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Diabetes flips immune cells from repair to inflammation in peripheral artery disease, study finds

Type 2 diabetes can turn immune cells that help with tissue repair and anti-inflammatory responses into triggers of chronic inflammation. A recent study investigated why people with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk of severe complications from peripheral artery disease (PAD).

PAD is a common circulatory condition in which plaque buildup narrows the arteries, reducing blood flow, usually in the legs. This can lead to lower extremity infections and the formation of non-healing ulcers in people with diabetes.

Using RNA-sequencing and gene mapping, researchers discovered that diabetes causes certain immune cells called macrophages that express the protein TREM2 to reprogram their behavior from helping cells repair to causing harmful inflammation and preventing blood vessels from healing. The findings were published in Science Translational Medicine.

Fascinating new research suggests artificial neurodivergence could help solve the AI alignment problem

A new study suggests the key to safe AI isn’t perfect obedience, but cognitive diversity. Researchers propose that creating “neurodivergent” AI ecosystems, where systems check and balance each other, offers a pragmatic solution to the alignment problem.

Brain-inspired chip could reduce AI energy use by 70%

Replicating the brain’s capabilities, an impossible task, may theoretically require thousands of H100, one of NVIDIA’s most powerful GPUs. At 700 watts per chip, we are looking at power consumption in the megawatt range. The brain runs on 20 watts. Scientists have taken inspiration from this remarkable organ to create chips that could cut conventional energy use by 70%.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed a new brain-inspired nanoscale device that they say could dramatically reduce the enormous energy demands of artificial intelligence hardware. The team created an ultra-low-power “memristor”: a device that can both store and process information in the same location, much like synapses in the human brain.

In conventional computing architectures, memory and processing units are physically separated, requiring data to shuttle back and forth between these units for every task. This seemingly simple process consumes enormous amounts of electricity and is a significant contributor to AI’s exploding power demands.

Scientists discover the “Goldilocks” secret behind life on Earth

Earth may be habitable because it got unbelievably lucky with its chemistry from the very start.

Earth may have won a cosmic chemistry lottery. Researchers found that during the planet’s earliest formation, oxygen had to be in an extremely narrow “Goldilocks zone” for two life-essential elements, phosphorus and nitrogen, to stay where life could use them. Too much or too little oxygen, and those ingredients could be lost or trapped deep inside the planet. This could reshape the search for life by showing that water alone is not enough.

Life cannot begin on a planet unless certain chemical elements are available in large enough amounts. Two of the most important are phosphorus and nitrogen. Phosphorus helps build DNA and RNA, which store and pass along genetic information, and it also plays a key role in how cells manage energy. Nitrogen is a major part of proteins, which are essential for building cells and helping them function. Without enough phosphorus and nitrogen, life cannot emerge from nonliving matter.

High trust in AI leaves individuals vulnerable to “cognitive surrender,” study finds

People are increasingly outsourcing their thinking to artificial intelligence, bypassing critical reflection entirely. New research reveals that this “cognitive surrender” inflates confidence and causes users to blindly adopt algorithm-generated answers, even when the software is wrong.

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