The genome of the SARS-CoV-2 virus encodes 29 proteins, one of which is an ion channel called E. This channel, which transports protons and calcium ions, induces infected cells to launch an inflammatory response that damages tissues and contributes to the symptoms of COVID-19. MIT chemists have now discovered the structure of the "open" [...]
Creating artificial life is a recurring theme in both science and popular literature, where it conjures images of creeping slime creatures with malevolent intentions, or super-cute designer pets. At the same time, the question arises: What role should artificial life play in our environment here on Earth, where all life forms are created by [...]
An international team of scientists, including from the University of Cambridge, have launched a new research collaboration that will leverage the same technology behind ChatGPT to build an AI-powered tool for scientific discovery. While ChatGPT deals in words and sentences, the team's AI will learn from numerical data and physics simulations from across scientific [...]
To examine the global state of AI ethics, a team of researchers from Brazil performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of global guidelines for AI use. Publishing October 13 in in the journal Patterns, the researchers found that, while most of the guidelines valued privacy, transparency, and accountability, very few valued truthfulness, intellectual property, [...]
AI is so energy-hungry that most data analysis must be performed in the cloud New energy-efficient device enables AI tasks to be performed within wearables This allows real-time analysis and diagnostics for faster medical interventions Researchers tested the device by classifying 10,000 electrocardiogram samples The device successfully identified six types of heartbeats with 95% accuracy [...]
Scientists testing a new method of sequencing single cells have unexpectedly changed our understanding of the rules of genetics. The genome of a protist has revealed a seemingly unique divergence in the DNA code signaling the end of a gene, suggesting the need for further research to better understand this group of diverse organisms. Dr. Jamie [...]
Artificial intelligence (AI) comes with promises of helping coders code faster, drivers drive safer, and making daily tasks less time-consuming. But in a commentary published October 10 in the journal Joule, the founder of Digiconomist demonstrates that the tool, when adopted widely, could have a large energy footprint, which in the future may exceed the [...]
Twenty-five years ago, in 1998, researchers in Wisconsin isolated powerful stem cells from human embryos. It was a fundamental breakthrough for biology, since these cells are the starting point for human bodies and have the capacity to turn into any other type of cell—heart cells, neurons, you name it. National Geographic would later summarize [...]
Once thought to be the trash can of the cell, a little bubble of cellular stuff called the midbody remnant is actually packing working genetic material with the power to change the fate of other cells—including turning them into cancer. It's a surprise to many people, according to Ahna Skop, a University of Wisconsin–Madison [...]
A centuries-old architectural technique has inspired a new method for tailoring nanoscale windows in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), with potential applications in gas separation and medical fields. A centuries-old technique for constructing arched stone windows has inspired a new way to form tailored nanoscale windows in porous functional materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The method uses a [...]
