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Jun 1, 2021
Google helps map one cubic millimeter of human brain tissue
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience, robotics/AI
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This sample tissue was anonymously donated from patients that have undergone surgery to treat epilepsy at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (MGH). It was then given to researchers at Harvardâs Lichtman laboratory.
The Harvard researchers cut the tissue into ~5300 individual 30 nanometer sections using an automated tape collecting ultra-microtome, mounted those sections onto silicon wafers, and then imaged the brain tissue at 4 nm resolution in a customized 61-beam parallelized scanning electron microscope for rapid image acquisition.
Continue reading “Google helps map one cubic millimeter of human brain tissue” »
Jun 1, 2021
New universal law of human mobility
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: biotech/medical, mapping, mobile phones
Mapping how humans move will help in future pandemics.
How people move around cities follows a predictable and universal pattern, scientist say, which will be crucial not only for urban planning but also controlling pandemics.
By analysing mobile-phone tracking data from across four continents, the team confirmed that people visit places more often when they donât have to travel far to get there.
The first quantum error-correcting code was devised by Peter Shor 25 years ago. Ever since there have been numerous advances on both the theoretical and experimental fronts, and quantum error correction turned out to have unexpected applications.
Scientists determined that the âCold Spotâ isnât caused by a lack of galaxies, but may have been caused by our universe bumping into another universe.
Jun 1, 2021
COVID-19 can infiltrate insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, study suggests
Posted by Jason Blain in category: biotech/medical
The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can infect insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, reducing their ability to secrete insulin and sometimes causing cell death, a new study suggests.
Damaging these insulin-producing cells, known as beta cells, can potentially worsen symptoms of diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes, wherein the pancreas already makes little to no insulin, according to the study authors. âIf you imagine that there are some patients who already have diabetes, if the virus comes in and nails the remaining beta cells you have, thatâs not good,â said co-senior author Peter Jackson, a professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Jun 1, 2021
Curiosity Spots Carbon Dioxide-Ice Clouds in Martian Skies
Posted by Heather Blevins in category: space
In March 2021, NASAâs Curiosity rover observed clouds made of carbon dioxide (CO2) ice at high altitudes in the atmosphere of Mars.
But two Earth years ago, the Curiosity team members spotted clouds in the Martian atmosphere earlier than expected.
Jun 1, 2021
Why NASA needs to return to a moon they havenât visited in 35 years
Posted by Atanas Atanasov in category: space travel
Miranda is a Solar System enigma â and maybe the most unexpected place we could actually find life.
The last time a spacecraft visited Uranus was more than 30 years ago, and scientists are arguing that itâs time to go back.
Jun 1, 2021
Tesla files trademark for restaurant services
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: Elon Musk, food, sustainability
Tesla has filed a new trademark for its brand under restaurant services as the automaker is expected to expand amenities around its charging infrastructure, including actual restaurants.
At face value, Tesla doesnât seem to have much to do with the restaurant industry, but the automaker has actually been talking about going into the food industry for a while.
In 2018, CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla plans to open an âold-school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in Los Angeles.â
Jun 1, 2021
Deepfake maps could really mess with your sense of the world
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: existential risks, government, mapping, robotics/AI
Satellite images showing the expansion of large detention camps in Xinjiang, China, between 2016 and 2018 provided some of the strongest evidence of a government crackdown on more than a million Muslims, triggering international condemnation and sanctions.
Other aerial imagesâof nuclear installations in Iran and missile sites in North Korea, for exampleâhave had a similar impact on world events. Now, image-manipulation tools made possible by artificial intelligence may make it harder to accept such images at face value.
In a paper published online last month, University of Washington professor Bo Zhao employed AI techniques similar to those used to create so-called deepfakes to alter satellite images of several cities. Zhao and colleagues swapped features between images of Seattle and Beijing to show buildings where there are none in Seattle and to remove structures and replace them with greenery in Beijing.