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Researchers at the University of Cologne have discovered a protein complex, called DREAM, that inhibits DNA repair mechanisms in human, mouse, and nematode cells, thereby contributing to aging and disease. They successfully suppressed the DREAM complex with a pharmaceutical agent, boosting the cells’ resilience to DNA damage, and suggesting potential new treatments for aging and cancer, although further research is needed.

Researchers at the University of Cologne have found that a protein complex impedes the repair of genomic damage in human cells, mice, and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Furthermore, they were able to successfully obstruct this complex with a pharmaceutical agent for the first time.

When we suppress the so-called DREAM complex in body cells, various repair mechanisms kick in, making these cells extremely resilient towards all kinds of DNA.

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Better understanding the formation of swirling, ring-shaped disturbances—known as vortex rings—could help nuclear fusion researchers compress fuel more efficiently, bringing it closer to becoming a viable energy source.

The model developed by researchers at the University of Michigan could aid in the design of the capsule, minimizing the energy lost while trying to ignite the reaction that makes stars shine. In addition, the model could help other engineers who must manage the mixing of fluids after a shock wave passes through, such as those designing supersonic jet engines, as well as physicists trying to understand supernovae.

“These move outward from the collapsing star, populating the universe with the materials that will eventually become nebulae, planets and even new stars—and inward during fusion implosions, disrupting the stability of the burning fusion fuel and reducing the efficiency of the reaction,” said Michael Wadas, a doctoral candidate in at U-M and corresponding author of the study.

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How do quantum particles exchange information? An intriguing hypothesis regarding quantum information has recently been validated through experimental verification conducted at TU Wien.

If you were to randomly pick an individual from a crowd who stands remarkably taller than the average, it’s quite likely that this person will also surpass the average weight. This is because, statistically, knowledge about one variable often gives us some insight into another.

Quantum physics takes these correlations to another level, establishing even more potent connections between disparate quantities: distinct particles or segments of a vast quantum system can “share” a specific amount of information. This intriguing theoretical premise suggests that the calculation of this “mutual information” is surprisingly not influenced by the system’s overall volume, but only by its surface.

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At its I/O developer conference, the search giant needs to rethink its AI strategy if it wants to catch Microsoft. The missing element? Experimentation. Google has had a rough six months. Since ChatGPT launched last November — followed by the new Bing in February and GPT-4 in March — the company has failed to establish its AI credentials. Its own offering, the “experimental” chatbot Bard, compares poorly to rivals, and insider reports have portrayed a company in panic and di… See more.

AI outputs are increasingly defining the cultural moment — just not Google’s.

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The demo is clever, questionably real, and prompts a lot of questions about how this device will actually work.

Buzz has been building around the secretive tech startup Humane for over a year, and now the company is finally offering a look at what it’s been building. At TED last month, Humane co-founder Imran Chaudhri gave a demonstration of the AI-powered wearable the company is building as a replacement for smartphones. Bits of the video leaked online after the event, but the full video is now available to watch.

The device appears to be a small black puck that slips into your breast pocket, with a camera, projector, and speaker sticking out the top. Throughout the 13-minute presentation, Chaudhri walks through a handful of use cases for Humane’s gadget: * The device rings when Chaudhri receives a phone call. He holds his hand up, and the device projects the caller’s name along with icons to answer or ignore the call. He then has a brief conversation. (Around 1:48 in the video) * He presses and holds one finger on the device, then asks a question about where he can buy a gift. The device responds with the name of a shopping district. (Around 6:20) * He taps two fingers on the device, says a sentence, and the device translates the sentence into another language, stating it back using an AI-generated clone of his voice. (Around 6:55) * He presses and holds one finger on the device, says, “Catch me up,” and it reads out a summary of recent emails, calendar events, and messages. (At 9:45) * He holds a chocolate bar in front of the device, then presses and holds one finger on the device while asking, “Can I eat this?” The device recommends he does not because of a food allergy he has. He presses down one finger again and tells the device he’s ignoring its advice. (Around 10:55)

Chaudhri, who previously worked on design at Apple for more than two decades, pitched the device as a salve for a world covered in screens. “Some believe AR / VR glasses like these are the answer,” he said, an image of VR headsets behind him. He argued those devices — like smartphones — put “a further barrier between you and the world.”

Humane’s device, whatever it’s called, is designed to be more natural by eschewing the screen. The gadget operates on its own. “You don’t need a smartphone or any other device to pair with it,” he said.

Continue reading “Is buzzy startup Humane’s big idea a wearable camera?” | >

Microsoft isn’t slowing down in its battle with Google for AI features.

Microsoft only just announced a round of new updates to its GPT-4-powered Bing Chat earlier this month, and it’s back today with some big improvements for mobile users. Just days after Google rebranded its AI tools for Docs and Gmail as Duet AI, Microsoft is now focused on mobile with contextual chat for Edge mobile, a Bing widget for iOS and Android, and even continuous Bing Chat conversations between mobile and desktop.

These new mobile-first features arrive just as Microsoft finishes rolling out its new image and video answers, restaurant bookings, and chat history features that were all announced earlier this month. Microsoft only launched Bing Chat nearly 100 days ago, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down with its AI announcements.

Starting today, you’ll now be able to start a Bing Chat conversation on a PC and then pick it up on mobile. Microsoft uses the example of asking Bing Chat to create a recipe for you on a PC and then asking it to provide a substitute on the mobile app when you’re at a grocery store and they’ve run out of an ingredient. This is starting to roll out today and will be available to all iOS and Android users within the next week.

The second big mobile change is contextual chat inside Microsoft Edge on iOS and Android. This is very similar to what exists in the Bing sidebar inside the desktop version of Edge, and it lets the mobile version of the browser read the context of a website you’re on. You can tap the Bing Chat icon at the bottom of Edge and ask it questions about a website you’re viewing or even ask it to summarize an article or document you’re reading.

Continue reading “Google rebrands AI tools for Docs and Gmail as Duet AI — its answer to Microsoft’s Copilot” | >

Stability AI, the AI startup behind the text-to-image model Stable Diffusion, this week announced the release of StableStudio, an open source version of DreamStudio, Stability AI’s commercial AI-powered design suite.

In a blog post, Stability AI writes that it hopes to “foster a project [that] can outpace anything developed by a single company,” alluding to recent investments in the generative AI space from tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

“We believe the best way to expand upon that impressive reach is through open, community-driven development rather than a private iteration of a closed-source product,” Stability AI said. “Our goal is to work with the broader community to create a world-class user interface for generative AI [that] users fully control.”

DreamStudio was first imagined as an animation studio for the open source generative AI art model Disco Diffusion. Focus shifted last year toward image generation with the arrival of Stable Diffusion, which brought DreamStudio more in line with rival generative image platforms like MidJourney and Nightcafe.

The differences between StableStudio and DreamStudio are relatively minor. StableStudio doesn’t have DreamStudio branding or Stability-specific account features, like billing and API management, and API calls on the backend have been replaced by a plugin system.

Continue reading “Stability AI Releases StableStudio, the Open-Source Future of DreamStudio” | >