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Jun 15, 2023

‘Synthetic’ embryo with brain and beating heart grown from stem cells by Cambridge scientists

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

The team, led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, developed the embryo model without eggs or sperm, and instead used stem cells – the body’s master cells, which can develop into almost any cell type in the body.

The researchers mimicked natural processes in the lab by guiding the three types of stem cells found in early mammalian development to the point where they start interacting. By inducing the expression of a particular set of genes and establishing a unique environment for their interactions, the researchers were able to get the stem cells to ‘talk’ to each other.


Researchers have created model embryos from mouse stem cells that form a brain, a beating heart, and the foundations of all the other organs of the body.

Jun 14, 2023

Walmart, LinkedIn, Meta test internal generative AI options for employees

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

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Walmart, Meta and LinkedIn are three companies currently testing internal generative AI options for employees that are safe for the use of company data, either in the form of generative AI “playgrounds” that offer a variety of models to choose from, or in the case of Meta, its own in-house internal chatbot.

These examples stand in contrast to companies that have banned the use of public generative AI tools like ChatGPT, including Goldman Sachs, Amazon and Verizon.

Jun 14, 2023

Review: A striking Danish art show at the Getty unpacks what it means to be a nation in turmoil

Posted by in category: futurism

Denmark was in full chaotic collapse in the early 19th century. Why was its art so beautifully serene?

Jun 14, 2023

Professor Makes 100% Biodegradable Straws Using Coconut Leaves, Has Sold 20 Million

Posted by in category: sustainability

Bengaluru-based Professor Saji Varghese founded a startup called Sunbird Straws, which sells eco-friendly straws made from coconut leaves. So far, the company has sold over 20 million pieces worldwide.

Jun 14, 2023

Plate tectonics not required for the emergence of life, argues study

Posted by in category: futurism

Scientists have taken a journey back in time to unlock the mysteries of Earth’s early history, using tiny mineral crystals called zircons to study plate tectonics billions of years ago. The research sheds light on the conditions that existed in early Earth, revealing a complex interplay between Earth’s crust, core, and the emergence of life.

Plate tectonics allows heat from Earth’s interior to escape to the surface, forming continents and other geological features necessary for life to emerge. Accordingly, “there has been the assumption that is necessary for life,” says John Tarduno, who teaches in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Rochester. But new research casts doubt on that assumption.

Tarduno, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Geophysics, is lead author of a paper published in Nature examining plate tectonics from a time 3.9 billion years ago, when scientists believe the first traces of life appeared on Earth.

Jun 14, 2023

Strawberry products sold in 32 states recalled

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Multiple packages of frozen fruit, specifically strawberries, are being recalled due to possible Hepatitis A contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration said Willamette Valley Fruit Co. of Salem, Oregon, is voluntarily recalling select packages of frozen strawberries and a frozen fruit blend containing strawberries. The impacted strawberries were grown in Mexico and are potentially carrying Hepatitis A.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease caused by the Hepatitis A virus, which can be spread through close contact with someone who is infected, or by eating foods or consuming beverages that have been contaminated, according to the CDC.

Jun 14, 2023

Self-driving truck company Einride expands into Norway

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

COPENHAGEN, June 14 (Reuters) — Swedish electric self-driving truck company Einride expects to reduce CO2 emissions in Norway by 2,100 tonnes over the coming three years as it partners up with Scandinavia’s leading postal service, PostNord, the company said on Wednesday.

Norway has the world’s highest number of electric vehicles per head of population and aims for all heavy vehicles to be zero-emission by 2040, potentially cutting CO2 emissions by 4.4 million tonnes or nearly 9% of the country’s annual emissions.

“Given Norway’s pioneering work in electrifying passenger vehicles, it’s only logical that they should take a leading role in the electrification of heavy-duty freight as well,” Einride CEO Robert Falck said.

Jun 14, 2023

IBM quantum computer passes calculation milestone

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Dan this made me think of you.


‘Benchmark’ experiment suggests quantum computers could have useful real-world applications within two years.

Jun 14, 2023

Key building block for life found at Saturn’s moon Enceladus

Posted by in categories: alien life, chemistry

The search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system just got more exciting. A team of scientists including Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Christopher Glein has discovered new evidence that the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus contains a key building block for life. The team directly detected phosphorus in the form of phosphates originating from the moon’s ice-covered global ocean using data from NASA’s Cassini mission. Cassini explored Saturn and its system of rings and moons for over 13 years.

“In 2020 (published in 2022), we used geochemical modeling to predict that phosphorus should be abundant in Enceladus’ ,” said Glein, a leading expert in extraterrestrial oceanography. He is a co-author of a paper in the journal Nature describing this research. “Now, we have found abundant phosphorus in plume ice samples spraying out of the subsurface ocean.”

The Cassini spacecraft discovered Enceladus’ subsurface liquid water and analyzed samples in a plume of ice grains and gases erupting into space from cracks in the moon’s icy surface. Analysis of a class of salt-rich ice grains by Cassini’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer showed the presence of sodium phosphates. The team’s observational results, together with laboratory analogue experiments, suggest that phosphorus is readily available in Enceladus’ ocean as phosphates.

Jun 14, 2023

ChatGPT Is Unoriginal—and Exactly What Humans Need

Posted by in category: futurism

The technology can help cut through buzzwordy “solutions” and serve as a shortcut for jumpstarting creativity.