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Jan 11, 2024

AI breakthrough creates images from nothing

Posted by in categories: information science, law, robotics/AI

A new, potentially revolutionary artificial intelligence framework called “Blackout Diffusion” generates images from a completely empty picture, meaning that the machine-learning algorithm, unlike other generative diffusion models, does not require initiating a “random seed” to get started. Blackout Diffusion, presented at the recent International Conference on Machine Learning (“Blackout Diffusion: Generative Diffusion Models in Discrete-State Spaces”), generates samples that are comparable to the current diffusion models such as DALL-E or Midjourney, but require fewer computational resources than these models.

“Generative modeling is bringing in the next industrial revolution with its capability to assist many tasks, such as generation of software code, legal documents and even art,” said Javier Santos, an AI researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory and co-author of Blackout Diffusion. “Generative modeling could be leveraged for making scientific discoveries, and our team’s work laid down the foundation and practical algorithms for applying generative diffusion modeling to scientific problems that are not continuous in nature.”

A new generative AI model can create images from a blank frame. (Image: Los Alamos National Laboratory)

Jan 11, 2024

Autonomous artificial intelligence increases screening and follow-up for diabetic retinopathy in youth: the ACCESS randomized control trial

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

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that can be prevented through screening, yet adherence is low. Here, the authors show that autonomous AI increases diabetic eye exam completion in a diverse cohort of youth with diabetes.

Jan 11, 2024

Accelerating the Iteration Cycle from Design to Deployment in Autonomous Fabrication

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability

Welcome to the thrilling world of autonomous fabrication, where the only constant is change, and the speed of that change is akin to a caffeinated cheetah on a treadmill.

This blog focuses on revolutionizing the iteration cycle in autonomous fabrication, emphasizing the need for rapid and efficient transitions from design to deployment.

The overarching theme is the synergy between advanced technology and a transformative mindset in manufacturing, aiming for smarter, more sustainable, and compliant operations.

Jan 11, 2024

Scientists Discover Genetic Mutation That Seems to Protect Against Parkinson’s

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics, health

We don’t have a cure for Parkinson’s disease yet, but a recently discovered mutation in mitochondrial DNA that seems to protect the body against the condition could one day point the way to one. Discovered in a small protein called SHLP2, the genetic variant is relatively rare – found in just 1 percent of Europeans. Yet an analysis of the health records of 16,167 people led by researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) suggests…

Jan 11, 2024

Space Force to award multiple contracts for ‘Digital Spaceport’ up to $1.9 million each

Posted by in categories: business, space

WASHINGTON — SpaceWERX, the technology arm of the U.S. Space Force, is looking to award a new round of Small Business Innovation Research contracts worth up to $1.9 million each for IT infrastructure upgrades at the Eastern and Western launch ranges.

The project known as Digital Spaceport of the Future was announced earlier this month. SpaceWERX officials on Jan. 10 said launch ranges are in dire need of IT upgrades and are seeking proposals from the private sector by February 7.

Maj. Jareth Lamb, deputy director of SpaceWERX, said during a briefing that the contracts will be “direct to Phase 2” SBIR/STTR agreements. These are Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer deals that require collaboration between small businesses and non-profit research institutions.

Jan 11, 2024

The first 3D map of magnetic fields in our galaxy explains star-forming regions

Posted by in category: space

A team of astronomers including those from the University of Tokyo have created the first-ever map of magnetic field structures within a spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. Previous studies on galactic magnetic fields only gave a very general picture, but the new study reveals that magnetic fields in the spiral arms of our galaxy break away from this general picture significantly and are tilted away from the galactic average by a high degree.

The findings, appearing in The Astrophysical Journal, suggest magnetic fields strongly impact which means they played a part in the creation of our own solar system.

It might come as a surprise to some that magnetic fields can exist on scales larger than a planet. Most of our daily experience with magnetic fields involves either sticking things to our refrigerator, or perhaps using a compass to point north. The latter shows the existence of magnetic fields generated by our planet.

Jan 11, 2024

An unprecedented supramolecular structure brings new complexities to life

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

The transcription factor FOXP3’s interactions with DNA present more evidence of the importance of disorder.

Since its earliest days, supramolecular chemistry has taken inspiration from biology. To create a ‘chemistry beyond the molecule’, supramolecular chemists can learn from the way nature builds hierarchies of organisation from the selective and orderly interactions of molecular components. At least, that’s what Jean-Marie Lehn and I argued in an overview of the subject in 2000.1 Yet while I still believe that today, I’m less sure that nature’s molecular principles can be easily translated into what Lehn has called a rational ‘science of informed matter’2 – and even less so that the principles used in supramolecular chemistry to create wonderful edifices of molecular order and design will by themselves give us anything like proto-living systems.

The reason is that life’s molecular principles are far less transparent than we thought even a few decades ago, and certainly less amenable to rational bottom-up design. An example is supplied by a new study of how a transcription-factor protein called FOXP3 interacts with DNA to influence the differentiation of regulatory T (Treg) cells, key components of the immune system, from their precursor cells. Transcription factors regulate gene expression, and one way FOXP3 seems to do this is by binding directly to DNA as dimers in which two of the proteins sit in ‘head-to-head’ contact.

Jan 11, 2024

Conditions That Change the Brain

Posted by in categories: health, neuroscience

This is definitely a good find. Helping the brain can help a lot as well as reducing inflammation. I’ll make use of the meditation feature of my Pixel watch.


The brain doesn’t always stay the same. Mental disorders, health issues, and lifestyle habits can alter the way it looks and works.

Jan 11, 2024

Cannabis and Exercise: A Novel Study Reveals Surprising Findings

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health

“The bottom-line finding is that cannabis before exercise seems to increase positive mood and enjoyment during exercise, whether you use THC or CBD. But THC products specifically may make exercise feel more effortful,” said Dr. Laurel Gibson.


How does cannabis influence workouts? Does it serve as a performance enhancer or in other ways? This is what a recent study published in Sports Medicine hopes to address, as a team of researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus investigated how cannabis influences exercise workouts and regimens, specifically pertaining to the exercise performance. This study comes almost a decade since Colorado legalized the sale of recreational marijuana and holds the potential to help researchers and the public better understand cannabis’ role in our everyday lives.

For the first-of-its-kind study that started in 2021, the researchers recruited 42 participants who were consistent cannabis users ages 21 to 39 to ascertain their responses to exercise after using cannabis and in a controlled laboratory setting. In the end, the participants reported increased enjoyment and “runner’s high” characteristics while also reporting greater levels of exertion during their exercise regimen. Additionally, the participants reported the following when the researchers asked them why they combine cannabis with their workout routines: 90.5 percent said it increases enjoyment, 69 percent said it reduces pain, 59.5 percent said it increases focus, 57.1 percent said it increases motivation, 45.2 percent stated they perceived that it speeds up time, and 28.6 percent said it improves their performance.

Continue reading “Cannabis and Exercise: A Novel Study Reveals Surprising Findings” »

Jan 11, 2024

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Egyptian Tomb and Stunning Trove of Artifacts

Posted by in category: futurism

The researchers also discovered newer burials, including remains from the Ptolemaic period (around 304 to 30 B.C.E.) and a coffin from the 18th Dynasty (roughy 1,550 to 1,295 B.C.E.). Though the coffin was damaged, it held a well-preserved vessel made of alabaster, the white mineral Egyptians often used to make perfume containers, jars and funerary decorations, according to Ahram Online.

“The artifacts and burials uncovered provide a window into the lives of those who lived in this ancient civilization,” Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, tells the publication.

Additionally, researchers found two terracotta statues of Isis, the Egyptian goddess associated with magic and resurrection, and one of the child deity Harpocrates riding a goose. The goose symbolizes “an evil spirit over which the Divine Child triumphs,” Kawai tells Live Science’s Owen Jarus.

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