Page 802
Apr 1, 2024
Meet Sharon Zhou, the AI founder doing just fine without Nvidia’s chips
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in category: robotics/AI
Lamini AI CEO and cofounder Sharon Zhou shows it’s possible to build an AI startup without Nvidia’s GPUs by using chips from AMD instead.
Apr 1, 2024
Team develops Fluid Biomarker for Early Detection of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS and Frontotemporal Dementia
Posted by Natalie Chan in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, neuroscience
Two progressively degenerative diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD, recently in the news with the diagnoses of actor Bruce Willis and talk show host Wendy Williams), are linked by more than the fact that they both damage nerve cells critical to normal functioning—the former affecting nerves in the brain and spinal cord leading to loss of movement, the latter eroding the brain regions controlling personality, behavior and language.
Research studies have repeatedly shown that in patients with ALS or FTD, the function of TAR DNA-binding protein 43, more commonly called TDP-43, becomes corrupted. When this happens, pieces of the genetic material called ribonucleic acid (RNA) can no longer be properly spliced together to form the coded instructions needed to direct the manufacture of other proteins required for healthy nerve growth and function.
The RNA strands become riddled with erroneous code sequences called “cryptic exons” that instead affect proteins believed to be associated with increased risk for ALS and FTD development.
Apr 1, 2024
“Cosmic Lighthouses” — Webb Unlocks the Secrets of the Universe’s First Light
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: cosmology, evolution
Utilizing data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have unveiled the earliest starlight spectra, revealing low-mass galaxies’ central role in the universe’s dawn. Credit: SciTechDaily.com.
Groundbreaking JWST observations reveal the pivotal role of low-mass galaxies in the early universe’s reionization, challenging existing cosmic evolution theories.
Scientists working with data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have obtained the first full spectra of some of the earliest starlight in the universe. The images provide the clearest picture yet of very low-mass, newborn galaxies, created less than a billion years after the Big Bang, and suggest the tiny galaxies are central to the cosmic origin story.
Apr 1, 2024
Nvidia is now worth as much as the whole Chinese stock market
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in category: finance
Nvidia’s market cap has swelled to $1.7 trillion, the same as every Chinese stock listed in Hong Kong combined.
Apr 1, 2024
Pushing material boundaries for better electronics
Posted by Chima Wisdom in categories: nanotechnology, robotics/AI, supercomputing
A recently tenured faculty member in MIT’s departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, Kim has made numerous discoveries about the nanostructure of materials and is funneling them directly into the advancement of next-generation electronics.
His research aims to push electronics past the inherent limits of silicon — a material that has reliably powered transistors and most other electronic elements but is reaching a performance limit as more computing power is packed into ever smaller devices.
Today, Kim and his students at MIT are exploring materials, devices, and systems that could take over where silicon leaves off. Kim is applying his insights to design next-generation devices, including low-power, high-performance transistors and memory devices, artificial intelligence chips, ultra-high-definition micro-LED displays, and flexible electronic “skin.” Ultimately, he envisions such beyond-silicon devices could be built into supercomputers small enough to fit in your pocket.
Apr 1, 2024
Memories are made by breaking DNA — and fixing it
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: biotech/medical, business, neuroscience
When a long-term memory forms, some brain cells experience a rush of electrical activity so strong that it snaps their DNA. Then, an inflammatory response kicks in, repairing this damage and helping to cement the memory, a study in mice shows. The findings, published on 27 March in Nature1, are “extremely exciting”, says Li-Huei Tsai, a neurobiologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge who was not involved in the work. They contribute to the picture that forming memories is a “risky business”, she says. Normally, breaks in both strands of the double helix DNA molecule are associated with diseases including cancer. But in this case, the DNA damage-and-repair cycle offers one explanation for how memories might form and last.
It also suggests a tantalizing possibility: this cycle might be faulty in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, causing a build-up of errors in a neuron’s DNA, says study co-author Jelena Radulovic, a neuroscientist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
Apr 1, 2024
Unlocking the Secrets of Life With RNA’s Ancient Code
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, robotics/AI
Salk scientists unveil RNA capabilities that enable Darwinian evolution at a molecular scale, and bring researchers closer to producing autonomous RNA life in the laboratory.
Charles Darwin described evolution as “descent with modification.” Genetic information in the form of DNA sequences is copied and passed down from one generation to the next. But this process must also be somewhat flexible, allowing slight variations of genes to arise over time and introduce new traits into the population.
Continue reading “Unlocking the Secrets of Life With RNA’s Ancient Code” »
Apr 1, 2024
Decoding Earth’s Cosmic Shields in Groundbreaking Study
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: particle physics, space
New insights into near-Earth space’s hazardous environment could revolutionize space weather prediction, driven by collaborative international research.
A challenge to space scientists to better understand our hazardous near-Earth space environment has been set in a new study led by the University of Birmingham.
The research represents the first step towards new theories and methods that will help scientists predict and analyze the behavior of particles in space. It has implications for theoretical research, as well as for practical applications such as space weather forecasting.