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Jul 12, 2022

Amazon is quietly developing cancer vaccines in partnership with Fred Hutchinson and recruiting patients for a new clinical trial

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

The cancer vaccine project is the latest indication of Amazon’s growing interest in the healthcare sector.


Distinct neuron types in the auditory organ are necessary for encoding different features of sound and relaying them to the brain. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet provide evidence of an early, neuronal activity-independent, emergence of the different subtypes of auditory neurons, prior to birth in mice. The findings have recently been published in Nature Communications.

Jul 12, 2022

Neurons specialized in encoding sound emerge before birth

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience

Distinct neuron types in the auditory organ are necessary for encoding different features of sound and relaying them to the brain. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet provide evidence of an early, neuronal activity-independent, emergence of the different subtypes of auditory neurons, prior to birth in mice. The findings have recently been published in Nature Communications.

Previous studies have provided ambiguous results on whether the different subtypes of emerge during prenatal or postnatal development, with in the latter case, a possible role of neuronal activity in generating their diversity. In this new study, researchers demonstrate that the fate of auditory neuron subtypes is under genetic control in the prenatal period, and reveal the complex controlling their genesis.

Jul 12, 2022

Behold! The Webb Space Telescope’s glorious first image shows countless distant galaxies

Posted by in category: space

Jul 12, 2022

Quantum Advantage Showdowns Have No Clear Winners

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

A series of recent experiments between quantum and classical computers shows the term’s ever-evolving meaning.

Jul 12, 2022

Error-Correcting Surface Codes Get Experimental Vetting

Posted by in categories: quantum physics, robotics/AI

Two independent groups have experimentally demonstrated surface-code quantum error correction—an approach for remedying errors in quantum computations.


The small robotic crab can walk, bend, twist, turn and jump The smallest-ever remote-controlled walking robot has been created by Northwestern University engineers, and it takes the shape of a tiny, cute peekytoe crab. The tiny crabs, which are about half a millimeter wide, can bend, twist, craw.

Jul 12, 2022

Smaller Than a Flea — The Smallest Remote-Controlled Walking Robot Ever

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

The tiny crabs, which are about half a millimeter wide, can bend, twist, crawl, walk, turn, and even leap. Additionally, the scientists created millimeter-sized robots that resemble inchworms, crickets, and beetles. The study is experimental at this time, but the researchers think their technique might move the field closer to developing tiny robots that can carry out useful tasks in small, cramped areas.

The study was recently published in the journal Science Robotics. The same team also unveiled a winged microprocessor in September of last year; it was the tiniest flying object ever created by humans (published on the cover of Nature).

“Robotics is an exciting field of research, and the development of microscale robots is a fun topic for academic exploration,” said John A. Rogers, who led the experimental work. “You might imagine micro-robots as agents to repair or assemble small structures or machines in industry or as surgical assistants to clear clogged arteries, to stop internal bleeding or to eliminate cancerous tumors — all in minimally invasive procedures.”

Jul 12, 2022

AI Improves Robotic Performance in DARPA’s Machine Common Sense Program

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

What do #robots and babies have in common? Both learn from experience & their surroundings. Our Machine Common Sense program applies lessons from child cognition to make robotic systems more robust, like walking in new/tough terrain as shown.

Jul 12, 2022

DARPA-Funded Study Provides Insights into Blockchain Vulnerabilities

Posted by in categories: blockchains, evolution, space

The architecture and evolution of planetary systems are shaped in part by stellar flybys. Within this context, we look at stellar encounters which are too weak to immediately destabilize a planetary system but are nevertheless strong enough to measurably perturb the system’s dynamical state. We estimate the strength of such perturbations on secularly evolving systems using a simple analytic model and confirm those estimates with direct N-body simulations. We then run long-term integrations and show that even small perturbations from stellar flybys can influence the stability of planetary systems over their lifetime. We find that small perturbations to the outer planets’ orbits are transferred between planets, increasing the likelihood that the inner planetary system will destabilize.

Jul 12, 2022

Japanese researchers reveal plans for massive artificial-gravity buildings on moon

Posted by in category: space

Designs for a massive, 1,300 foot-tall rotating structure called “The Glass” were presented at a July 5 press conference held by Kyoto University researchers and Kajima Corporation. If completed artificial gravity building will be on Mars, and the other will be on the moon.

Jul 12, 2022

Use That Everyday A.I. in Your Pocket

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Artificial intelligence powers more apps on your mobile devices than you may realize. Here’s how to take advantage of the technology — or turn it off.