Lifeboat Foundation

Quantum physics sets the laws that dominate the universe at a small scale. The ability to harness quantum phenomena could lead to machines like quantum computers, which are predicted to perform certain calculations much faster than conventional computers. One major problem with building quantum processors is that the tracking and controlling quantum systems in real time is a difficult task because quantum systems are overwhelmingly fragile: Manipulating these systems carelessly introduces significant errors in the final result. New work by a team at Aalto could lead to precise quantum computers.

The researchers report controlling quantum phenomena in a custom-designed electrical circuit called a transmon. Chilling a transmon chip to within a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero induces a quantum state, and the chip starts to behave like an artificial atom. One of the quantum features that interests researchers is that the energy of the transmon can only take specific values, called energy levels. The energy levels are like steps on a ladder: A person climbing the ladder must occupy a step, and can’t hover somewhere between two steps. Likewise, the transmon energy can only occupy the set values of the energy levels. Shining microwaves on the circuit induces the transmon to absorb the energy and climb up the rungs of the ladder.

In work published 8 February in the journal Science Advances, the group from Aalto University led by Docent Sorin Paraoanu, senior university lecturer in the Department of Applied Physics, has made the transmon jump more than one energy level in a single go. Previously, this has been possible only by very gentle and slow adjustments of the microwave signals that control the device. In the new work, an additional microwave control signal shaped in a very specific way allows a fast, precise change of the energy level. Dr. Antti Vepsäläinen, the lead author, says, “We have a saying in Finland: ‘hiljaa hyvää tulee’ (slowly does it). But we managed to show that by continuously correcting the state of the system, we can drive this process more rapidly and at high fidelity.”

Or bad drugs given to good people by doctors who were clueless 🙈

‘’The study found that the gut microbes were responsible for producing 20 percent to 80 percent of the circulating toxic metabolites derived from the three drugs.

Continue reading “Microbiome could be culprit when good drugs do harm” »

Built on thousands of retina images, algorithm helps diagnose eye problem caused by diabetes.

CRISPR is a technique that is revolutionizing biomedical research through high-precision genome editing. However, even though it allows the creation or correction of mutations consisting of a single or few nucleotides with relative ease, it still possesses limitations for larger fragments of DNA in the genome. For instance, the genomic insertion of a gene that produces a fluorescent protein such as the widely-used GFP suffers from poor efficiency and involves complicated cloning steps.

These robotic delivery dogs could be at your door someday (via Seeker)

https://fcld.ly/88qtuut

Ignorance is bliss, until it isn’t…,and it becomes experience.

“We fail our most cognitively talented students when we set them up for adult expectations that they must be high achieving, or we don’t help them find their own unique path to self-actualization and contribution to society. In today’s polarized world, with a general lack of nuance and open and honest critical discussions, I also think a very large number of intellectually gifted children are growing up knowing they are bright, but wondering: what for?”

What is the relationship between intellectual giftedness and meaning in life?

Continue reading “Are Intellectuals Suffering a Crisis of Meaning?” »

The researchers suspect that it will someday work on human amputees too.

~ David J. Kelley

Essentially, we are asking for volunteers to be part of one or two of three groups that will help us conduct a cognitive function high-level study of a type of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) based on a cognitive architecture termed the Independent Core Observer Model (ICOM). Yes, I realize this is a lot of complex technospeak, but if you want to really get technical you can refer to a glossary and references (at the end of this document)—but primarily, I’ll try to keep the details in a more non-AI scientist sort of language (meaning normal English).

That said, what you are volunteering for is, again, to be part of one or two out of three research groups that will perform a type of task depending on your ability to participate—and you get to select the group that works best for you. From our statistical standpoint, our resident research psychologist Dr. Amon Twyman) has stated that we need these groups to be a certain size to ensure that we can obtain even vague conclusions—so we need more help to ensure our pool size is large enough.

Continue reading “Volunteer to Help Build Artificial General Intelligence based on Human-like Emotions” »