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Apr 6, 2023

It takes a body to understand the world — why ChatGPT and other language AIs don’t know what they’re saying

Posted by in category: futurism

Large language models can’t understand language the way humans do because they can’t perceive and make sense of the world.

Apr 6, 2023

Studying Consciousness Without Affecting It

Posted by in categories: electronics, neuroscience

Summary: Researchers found a way to assess consciousness without external stimulation, using a little-used approach where volunteers squeeze a force sensor with their hand when they breathe in and release it when they breathe out, resulting in more precise and sensitive measurements that may help improve treatment for insomnia and coma reversal.

Source: picower institute for learning and memory.

Studies of consciousness often run into a common conundrum of science—it’s hard to measure a system without the measurement affecting the system. Researchers assessing consciousness, for instance as volunteers receive anesthesia, typically use spoken commands to see if subjects can still respond, but that sound might keep them awake longer or wake them up sooner than normal.

Apr 6, 2023

Micro-robot can target, capture, and move individual cells

Posted by in categories: biological, robotics/AI

A new robot just 10 microns across is able to navigate in a physiological environment and perform a variety of tasks, both autonomously or through external control by a human operator.

Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) have developed a new “hybrid micro-robot” the size of a single biological cell. This can be controlled and moved using two different mechanisms – electric and magnetic.

Apr 6, 2023

Programmable protein delivery with a bacterial contractile injection system

Posted by in category: futurism

The tail fibre of an extracellular contractile injection system (eCIS) from Photorhabdus asymbiotica recognizes targets expressed on eukaryotic host cells, and can be reprogrammed to target specific organisms and cell types for delivery of novel protein payloads.

Apr 6, 2023

New measurements suggests we are fundamentally wrong about the universe

Posted by in category: space

Puzzle over ‘Hubble constant’ could suggest many of our basic assumptions are wrong We may be fundamentally wrong about some of the deepest parts of the universe, according to a new study. For years, scientists have been puzzled over the “Hubble tension”. That refers to the difficulty over measuring how quickly the universe is expanding: different measurements show different speeds, and scientists have been unable to say why.

Apr 6, 2023

Scientifically Speaking

Posted by in category: futurism

The recent discovery that plants emit inaudible sounds under stress has caused a stir in the scientific community and reminded me of a story from decades ago.

Apr 6, 2023

How Our Brain Makes New Decisions

Posted by in category: neuroscience

Summary: Researchers have identified a mechanism within the brain that underlies when we apply stored knowledge to novel decision-making situations.

Source: Max Planck Society.

We regularly find ourselves in new shops or restaurants, we land at airports we don’t know or start a new job. In such situations, the remarkable flexibility of human behavior becomes apparent. Even in new situations, we can often predict the consequences of our actions and thus make appropriate decisions.

Apr 6, 2023

The 22 Best Cyberpunk Novels of All Time

Posted by in category: futurism

Cyberpunk focuses on high technology and low life. Here are the 22 best cyberpunk novels of all time, from classics to recent additions.

Apr 6, 2023

Chinese Scientists Discover How To Create Oxygen, Water And Fuel On The Moon

Posted by in categories: energy, space

In the not too distant future, trips to the мoon will Ƅe мanned and of long duration. In order for astronauts to surʋiʋe there for the duration of their мission, they мust first find a way to create oxygen, water, and fuel with the resources that exist there, since transport froм Earth is coмpletely unfeasiƄle.

Now, a teaм of Chinese astronoмers froм Nanjing Uniʋersity has just discoʋered how to achieʋe this and thus facilitate huмan exploration to create a perмanent Ƅase.

Apr 6, 2023

Tesla Model S Early Adopter Has Now Traveled Over 1 Million Miles

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Year 2022


We figured this was inevitable, as this Tesla owner has been keeping the world apprised of his Model S mileage over the years. What an epic achievement.