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An international team of researchers wants to find people who are genetically resistant to SARS-CoV-2, in the hope of developing new drugs and treatments.

Imagine being born naturally resistant to SARS-CoV-2, and never having to worry about contracting COVID-19 or spreading the virus. If you have this superpower, researchers want to meet you, to enrol you in their study.

As described in a paper in Nature Immunology1 this month, an international team of scientists has launched a global hunt for people who are genetically resistant to infection with the pandemic virus. The team hopes that identifying the genes protecting these individuals could lead to the development of virus-blocking drugs that not only protect people from COVID-19, but also prevent them from passing on the infection.

“It’s a terrific idea,” says Mary Carrington, an immunogeneticist at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research in Bethesda, Maryland. “Really, a wise thing to do.”

Continue reading “The search for people who never get COVID” | >

Physicists and engineers have long been interested in creating new forms of matter, those not typically found in nature. Such materials might find use someday in, for example, novel computer chips. Beyond applications, they also reveal elusive insights about the fundamental workings of the universe. Recent work at MIT both created and characterized new quantum systems demonstrating dynamical symmetry—particular kinds of behavior that repeat periodically, like a shape folded and reflected through time.

“There are two problems we needed to solve,” says Changhao Li, a graduate student in the lab of Paola Cappellaro, a professor of nuclear science and engineering. Li published the work recently in Physical Review Letters, together with Cappellaro and fellow graduate student Guoqing Wang. “The first problem was that we needed to engineer such a system. And second, how do we characterize it? How do we observe this symmetry?”

Concretely, the quantum system consisted of a diamond crystal about a millimeter across. The crystal contains many imperfections caused by a next to a gap in the lattice—a so-called nitrogen-vacancy center. Just like an electron, each center has a quantum property called a spin, with two discrete . Because the system is a quantum system, the spins can be found not only in one of the levels, but also in a combination of both energy levels, like Schrodinger’s theoretical cat, which can be both alive and dead at the same time.

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As humanity continues its exploration of the universe, the low-gravity environment of space presents unusual challenges for scientists and engineers.

Researchers at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the Florida State University-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Laboratory have developed a new tool to help meet that challenge—a for a low-gravity that promises to break new ground for future space research and habitation.

Their new design for a magnetic levitation-based low-gravity simulator can create an area of low gravity with a volume about 1,000 times larger than existing simulators of the same type. The work was published in the journal npj Microgravity.

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Japanese UAV startup A.L.I. Technologies test flies a prototype drone motorcycle capable of top speeds of 100 kmh for up to 40 minutes.

Why does this not sound like a necessarily great idea? A startup in Japan has unveiled a one-person drone intended to be flown like a motorcycle, hurtling through the air and around corners at top speeds of 100 kmh.

The footage of the Xturismo’s test flight, however, captured a far more contained and cautious outing, with the deafening craft remaining aloft for all of 90 seconds as it performed a few basic moves.

Continue reading “Japanese startup test flies a one-person drone motorcycle” | >

In a press statement, EdisonFuture said the EF1-T, as well as a van version of the vehicle called the EF1-V, feature “a uniquely designed solar mosaic technology that provides a stunning visual signature while also harnessing the power of the sun to recharge the batteries, enabling work vehicles to continuously charge while in the field.”

Bizarrely, as far as we can tell, the automaker hasn’t actually released any information regarding the battery size, range, or solar charging specifications of the EF1-T, though a prototype of the vehicle is due to go on display at the LA Auto Show in mid-November, so we may learn more information then. EdisonFuture also said it will begin accepting reservations for the pickup during the show.

While we’re likely pretty far off seeing vehicles that run solely on solar power, we’re increasingly seeing pickups and cars fitted with solar panels as the technology matures, allowing for added range figures that aren’t negligible. Dutch automaker Lightyear 0 for example, states on its website that its Lightyear One car can add 7 miles (12 km) of range per hour via solar charging. Lightyear eventually aims to develop vehicles that can go months without needing to charge via conventional means. Stay posted to learn more about the range figures of the EF1-T when we find out more in the very near future.

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The new world of work is also about a new kind of teamwork: humans and AI working together to achieve more than they can accomplish on their own. Regardless of its recent progress, AI is still not accurate enough to meet the enterprise-level requirements of speech-to-text in many industries. “If technology gives me 90% accuracy, humans can deal with the last mile. Human-in-the-loop is core to our product,” explains Livne. In addition to developing the required technology, Ver… See more.

Verbit is a very successful startup. The 4-year-old developer of an AI-powered transcription and captioning platform has reached unicorn status in June, raising $157 million at a valuation of over $1 billion, for a total of $319 million raised to date. It has 2,600 customers, 450 employees, and will reach $100 million in revenues by the end of the year. According to co-founder and CEO Tom Livne, Veribit enjoys Net Revenue Retention (the rate of revenue generation from existing customers) of 163%. “Our customers are growing with us,” says Livne.

This impressive performance is the result of executing on a well thought-out framework for what it will take to succeed in the future, no matter what business you are in and the market you are serving. Verbit’s technology foundation, its global community of freelancers, and its mass customization strategy are the three features of Verbit’s future of work model, the very model of a 21 st century company.

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“Technological advances in robotics have already produced robots that are indistinguishable from human beings,” they write. “If humanoid robots with the same appearance are mass-produced and become commonplace, we may encounter circumstances in which people or human-like products have faces with the exact same appearance in the future.”

To test peoples’ reactions, the team asked people to look at photos of individuals with the same face (clones), with different faces, and of… See more.

The uncanny valley is the scientific explanation for why we all find clowns or corpses creepy. And just when we thought nothing could be more alarming than clowns, scientists have found an even uncannier way to freak us out.

New research finds that there is something even creepier than the uncanny valley: clones. Scientists now predict that when convincing humanoid robots with identical faces are launched, we are all going to panic.

Continue reading “New Robots May Be Creepier Than The Uncanny Valley” | >