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Creating Generative Art NFTs from Genomic Data

In this post I outline my journey creating a dynamic NFT on the Ethereum blockchain with IPFS and discuss the possible use cases for scientific data. I do not cover algorithmic generation of static images (you should read Albert Sanchez Lafuente’s neat step-by-step for that) but instead demonstrate how I used Cytoscape.js, Anime.js and genomic feature data to dynamically generate visualizations/art at run time when NFTs are viewed from a browser. I will also not be providing an overview of Blockchain but I highly recommend reading Yifei Huang’s recent post: Why every data scientist should pay attention to crypto.

W h ile stuck home during the pandemic, I’m one of the 10 million that tried my hand at gardening on our little apartment balcony in Brooklyn. The Japanese cucumbers were a hit with our neighbors and the tomatoes were a hit with the squirrels but it was the peppers I enjoyed watching grow the most. This is what set the objective for my first NFT: create a depiction of a pepper that ripens over time.

How much of the depiction is visualization and how much is art? Well that’s in the eye of the beholder. When you spend your days scrutinizing data points, worshiping best practices and optimizing everything from memory usage to lunch orders it’s nice to take some artistic license and make something just because you like it, which is exactly what I’ve done here. The depiction is authentically generated from genomic data features but obviously this should not be viewed as any kind of serious biological analysis.

US links $5.2 billion worth of Bitcoin transactions to ransomware

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has identified roughly $5.2 billion worth of outgoing Bitcoin transactions likely tied to the top 10 most commonly reported ransomware variants.

FinCEN identified 177 CVC (convertible virtual currency) wallet addresses used for ransomware-related payments after analyzing 2,184 SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) filed between January 1 2011, and June 30 2021, and reflecting $1.56 billion in suspicious activity.

Based on blockchain analysis of transactions tied to the 177 CVC wallets, FinCEN identified roughly $5.2 billion in outgoing BTC transactions potentially tied to ransomware payments.

Turns Out, There Is a Way to Nuke a Dangerous Asteroid As a Last Resort

Good telescope that I’ve used to learn the basics: https://amzn.to/35r1jAk.
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Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a new simulation showing that we could use nuclear weapons to protect the planet from certain types of dangerous asteroids.
Links:
https://www.llnl.gov/news/late-time-small-body-disruptions-can-protect-earth.
https://wci.llnl.gov/simulation/computer-codes/spheral.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576521003921
https://dart.jhuapl.edu/

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Michael Dell started a billion-dollar tech company in his dorm room —if he was a teen today, ‘I’d be all over’ crypto

When asked about his thoughts on young people starting out in the crypto space, whether it be with digital coins or other assets like nonfungible tokens (NFTs), Dell says that “if I was a teenager right now, I’d probably be all over that.”

In fact, he’s personally invested in a few blockchain enabling technologies, the 56-year-old tells CNBC Make It. “I think it’s super interesting. There’s still a lot to be worked out in terms of what the investment looks like, and what type of investment it is for everyone, but I think it’s interesting.”

That goes for his company as well. “We’re helping a lot of customers implement blockchain at sort of the enterprise level,” Dell says.

The Metaverse is Taking Over the Physical World

Imagine a place where you could always stay young, name a city after yourself, or even become the president — sounds like a dream? Well, if not in the real world, such dreams can definitely be fulfilled in the virtual world of a metaverse. The metaverse is believed by some to be the future of the internet, where apart from surfing, people would also be able to enter inside the digital world of the internet, in the form of their avatars.

The advent of AR, blockchain, and VR devices in the last few years has sparked the development of the metaverse. Moreover, the unprecedented growth of highly advanced technologies in the gaming industry, which offer immersive gameplay experiences, not only provides us a glimpse of how the metaverse would look like but also indicates that we are closer than ever to experience a virtual world of our own.

Blockchain technology could provide secure communications for robot teams

The transaction-based communications system ensures robot teams achieve their goal even if some robots are hacked.

Imagine a team of autonomous drones equipped with advanced sensing equipment, searching for smoke as they fly high above the Sierra Nevada mountains. Once they spot a wildfire, these leader robots relay directions to a swarm of firefighting drones that speed to the site of the blaze.

But what would happen if one or more leader robots was hacked by a malicious agent and began sending incorrect directions? As follower robots are led farther from the fire, how would they know they had been duped?

The use of blockchain technology as a communication tool for a team of robots could provide security and safeguard against deception, according to a study by researchers at MIT and Polytechnic University of Madrid, which was published today in IEEE Transactions on Robotics. The research may also have applications in cities where multirobot systems of self-driving cars are delivering goods and moving people across town.

El Salvador has just started mining bitcoin using the energy from volcanoes

El Salvador has mined 0.00599179 bitcoin, or about $269, with power harnessed from a volcano.

President Nayib Bukele – who has banked his political future on a nationwide bitcoin experiment – tweeted early Friday morning that this is the country’s maiden voyage into volcano-powered bitcoin mining.

On Tuesday, the president posted a flashy 25-second teaser video, which includes shots of a government-branded shipping container full of bitcoin mining rigs, technicians installing and plugging in ASIC miners, as well as sweeping landscape aerials of an energy factory in the thick of a forest, bordering a volcano.

Tiny Balls Turn Into Artificial Cells Able to Mimic Life Functions

Good telescope that I’ve used to learn the basics: https://amzn.to/35r1jAk.
Get a Wonderful Person shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/whatdamath.
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Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the creation of first ever artificial cell mimics.
Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22263-3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_cell.
Sacanna Lab 0 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT6gTHX182dXtgzywm7Bl2w/videos.

Support this channel on Patreon to help me make this a full time job:
https://www.patreon.com/whatdamath.

Bitcoin/Ethereum to spare? Donate them here to help this channel grow!
bc1qnkl3nk0zt7w0xzrgur9pnkcduj7a3xxllcn7d4
or ETH: 0x60f088B10b03115405d313f964BeA93eF0Bd3DbF

Space Engine is available for free here: http://spaceengine.org.
Enjoy and please subscribe.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhatDaMath.

Crypto’s Next Big Thing: Decentralized Finance Takes On Wall Street

What would a world without banks look like? The answer may lie in decentralized finance.

Decentralized finance is an emerging ecosystem of financial applications and protocols built on blockchain technology with programmable capabilities, such as ethereum and solana. The transactions get executed automatically through smart contracts on the blockchain, which includes the agreement of the deal.

“Anyone can actually build businesses on top of these protocols and using them the same way as we can today build an internet business on top of the HTTP IP protocol,” said Stani Kulechov, founder of a DeFi protocol called Aave.

Decentralized finance has captured only 5% of the crypto space, according to CoinGecko, but it has seen massive growth recently. There was $93 billion worth of DeFi assets in the crypto market as of June 2,021 up from $4 billion just three years ago. To be sure, DeFi’s growth has slowed since the summer of 2,020 and regulatory scrutiny from Capitol Hill has spiked over fears of crypto’s checkered past.

1:17-Chapter 1: The ABCs of DeFI
3:16-Chapter 2: The DeFi boom.
5:45-Chapter 3: Why people are excited about DeFi.
7:31-Chapter 4: What’s next?

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