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Jul 28, 2024

Breakthrough CRAM technology ditches von Neumann model, makes AI 1,000x more energy efficient

Posted by in categories: particle physics, robotics/AI

Futurology: The global demand for AI computing has data centers consuming electricity like frat houses chug beer. But researchers from the University of Minnesota might have a wildly innovative solution to curb AI’s growing thirst for power with a radical new device that promises vastly superior energy efficiency.

The researchers have designed a new “computational random-access memory” (CRAM) prototype chip that could reduce energy needs for AI applications by a mind-boggling 1,000 times or more compared to current methods. In one simulation, the CRAM tech showed an incredible 2,500x energy savings.

Traditional computing relies on the decades-old von Neumann architecture of separate processor and memory units, which requires constantly moving data back and forth in an energy-intensive process. The Minnesota team’s CRAM completely upends that model by performing computations directly within the memory itself using spintronic devices called magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs).

Jul 28, 2024

Unlike the Concorde

Posted by in categories: futurism, transportation

Boom Supersonic has taken another step towards its ambitious goal of reintroducing commercial supersonic air travel by the end of this decade. The Colorado-based company released key updates on Tuesday regarding its flagship Overture aircraft and the Symphony engine that will power the supersonic commercial jet. This comes a month after Boom Supersonic officially inaugurated its state-of-the-art factory located at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina. The American company chose the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK to reveal Overture’s cutting-edge flight deck, which is built around technology developed by partner Honeywell.

“As we stand here at Farnborough in 2024, it’s now been two decades since either Boeing or Airbus has launched an all-new airliner programme,” said Chief Executive Blake Scholl. “We’re in danger of going a generation without new airliners. We’ve stopped progressing and, in many ways, we’ve gone backwards. It’s never been more clear that passengers and airlines are not well-served by the duopoly we have today.”

According to the information revealed by Boom, Overture’s state-of-the-art flight deck runs on Honeywell’s Anthem avionics suite. Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturers Lilium and Vertical Aerospace have also gone with the same futuristic system. Boom claims Overture would be the commercial jet to feature dual-force feedback sidesticks, which will give a tactile feel to the pilots of how the aircraft is flying. “Overture’s fly-by-wire system sends artificial feel to the stick, giving the pilot a tactile stick and rudder experience,” Scholl added.

Jul 28, 2024

ULA Atlas V rocket rolls to Cape Canaveral LC-41 ahead of Tuesday liftoff

Posted by in category: futurism

A ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket rolled to Launch Complex 41 on the afternoon of Saturday, July 27.

Jul 28, 2024

One Gaganyaan astronaut to travel to ISS in joint mission with NASA, says govt

Posted by in category: space travel

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last year, President Joe Biden announced that India and the US were collaborating to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS in 2024.

India’s Astronaut Selection Board had selected four astronauts from the group of test pilots from the Indian Air Force for the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first human space flight planned to take place next year.

“All four astronauts have undergone training on a spaceflight basic module in Russia. Currently, astronauts are undergoing training at ISRO’s Astronauts Training Facility (ATF) in Bengaluru for the Gaganyaan Mission,” Singh said.

Jul 28, 2024

The Aging Brain: Is Decline Preventable?

Posted by in categories: life extension, neuroscience

July 17, 2024 – The changes can begin in middle age, but they’re not usually noticeable until decades later. By age 60 and beyond, the changes can pick up speed and may become obvious.

“As we get older, our brain actually starts to shrink and lose mass,” said Marc Milstein, PhD, a Los Angeles brain health researcher. The start of that shrinkage, as well as the path it takes, can vary, said Milstein, who wrote The Age-Proof Brain.

“Starting at 40, our overall brain volume can start shrinking about 5% every 10 years,” he said. “Our brain has connections where our memories are stored, and as we age, we lose some of these connections. That can make it challenging to remember and to learn new information.”

Jul 28, 2024

Elon Musk Reveals Tesla’s Future Plans for AI Robotics and Full Self-Driving (X Takeover)

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, robotics/AI, transportation

Brighter with Herbert.

Jul 28, 2024

Is a gamma-ray laser possible?

Posted by in category: futurism

Federal funding will allow Rochester scientists and their European collaborators to study the feasibility of producing coherent gamma rays.

Jul 28, 2024

An Unexpected Twist Lights Up the Secrets of Turbulence

Posted by in categories: climatology, physics

Having solved a central mystery about the “twirliness” of tornadoes and other types of vortices, William Irvine has set his sights on turbulence, the white whale of classical physics.

Jul 28, 2024

Chromatin plasticity predetermines neuronal eligibility for memory trace formation

Posted by in categories: genetics, robotics/AI

It is clear that specific memories are not stored in individual specific neurons.

But the epigenetic state of neurons influences whether they become part of memory…


Memories are encoded by sparse populations of neurons but how such sparsity arises remains largely unknown. We found that a neuron’s eligibility to be recruited into the memory trace depends on its epigenetic state prior to encoding. Principal neurons in the mouse lateral amygdala display intrinsic chromatin plasticity, which when experimentally elevated favors neuronal allocation into the encoding ensemble. Such chromatin plasticity occurred at genomic regions underlying synaptic plasticity and was accompanied by increased neuronal excitability in single neurons in real time. Lastly, optogenetic silencing of the epigenetically altered neurons prevented memory expression, revealing a cell-autonomous relationship between chromatin plasticity and memory trace formation. These results identify the epigenetic state of a neuron as a key factor enabling information encoding.

Jul 28, 2024

Novel algorithm for discovering anomalies in data outperforms current software

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

An algorithm developed by Washington State University researchers can better find data anomalies than current anomaly-detection software, including in streaming data.

The work, reported in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, makes fundamental contributions to artificial intelligence (AI) methods that could have applications in many domains that need to quickly find anomalies in large amounts of data, such as in cybersecurity, power grid management, misinformation, and medical diagnostics.

Being able to better find the anomalies would mean being able to more easily discover fraud, disease in a medical setting, or important unusual information, such as an asteroid whose signals overlap with the light from other stars.

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