The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Casgevy, a CRISPR gene-editing therapy, for treating the serious blood disorder transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia—the second major approval for the emerging therapy.
“I think this material could have a big impact because it works really well,” said Dr. Mircea Dincă. “It is already competitive with incumbent technologies, and it can save a lot of the cost and pain and environmental issues related to mining the metals that currently go into batteries.”
Electric vehicles (EVs) have become a household name in the last few years with several companies fighting to compete in the everchanging EV landscape as EV technology continues to improve in cost, efficiency, and the materials used to manufacture the batteries responsible for sustaining this clean energy revolution. While EV batteries have traditionally used cobalt for their battery needs, a recent study published in ACS Central Science discusses how organic cathode materials could be used as a substitute for cobalt for lithium-ion batteries while potentially offering similar levels of storage capacity and charging capabilities, as cobalt has shown to be financially, environmentally, and socially expensive.
“Cobalt batteries can store a lot of energy, and they have all of features that people care about in terms of performance, but they have the issue of not being widely available, and the cost fluctuates broadly with commodity prices,” said Dr. Mircea Dincă, who is a W.M. Keck Professor of Energy at MIT and a co-author on the study.
For their study, the researchers constructed a layered organic cathode comprised of cellulose, rubber, and other Earth-based elements. The team then subjected their organic cathode to a variety of tests, including energy storage, delivery, and charging capabilities. In the end, they found their cathode’s capabilities exceed most cobalt-based cathodes, including a charge-discharge time of 6 minutes. Additionally, while battery cathodes are known for significant wear and tear due to cracking from the flow of lithium ions, the researchers noted that the rubber and cellulose materials helped extend the battery cathode’s lifetime.
A hierarchical #Atlas of the human #cerebellum for functional precision #mapping
Contribute to DiedrichsenLab/cerebellar_atlases development by creating an account on GitHub.
On Thursday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the company’s efforts at achieving artificial general intelligence.
Summary: A groundbreaking study by physicists and neuroscientists reveals that the connectivity among neurons stems from universal networking principles, not just biological specifics.
Analyzing various model organisms, researchers found a consistent “heavy-tailed” distribution of neural connections, guided by Hebbian dynamics, indicating that neuron connectivity relies on general network organization.
This discovery, transcending biology, potentially applies to non-biological networks like social interactions, offering insights into the fundamental nature of networking.
A.I. for longevity and long lived flies.
Kennedy Schaal presents “Using Advanced A.I. and Blockchain Technology to Targey Aging” at the Longevity+DeSci Summit NYC (EARD 2023) hosted by Lifespan.io. Summary ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ Kennedy Schaal is the founder and CEO of Rejuve Biotech, an AI-driven therapeutics discovery company solving the problems for longevity and age-associated diseases. By using advanced Artificial Intelligence to combine data from the Methuselah Flies with data from people, Rejuve. Bio can shorten the drug discovery pipeline and rapidly develop novel therapeutics to help people live longer. They have two high-impact and novel data sources, as well as unique artificial intelligence technology. First and foremost, they are the sole owner of data from the Methuselah Flies (fruit flies) that have been bred for longevity. Second, because flies have a shorter life cycle, they can be tested for longevity much faster than other animal models. Rejuve Biotech has the unique ability to test multiple interventions and treatment combinations over the course of a fruit fly’s life and in various aspects of its life (e.g., mating, disease resistance). In addition, they also have quick access to Crowdsourced Human Data collected by a partner company, Rejuve Network. Kennedy Schaal is an accomplished biotechnology executive with a strong leadership track record in applied genomic research and Artificial Intelligence at the frontier of longevity science. She is also a multi-published author on the science of longevity and applied genomics trials. Kennedy is also a world-leading expert on genomic selection and breeding for innovative Drosophila Methuselah Flies, which together with applied Artificial Intelligence solve many of today’s pain points in longevity research, with the potential for massive impact on the health and lifespan of people across the planet. Experienced Laboratory Director and Chief Biologist with a demonstrated history of working in the biotechnology industry. Strong research professional skilled in evolutionary biology, genetics, and the study of aging-related diseases.
If we embrace the idea that consciousness is the fundamental fabric of the universe, our exploration of technology, particularly in the realms of artificial intelligence and virtual realities, takes on new significance.
The concept of teleological evolution, driven by a purpose or end goal, posits that the universe is not just a random assembly of matter and energy, but rather a carefully orchestrated symphony of consciousness.
Labroots recently explored how a November 2023 study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry found that cannabis does not mitigate long-term opioid addiction. Now, a more recent study published in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse could either support or refute these findings as a team of international researchers examined the potential for cannabis to be used as appropriate substitute for weaning patients away from opioid use for non-medical reasons. This study holds the potential to help medical practitioners, patients, and the public better understand the link between medical cannabis and opioid addiction.
“Clarifying how cannabis and opioids interact is crucial if we are to equip healthcare professionals to provide evidence-based addiction treatment, prevent overdose deaths and save lives,” said Gabriel Costa, who is a researcher at the University of Ribeirão Preto in Brazil and lead author of the study.
For the study, the researchers combined findings from a meta-analysis and modeling to ascertain the risk of cannabis use and non-medical opioid use for patients suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD) and receiving appropriate treatment, as well. The meta-analysis involved a myriad of databases between March 1 and April 5, 2023, with a total of 10 studies being selected for further investigation for the final study, which totaled 8,367 participants, of which 62 percent were men and 38 percent were women.
Alternative ways of powering, cooling, and constructing reactors could help get more nuclear energy on the grid.
I’ve got nuclear power on the brain this week.
And he wants Meta to open source it.
“We have built up the capacity to do this at a scale that may be larger than any other individual company”
External research has pegged Meta’s H100 shipments for 2023 at 150,000, a number that is tied only with Microsoft’s shipments and at least three times larger than everyone else’s. When its Nvidia A100s and other AI chips are accounted for, Meta will have a stockpile of almost 600,000 GPUs by the end of 2024, according to Zuckerberg.
No one working on AI, including Zuckerberg, seems to have a clear definition for AGI or an idea of when it will arrive.