Following Google and Microsoft’s quantum computing announcements, the tech giant says its new chip will lead to more reliable quantum computers.
A new algorithm, Evo 2, trained on roughly 128,000 genomes—9.3 trillion DNA letter pairs—spanning all of life’s domains, is now the largest generative AI model for biology to date. Built by scientists at the Arc Institute, Stanford University, and Nvidia, Evo 2 can write whole chromosomes and small genomes from scratch.
It also learned how DNA mutations affect proteins, RNA, and overall health, shining light on “non-coding” regions, in particular. These mysterious sections of DNA don’t make proteins but often control gene activity and are linked to diseases.
The team has released Evo 2’s software code and model parameters to the scientific community for further exploration. Researchers can also access the tool through a user-friendly web interface. With Evo 2 as a foundation, scientists may develop more specific AI models. These could predict how mutations affect a protein’s function, how genes operate differently across cell types, or even help researchers design new genomes for synthetic biology.
WCTU CLEVELAND 13 — A new study suggests that faster-than-light travel, once thought to be purely science fiction, may be achievable sooner than expected through the concept of warp drive, challenging Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. This breakthrough builds on the Alcubierre drive model proposed in 1994, which theorizes that a spacecraft could travel faster than light by contracting space-time ahead of it while expanding space-time behind it.
The idea was first introduced by Mexican theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre, who suggested that a space-time bubble could allow for faster-than-light travel without violating the laws of physics. However, his model was initially dismissed due to its extreme energy requirements.
Joseph Agnew, a researcher from the University of Alabama, has been re-evaluating the mathematical foundations of Alcubierre’s theory. “If you fulfill all the energy requirements, they can’t prove that it doesn’t work,” Agnew stated in a university press release. His work has rekindled interest in the feasibility of warp drive by focusing on the possibility of warping space-time around a craft.
All 10 NASA payloads remain healthy as Blue Ghost approaches it’s final destination and continues to support science operations along the way! The LuGRE payload for example — developed in partnership by.
NASA Goddard and ASI_spazio — acquired and tracked Global Navigation Satellite System signals for the first time in lunar orbit – a new record! #BGM1
After a successful Trans Lunar Injection burn on Saturday, Feb. 8, Firefly’s spacecraft carrying NASA science and tech to the Moon has departed Earth’s orbit and begun its four-day transit to the Moon’s orbit. Blue Ghost will then spend approximately 16 days in lunar orbit before beginning its descent operations. Since launching more than three weeks ago, Blue Ghost has performed dozens of health tests generating 13 gigabytes of data. All 10 NASA payloads onboard are currently healthy and ready for surface operations on the Moon.
NASA’s Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC), developed by Montana State University, successfully operated while passing through the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts, providing insight on how to mitigate the effects of radiation on computers. This helps improve our understanding of the radiation environment that future astronauts may experience on Artemis missions.
During an on-orbit health check, NASA’s LMS, developed by the Southwest Research Institute, accurately detected a change in magnetic fields. This is a positive sign that LMS will be able to measure the Moon’s magnetic and electrical fields, shedding light on the Moon’s interior temperature and composition on the lunar surface.
This video shows basically that trash can be turned into treasure. From recycling food waste into dye to so much more. This video shows that basically pollution can be reduced by 95 percent. Also so that all resources from trash can be reincarnated into many new forms leaving no waste and creating a fully circular economy benefiting the environment.
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT in Tokyo’s Roppongi is currently showing a “pooploop” exhibition. Our presenters chat with exhibition directors Satoh Taku and Takemura Shinichi about cycles of waste and excrement around the planet, and explore the potential of environmental design.
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In a unique study carried out in drinking water pipes in Sweden, researchers from Lund University and the local water company tested what would happen if chlorine was omitted from drinking water. The result? An increase in bacteria, of course, but after a while something surprising happened: a harmless predatory bacteria grew in numbers and ate most of the other bacteria. The study suggests that chlorine is not always needed if the filtration is efficient — and that predatory bacteria could perhaps be used to purify water in the future.
Just as human intestines contain a rich bacterial flora, many types of bacteria thrive in our drinking water and the pipes that transport them. On the inside of pipe walls is a thin, slippery coating, called a biofilm, which protects and supports bacteria. These bacteria have adapted to life in the presence of chlorine, which otherwise has the primary task to kill bacteria, particularity bacteria that can make humans sick.
An ordinary glass of drinking water contains a lot of harmless bacteria. Chlorine, however, which in the studied piping system was added in the form of monochloramine, is not wholly unproblematic.
Neural interfaces are crucial to restoring and enhancing impaired neural functions, but current technologies struggle to achieve close contact with soft and curved neural tissues. According to Pusan National University, researchers have introduced an innovative method – microelectrothermoforming (μETF) – to create flexible neural interfaces with 3D micro-structures. Their findings show how this method improves neural recording and stimulation, with potential applications in artificial retina devices and brain-computer interfaces.
Microelectrode arrays (MEAs) are widely used for recording brain activity and stimulating neural tissues. However, conventional MEAs are typically flat – limiting their ability to conform to the natural curves of neural structures. Existing methods for adding 3D features require multiple fabrication steps – increasing complexity and restricting design possibilities.
To overcome these limitations, a team led by Associate Professor Joonsoo Jeong and Associate Professor Kyungsik Eom developed μETF – inspired by plastic thermoforming, a common technique for molding plastic sheets into different shapes. The findings are published in the journal of npj Flexible Electronics.
Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) designed a “material-like” collective of programmable micro-robots, which can behave like a fluid or bond together to create new solid structures. The technology could lead to the development of a new sub-field of robotics.
The UCSB scientists set out to design simple robots that could work together, like a colony of ants or other collective groups. The study, recently published in Science, describes micro-robotic units that can switch from a “fluidizing” state to a more “solid” shape based on the rotational state of the robots.
The idea is ripped straight from science fiction concepts like the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The researchers claim they have turned this theoretical vision into reality after studying embryonic morphogenesis, the biological process through which cells can change their shapes and turn into different tissues in the human body.