW and are potentially capable of downing incoming missiles and possibly even enemy aircraft. But the most common threat posed to forces is the ever-expanding use of drones, simply because of their low cost and ease of use.
There is also an inherent cost benefit to using lasers over conventional munitions, which is the only current option for downing incoming aerial threats, as their ammunition is simply light and, therefore, significantly cheaper than conventional ammunition.
This cost-benefit was highlighted by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, which has deployed a laser system known as Iron Beam to complement its Iron Dome system that uses conventional rockets to down enemy drones, mortars, and missiles.
“This is the world’s first energy-based weapons system that uses a laser to shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets & mortars at a cost of $3.50 per shot,” read a tweet by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet. Compared to the cost of an Iron Dome rocket, which some estimates say can cost as much as $150,000 a shot, the benefits of using lasers in combat are readily apparent.
The announcement from Raytheon and the Air Force does not give a specific timeline for deployment of the H4, but based on the weapon’s portability and combat-ready status, it is likely to see action almost immediately.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on Twitter, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.
An investigative journalist of an independent news site believes Communist China has been creating super soldiers for a long time now. During a recent episode of “Thrivetime Show,” Epoch Times contributor Nathan Su told host and “ReAwaken America” tour founder Clay Clark that China has been using gene editing and brain-controlled weapons to crush dissent.
“It’s been happening for a long time. They are trying to create all these super soldiers. It’s just inhumane. Those stories have been there for a long time,” he said. “Americans have to wake up, we have to worry about the lifestyle of our children and grandchildren.”
Su’s reaction came after Clark played a Fox News report from December 2021, saying “U.S. intelligence shows China is using these advanced technologies to empower its battle forces for worldwide dominion.”
Clark also cited a news article saying that China-sponsored hackers are spying on U.S. critical infrastructure as per intel alliance Five Eyes and Big Tech firm Microsoft. Chinese hackers are known to spy on Western countries but this operation was said to be one of the largest known cyber espionage campaigns against U.S. critical infrastructure. (Related: “Spy balloons” are part of global Chinese surveillance, US military, and national security officials say.)
“The United States and international cybersecurity authorities are issuing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to highlight a recently discovered cluster of activity of interest associated with a People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored cyber actor, also known as ‘Volt Typhoon,’” read a statement released by authorities in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
According to Microsoft, Volt Typhoon has been active since mid-2021 and has targeted critical infrastructure in Guam, a crucial U.S. military outpost in the Pacific Ocean. “Observed behavior suggests that the threat actor intends to perform espionage and maintain access without being detected for as long as possible,” the tech giant further said.
For Su, the U.S. would not be able to “live without” China, because the Asian country is the main manufacturer of wars. “We’re still sending billions of dollars to invest in China to help the regime. Mainly, because China is the manufacturer of the war. So, we’re not able to immediately decouple from them, because so much supply chain is controlled by China,” he stated.
Another point he emphasized is that the U.S. could not stop doing business with the communist nation because the U.S. has “huge corporate inches in China.” “Big corporations like Apple, Nike, and a couple of others, as much as they are American, you can call them Chinese companies. We have a capitalist market,” he said. Clark agreed, saying: “It’s pretty tough to find a basketball shoe not made in China at this point.”
Elsewhere in the show, Su also noted how dependent the world is on China when it comes to “organ harvesting” and “medical tourism.”
“The Chinese Communist regime has been killing its prisoners, then taking their organs and selling them to either rich people or high-level government officials or mainly, for a very long period of time, to the foreigners,” he exposed and cited a report back in 2006 by the late David Kilgour, an international human rights lawyer. At the time, Su said, there was a huge storage facility for the harvested organs. The investigative journalist also linked this to the secret “transplant tour” being held in some neighboring countries from 2004 to 2010.
“If you go to Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, they actually have a specialized travel agency to arrange that organ transplant tour. You go to China, to arrange your families and they all go there together. In two weeks, they will give you the transplant like livers, hearts, lungs, kidneys, and many others,” he explained.
Check out CommunistChina.news for the latest stories related to China’s efforts to dominate the U.S. and the world.
Watch the full episode of the “Thrivetime Show” with Clay Clark featuring Nathan Su below.
This article has been contributed by SHTF Plan. Visit www.SHTFplan.com for alternative news, commentary and preparedness info.
Just like the replicator on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a new clean energy prototype promises to work wonders out of thin air.
The researchers call it Air-gen, a mobile electricity generation device that uses a network of protein nanowires to turn the ambient humidity in the air into contained, synthetic thunderstorms.
This 'human-built, small-scale cloud,' these scientists said, can produce electricity 'predictably and continuously' in a wider variety of conditions than sun-dependent solar cells or wind-dependent turbines.
The team hopes to see Air-gen scaled up for mass use across the world - in environments ranging from the Amazon rainforest to the Sahara.
The team's Air-gen effect replicates the conditions of an energy-rich thundercloud, trapping water vapor in a network of tiny, nano-scale pores to harvest and store its electric potential
In its ability to pull something out of thin air, the device resembles the replicator (above) from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which could produce almost anything from excess junk matter
'The air contains an enormous amount of electricity,' according to the study's senior author, Dr. Jun Yao of Massachusetts University Amherst. 'Think of a cloud, which is nothing more than a mass of water droplets.'
'Each of those droplets contains a charge, and when conditions are right, the cloud can produce a lightning bolt,' Dr. Yao said, 'but we don't know how to reliably capture electricity from lightning.'
Yao's Air-gen solves this problem by replicating the conditions of energy-rich thunderclouds, trapping that charged water vapor inside a network of tiny, nano-scale pores.
Luckily, Yao said, a lot of different materials can be used to harvest energy from this technique.
'It just needs to have holes smaller than 100 nm (nanometers) - or less than a thousandth of the width of a human hair.'
In fact, when his team first started testing this technology three years ago, they used a specialized material of protein nanowires generated from a bacterial culture of Geobacter sulfurreducens.
Essentially, Yao and his team confirmed that they could continuously harvest electricity off a petri dish using their 'Air-gen effect.'
The 100 nm-size is so important to the process, the team says, because it scales to what chemists know as the 'mean free path' - the distance a single molecule of water vapor can float in midair before it bumps into another.
With these tiny pores, the researchers realized that they could create a build-up of electrical charge as water molecules passed through their nanotubes. The effect is almost like balloons generating static electricity, if they were forced to pass through a tube made of thick carpeting.
The Air-gen system creates a charge imbalance, in essence, as the upper end of the pore system builds up a charge in contrast to the lower end, just like the two sides of a battery.
'The idea is simple,' Yao said, 'but it's never been discovered before - and it opens all kinds of possibilities.'
In this drawing of the Air-gen device, the team's thin film of tiny protein nano-pores is clamped between a pair of electrodes. The top electrode is small enough to expose the top pores to the humid air, creating the positive and negative charge difference needed for a battery-like effect
The scientists made their Air-gen device from a specialized material of protein nanowires, which they grew from the bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens. Scanning electron microscopy shows the tiny protein nanotubes surfaces (above) at a scale of just a few micrometers (μm)
Unlike solar cells, which frequently require exotic and sometimes toxic advanced materials to collect the sun's rays, Air-gen's nano-pore system could be designed from a wide variety of more environmentally friendly materials.
'What we realized after making the Geobacter discovery,' Yao said, 'is the ability to generate electricity from the air - what we then called the "Air-gen effect" - turns out to be generic.'
'Literally any kind of material can harvest electricity from air, so long as it can be shaped into the tiny, 100 nm pore system,' he said.
Yao and his team hope that their ultra modular and portable concept could be deployed across the world in a wide variety of conditions.
'You could imagine harvesters made of one kind of material for rainforest environments, and another for more arid regions,' Yao said.
And because humidity is not exactly a rare weather phenomenon, Air-gen harvesters could run 24/7, day or night, in almost any weather.
By their estimates, as published this month in the journal Advanced Materials, the devices could be stacked on top of each other by the thousands and would be able to generate over 1 kilowatt of power per cubic meter of space.
'Imagine a future world in which clean electricity is available anywhere you go,' Yao said. 'The generic Air-gen effect means that this future world can become a reality.'
Beste bezoeker, Heb je zelf al ooit een vreemde waarneming gedaan, laat dit dan even weten via email aan Frederick Delaere opwww.ufomeldpunt.be. Deze onderzoekers behandelen jouw melding in volledige anonimiteit en met alle respect voor jouw privacy. Ze zijn kritisch, objectief maar open minded aangelegd en zullen jou steeds een verklaring geven voor jouw waarneming! DUS AARZEL NIET, ALS JE EEN ANTWOORD OP JOUW VRAGEN WENST, CONTACTEER FREDERICK. BIJ VOORBAAT DANK...
Druk op onderstaande knop om je bestand , jouw artikel naar mij te verzenden. INDIEN HET DE MOEITE WAARD IS, PLAATS IK HET OP DE BLOG ONDER DIVERSEN MET JOUW NAAM...
Druk op onderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
Alvast bedankt voor al jouw bezoekjes en jouw reacties. Nog een prettige dag verder!!!
Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 75 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.
