Lifeboat Foundation

Tiny, brainless jellyfish just did something that on the surface may seem impossible: the adorable creatures showed evidence of learning.

Even with just 1,000 neurons active at a time and no central brain, Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) can learn from experience, researchers argue in a new paper published September 22 in the journal Current Biology. The results aren’t surprising, say several scientists not involved in the project, but are a reminder for people to think more broadly about learning.

“If you’re an animal and have to navigate the world, you have to learn cues and consequences. Otherwise you’re dead, and you can’t reproduce,” says Christie Sahley, a… More.

Continue reading “These Adorable Jellyfish Show Learning Doesn’t Even Require a Brain” »

An analysis of data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development study, a large longitudinal study in New Zealand, showed that participants with a history of antisocial behavior had a significantly faster pace of biological aging. When these individuals reached the calendar age of 45, they were on average 4.3 years older biologically compared to those who had lower levels of antisocial behavior. The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Antisocial behavior refers to actions that consistently violate social norms, disregard the rights of others, and often involve a lack of empathy or remorse. It involves behaviors such as deceitfulness, aggression, theft, violence, lying, and other behaviors that are harmful, manipulative, or exploitative towards others.

Antisocial behavior is typically associated with youth. This type of behavior starts between the ages of 8 and 14, peaks between 15 and 19, and usually becomes less frequent between the ages of 20 and 29. Although it becomes less common with age, it seems to have a lasting negative impact on health. Studies have shown that individuals who exhibit antisocial behaviors in their youth tend to have worse health outcomes as adults compared to their peers.

About six years ago, scientists discovered a new type of more powerful neural network model known as a transformer. These models can achieve unprecedented performance, such as by generating text from prompts with near-human-like accuracy. A transformer underlies AI systems such as ChatGPT and Bard, for example. While incredibly effective, transformers are also mysterious: Unlike with other brain-inspired neural network models, it hasn’t been clear how to build them using biological components.

Now, researchers from MIT, the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, and Harvard Medical School have produced a hypothesis that may explain how a transformer could be built using biological elements in the brain. They suggest that a biological network composed of neurons and other brain cells called astrocytes could perform the same core computation as a transformer.

This video covers digital immortality, its required technologies, processes of uploading a mind, its potential impact on society, and more. Watch this next video about the world in 2200: https://bit.ly/3htaWEr.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Required Technologies.
01:42 The Processes of Uploading a Mind.
03:32 Positive Impacts On Society.
05:34 When Will It Become Possible?
05:53 Is Digital Immortality Potentially Dangerous?

Continue reading “The Future of Digital Immortality [Documentary]” »

Philosophers have wrestled with the question of whether we are truly free to decide on our actions for centuries. Now, insights from genetics, neuroscience and evolutionary biology are shedding fresh light on the issue.

By Clare Wilson

Engineers and chemists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Meta have developed a new kind of 3D-printed material capable of replicating characteristics of biological tissue, an advancement that could impact the future of “augmented humanity.”

In a paper recently published in the journal Matter, LLNL and Meta researchers describe a framework for creating a “one-pot” 3D-printable resin in which light is used to pattern smooth gradients in stiffness to approximate gradients found in biology, such as where bone meets muscle.

The framework addresses a key challenge in developing more lifelike wearables: “mechanical mismatch.” Whereas natural tissues are soft, electronic devices are usually made of rigid materials and it can be difficult and time-consuming to assemble such devices using traditional means.

Continue reading “LLNL and Meta engineers develop 3D-printed material with potential for more lifelike wearables” »

Current Biology. They trained Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora) to learn to spot and dodge obstacles. The study challenges previous notions that advanced learning requires a centralized brain and sheds light on the evolutionary roots of learning and memory.

No bigger than a fingernail, these seemingly simple jellies have a complex visual system with 24 eyes embedded in their bell-like body. Living in mangrove swamps, the animal uses its vision to steer through murky waters and swerve around underwater tree roots to snare prey. Scientists demonstrated that the jellies could acquire the ability to avoid obstacles through associative learning, a process through which organisms form mental connections between sensory stimulations and behaviors.

It lets researchers extract pixel-by-pixel information from nanoscale.

The nanoscale refers to a length scale that is extremely small, typically on the order of nanometers (nm), which is one billionth of a meter. At this scale, materials and systems exhibit unique properties and behaviors that are different from those observed at larger length scales. The prefix “nano-” is derived from the Greek word “nanos,” which means “dwarf” or “very small.” Nanoscale phenomena are relevant to many fields, including materials science, chemistry, biology, and physics.

The newly upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory successfully produced its first X-rays, and researchers around the world are already lined up to kick off an ambitious science program.

The upgrade, called LCLS-II, creates unparalleled capabilities that will usher in a new era in research with X-rays.

Scientists will be able to examine the details of quantum materials with unprecedented resolution to drive new forms of computing and communications; reveal unpredictable and fleeting chemical events to teach us how to create more sustainable industries and clean energy technologies; study how biological molecules carry out life’s functions to develop new types of pharmaceuticals; and study the world on the fastest timescales to open up entirely new fields of scientific investigation.