Lifeboat Foundation

According to a new theory presented by researchers at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus and their colleagues at University College London, how useful a memory is for future situations determines where it resides in the brain.

The theory offers a new way of understanding systems consolidation, a process that transfers certain memories from the hippocampus – where they are initially stored – to the neocortex — where they reside long term.

Under the classical view of systems consolidation, all memories move from the hippocampus to the neocortex over time. But this view doesn’t always hold up; research shows some memories permanently reside in the hippocampus and are never transferred to the neocortex.

The Nobel Physics Prize was awarded on Tuesday to three scientists for their work on attoseconds, which are almost unimaginably short periods of time.

Their work using lasers gives scientists a tool to observe and possibly even manipulate electrons, which could spur breakthroughs in fields such as electronics and chemistry, experts told AFP.

Attoseconds are a billionth of a billionth of a second.

Scientists testing a new method of sequencing single cells have unexpectedly changed our understanding of the rules of genetics.

The genome of a protist has revealed a seemingly unique divergence in the DNA code signaling the end of a gene, suggesting the need for further research to better understand this group of diverse organisms.

Dr. Jamie McGowan, a postdoctoral scientist at the Earlham Institute, analyzed the genome sequence of a microscopic organism—a protist—isolated from a freshwater pond at Oxford University Parks. The research was published in PLoS Genetics.

The use of artificial intelligence has played an important role in science teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to fill a gap in the current review of research on AI in science education (AISE) in the early stage of education by systematically reviewing existing research in this area. This systematic review examined the trends and research foci of AI in the science of early stages of education. This review study employed a bibliometric analysis and content analysis to examine the characteristics of 76 studies on Artificial Intelligence in Science Education (AISE) indexed in Web of Science and Scopus from 2013 to 2023. The analytical tool CiteSpace was utilized for the analysis.

Astronomers spotted Jupiter-mass binary objects (JUMBOs) in the Orion constellation, and they don’t know how the objects formed.

Contrary to existing antimicrobial coatings, which function by eliminating microorganisms upon contact over some adequate duration of time, the technology developed by FendX takes a preventative approach. Utilizing nanotechnology to develop film and spray protective coatings that prevent microbial adherence to surfaces, thereby minimizing the potential for transmission. This is a significant departure from reactive coating surfaces in the market, offering a proactive method for reducing the occurrence and spread of HAIs.

REPELWRAP™ film, is FendX’s lead product in development and is with their manufacturer who is gearing up to conduct pilot runs on their commercial manufacturing line to create intermediate films for testing. FendX is also developing a spray-based product using their patent-pending nanotechnology. This spray offers the same preventative measures against microbial adherence and has the potential to be more versatile and easier-to-apply to surfaces. It not only demonstrates the same repelling properties but also effectively inactivates any residual microorganisms on the coated surface.

FendX is focused on healthcare settings, but is also exploring potential applications in other multiple billion high-traffic industries. It is anticipated that FendX’s future protective coatings can be applied to various high-touch surfaces: from bed rails and IV poles in healthcare to potential handrails in public transport systems to door handles in restaurants and public bathrooms. Given that the technology inhibits microbial adherence, it has the potential to significantly reduce the spread of pathogens in virtually any setting where human interaction with surfaces occurs. This broad applicability signifies that the market opportunity could be vastly larger than the projected $7.6 billion for antimicrobial coatings by 2025, opening doors to various industries and settings.

Research shows that 20th-century commercial whaling has left a mark on the genetic diversity of surviving whales, emphasizing the importance of understanding and conserving their genetic history.

Commercial whaling in the 20^th century decimated populations of large whales but also appears to have had a lasting impact on the genetic diversity of today’s surviving whales, new research from Oregon State University shows.

Researchers compared DNA.

The famous Copenhagen Interpretation favored by the founders of quantum mechanics is most definitely psi-epistemic. Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and others saw the state vector as being related to our interactions with the Universe. As Bohr said, “Physics is not about how the world is; it is about what we can say about the world.”

QBism is also definitively psi-epistemic, but it is not the Copenhagen Interpretation. Its epistemic focus grew organically from its founders’ work in quantum information science, which is arguably the most important development in quantum studies over the last 30 years. As physicists began thinking about quantum computers, they recognized that seeing the quantum in terms of information — an idea with strong epistemic grounding — provided new and powerful insights. By taking the information perspective seriously and asking, “Whose information?” the founders of QBism began a fundamentally new line of inquiry that, in the end, doesn’t require science fiction ideas like infinite parallel universes. That to me is one of its great strengths.

But, like all quantum interpretations, there is a price to be paid by QBism for its psi-epistemic perspective. The perfectly accessible, perfectly knowable Universe of classical physics is gone forever, no matter what interpretation you choose. We’ll dive into the price of QBism next time.

Like Tom Hanks, victims of AI-generated trickery will need help getting out the message that they are not the ones who generated the content that’s being ascribed to them. The value of human expertise and decision-making in crisis management will become even more evident.

The AI revolution will have permanent repercussions beyond anything we can perhaps imagine today. Soon, organizations exploring and implementing the use of AI will invite unprecedented levels of risk.

Deepfake AI is now being used to create voice clones, convincing images and video hoaxes, all of which can be used to destroy an individual’s reputation or livelihood.