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Jan 15, 2021

NASA Pulls Plug On InSight Lander’s Mars Mole

Posted by in category: space

NASA has finally given up on heat probe instrument on it Mars surface lander. Maybe Mark Watney will eventually find a way to fix it!


NASA has finally given up on the heat probe instrument on its Mars surface lander.

Jan 15, 2021

New Species, Devil-eyed Frog, and Satyr Butterfly Not Seen For a Century Found in Forests 30 Miles From the Capital

Posted by in category: futurism

Just 30 miles from the capital of La Paz, 20 new species were discovered by scientists from Conservation International above the Zongo Valley.

Jan 15, 2021

Robot FlyingFox

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

A very nice flying robot design! 😃

Jan 15, 2021

Scientists Develop Novel Class of Antibiotic against Wide Range of Bacteria

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, economics, health

Wistar Institute scientists have designed a new class of antimicrobial compound, which, they claim, uniquely combines direct antibiotic killing of pan drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria, with a simultaneous rapid immune response for combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The team claims the dual-acting immuno-antibiotics (DAIA) strategy could represent a “landmark” in the fight against AMR.

“We took a creative, double-pronged strategy to develop new molecules that can kill difficult-to-treat infections while enhancing the natural host immune response,” said Farokh Dotiwala, MBBS, PhD, assistant professor in the Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center and lead author of the team’s work, which is reported in Nature, in a paper titled, “IspH inhibitors kill Gram-negative bacteria and mobilize immune clearance.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared AMR to be one of the top 10 global public health threats against humanity, and it is estimated that by 2050, antibiotic-resistant infections could claim 10 million lives each year and impose a cumulative $100 trillion burden on the global economy. The list of bacteria that are becoming resistant to treatment with all available antibiotic options is growing and few new drugs are in the pipeline, creating a pressing need for new classes of antibiotics to prevent public health crises.

Jan 15, 2021

A.I. displays an unsettling skill: the ability to show empathy

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Oom Blikkies.

‘FLOKA’ SHOWS EMOTION WHILE HELPING AROUND THE HOUSE


Researchers from Columbia have designed an A.I. that can effectively feel empathy and predict another robot’s goals using only vision.

Jan 15, 2021

Superintelligent AI Cannot be Controlled, Report Warns

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Researchers from the Max Planck Society assessed humans’ capabilities for controlling killer AI. Read the details.

Jan 15, 2021

Examination of Theia 456 finds its nearly 500 stars were born at same time

Posted by in categories: physics, space travel

The Milky Way houses 8292 recently discovered stellar streams—all named Theia. But Theia 456 is special.

A stellar stream is a rare linear pattern—rather than a cluster—of stars. After combining multiple datasets captured by the Gaia space telescope, a team of astrophysicists found that all of Theia 456’s 468 stars were born at the same time and are traveling in the same direction across the sky.

“Most stellar clusters are formed together,” said Jeff Andrews, a Northwestern University astrophysicist and member of the team. “What’s exciting about Theia 456 is that it’s not a small clump of stars together. It’s long and stretched out. There are relatively few streams that are nearby, young and so widely dispersed.”

Jan 15, 2021

Conductive nature in crystal structures revealed at magnification of 10 million times

Posted by in category: materials

In groundbreaking materials research, a team led by University of Minnesota Professor K. Andre Mkhoyan has made a discovery that blends the best of two sought-after qualities for touchscreens and smart windows—transparency and conductivity.

The researchers are the first to observe metallic lines in a perovskite crystal. Perovskites abound in the Earth’s center, and barium stannate (BaSnO3) is one such crystal. However, it has not been studied extensively for metallic properties because of the prevalence of more conductive materials on the planet like metals or semiconductors. The finding was made using advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a technique that can form images with magnifications of up to 10 million.

The research is published in Science Advances.

Jan 15, 2021

New videos show RNA as it’s never been seen

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A new Northwestern University-led study is unfolding the mystery of how RNA molecules fold themselves to fit inside cells and perform specific functions. The findings could potentially break down a barrier to understanding and developing treatments for RNA-related diseases, including spinal muscular atrophy and perhaps even the novel coronavirus.

“RNA folding is a that is fundamental for life,” said Northwestern’s Julius B. Lucks, who led the study. “RNA is a really important piece of diagnostic and therapeutic design. The more we know about RNA folding and complexities, the better we can design treatments.”

Using data from RNA-folding experiments, the researchers generated the first-ever data-driven movies of how RNA folds as it is made by cellular machinery. By watching their videos of this folding occur, the researchers discovered that RNA often folds in surprising, perhaps unintuitive ways, such as tying itself into knots—and then immediately untying itself to reach its final structure.

Jan 15, 2021

Humans would be unable to control an artificial superintelligence

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, internet, robotics/AI

We are fascinated by machines that can control cars, compose symphonies, or defeat people at chess, Go, or Jeopardy! While more progress is being made all the time in artificial intelligence (AI), some scientists and philosophers warn of the dangers of an uncontrollable superintelligent AI. Using theoretical calculations, an international team of researchers, including scientists from the Center for Humans and Machines at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, shows that it would not be possible to control a superintelligent AI. Their study is published in the Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research.

Suppose in the not-too-distant future that a research team builds an AI system with intelligence superior to that of humans, so it can learn independently. Connected to the Internet, the AI would have access to all of humanity’s data. It could replace existing programs and take control of all machines globally.

Would this produce a utopia or a dystopia? Would the AI cure cancer, bring about world peace, and prevent a climate disaster? Or would it destroy humanity and take over the Earth?