Category: Just plain interesting!

They Are Using Lab-Grown Human Brains Called “Organoids” To Run Computers

Posted on by esimantiras

They Are Using Lab-Grown Human Brains Called “Organoids” To Run Computers

source: zerohedge.com (contributed by FAN, Robert Keach)  |  image: pixabay.com

 

When I first started researching this, I could hardly believe that it was true. A company in Switzerland known as “Final Spark” has constructed a bizarre hybrid biocomputer that combines lab-grown miniature human brains with conventional electronic circuits.  This approach saves an extraordinary amount of energy compared to normal computers, but there is a big problem.  The lab-grown miniature human brains keep wearing out and dying, and so scientists have to keep growing new ones to replace them. 

Stem cells that are derived from human skin tissue are used to create the 16 spherical brain “organoids” that the system depends upon.  I realize that this sounds like something straight out of a really bad science fiction movie, but it is actually happening.

Continue reading “They Are Using Lab-Grown Human Brains Called “Organoids” To Run Computers” →

Diving Drones

Posted on by esimantiras

Diving Drones

source: axios.com (contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey)  |  image: pixabay.com

 

An animal-like uncrewed underwater vehicle dubbed Manta Ray can be seen maneuvering off the Southern California coast in new footage captured during testing, Axios’ Colin Demarest reports.

  • Why it matters: Sea drones are reshaping naval combat — especially in Eastern Europe, where Ukrainian forces are sinking prized Russian ships using far smaller and cheaper tech.

The Manta Ray’s almond-shaped body, rounded nose, horizontal fins and vertical tail can be spotted in the 360-degree video shared by maker Northrop Grumman.

  • While its dimensions aren’t publicly discussed, the UUV (uncrewed underwater vehicle) looks gigantic next to people and boats.
  • The vessel glides through the water, dips below the waves and resurfaces in the clip. Little wake is seen.

The big picture: The U.S. Navy is banking on uncrewed systems to reduce logistical demands, boost surveillance and augment firepower for sailors and Marines.

VIDEO:  Take a dive with Manta Ray.  Click here to watch the video

Space: The Final Frontier for Cyberattacks

Posted on by esimantiras

Space: The Final Frontier for Cyberattacks

 

source: darkreading.com  |  image: pixabay.com

 

A failure to imagine — and prepare for — threats to outer-space related assets could be a huge mistake at a time when nation-states and private companies are rushing to deploy devices in a frantic new space race.

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack this week disabled electronic door locks across a major lunar settlement, trapping dozens of people indoors and locking out many more in lethal cold. The threat actor behind the attack is believed responsible for also commandeering a swarm of decades-old CubeSats last year and attempting to use them to trigger a chain reaction of potentially devastating satellite crashes.

Neither “incident” has happened, of course. Yet. But they well could, sometime in the not-too-distant future, and now is the time to start thinking about and planning for them. Continue reading “Space: The Final Frontier for Cyberattacks” →

Have we hit peak Apple?

Posted on by esimantiras

Have we hit peak Apple?

source: fastcompany.com  |  image: pixabay.com

 

Apple used a recent keynote at the annual WWDC event to unveil a roster of new software developments, product upgrades, and most importantly—their long-awaited AI play. Fast Company’s own Yasmin Gagne discusses Apple’s new high-stakes partnership with OpenAI, implications for app-based businesses, and investors’ reactions to the week’s news. Gagne also reads the tea leaves on Tim Cook’s future successor, explores whether we’ve reached “peak Apple,” and more. 

t was not short. I’m gonna be honest. I got a little bored, and then we hit the AI stuff, and I was fully back in.

A lot of the buzz coming in was about how Apple would enter the AI craze, which it’s been slow to do. And in classic Apple style, they rebranded AI itself, calling their offerings, “Apple Intelligence.” Continue reading “Have we hit peak Apple?” →

Swimming microrobots deliver cancer-fighting drugs…

Posted on by esimantiras

Swimming microrobots deliver cancer-fighting drugs to metastatic lung tumors in mice

 

source: sciencedaily.com  |  image: pixabay.com

 

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed microscopic robots, known as microrobots, capable of swimming through the lungs to deliver cancer-fighting medication directly to metastatic tumors. This approach has shown promise in mice, where it inhibited the growth and spread of tumors that had metastasized to the lungs, thereby boosting survival rates compared to control treatments.

The findings are detailed in a paper published on June 12 in Science Advances.The microrobots are an ingenious combination of biology and nanotechnology. They are a joint effort between the labs of Joseph Wang and Liangfang Zhang, both professors in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

To create the microrobots, researchers chemically attached drug-filled nanoparticles to the surface of green algae cells. The algae, which provide the microrobots with their movement, enable the nanoparticles to efficiently swim around in the lungs and deliver their therapeutic payload to tumors. Continue reading “Swimming microrobots deliver cancer-fighting drugs…” →

Nigeria is emerging as a critical mineral hub

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Nigeria is emerging as a critical mineral hub. The government is cracking down on illegal operations

source: apnews.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page)  | image: pixabay.com

 

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s government is cracking down on illegal mining, making dozens of arrests of unlicensed miners since April for allegedly stealing the country’s lithium, a critical mineral used in batteries for electric vehicles, smartphones and power systems.

The recent arrests come as Nigeria seeks to regulate its mining operations of critical minerals, curb illegal activity and better benefit from its mineral resources. The clean energy transition, a shift away from coal, oil and gas and toward renewable energy and batteries has spiked global demand for lithium, tin and other minerals. Illegal mines are rife in the country’s fledging industry as corruption among regulatory officials is common and the mineral deposits are located in remote areas with minimal government presence. Officials say profits from illicit mining practices has helped arm militia groups in the north of the county. Continue reading “Nigeria is emerging as a critical mineral hub” →

Report calls for U.S. biodefense buildup

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Report calls for U.S. biodefense buildup

source: axios.com (contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey)  |  image: pixabay.com

 

A new report calls on all levels of government to strengthen U.S. biodefense measures and urges policymakers to codify parts of a national strategy to address an array of biological threats.

Why it matters: Threats in the form of infectious disease outbreaks, lab accidents and biology-based weapons are expected to increase in the coming years, according to the report’s authors and other experts.

  • But biodefense investments get caught in a cycle of “panic and neglect” — an intense focus for a short period, after which policymakers, funders and the public move on, the report notes.
  • “Every future administration must ensure that the National Biodefense Strategy keeps pace with the rapidly evolving and increasing biological threat,” the authors of the 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense write. Continue reading “Report calls for U.S. biodefense buildup” →

The Next Mass Extinction?

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‘The Next Mass Extinction?’

source: cnn.com (contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey |  image: pexels.com

 

Bird flu is back. With a large outbreak still unfolding, a New York Review of Books essay by Oliver Wang asks if this particular strain, H5N1, could cause “the next mass extinction.”
 
Word of the outbreak in animals spread last summer, Wang writes, recounting eerie mass deaths of seals, sea lions, and birds on South American coasts. “By the time I spoke to [Argentine veterinarian Marcela] Uhart, the breeding season in Patagonia had ended. Over 17,000 baby elephant seals—96 percent or more of the juveniles in the region—were estimated to have died, as well as more than 500,000 birds. In some areas there were no longer any organisms to infect. Still, Uhart told me, she saw sick and dead animals on each visit to the beach: a sea lion, a duck, a tern. ‘My suspicion is that the virus will linger on,’ she said. ‘We just don’t know whether it will continue to cause epidemic outbreaks, or whether it will just trickle in like it is now.’”
Continue reading “The Next Mass Extinction?” →

Is the ‘Dead Internet’ theory suddenly coming true?

Posted on by esimantiras

Is the ‘Dead Internet’ theory suddenly coming true?

This could be a sign

source: fastcompany.com  |  image: pexels.com

No, not shrimp Jesus—though that’s noteworthy, too. We’re talking about what TikTok could be planning with AI influencers.

 

There’s been a popular theory floating around conspiracy circles for about seven or eight years now. It’s called the “Dead Internet” theory, and its main argument is that the organic, human-created content that powered the early web in the 1990s and 2000s has been usurped by artificially created content, which now dominates what people see online. Hence, the internet is “dead” because the content most of us consume is no longer created by living beings (humans).

But there’s another component to the theory—and this is where the conspiracy part comes into play. The Dead Internet theory states that this move from human-created content to artificially generated content was purposeful, spearheaded by governments and corporations in order to exploit control over the public’s perception. 

Continue reading “Is the ‘Dead Internet’ theory suddenly coming true?” →

Majority of Consumers Feel Safe With DIY Home Security: Parks Study

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Majority of Consumers Feel Safe With DIY Home Security: Parks Study

 

source: technewsworld.com  |  image:  pexels.com

 

Some 60% of consumers believe their self-monitoring home security systems keep them just as safe as monitoring provided by security pros, according to research released by Parks Associates.

“Consumers view self-monitoring as a way to be notified of what’s going on in their homes. For many of them, that can provide the peace-of-mind that’s safe enough for certain households,” Parks President and CEO Elizabeth Parks told TechNewsWorld.

Based on a survey of 8,000 U.S. internet households, the research also found that the major reason for canceling professional monitoring systems was cost, with 25% of consumers citing “fees too high” as their reason for terminating their monitoring services.

Also mentioned as reasons for cutting professional monitoring were an increased sense of neighborhood safety and a realization that the household doesn’t use its system enough.

While many consumers feel their self-monitoring systems keep them safe, professional monitoring services remain popular.

Continue reading “Majority of Consumers Feel Safe With DIY Home Security: Parks Study” →