Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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A drug molecule invented entirely by artificial intelligence is set to enter human clinical trials for the first time, marking a critical milestone for the role of machine learning in medicine.

The new compound, which has been designed to treat patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, was developed by Oxford-based AI start-up Exscientia in collaboration with the Japanese pharmaceutical firm Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma.

In a sharp acceleration of the typical path to drug development, which can take about four and a half years, the AI-designed compound reached the point of entering clinical trials within just 12 months.

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YouTube’s “next video” is a profit-maximizing recommendation system, an A.I. selecting increasingly ‘engaging’ videos. And that’s the problem.

“Computer scientists and users began noticing that YouTube’s algorithm seemed to achieve its goal by recommending increasingly extreme and conspiratorial content. One researcher reported that after she viewed footage of Donald Trump campaign rallies, YouTube next offered her videos featuring “white supremacist rants, Holocaust denials and other disturbing content.” The algorithm’s upping-the-ante approach went beyond politics, she said: “Videos about vegetarianism led to videos about veganism. Videos about jogging led to videos about running ultramarathons.” As a result, research suggests, YouTube’s algorithm has been helping to polarize and radicalize people and spread misinformation, just to keep us watching.”

By teaching machines to understand our true desires, one scientist hopes to avoid the potentially disastrous consequences of having them do what we command.

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People without ANY symptoms can spread Wuhan Coronavirus.

The nation’s top infectious disease doctor says a new study published Thursday night shows people can spread the Wuhan coronavirus before symptoms set in.

German researchers found that the virus was transmitted by people without symptoms in five instances in one cluster of people: from a parent to a daughter; from that daughter to two colleagues; and from one of those colleagues to two other coworkers.

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Olivier Feron, a University of Louvain researcher, studies how cancer spreads through the body via metastasis. His major discovery was that cancer cells multiply by using lipids as food. His latest discovery, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, is that lipid storage promotes cancer invasiveness. A new drug currently being tested to treat obesity may also help fight metastasis.

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VANCOUVER — Researchers at the University of British Columbia have confirmed that a rare clay used as medicine by aboriginals in B.C. contains antibacterial properties that could be used to to treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Some 400 kilometres north of Vancouver, on the Heiltsuk First Nation’s traditional territory, sits a 400-million kilogram deposit of glacial clay in Kisameet Bay that scientists believe was formed near the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 10,000 years ago.

The grey-green clay, known as Kisolite, has been used for centuries by the Heiltsuk First Nations to treat a range of ailments including ulcerative colitis, arthritis, neuritis, phlebitis, skin irritation, and burns. Locals also use the clay for eczema, acne and psoriasis.

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