Lifeboat Foundation

When molecules form from many atoms, the atoms can combine in different ways. Two forms of the same molecule can have the same composition but have different arrangements of atoms, giving rise to isomers. Some isomers may have structures that are mirror images of each other. Such molecules are called chiral molecules. Scientists are interested in studying such molecules, for example, penicillin, because one arrangement can be a lifesaver while the other could be fatal!

Researchers shine extremely short pulses of light on molecules to take their videos during the processes of interest so that they can study the structure or formation of the molecule. The pulses are so short that they are measured in attoseconds. An attosecond is a billionth of a billionth of a second.

The light needs to be what is called circularly polarised to study chiral molecules. Different arrangements of a chiral molecule respond differently to circularly polarised light, making it possible to distinguish each arrangement. Though polarised attosecond pulses are a great tool for studying chiral molecules, generating such light pulses can be daunting, expensive, and needs bulky apparatus.

Prairie voles lacking functional receptors for oxytocin form normal social bonds, a finding that could explain the hormone’s clinical failures.

Stone relief from modern-day Turkey might represent the region’s earliest narrative art.

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My name is Artem, I’m a computational neuroscience student and researcher. In this video we will see why individual neurons essentially function like deep convolutional neural networks, equipped with insane information processing capabilities as well as some of the physiological mechanisms, that account for such computational complexity.

Continue reading “Dendrites: Why Biological Neurons Are Deep Neural Networks” »

We always knew they’d power the EV revolution… if we ever learned why they short circuit. Mission accomplished.

Hurricane Sandy was an extreme weather event. But a Stanford-Colorado State AI forecasts accelerated warming with a high probability of future Sandys.

An AI neural network studies historical maps and data to accurately predict a rise of 1.1 C by 2022, 1.5 by the mid-2030s, and 2.0 by 2050.

Robots are coming. And since the workers are already leaving the industry, no one will be harmed and service will be cheaper. Loving it!

Nearly three years since the coronavirus pandemic upended the labor market, restaurants, bars, hotels and casinos remain perpetually short-staffed. But these workers didn’t disappear, they found better jobs.

The incorporation of exotic DNA

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to form a double helix. It is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms that carries genetic instructions for development, functioning, growth, and reproduction. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

Olaf Sporns.
September 15, 2014

Abstract: Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of empirical and theoretical studies in connectomics – the emerging science of structural and functional brain networks. In this talk I will survey some of the recent advances and a few of the challenges for connectomics research, with an emphasis on human brain connectivity. Of particular interest are studies that employ network science methods for analyzing and modeling connectivity patterns. These studies have shown the existence of highly connected hub regions that play crucial roles in brain communication and the integration of information. Future applications of brain modeling and computation for understanding brain function and dysfunction will also be discussed. Overall, the new field of connectomics offers a unique opportunity for building a theoretical understanding of the function of the human brain.