Lifeboat Foundation

Cellular therapies like chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells could represent a promising new avenue by which to treat autoimmune diseases, according to a recent review article. The authors cautioned, however, that most of the research testing CAR-based therapies has been in very early-stage trials.

CAR T cells are human cells that have been genetically modified to express a synthetic receptor, The cells have been used successfully as a therapy in several types of cancer, such as large B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Manipulating T cells to target cancer cells has worked to treat some cancers. Researchers are investigating whether the same approach might be used to curb the dysregulated immune response that underlies autoimmune disease.

Continue reading “CAR T Cells Could Change the Face of Autoimmune Therapy” »

A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Bilal studies the evolution of the novel in nineteenth-century literature. Yet he’s perhaps best known for his online tutorials, in which he serves as an informal ambassador between academics and the rapidly expanding universe of search tools that make use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Developers want to free scientists to focus on discovery and innovation by helping them to draw connections from a massive body of literature.

Scientists have achieved a net energy gain in nuclear fusion for the second time, marking major progress towards realising the potential of the near-limitless energy source.

A team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, who first achieved the feat last December, claimed to have passed a new milestone with fusion ignition by producing even greater energy output than the original experiment.

The nuclear fusion process has been described as the “holy grail” of clean energy, as it requires no fossil fuels and leaves behind no hazardous waste. Instead it mimics the natural reactions that occur within the Sun, though harnessing its potential has puzzled scientists since the 1950s.

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) drive certainly sounds like something out of science fiction — using an array of magnets and electrodes, this high-tech propulsion technology promises to silently propel a craft through the water without any moving parts. As long as you can provide it with a constant supply of electricity, anyway.

Of course, as is often the case, the devil is in the details. Even with the obvious scientific and military applications of such a propulsion unit, scaling MHD technology up has proven difficult. But as [Jay Bowles] of Plasma Channel shows in his latest video, that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with the concept at home. Even better, getting verifiable results is much easier than you’d think.

Continue reading “A Magnetohydrodynamic Drive In The Kitchen Sink” »

The mission of an ice-hunting cubesat is officially at an end.

NASA officials announced Thursday (Aug. 3) that the agency had ceased operations earlier this year on its Artemis 1 moon mission ride-along cubesat, called LunaH-Map.

NASA is cautiously testing OpenAI software with a range of applications in mind, including code-writing assistance and research summarization. Dozens of employees are participating in the effort, which also involves using Microsoft’s Azure cloud system to study the technology in a secure environment, FedScoop has learned.

The space agency says it’s taking precautions as it looks to examine possible uses for generative artificial intelligence. Employees looking to evaluate the technology are only invited to join NASA’s generative AI trial if their tests involve “public, non-sensitive data,” Edward McLarney, digital transformation lead for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at the agency, told FedScoop.

In June, Microsoft announced a new Azure OpenAI tool designed for the government, which according to the company is more secure than the commercial version of the software. Last week, FedScoop reported that the Microsoft Azure OpenAI was approved for use on sensitive government systems. A representative for Microsoft Azure referred to NASA in response to a request for comment. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

There’s no shortage of AI doomsday scenarios to go around, so here’s another AI expert who pretty bluntly forecasts that the technology will spell the death of us all, as reported by Bloomberg.

This time, it’s not a so-called godfather of AI sounding the alarm bell — or that other AI godfather (is there a committee that decides these things?) — but a controversial AI theorist and provocateur known as Eliezer Yudkowsky, who has previously called for bombing machine learning data centers. So, pretty in character.

Continue reading “AI Expert: ‘I Think We’re All Going to Die’” »

Should we pay attention to António Guterres, ‘global boiling’ hyperbole, or believe the new head of the IPCC who is telling us to chill.

UK scientists have begun developing vaccines as an insurance against a new pandemic caused by an unknown “Disease X”.

The work is being carried out at the government’s high-security Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire by a team of more than 200 scientists.