Lifeboat Foundation

Scientists have used gene-editing techniques to boost the repair of nerve cells damaged in multiple sclerosis, a study shows. The innovative method, which was tested in mice, supports the development of cells that can repair the protective myelin coating around nerves, restoring their ability to conduct messages to the brain.

The findings, now published in Nature Communications, offer a potential route for future treatments to stop disability progression, experts say.

Our bodies have the ability to repair myelin, but in multiple sclerosis (MS), and as we age, this becomes less effective. There are currently no treatments to boost this process.

A novel type of superconductor that can operate at elevated temperatures has been found by scientists after nearly three decades of research.

David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper revealed how amino acids shape protein structure, a finding that could aid in drug discovery.

Hydrated ammonium–magnesium–phosphorus-rich grains have been discovered in Ryugu samples. Embedded within an organic-rich phyllosilicate matrix, they may have been a key source of phosphorus and nitrogen in early terrestrial water reservoirs.

Anil Seth, Neuroscientist, Author, and Public Speaker who has pioneered research into the brain basis of consciousness for more than 20 years.

Moderated by Susan Schneider, Ph.D., William F Dietrich Distinguished Professor of Philosophy in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters; Member of the Brain Institute. Schneider is founding director of the Center for the Future Mind.

Continue reading “Anil Seth’s ‘Being You? A New Science of Consciousness’” »

The RUBIK Pi is a dev board from Thundercomm that’s positioned as a platform for developers looking to work a Qualcomm AI processor.

At the heart of the board is a Qualcomm QCS6490 processor with eight ARMv8 CPU cores, Qualcomm Adreno 643 graphics, and a 6th-gen Qualcomm AI Engine that delivers up to 12.5 TOPS of AI performance. Thundercomm hasn’t announced how much the board will cost yet, but says it will be available for pre-order starting in early November.

The Army has sent at least one “robot dog” armed with an artificial intelligence-enabled gun turret to the Middle East for testing as a fresh counter-drone capability for U.S. service members, service officials confirmed.

Photos published to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service last…

The Army was testing at least one armed quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicle at an installation in Saudi Arabia.

Continue reading “Army Testing Robot Dogs Armed with Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Rifles in Middle East” »

Now a team of engineers and scientists from Caltech and the Keck School of Medicine of USC has developed a headset-based device that can be used to noninvasively assess a patient’s stroke risk by monitoring changes in blood flow and volume while a participant holds their breath.

Researchers in the lab of Caltech’s Changhuei Yang, along with colleagues from the Keck School of Medicine of USC, have developed a laser-based device that can measure blood flow noninvasively and differentiate stroke risk based on current physiological conditions.

Neural networks have a remarkable ability to learn specific tasks, such as identifying handwritten digits. However, these models often experience “catastrophic forgetting” when taught additional tasks: They can successfully learn the new assignments, but “forget” how to complete the original. For many artificial neural networks, like those that guide self-driving cars, learning additional tasks thus requires being fully reprogrammed.

Biological brains, on the other hand, are remarkably flexible. Humans and animals can easily learn how to play a new game, for instance, without having to re-learn how to walk and talk.

Inspired by the flexibility of human and animal brains, Caltech researchers have now developed a new type of algorithm that enables neural networks to be continuously updated with new data that they are able to learn from without having to start from scratch. The algorithm, called a functionally invariant path (FIP) algorithm, has wide-ranging applications from improving recommendations on online stores to fine-tuning self-driving cars.