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Nov 10, 2021
Making science serve humanity: Jennifer Doudna, PhD, says CRISPR gene-editing technology should be accessible to all
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health, science
The path that led Jennifer Doudna, PhD, and her colleagues to the development of CRISPR, the gene-editing tool that has revolutionized science and earned her a Nobel Prize, started with their deep curiosity and drive to understand how the most basic building blocks of life function.
When Doudna first decided to investigate precisely what systems bacteria use to adapt their immune systems to fight off viral infections, she had little expectation that the findings would ultimately provide the key to technology that could be used to safely alter genetic code.
“All of us [on the research team] realized that what had started as a fundamental research question was morphing into a very different kind of project; namely, one with enormous technical potential and also risks and opportunities that we had not appreciated when we started the work,” Doudna explained during a conversation with J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, chair of the AAMC Board of Directors and executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, at the opening plenary of Learn Serve Lead 2021: The Virtual Experience, on Monday, Nov. 8.
Nov 10, 2021
Brain Structure is Key to Understanding Human Cognition
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: biotech/medical, computing, health, neuroscience
A CNS 2021 provided an incredible opportunity to learn more how the anatomy and integrity of brain networks impact higher-level cognition.
In the 19th and 20th century, cases of individuals with brain injury, such as Phineas Gage or Henry Molaison, have advanced our understanding of the relationship between the anatomy of the brain and its function. Back then, methods were limited to investigate whole-brain structure and function. Now, cognitive neuroscientists have some ability to visualize and measure activity of the whole brain at once, as well as the computational tools to investigate complex network-level relationships between brain structure, brain function, and behavior.
As a doctoral student working on stroke recovery, attending the CNS 2021 symposium led by Danielle Bassett was an incredible opportunity to learn more about some of the most recent methods that have been developed to understand how the anatomy and integrity of brain networks impact higher-level cognition. Strokes highly disrupt anatomical and functional connectivity, leading to cognitive and motor impairments. In individuals with post-stroke language impairments, namely aphasia, evidence shows that the more functional brain networks recover an organization similar to healthy individuals the better the recovery (Kiran et al., 2019). Understanding the relationship between brain structure and function in health and disease is therefore essential to develop appropriate treatments.
Continue reading “Brain Structure is Key to Understanding Human Cognition” »
Nov 10, 2021
‘Back to basics’ approach helps unravel new phase of matter
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: computing, particle physics, quantum physics
A new phase of matter, thought to be understandable only using quantum physics, can be studied with far simpler classical methods.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge used computer modeling to study potential new phases of matter known as prethermal discrete time crystals (DTCs). It was thought that the properties of prethermal DTCs were reliant on quantum physics: the strange laws ruling particles at the subatomic scale. However, the researchers found that a simpler approach, based on classical physics, can be used to understand these mysterious phenomena.
Understanding these new phases of matter is a step forward towards the control of complex many-body systems, a long-standing goal with various potential applications, such as simulations of complex quantum networks. The results are reported in two joint papers in Physical Review Letters and Physical Review B.
Nov 10, 2021
Scientists created World’s thinnest X-ray detector
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in category: biological
The study opens new avenues for the development of next-generation, highly sensitive X-ray detectors.
Nov 10, 2021
Lynx R-1 MR Headset Kickstarter Comes to an End with over $800,000
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: augmented reality, virtual reality
French startup Lynx launched a Kickstarter campaign for Lynx R-1 in October, a standalone MR headset which is capable of both VR and passthrough AR. Starting at €530 (or $500 if you’re not subject to European sales tax), the MR headset attracted a strong response from backers as it passed its initial funding goal in under 15 hours, going on to garner over $800,000 throughout the month-long campaign.
Update (November 10th, 2021): Lynx R-1 Kickstarter is now over, and it’s attracted €725,281 (~$835,000) from 1,216 backers. In the final hours the campaign managed to pass its first stretch goal at $700,000—a free facial interface pad.
Continue reading “Lynx R-1 MR Headset Kickstarter Comes to an End with over $800,000” »
Nov 10, 2021
3D Printed Absolute Encoder Is Absolutely Wonderful
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in category: robotics/AI
When you need to record the angle of something rotating, whether it’s a knob or a joint in a robotic arm, absolute rotary encoders are almost always the way to go. They’re cheap, they’re readily available, and it turns out you can make a pretty fantastic one out of a magnetic sensor, a ziptie, and a skateboard bearing.
When [Scott Bezek] got his hands on a AS5600 magnet sensor breakout board, that’s just what he did. The sensor itself is an IC situated in the middle of the board, which in Scott’s design sits on a 3D-printed carrier. A bearing mount sits atop it, which holds — you guessed it — a bearing. Specifically a standard 608 skateboard bearing, which is snapped into the mount and held securely by a ziptie cinched around the mount’s tabs. The final part is a 3D-printed knob with a tiny magnet embedded within, perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The knob slides into the bearing and the AS5600 reads the orientation of the magnet.
Continue reading “3D Printed Absolute Encoder Is Absolutely Wonderful” »
Nov 10, 2021
KLEVV announces DDR5 CRAS XR RGB memory up to 6400 MT/s
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in category: computing
KLEVV Reveals New DDR5 Standard and Gaming Memory Designed for Intel 12th Generation ‘Alder Lake’ platforms, QVL tested with leading motherboard brands HONG KONG — KLEVV, an emerging memory brand introduced by Essencore, today announced the latest addition to its lineup of computer memory upgrades with new DDR5 memory series, including DDR5 standard memory and […].
Nov 10, 2021
New $250 million government fund aims to spark greater use of electric vehicles
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: government, sustainability, transportation
In the lead up to the 2019 election, Scott Morrison said Labor’s target of 50 per cent of all new vehicles being electric by 2030 would “end the weekend”. Now he’s backing them with the new $250 million “future fuels” fund.
Nov 10, 2021
China’s Scary New AI Beats Human Intelligence + The USA
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: government, robotics/AI
The biggest tech company in China, Jack Ma’s Alibaba has just released the biggest, most efficient and newest Artificial Intelligence Model in the world. It’s almost 100 times smarter than GPT 3 and is even expected to surpass OpenAI’s yet to be released GPT 4 in both abilities and ease of use. The Alibaba M6 is a 10 trillion parameter model which in certain aspects even beats the human brain. But more importantly, China is currently beating the USA when it comes to their machine learning and deep learning technologies which could become dangerous as their leads extend and their secret government projects slowly come to light. OpenAI, Nvidia and Deepmind have a tough road toward Artificial super intelligence in front of them. China is starting to look scary but impressive.
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Chinese AI is getting Scary.
01:17 What this AI does better than anyone else.
02:29 The Scary Prospects of Chinese AI Supremacy.
04:43 What is China’s goal with AI?
07:02 The Future of giant AI Models.
10:03 Last Words.
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#ai #gpt4 #china