Lifeboat Foundation

Recent advancements in gene editing technologies may lead to a cure for hemoglobinopathies, including sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia.

A collaborative study between researchers from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital (TN, USA) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (MA, USA) has shown that adenosine base editing could be more effective than other gene editing approaches such as CRISPR/Cas9 for treating sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia. Comparing five different gene editing strategies utilizing either Cas9 nucleases or adenine base editors in hematopoietic and progenitor stem cells, the team found that base editing yielded more favorable results.

Sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia arise due to mutations in the β-globin subunit of hemoglobin, resulting in defective red blood cells. Previous studies have shown that restoring the function of γ-globin, a hemoglobin submit expressed during fetal development, could hold therapeutic advantages for patients with sickle cell disease and β-thalassemia. During fetal development, γ-globin combines with α-globin to form fetal hemoglobin. Following birth, expression of γ-globin ceases as it is replaced by β-globin to form adult hemoglobin. The researchers sought to see whether fetal hemoglobin expression could be restored in post-natal red blood cells to counter the effects of the disease, offering a potentially universal therapeutic approach for the disease.

Octopuses are like aliens living among us — they do a lot of things differently from land animals, or even other sea creatures. Their flexible tentacles taste what they touch and have minds of their own. Octopuses’ eyes are color-blind, but their skin can detect light on its own (SN: 6/27/15, p. 10). They are masters of disguise, changing color and skin textures to blend into their surroundings or scare off rivals. And to a greater extent than most creatures, octopuses squirt the molecular equivalent of red ink over their genetic instructions with astounding abandon, like a copy editor run amok.

These edits modify RNA, the molecule used to translate information from the genetic blueprint stored in DNA, while leaving the DNA unaltered.

Continue reading “Octopuses and squid are masters of RNA editing while leaving DNA intact” »

We’re going to be hearing a lot about various plans and positions on AI regulation in the coming weeks.

The US Congress is heading back into session, and they are hitting the ground running on AI. We’re going to be hearing a lot about various plans and positions on AI regulation in the coming weeks, kicking off with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s first AI Insight Forum on Wednesday. This and planned future forums will bring together some of the top people in AI to discuss the risks and opportunities posed by advances in this technology and how Congress might write legislation to address them.

This newsletter will break down what exactly these forums are and aren’t, and what might come… More.

Meta is reportedly planning to train a new model that it hopes will be as powerful as OpenAI’s latest and greatest chatbot.

Meta has been snapping up AI training chips and building out data centers in order to create a more powerful new chatbot it hopes will be as sophisticated as OpenAI’s GPT-4, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal writes that Meta has been buying more Nvidia H100 AI-training chips and is beefing up its infrastructure so that, this time around, it won’t need to rely on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to train the new chatbot. The company reportedly assembled a group earlier this year to build the model, with the goal of speeding up the creation of AI tools that can emulate human expressions. company aims to release its new model next year.

Though artificial intelligence has been making inroads into the enterprise, the rise of generative AI is accelerating the pace of adoption. It’s time for enterprise CXOs to consider building systems of intelligence that complement systems of record and systems of engagement.

In the last two decades, enterprises have invested in building solid foundations for managing data and information. Relational databases such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server became the cornerstone of information systems. Built on this foundation were customer relationship management, human resources management, supply chain management and other line of business applications that quickly became the digital backbone of… More.

This context, when combined with advanced prompt engineering, helps enterprises build intelligent AI-based assistants on the lines of Microsoft Copilot or Google Duet AI.

Continue reading “The Time Is Now: Why Enterprises Should Invest In Systems Of Intelligence” »

The discourse around Artificial Intelligence (AI) often hinges on the paradoxical duality of its nature. While it mirrors human cognition to an extraordinary extent, its capacity to transcend our limitations is awe-inspiring and unsettling. The heart of this growing field lies in the use of algorithms and the people who control these powerful computational tools.

This brings us to TIME’s recent endeavor—the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI. This meticulously curated list casts light on the people pushing AI’s boundaries and shaping its ethical framework. So when TIME magazine drops a list… More.

Source: TIME

Continue reading “Time reveals 100 most influential AI leaders” »

Researchers at the University of Chicago revealed groundbreaking developments in the field of infrared technology that could lead to cost-effective sensors soon.

Colloidal quantum dots— semiconductor nanocrystals dispersed in a liquid solution— emit various colors depending on their size and are prevalent in today’s gadgets.

Their efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and ease of manufacturing have made them popular in applications such as TVs, where visible light is the outcome.

Isaacson recounts what happened when the two people who had each held the “world’s richest man” title met to talk philanthropy.

Fifty years ago, the average business transaction was pretty straightforward. Shoppers handed purchases directly to cashiers, business partners shook hands in person, and people brought malfunctioning machines to a repair shop across the street. The proximity of all participating parties meant that both customers and businesses could verify authority and authenticity with their own eyes.