Menu

Blog

Page 3791

Aug 14, 2022

Curved space robot defies known laws of physics

Posted by in categories: physics, robotics/AI, space

Functioning in curved space, the robot heralds new space locomotive technology possibilities without the use of propellants.


A robot engineered at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) has done the unthinkable and flouted a steadfast law of motion, suggesting that new laws need to be defined. Such new principles may have applications in new forms of locomotion without propellants.

We’ve all seen the hilarious slapstick gag where the unwitting individual steps on a banana peel, landing comically on their rump. It may not seem like it, but the quip relies on the fact that human locomotion, like all locomotion, is based on Newton’s third law of motion.

Continue reading “Curved space robot defies known laws of physics” »

Aug 14, 2022

Meteorites may have helped seed life on Earth

Posted by in categories: biological, chemistry, mathematics

Circa 2017


There are many theories about how life evolved on the planet Earth, from formation under a layer of ice, protected from the UV radiation above, to vents in the deep sea that provided hydrogen-rich molecules. But now one team of scientists has found quantitative results that support a theory that is literally out of this world. Organic molecules from meteorites that landed in small, warm pools of water may have delivered the ingredients necessary for life to form on Earth.

The team reached this conclusion through a mathematical model. They took data about planet formation, geology, biology and chemistry and inputted these factors into a grand quantitative model they had designed. Their results support the theory that RNA polymers formed in small, warm ponds of water. Meteorites contributed to this process by transferring enough organic molecules to these pools to ensure that RNA started self-replicating in at least one pool.

Continue reading “Meteorites may have helped seed life on Earth” »

Aug 14, 2022

Tyromer Builds Pilot Factory for Circular Rubber in Arnhem

Posted by in categories: economics, energy, sustainability, transportation

Canada-based Tyromer is building a pilot factory in Arnhem to bring its circular rubber products to the European market. Specializing in the devulcanization of rubber from scrap tires, Tyromer will fine-tune and exhibit its recycling technology at its new Dutch facility in order to sell the process to third parties. The company is one of the first in the Netherlands to give this hard-to-process residual product a high-quality new life, making it a valuable addition to the Dutch circular economy.

Located at Kleefse Waard Industrial Park (IPKW) in Arnhem, the factory is currently being set up. “We expect to be able to start early in the summer [of 2021],” said Jos van Son, managing director of Tyromer Europe. Tyromer will employ approximately 12 people in Arnhem.

“Tyromer has a unique solution to a major problem: mountains of car tire rubber that cannot be reused. Companies such as Tyromer, which have solutions for societal challenges with smart technologies, are a welcome addition to the East Netherlands ecosystem. The fact that Tyromer is establishing itself at IPKW, where many companies are involved with energy and circularity issues, is good news for the activity in our region,” added René Brama, investment manager of Tech at Oost NL.

Aug 14, 2022

Amplitudes and the Riemann Zeta Function

Posted by in categories: computing, information science, mathematics, quantum physics

Circa 2021 This gets very close to a master algorithm for math and helps with quantum computing too.


Abstract. Humans carrying the CORD7 (cone-rod dystrophy 7) mutation possess increased verbal IQ and working memory. This autosomal dominant syndrome is caused b.

Aug 14, 2022

Human cognition-enhancing CORD7 mutation increases active zone number and synaptic release

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, engineering, neuroscience, singularity

This article tells of possible way to increase brain intelligence through a certain mutation which in theory could be altered for biological singularity like effects in the future.


Humans carrying the CORD7 (cone-rod dystrophy 7) mutation possess increased verbal IQ and working memory. This autosomal dominant syndrome is caused by the single-amino acid R844H exchange (human numbering) located in the 310 helix of the C2A domain of RIMS1/RIM1 (Rab3-interacting molecule 1). RIM is an evolutionarily conserved multi-domain protein and essential component of presynaptic active zones, which is centrally involved in fast, Ca2+-triggered neurotransmitter release. How the CORD7 mutation affects synaptic function has remained unclear thus far. Here, we established Drosophila melanogaster as a disease model for clarifying the effects of the CORD7 mutation on RIM function and synaptic vesicle release.

To this end, using protein expression and X-ray crystallography, we solved the molecular structure of the Drosophila C2A domain at 1.92 Å resolution and by comparison to its mammalian homolog ascertained that the location of the CORD7 mutation is structurally conserved in fly RIM. Further, CRISPR/Cas9-assisted genomic engineering was employed for the generation of rim alleles encoding the R915H CORD7 exchange or R915E, R916E substitutions (fly numbering) to effect local charge reversal at the 310 helix. Through electrophysiological characterization by two-electrode voltage clamp and focal recordings we determined that the CORD7 mutation exerts a semi-dominant rather than a dominant effect on synaptic transmission resulting in faster, more efficient synaptic release and increased size of the readily releasable pool but decreased sensitivity for the fast calcium chelator BAPTA.

Continue reading “Human cognition-enhancing CORD7 mutation increases active zone number and synaptic release” »

Aug 14, 2022

Scientists win 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work on DNA repair

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

Circa 2015


“Their work has provided fundamental knowledge of how a living cell functions and is, for instance, used for the development of new cancer treatments,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.

Thousands of alterations to a cell’s genome occur every day due to spontaneous changes and damage by radiation, free radicals and carcinogenic substances — yet DNA remains astonishingly intact.

Continue reading “Scientists win 2015 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work on DNA repair” »

Aug 14, 2022

Population genomic analysis of elongated skulls reveals extensive female-biased immigration in Early Medieval Bavaria

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

This extensive research actually details the possibility of unknown origins of these elongated human skulls which many think to this day are some form of exterrestial in origin or at the very least unknown in origin which actually nearly uproots most know origin stories.


Modern European genetic structure demonstrates strong correlations with geography, while genetic analysis of prehistoric humans has indicated at least two major waves of immigration from outside the continent during periods of cultural change. However, population-level genome data that could shed light on the demographic processes occurring during the intervening periods have been absent. Therefore, we generated genomic data from 41 individuals dating mostly to the late 5th/early 6th century AD from present-day Bavaria in southern Germany, including 11 whole genomes (mean depth 5.56×). In addition we developed a capture array to sequence neutral regions spanning a total of 5 Mb and 486 functional polymorphic sites to high depth (mean 72×) in all individuals. Our data indicate that while men generally had ancestry that closely resembles modern northern and central Europeans, women exhibit a very high genetic heterogeneity; this includes signals of genetic ancestry ranging from western Europe to East Asia. Particularly striking are women with artificial skull deformations; the analysis of their collective genetic ancestry suggests an origin in southeastern Europe. In addition, functional variants indicate that they also differed in visible characteristics. This example of female-biased migration indicates that complex demographic processes during the Early Medieval period may have contributed in an unexpected way to shape the modern European genetic landscape. Examination of the panel of functional loci also revealed that many alleles associated with recent positive selection were already at modern-like frequencies in European populations ∼1,500 years ago.

Aug 14, 2022

Stephen Wolfram: Computational Universe | MIT 6.S099: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Circa 2018


This is a talk by Stephen Wolfram for MIT course 6.S099: Artificial General Intelligence. This class is free and open to everyone. Our goal is to take an engineering approach to exploring possible paths toward building human-level intelligence for a better world.

Continue reading “Stephen Wolfram: Computational Universe | MIT 6.S099: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)” »

Aug 14, 2022

The Metaverse Future: Are You Ready To Become a God?

Posted by in categories: life extension, robotics/AI

But what I find even more interesting is that as metaverse tools like Nvidia’s Omniverse become more consumer friendly, the ability to use AI and human digital twins will enable us to create our own worlds where we dictate the rules and where our AI-driven digital twins will emulate real people and animals.

At that point, I expect we’ll need to learn what it means to be gods of the worlds we create, and I doubt we are anywhere near ready, both in terms of the addictive nature of such products and how to create these metaverse virtual worlds in ways that can become the basis for our own digital immortality.

Continue reading “The Metaverse Future: Are You Ready To Become a God?” »

Aug 14, 2022

New Theory Emerges to Explain How the Continents Started Moving Here on Earth

Posted by in category: space

The Pilbara Craton in Western Australia is the backdrop for a new hypothesis explaining how our continents started moving.


Early Earth faced bombardments from Solar System debris. A new theory says these deep impactors set the mantle and continents in motion.