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Sep 14, 2023

Pinterest’s Gen Z-focused Shuffles app has now inspired a new Pinterest feature

Posted by in category: mobile phones

A year ago, Pinterest’s then brand-new collage-making app Shuffles was going viral on TikTok as Gen Z users sought out invites in order to create their own inspirational image boards. Now, that collage-making capability is heading over to Pinterest’s main app with the launch of a new feature that lets users leverage the platform’s advanced visual technology to cut out images and build interactive collages of favorite products and other visual content they find inspiring.

The idea is clearly lifted from Shuffles, which uses similar image cutout tech. On the app, users could build their own collages using photos from Pinterest’s own library or by snapping photos with their phone’s camera. When they found an image they like, they could cut out objects from the foreground of the photo — a feature that was also introduced with iOS 16 and now is being used to make image stickers for iMessage in iOS 17.

Not only did these collages serve as inspirational mood boards, the objects in the completed work were also shoppable. Users could tap on the items and be redirected to Pinterest where they can find out if the item can be purchased on a retailer’s website.

Sep 14, 2023

Spotify’s newest feature allows songwriters to promote their work

Posted by in category: futurism

Spotify announced today the launch of “Songwriter Promo Cards,” a promotional tool for songwriters to highlight their songs and get discovered by new listeners and potential collaborators.

Songwriter Promo Cards are customizable social media assets that songwriters can create on promocards.byspotify.com. Songwriters search for their name, select their profile and choose a background color to fit their aesthetic. The promo card is linked to the songwriter’s Spotify page and can be directly shared on social media.

Plus, the creation site doesn’t require a login so anyone can make a card, meaning fans have a new way of sharing and celebrating their favorite songwriters.

Sep 14, 2023

This is why physicists suspect the Multiverse very likely exists

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

A wild, compelling idea without a direct, practical test, the Multiverse is highly controversial. But its supporting pillars sure are stable.

Sep 14, 2023

Einstein cross! Gravitationally lensed ‘flower’ spotted in deep space (photo)

Posted by in category: space

A new image from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) captures a cosmic wildflower in space.

Using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers photographed a distant galaxy surrounded by what appear to be four light-blue flower petals.

Sep 14, 2023

SpaceX’s Starship May Get FAA Clearance to Launch Again Next Month — Elon Musk Sees ‘Higher Chance of Success’

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

SpaceX’s Starship can seemingly get Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearance for its second flight test as early as next month.

What Happened: “We’re working well with them and have been in good discussions. Teams are working together and I think we’re optimistic sometime next month,” Acting FAA Administrator Polly Trottenberg said on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters.

Earlier this week, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that SpaceX has implemented all the fixes demanded by the FAA for Starship ahead of its second flight test.

Sep 14, 2023

Chuck Schumer says he asked Musk, Gates and others about whether to regulate AI: ‘Every single person raised their hands’

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Among the ideas discussed was whether there should be an independent agency to oversee certain aspects of the rapidly-developing technology, how companies could be more transparent and how the United States can stay ahead of China and other countries.

“The key point was really that it’s important for us to have a referee,” said Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and X, during a break in the daylong forum. “It was a very civilized discussion, actually, among some of the smartest people in the world.”

Schumer will not necessarily take the tech executives’ advice as he works with colleagues on the politically difficult task of ensuring some oversight of the burgeoning sector. But he invited them to the meeting in hopes that they would give senators some realistic direction for meaningful regulation.

Sep 14, 2023

This nano submarine will explore solar system’s icy moons

Posted by in category: space

Not only that, but the more we comprehend our blue world’s frigid ecosystems, the better equipped we’ll be to locate and recognize how life forms may exist on other celestial worlds in our solar system.

Sep 14, 2023

Bing, Bard, and ChatGPT: How AI is rewriting the internet

Posted by in categories: internet, robotics/AI

Meta is reportedly planning to train a new model that it hopes will be as powerful as OpenAI’s latest and greatest chatbot.

Meta has been snapping up AI training chips and building out data centers in order to create a more powerful new chatbot it hopes will be as sophisticated as OpenAI’s GPT-4, according to * The Wall Street Journal.* The company reportedly plans to begin training the new large language model early in 2024, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg evidently pushing for it to once again be free for companies to create AI tools with.

Continue reading “Bing, Bard, and ChatGPT: How AI is rewriting the internet” »

Sep 14, 2023

Loukia Papadopoulos Editor at Interesting Engineering

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

The versatile robot will help create a virtual representation of the facilities.

In a first for the UK’s National Trust, Boston Dynamics’ robotic dog Spot is being used to survey two Cold War weapons testing sites located in Orford Ness, Suffolk.

This is according to a report by the *BBC* published on Thursday.

Continue reading “Loukia Papadopoulos Editor at Interesting Engineering” »

Sep 14, 2023

Transferring Longevity Adaptations Across Species: Gene from Naked Mole Rat Extends Mouse Lifespan

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, life extension

Naked mole rats are rodents that are about the size of a mouse with a key difference, aside from having no fur — they’re extremely long-lived — reaching ages of around 40 years old. For comparison, lab mice live an average of about three and a half years. To explain their extensive lifespans, researchers have sought to pinpoint how naked mole rats evade the onset of age-related diseases like cancer. In doing so, they’ve identified a form of gelatinous substance called hyaluronan, which has anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties. Now, the question of whether the benefits of the naked mole rat’s abundant levels of this form of hyaluronan — called high molecular mass hyaluronic acid (HMM-HA) — can be exported to other species has recently drawn attention.

Published in Nature, Gorbunova and colleagues from the University of Rochester show that genetically modifying mice to harbor an enzyme that produces HMM-HA extends their lifespan. The researchers go on to show that increasing HMM-HA reduces the prevalence of cancer. Additionally, the nmrHAS2 gene improves the healthspan of mice by countering physiological dysfunction, as measured with a frailty score. These findings provide the first evidence that genes from long-lived species can be exported to other species, perhaps conferring benefits to humans one day.