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First global rules adopted for self-driving cars: UN

The first global safety regulations for fully autonomous vehicles were adopted at the U.N., setting uniform international requirements that could pave the way for larger-scale rollouts. The framework is expected to enter into force in January 2027.

The first global regulations for fully autonomous vehicles were adopted Wednesday, a U.N. agency said, establishing uniform international safety requirements that could pave the way for larger-scale rollouts of self-driving cars.

Safety concerns and the cost of developing next-level systems have long slowed progress on autonomous vehicles.

As self-driving cars have begun to hit the road in a growing number of cities, fragmented national approaches to regulation have spurred manufacturer fears that vehicles developed for one market could be blocked from others.

Single-dose LSD drug successfully treats depression in key human trial

Disclaimer: Do NOT attempt without proper medical supervision.

In a paradigm-shifting breakthrough, Phase III clinical trials of DT120 — a novel, pharmaceutical-grade formulation of LSD — have demonstrated unprecedented efficacy in treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) following just a single dose. The study, encompassing 149 patients, revealed that a one-time administration of DT120 significantly outperformed a placebo, achieving the trial’s primary endpoint by reducing MADRS depression scores by an 8-point margin at six weeks. Remarkably, patients experienced rapid therapeutic relief within just one week, showcasing a massive 14-point advantage over the placebo group. Unlike conventional daily antidepressants that often take weeks to manifest effects, DT120 delivers profound and sustained symptom reduction from a single intervention. Hailed by Definium Therapeutics’ CEO Rob Burrow as a potential “best-in-class” therapy, these groundbreaking findings not only pave the way for expedited regulatory approval but also underscore the transformative potential of psychedelics to fundamentally revolutionize modern mental health care.

Definium Therapeutics has announced strong results in a phase 3 trial of its single-dosed lysergide (LSD) drug DT120 in treating adults with major depressive disorder (MDD), meeting its primary goal and all key secondary efficacy endpoints in the first trial of its kind.

The results come from the Emerge trial, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study featuring 149 participants aged 18 to 74 years enrolled across 20 sites. The participants all met specific MDD measures. They needed to have a DSM-5-confirmed diagnosis of MDD, a Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score of at least 26 and a Clinical Global Impression–Severity (CGI-S) score of at least 4 at screening and baseline.

The study examined the effectiveness of a single 100 µg dose of DT120 ODT compared with a placebo in alleviating MDD symptoms. In 2023, we covered an earlier trial of lysergide, which had shown positive results in treating general anxiety disorder (GAD).

Interlayer self-doping could unlock room-temperature multiferroics in atom-thin materials

Multiferroics are materials that exhibit more than one prominent “ferroic” property, such as ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. One of their most advantageous features is that they allow engineers to control their magnetic states with electric fields or vice versa, due to an effect known as magnetoelectric coupling.

We May Never Understand Reality

What really happens in the quantum world?

In this conversation, physicist Sean Carroll explores some of the deepest mysteries in quantum mechanics: the famous double-slit experiment, wave function collapse, the Many Worlds interpretation, entropy and the arrow of time.

Speaking to New Scientist reporter Jacklin Kwan, Carroll discusses why electrons appear to behave like waves, how observation seems to affect reality and whether the universe constantly branches into countless parallel worlds. Carroll also explains the measurement problem, the challenges of interpreting quantum theory and why physicists still debate what quantum mechanics is actually telling us about the nature of reality.

Carroll is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author whose work focuses on the foundations of physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology and the nature of time.

Chapters.
0:00 Introduction.
0:39 The double slit experiment.
5:20 The Cophenhagen interpretation.
9:05 Is there a \.

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab is creating one of the weirdest forms of matter in space

NASA’s upgraded Cold Atom Lab is turning the International Space Station into a frontier for quantum research, creating ultra-cold matter that behaves in astonishing ways. The experiments could unlock new discoveries about the universe while paving the way for powerful future technologies in space and on Earth.

Marco Santini on The Alpha Centauri Project: There Is A Lot Of Space For Rational Optimism

Fourteen years ago, I sat down with an Italian engineer who gave his novels away for free.

Marco Santini was not chasing royalties. He was chasing readers.

His book The Alpha Centauri Project imagines the 24th century split three ways: humans, artificial intelligences, and souls, the digitized minds of people who refused to stay dead. Their interests do not align. Their futures collide. An interstellar voyage becomes the only way to avoid a war.

It reads like a thriller. It lands like a warning.

What stayed with me was not the plot. It was his stance on the future.

Pessimistic scenarios can always exist. With rationality, optimistic ones can be created.

Continue reading “Marco Santini on The Alpha Centauri Project: There Is A Lot Of Space For Rational Optimism” | >
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