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Feb 14, 2023

Look! An Amateur Astronomer Just Found Three Dwarf Galaxies That a Computer Missed

Posted by in categories: computing, space

Sometimes humans are better at astronomy than computers.


Not that it’s a competition, but we’re definitely winning.

Feb 14, 2023

‘Quantum light’ breakthrough could revolutionize science at the atomic level

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics, science

CAMBRDIGE, United Kingdom — “Quantum light” may sound like something out of a Marvel movie, but scientists say it may hold the real-world key to revolutionizing science as we know it. An international team says generating this high-energy light and controlling it can unlock a whole new realm in quantum computing.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge, as well as scientists in the United States, Israel, and Austria, have come up with a theory describing this new state of light. They say it has controllable quantum properties and a wide range of frequencies which reach X-ray levels. Harnessing this power could lead to advances in microscopy — or the ability to see incredibly small things normally invisible to the naked eye.

Continue reading “‘Quantum light’ breakthrough could revolutionize science at the atomic level” »

Feb 14, 2023

A guide to (not) understanding quantum mechanics

Posted by in categories: chemistry, particle physics, quantum physics

Quantum mechanics is simultaneously beautiful and frustrating.

Its explanatory power is unmatched. Armed with the machinery of quantum theory, we have unlocked the secrets of atomic power, divined the inner workings of chemistry, built sophisticated electronics, discovered the power of entanglement, and so much more. According to some estimates, roughly a quarter of our world’s GDP relies on quantum mechanics.

Yet despite its overwhelming success as a framework for understanding what nature does, quantum mechanics tells us very little about how nature works. Quantum mechanics provides a powerful set of tools for successfully making predictions about what subatomic particles will do, but the theory itself is relatively silent about how those subatomic particles actually go about their lives.

Feb 14, 2023

Encoding breakthrough allows for solving wider set of applications using neutral-atom quantum computers

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics, robotics/AI

QuEra Computing, maker of the world’s first and only publicly accessible neutral-atom quantum computer—Aquila—today announces its research team has uncovered a method to perform a wider set of optimization calculations than previously known to be possible using neutral-atom machines.

The findings are the work of QuEra researchers and collaborators from Harvard and Innsbruck Universities: Minh-Thi Nguyen, Jin-Guo Liu, Jonathan Wurtz, Mikhail D. Lukin, Sheng-Tao Wang, and Hannes Pichler.

“There is no question that today’s news helps QuEra deliver value to more partners, sooner. It helps bring us closer to our objectives, and marks an important milestone for the industry as well,” said Alex Keesling, CEO at QuEra Computing. “This opens the door to working with more corporate partners who may have needs in logistics, from transport and retail to robotics and other high-tech sectors, and we are very excited about cultivating those opportunities.”

Feb 14, 2023

How to use Google Bard, the latest AI chatbot service

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Google Bard is Google’s latest chatbot development designed to compete with the likes of ChatGPT. Here’s everything you need to know about how to use it.

Feb 14, 2023

New AI tool makes speedy gene-editing possible

Posted by in categories: bioengineering, biotech/medical, genetics, robotics/AI

An artificial intelligence program may enable the first simple production of customizable proteins called zinc fingers to treat diseases by turning genes on and off.

The researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of Toronto who designed the tool say it promises to accelerate the development of gene therapies on a large scale.

Illnesses including cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and are caused by errors in the order of DNA letters that encode the operating instructions for every human cell. Scientists can in some cases correct these mistakes with gene editing methods that rearrange these letters.

Feb 14, 2023

Reaching Singularity Is Not an ‘If’ But a ‘When.’ We Need To Get It Right the First Time

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, singularity

AI may not have any motives against humans, “but a machine that thinks that humans are the root cause of certain problems may think of it that way.”

Feb 14, 2023

Mark Cuban issues dire warning over ChatGPT

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Mark Cuban predicted the tech sector’s next big battle will be against AI tools like ChatGPT when they “start taking on a life of their own,” on Jon Stewart’s podcast.

Feb 14, 2023

Ctrl+Alt+Delete: A ChatGPT-powered Bing could finally dethrone Google

Posted by in category: futurism

Google has been the unquestionable king of search engines for a long, long time now. But could that change with the Microsoft Bing upgrade?

Feb 14, 2023

Scientists create tiny fish-shaped robot that ‘swims’ around picking up microplastics

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Last week, it was revealed that microplastics were found for the first time in fresh Antarctic snow. They were discovered high in the Alps, bottled water, and human blood.

They can be harmful to animals if ingested. But the growing menace is difficult to remove — considering their size — especially once they settle into nooks and crannies at the bottom of waterways.