Menu

Blog

Page 1418

Feb 23, 2024

Musk: Neuralink chip is working

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, neuroscience

Musk said that the first human patient implanted with a Neuralink chip last month “is able to… move the mouse around the screen just by thinking.”

Feb 23, 2024

Exceptional Nuclease Resistance of DNA and RNA with the Addition of Small-Molecule Nucleobase Mimics

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Nucleases present a formidable barrier to the application of nucleic acids in biology, significantly reducing the lifetime of nucleic acid-based drugs. Here, we develop a novel methodology to protect DNA and RNA from nucleases by reconfiguring their supramolecular structure through the addition of a nucleobase mimic, cyanuric acid. In the presence of cyanuric acid, polyadenine strands assemble into triple helical fibers known as the polyA/CA motif. We report that this motif is exceptionally resistant to nucleases, with the constituent strands surviving for up to 1 month in the presence of serum. The conferred stability extends to adjacent non-polyA sequences, albeit with diminishing returns relative to their polyA sections due to hypothesized steric clashes. We introduce a strategy to regenerate stability through the introduction of free polyA strands or positively charged amino side chains, enhancing the stability of sequences of varied lengths. The proposed protection mechanism involves enzyme failure to recognize the unnatural polyA/CA motif, coupled with the motif’s propensity to form long, bundling supramolecular fibers. The methodology provides a fundamentally new mechanism to protect nucleic acids from degradation using a supramolecular approach and increases lifetime in serum to days, weeks, or months.

Feb 23, 2024

Uncovering hidden states driving biological outcomes using machine learning

Posted by in categories: biological, robotics/AI

We developed Significant Latent Factor Interaction Discovery and Exploration (SLIDE), an interpretable machine learning approach that can infer hidden states (latent factors) underlying biological outcomes. These states capture the complex interplay between factors derived from multiscale, multiomic datasets across biological contexts and scales of resolution.

Feb 23, 2024

Antimatter: Scientists freeze positronium atoms with lasers

Posted by in category: particle physics

Positronium has the potential to revolutionise physics but the elusive substance had been too hot to handle.

Feb 23, 2024

Wearable Tech Reads Human Emotions

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, virtual reality, wearables

Summary: Researchers unveiled a pioneering technology capable of real-time human emotion recognition, promising transformative applications in wearable devices and digital services.

The system, known as the personalized skin-integrated facial interface (PSiFI), combines verbal and non-verbal cues through a self-powered, stretchable sensor, efficiently processing data for wireless communication.

This breakthrough, supported by machine learning, accurately identifies emotions even under mask-wearing conditions and has been applied in a VR “digital concierge” scenario, showcasing its potential to personalize user experiences in smart environments. The development is a significant stride towards enhancing human-machine interactions by integrating complex emotional data.

Feb 23, 2024

Early science fiction got microbots surprisingly right

Posted by in category: futurism

Since 1931, science fiction has speculated on how microbots might work and how they will change our lives.

Feb 23, 2024

Bayesianism and wishful thinking are compatible

Posted by in category: futurism

People often believe what they want to believe rather than what the evidence implies. Here Melnikoff and Strohminger find that this seemingly irrational tendency may emerge from fully rational Bayesian calculations.

Feb 23, 2024

Google DeepMind C.E.O. Demis Hassabis on the Path From Chatbots to A.G.I

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

The mind behind DeepMind.

Feb 23, 2024

Harnessing the Power of Neutrality: Comparing Neutral-Atom Quantum Computing With Other Modalities

Posted by in categories: computing, particle physics, quantum physics

How Does The Neutral Atom Approach Compare

The neutral atom approach is a well-known and extensively investigated approach to quantum computing. The approach offers numerous advantages, especially in terms of scalability, expense, error mitigation, error correction, coherence, and simplicity.

Neutral atom quantum computing utilizes individual atoms, typically alkali atoms like rubidium or cesium, suspended and isolated in a vacuum and manipulated using precisely targeted laser beams. These atoms are not ionized, meaning they retain all their electrons and do not carry an electric charge, which distinguishes them from trapped ion approaches. The quantum states of these neutral atoms, such as their energy levels or the orientation of their spins, serve as the basis for qubits. By employing optical tweezers—focused laser beams that trap and hold the atoms in place—arrays of atoms can be arranged in customizable patterns, allowing for the encoding and manipulation of quantum information.

Feb 23, 2024

More Intelligent Than Previously Thought — Scientists Uncover Surprisingly Sophisticated Neanderthal Construction

Posted by in category: futurism

A team of researchers has found that Neanderthals crafted stone tools using a sophisticated multi-component glue. This discovery, the oldest known example of such an advanced adhesive in Europe, indicates that these early human relatives possessed a greater degree of intellectual and cultural sophistication than was earlier believed.

The work, reported in the journal Science Advances, included researchers from New York University, the University of Tübingen, and the National Museums in Berlin.