Lifeboat Foundation

A first-ever dataset bridging molecular information about the poplar tree microbiome to ecosystem-level processes has been released by a team of Department of Energy scientists led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The project aims to inform research regarding how natural systems function, their vulnerability to a changing climate, and ultimately how plants might be engineered for better performance as sources of bioenergy and natural carbon storage.

The data, described in Nature Publishing Group’s Scientific Data, provides in-depth information on 27 genetically distinct variants, or genotypes, of Populus trichocarpa, a poplar tree of interest as a bioenergy crop. The genotypes are among those that the ORNL-led Center for Bioenergy Innovation previously included in a genome-wide association study linking genetic variations to the trees’ physical traits. ORNL researchers collected leaf, soil and root samples from poplar fields in two regions of Oregon — one in a wetter area subject to flooding and the other drier and susceptible to drought.

Details in the newly integrated dataset range from the trees’ genetic makeup and gene expression to the chemistry of the soil environment, analysis of the microbes that live on and around the trees and compounds the plants and microbes produce.

Tesla has been building Prefabricated Supercharger Units (PSUs) for at least a year at its Giga New York facility, and now the company released a video claiming it can deploy the pre-built EV fast chargers in just four days after getting them delivered to the installation site.

The company’s PSUs have up to four Supercharger stalls installed on a concrete base, with all the wiring in place and everything ready to be hooked up to the utilities. Up to three units–that’s 12 stalls in total–can be loaded onto the back of a truck with a crane and delivered to a new Supercharger location in the United States.

Chasing ever-higher qubit counts in near-term quantum computers constantly demands new feats of engineering.

Machine learning techniques may appear ill-suited for application in fields that prioritize rigor and deep understanding; however, they have recently found unexpected uses in theoretical physics and pure mathematics. In this Perspective, Gukov, Halverson and Ruehle have discussed rigorous applications of machine learning to theoretical physics and pure mathematics.

Here’s why he believes the landmark law he helped to shepherd through will change the AI sector for the better.

CEO Sam Altman famously has no equity in OpenAI, but startup bets like Reddit, Stripe and Helion have made him a billionaire anyway, a Forbes investigation found.

Microsoft has unveiled a new London hub for its recently launched consumer AI division, fronted by an AI scientist poached from Inflection AI.

“Nobody else took what I was doing seriously, so nobody would want to work with me. I was thought to be a bit eccentric and maybe cranky”

- Peter Higgs, 29 May 1929 – 8 April 2024.

Image from: Fermat’s Library.

Continue reading “Broken Symmetries and the Masses of Gauge Bosons” »

Israeli startup Watergen, which has developed a technology to produce water from air, has installed a generator for a Navajo Nation Native American community in Arizona to help them deal with a crippling water shortage.

The first generator was set up at the Rocky Ridge Gas & Market in northeast Arizona and aims to address the lack of access to clean drinking water within the Hard Rock community there, according to a joint press statement issued Thursday.

Nearly 10,000 families across Navajo Nation lack access to running water, per recent estimates. Local groundwaters have been contaminated over the years by mining and the situation has been exacerbated by the devastating drought affecting the Western United States.