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Oct 10, 2021

Check out NASA’s new multi-million dollar space toilet

Posted by in category: space

It’s the question we all want to know the answer to… what are the toilets like in space?

Well never fear the answer is here… NASA have just spent over $23 million dollars (£16 million) on a brand new toilet!

Going to the toilet is a basic human need but when you’re in space with a lack of gravity things can get a bit tricky, but it’s about to get easier.

Oct 10, 2021

The Physics of Magnetic Boots from “The Expanse”

Posted by in categories: physics, space travel

Would we act as naturally inside a spacecraft immobile in space as in the series?


Whenever I watch “The Expanse,” I pay attention to the physics. As the production is meticulous — if you notice the scenes where whiskey is served on the Moon this last season, you will see that the liquid falls according to lunar gravity’s acceleration — I always have some good surprises. Unfortunately, the series is taped on Earth, so some things would be too expensive to reproduce convincingly.

Oct 10, 2021

Why Skills Training Can’t Replace Higher Education

Posted by in category: education

It’s a disservice to students and civil society.

Oct 10, 2021

How health care AI could help train tomorrow’s physicians

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

As the medical community’s understanding of the application of augmented intelligence (AI) in health care grows, there remains the question of how AI—often called artificial intelligence—should be incorporated into physician training. The term augmented intelligence is preferred because it recognizes the enhancement, rather than replacement, of human capabilities.

Understanding how AI can affect patients may help learners appreciate its relevance, he noted, adding that the National Board of Medical Examiners exam now tests physicians-in-training on health systems science, and there are questions about health care AI specifically.

But AI doesn’t just relate to systems issues. It also has a home within evidence-based medicine (EBM).

Continue reading “How health care AI could help train tomorrow’s physicians” »

Oct 10, 2021

Brain cell differences could be key to learning in humans and AI

Posted by in categories: futurism, robotics/AI

Imperial researchers have found that variability between brain cells might speed up learning and improve the performance of the brain and future artificial intelligence (AI).

The new study found that by tweaking the electrical properties of individual cells in simulations of brain networks, the networks learned faster than simulations with identical cells.

They also found that the networks needed fewer of the tweaked cells to get the same results and that the method is less energy-intensive than models with identical cells.

Continue reading “Brain cell differences could be key to learning in humans and AI” »

Oct 10, 2021

Neuroscientists roll out first comprehensive atlas of brain cells

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

A slew of new studies now shows that the area of the brain responsible for initiating this action — the primary motor cortex, which controls movement — has as many as 116 different types of cells that work together to make this happen.

The 17 studies, appearing online Oct. 6 in the journal Nature, are the result of five years of work by a huge consortium of researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative to identify the myriad of different cell types in one portion of the brain. It is the first step in a long-term project to generate an atlas of the entire brain to help understand how the neural networks in our head control our body and mind and how they are disrupted in cases of mental and physical problems.

“If you think of the brain as an extremely complex machine, how could we understand it without first breaking it down and knowing the parts?” asked cellular neuroscientist Helen Bateup, a University of California, Berkeley, associate professor of molecular and cell biology and co-author of the flagship paper that synthesizes the results of the other papers. “The first page of any manual of how the brain works should read: Here are all the cellular components, this is how many of them there are, here is where they are located and who they connect to.”

Oct 10, 2021

Artificial intelligence can help halve road deaths by 2030

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI, sustainability

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a call for action to halve the annual rate of road deaths globally and ensure access to safe, affordable, and sustainable transport for everyone by 2030.

According to the newly launched initiative, faster progress on AI is vital to make this happen, especially in low and middle-income countries, where the most lives are lost on the roads each year.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.3 million people die annually as a result of road traffic crashes. Between 20 and 50 million more suffer non-fatal injuries, with many incurring a disability.

Continue reading “Artificial intelligence can help halve road deaths by 2030” »

Oct 10, 2021

Epidemiological Studies vs n=1: What’s Optimal For Dietary Cholesterol?

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

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Papers referenced in the video:
Dietary Intakes of Eggs and Cholesterol in Relation to All-Cause and Heart Disease Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32400247/

Continue reading “Epidemiological Studies vs n=1: What’s Optimal For Dietary Cholesterol?” »

Oct 10, 2021

Living brain donors are helping us better understand our own neurons — including those potentially linked to Alzheimer’s disease

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, evolution, neuroscience

Live human brain tissue — generously donated by brain surgery patients with epilepsy or tumors — is yielding incredible #neuroscience insights. A study on cells… See More.


As part of an international effort to map cell types in the brain, scientists identified increased diversity of neurons in regions of the human brain that expanded during our evolution.

Oct 10, 2021

Airless bike tires made of space-age metal never go flat

Posted by in category: transportation

In 2,022 a startup will begin selling airless bike tires that never go flat because they’re made out of a special NASA-developed metal alloy.