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Category: biological – Page 8

What Makes Information Physical? | Chiara Marletto

What makes information a real part of physics rather than just a way of describing the world?

Chiara Marletto explains how constructor theory grounds information in physical reality, why information is not merely a human concept, and how knowledge differs from information by possessing the ability to persist and shape the world around it.

0:00 Constructor Theory and the Physics of Information 1:49 Is Information Fundamental to Reality? 4:42 Constructor Theory Beyond Quantum Information 6:31 Information, Knowledge, and Resilience 10:17 Why Knowledge Emerges Above Fundamental Physics.

Chiara Marletto is a Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. She holds degrees from the universities of Oxford and Turin. Her main research focus is in theoretical physics, and she also pursues interests in theoretical biology, epistemology, and Italian literature. The Science of Can and Can’t: A Physicist’s Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals is her first trade book.

More from Chiara Marletto on Closer To Truth: Closer To Truth: The Podcast: • Closer To Truth: The Podcast Closer To Truth contributors: https://closertotruth.com/contributor… to Closer To Truth: / @closertotruthtv Join the Community:

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Closer To Truth, created and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence and sentience. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers. #CloserToTruth #Cosmos #ChiaraMarletto #InformationTheory #Knowledge.

Mind uploading: Can human brains be digitally copied? | Michael Levin and Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Michael Levin: Hidden Reality of Alien Int…
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Michael Levin is a biologist at Tufts University working on novel ways to understand and control complex pattern formation in biological systems.

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Biological Robots: https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.00880
Classical Sorting Algorithms: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.05375
Aging as a Morphostasis Defect: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38636…
TAME: https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.10346
Synthetic Living Machines: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abf1571

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Beyond Agentic AI: The Emergence Of Cognitive AI Ecosystems

In the next decade, AI will likely undergo more significant changes than only becoming more independent; it will also grow more cognitive. AI systems will act as interconnected ecosystems that are capable of contextual awareness, cooperative reasoning, ongoing learning, and adaptive decision-making in almost every facet of society, rather than isolated applications.

Large language models of today are remarkable due to their ability to produce and anticipate information. Persistent memory, multimodal perception, long-term planning, causal reasoning, and self-directed learning within strictly regulated bounds will probably be characteristics of the AI of 2036. Similar to biological neural networks, millions of specialized AI agents will work together to create dynamic intelligence fabrics that continuously optimize national defense, manufacturing, transportation, financial markets, healthcare delivery, and energy grids.

The line between workforce and software will become increasingly hazy. Hundreds of thousands of AI agents working continuously alongside human employees may be employed by organizations as digital workforces. A customized constellation of AI advisers, researchers, legal assistants, financial analysts, engineers, and cybersecurity specialists working around the clock could be present for every knowledge worker. This shift signifies the emergence of an entirely new digital labor force in addition to automation.

Which Quantum Interpretations Survive Constructor Theory? | Chiara Marletto

Can a new framework for physics help evaluate competing interpretations of quantum mechanics?

Chiara Marletto examines Copenhagen, Bohmian mechanics, Many Worlds, collapse theories, QBism, relational quantum mechanics, and other approaches through the lens of constructor theory. Rather than choosing a winner, she asks which interpretations are compatible with deeper physical principles.

0:00 Constructor Theory as a Framework for Quantum Foundations.
1:25 Copenhagen and Bohmian Mechanics: Where Constructor Theory Parts Ways.
4:26 Many Worlds and Compatible Interpretations.
7:21 QBism, Relational Quantum Mechanics, and Superdeterminism.
13:14 Constructor Theory Beyond Quantum Interpretations.

Chiara Marletto is a Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. She holds degrees from the universities of Oxford and Turin. Her main research focus is in theoretical physics, and she also pursues interests in theoretical biology, epistemology, and Italian literature. The Science of Can and Can’t was her first trade book.

More from Chiara Marletto on Closer To Truth:
Closer To Truth: The Podcast: • Closer To Truth: The Podcast.
Closer To Truth contributors: https://closertotruth.com/contributor… to Closer To Truth: / @closertotruthtv Join the Community:

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Closer To Truth, created and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence and sentience. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers. #CloserToTruth #Cosmos #ChiaraMarletto #QuantumInterpretations #ConstructorTheory.

Brain-inspired AI architecture could computing faster and far less power-hungry

Spiking neural networks (SNNs) are artificial intelligence (AI) models inspired by how biological neurons communicate with each other. While biological neurons exchange information in the form of electrical impulses, SNNs rely on brief signals known as spikes.

SNNs have proved promising for reducing power consumption, as developers can ensure they do not process information continuously, but rather only when meaningful changes occur. This could be highly advantageous, as current AI systems are known to consume large amounts of energy.

While some SNNs introduced in the past achieved encouraging results, they typically struggle to retain useful information (i.e., context) for long periods. This was found to be particularly challenging when the models have only a limited amount of data storage available or are operating under energy constraints.

Common nanostructures may explain shared photoproperties in two widespread dark materials

A newly developed framework for understanding the photoproperties of both natural organic matter and eumelanin, a natural pigment responsible for dark colors in organisms, may inspire advanced sustainable technologies, scientists say.

Although they are some of the most widespread substances on Earth, not much is known about eumelanin or natural organic matter (NOM)—a dark-colored substance formed by the decomposition of biological material. In humans, eumelanin is a vital pigment in skin and other tissues that protects cells from damage caused by ultraviolet radiation. In nature, NOM gives rivers and soils their color and affects light-driven reactions like photosynthesis.

Although these compounds have been studied individually for decades, researchers in a new study, by scrutinizing them alongside each other, have shown that eumelanin and NOM have common properties beyond their dark colors.

Scientists Recreate Life’s Building Blocks | Artificial Cell Performs Life-Like Functions | WION

Scientists have unveiled a synthetic cell capable of performing several life-like functions, marking a major milestone in modern biology. The breakthrough does not mean researchers have created life from scratch, but it does bring science closer to understanding how living systems emerge from simple chemical components. The artificial cell, known as \.

Ultrasound-based approach may reduce harmful inflammation and support joint healing

As an aging population experiences joint pain and inflammation at an all-time high, researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, have published new findings suggesting continuous low-intensity ultrasound may help shift the body’s immune response from prolonged inflammation toward tissue repair, a discovery that could eventually contribute to novel treatments for joint injuries and post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of UAH researchers under the leadership of Dr. Anuradha Subramanian, a professor of chemical and materials engineering.

The work brought together biological experimentation conducted by Dr. Shahid Khan as part of his doctoral work with computational and statistical methods developed by Dr. Satyaki Roy, a professor of mathematical sciences, along with additional contributions from graduate student Owen Trippany.

Airborne AI spots underwater munitions in shallow seas with high precision

A new airborne imaging approach can reliably detect unexploded weapons that lie in shallow coastal waters and remain an ongoing hazard to public safety, marine ecosystems and infrastructure worldwide. By combining advanced multispectral sensing with artificial intelligence, the researchers were able to identify underwater munitions with high confidence, even when they are partially hidden by sediment, biological growth or debris.

Scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science developed and tested the approach and published their findings in the April issue of Frontiers in Marine Science. The study demonstrates that integrating NASA underwater imaging technologies with machine learning enhances detection accuracy while reducing false positives in complex marine environments.

“Unexploded ordnance in shallow waters remains a serious global challenge,” said Ved Chirayath, Vetlesen Endowed Chair of Earth Sciences in the Department of Ocean Sciences, the study’s lead author. “Our results demonstrate a scalable, airborne solution that can help improve detection accuracy and support safer coastal environments.”

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