Lifeboat Foundation

Artificial intelligence algorithms, such as the sophisticated natural language processor ChatGPT, are raising hopes, eyebrows and alarm bells in multiple industries. A deluge of news articles and opinion pieces, reflecting both concerns about and promises of the rapidly advancing field, often note AI’s potential to spread misinformation and replace human workers on a massive scale. According to Jonathan Chen, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, the speculation about large-scale disruptions has a kernel of truth to it, but it misses another element when it comes to health care: AI will bring benefits to both patients and providers.

Chen discussed the challenges with and potential for AI in health care in a commentary published in JAMA on April 28. In this Q&A, he expands on how he sees AI integrating into health care.

The algorithms we’re seeing emerge have really popped open Pandora’s box and, ready or not, AI will substantially change the way physicians work and the way patients interact with clinical medicine. For example, we can tell our patients that they should not be using these tools for medical advice or self-diagnosis, but we know that thousands, if not millions, of people are already doing it — typing in symptoms and asking the models what might be ailing them.

A genetic editing system similar to CRISPR-Cas9 has been uncovered for the first time in eukaryotes – the group of organisms that include fungi, plants, and animals. The system, based on a protein called Fanzor, can be guided to precisely target and edit sections of DNA, and that could open up the possibility of its use as a human genome editing tool.

The research team, led by Professor Feng Zhang at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, began to suspect that Fanzor proteins might act as nucleases – enzymes that can chop up nucleic acids, like DNA – during a previous investigation.

Continue reading “Newfound CRISPR-Like System In Animals Could Be Used To Manipulate Human Genomes” »

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help people shop, plan, and write—but not cook. It turns out humans aren’t the only ones who have a hard time following step-by-step recipes in the correct order, but new research from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Computing could change that.

Danish architect Bjarke Ingels has collaborated with clothing brand Vollebak to design an entirely self-sufficient, off-grid island home in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Planned for an island within Jeddore Harbour, the house is designed to exemplify the clothing brand’s ideals and Ingels’ studio BIG’s “philosophy of hedonistic sustainability”.

“Vollebak is using technology and material innovation to create clothes that are as sustainable and resilient as they are beautiful,” said Ingels.

The arrangement of electrons in matter, known as the electronic structure, plays a crucial role in fundamental but also applied research, such as drug design and energy storage. However, the lack of a simulation technique that offers both high fidelity and scalability across different time and length scales has long been a roadblock for the progress of these technologies.

Researchers from the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Görlitz, Germany, and Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S., have now pioneered a machine learning–based simulation method that supersedes traditional electronic structure simulation techniques.

Their Materials Learning Algorithms (MALA) software stack enables access to previously unattainable length scales. The work is published in the journal npj Computational Materials.

Interesting discovery! I’d love to see it in action.

A new ferroelectric polymer that efficiently converts electrical energy into mechanical strain has been developed by Penn State researchers. This material, showing potential for use in medical devices and robotics, overcomes traditional piezoelectric limitations. Researchers improved performance by creating a polymer nanocomposite, significantly reducing the necessary driving field strength, expanding potential applications.

A new type of ferroelectric polymer that is exceptionally good at converting electrical energy into mechanical strain holds promise as a high-performance motion controller or “actuator” with great potential for applications in medical devices, advanced robotics, and precision positioning systems, according to a team of international researchers led by Penn State.

Continue reading “Artificial Muscles Flex for the First Time: Ferroelectric Polymer Innovation in Robotics” »

Notpla has been announced as the winner of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, in the category of ‘Build a Waste-Free World’!

https://www.notpla.com/

Continue reading “Seaweed to Replace Plastic | Edible & Biodegradable Packaging | Notpla” »

Italian architect Gae Avitabile has designed the interior of Civico 29, a sea-inspired cocktail bar in an Italian coastal town.

FRO is effective against acne

The disc diffusion experiment results indicated that 20 μL FRO successfully suppressed CA growth, producing distinct 13 mm inhibition zones at a concentration of 100 mg/mL. FRO significantly suppressed CA-induced increases in sebum production, thereby slowing or reversing acne onset.

FRO was found to be rich in phenolic compounds, including gallic acid, kaempferol, quercetin, and fisetin. The concentration of total phenolic compounds (TPCs) averaged 118.2 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAEs) for every gram of FRO.