Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 2745

The explosive recent growth of AI tools to generate text, images, or audio relies on gargantuan amounts of information.

That information doesn’t come for free. It can exact high – and unequal – costs in terms of energy, water, and labor, though these costs are largely invisible to users.

In terms of energy, generative AI models typically depend on extremely large-scale cloud providers, which use chips with more transistors that require at least 10 times as much energy as traditional versions. Unsurprisingly, models that use more training data and contain more parameters tend to guzzle more energy.

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The 2 SOPS or 2nd Space Operations Squadron commander, Lt Col Robert Wray… More.

Of all the missions the Space Force performs daily for a grateful nation, there is none more ubiquitous and essential than GPS. Today’s soldiers and sailors depend on reliable, accurate, and secure GPS as much as they do any weapon they employ. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is just as dependent on GPS to enable basic mobility and underpins every other sector of the modern global economy. The criticality of secure global navigation and timing to both warfighting and the national economy makes it unique – we simply could not go a day without space. In so few words, GPS’ future is ground zero for the new space race.

The 2 SOPS or 2nd Space Operations Squadron commander, Lt Col Robert Wray reminds me that “14 of the 16 critical infrastructures designated by the Department of Homeland Security rely on 24/7 GPS to operate for the country.” But the newest GPS satellites in use today are the same school bus sized ones Gen. Hyten has lamented are, “juicy targets” for our adversaries – marvels of modern engineering, yes, but no longer sufficient to meet modern needs.

Alternatives to GPS, categorically called Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), are growing rapidly because the old GPS system we rely on offers neither the precision nor security needed in an increasingly autonomous, rule based, and precisely timed world. What exactly needs to change then, aside from smaller, faster satellites as technology becomes more efficient and readily available? There are major challenges with the current system that today’s Guardians are already working on. But to usher in a new and improved GPS capability, the government needs to adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance squadron operations, work to better integrate commercial software into current GPS constellation to get the most out of current capabilities, and continue to invest in the next generation of leaders. Private capital has begun aligning with companies aiming to solve these future deficiencies, in a race against pacing threats like China and Russia.

Continue reading “A Day Without Space: GPS Is Ground Zero For The New Space Race” | >

Indirect observations of a strange isotope of nitrogen, nitrogen-9, could open new avenues of understanding of nuclear theory.

A group of researchers has discovered direct evidence of a new atomic nucleus that stretches what we understand of nuclear physics. Called nitrogen-9, this isotope contains seven protons and two neutrons and only exists for one billionth of a nanosecond. That is such a minute amount of time that it is difficult for scientists to agree if this really is an atomic isotope or not.

EzumeImages/iStock.

“Totally new physics”

Continue reading “New nitrogen isotope stretches our understanding of nuclear physics” | >

The patch can calibrate the glucose measurements based on the pH and temperature changes in sweat due to factors such as exercise and eating.

A team of researchers at Penn State has developed a new wearable patch that can monitor your health by analyzing your sweat. The patch, which is made of a special material that can detect glucose, pH, and temperature in sweat, can provide valuable information about your body’s condition and help diagnose and manage diseases such as diabetes.

Credit: Kate Myers/Penn State.

Sweat as biomarker.

Continue reading “A new wearable sensor can monitor sweat in real time” | >

Llama 2 Long is an extension of Llama 2, an open-source AI model that Meta released in the summer.

While Meta Platforms unveiled several new AI-powered features for its popular apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp at its annual Meta Connect event in California this week, the most impressive innovation from the social media giant may have gone unnoticed by many.

A team of Meta researchers quietly published a paper introducing Llama 2 Long, a new AI model that can generate coherent and relevant responses to long user queries, surpassing some of the best competitors in the field.

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This lightweight material surpasses the strength of steel.

There is a high demand for strong yet lightweight materials across diverse industries, including defense, medical devices, and automotive sectors, among others.

Material scientists have been investigating the possibilities of unconventional components in order to meet this growing demand and enhance technological advancements.

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reveals the technology behind codec avatars, which create ultra-realistic VR faces.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has been struggling to convince the world that its vision of the metaverse is worth pursuing. The social media giant rebranded itself in October 2022, hoping to create a more immersive and interactive online experience for its users. However, the initial response was far from positive. Many people mocked the cartoonish and unrealistic avatars that Meta showcased in its demonstration video, which lasted for over an hour. Others questioned the need and feasibility of creating a virtual world that mimics real life.

Meta’s ambitious project also faced… More.

Credits: Lex Fridman/YouTube.

Continue reading “Codec avatars: The next frontier of Meta’s VR technology” | >

The first time it happened, I was in a high school physics class. Suddenly, I couldn’t read half of the board. A crack zig-zagged through my vision, obscuring my teacher’s notes. “Huh,” I thought. “This can’t be good.”

My classmate walked me to the school nurse, who called my mom. Pain rippled from the back of my neck to my forehead. I’d had headaches before, but not like this. “Ah, your first migraine,” Mom said. “Welcome to the club.”

For nearly a billion people worldwide, migraine attacks disrupt work, vacation and school. They can be triggered by stress, weather changes, hormone shifts, missed meals or sleep changes — in other words, just about anything. These reoccurring headaches often spur pain on one side of the head. They can last a few hours or a few days, and they can cause nausea along with sensitivity to noises and light.

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In a recent study led by Lei Jiang, Ph.D., an assistant professor of molecular and cellular endocrinology, a team of researchers from City of Hope and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, found a potential new target for treating patients with metastatic cancer. Their findings were published in the August 29 issue of the journal Cell Rep orts.

The goal of the team’s study was to elucidate the role of reductive carboxylation in redox metabolism, a process believed to be important for metastatic cancer. Reductive carboxylation is best known as a metabolic pathway that provides a molecule called acetyl-CoA so that it can be turned into lipids, which is mediated by fatty acid synthase (FASN). The FASN-mediated lipogenesis process supports rapid growth in most proliferating cancer cells, and increased FASN expression has been viewed as a metabolic feature of cancer cells. Thus, FASN is considered a potential target to block tumor growth.

New research has identified that preventing the metabolic adaptations needed for cancer to metastasize could provide a target for treating patients with metastatic cancer.

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