Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University received a grant for more than $3.9 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Research Infrastructure Programs to establish the Baylor/Rice Genome Editing Testing Center (GETC). The new center will assist investigators from across the country with somatic cell genome editing experiments in mouse models.

Somatic cell genome editing, the ability to edit DNA within the body’s non-reproductive cells, is a promising potential treatment for the most severe human diseases. Over the last decade, significant effort has gone into developing more effective genome editing systems and methods of delivery to specific cells and organs. However, many of these new technologies do not progress to use in humans because there is insufficient evidence from animal models supporting their effectiveness.

“Our center will provide mouse model resources and genome editing testing pipelines to researchers who are developing new genome editing and delivery technologies but need assistance with conducting preclinical animal studies,” said Dr. Jason Heaney, co-principal investigator and associate professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor. “Our goal is to help generate the animal model data needed to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of these cutting-edge technologies.”

From attending a meeting to enjoying a live performance or, perhaps, taking a class at the University of Tokyo’s Metaverse School of Engineering, the application of virtual reality is expanding in our daily lives. Earlier this year, virtual reality technologies garnered attention as tech giants, including Meta and Apple, unveiled new VR/AR (virtual reality/augmented reality) headsets. We spoke with VR and AR specialist Takuji Narumi, an associate professor at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, to learn about his latest research and what VR’s future has to offer.

At the Avatar Robot Café DAWN ver. β, employees serve customers via a digital screen and engage in conversation using avatars of their choice, such as an alpaca and a man with blue hair.

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DarkBeam is a digital risk protection firm, which left its interface unprotected and so exposed records with user emails and passwords from previously reported and non-reported data breaches. These leaked logins present cybercriminals with almost limitless attack capabilities.

The CEO of SecurityDiscovery Bob Diachenko first identified the leak, and he states that it contained over 3.8 billion records. DarkBeam has apparently been collecting information to alert its customers in case of a data breach, but this incident will most likely affect more than only DarkBeam users.

Researchers have utilized Alfvén waves to mitigate runaway electrons in tokamak fusion devices, offering significant implications for future fusion energy projects, including the ITER in France.

Scientists led by Chang Liu of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a collaborative national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source for the world.

The radio astronomy experiment LuSEE-Night will test technologies for radio telescopes on the far side of the moon.

Abstract: Full Publication #OpenAccess.

Scalable fabrication of two-dimensional (2D) arrays of quantum dots (QDs) and quantum rods (QRs) with nanoscale precision is required for numerous device applications. However, self-assembly–based fabrication of such arrays using DNA origami typically suffers from low yield due to inefficient QD and QR DNA functionalization. In addition, it is challenging to organize solution-assembled DNA origami arrays on 2D device substrates while maintaining their structural fidelity. Here, we reduced manufacturing time from a few days to a few minutes by preparing high-density and rehydration process. We used a surface-assisted large-scale assembly (SALSA) method to construct 2D origami lattices directly on solid substrates to template QD and QR 2D arrays with orientational control, with overall loading yields exceeding 90%. Our fabrication approach enables the scalable, high fidelity manufacturing of 2D addressable QDs and QRs with nanoscale orientational and spacing control for functional 2D photonic devices.

Dehydration and surface-assisted assembly enable rapid, scalable quantum dot and quantum rod 2D arrays with nanoscale precision.

ChatGPT isn’t just a chatbot anymore.

OpenAI’s latest upgrade grants ChatGPT powerful new abilities that go beyond text. It can tell bedtime stories in its own AI voice, identify objects in photos, and respond to audio recordings. These capabilities represent the next big thing in AI: multimodal models.

“Multimodal is the next generation of these large models, where it can process not just text, but also images, audio, video, and even other modalities,” says Dr. Linxi “Jim” Fan, Senior AI Research Scientist at Nvidia.

Continue reading “ChatGPT’s New Upgrade Teases AI’s Multimodal Future” »

The Transportation Authority of Marin board has voted to accept a framework to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, in some cases faster than required under state law.

The “Marin Countywide Electric Vehicle Acceleration Strategy,” developed by the interagency Marin County Climate and Energy Partnership, is meant to provide a playbook of policies and actions for jurisdictions to employ to ready their communities for a growing number of electric vehicles.

Several Marin communities have already accepted the strategy, and the Transportation Authority of Marin board did so on Thursday. The authority is a state-managed congestion management agency that also provides rebates to public agencies for installing charging stations and electrifying their vehicle fleets.

Jintong Gao and Zhenyuan Xu.

This new system was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with engineers from China.