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Feb 17, 2022
Dendrites may help neurons perform complicated calculations
Posted by Kelvin Dafiaghor in category: neuroscience
Within the human brain, neurons perform complex calculations on information they receive. Researchers at MIT have now demonstrated how dendrites—branch-like extensions that protrude from neurons—help to perform those computations.
The researchers found that within a single neuron, different types of dendrites receive input from distinct parts of the brain, and process it in different ways. These differences may help neurons to integrate a variety of inputs and generate an appropriate response, the researchers say.
In the neurons that the researchers examined in this study, it appears that this dendritic processing helps cells to take in visual information and combine it with motor feedback, in a circuit that is involved in navigation and planning movement.
Feb 17, 2022
DeepMind Simulates Matter on the Nanoscale With Artificial Intelligence
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: chemistry, mapping, nanotechnology, quantum physics, robotics/AI
In a paper published by Science, DeepMind demonstrates how neural networks can improve approximation of the Density Functional (a method used to describe electron interactions in chemical systems). This illustrates deep learning’s promise in accurately simulating matter at the quantum mechanical.
In a paper published in the scientific journal Science, DeepMind demonstrates how neural networks can be used to describe electron interactions in chemical systems more accurately than existing methods.
Density Functional Theory, established in the 1960s, describes the mapping between electron density and interaction energy. For more than 50 years, the exact nature of mapping between electron density and interaction energy — the so-called density functional — has remained unknown. In a significant advancement for the field, DeepMind has shown that neural networks can be used to build a more accurate map of the density and interaction between electrons than was previously attainable.
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Feb 17, 2022
Understanding the 7 layers of the metaverse
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: computing, economics
While it’s difficult to put something as vast, conceptual, and, frankly still emerging as the metaverse in quantifiable terms, Jon Radoff breaks it down logically and thoroughly.
When it comes to describing the metaverse, definitions and opinions abound. And while it’s difficult to put something as vast, conceptual, and, frankly, still emerging as the metaverse into quantifiable terms, Jon Radoff, entrepreneur, author and game designer, breaks it down logically and thoroughly in Measuring the Metaverse. He moves up the value chain from infrastructure at the bottom to experience at the top, stopping at human interface, decentralization, spatial computing, creator economy, and discovery along the way.
A common framework is necessary in Radoff’s view of the metaverse. He writes, “And while there will be many proprietary (and very fun) theme parks in the metaverse, I’m even more excited by the opportunity in the Switzerlands: a metaverse powered by a robust creator-economy enabled through decentralization.”
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Feb 17, 2022
Flippy the Fast Food Robot Just Got Hired in 100 Restaurants
Posted by Shubham Ghosh Roy in categories: biotech/medical, economics, employment, food, robotics/AI
Before the pandemic started (ah, those glorious days…) a collective panic was mounting over automation and robots gradually replacing workers in various fields, or “stealing our jobs,” as the common refrain went. These worries haven’t subsided two years later, but they’re being countered by severe and largely unexpected labor shortages across multiple sectors of the economy. One of the industries that’s struggling most is restaurants. While we may still encounter automation-related unemployment problems down the road, right now it seems robots are lending a much-needed hand in food service.
One of these robots is none other than Flippy, initially debuted in 2017 to flip burgers at a California fast food chain. Since then Miso Robotics, Flippy’s maker, has expanded the bot’s capabilities, creating a version that can cook chicken wings, fries, and other greasy delights. This week also brought a significant expansion to Flippy’s presence as White Castle announced plans to install the robot at more than 100 restaurants this year.
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Feb 17, 2022
‘Pathetic’ performance has left U.S. ‘well behind’ China in 5G race, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says
Posted by Raphael Ramos in categories: internet, military
Eric Schmidt and co-author Graham Allison said in an op-end that 5G development is key as it could enhance a country’s military and intelligence capabilities.
Feb 17, 2022
How a Saudi woman’s iPhone revealed hacking around the world
Posted by Muhammad Furqan in categories: cybercrime/malcode, government, law, mobile phones
WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) — A single activist helped turn the tide against NSO Group, one of the world’s most sophisticated spyware companies now facing a cascade of legal action and scrutiny in Washington over damaging new allegations that its software was used to hack government officials and dissidents around the world.
It all started with a software glitch on her iPhone.
An unusual error in NSO’s spyware allowed Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and privacy researchers to discover a trove of evidence suggesting the Israeli spyware maker had helped hack her iPhone, according to six people involved in the incident. A mysterious fake image file within her phone, mistakenly left behind by the spyware, tipped off security researchers.
A trans-neptunian object has been discovered using the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope!
Feb 17, 2022
New studies highlight the potential of self-heating plasmas for fusion energy
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: nuclear energy, physics, solar power, sustainability
Most energy-producing technologies used today are unsustainable, as they cause significant damage to our planet’s natural environment. In recent years, scientists worldwide have thus been trying to devise alternative energy solutions that take advantage of abundant and natural resources.
In addition to solar energy, wind energy and seawater energy solutions, some physicists and engineers have been exploring the possibility of sourcing energy from nuclear fusion reactions. This is the process through which two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus and an energetic neutron.
Two research teams working at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) demonstrated new approaches to increase nuclear energy production via a laser-driven fusion reaction. Their findings, published in recent Nature and Nature Physics papers, open new exciting possibilities for one day using self-heating plasmas as sustainable energy sources.
Feb 17, 2022
Temperature and reproduction link holds promise for insect control
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: food, health, neuroscience
Scientists have uncovered a set of neurons in fruit flies that shut down in cold temperatures and slow reproduction, a system conserved in many insects, including mosquitoes, which could provide a target for pest control.
Their study, published Feb. 16 in the journal Current Biology, takes a step toward understanding how a fly’s brain contributes to sensing the cold and limiting reproduction. Insects and animals, including many mammals, curb reproduction in the winter to protect their newborns from being exposed to harsh winter conditions.
The study has public health and agricultural implications, as tapping into environmentally-dependent mechanisms that influence reproduction in mosquitoes and crop pests may offer new control strategies. Mosquitoes act as reservoirs for the malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasite, which spend the winter inside them.