Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 577

A new era in computing is emerging as researchers overcome the limitations of Moore’s Law through photonics.

This cutting-edge approach boosts processing speeds and slashes energy use, potentially revolutionizing AI and machine learning.

Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) that deals with the development of algorithms and statistical models that enable computers to learn from data and make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning is used to identify patterns in data, classify data into different categories, or make predictions about future events. It can be categorized into three main types of learning: supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning.

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The complexity of the human brain—86 billion neurons strong with more than 100 trillion connections—enables abstract thinking, language acquisition, advanced reasoning and problem-solving, and the capacity for creativity and social interaction. Understanding how differences in brain signaling and dynamics produce unique cognition and behavior in individuals has long been a goal of neuroscience research, yet many phenomena remain unexplained.

A study from neuroscientists and engineers at Washington University in St. Louis addresses this knowledge gap with a new method to create personalized brain models, which offer insights into individual neural dynamics. Led by ShiNung Ching, associate professor in the Preston M. Green Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, and Todd Braver, professor in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences in Arts & Sciences, the work, published Jan. 17 in PNAS, introduces a novel framework that will allow the researchers to create individualized brain models based on detailed data from noninvasive, high-temporal resolution brain scans. Such personalized models have applications in research and clinical settings, where they could support advances in neuroscience and treatment of neurological conditions.

“This research is motivated by our need to understand person-to-person variation in brain dynamics,” said first author Matthew Singh, who conducted the research while a postdoctoral fellow with Braver and Ching at WashU and is now an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “We’re not explaining the full range of biophysical mechanisms at work in the , but we are able to shed light on why healthy individuals have different brain dynamics with our new modeling framework, which gives us insights into brain mechanics and testable predictions of brain phenomena.”

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Job displacement is a serious issue everywhere, but professional computer science majors should get ready for a tightening of the belt in their field.

A Semafor article published this month, written by Reed Albergotti, shows how Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit, is enthusiastic about cutting the firm’s workforce in half, while boosting revenue something like 500% on the back of agenticAI.

Replit’s new tool can reportedly “write a working software application with nothing but a natural language prompt” and that’s going to usher in a new renaissance in computing, while costing some careerists their jobs.

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Deep below the surface of our world, far beyond our feeble reach, enigmatic processes grind and roil.

Every now and then, the Earth disgorges clues to their nature: tiny chthonic diamonds encasing skerricks of rare mineral. From these tiny fragments we can glean tidbits of information about our planet’s interior.

A diamond unearthed in a diamond mine in Botswana is just such a stone. It’s riddled with flaws containing traces of ringwoodite, ferropericlase, enstatite, and other minerals that suggest the diamond formed 660 kilometers (410 miles) below Earth’s surface.

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Link :-🔗: https://bit.ly/4jligRa.

Believe it or not, humans emit a faint glow all the time—it’s just invisible to the naked eye. This isn’t science fiction; it’s biology at work.

What’s behind this subtle light show, and why don’t we notice it? Let’s shed some light on this fascinating phenomenon.

Picture a world where every living being radiates a soft, ethereal glow. Fireflies flicker in the twilight, deep-sea creatures pulse with neon brilliance, and even humans shimmer faintly in the darkness. While the glow of animals like jellyfish is a spectacle we can see, the glow of the human body is far more subtle—hidden, but no less real.

Yes, humans glow. This natural phenomenon, known as bioluminescence, is woven into the fabric of our biology. It’s a byproduct of the complex chemical reactions that fuel life, a quiet luminescence emitted by every cell. Yet, unlike the vibrant displays of other creatures, our glow is invisible to the naked eye, too faint to be perceived without specialized tools. It’s a scientific marvel that blurs the line between the tangible and the mystical, reminding us that even the unseen is a vital part of who we are.

Continue reading “Humans Glow In The Dark, It’s Just Too Weak For Our Eyes To See” | >

How Symmetry Shapes the Universe: A Peek into Persistent Symmetry Breaking.

Imagine a world where certain symmetries—like the balance between left and right or up and down—are spontaneously disrupted, but this disruption persists regardless of temperature. Scientists are exploring this fascinating behavior in a special type of mathematical framework known as biconical vector models. These models examine how symmetries behave under specific conditions, especially in a universe with two spatial dimensions and one time dimension (2+1 dimensions).

This study takes a closer look at these models and reveals exciting new insights about symmetry breaking in a way that respects established physical principles. Here’s what the researchers discovered:

1. Symmetry Breaking Basics: The study confirms that symmetry can break persistently when these models are designed to include both continuous and discrete symmetry features (described by the mathematical groups O(N)×Z₂). This breaking shifts from one type of symmetry (O(N)×Z₂) to another (O(N)) as temperature rises, but only under certain conditions.

2. Precision at Zero Temperature: By using advanced computational methods, the team accurately described how these models behave when the temperature is absolute zero. Their findings are valid for a wide range of systems, provided the number of components, N, is 2 or greater.

3. Finite-Temperature Effects: As the temperature increases, the discrete symmetry (Z₂) remains the only one to break, ensuring that the laws of physics, specifically the Hohenberg-Mermin-Wagner theorem, are respected. This theorem essentially states that continuous symmetries cannot break spontaneously in 2D systems at finite temperatures.

4. A Critical Threshold: The researchers calculated that this unusual symmetry-breaking phenomenon can only be observed when N (the number of components in the system) exceeds a critical value, approximately 15.

Continue reading “Heat Destroys All Order. Except for in This One Special Case” | >

Nemourlon armor of reasonable weight resists penetration by most fragments and any bullet that is not both reasonably heavy and fairly high-velocity.’ — Jerry Pournelle, 1976.

Goldene — A Two-Dimensional Sheet Of Gold One Atom Thick ‘Hasan always pitched a Gauzy — a one-molecule-layer tent, opaque, feather-light, and very tough.’ — Roger Zelazny, 1966.

GNoME AI From DeepMind Invents Millions Of New Materials ‘…the legendary creativity of our finest human authors pales against the mathematical indefatigability of GNoME.’

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Beneath the sandstone floor of a French rock shelter lies a stunning artifact—what could be the world’s oldest 3D map. Its intricate carvings model water flows, valleys, and lakes in ways that defy expectations of Paleolithic capabilities. But how did early humans achieve such precision? And what mysteries do the map’s symbols still hold?

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