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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” »

Jul 29, 2020

Research team exactly solves experimental puzzle in high temperature superconductivity

Posted by in categories: materials, physics

Forty-five years after superconductivity was first discovered in metals, the physics giving rise to it was finally explained in 1957 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity.

Thirty years after that benchmark achievement, a new mystery confronted condensed matter physicists: the discovery in 1987 of copper-oxide or . Now commonly known as the cuprates, this new class of materials demonstrated physics that fell squarely outside of BCS theory. The cuprates are insulators at , but transition to a at a much higher critical temperature than traditional BCS superconductors. (The cuprates’ critical temperature can be as high as 170 Kelvin—that’s −153.67°F—as opposed to the much lower critical temperature of 4 Kelvin—or −452.47°F—for mercury, a BCS superconductor.)

The discovery of high-temperature superconductors, now more than 30 years ago, seemed to promise that a host of new technologies were on the horizon. After all, the cuprates’ superconducting phase can be reached using liquid nitrogen as a coolant, instead of the far costlier and rare liquid helium required to cool BCS superconductors. But until the unusual and unexpected superconducting behavior of these insulators can be theoretically explained, that promise remains largely unfulfilled.

Jul 29, 2020

NASA announces astronauts to launch on SpaceX’s Crew-2 Dragon in 2021

Posted by in category: space travel

SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission for NASA has its astronauts.

NASA and its international partners have officially assigned the astronauts to fly on SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission in spring of 2021, the U.S. space agency announced today (July 28). The mission will be SpaceX’s second operational Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station, following the upcoming Crew-1 astrononaut mission, which is slated to launch in September.

Jul 29, 2020

China’s Mars probe Tianwen-1 leaves Earth’s gravitational field, sends back photo of Earth, moon: CNSA

Posted by in category: space

Photo: courtesy of china national space administration

Tianwen-1, China’s first Mars probe, has smoothly flown more than 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth, leaving Earth’s gravitational field, and entering planned interplanetary orbit, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Tuesday.

According to a press release the CNSA provided to the Global Times on Tuesday, the spacecraft is operating properly. Flight control and data communication is underway in an orderly and clear fashion.

Jul 29, 2020

No Phones in Space: Virgin Galactic Designs Cabin to Keep Passengers in the Moment

Posted by in category: space travel

Space tourists won’t be able to take their phones aboard, but the spaceship includes a giant mirror so they can watch themselves float around and 16 cameras in the cabin to catch all the action.

Jul 29, 2020

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover

Posted by in category: space

Use this interactive launch guest packet to learn more about the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover launch and download all the printable resources available for launch.

Jul 29, 2020

Why Rwanda Is Doing Better Than Ohio When It Comes To Controlling COVID-19

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

Coronavirus Success Story: How Rwanda Is Curbing COVID-19 : Goats and Soda They’ve got roughly the same population. But Ohio has over 1,000 new cases a day while Rwanda has had 1,500 cases … since March. Among its strategies: free random testing and robot caregivers.