Menu

Blog

Page 7380

Jul 16, 2020

The Sun Only Shines Because Of Quantum Physics

Posted by in categories: alien life, nuclear energy, quantum physics

Earth, as we know it, is only teeming with life because of the influence of our Sun. Its light and heat provides every square meter of Earth — when it’s in direct sunlight — with a constant ~1500 W of power, enough to keep our planet at a comfortable temperature for liquid water to continuously exist on its surface. Just like the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy amidst the trillions of galaxies in the Universe, our Sun shines continuously, varying only slightly over time.

But without quantum physics, the Sun wouldn’t shine at all. Even in the extreme conditions found in the core of a massive star like our Sun, the nuclear reactions that power it could not occur without the bizarre properties that our quantum Universe demands. Thankfully, our Universe is quantum in nature, enabling the Sun and all the other stars to shine as they do. Here’s the science of how it works.

Jul 16, 2020

Neuronal circuits in the brain ‘sense’ our inner state

Posted by in categories: food, neuroscience

Animals have an innate preference for certain scents and tastes. Attractive scents are linked to things like good food. Less attractive scents—that of spoiled food, for example—instinctively give the animal a signal which says: “There could be danger here!” When it comes to taste, all animals have similar preferences: Sugars and fats are perceived positively, whereas a bitter taste is perceived rather negatively.

In order to be able to make such evaluations, we need signals in the that tell us “This is good” or “This is bad.” The in the brain, better known as the reward system, plays an important role in these evaluations.

Jul 16, 2020

CRISPR-CasΦ from huge phages is a hypercompact genome editor

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

The CRISPR-Cas system, naturally found in many prokaryotes, is widely used for genome editing. CRISPR arrays in the bacterial genome, derived from the genome of invading viruses, are used to generate a CRISPR RNA that guides the Cas enzyme to destroy repeat viral invaders. Recently, an unexpectedly compact CRISPR-Cas system was identified in huge bacteriophages. Pausch et al. show that even though this system lacks commonly found accessory proteins, it is functional. In addition to a CRISPR array, the only component of the system is an enzyme called CasF, which uses the same active site to process transcripts of the CRISPR arrays into CRISPR RNA and to destroy foreign nucleic acids. This system, which is active in human and plant cells, provides a hypercompact addition to the genome-editing toolbox.

Science this issue p. 333

CRISPR-Cas systems are found widely in prokaryotes, where they provide adaptive immunity against virus infection and plasmid transformation. We describe a minimal functional CRISPR-Cas system, comprising a single ~70-kilodalton protein, CasΦ, and a CRISPR array, encoded exclusively in the genomes of huge bacteriophages. CasΦ uses a single active site for both CRISPR RNA (crRNA) processing and crRNA-guided DNA cutting to target foreign nucleic acids. This hypercompact system is active in vitro and in human and plant cells with expanded target recognition capabilities relative to other CRISPR-Cas proteins. Useful for genome editing and DNA detection but with a molecular weight half that of Cas9 and Cas12a genome-editing enzymes, CasΦ offers advantages for cellular delivery that expand the genome editing toolbox.

Jul 16, 2020

The ‘Android Of Self-Driving Cars’ Built A 100,000X Cheaper Way To Train AI For Multiple Trillion-Dollar Markets

Posted by in categories: information science, mobile phones, robotics/AI, transportation

How do you beat Tesla, Google, Uber and the entire multi-trillion dollar automotive industry with massive brands like Toyota, General Motors, and Volkswagen to a full self-driving car? Just maybe, by finding a way to train your AI systems that is 100,000 times cheaper.

It’s called Deep Teaching.

Perhaps not surprisingly, it works by taking human effort out of the equation.

Jul 16, 2020

A new tool translates 4000-year old stories using machine learning

Posted by in categories: entertainment, robotics/AI

Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphs over four millennia ago to engrave and record their stories. Today, only a select group of people know how to read or interpret those inscriptions.

To read and decipher the ancient hieroglyphic writing, researchers and scholars have been using the Rosetta Stone, an irregularly shaped black granite stone.

In 2017, game developer Ubisoft launched an initiative to use AI and machine learning to understand the written language of the Pharoahs.

Jul 16, 2020

Elon Musk Teases “Indoor/Outdoor Rave Space” on Berlin Tesla Factory Roof

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space, sustainability

The concept isn’t entirely new. In March, Musk posted a poll on Twitter asking his gigantic following if they were interested in a “mega rave cave” below Giga Berlin. 90.2 percent responded with the option “hell yes!”

Musk has plenty of reasons to celebrate. His car company’s valuation sky-rocketed to a high of $1,760 on Monday as tens of thousands of new investors were pouring in from online brokerage Robinhood. The rocketing valuation also sets Musk up for yet another massive $1.8 billion payday.

At the same time, the construction of the manufacturing plant has hit several setbacks, with environmental protests concerning deforestation and worries over drinking water supplies leading to a German court ordering Tesla to cease construction, but lifting the freeze several weeks later.

Jul 16, 2020

Russia trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine data, say UK, U.S. and Canada

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, cybercrime/malcode

2020 is officially a movie:

Russian hackers are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from pharmaceutical and academic institutions, according to Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre.


Hackers backed by the Russian state are trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research from academic and pharmaceutical institutions around the world, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said on Thursday.

Continue reading “Russia trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine data, say UK, U.S. and Canada” »

Jul 16, 2020

Samsung reveals its 6G vision, expects to provide 1,000 Gbps peak data rate

Posted by in categories: business, internet

A ZDNet report, citing Samsung’s white paper, stated that the sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) responsible for radio communication, ITU-R, is likely to commence their work to define a 6G vision in 2021.

The 3G took 15 years to be defined, while the time taken for the 5G was eight years.

Samsung last year also asserted that it would continue to invest and pre-study future business, including the sixth generation mobile network, reported GizChina.

Jul 16, 2020

Superconductivity in metallic twisted bilayer graphene stabilized

Posted by in category: materials

Placing a single layer of tungsten diselenide in contact with twisted bilayer graphene enables superconductivity even for non-magic twist angles where insulating behavior is absent.

Jul 16, 2020

Have you seen Comet NEOWISE in the sky?

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Visiting from the most distant parts of our solar system, it made its once-in-our-lifetimes close approach to the Sun on July 3, 2020 and will cross outside Earth’s orbit on its way back to the outer parts of the solar system by mid-August. Join experts on #NASAScience Live Wednesday, July 15 at 3:00 p.m. EDT to learn more about this comet and how you can spot it before it’s gone. Submit questions now using #askNASA and set a reminder to tune in!