Lifeboat Foundation

What methods can be developed to help identify symptoms of myopia and its more serious version, myopic maculopathy? This is what a recent study published in JAMA Ophthalmology hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated how artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can be used to identify early signs of myopic maculopathy, as left untreated it can lead to irreversible damage to a person’s eyes. This study holds the potential to help researchers develop more effective options for identifying this worldwide disease, as it is estimated that approximately 50 percent of the global population will suffer from myopia by 2050.

“AI is ushering in a revolution that leverages global knowledge to improves diagnosis accuracy, especially in its earliest stage of the disease,” said Dr. Yalin Wang, who is a professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University and a co-author on the study. “These advancements will reduce medical costs and improve the quality of life for entire societies.”

For the study, the researchers used a novel AI algorithm known as NN-MobileNet to scan retinal images and classify the severity of myopic maculopathy, which currently has five levels of severity in the medical field. The team then used deep neural networks to determine what’s known as the spherical equivalent, which is how eye doctors prescribe glasses and contacts to their patients. Combining these two methods enabled researchers to create a new AI algorithm capable of identifying early signs of myopic maculopathy.

https://rdcu.be/dVhCN

Imagine trying to understand the brain’s activity over time—an incredibly complex and dynamic process that happens at different speeds.

To solve this problem, we developed a pipeline called UnitMatch, which operates after spike sorting. Before applying UnitMatch, the user spike sorts each recording independently using their preferred algorithm. UnitMatch then deploys a naive Bayes classifier on the units’ average waveform in each recording and tracks units across recordings, assigning a probability to each match.

Continue reading “Tracking neurons across days with high-density probes” »

Researchers have developed a new architecture for optical computing called diffraction casting, offering power-efficient processing by using light waves.

This method promises better integration and flexibility for high-performance computing tasks and could be used in fields like AI and machine learning.

Optical Computing

Did you know certain seed-heavy fruits like raspberries are actually healthier if you blend them in a smoothie?

I learned this and more while researching for my article on the best longevity recipes:

We took the top anti-aging foods and combined them into a list of the best longevity recipes to help you live a longer, tastier life.

With this success, Synchon is looking to take its experiments to the next level by adding more participants in a larger study. CEO Tom Oxley claims that their future study would focus more on ‘gathering brain data to improve the BCI.

Are Brain-Computer Interfaces the Future of Technology?

Different companies have already begun their developments and clinical trials of their brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) which need to be implanted on human test subjects, centering mostly on paraplegic patients. One of the most famous companies behind this is Elon Musk’s Neuralink, and their first patient, Noland Arbaugh, testified how the implant can help in controlling technology, and in his case, gaming.

“The new funding will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems,” https://openai.com/index/scale-the-benefits-of-ai/” rel=“noopener”>OpenAI said in its announcement of the deal on Wednesday.

The funding comes as the nine-year-old AI startup led by CEO Sam Altman faces increasing competition from the likes of https://fortune.com/company/alphabet/”>Google, Meta, and other AI startups, and at a time when OpenAI is dealing with its own growing pains—most famously, a boardroom coup last year in which Altman was briefly fired and then reinstated in a span of five days.

Since then, the company has been roiled by a https://fortune.com/2024/09/26/mira-murati-exit-openai-altma…ors-coup/”>string of high-level departures as it seeks to https://fortune.com/2024/09/13/sam-altman-openai-non-profit-…ext-year/”>evolve from its roots as a nonprofit research lab to a producer of commercial products capitalizing on the industrywide AI gold rush. Last month, OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati unexpectedly resigned to “create the time and space to do my own exploration.” And as Fortune reported this week, some insiders have voiced concerns that the https://fortune.com/2024/10/01/openai-sam-altman-mira-murati…ent-year/”>company’s commitment to safety has taken a back seat in the rush to release new products ahead of rivals.

A pair of Harvard students successfully rigged Meta-formerly-Facebook and Ray Ban’s smart glasses with facial recognition software.

People genetically adapted to diving, 13 min. is a record, not average for them, they are exceptional anyway.

Picture yourself holding your breath. How long can you last underwater? A minute? Two? You probably imagined yourself sitting a foot or so beneath the surface of a pool during this exercise, but consider how long you can hold your breath actively swimming as deep below the surface of the ocean as you can go. This would probably look like maybe 30 seconds of swimming down followed by a rush to the surface. The Bajau people of the Philippines, though, according to reports, could quite confidently imagine swimming 200 feet below the ocean surface for up to 13 minutes.

These abilities aren’t merely the result of dedicated training. The Bajau people have lived their lives at sea for generations, so much so that they’ve developed special adaptations to their oceanic lifestyle.

In collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya and with financial contributions from the British Council Cultural Protection Fund, ICCROM is engaged in a community-centred project focused on the long-term preservation of fossil footprints that date back to approximately 1.5 million years ago. The fossil was found in Ileret, a village on the northeastern shore of Lake Turkana, Kenya.