Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers have developed a reliable and reproducible way to fabricate tapered polymer optical fibers that can be used to deliver light to the brain. These fibers could be used in animal studies to help scientists better understand treatments and interventions for various neurological conditions.

The tapered fibers are optimized for neuroscience research techniques, such as optogenetic experiments and fiber photometry, which rely on the interaction between genetically modified neurons and visible light delivered to and/or collected from the brain.

“Unlike standard optical fibers, which are cylindrical, the tapered fibers we developed have a conical shape, which allows them to penetrate the tissue with more ease and to deliver light to larger volumes of the brain,” said research team member Marcello Meneghetti from the Neural Devices and Gas Photonics group at the Technical University of Denmark.

A joint research team from Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully developed a continuous cryogenic pellet injection system for tokamak fueling. This innovative system addresses key technical challenges associated with cryogenic ice formation, pellet cutting, and launching.

Cryogenic pellet injection is a state-of-the-art technique in fusion research. It involves condensing hydrogen isotopic gases into solid ice pellets, which are then accelerated and injected into plasma. This method allows for deep particle injection and high fueling efficiency, making it crucial for the future of fusion reactors.

It is recognized as a critical fueling technology for next-generation fusion devices, including the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), and the European Demonstration Fusion Reactor (EU-DEMO).

Researchers discovered that electrical synapses filter sensory signals in animals, enabling context-specific decision-making—a finding with broad implications for neuroscience.

Scientists from Yale University

Established in 1701, Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is organized into fourteen constituent schools: the original undergraduate college, the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and twelve professional schools. It is named after British East India Company governor Elihu Yale.

Researchers have innovatively merged protein structural data with genetic sequences to construct evolutionary trees, revealing deep-rooted relationships among species.

A species is a group of living organisms that share a set of common characteristics and are able to breed and produce fertile offspring. The concept of a species is important in biology as it is used to classify and organize the diversity of life. There are different ways to define a species, but the most widely accepted one is the biological species concept, which defines a species as a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce viable offspring in nature. This definition is widely used in evolutionary biology and ecology to identify and classify living organisms.

Chinese rocket scientist reveals blueprint for ‘incredible project’ to build solar power station in space using super heavy rockets.

In a bold new theory, researchers from Microsoft, Brown University, and other institutions suggest that the universe might be capable of teaching itself how to evolve. Their study, published on the preprint server arXiv, proposes that the physical laws we observe today may have emerged through a gradual learning process, akin to Darwinian natural selection or self-learning algorithms in artificial intelligence.

This radical idea challenges traditional cosmology by imagining a primitive early universe where physical laws like gravity were far simpler or even static. Over time, these laws “learned” to adapt into more complex forms, enabling the structured universe we observe today. For instance, gravity might have initially lacked distinctions between celestial bodies like Earth and the Moon. This progression mirrors how adaptable traits in biology survive through natural selection.

At some point these chats will move to our new secret media project blaxxky.

In this episode we discuss science and culture, magic, Elon Musk, Mars, and faster than light travel. The conversation will continue in the next episode.

My Beneficial AGI Summit 2024 pre-event online talk.

Using a metalearning approach to model relational learning, Miconi and Kay show neural mechanisms for structured generalization and rapid learning.