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Aug 15, 2024

The Next Technological Revolution

Posted by in categories: futurism, media & arts

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Technology has shaped our civilization as it grew down the centuries, and since the industrial revolution, each new generation seems defined by some new technological revolution… So what will the next revolution be?

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Aug 15, 2024

Chlorophyll-based device mimics retinal edge detection with all-optical modulation

Posted by in category: futurism

Researchers develop a chlorophyll-based optoelectronic memristor with all-optically modulated synaptic plasticity, replicating retinal edge detection and advancing neuromorphic vision.

Aug 15, 2024

One-quarter of unresponsive people with brain injuries are conscious

Posted by in category: neuroscience

More people than we thought who are in comas or similar states can hear what is happening around them, a study shows.

Aug 15, 2024

De novo gene synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Bacteria defend themselves from viral infection using diverse immune systems, many of which sense and target foreign nucleic acids. Defense-associated reverse transcriptase (DRT) systems provide an intriguing counterpoint to this immune strategy by instead leveraging DNA synthesis, but the identities and functions of their DNA products remain largely unknown. Here we show that DRT2 systems execute an unprecedented immunity mechanism that involves de novo gene synthesis via rolling-circle reverse transcription of a non-coding RNA (ncRNA). Unbiased profiling of RT-associated RNA and DNA ligands in DRT2-expressing cells revealed that reverse transcription generates concatenated cDNA repeats through programmed template jumping on the ncRNA. The presence of phage then triggers second-strand cDNA synthesis, leading to the production of long double-stranded DNA. Remarkably, this DNA product is efficiently transcribed, generating messenger RNAs that encode a stop codon-less, never-ending ORF (neo) whose translation causes potent growth arrest. Phylogenetic analyses and screening of diverse DRT2 homologs further revealed broad conservation of rolling-circle reverse transcription and Neo protein function. Our work highlights an elegant expansion of genome coding potential through RNA-templated gene creation, and challenges conventional paradigms of genetic information encoded along the one-dimensional axis of genomic DNA.

One-Sentence Summary Bacterial reverse transcriptases synthesize extrachromosomal genes via rolling-circle amplification to confer potent antiviral immunity.

Columbia University has filed a patent application related to this work. S.H.S. is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Dahlia Biosciences, a scientific advisor to CrisprBits and Prime Medicine, and an equity holder in Dahlia Biosciences and CrisprBits.

Aug 15, 2024

Scientists create material that can take the temperature of nanoscale objects

Posted by in categories: materials, nanotechnology

University of California, Irvine scientists recently discovered a one-dimensional nanoscale material whose color changes as temperature changes. The team’s results appeared in Advanced Materials (“Sensitive Thermochromic Behavior of InSeI, a Highly Anisotropic and Tubular 1D van der Waals Crystal”).

“We found that we can make really small and sensitive thermometers,” said Maxx Arguilla, UC Irvine professor of chemistry whose research group led the study. “It’s one of the most applied and translatable works to come out of our lab.”

Arguilla likened the thermometers to “nanoscale mood rings,” referring to the jewelry that changes color depending on the wearer’s body temperature. But instead of simply taking a qualitative temperature reading, the changes in the color of these materials “can be calibrated and used to optically take temperature readings at the nanoscale,” Arguilla said.

Aug 15, 2024

“Virtual Reality Is GENUINE Reality“ | David Chalmers Mindfest Lecture

Posted by in categories: neuroscience, virtual reality

Philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers explores virtual reality and its implication for our understanding of existence. Chalmers examines the simulation hypothesis, challenging conventional views of reality and suggesting that virtual worlds might be as real and meaningful as the physical world. This is a thought-provoking lecture at MindFest, held at Florida Atlantic University, CENTER FOR THE FUTURE MIND, spearheaded by Susan Schneider.

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 — Intro.
01:34 — Overview.
11:55 — David’s Central Thesis.
15:55 — Biosim vs. Pure Sim.
18:11 — Imperfect vs. Perfect Simulation.
26:38 — Are Simulations Illusions?
31:29 — It-From-Bit Hypothesis.
36:06 — What Is The Metaverse?
43:58 — Meaning In A Virtual World.
51:49 — Q\&A
01:06:43 — Outro.

Continue reading “‘Virtual Reality Is GENUINE Reality‘ | David Chalmers Mindfest Lecture” »

Aug 15, 2024

Law of “Infodynamics” Supports Theory That We Are Living in a Simulation

Posted by in categories: computing, Elon Musk, physics

A University of Portsmouth physicist has explored whether a new law of physics could support the much-debated theory that we are simply characters in an advanced virtual world.

The simulated universe hypothesis proposes that what humans experience is actually an artificial reality, much like a computer simulation, in which they themselves are constructs.

The theory is popular among a number of well-known figures including Elon Musk, and within a branch of science known as information physics, which suggests physical reality is fundamentally made up of bits of information.

Aug 15, 2024

Topology Makes On-Chip Terahertz Beamforming a Reality

Posted by in category: computing

A new silicon topological beamformer chip can beam terahertz frequency wireless signals in any direction.

Terahertz waves are located between optical waves and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum.


The achievement could open a new swath of spectrum for wireless networks.

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Aug 15, 2024

An ocean’s worth of water may be hiding under Mars’ red dusty surface, study suggests

Posted by in category: space

This throws a curveball in my brain regarding UAPs.


A new study suggests Mars may be drenched beneath its surface, with enough water hiding in the cracks of underground rocks to form a global ocean.

Aug 15, 2024

Physicists throw world’s smallest disco party with a levitating ball of fluorescent nanodiamond

Posted by in categories: energy, nanotechnology, quantum physics

“This breakthrough helps us better understand and study the fascinating world of quantum physics,” he says.

The fluorescent nanodiamonds, with an average diameter of about 750 nm, were produced through high-pressure, high-temperature synthesis. These diamonds were irradiated with high-energy electrons to create nitrogen-vacancy color centers, which host electron spin qubits.

When illuminated by a green laser, they emitted red light, which was used to read out their electron spin states. An additional infrared laser was shone at the levitated nanodiamond to monitor its rotation. Like a disco ball, as the nanodiamond rotated, the direction of the scattered infrared light changed, carrying the rotation information of the nanodiamond.

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