“Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have developed the first stable semisynthetic organism — a bacterium with two new synthetic bases (called X and Y) added to the four natural bases (A, T, C, and G) that every living organism possesses. Adding two more letters to expand the genetic alphabet can be used to make novel proteins for new therapeutics, according to the researchers.”
Author Archives
How to Make America’s Robots Great Again – The New York Times
“Today, we buy a lot of stuff made in China by Chinese people. Tomorrow, we’ll buy stuff made in America — by Chinese robots.”
Source: How to Make America’s Robots Great Again – The New York Times
Navy’s Autonomous Swarm Boats Move Closer to the Battlefied | WIRED
“Future versions of these systems will be armed with non-lethal weapons that could shut down the engines of the targeted boat, and even lethal weapons that could be remotely operated by humans from afar,” says military analyst Peter Singer. “Israel, for instance, has a version that’s armed with a machine gun.”
Source: Navy’s Autonomous Swarm Boats Move Closer to the Battlefied | WIRED
Scientists identifiy the first evidence of ‘virtual particles’ hopping in and out of existence, which were first predicted in the 1930s | It’s Interesting
The theories of QED suggest that the universe is full of “virtual particles,” which are not really particles at all. They are fluctuations in quantum fields that have most of the same properties as particles, except they appear and vanish all the time. Scientists predicted the existence of virtual particles some 80 years ago, but we have never had experimental evidence of this process until now.
Neuroscientists Say Simple Mathematical Logic Underlies Complex Brain Computations | Neuroscience | Sci-News.com
“Many people have long speculated that there has to be a basic design principle from which intelligence originates and the brain evolves, like how the double helix of DNA and genetic codes are universal for every organism,” Dr. Tsien said.
“We present evidence that the brain may operate on an amazingly simple mathematical logic.”
Apple Sucks Now, Here’s A ThinkPad Buyer’s Guide
” A MacBook is a business-class laptop, and of course carries a higher price tag. However, Apple’s latest hardware release was underwhelming and overpriced. If you’re looking for a new laptop, you would do well to consider other brands. To that end, here’s a buyer’s guide to ThinkPads, currently the second most popular laptop I’ve seen with the dev/hacker/code cracker crowd.”
UVA Computer Science Professor Applies Genetic Engineering Principles to Cybersecurity | UVA Today
Double Helix is based on concept called structured diversity. It creates a number of functionally equivalent versions of a mission-critical system, but adjusts the binary code of some of these clones – the equivalent to changing their four-letter DNA code – so that properties needed for successful attacks are missing. When a cyberattack occurs, the behavior of the unprotected clones diverges from the protected ones. At this point, Double Helix will take action to recover from the attack by modifying the affected clones.
Source: UVA Computer Science Professor Applies Genetic Engineering Principles to Cybersecurity | UVA Today
Mind-Controlled Nanobots Used to Release Chemicals in Living Cockroaches
The authors believe that future designs of their technology could be used to automatically trigger drug release in humans when required.
The algorithm can be trained to track brain states that underlie ADHD or schizophrenia or otherwise be modified to suit your needs, explains study author Sachar Arnon to New Scientist. For example, if EEG detects signs of a burgeoning depressive episode, it could trigger DNA robots to expose anti-depressants briefly to counteract symptoms before they become full-blown. This way, the brain isn’t perpetually bathed in mind-altering drugs even when they’re not needed.
It’s a futuristic idea, and lots of things still need to be ironed out.
Source: Mind-Controlled Nanobots Used to Release Chemicals in Living Cockroaches
The Extraordinary Link Between Deep Neural Networks and the Nature of the Universe
Artificial neural networks are famously based on biological ones. So not only do Lin and Tegmark’s ideas explain why deep learning machines work so well, they also explain why human brains can make sense of the universe. Evolution has somehow settled on a brain structure that is ideally suited to teasing apart the complexity of the universe.
This work opens the way for significant progress in artificial intelligence. Now that we finally understand why deep neural networks work so well, mathematicians can get to work exploring the specific mathematical properties that allow them to perform so well. “Strengthening the analytic understanding of deep learning may suggest ways of improving it,” say Lin and Tegmark.
Deep learning has taken giant strides in recent years. With this improved understanding, the rate of advancement is bound to accelerate.
Source: The Extraordinary Link Between Deep Neural Networks and the Nature of the Universe
Meet PocketBlock, the crypto engineering game for kids of all ages
When you’re a cryptographer, telling your preteen kids what you do isn’t easy.
“While suitable for kids eight and older, PocketBlock is by no means restricted to kids. Troutman said it’s also suitable for professional developers who want to deepen their understanding of the way cryptographic algorithms work, given that they’re often implementing them.”
Source: Meet PocketBlock, the crypto engineering game for kids of all ages