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Dec 15, 2023

Diverse Gut Microbiomes Block Pathogen Colonization by Consuming Required Nutrients

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A University of Oxford-led study has found that diverse communities of resident commensal gut bacteria collectively protect the human gut from disease-causing microorganisms by consuming the nutrients that the pathogen would need to be able to gain a foothold in the host.

The team used an ecological approach to investigate how colonization by two major bacterial pathogens— Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium)—is influenced by a range of human gut bacteria both in vitro and in gnotobiotic mice. They found that the ecological diversity of the microbiome was important for colonization resistance. While single species of gut microbiota alone had negligible effects on providing effective resistance to pathogens, certain combinations of essential key species within diverse communities exhibited much greater colonization resistance when together.

Having found that these communities block pathogen growth by consuming nutrients that would be required by the pathogen, the team also showed that the concept of nutrient blocking can be used to predict specific sets of commensal microbiota that will resist a novel bacterial pathogen, using genome sequence data alone.

Dec 15, 2023

Researchers define new class of regulatory element in DNA

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience

Researchers at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine’s Laboratory of Gene Regulation, led by Professor Doug Higgs and Dr. Mira Kassouf, have published a study in the journal Cell, in which they reveal another piece of the puzzle of how the code in our DNA is read.

In this study, the authors introduce the concept of “facilitators,” a newly identified type of non-coding DNA that can help to drive gene expression.

All of the in your body contain the same DNA. However, these cells are able to develop into over 200 different types and make up a variety of different specialized tissues such as the skin, the blood, and the brain.

Dec 15, 2023

DeepMind AI outdoes human mathematicians on unsolved problem

Posted by in categories: mathematics, robotics/AI

For the first time ever, researchers show how a large language model can help discover novel solutions to long-standing problems in math and computer science.


The card game Set has long inspired mathematicians to create interesting problems.

Now, a technique based on large language models (LLMs) is showing that artificial intelligence (AI) can help mathematicians to generate new solutions.

Continue reading “DeepMind AI outdoes human mathematicians on unsolved problem” »

Dec 15, 2023

AI: a blessing or curse for humanity?

Posted by in categories: employment, robotics/AI

Artificial intelligence is playing an ever-increasing role in our lives. But will this prove to be a blessing for humanity, or have we created a monster? We talk to leading futurists and experts to find out the impact they believe AI will have on our personal potential, jobs, and even safety.

Dec 15, 2023

Knocking Out part of the Innate Immune System to Improve Cancer Therapy

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China, have discovered that shutting down part of the innate immune system increases anti-tumor activity.

In a paper, “Noncanonical MAVS signaling restrains dendritic cell–driven antitumor immunity by inhibiting IL-12,” published in Science Immunology, the team details how exploring the role of mitochondrial antiviral signaling in tumor immunity uncovered unexpected insights into the relationship with immune responses and potential therapeutic implications.

Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling (MAVS) proteins are part of the innate immune system encoded by the nuclear genome found mainly on the mitochondrial outer membrane. Considered a first line of defense against viral infections, they are rapidly produced upon viral recognition and quickly reduced when a virus is cleared from the system.

Dec 15, 2023

Is Gravity Quantum? New Experiment To Probe Universe’s Deepest Mystery

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics

Scientists are developing an experiment to test whether gravity is quantum – one of the deepest questions about our universe. Scientists are developing an experiment to test whether gravity is quantum In quantum mechanics, which describes the behavior of atoms and molecules –objects behave d.

Dec 15, 2023

Surprisingly, OpenAI is getting ready to pay tens of millions to publishers for using their content to train ChatGPT, amid reports that it’s getting dumber

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

RELATED: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman celebrates ChatGPT’s first birthday

If the deal with German publisher Axel Springer pulls through, it’s highly likely that reports citing ChatGPT’s decline in accuracy will reduce significantly. OpenAI will also get access current and archived news articles across the publisher’s brands, which it will use to train its LLMs. The chatbots will also refer back to the original source to provide absolute transparency to users. And since its a mutual partnership, Axel Springer will also leverage OpenAI’s resources to further enhance and improve its products.

What are your thoughts on OpenAI’s first attempt to compensate publishers and websites for using their content to train its AI models? Let us know in the comments.

Dec 15, 2023

Charted: Average Years Left to Live by Age

Posted by in category: futurism

Visualizing the number of years left to live for Americans at every age, reveals the broader trends in American life expectancy.

Dec 15, 2023

Amazon Caught Selling Bathroom Spy Cam Disguised as Clothes Hook

Posted by in category: futurism

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Amazon is being sued for selling spy cameras disguised as clothes hooks after a girl discovered a camera recording her inside a bathroom.

Dec 15, 2023

SpaceX valuation climbs to $180 billion

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

The valuation of Elon Musk’s SpaceX hit $180 billion based on an ongoing secondary share sale, CNBC confirmed Wednesday.

The company is discussing an agreement with investors to sell stock from insiders in a purchase offer at $97 a share, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The offer does not include raising new capital, as the purchase offer represents a secondary sale of existing shares and is expected to close in January.

SpaceX typically performs these secondary rounds about twice a year, to give employees and other company shareholders a chance to sell stock. The latest valuation represents a 20% increase from SpaceX’s previous high of $150 billion, which the company hit through a July secondary sale at $81 a share.