Quantum experiment conducted on Google’s Sycamore 2 computer transferred data across two simulated black holes, adding weight to the holographic principle of the universe.
The researchers discovered a mutation in the thrombospondin-1 (THBS1) gene in three ethnically and geographically diverse families with a history of childhood glaucoma using advanced genome-sequencing technology. The researchers then confirmed their findings in a mouse model that had the genetic mutation and developed glaucoma symptoms due to a previously unknown disease mechanism.
ALSO READ: Check out these easy eye care tips to keep your eyes healthy as you age
This increase in pressure not only damages the optic nerve but can also affect other structures in a child’s eye like the cornea. Children with childhood glaucoma typically require surgeries as early as the first three to six months of life, followed by several more operations throughout their childhood.
Continue reading “New genetic mutation behind childhood glaucoma identified” »
Game-playing artificial intelligence (AI) systems have advanced to a new frontier. Stratego, the classic board game that’s more complex than chess and Go, and craftier than poker, has now been mastered. Published in Science, we present DeepNash, an AI agent that learned the game from scratch to a human expert level by playing against itself.
DeepNash uses a novel approach, based on game theory and model-free deep reinforcement learning. Its play style converges to a Nash equilibrium, which means its play is very hard for an opponent to exploit. So hard, in fact, that DeepNash has reached an all-time top-three ranking among human experts on the world’s biggest online Stratego platform, Gravon.
Continue reading “Mastering Stratego, the classic game of imperfect information” »
Machine learning has increased considerably in several areas due to its performance in recent years. Thanks to modern computers’ computing capacity and graphics cards, deep learning has made it possible to achieve results that sometimes exceed those experts give. However, its use in sensitive areas such as medicine or finance causes confidentiality issues. A formal privacy guarantee called differential privacy (DP) prohibits adversaries with access to machine learning models from obtaining data on specific training points. The most common training approach for differential privacy in image recognition is differential private stochastic gradient descent (DPSGD). However, the deployment of differential privacy is limited by the performance deterioration caused by current DPSGD systems.
The existing methods for differentially private deep learning still need to operate better since that, in the stochastic gradient descent process, these techniques allow all model updates regardless of whether the corresponding objective function values get better. In some model updates, adding noise to the gradients might worsen the objective function values, especially when convergence is imminent. The resulting models get worse as a result of these effects. The optimization target degrades, and the privacy budget is wasted. To address this problem, a research team from Shanghai University in China suggests a simulated annealing-based differentially private stochastic gradient descent (SA-DPSGD) approach that accepts a candidate update with a probability that depends on the quality of the update and the number of iterations.
Concretely, the model update is accepted if it gives a better objective function value. Otherwise, the update is rejected with a certain probability. To prevent settling into a local optimum, the authors suggest using probabilistic rejections rather than deterministic ones and limiting the number of continuous rejections. Therefore, the simulated annealing algorithm is used to select model updates with probability during the stochastic gradient descent process.
The space firm has already built the most powerful electric propulsion engine in Europe.
Nuclear fusion-powered rockets might be nearer than you think. UK rocket company Pulsar Fusion has been awarded funding from the UK Space Agency to help it develop “integrated nuclear fission-based power systems for electric propulsion”, a press statement shared with IE via email reveals.
The private space firm fired up 11 of Booster 7’s 33 next-generation Raptor engines.
SpaceX is making steady progress towards the orbital maiden test flight of its massive Mars-bound Starship rocket. The private space firm conducted a “static fire” test on Tuesday (Nov .29), at its South Texas facility. It ignited a total of 11 of 33 next-gen Raptor engines on its Starship first-stage Super Heavy prototype, Booster 7.
The static fire engine test started at 2:42 pm EST (19:42 GMT) and lasted for 13 seconds. On Twitter, SpaceX shared an image and wrote, “Booster 7 completed a long-duration static fire test of 11 Raptor 2 engines on the orbital launch pad at Starbase.”
Continue reading “SpaceX’s Starship may be just one static fire test away from an orbital launch” »
Elon Musk is trying to help the paralyzed to move again, through electrodes in the cerebral cortex.
Neuralink, the strange and somewhat vague brainchild of Elon Musk, held an event Wednesday that the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter called a “show and tell.” And show and tell it did — as a monkey welcomed the audience by typing a message through a brain-computer interface.
Neuralink’s product records action potentials of neurons in the brain. This is done by placing an electrode close enough to the synapse of two neurons in the brain and taking a recording of its electrical impulse.
Swipe right to uncover the mysteries of dark energy.
A group of more than 10,000 amateur astronomers spread out over 85 countries has identified roughly 240,000 galaxies over the last two years. Now, the Dark Energy Explorers group aims to recruit even more volunteers and take its work to the next level with a project that could shed new light on the mysterious nature of dark energy, a press statement reveals.
To do so, they must help build the most extensive 3D map of the cosmos by using an app that functions surprisingly like the popular dating app Tinder.
Researchers have created a deep learning method that can predict which patients might be eligible for life-saving medication that can prevent both diseases.
A new artificial intelligence model has been created that uses deep learning to predict the 10-year risk of death from a heart attack or stroke from a single X-ray. The results from the study were presented on Nov. 29 at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting.
AI used to predict patterns of heart attacks and strokes
Continue reading “AI and one X-ray can potentially predict the risk of a heart attack or stroke” »
Using the Versius surgical robot permitted a keyhole, or minimal access surgical approach, in an otherwise open surgery.
A robot at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital (GRH), United Kingdom, saved the life of a 61-year-old patient by removing a cancerous tumor from their throat, in what can be called a first in the country.
“To have been given a second chance to see my grandchildren, my children, and my wife has meant so much to me. The team at the GRH saved my life, and I’ll be forever grateful to them for doing so,” Nugent told Gloucestershire Live in an interview.
