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Aug 15, 2024
The Next Technological Revolution
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: futurism, media & arts
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Technology has shaped our civilization as it grew down the centuries, and since the industrial revolution, each new generation seems defined by some new technological revolution… So what will the next revolution be?
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Aug 15, 2024
Chlorophyll-based device mimics retinal edge detection with all-optical modulation
Posted by Dan Breeden in category: futurism
Researchers develop a chlorophyll-based optoelectronic memristor with all-optically modulated synaptic plasticity, replicating retinal edge detection and advancing neuromorphic vision.
Aug 15, 2024
One-quarter of unresponsive people with brain injuries are conscious
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in category: neuroscience
More people than we thought who are in comas or similar states can hear what is happening around them, a study shows.
Aug 15, 2024
De novo gene synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: biotech/medical, genetics
Bacteria defend themselves from viral infection using diverse immune systems, many of which sense and target foreign nucleic acids. Defense-associated reverse transcriptase (DRT) systems provide an intriguing counterpoint to this immune strategy by instead leveraging DNA synthesis, but the identities and functions of their DNA products remain largely unknown. Here we show that DRT2 systems execute an unprecedented immunity mechanism that involves de novo gene synthesis via rolling-circle reverse transcription of a non-coding RNA (ncRNA). Unbiased profiling of RT-associated RNA and DNA ligands in DRT2-expressing cells revealed that reverse transcription generates concatenated cDNA repeats through programmed template jumping on the ncRNA. The presence of phage then triggers second-strand cDNA synthesis, leading to the production of long double-stranded DNA. Remarkably, this DNA product is efficiently transcribed, generating messenger RNAs that encode a stop codon-less, never-ending ORF (neo) whose translation causes potent growth arrest. Phylogenetic analyses and screening of diverse DRT2 homologs further revealed broad conservation of rolling-circle reverse transcription and Neo protein function. Our work highlights an elegant expansion of genome coding potential through RNA-templated gene creation, and challenges conventional paradigms of genetic information encoded along the one-dimensional axis of genomic DNA.
One-Sentence Summary Bacterial reverse transcriptases synthesize extrachromosomal genes via rolling-circle amplification to confer potent antiviral immunity.
Columbia University has filed a patent application related to this work. S.H.S. is a co-founder and scientific advisor to Dahlia Biosciences, a scientific advisor to CrisprBits and Prime Medicine, and an equity holder in Dahlia Biosciences and CrisprBits.
Aug 15, 2024
Scientists create material that can take the temperature of nanoscale objects
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: materials, nanotechnology
University of California, Irvine scientists recently discovered a one-dimensional nanoscale material whose color changes as temperature changes. The team’s results appeared in Advanced Materials (“Sensitive Thermochromic Behavior of InSeI, a Highly Anisotropic and Tubular 1D van der Waals Crystal”).
“We found that we can make really small and sensitive thermometers,” said Maxx Arguilla, UC Irvine professor of chemistry whose research group led the study. “It’s one of the most applied and translatable works to come out of our lab.”
Arguilla likened the thermometers to “nanoscale mood rings,” referring to the jewelry that changes color depending on the wearer’s body temperature. But instead of simply taking a qualitative temperature reading, the changes in the color of these materials “can be calibrated and used to optically take temperature readings at the nanoscale,” Arguilla said.
Aug 15, 2024
“Virtual Reality Is GENUINE Reality“ | David Chalmers Mindfest Lecture
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: neuroscience, virtual reality
Philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers explores virtual reality and its implication for our understanding of existence. Chalmers examines the simulation hypothesis, challenging conventional views of reality and suggesting that virtual worlds might be as real and meaningful as the physical world. This is a thought-provoking lecture at MindFest, held at Florida Atlantic University, CENTER FOR THE FUTURE MIND, spearheaded by Susan Schneider.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 — Intro.
01:34 — Overview.
11:55 — David’s Central Thesis.
15:55 — Biosim vs. Pure Sim.
18:11 — Imperfect vs. Perfect Simulation.
26:38 — Are Simulations Illusions?
31:29 — It-From-Bit Hypothesis.
36:06 — What Is The Metaverse?
43:58 — Meaning In A Virtual World.
51:49 — Q\&A
01:06:43 — Outro.
Continue reading “‘Virtual Reality Is GENUINE Reality‘ | David Chalmers Mindfest Lecture” »
Aug 15, 2024
Law of “Infodynamics” Supports Theory That We Are Living in a Simulation
Posted by Dan Breeden in categories: computing, Elon Musk, physics
A University of Portsmouth physicist has explored whether a new law of physics could support the much-debated theory that we are simply characters in an advanced virtual world.
The simulated universe hypothesis proposes that what humans experience is actually an artificial reality, much like a computer simulation, in which they themselves are constructs.
The theory is popular among a number of well-known figures including Elon Musk, and within a branch of science known as information physics, which suggests physical reality is fundamentally made up of bits of information.
Aug 15, 2024
Topology Makes On-Chip Terahertz Beamforming a Reality
Posted by Cecile G. Tamura in category: computing
A new silicon topological beamformer chip can beam terahertz frequency wireless signals in any direction.
Terahertz waves are located between optical waves and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum.
The achievement could open a new swath of spectrum for wireless networks.
Continue reading “Topology Makes On-Chip Terahertz Beamforming a Reality” »
Aug 15, 2024
An ocean’s worth of water may be hiding under Mars’ red dusty surface, study suggests
Posted by Josh Seeherman in category: space
This throws a curveball in my brain regarding UAPs.
A new study suggests Mars may be drenched beneath its surface, with enough water hiding in the cracks of underground rocks to form a global ocean.