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In one of the mysteries of mammalian development, every cell in the early female embryo shuts down one of its two copies of the X chromosome, leaving just one functional. For years, the mechanics behind this X chromosome inactivation have been murky, but scientists from the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA have now taken a major step forward in understanding the process.

Their findings, based on research on mouse stem cells, upend previous assumptions about how X inactivation is initiated in female embryos and could lead to new ways to treat some genetic disorders, as well as a better understanding of how genes on other chromosomes are silenced.

“X inactivation is one of the most fundamentally important processes in development, and I think this study is a slam dunk in finally understanding it,” said Kathrin Plath, a professor of biological chemistry and senior author of the paper, published in the journal Cell.

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“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary defended Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s massive fortune in an interview on “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Saturday.

The O’Leary Funds boss — whose nickname is “Mr Wonderful” — also attributed the recent surge in asset prices to aggressive fiscal stimulus, and predicted that many people who worked from home during the pandemic won’t return to their companies’ offices.

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Today we look at a fascinating approach to Artificial Intelligence or AI in which a mind is created at an infant-like level, with no knowledge and limited ability. Then it learns and develops from scratch through its own experience within the body of a device — be it a robot body or a toaster.

My guest today is Michael Miller, author of the new book “Building Minds with Patterns”. Michael is an expert at this kind of natural-growth AI development. I’ve had numerous conversations with Michael and come away every time blown away by the scope of his vision and his insights across psychology and the potential of thinking machines.

Today we’ll explore how this natural-growth AI process works, and its potential to impact society.

Podcast version at: https://is.gd/MM_on_iTunes.

Continue reading “Building AI Minds and Artificial Intelligence Growth with Michael Miller on MIND & MACHINE” | >

We explore human enhancement and personal performance hacking with Matt Ward (@mattwardio), host of The Disruptors podcast, startup investor, adviser, and business innovation consultant. Matt and I thought it would be fun to do two episodes, one here on MIND & MACHINE and the other on The Disruptors, where we explore what we’ve learned, the ideas we’ve formed and our takeaways across all these different fields that we cover.

So with this episode here on MIND & MACHINE, we focus on human enhancement — technologies that are extending lifespan and enhancing human capability. Then we get into what Matt and I are doing currently to maximize our own performance capabilities — our ability to think more clearly, to live more energetic vibrant lives… which is all heavily informed by all these amazing guests across these different fields that we explore.

In the other part of this discussion, on The Disruptors, we look at another set of subjects from space to AI to Augmented and Virtual reality. So I encourage you to check that out as well at The Disruptors… For the other part of the Conversation on The Disruptors: https://is.gd/mv1Vez https://youtu.be/PtpwgTr4GSU __________ MIND & MACHINE features interviews by August Bradley with bold thinkers and leaders in transformational technologies. Subscribe to the MIND & MACHINE newsletter: https://www.mindandmachine.io/newsletter MIND & MACHINE Website: https://www.MindAndMachine.io Subscribe to the podcast on: iTunes: https://www.mindandmachine.io/itunes Android or Other Apps: https://www.mindandmachine.io/android Show Host August Bradley on Twitter: https://twitter.com/augustbradley _____________________________

For the other part of the Conversation on The Disruptors:

Continue reading “Human Enhancement & Personal Performance Hacking with Matt Ward of “The Disruptors”” | >

Taking a daily multivitamin for 3 years is associated with a 60% slower cognitive aging, with the effects particularly pronounced in patients with cardiovascular (CVD) disease, new research suggests.

In addition to testing the effect of a daily multivitamin on cognition, the COSMOS-Mind study also examined the effect of cocoa flavonols, but showed no beneficial effect.

The results “may have important public health implications, particularly for brain health, given the availability of multivitamins and minerals and their low cost and safety,” said research researcher Laura D. Baker, PhD, professor, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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On Thursday, November 11 at 6:32 p.m. EST, SpaceX’s Dragon autonomously docked with the International Space Station (ISS). Falcon 9 launched the spacecraft to orbit from historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, November 10 at 9:03 p.m. EST.

After an approximate six-month stay, Dragon and the Crew-3 astronauts will depart the orbiting laboratory no earlier than late April 2022 for return to Earth and splashdown off the coast of Florida.

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We explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) through Neuromorphic Computing with computer chips that emulate the biological neurons and synapses in the brain. Neuro-biological chip architectures enable machines to solve very different kinds of problems than traditional computers, the kinds of problems we previously thought only humans could tackle.

Our guest today is Kelsey Scharnhorst. Kelsey is an Artificial Neural Network Researcher at UCLA. Her research lab (Gimzewski Lab under James Gimzewski) is focused on creating neuromorphic computer chips and further developing their capabilities.

We’ll talk with Kelsey about how neuromorphic computing is different, how neural-biological computer architecture works, and how it will be used in the future.

Podcast version at: https://is.gd/MM_on_iTunes.

Continue reading “Neuromorphic Computing, AI Chips Emulating the Brain with Kelsey Scharnhorst on MIND & MACHINE” | >

Physicists just put Apple’s latest iPhone to shame, taking the most detailed image of atoms to date with a device that magnifies images 100 million times, reports. The researchers, who set the record for the highest resolution microscope in 2018, outdid themselves with a study published last month. Using a method called electron ptychography, in which a beam of electrons is shot at an object and bounced off to create a scan that algorithms use to reverse engineer the above image, were used to visualize the sample. Previously, scientists could only use this method to image objects that were a few atoms thick. But the new study lays out a technique that can image samples 30 to 50 nanometers wide—a more than 10-fold increase in resolution, they report in. The breakthrough could help develop more efficient electronics and batteries, a process that requires visualizing components on the atomic level.

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Unusual clusters on neurons are calcium-signaling “hotspots” that activate gene transcription, allowing neurons to produce crucial proteins.

For 30 years, mysterious clusters of proteins found on the cell body of neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain, both intrigued and baffled James Trimmer.

Now, the distinguished professor of physiology and membrane biology at the UC Davis School of Medicine may finally have an answer. In a new study published in PNAS, Trimmer and his colleagues reveal these protein clusters are calcium signaling “hotspots” in the neuron that play a crucial role in activating gene transcription.

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