Philosophy professors are failing a high school level word problem
Australian researchers are turning to nature for the next computing revolution, harnessing living cells and biological systems as potential replacements for traditional silicon chips. A new paper from Macquarie University scientists outlines how engineered biological systems could solve limitations in traditional computing, as international competition accelerates the development of “semisynbio” technologies.
Living computers, organs-on-a-chip, data storage in DNA and biosecurity networks that detect threats before they spread—these aren’t science fiction concepts but emerging realities. A team from Macquarie University and the ARC Center of Excellence in Synthetic Biology (COESB) has explored this convergence of biological and digital technologies in a Perspective paper published in Nature Communications.
The Macquarie University authors—Professor Isak Pretorius, Professor Ian Paulsen and Dr. Thom Dixon (who are also affiliated with the ARC Center of Excellence in Synthetic Biology), Professor Daniel Johnson and Professor Michael Boers—draw on decades of combined experience to explain why harnessing bio-innovation can proactively shape the future of computing technology.
Using advanced computational modeling, a research team led by the University of Oxford, working in partnership with the Instituto Superior Técnico at the University of Lisbon, has achieved the first-ever real-time, three-dimensional simulations of how intense laser beams alter the “quantum vacuum”—a state once assumed to be empty, but which quantum physics predicts is full of virtual electron-positron pairs.
Excitingly, these simulations recreate a bizarre phenomenon predicted by quantum physics, known as “vacuum four-wave mixing.” This states that the combined electromagnetic field of three focused laser pulses can polarize the virtual electron-positron pairs of a vacuum, causing photons to bounce off each other like billiard balls—generating a fourth laser beam in a “light from darkness” process. These events could act as a probe of new physics at extremely high intensities.
“This is not just an academic curiosity—it is a major step toward experimental confirmation of quantum effects that until now have been mostly theoretical,” said study co-author Professor Peter Norreys, Department of Physics, University of Oxford.
A new study reveals that the brain’s default mode network is made up of distinct anatomical types that support both internal thoughts and external processing. This structural diversity helps explain the network’s role in everything from memory to imagination.
The discovery could reshape how we study psychedelic compounds in nature and medicine.
A quick overview of some of the most popular fictional architectural styles.
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00:00 Cyberpunk.
00:37 Steampunk.
01:14 Dieselpunk.
01:46 Atompunk.
02:22 Solarpunk.
02:58 Biopunk.
03:33 Post-Apocalyptic Salvagecore.
04:07 Brutalist Dystopia.
04:40 Arcology.
05:16 Space-Opera Modernism.
05:52 Dark Fantasy.
06:25 Clockpunk.
06:58 Teslapunk.
07:29 Afrofuturist.
08:02 Subnautical Artifice
In this episode, host Hannah Fry is joined by Max Jaderberg and Rebecca Paul of Isomorphic Labs to explore the future of drug discovery in the age of AI. They discuss how new technology, particularly AlphaFold 3, is revolutionizing the field by predicting the structure of life’s molecules, paving the way for faster and more efficient drug discovery.
They dig into the immense complexities of designing new drugs: How do you find the right molecular key for the right biological lock? How can AI help scientists understand disease better and overcome challenges like drug toxicity? And what about the diseases that are currently considered “undruggable”? Finally, they explore the ultimate impact of this technology, from the future of personalized medicine to the ambitious goal of being able to eventually design treatments for all diseases.
Further reading:
AlphaFold 3: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07487-w.
AlphaFold Server: https://alphafoldserver.com/
Isomorphic Labs: https://www.isomorphiclabs.com/
AlphaFold 3 code and weights: https://github.com/google-deepmind/alphafold3
Timecodes:
00:00 Intro.
02:11 AI & Disease.
05:30 AI in Biology.
06:51 Molecules and Proteins.
12:05 AlphaFold 3
14:40 Demo.
16:20 Human-AI collaboration.
24:30 Drug Design Challenges.
39:00 Beyond Animal Models.
44:35 AI Drug Future.
46:30 Outro.
Thanks to everyone who made this possible, including but not limited to:
Cambridge researchers use AI to discover effective breast cancer drug combinations from non-cancer medications successfully.
A cure for HIV could be a step closer after researchers found a new way to force the virus out of hiding inside human cells.
The virus’s ability to conceal itself inside certain white blood cells has been one of the main challenges for scientists looking for a cure. It means there is a reservoir of the HIV in the body, capable of reactivation, that neither the immune system nor drugs can tackle.
Now researchers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, have demonstrated a way to make the virus visible, paving the way to fully clear it from the body.