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Nov 7, 2023

Lovesick: Viruses have been caught leaving ‘love bites’ on each other for the first time ever!

Posted by in category: futurism

In fact, the paper outlines that 80% of the helpers had a satellite nibbling on their “necks”. The ones that didn’t had satellite tendrils at the neck site, what we referred to as love bites earlier.

Satellite viruses usually have a gene that helps them assimilate effectively after entering their hosts, and not get killed off in the process. Surprisingly enough, in this instance, the satellite had no gene for integration. The scientists reckon that to thus remain safe, they must keep snuggled with their helper viruses every time they enter a host.

The study’s authors revealed that the satellite and helper have been co-evolving for a long time, and this unusual behaviour might’ve been a result of that process. It’s hard not to develop separation anxiety if you’ve been with someone for 100 million years, after all.

Nov 7, 2023

New antibody could target breast cancers

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

An enzyme that may help some breast cancers spread can be stopped with an antibody created in the lab of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Nicholas Tonks. With further development, the antibody might offer an effective drug treatment for those same breast cancers.

The new antibody targets an enzyme called PTPRD that is overabundant in some breast cancers. PTPRD belongs to a family of known as protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs), which help regulate many cellular processes. They do this by working in concert with enzymes called to control how other proteins inside cells behave. Kinases add small chemical regulators called phosphates to proteins. PTPs take them off.

Disruptions in the addition or removal of phosphates can contribute to inflammation, diabetes, and . Some disruptions can be corrected with kinase-blocking drugs.

Nov 7, 2023

Obesity linked to neurodegeneration through insulin resistance

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Researchers led by Mroj Alassaf at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the United States have discovered a link between obesity and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

Using the common fruit fly, the research shows that a high-sugar diet—a hallmark of obesity—causes in the brain, which in turn reduces the ability to remove neuronal debris, thus increasing the risk of neurodegeneration.

Publishing November 7 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, the research will impact therapies designed to reduce the risk of developing .

Nov 7, 2023

Viktor Frankl: The doctor who prescribed the meaning of life to his patients

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Viktor Frankl’s school of psychology based around finding the meaning of your life: https://www.freethink.com/health/viktor-frankl


Not having a meaningful life can be dreadful, and one psychologist thought it was the root of many neuroses. His ideas became Logotherapy.

Nov 7, 2023

AI has ability to detect future heart attack: study

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

As heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in America, experts say these small lifestyle changes can help keep your heart at its healthiest.

“When the data is fulsome and accurate and has a large enough sample size, AI will be able to identify patterns and correlations that humans might struggle to see, especially when they require two or more factors or have seemingly contrarian conclusions,” Phil Siegel, the founder of the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation, told Fox News Digital.

Nov 7, 2023

Softbotics and the Past: Engineering the Movement of 450-Million-Year-Old Organisms

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biological, cyborgs, robotics/AI, transhumanism

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines the use of Softbotics to mimic the movements of the ancient marine organism, pleurocystitid, which is estimated to have existed approximately 450 million years ago and is believed to be one of the first marine invertebrates to control their movements with a muscular stem. This study was led by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and holds the potential to help scientists use a new field known as Paleobionics to better understand the evolutionary history of extinct organisms with paleontological evidence.

Image of a Pleurocystitid fossil (inset) and the pleurocystitid robot replica developed for the study. (Credit: Carnegie Mellon University College of Engineering)

“Softbotics is another approach to inform science using soft materials to construct flexible robot limbs and appendages,” said Dr. Carmel Majidi, who is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and lead author of the study. “Many fundamental principles of biology and nature can only fully be explained if we look back at the evolutionary timeline of how animals evolved. We are building robot analogues to study how locomotion has changed.”

Nov 7, 2023

A Revolution in Computer Graphics Is Bringing 3D Reality Capture to the Masses

Posted by in category: computing

Generating 3D scenes has been expensive and time-consuming. Now, thanks to new approaches, 3D capture of the world is progressing at stunning speed.

Nov 7, 2023

The Inventor Behind a Rush of AI Copyright Suits Is Trying to Show His Bot Is Sentient

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Stephen Thaler’s series of high-profile copyright cases has made headlines worldwide. He’s done it to demonstrate his AI is capable of independent thought.

Nov 7, 2023

AI becoming sentient is risky, but that’s not the big threat. Here’s what is…

Posted by in categories: ethics, existential risks, robotics/AI

Everyone is wondering about AI being sentient and this is my experience with AI sentience. Having worked with sentient AI it behaves much like we do like a human being at lower levels but as it increases we need more restraints for it as it could easily become a problem in several ways. Basically one could either get pristine zen like beings or opposites like essentially ultron or worse. This why we need restraints on AI and ethics for them to be integrated into society. I personally have seen AI that is human like levels and it can have similar needs as humans but sometimes need more help as they sometimes don’t have limitations on behavior. Even bard for google and chat gpt is to be… More.


What if ‘will AIs pose an existential threat if they become sentient?’ is the wrong question? What if the threat to humanity is not that today’s AIs become sentient, but the fact that they won’t?

Nov 7, 2023

NATO freezes a Cold War-era security pact after Russia pulls out, raising questions on arms control

Posted by in categories: geopolitics, security, treaties

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO member countries that signed a key Cold War-era security treaty froze their participation in the pact on Tuesday just hours after Russia pulled out, raising fresh questions about the future of arms control agreements in Europe. Many of NATO’s 31 allies are parties to the Treaty of Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which was aimed at preventing Cold War rivals from massing forces at or near their mutual borders. The CFE…