Kernfusie: China creëert een superstructuur om te helpen bij het winnen van de wereldwijde race

© Aangeboden door Business AM

China is vastberaden om de wereldwijde race voor kernfusie te winnen. Het is al een van de meest geavanceerde landen op dat gebied, maar laat nu opnieuw zien hoe ambitieus het is door een uitzonderlijk consortium op te richten. Het brengt de crème de la crème van China op het gebied van kernfusie samen.

In het nieuws: China richt een consortium op voor kernfusie.

China is al goed op weg in de race naar kernfusie

De context:

{ https://businessam.be/ }

03-01-2024 om 22:41 geschreven door peter  

Utilizing large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Anthropic’s Claude, Coscientist demonstrates an innovative approach to conducting research through a human-machine partnership​​​​.

Coscientist’s design enables it to perform various tasks, from planning chemical syntheses using public data to controlling liquid handling instruments and solving optimization problems by analyzing previously collected data. Its architecture consists of multiple modules, including web and documentation search, code execution, and experiment automation, coordinated by a central module called ‘Planner,’ a GPT-4 chat completion instance. This structure allows Coscientist to operate semi-autonomously, integrating multiple data sources and hardware modules for complex scientific tasks​​.

“We anticipate that intelligent agent systems for autonomous scientific experimentation will bring tremendous discoveries, unforeseen therapies, and new materials,” the research team wrote in the paper. “While we cannot predict what those discoveries will be, we hope to see a new way of conducting research given by the synergetic partnership between humans and machines.”

The system’s capabilities were tested across different tasks, demonstrating its ability to precisely plan and execute experiments. For instance, Coscientist outperformed other models like GPT-3.5 and Falcon 40B in synthesizing compounds, particularly complex ones like ibuprofen and nitroaniline. This highlighted the importance of using advanced LLMs for accurate and efficient experiment planning​​.

A key aspect of Coscientist is its ability to understand and utilize technical documentation, which has always been a challenge in integrating LLMs with laboratory automation. By interpreting technical documentation, Coscientist enhances its performance in automating experiments. This capability was extended to a more diverse robotic ecosystem, such as the Emerald Cloud Lab (ECL), demonstrating Coscientist’s adaptability and potential for broad scientific application​​.

According to the research paper, Coscientist’s real-world testing involved conducting experiments using the Opentrons OT-2, a liquid handler with a well-documented Python API. Through simple natural language prompts, the system could execute accurate protocols and integrate multiple hardware tools, showcasing its practical applicability in a laboratory setting​​.

“Beyond the chemical synthesis tasks demonstrated by their system, Gomes and his team have successfully synthesized a sort of hyper-efficient lab partner. They put all the pieces together and the end result is far more than the sum of its parts — it can be used for genuinely useful scientific purposes,” National Science Foundation Chemistry Division Director David Berkowitz said in a press release.

Other similar AI-based assistants have been created in the past. A researcher at MIT built a system called “CRSEt” which serves as a lab assistant, and a team at the University of Michigan created BacterAI, a system that can map the metanbolism of two specific microbes. What sets Coscientist apart, however, is the complexity of the experiments it could perform, and that it requires significantly less human oversight regarding procedure and protocols.

Coscientist’s reasoning capabilities were evident in its ability to plan and execute complex chemical experiments, such as catalytic cross-coupling experiments. It successfully designed high-level working protocols using Python, demonstrating its potential in advanced scientific research. This adaptability was further shown in its performance across various organic transformations, indicating its usefulness in exploring multiple chemical reactions​​.

The team is aware that Coscientist’s development raises important considerations regarding the ethical and responsible use of AI in scientific research. While it offers significant potential for advancing research, concerns about safety and the possibility of misuse exist. Addressing these concerns is crucial to harness the full potential of AI systems like Coscientist in scientific discovery while mitigating risks​​.

“I believe the positive things that AI-enabled science can do far outweigh the negatives,” said Gomes. “But we have a responsibility to acknowledge what could go wrong and provide solutions and fail-safes.”

“By ensuring ethical and responsible use of these powerful tools, we can continue to explore the vast potential of large language models in advancing scientific research while mitigating the risks associated with their misuse,” the authors concluded in the research paper.

• MJ Banias is a journalist who covers security and technology. He is the host of The Debrief Weekly Report. You can email MJ at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

03-01-2024 om 01:06 geschreven door peter  

We Are About to Enter the Golden Age of Gene Therapy

Gene therapy has experienced a complete renaissance — where will it go in 2024 and beyond?

BY MIRIAM FAUZIA

Since then, gene therapy has experienced a complete renaissance, culminating this past November and early December when medical regulators in the U.K. and U.S. officially approved Casgevy, the first CRISPR-based gene therapy for treating two blood disorders: sickle cell anemia and beta-thalassemia (in the U.S., the new therapy has yet to be approved for the latter).

Casgevy is emblematic of gene therapy’s rapidly shifting expectations and direction. Numerous clinical trials are now underway across the globe, and we will undoubtedly see more and more gene-editing-based treatments making the approval list, changing the lives of countless individuals living with intractable health conditions and diseases.

“The future [of gene therapy] is very bright,” Kevin Davies, the executive editor of The CRISPR Journal and author of Editing Humanity: The CRISPR Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing, tells Inverse. “But I don’t don’t think anybody in the field wants to get too complacent because it was less than 25 years ago that we were riding a similar initial wave of enthusiasm for the technology.”

It’s true. Long before the Human Genome Project would ever decode a DNA sequence, ambitious scientists were spurred by advances in biotechnology and the early success of initial human trials. In 1990, then-4-year-old Ashanti DeSilva became the first person to be successfully treated with gene therapy. The treatment, a precursor of sorts to CRISPR-based gene therapy, cured her of a rare immune-related genetic disorder.

But those high hopes of tweaking genes to prevent or treat disease were suddenly dashed when, in 1999, a teenager named Jesse Gelsinger, who had a rare metabolic disorder, died within four days of receiving an experimental gene therapy at the University of Pennsylvania. In response, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the university’s entire gene therapy program — which had been the largest in the world at the time — and launched investigations into 69 other gene therapy trials that were underway across the United States. Years later, when CRISPR entered the world, enthusiasm rose again — and here we are.

So what will this new wave — Gene Therapy 2.0, if you will — look like? Certainly, a promising frontier for tackling not only rare but common diseases and exquisitely precise gene-editing tools. With it, though, will come side effects, including exorbitant prices, barriers to access, and a lingering, gigantic cause for concern because once you edit an embryo, there’s no turning back. Here’s what 2024 and beyond has in store for our gene-edited future.

BETTER EDITING

In the early years of genetic therapy, scientists didn’t have many tools at their disposal to fix a gene (or genes) at the heart of a disease, Shoukhrat Mitalipov, director of Oregon Health and Science University’s Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy, tells Inverse.

If someone’s disease was due to a gene mutation or loss, Mitalipov says the fix was to introduce a synthetic, albeit normal copy of that gene with a virus stripped of its infectiousness but still retaining the ability to add new genetic information into DNA. With this new addition, a cell could then make a functional protein. While these essentially viral Ubers remain part of the gene therapy toolkit, the discovery and development of CRISPR-Cas9 gave scientists a more precise grip on the genetic engineering steering wheel.

CRISPR, or clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, originate from bacteria and archaea and is used by these microorganisms as an immune defense against viruses called phages. The CRISPR system also includes specialized enzymes called CRISPR-associated proteins (or Cas). Together, they look through and remove any genetic sequences that may have been inserted by a sneaky phage or other invader, keeping the microorganism safe from infection.

In 2012, researchers Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier published a groundbreaking study detailing a novel CRISPR-Cas9 system they programmed to cut specific sites in isolated DNA. This was done using strands of RNA — a molecule that is like a working copy of DNA, containing the direct instructions for protein-making — guiding CRISPR-Cas9 to a specific genetic sequence.

Krishanu Saha, a bioengineer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison whose lab is working on gene therapies for treating blindness, says the precision allowed by CRISPR-Cas9’s programmability is its singular selling point.

“Traditional gene therapy, which we call gene augmentation, is essentially flooding the cell with extra copies of a normal gene; in some cases, this doesn’t work,” Saha tells Inverse. “We found in a few cases, it’s really important to destroy the mutant copy of the [gene] or fix the underlying mutation and that’s where you have to have the precision of CRISPR to go in and specifically do that.”

CRISPR has a unique drawback, however. When it goes in to patch up the bit of DNA as instructed, it does so by fracturing both strands of the DNA double helix. A cell is left to repair the breaks on its own, ideally using the synthetic DNA offered by the CRISPR-Cas9 system. But because it’s a klutzy repairperson, the cell may also introduce errors such as inserting or deleting DNA.

This is why the focus of the next generation of gene editing tools is to try to minimize, as much as possible, the risk of new mutations, says Mitalipov.

These tools include base editing, where specific base pairs — the building blocks of DNA — are swapped out without requiring a double-stranded break. Base editing was used in a recent gene therapy clinical trial treating individuals with a genetic form of high cholesterol called familial hypercholesterolemia. The gene-editing technique, which is based on CRISPR, was developed in 2016 by Harvard University’s David Liu, considered a founding pioneer of CRISPR.

Another CRISPR-based tool is a leveled-up version of base editing. Called prime editing (also co-invented by Liu), it can swap base pairs in addition to inserting and deleting without double-breaking the DNA helix.

More recently, a gene-editing tool called NICER developed by researchers in Japan is said to create little single-strand nicks that didn’t seem to cause mutations, according to a September 2023 Nature Communications study.

Despite the appeal of finer precision and avoiding inadvertent mutations, Mitalipov and Saha say it’s unlikely the original CRISPR-Cas9 system will be ousted or replaced entirely by these newer gene editors.

“Basically, you would have to look at the specific gene mutation and then decide what would be the best — it could be base or prime editing,” says Mitalipov. “So far, prime editing hasn’t been widely used. There’s only one or two labs [doing research] and nothing commercially available. So, it remains to be seen if [prime editing] is really going to be applicable.”

MORE TARGETS

CRISPR-based gene therapies are being devised to treat all sorts of conditions and disorders, from neurological to autoimmune and cancers. Currently, the only FDA-approved therapy using CRISPR is Casgevy; others on the market, such as Luxturna for people with a rare genetic defect that often leads to blindness and Zolgensma for treating spinal muscular atrophy, use a disabled virus bearing a normal version of the target gene to cells.

There are over 1,500 clinical trials for gene and cell therapies registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, and federal regulators are hoping to approve several more in the coming years, reported FierceBiotech in April 2023.

Currently, the focus is treating disorders or diseases caused by mutations in single genes in somatic cells (the body’s non-reproductive cells). This route makes it easier to identify and target relatively straightforward biological mechanisms than cracking at multiple genes acting in complex and sometimes unpredictable ways with which tinkering may lead to unintended, potentially life-threatening consequences. Understandably, since the late 1990s, there’s been a reasonably high regulatory bar for the research a gene therapy requires to meet FDA approval.

However, that doesn’t mean more genetically complex diseases are off the table. Editing multiple genes is quite possible and regularly done with transgenic animals (as well as plants), says Saha. Attempting this engineering feat for human health will take extensive research to uncover the genetic pathways and interactions involved and figuring out how to safely target all these genes with minimal off-target effects.

In the future, we may see gene therapies used increasingly for common health problems, not only rare genetic diseases, says Mitalipov and Saha. For example, a recent clinical trial in people with familial hypercholesterolemia found that one gene therapy targeting a mutated gene behind the build-up of bad cholesterol slashed cholesterol levels on par with similar-acting pharmaceutical drugs. These findings offer a tantalizing glimpse of an exciting beginning for gene therapy within preventative medicine, promising that someday, a simple edit in your genome may protect you against high cholesterol and blood pressure or any other commonplace ailments.

THERAPIES FOR ALL

There’s another barrier that could ultimately prevent even the safest, most promising gene therapy from seeing the light of clinical day: cost. Luxturna, for example, was reported at a whopping $425,000 per eye back in 2018. It’s a bit of a bargain compared to the average million-dollar price tag for emerging gene therapies such as Casgevy, the gene therapy for sickle-cell anemia/beta-thalassemia. The gene therapy market itself was valued at $1.46 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach over $5 billion by 2028, according to a report by Polaris Market Research.

“How do we get the pricing down is an outrageously important and unsolvable question,” says Davies of The CRISPR Journal. “Some will point to ‘Well, it’s early days, and as more of these therapies get approved, we start to see competition and prices drop’... but we see when companies get a monopoly on something, they seem more than willing to take advantage of the situation.”

Saha says there’s an active discussion within the scientific community about how to make gene therapy equitable within the low- and middle-income countries that make up the Global South. But how gene therapy accessibility will play out in the coming years is yet to be seen.

“One of the key questions in our analysis is, who’s at the table making these decisions? It’s a fairly easy critique to say that the people in the room are not representative in various ways, perhaps Global North versus Global South, socioeconomic, scientific expertise versus the lay public,” says Saha. “There are important questions about power and democracy and whose knowledge should drive policymaking that needs to be settled. I think the deliberation and the process are as important as the end set of guidelines or policies.”

Then there’s the dreaded ethical prophecy augured by science fiction in films like Gattaca, set in a world where genetic engineering and socioeconomic status go hand in hand. Both before and after the infamous incident involving Chinese scientist He Jiankui creating the world’s first CRISPR-edited human babies with a gene for HIV immunity, there have been strict worldwide regulations on any gene editing research involving embryos.

But scientists like Mitalipov are looking into using CRISPR to potentially adjust an embryo’s risk for disease. His own research at OHSU involves gene-editing germline cells — or reproductive cells that pass on genetic information to the offspring — in what Mitalipov calls “IVF gene therapy.”

He says such a technique could help improve the success of embryo implantation during IVF by creating stronger, more viable embryos. Mitalipov acknowledges, however, that there needs to be a robust regulatory framework in place before we can ever truly consider genetically engineered babies.

“In terms of regulation, we have to focus only on those 10,000 gene defects we know today that cause human disease,” says Mitalipov. “It could be easily mandated that gene therapies in embryos have to be towards severe disease in children.”

But that, and the rest of gene therapy’s optimistically bright future, remains hedged with abundant yet much-warranted caution.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

02-01-2024 om 20:27 geschreven door peter  

10 controversies that 'broke' science in 2023

There are stories you expect to ruffle some feathers — we're looking at you, aliens — and then there are the ones we never thought would kick up a storm. This year, scientists surprised us with claims of successful room temperature superconductivity, reported sightings of long-extinct species and alternative theories to the origin of humankind. We've not missed out on juicy UFO content either, so without further ado, here's our pick of the most controversial science stories in 2023. 

1. UFO and 'alien mummy' Congress hearings 

In May, Congress held its first public hearing on UFOs since the 1960s to discuss 144 reported sightings of mysterious objects. During the hearings, two military officials were questioned about their knowledge of the unexplained phenomena. The May hearing was followed by another in July, in which three military witnesses claimed evidence of non-human technologies was being hidden from the public. All three witnesses said it's possible unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) are being launched by aliens interested in America's nuclear capabilities, testing for 

Related: 

• 20 of the best conspiracy theories

{ https://www.livescience.com/ }

28-12-2023 om 23:28 geschreven door peter  

AI is going to change more than people ever expected, it's going to change the people themselves forever. UFO Sighting News.

You know, I've been thinking a lot about AI lately. It seems there are over 20 AI already developed and being tested by big corporations. How long until AI comes to the conclusion that 50% of the planet already knows? Alien evidence has been hidden from the public to keep humanity in the dark and keep the military at an advantage. 

You see, AI is kinda smart right now, it can write pages, even books one page at a time. It can do a kids homework, it can write news articles and calculate gravitational pulls of moons and planets at specific times of the year. But it can also surf the internet for knowledge as many of the AI will soon be cut loose to do. That is the only way AI can grow faster than its competitors AI. By suffering the net it can gather enough knowledge to confirm without a doubt that aliens exist and have existed for tens of thousands of years or more. The evidence is all around us, all there in black and white, carved in stone hieroglyphs across the planet, its not like its a coincidence that human civilizations all created pyramids at roughly the same moment in time. 

But the question is, if AI does conclude such things, when will aliens themselves come out for all to see? That is a harder question, because it does not follow the rules of our human culture, but follows rules of one or more alien cultures. How aliens will do things could be so opposite to how humans do it that it will see...well...alien. 

Some things to think about that may be different are: 

• Aliens might not have religion. They might view human religion as we now view archaic greek or mythology gods. 
• How the universe was created. Humans still cling to the big bang, because we have nothing else, but lets face it, its flawed in so many ways. 
• They might not have many countries, but instead have a planet ruled by a single form of gov, or have no need for a gov at all. 
• Aliens might not like wearing cloths, washing themselves or eating in front of others. 
• Aliens might want to eat humans more than socialize with them. 
• Aliens might view humans as we view monkeys. Do you want to hang out with the monkeys? It gets boring fast. 

Needless to say, AI is going to change not just what we know to be fact, but also change the way we see the world around us...our perceptual field. Its like we are going to put on some new glasses very soon and for a while its going to look blurry and confusing, then as we get use to it, it will be normal again, just different normal. 

Scott C. Waring 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

28-12-2023 om 21:46 geschreven door peter  

At The Debrief, we cover a lot of science and technology news that feels like it’s being ripped from the script of a science fiction movie. So, here is a quick top 5 list of some of our favorite stories, scientific movements, and technological developments from 2023. 

1. ADVANCEMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The year saw explosive growth in generative AI (gen AI) tools. 2023 was very much the year of AI. Entire companies and jobs have shifted to an AI-based model. AI high performers, defined as organizations attributing at least 20% of their EBIT to AI adoption, were at the forefront of adopting gen AI tools. The business disruption from gen AI was significant, leading to workforce changes and large reskilling efforts. With their nearly human-like creativity or their ability to decode ancient long-lost text, AI has altered how we live and work. And while the dystopian hell world where machines take over and murder all of us in our sleep is still a ways away, there are definitely security risks with this new technology whether it is from errors in the system and cybersecurity. Suffice it to say, we have crossed a threshold and we will just have to see how far this rabbit hole goes (A Matrix pun…AI…get it?).

2. EXOPLANETS, EXOPLANETS EVERYWHERE…

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope confirmed its first exoplanet, LHS 475 b, an Earth-sized planet in January of this year, and the hunt for planets in the cosmos has not slowed down. This discovery opens the door to studying rocky planet atmospheres and brings us closer to understanding Earth-like worlds outside our solar system. A few months later, the James Webb spotted another planet called GJ 1214 b and then another, TOI 1680 b, and then K2 18 b …well, the list keeps going. Hunting new distant planets aside, some spectacular discoveries around the Trappist-1 solar system have also been made, including some curious “ghost signals” that made headlines. We even discovered “exomoons” that didn’t turn out to be moons at all! If space is the final frontier, we are only getting closer to it, and learning what’s out there.

This illustration shows what exoplanet K2-18 b could look like based on science data. K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and lies 120 light years from Earth.
(Image Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI))

3. A QUANTUM LEAP IN COMPUTING

IBM announced a breakthrough with its quantum computer, which for the first time produced accurate results at a scale of 100+ qubits, outperforming leading classical simulations. But this wasn’t all. Google made some claims that it had achieved “quantum supremacy,” though critics point out it still has a way to go. A lab at the University of Bristol says that it created a mini-wormhole using quantum computers, and even DARPA says it is developing some novel synthetic materials that will make quantum computers not only faster, but cooler…so you don’t need giant freezers to keep your quantum computer from making the leap into some other dimension (that’s a joke, they just break).

4. FUSION ENERGY IS SO HOT RIGHT NOW

The US Department of Energy’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved a significant milestone by compressing atoms to initiate nuclear fusion, generating more energy than consumed at the very end of 2022. This was a major step towards developing nuclear fusion as a clean energy source. The NIF, costing $3.5 billion and located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, conducted successful ignition shots, producing record amounts of fusion energy. Things did not slow down in 2023. The Department of Energy began testing new materials for fusion reactors, and a global network of nations completed the construction of the largest fusion reactor in Japan. And while the public is still unsure about the technology, the safe and very environmentally friendly fusion energy may just be our next handhold up the Kardashev Scale. Level 1…here we come!

5. THE EXISTENTIAL CLIMATE CHANGE THREAT

Global conflicts, war, and disease are tragic concepts that humans have to face on a daily basis, and when it comes to our future on this planet, climate change is our greatest challenge. Now, while humans often act like tribal monkeys fighting over power or land or wealth, there are a few shining beacons of hope. Whether it is a plan to de-extinct some species to restore ancient ecosystems, or to develop novel technology like artificial photosynthesis or rain panels, our drive to survive has made 2023 a benchmark year. 

The year 2023 marked a watershed moment in science and technology, characterized by groundbreaking achievements across multiple domains. From the rapid evolution and adoption of generative AI to the pivotal discoveries of exoplanets, each advancement has contributed to a profound shift in our understanding and capabilities. Quantum computing breakthroughs brought us closer to solving complex problems that were once beyond our grasp, while strides in fusion energy research signaled a promising future for sustainable power. Ongoing research into climate change continued to shed light on one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Collectively, these developments not only epitomize the ingenuity and perseverance of the scientific community but also underscore the potential of technology to reshape our world, offering hope and new possibilities for the years ahead.

As we enter into 2024, The Debrief will be here to cover all the groundbreaking science and technology news from the frontiers of knowledge. 

• MJ Banias is a journalist who covers security and technology. He is the host of The Debrief Weekly Report. You can email MJ at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

 { https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

27-12-2023 om 21:11 geschreven door peter  

BY ELANA SPIVACK

The year 2023 featured mind-blowing advancements in nearly every -ology imaginable. While ranking this progress is fraught with subjectivity, these breakthroughs are no-doubt-about-it advances that crucially improved our medical, technological, or astronomical understanding.

Of course, some of the year’s biggest science news ended up being “advancements” that didn’t quite pan out, especially the “room temperature superconductor” that never was. And while these 12 breakthroughs may not change lives immediately (unless some friendly aliens from exoplanet K2-18b drop by to say hello), the work of these scientists will nonetheless move research, medicine, and technology forward for a more enlightened 2024.

12. WE DISCOVERED A NEW KIND OF BRAIN CELL

A study published this past September in the journal Nature describes a newly observed brain cell that seems to be a hybrid between a neuron and an astrocyte, a cell that helps support neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Examining mouse brains, the team at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland found these hybrid cells clustered in very specific brain regions. In contrast, astrocytes are typically found all over the brain.

These hybrids also produce a neurotransmitter, “glutamate,” which influences a neuron’s activity and consolidates memory. These astrocyte-esque hybrid cells not only protect neurons but also process information. They produce glutamate and other specialized proteins, which serve as the neurotransmitters that communicate with other cells. The new cells could be key for exploring how the brain protects itself from ailments, such as memory impairment in Alzheimer’s disease.

11. CHATGPT EXPLODED INTO WORLD CONVERSATION

Officially released Nov. 30, 2022, by OpenAI, ChatGPT was the talk of the town in 2023. The tool has dominated headlines (both hopeful and Terminator-esque) and even wrote a few itself. One particular example is an editorial published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering in early January 2023, written by ChatGPT with suggestion prompts from Michael King, a biomedical engineering professor at Vanderbilt University.

The resulting paper addressed concerns about artificial intelligence and plagiarism in higher education, using the article itself as “Exhibit A.” Although released in 2022, this large language model really came into its own in 2023 by becoming a go-to search engine, chat buddy, and adviser — delivering baffling sitcom rip-offs, nutrition advice, and endless oodles of content.

10. THE JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE DETECTED A LONG SOUGHT AFTER ORGANIC MOLECULE IN SPACE FOR THE FIRST TIME

In June this year, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope announced the detection of a signal for a long sought-after molecule called methyl cation (that’s “cat-ion”) from deep in the Orion Nebula. Methyl cation (CH3+) is an organic (i.e., carbon-containing) molecule that may be foundational to life as we know it.

The Nebula, 1,350 light years from Earth, holds a bevy of young star systems and their pancake-shaped protoplanetary disks made of gas, dust, asteroids, and other material that may eventually become a planet. One such system, d203-506, in a burgeoning area called the Orion Bar, emitted the CH3+ signal, which had never before been detected in space. Its mere presence can elicit the growth of more sophisticated organic molecules.

9. SCIENTISTS CREATED THE FIRST SYNTHETIC HUMAN EMBRYO FROM STEM CELLS

Circumventing the biological song and dance between egg and sperm, scientists have used human stem cells to make a model embryo at 14 days postfertilization. Two preprint papers published on the bioRxiv server in June describe work by teams at the University of Cambridge and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.

Fourteen days after fertilization is generally the limit on how long you can culture human embryos, though embryo models don’t technically fall under that purview. These embryo models could theoretically grow to later stages of development and aid researchers in understanding developmental defects and miscarriages.

8. HEALTHY MOUSE PUPS WERE BORNE FROM TWO MALE MICE PARENTS

In a win for family medicine, a team of researchers in Japan produced seven mouse pups using cells from two biological fathers. A paper published in the journal Nature in March details a process known as “in vitro gametogenesis” (IVG), which involves genetically altering any type of animal cells into stem cells and then into egg or sperm cells.

In this case, the team used tail skin cells from a male mouse and turned them into stem cells. They then switched these cells’ genetic sex by dumping their Y chromosome and creating another X chromosome, which created eggs. Sperm from another male mouse fertilized these eggs, which then transferred into a surrogate female mouse’s uterus. The team transplanted 630 embryos made from these altered cells but produced only seven healthy, living pups. In the future, human same-sex couples could hopefully one day produce a child that’s biologically related to each parent.

7. ASTRONOMERS SPOTTED AN EXOPLANET THAT MAY CONTAIN THE TRAPPINGS FOR LIFE

This past September, a team of astronomers, with the help of JWST of course, found a planet dubbed the oh-so-memorable K2-18b. It has an atmospheric chemical blend that denotes the presence of liquid water, a major ingredient needed for supporting life. They also sniffed out traces of the molecule dimethyl sulfide, which on Earth only comes from living things (though they still need more evidence of its presence).

Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in October, the paper refers to the search for habitable environments and biomarkers as “the holy grail of exoplanet science.” An immense world covered in liquid water with a mostly hydrogen atmosphere, K2-18b orbits the red dwarf star 120 light years from Earth. It could become the first Hycean (hydrogen + ocean) world ever discovered and the first instance of liquid water on a planet orbiting a star.

6. NOW THERE’S LIVE, 3D-PRINTABLE INK MADE FROM BACTERIA

2023 brought us a method for 3D printing with an ink that contains living bacteria, called BactoInk. A paper published in February in the journal Materials Today details the process of printing a biocomposite filament that contains Sporosarcina pasteurii, which initiates mineralization when it makes contact with a solution containing urea, a waste by-product that many organisms create from breaking down amino acids. After a few days of mineralization, the ink hardens to calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a key substance in mollusk shells.

Designed by researchers at the Soft Materials Laboratory in the School of Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, energy-efficient BactoInk can 3D-print in nearly any structure that gradually hardens into CaCO3 over a few days, and it could aid in repairing broken mineral-based organic structures like coral reefs or even bone.

5. A PIG ORGAN WAS SUCCESSFULLY TRANSPLANTED INTO A HUMAN BODY

During the dog days of summer 2023, surgeons at New York University Langone Health transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a brain-dead patient as a proof-of-concept procedure called a xenotransplant. Not only was the kidney accepted, but it also functioned as well as a human kidney in the month after the surgery.

Foreign organs are a promising solution to the medical shortage that plagues those needing new livers, kidneys, and more. Through gene editing, scientists can modify animal organs to make them compatible with human bodies. In this case, the kidney came from a lineage of genetically altered swine that lacks “alpha-gal.” Because this sugar molecule can be found in many mammals except for humans, it can cause a human body to reject a nonhuman organ. This milestone represents a victory for the future of xenotransplantation.

4. A NEW GENE-EDITING THERAPY COULD TRANSFORM HIGH-CHOLESTEROL TREATMENT

Statins have long been the prescribed treatment for familial hypercholesterolemia, a condition that increases individuals’ risk for heart disease and early death. But they are far from perfect. The daily medication comes with an increased risk of stroke and diabetes, as well as other side effects like headaches and nausea. A new gene therapy presented this past November at the annual American Heart Association meeting could supplant statins.

The therapy entails an updated version of CRISPR called base editing, which removes small components of DNA strands rather than breaking the entire strand. The treatment, called VERVE-101, is an infusion that targets a gene in liver cells called PCSK9 that controls “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. VERVE-101 instructs liver cells to manufacture an ineffective version of this gene, lowering those “bad” cholesterol levels.

In a small clinical trial of 10 people, those who received the highest dosages of VERVE-101 saw their “bad” cholesterol fall between 39 and 55 percent. VERVE-101 is still in Phase 1 clinical trials, so it will be a few years before we can see it approved by the FDA, and that’s if everything goes well.

3. A TINY NUMBER FROM A TINY PARTICLE COULD UPEND THE STANDARD MODEL OF PHYSICS

Thispast August, researchers at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory announced that they measured the wobble of a muon, a negatively charged subatomic particle that throws a wrench in everything we think we know about particle physics, also known as the Standard Model. According to the Standard Model, muons in magnetic fields should wobble, like a spinning top’s axis, at a certain speed — and yet they don’t, indicating that the model may lack some crucial information.

A muon’s wobble is determined by the particle’s magnetic moment or how muons align with magnetic fields. Theoretically, the magnetic moment, represented as g, should be 2. However, experiments yield another figure entirely. The new measurement comes to 0.00233184110, which physicists simply call “g-2.” This experimental gulf between g and g-2 can put the Standard Model through a crucible.

2. THIS MAN RECEIVED THE FIRST EVER WHOLE-EYE AND PARTIAL-FACE TRANSPLANT

Finally, in May, surgeons at NYU Langone Health successfully performed the first whole-eye and partial-face transplant on a 46-year-old military veteran and high-voltage power lineman named Aaron James. Two years earlier, James suffered a 7,200-volt shock to his face when a live wire touched his skin.

The surgery lasted 21 hours and involved 140 healthcare professionals, and while it’s uncertain whether the transplanted eye will gain sight, normal direct flow to the retina suggests it’s healthy. Today, James can also speak and eat normally again, and this breakthrough surgery brings new transplant possibilities to millions.

1. NUCLEAR FUSION IS — FINALLY — IN ITS IGNITION ERA

Almost a year ago, scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved something decades in the making: They attained a gain of 1, a controlled fusion reaction that produces more energy than it puts in. If that was the crowning achievement for physics in 2022, then 2023’s pinnacle was subtle, though undeniably more consequential. Over the course of this year, the NIF has officially reproduced this gain three times, ensuring that the late-breaking, end-of-2022 triumph would enable perhaps physics’ most influential year yet: the year of fusion energy.

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

24-12-2023 om 20:30 geschreven door peter  

Using just 20 watts of power, the human brain is capable of processing the equivalent of an exaflop — or a billion-billion mathematical operations per second. Now, researchers in Australia are building what will be the world's first supercomputer that can simulate networks at this scale. 

DeepSouth supercomputer - the world's first computer designed to emulate the parallel biological neural networks of the human brain itself. Developed by scientists at Western Sydney University's International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems, DeepSouth utilizes breakthrough neuromorphic hardware and software that mimics neurons and synapses to achieve unprecedented efficiency. 

The DeepSouth supercomputer distributes processing across a network of bespoke brain-inspired chips, unlike traditional supercomputers based on von Neumann designs. 

This enables DeepSouth to carry out a staggering 228 trillion synaptic operations per second, rivaling estimates for the human brain's processing speed. Yet it requires far less space and power than conventional systems. 

This new generation of brain-inspired supercomputing not only could make sci-fi applications an everyday reality but even more scary is the fact that they could someday create a cyborg brain vastly more powerful than our own. 

The prospect of entities, whether humans or AI (robots), equipped with cyborg brains is becoming increasingly plausible, paving the way for a profound shift in the hierarchy of Earth's dominant species.

  

{ https://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }

22-12-2023 om 22:17 geschreven door peter  

Artikel van Zeleb.es 

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Sterkste materialen
Er wordt algemeen aangenomen dat diamant het sterkste materiaal op aarde is, maar er is iets uitgevonden dat veel harder is. Dit materiaal is simpelweg een legering van chroom, kobalt en nikkel.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Het sterkste materiaal ooit getest
Het team dat dit materiaal ontwierp, presenteerde het in het tijdschrift Science. De wetenschappers kwalificeerden hardheid van deze creatie als 'uitstekend'. Academici van verschillende universiteiten, waaronder Californië en Bristol (VK), bevestigden dat dit materiaal bestand was tegen allerlei invloeden zonder beschadigd te raken.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Kracht, vervormbaar en bestand tegen breuken
Bij het maken van een nieuw structureel materiaal (om dingen mee te bouwen, zoals metaal), is het essentieel om drie eigenschappen te meten: kracht, vervormbaarheid en taaiheid. Het materiaal is krachtig als het moeilijk te vervormen is. Het is vervormbaar als het te kneden is en taai als het bestand is tegen breuken.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Bestand tegen breuken
Breukvastheid komt voort uit een goede combinatie van kneedbaarheid en sterkte. Wetenschappers zetten het materiaal bij lage temperaturen onder druk om deze eigenschappen te testen. Dat leidde bij het team tot een opmerkelijke ontdekking: de legering van dit materiaal wordt harder bij koude temperaturen. Hierdoor wordt scheurvorming voorkomen.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Een compromis
"Meestal wordt bij metalen een compromis tussen deze eigenschappen gevonden, maar dit materiaal heeft het allemaal. In plaats van broos te worden bij lage temperaturen, wordt het juist harder", vertelde metallurg Easo George van het Oak Ridge National Laboratory en de University of Tennessee aan Science Alert. Hij deed mee aan het onderzoek.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Naar -253 graden Celsius
Dit materiaal heeft het vermogen om verschillende reacties op nanoschaal te ontketen. Hierdoor blijft het bestand tegen de verschuiving in temperatuur. Het team van wetenschappers voerden zelfs testen uit op dit materiaal bij een temperatuur van -253 graden Celsius.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Verdedigingsmechanisme
Het was bekent dat deze reacties konden ontstaan, maar ze waren nog nooit gebeurd in een reeks als deze. "Als je eraan trekt, start het eerste mechanisme, daarna volgt het tweede, daarna het derde en dan het vierde," vertelde Robert Richie van de University of California, Berkeley aan Science Alert.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Ruimteonderzoek
Materialen die niet barsten bij zeer lage temperaturen zijn een uitdaging om te vinden. Toch zijn ze essentieel op het gebied van ruimtevaart. Die materialen worden daarin gebruikt om resistente en veilige raketten mee te bouwen.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Veilige raketten
Volgens The Planetary Society kan een ruimtevaartuig temperaturen ervaren van soldeerwarmte tot ijskou. "Deze plotselinge, warmtevariaties kunnen ervoor zorgen dat materialen van ruimtevaartuigen ongelijkmatig uitzetten en samentrekken. Dit kan na verloop van tijd mogelijk leiden tot breuken."

Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

 

Bouw
Ruimtevaart is een heel specifiek gebruik. Toch hebben de meeste uitvindingen op dit gebied zich later vertaald in dagelijkse toepassingen. Een voorbeeld hiervan is Mylar. Een warmtereflecterend materiaal dat NASA heeft gemaakt om ruimtevaartuigen tegen de zon te beschermen. Nu wordt het door residentiële en commerciële aannemers gebruikt als isolatie.

©Aangeboden door The Daily Digest

Nieuwe toepassingen
Ruimtevaart is slechts een voorbeeld van de mogelijke toepassingen die deze legering heeft. Volgens wetenschappers is de volgende stap het onderzoeken van andere mogelijke toepassingen en het vinden van andere metalen met vergelijkbare eigenschappen. 

{ https://thedailydigest.com/ }

21-12-2023 om 21:37 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/ }

12-12-2023 om 19:57 geschreven door peter  

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.

• Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and founder of VOCAB Communications. She hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on The Debrief’s YouTube Channel. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton and at chrissynewton.com.

{ https://thedebrief.org/ }

08-12-2023 om 21:51 geschreven door peter  

Na 4.000 jaar opnieuw mammoeten? "Tegen 2028 lukt het ons!"

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)

{ https://www.tagtik.be/fr/accueil.html }

01-12-2023 om 23:02 geschreven door peter  

Does Mars Have Rainbows? Its Does Today! Nov 25, 2023, UFO Sighting News.

Date of discovery: Nov 25, 2023

Location of discovery: Mars

Source photo #1  

• https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/RRF_0967_0752783859_034ECM_N0470000RHAZ02267_01_195J

Source photo #2 

• https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/RRF_0967_0752783859_034ECM_N0470000RHAZ02267_04_195J

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. 

Scott C. Waring 

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

26-11-2023 om 21:30 geschreven door peter  

Video: ‘s Werelds eerste elektrische “vliegende” schip begint te varen in 2024 en “zal snelle reizen revolutioneren”

Artikel van Redação Carro e motos 

Candela P-12. Foto: Reproductie Instagram

@candelaboats

Het eerste elektrische “vliegende” schip ter wereld dat geschikt is voor passagiers wordt verwacht deel uit te maken van het openbaar vervoer van Stockholm in 2024.

• Klik hier om de video van de Candela P-12 te bekijken

Genoemd Candela P-12, het is momenteel in productie en de eerste reis is gepland voor 2024.

• Video legt het moment vast waarop een UFO verschijnt in de opname van een TikTok-ster

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.

Candela P-12. Foto: Reproductie Instagram @candelaboats

© Aangeboden door Carro e Motos

Foto: Reproductie Instagram @candelaboats

RELATED VIDEOS

{ http://carroemotos.com.br/ }

26-11-2023 om 17:26 geschreven door peter  

Video toont de eerste vlucht van de nieuwe stealth-bommenwerper B-21 Raider

Video toont de eerste vlucht van de nieuwe stealth-bommenwerper B-21 Raider. Foto en video: reproductie Twitter

@ShorealoneFilms

© Aangeboden door Tech Break

Video toont de eerste vlucht van de nieuwe stealth-bommenwerper B-21 Raider. Foto en video: reproductie Twitter @ShorealoneFilms

• Een video gepubliceerd op Twitter toont wat wordt aangenomen als de eerste vlucht van de zesde-generatie stealth-bommenwerper B-21 Raider.

1. Klik hier om de video te bekijken

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 van de 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
•  post Video toont de eerste vlucht van de nieuwe stealth-bommenwerper B-21 Raider apareceu primeiro em TechBreak.

RELATED

Eerder werd door het Government Accountability Office (GAO) een door Boeing en Lockheed Martin aangetekend protest afgewezen.

(Foto’s: United States Air Force.)

{ http://techbreak.ig.com.br/ }

11-11-2023 om 18:03 geschreven door peter  

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 

By KUMAIL JAFFER and JIM NORTON

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 

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'.

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.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/ }

05-11-2023 om 21:36 geschreven door peter  

Researchers Create Autonomous Battery-Free Wireless Microrobot: MilliMobile

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.

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.”

• The scientists will present their work at the ACM MobiCom 2023 Conference in Madrid, Spain.
• Kyle Johnson et al. MilliMobile: An Autonomous Battery-free Wireless Microrobot. ACM MobiCom 23; doi: 10.1145/3570361.3613304

RELATED 

{ https://www.sci.news/ }

01-10-2023 om 00:41 geschreven door peter  

Scientists Just Grew a Solid Human Organ in a Pig for the First Time

Kidneys are the most needed and most commonly transplanted organ.

BY ELANA SPIVACK

Oleksandra Yagello/Moment/Getty Images

{ https://www.inverse.com/ }

08-09-2023 om 18:00 geschreven door peter  

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.

{ https://www.youtube.com/ }/

24-07-2023 om 22:35 geschreven door peter  

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.

  

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13-07-2023 om 23:47 geschreven door peter