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A multi-university team of researchers, supported by federal funding, is developing a highly efficient bacterial therapeutic to target cancer more precisely to make treatment safer through a single $1 dose.

Traditionally, cancer therapies have been limited in their efficacy in treating patients. Some, like radiation and chemotherapy, cause harmful side effects, while others tend to result in low patient responsiveness, not to mention the cost it takes to receive treatment. Findings from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network recorded that 73% of cancer survivors and patients were worried about how they were going to pay the cost of their cancer care, and 51% said they were in medical debt from treatment. For example, state-of-the-art cancer therapy can cost up to $1,000,000.

Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri are leading the effort to develop a low-cost, safe, and controlled cancer treatment. Researchers received a $20 million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to fight cancer. The four-year project is part of the current administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative, an effort to advance and increase funding for cancer research. It is one of the first projects funded by the newly established agency that aims to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone by supporting the development of high-impact solutions to society’s most challenging health problems.

Google’s AI GNoME has predicted 2.2 million novel inorganic crystal structures. If synthesized in labs, they may pave the way for new technologies.

A group of researchers in Japan have found yet another interesting way to use AI technology. In a recent research project led by a team from the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) and Osaka University, they were able to translate human brain activity to depict mental images of objects, animals, and landscapes. They released pictures from the research, and the results are pretty astounding.

One of the images that the AI technology was able to decode from the brain activity was a vivid depiction of a leopard with detailed features like spots, ears, and more. Another image depicted an airplane. While we have previously had technology that is able to recreate images from brain activity, this is one of the very few studies that were able to make these mental images visible.

Of these previous studies, the images that could be decoded were fairly limited into several categories, like human faces, letters, and numbers. This new AI brain-decoding technology seems to be able to decode a much broader spectrum of images from the human mind. As the researchers in the study point out, “visualizing mental imagery for arbitrary natural images stands as a significant milestone.”

Quanta Magazine’s full list of the major computer science discoveries from 2023.

In 2023, artificial intelligence dominated popular culture — showing up in everything from internet memes to Senate hearings. Large language models such as those behind ChatGPT fueled a lot of this excitement, even as researchers still struggled to pry open the “black box” that describes their inner workings. Image generation systems also routinely impressed and unsettled us with their artistic abilities, yet these were explicitly founded on concepts borrowed from physics.

Continue reading “The Biggest Discoveries in Computer Science in 2023” »

ICYMI: In a groundbreaking achievement, researchers have successfully created a chimeric monkey with two different sets of DNA through the injection of stem cells from one monkey embryo into another of the same species.

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Scientists based in China have successfully created a chimeric monkey.

Continue reading “China creates world’s first chimeric monkey with fluorescent eyes, fingertips” »

For many people struggling with obesity, the drug is a potential lifesaver. Excess weight is associated with higher incidences of stroke, heart and liver disease, sleep apnea, joint problems, and some cancers. A major clinical trial this year in tens of thousands of overweight people without diabetes found the main ingredient in Ozempic, semaglutide, reduced the risk of stroke and heart attack, while lowering the chances of death due to cardiovascular problems.

Perhaps even more importantly, the drug is gradually changing societal views on obesity—it’s not due to lack of will power, but a chronic medical condition that can be treated.

But Ozempic and similar drugs—like Wegovy, another semaglutide-based medication that has been FDA-approved for weight loss—are already set for the next chapter: tackling a wide range of brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Clinical trials are underway for addiction, and the drugs are showing early promise battling bipolar disorder and depression.

SpaceX does a Static Fire test with Starship 28! How did it go? Booster 10 is ready as well. What did SpaceX achieve in 2023? #SpaceX #starship #elonmusk #starbase

Elon Musk discusses various topics including the declining legacy media market, the success of X platform, the importance of free speech and accurate information propagation, the challenges of public companies, the future of AI, the impact of cryptocurrency, and the potential of autonomous vehicles.

Questions to inspire discussion.

Continue reading “Elon Musk’s Explosive Insights on Media, X Platform, AI, and Cryptocurrency” »

The race to develop quantum computers has really heated up over the past few years. State-of-the-art systems can now run simple algorithms using dozens of qubits—or quantum bits—which are the building blocks of quantum computers.