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Jan 10, 2017

Model sheds light on inhibitory neurons’ computational role

Posted by in categories: biological, neuroscience, robotics/AI

Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have developed a new computational model of a neural circuit in the brain, which could shed light on the biological role of inhibitory neurons — neurons that keep other neurons from firing.

The model describes a neural circuit consisting of an array of input neurons and an equivalent number of output neurons. The circuit performs what neuroscientists call a “winner-take-all” operation, in which signals from multiple input neurons induce a signal in just one output neuron.

Using the tools of theoretical computer science, the researchers prove that, within the context of their model, a certain configuration of inhibitory neurons provides the most efficient means of enacting a winner-take-all operation. Because the model makes empirical predictions about the behavior of inhibitory neurons in the brain, it offers a good example of the way in which computational analysis could aid neuroscience.

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Jan 10, 2017

Capturing the Intelligence of the Crowd: How to Create Your Own Super AI

Posted by in categories: finance, robotics/AI

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AkLs9nVHv28

In Brief

  • Numerai is making a collective artificial intelligence in order to make stock market predictions.
  • So far, their data scientists have submitted over 12 billion equity price predictions in less than a year

There’s a new way to make stock market predictions. One company, Numerai, is synthesizing machine intelligence to command the capital of an American hedge fund.

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Jan 10, 2017

The future can be a very strange place 😂

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

Can you tell if she is human or robot? 😂 😂

Like this page for more FUN videos = Karen X. Cheng.

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Jan 9, 2017

The Army is Testing Genetically Engineered Spider Silk for Body Armor

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

Inserting spider DNA into silkworms yields a tough fabric that’s far more flexible than Kevlar.

Spider silk is one of nature’s toughest substances, similar in strength to the Kevlar plastic found in bulletproof vests but much more flexible. Kraig Biocraft, a company out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, genetically altered silkworms to produce a fiber that’s similar to pure spider silk. Today, they announced an Army contract to test this so-called Dragon Silk for possible use in body armor.

There’s a reason that silk from worms is cheap but you can’t buy pajamas made from spider fabric: spiders are territorial and cannibalistic, which makes farming them for fabric production almost exorbitant.

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Jan 9, 2017

DARPA’s Biotech Chief Says 2017 Will “Blow Our Minds”

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, military

The Pentagon’s research division is betting its high-risk, high-reward programs will change medicine.

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Jan 9, 2017

Ford aims for self-driving car with no gas pedal, no steering wheel in 5 years, CEO says

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, transportation

Ford Motor CEO Mark Fields, Monday on CNBC, explained the automaker’s ambitious plan to create the autonomous vehicle of the future.

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Jan 9, 2017

Scientists Created Tiny Bio Bot That Could Deliver Drugs From Under the skin

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, robotics/AI

Cannot wait to see the day that when we think of tech companies that we think of Microbio, or Applgen, AlphaBio, etc. When Bio/ Medical is so intertwine with tech that the need for devices are the past; is a great day for me.


A new kind of tiny robot that can heal cancer.

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Jan 9, 2017

Energy all around us could power under-skin implants and sensors in aircrafts – Dr Gonzalo Murillo

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

There is unlimited kinetic energy all around us and harnessing it could change the way we interact with the world forever, according to Dr Gonzalo Murillo from the National Microelectronics Center of Spain, whose research into piezoelectric materials has earned him an award for the most novel innovator under 35 in Europe 2016 from the MIT Technology Review, US.

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Jan 9, 2017

Nano Ganesh: How mobile phone tech helped 400,000 Maharashtra farmers water plants remotely

Posted by in categories: food, mobile phones, sustainability

If SANTOSH Ostwal and his wife, Rajashree Otswal, were to calculate the number of electricity units saved or the amount of water conserved in terms of money, thanks to their invention, it would be enough to set up a small power plant or building a small dam. The end to a farmer’s daily drudgery and sleepless nights, though, is hard to convert into currency. But then money is something the Ostwal couple have not seen much of in their long journey of taking technology to the farms.

Much before information and communication technology (ICT) for agriculture and rural development became buzzwords and ‘e’ got hyphenated to everything, the Ostwals, both engineers, ventured into wireless irrigation and mobile-to-mobile (M2M) communication systems for agriculture. A remotely controlled pump using the mobile phone and combing it with some clever electronics was the innovation that has made the lives of farmers easier.

The Ostwals’ invention has impacted the lives of four lakh farmers with 50,000 installations in the last 12 years. A smart and affordable device, Nano Ganesh, saves farmers from making treacherous trips in pitch dark to their farms at midnight to access their water pumps and operate them, a daily reality, especially with erratic power supply. When the tired farmer fails to go out and switch off the water pump, there’s wastage of water and electricity. In addition, the excess water damages the soil and crop, hurting them further. If that is not enough, there is the theft of water pumps and cables to be dealt with. These are the problems that the couple set to solve.

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Jan 9, 2017

Brain cell powerhouses appear good treatment target for stroke, TBI recovery

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Cell powerhouses are typically long and lean, but with brain injury such as stroke or trauma, they can quickly become bloated and dysfunctional, say scientists who documented the phenomena in real time for the first time in a living brain.

The scientists also found that without giving these mitochondria anything but time, they often resume their usual healthy shape once blood and oxygen were restored to mild or moderately damaged tissue, said Dr. Sergei Kirov, neuroscientist in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

“We believe this is good evidence that mitochondria can recover their normal form following brief periods of ischemia from stroke or trauma and that drugs that enhance their recovery may improve overall recovery from these sorts of injuries,” Kirov said.

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