Lifeboat Foundation

How molecules change when they react to stimuli such as light is fundamental in biology, for example during photosynthesis. Scientists have been working to unravel the workings of these changes in several fields, and by combining two of these, researchers have paved the way for a new era in understanding the reactions of protein molecules fundamental for life.

The large international research team, led by Professor Jasper van Thor from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial, report their results in the journal Nature Chemistry.

Crystallography is a powerful technique in structural biology for taking ‘snapshots’ of how molecules are arranged. Over several large-scale experiments and years of theory work, the team behind the new study integrated this with another technique that maps vibrations in the electronic and nuclear configuration of molecules, called spectroscopy.

Commercial sensors will be reliable, tiny, and affordable.

(Suggested reading: “The Non-things”, Byung-Chul Han).

The idea that human connection will be crucial in the age of superintelligence is not uncommon among some experts and futurists. Superintelligence refers to a hypothetical form of artificial intelligence that surpasses human intelligence across all domains. Some individuals, including scientists and technologists, have expressed concerns about the potential impact of superintelligence on humanity.

Some argument that if superintelligence were to become a reality, it could bring about profound changes to society and the way we live. In such a scenario, human traits and values like compassion, empathy, and emotional connections could become even more critical to preserve our uniqueness and counterbalance the overwhelming capabilities of superintelligent machines. The idea is that our ability to connect with each other emotionally and maintain a sense of community, compassion, and mutual understanding could provide a counterpoint to the cold and logical calculations of superintelligent AI. This human element might serve as a safeguard against potential negative consequences or misuse of superintelligence.

Smartphones and other tech pose special challenges — and opportunities — for young brains.

Stem cells are special kinds of cells in our body that can become any other type of cell. They have huge potential for medicine, and trials are currently under way using stem cells to replace damaged cells in diseases like Parkinson’s.

One way to get stem cells is from human embryos, but this has ethical concerns and practical limitations. Another way is to turn adult cells from the skin or elsewhere into what are called “induced pluripotent stem cells” (iPS cells).

However, these cells sometimes carry a “memory” of the kind of cell they used to be, which can make them less predictable or efficient when we try to turn them into other types of cells.

In a new AI research, a team of MIT and Harvard University researchers has introduced a groundbreaking framework called “Follow Anything” (FAn). The system addresses the limitations of current object-following robotic systems and presents an innovative solution for real-time, open-set object tracking and following.

The primary shortcomings of existing robotic object-following systems are a constrained ability to accommodate new objects due to a fixed set of recognized categories and a lack of user-friendliness in specifying target objects. The new FAn system tackles these issues by presenting an open-set approach that can seamlessly detect, segment, track, and follow a wide range of things while adapting to novel objects through text, images, or click queries.

The core features of the proposed FAn system can be summarized as follows:

The development of robotic avatars could benefit from an improvement in how computers detect objects in low-resolution images.

A team at RIKEN has improved computer vision recognition capabilities by training algorithms to better identify objects in low-resolution images. Inspired by human brain memory formation techniques, the model degrades the quality of high-resolution images to train the algorithm in self-supervised learning, enhancing object recognition in low-quality images. The development is expected to benefit not only traditional computer vision applications but also the creation of cybernetic avatars and terahertz imaging technology.

Robotic avatar vision enhancement inspired by human perception.

An “out there” theory inspired the development of the Dark Matter Radio, a device that could explain the mysterious matter that makes up 85 percent of the mass of our universe.

Scientists have used advanced imaging techniques to identify brain activity and regions linked to cognitive motor dissociation (CMD), or ‘hidden consciousness’. CMD is a state in which a person appears comatose and unresponsive while inwardly showing signs of conscious brain activity.

The findings, reported by a team from Columbia University in the US, may help doctors more easily identify CMD in the future, and better tailor treatments for people who can understand what’s being said to them but can’t respond to it.

CMD happens in around 15–25 percent of people with brain injuries from head trauma, brain hemorrhage, or cardiac arrest. In these patients, something breaks between the instructions coming from the brain and the muscles needed to carry those instructions out.