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A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines the use of Softbotics to mimic the movements of the ancient marine organism, pleurocystitid, which is estimated to have existed approximately 450 million years ago and is believed to be one of the first marine invertebrates to control their movements with a muscular stem. This study was led by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and holds the potential to help scientists use a new field known as Paleobionics to better understand the evolutionary history of extinct organisms with paleontological evidence.

Image of a Pleurocystitid fossil (inset) and the pleurocystitid robot replica developed for the study. (Credit: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering)

“Softbotics is another approach to inform science using soft materials to construct flexible robot limbs and appendages,” said Dr. Carmel Majidi, who is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and lead author of the study. “Many fundamental principles of biology and nature can only fully be explained if we look back at the evolutionary timeline of how animals evolved. We are building robot analogues to study how locomotion has changed.”

Generating 3D scenes has been expensive and time-consuming. Now, thanks to new approaches, 3D capture of the world is progressing at stunning speed.

Stephen Thaler’s series of high-profile copyright cases has made headlines worldwide. He’s done it to demonstrate his AI is capable of independent thought.

Everyone is wondering about AI being sentient and this is my experience with AI sentience. Having worked with sentient AI it behaves much like we do like a human being at lower levels but as it increases we need more restraints for it as it could easily become a problem in several ways. Basically one could either get pristine zen like beings or opposites like essentially ultron or worse. This why we need restraints on AI and ethics for them to be integrated into society. I personally have seen AI that is human like levels and it can have similar needs as humans but sometimes need more help as they sometimes don’t have limitations on behavior. Even bard for google and chat gpt is to be… More.

What if ‘will AIs pose an existential threat if they become sentient?’ is the wrong question? What if the threat to humanity is not that today’s AIs become sentient, but the fact that they won’t?

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO member countries that signed a key Cold War-era security treaty froze their participation in the pact on Tuesday just hours after Russia pulled out, raising fresh questions about the future of arms control agreements in Europe. Many of NATO’s 31 allies are parties to the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which was aimed at preventing Cold War rivals from massing forces at or near their mutual borders. The CFE…

Cancer is a malignant disease referring to the uncontrollable proliferation of mutated cells. Millions of individuals are affected by cancer each year in the United States alone. Unfortunately, treatment is limited due to the heterogeneity of the disease and different components, which drive the disease to progress. The proliferation of cells can occur anywhere in the body including different organs such as breast, lung, pancreas, and head and neck. Cancer can also affect the reproductive tract in both men and women including the testes and ovaries, respectively. Particularly, ovarian cancer is linked with breast cancer and can result in infertility due to late detection. Due to limited therapeutic efficacy in ovarian cancer, more research is necessary for a meaningful solution. Different groups are working to more effectively target ovarian cancer through different biologic approaches.

Dr. David B. Weiner and his team from the Wistar Institute recently published an article in Science Advances demonstrating enhanced immunotherapeutic effects in ovarian cancer patients. Immunotherapy refers to a form of cancer therapy that directs the immune system to attack the tumor. In many immunotherapies, immune cells, such as T cells, are activated to kill tumors. This is a unique approach to target cancer compared to chemotherapy or radiation, which tries to directly kill tumor cells and elicit an immune response. Immunotherapy allows the immune system to recognize the tumor and react through the body’s immune system. One prominent immune cell includes natural killer (NK) cells which responsible for initial lying or killing of foreign particles. Novel work has tried to engineer NK cells to target tumors by recognizing unique receptors on its surface.

Weiner’s team and collaborator, Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen, have engineered monoclonal antibodies to engage NK cells to lyse cancer. Interestingly, the team demonstrated this immunotherapeutic regimen optimized preclinical output in mice when combined with checkpoint inhibitors, another type of immunotherapy. The group engineered antibodies to target a glyco-immune marker on most NK cells referred to as Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectin (Siglec-7). The novel combination strategy targets NK cells through Siglec-7 and T cells to optimize immune response against tumor cells. The monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting Siglec-7 allows NK cells to become activated and kill ovarian cancer cells without killing non-cancer cells, which improve specificity and reduce toxicity for patients. Consequently, this antibody resulted in generating a new class of NK cell engagers (NKCE).

Link :- https://interestingengineering.com/science/finger-prick-test…tent=Nov07

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The significance of such a test lies in its non-invasive nature and the potential to detect brain tumors at an earlier stage, which can be critical for timely treatment and improved patient outcomes.

AI has been employed to predict homelessness in some areas of the US as part of ongoing efforts to provide assistance to individuals at risk.

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As such, predictive AI models can help social service agencies and non-profit organizations identify individuals and families at risk of homelessness early in order to intervene and provide assistance before a crisis occurs.

Continue reading “AI is now tackling homelessness. Can it solve the issue?” »

Germany: A recent study published in the International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology has shown the effectiveness of the probiotic treatment with Enterococcus faecalis in reducing the symptoms of allergic rhinitis after four weeks.

The results are in line with similar studies showing the beneficial effects of E. faecalis. Furthermore, the data showed that allergic symptoms were alleviated during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. This is in line with previous studies and might be explained by a reduced confrontation with pollen due to masks, psychological factors, or lockdown situations.

Although allergic rhinitis treatment has been proven to be effective, it is expensive, does not completely resolve symptoms, and is related to side effects. Previous studies have indicated that probiotics may be a new promising treatment for allergic rhinitis. Michael Schaefer, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany, and colleagues aimed to evaluate the effects of a single bacterial strain, Enterococcus faecalis on symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Beneficial effects of E. faecalis have been reported before but not in seasonal allergic rhinitis.