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.
Onurdongel/iStock.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Artisteer/iStock.
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.
NASA / Dan Bartlett.
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.
Naeblys/iStock.
Also known as lecanemab, Leqembi is the second drug of its kind – a medication that has been approved for treating Alzheimer’s disease. This type of medication targets the fundamental pathophysiology of the disease and is considered a significant development in the effort to successfully treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Time to reverse your age and restore youth.
Scientists at a San Diego-based biotech company Rejuvenate Bio claim to have increased the age of mice by reprogramming their genes. They believe their gene therapy actually works like a reverse aging technique that one day might be used for rejuvenating humans.
Their lifespan increased by about seven percent after the introduction of the genes.
Back in 2002, the science fiction film Minority Report once again reignited futuristic imaginations about a world and police state gone too far. At the time, the movie inspired plenty of speculation about the future of our society, how computers would interact with us, and how law enforcement would be carried out proactively based on intent. In the movie, they combined technology with the psychic abilities of the “precogs,” to proactively prevent crimes.
The precogs had the ability to predict when crimes were about to be committed ahead of time, enabling law enforcement to act early.
Twenty years later, in a climate of abundant data, almost limitless processing, and at a point in history where law enforcement is frequently discussed, some of these technologies are beginning to look more feasible than ever.
