Saturday - May 13 2023, 01:11 UTC - 1 year ago

Hawking and I worked together for twenty years to crack the riddle of cosmic design, tackling theoretical questions about the laws of physics, the multiverse, and quantum mechanics. We managed to explain the vastness and complexity of the cosmos and the life-engendering properties of matter and energy in the universe by adopting a theory from an observer’s perspective.

Saturday - May 13 2023, 00:03 UTC - 1 year ago

An international research team has revealed the underlying mechanism of why chemical reactions are slowed down in mirrored cavities, where molecules interact with light. Using Quantum-Electrodynamical Density-Functional Theory, the team found that the conditions inside the optical cavity affect the energy which makes atoms vibrate around the molecule’s single bonds, which is critical for the reaction.

Friday - May 12 2023, 23:00 UTC - 1 year ago

OpenAI and other major AI providers are coordinating with the Biden administration to allow thousands of hackers to test the limits of their respective artificially intelligent chatbots. These tests will be designed to discover any vulnerabilities to malicious behavior and/or algorithmic bias present in the AI models. The mass hacking event is set to take place late this summer at DEF CON and will emphasize the importance of empowering collaborative efforts to address issues of ethical concern regarding AI technology.

Friday - May 12 2023, 21:00 UTC - 1 year ago

Tropic, an agricultural-biotechnology company, has created a variety of gene-edited bananas called ‘non-browning’, which have disease resistance and have been approved by the Philippines Department of Agriculture. They could potentially reduce food waste and CO2 emissions by over 25%. The company hopes their non-browning bananas can soon be freely imported into the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

Friday - May 12 2023, 19:41 UTC - 1 year ago

Researchers are using artificial intelligence and a 3000-year-old water harvesting technique to combat the $13 billion annual loss caused by sand and dust storms in the Middle East and North Africa. Human-induced climate change and anthropogenic factors have worsened the situation and the research team is looking into socio-political changes to further understand the issue.

Friday - May 12 2023, 17:37 UTC - 1 year ago

UCLA researchers developed an acoustic solution using hydrophones on fire hydrants and novel algorithms to detect and locate leaks in complex water distribution networks, aiding in water conservation efforts.

Friday - May 12 2023, 16:35 UTC - 1 year ago

The birth of a baby to a U.K. couple using DNAs of three people through mitochondrial donation treatment is a first of its kind in the country. The procedure is used to prevent any mitochondrial diseases as it uses mitochondria from a healthy donor egg. It may set the grounds for great advancements by leading to a possible elimination of mitochondrial diseases in the future.

Friday - May 12 2023, 15:02 UTC - 1 year ago

A study led by the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER Initiative effectively established that having diagnosed sleep apnea significantly increases the risk of long COVID in adults, persisting after accounting for known factors contributing to long COVID such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hospitalization during initial infection. Interestingly, and in contrast to adults, the risk of long COVID associated with sleep apnea in children disappeared when considering other factors like sex, race, and ethnicity.

Friday - May 12 2023, 13:28 UTC - 1 year ago

A family in Hopewell, New Jersey, was surprised to have a meteorite crash through their roof, and police investigating the incident believe it may be related to the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. Scientists are studying the incident and researching if it is related to the meteor shower or another source. This incident might potentially be related to Hopewell, Ohio, which experienced a meteorite rain thousands of years ago leading to the demise of the Hopewell culture.

Friday - May 12 2023, 11:31 UTC - 1 year ago

This article provides insight into the unintentional creation of a racially biased artificial intelligence algorithm in 1998 and the dangers these biases still face today. Self-titled "Poet of Code" Joy Buolamwini's video poem "AI, Ain't I a Woman?" exposes racial and gender biases found in automatic face recognition systems while sociological theories of privilege help explain the presence of these biases in AI.

Friday - May 12 2023, 09:52 UTC - 1 year ago

In the last few weeks, multiple open-source large language models have been released aiming to counter the grip of the big tech companies on AI. This open-source innovation is likely to benefit the development of AI, but is also precarious and many of these models rely on the big tech to generate the models in the first place.

Friday - May 12 2023, 08:31 UTC - 1 year ago

Researchers have found that the rapid melting of glaciers due to climate change is causing widespread habitat loss for the invertebrates that live in the cold meltwater rivers of the European Alps, and calls on conservationists to consider new measures to protect aquatic biodiversity. The research paper was recently published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution and the results showed that the invertebrates, which include stoneflies, midges, and flatworms, play a key role in nutrient cycling, and are expected to be limited to higher, colder habitats in the mountains which are also under threat from skiing, tourism, and the development of hydroelectric plants.

Friday - May 12 2023, 06:33 UTC - 1 year ago

AI-created art is becoming ubiquitous, with Swedish multinational engineering company Sandvik recently unveiling the 'Impossible Statue': a sculpture made of stainless steel designed by combining five of the world's most renowned sculptors. While some debate the level of machine vs human creativity in art, the statue provides insight into AI's latent potential for creating artwork never seen before.

Friday - May 12 2023, 04:59 UTC - 1 year ago

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has observed GJ 1214 b, a distant mini-Neptune exoplanet outside our solar system, to reveal what is likely a highly reflective world with a steamy atmosphere. Data collected suggests that the atmosphere of GJ 1214 b is not composed mainly of lighter hydrogen molecules, but a water-rich one. Its shiny atmosphere reflects a large fraction of the light from its parenthost star which results in cooler than predicted temperatures.

Friday - May 12 2023, 03:35 UTC - 1 year ago

In a groundbreaking new development, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia, developed a machine learning program called CRANK-MS that shows promise in detecting Parkinson's disease earlier before the onset of symptoms. This tool analyzes biomarkers in patients' bodily fluids and could be used as an early detection tool when atypical symptoms appear, either confirming or ruling out the risk of developing Parkinson's in the future.

Friday - May 12 2023, 01:52 UTC - 1 year ago

The five large moons of Uranus are important targets for future spacecraft missions because they may host residual oceans a few tens of kilometers thick at present; however, Miranda is unlikely to host liquid at present. Thermal metamorphism could create a late, second generation ocean in Titania and Oberon which could be detectable by future spacecraft-based magnetometers if the ocean is maintained primarily by ammonia. These models represent a baseline for the formulation of observations with the Uranus Orbiter and Probe.

Friday - May 12 2023, 00:41 UTC - 1 year ago

Google's I/O conference yesterday highlighted the company's commitment to AI-driven core products and the added importance of internal responsibility regulations. Many demos were featured, ranging from Gmail to Google Photos and a new G2 AI processor.Google CEO Sundar Pichai made it clear what the company was focusing on - not a new phone, but AI. Deeper integration into both the Android OS and Google's existing products with more than 2 billion users is the company's clear focus. This could be seen as a flex from the company, in order to answer the criticisms that Microsoft Bing and OpenAI are outdoing them. Even with this flex, there was a focus on internally responsible AI development.

Thursday - May 11 2023, 23:30 UTC - 1 year ago

A study from Lund University in Sweden has identified the environmental conditions that promote multicellularity by studying green algae in Swedish lakes, providing new insights into the evolutionary paths of life. The findings challenge the belief that multicellularity evolves due to inherent benefits, such as protection against predators. Instead, the study shows it forms as a by-product of single-celled organisms’ strategies to reduce environmental stress, with no costs or benefits to living in groups. The results contribute to our understanding of the origins of biological diversity and how green algae reproduce in various environmental conditions.

Thursday - May 11 2023, 21:46 UTC - 1 year ago

Scientists have developed a personalized mRNA vaccine to target and fight pancreatic cancer, which is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the US. 16 patients participated in phase 1 trials and showed improvement in their immune response when given the vaccine alongside chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The results have been published in the Nature journal.