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Jan 10, 2023

Earlier Health Conditions Tied to Subsequent Dementia

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension, neuroscience

Some health conditions associated with appeared early and consistently long before diagnosis, while others became significant much later, a cohort study suggested.

For people with a subsequent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the earliest and most consistent associations at all time points over a 15-year span included depression, erectile dysfunction, gait abnormalities, hearing loss, and nervous and musculoskeletal symptoms, reported Lori Beason-Held, PhD, of the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, and co-authors.

For those eventually diagnosed with vascular, the earliest and most consistent associations across 13 years were an abnormal electrocardiogram (EKG), cardiac dysrhythmias, cerebrovascular disease, non-epithelial skin cancer, depression, and hearing loss, the researchers reported in Annals of Neurology.

Jan 10, 2023

Aubrey de Grey on LEVF and Robust Mouse Rejuvenation

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a legend in the longevity field who has been steadfastly promoting the idea of life extension since well before it became mainstream. While with SENS Research Foundation, de Grey made significant contributions to geroscience, and at Longevity Summit Dublin last year, he announced the creation of his new brainchild, Longevity Escape Velocity Foundation (LEVF).

Now, the first major and long-awaited LEVF-funded project is being launched: Robust Mouse Rejuvenation (RMR). This is envisioned as a rolling research program aiming to increase both the mean and maximum lifespan of mice by at least 12 months with various combination therapies started late in life. For the first study, four therapies have been chosen: rapamycin, a senolytic, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and telomerase expression. A groundbreaking experiment by any measure, RMR got us excited, and we reached out to Aubrey to discuss both RMR and LEVF in depth.

The following interview has Arkadi asking questions in bold and Aubrey de Grey answering in normal font.

Jan 10, 2023

This new battery backup system can power your house during a blackout

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

Worried about a blackout during extreme weather? San Francisco-based EcoFlow Tech offers a battery backup system that can now power your home for an entire week and this includes heavy appliances like washing machines, coffee machines, and hairdryers too. The system is completely portable and can also be used to power your RV during an off-road trip.

Energy solutions such as Tesla Powerwall, which can be recharged using energy from sunlight but EcoFlow Tech is taking it a step further by delivering a power backup system that is entirely portable.

Jan 10, 2023

In a first, a solar-powered reactor converted plastic and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels

Posted by in categories: chemistry, energy, sustainability

Under normal temperature and pressure conditions, the reactor could efficiently convert plastic bottles and CO2 into CO, syngas, and glycolic acid.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge developed a first-of-its-kind system that can simultaneously convert plastic waste and greenhouse gases into two chemical products by drawing energy from the sun.

The results are reported in the journal Nature Synthesis.

Continue reading “In a first, a solar-powered reactor converted plastic and greenhouse gases into sustainable fuels” »

Jan 10, 2023

Microsoft unveils VALL-E, a text-to-speech AI that can be trained in just 3 seconds

Posted by in categories: mobile phones, robotics/AI

Is AI coming for voice artists now?

Researchers at technology major Microsoft have unveiled their latest text-to-speech (TTS) generator, VALL-E that can be trained to mimic anybody’s voice in just three seconds. Unlike previous voice generators that sounded robotic, VALL-E sounds naturally human, and that may not be a very good thing.

Text-to-speech generators that gave voice to one of the greatest minds on the planet, Stephen Hawking, have come a long way. From reading messages on your smartphone to reading out pages from a book, these services are now everywhere and used by everyone.

Jan 10, 2023

ChatGPT’s insane powerful searches could be coming to your smartphone soon

Posted by in categories: information science, mobile phones, robotics/AI

It is also looking at a possible investment from Microsoft.

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research company, is building an iOS app powered by its globally popular chatbot ChatGPT which helps users search for answers using an iMessage like interface. A beta version of the app is being tested currently, and a demo version was shared on the professional networking site LinkedIn.

Launched in November last year, ChatGPT made global news for its ease of answering even complex questions in a conversational manner. The algorithm that powers the chatbot, GPT3.5 is built by Open AI and is trained to learn what humans mean when they ask a question.

Jan 10, 2023

Good news! The ozone layer may be fully restored within four decades, a UN report reveals

Posted by in category: chemistry

This is “an inspirational example of how the world can come together to address global challenges.”

The ozone layer may be recovered within a few decades thanks to human intervention, a report from the United Nations reveals.

The report shows that the 1987 international agreement to ban the use of harmful chemicals damaging the ozone layer has been a success, according to the BBC.

Jan 10, 2023

Researchers successfully bring mice’s memory back with an asthma medicine

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

The finding that these “hidden” memories can be accessed once more, at least in mice, throws up a world of intriguing possibilities.

Neuroscientist Robbert Havekes and his team at the University of Groningen found that learning while sleep-deprived does not result in memory loss; rather, it is more difficult to recall.

“We previously focused on finding ways to support memory processes during a sleep deprivation episode,” says Havekes.

Continue reading “Researchers successfully bring mice’s memory back with an asthma medicine” »

Jan 10, 2023

A green comet will soon be visible from Earth for the first time in 50,000 years

Posted by in categories: climatology, space

Depending on how bright C/2022 E3 (ZTF) becomes, it could even be visible to the naked eye.

Scientists recently discovered a green comet that was last visible in the night sky 50,000 years ago — that’s so long ago that the Earth was in the midst of the Ice Age.

Now, a NASA blog post points out the fact that the comet will make its closest approach to the sun on January 12. It will be close enough to Earth that it may be visible to the naked eye.

Continue reading “A green comet will soon be visible from Earth for the first time in 50,000 years” »

Jan 10, 2023

James Webb Space Telescope detects a sonic boom bigger than Milky Way

Posted by in category: space

Galactic shock is changing Stephan’s Quintet in enigmatic ways, according to ALMA and JWST.

New observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) allowed researchers to see the complex interactions within the multi-galaxy collision event known as Stephan’s Quintet.

Stephan’s Quintet is a group of five galaxies-NGC 7,317, NGC 7318a, NGC 7318b, NGC 7,319, and NGC 7,320, located about 270 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus.