Menu

Blog

Page 6289

Jul 29, 2020

The ‘butterfly effect’ is wrong and reality can ‘heal itself’, say quantum scientists

Posted by in category: quantum physics

Sending a qubit through a simulation of the past had it return to the present generally unchanged.

Jul 29, 2020

Why China is dominating the world in driverless cars

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transhumanism, transportation

How true?


This video is about driverless cars and why China could be ahead of the world in self-driving car technology. We talk about how they are the biggest adopters of autonomous vehicles and how one day Chinese companies could be giving us a future of true autonomous travel. We also look at the issues that may set China back. Let’s take a look at why.

Continue reading “Why China is dominating the world in driverless cars” »

Jul 29, 2020

The first interplanetary helicopter, Ingenuity, is ready for liftoff on a 7-month voyage to Mars

Posted by in category: space

Read more about the aeronautical innovators at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory & NASA Ames Research Center who worked together to prepare for NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover’s #CountdownToMars: https://go.nasa.gov/2CQLLeA

Jul 29, 2020

Elon Musk says DeepMind is his ‘top concern’ when it comes to A.I.

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, entertainment, robotics/AI

“Just the nature of the AI that they’re building is one that crushes all humans at all games,” Musk told The New York Times in an interview published on Saturday. “I mean, it’s basically the plotline in ‘War Games.’”

DeepMind declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

Continue reading “Elon Musk says DeepMind is his ‘top concern’ when it comes to A.I.” »

Jul 29, 2020

SpaceX, NASA watch weather for historic astronaut splashdown on Sunday

Posted by in categories: climatology, space travel

SpaceX is ready to return its first NASA astronaut crew to Earth, but a potential tropical cyclone brewing in the Atlantic could cause delays.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, called Endeavour, is scheduled to splash down off the Florida coast on Sunday afternoon (Aug. 2). Its crew, NASA’s Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, is wrapping up a historic two-month test flight, the first orbital trip by astronauts on a commercial spacecraft. Their splashdown will also mark the first water landing by American astronauts since the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July 1975.

Jul 29, 2020

Breakthrough method for predicting solar storms

Posted by in categories: internet, particle physics, satellites

Extensive power outages and satellite blackouts that affect air travel and the internet are some of the potential consequences of massive solar storms. These storms are believed to be caused by the release of enormous amounts of stored magnetic energy due to changes in the magnetic field of the sun’s outer atmosphere—something that until now has eluded scientists’ direct measurement. Researchers believe this recent discovery could lead to better “space weather” forecasts in the future.

“We are becoming increasingly dependent on space-based systems that are sensitive to space weather. Earth-based networks and the electrical grid can be severely damaged if there is a large eruption,” says Tomas Brage, Professor of Mathematical Physics at Lund University in Sweden.

Solar flares are bursts of radiation and charged particles, and can cause on Earth if they are large enough. Currently, researchers focus on sunspots on the surface of the sun to predict possible eruptions. Another and more direct indication of increased would be changes in the much weaker of the outer solar atmosphere—the so-called Corona.

Jul 29, 2020

Google wins MLPerf benchmark contest with fastest ML training supercomputer

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, supercomputing

Fast training of machine learning (ML) models is critical for research and engineering teams that deliver new products, services, and research breakthroughs that were previously out of reach. Here at Google, recent ML-enabled advances have included more helpful search results and a single ML model that can translate 100 different languages.

The latest results from the industry-standard MLPerf benchmark competition demonstrate that Google has built the world’s fastest ML training supercomputer. Using this supercomputer, as well as our latest Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chip, Google set performance records in six out of eight MLPerf benchmarks.

Jul 29, 2020

Looking into the black box

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Recent advances give theoretical insight into why deep learning networks are successful.

Jul 29, 2020

Researchers create new brain implants with low power needs

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cyborgs, neuroscience

The discovery could lead to long lasting brain implants that can both treat neurological disease and enable mind controlled prosthetics and machines.


A group of researchers from the University of Michigan has created a new ultra-low-power brain implant. The scientists say that the estimated reduction in power requirements is about 90% for their new creations. Not only have they reduced the power requirements for the implants, they have also made them more accurate.

Jul 29, 2020

In Search of Preventative Strategies: Novel Anti-Inflammatory High-CBD Cannabis Sativa Extracts Modulate ACE2 Expression in COVID-19 Gateway Tissues

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

Dowload the pdf

Cannabis sativa, especially one high in the anti-inflammatory cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD), has been proposed to modulate gene expression and inflammation and harbour anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Working under the Health Canada research license, we have developed over 800 new Cannabis sativa lines and extracts and hypothesized that high-CBD C. sativa extracts may be used to modulate ACE2 expression in COVID-19 target tissues. Screening C. sativa extracts using artificial human 3D models of oral, airway, and intestinal tissues, we identified 13 high CBD C. sativa extracts that modulate ACE2 gene expression and ACE2 protein levels. Our initial data suggest that some C. sativa extract down-regulate serine protease TMPRSS2, another critical protein required for SARS-CoV2 entry into host cells.

While our most effective extracts require further large-scale validation, our study is crucial for the future analysis of the effects of medical cannabis on COVID-19. The extracts of our most successful and novel high CBD C. sativa lines, pending further investigation, may become a useful and safe addition to the treatment of COVID-19 as an adjunct therapy. They can be used to develop easy-to-use preventative treatments in the form of mouthwash and throat gargle products for both clinical and at-home use. Such products ought to be tested for their potential to decrease viral entry via the oral mucosa. Given the current dire and rapidly evolving epidemiological situation, every possible therapeutic opportunity and avenue must be considered.

Continue reading “In Search of Preventative Strategies: Novel Anti-Inflammatory High-CBD Cannabis Sativa Extracts Modulate ACE2 Expression in COVID-19 Gateway Tissues” »