An autonomous trucking bridge is slated for completion by the end of the year to “improve freight flow” between two freight hubs.
Get the latest international news and world events from around the world.
Why the Multiverse Is Real | Leonard Susskind
The multiverse is often dismissed as speculation — a science-fiction idea with no place in serious physics. But for many theoretical physicists, the multiverse is not a fantasy. It is a conclusion.
In this video, we explore why the multiverse may be real.
This is not an argument based on imagination or popularity. It is based on what happens when modern physics is taken seriously. Well-tested ideas like cosmic inflation, quantum mechanics, and high-energy theory naturally lead to a picture in which our universe is not unique.
Drawing on ideas associated with Leonard Susskind, this documentary explains how the multiverse emerges as a consequence, not as an assumption. In inflationary models, different regions of space stop inflating at different times, producing universes with different properties. In theories with many possible vacuum states, the laws of physics themselves can vary from one region to another.
This framework helps explain one of the deepest puzzles in physics: fine-tuning. The constants of nature appear precisely adjusted for the existence of complex structures and life. In a single-universe picture, this looks mysterious. In a multiverse, it becomes a selection effect — we observe this universe because only certain universes can be observed at all.
The multiverse raises uncomfortable questions. It challenges prediction, explanation, and even the traditional goals of science. But discomfort is not a reason to reject a theory. If the multiverse is real, physics must adapt.
New type of magnetism discovered in 2D materials to help store data
Researchers have discovered a new type of magnetism in 2D materials that can help store data.
The team led by researchers from the University of Stuttgart experimentally demonstrated the previously unknown form of magnetism in atomically thin material layers.
Researchers revealed that the discovery is highly relevant for future magnetic data storage technologies and advances the fundamental understanding of magnetic interactions in two-dimensional systems.
Planes grounded as extreme solar radiation hits essential flight controls. 6,000 jets affected
The A320 involved suffered a flight-control issue that caused a sudden drop in altitude, leaving some passengers with non-life-threatening injuries. During the investigation, a vulnerability to solar flares emerged.
As the aviation industry grows more automated and electronics-dependent, understanding space-weather threats is increasingly vital.
Recent NASA studies suggest that space weather is becoming more intense and frequent, with the Sun currently in a stronger-than-expected activity cycle (solar cycle 25) and potentially entering a period of elevated activity that could last decades.
AGI Is Here: AI Legend Peter Norvig on Why it Doesn’t Matter Anymore
Are we chasing the wrong goal with Artificial General Intelligence, and missing the breakthroughs that matter now?
On this episode of Digital Disruption, we’re joined by former research director at Google and AI legend, Peter Norvig.
Peter is an American computer scientist and a Distinguished Education Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). He is also a researcher at Google, where he previously served as Director of Research and led the company’s core search algorithms group. Before joining Google, Norvig headed NASA Ames Research Center’s Computational Sciences Division, where he served as NASA’s senior computer scientist and received the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award in 2001.He is best known as the co-author, alongside Stuart J. Russell, of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach — the world’s most widely used textbook in the field of artificial intelligence.
Peter sits down with Geoff to separate facts from fiction about where AI is really headed. He explains why the hype around Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) misses the point, how today’s models are already “general,” and what truly matters most: making AI safer, more reliable, and human-centered. He discusses the rapid evolution of generative models, the risks of misinformation, AI safety, open-source regulation, and the balance between democratizing AI and containing powerful systems. This conversation explores the impact of AI on jobs, education, cybersecurity, and global inequality, and how organizations can adapt, not by chasing hype, but by aligning AI to business and societal goals. If you want to understand where AI actually stands, beyond the headlines, this is the conversation you need to hear.
In this episode:
00:00 Intro.
01:00 How AI evolved since Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach.
03:00 Is AGI already here? Norvig’s take on general intelligence.
06:00 The surprising progress in large language models.
08:00 Evolution vs. revolution.
10:00 Making AI safer and more reliable.
12:00 Lessons from social media and unintended consequences.
15:00 The real AI risks: misinformation and misuse.
18:00 Inside Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute.
20:00 Regulation, policy, and the role of government.
22:00 Why AI may need an Underwriters Laboratory moment.
24:00 Will there be one “winner” in the AI race?
26:00 The open-source dilemma: freedom vs. safety.
28:00 Can AI improve cybersecurity more than it harms it?
30:00 “Teach Yourself Programming in 10 Years” in the AI age.
33:00 The speed paradox: learning vs. automation.
36:00 How AI might (finally) change productivity.
38:00 Global economics, China, and leapfrog technologies.
42:00 The job market: faster disruption and inequality.
45:00 The social safety net and future of full-time work.
48:00 Winners, losers, and redistributing value in the AI era.
50:00 How CEOs should really approach AI strategy.
52:00 Why hiring a “PhD in AI” isn’t the answer.
54:00 The democratization of AI for small businesses.
56:00 The future of IT and enterprise functions.
57:00 Advice for staying relevant as a technologist.
59:00 A realistic optimism for AI’s future.
#ai #agi #humancenteredai #futureofwork #aiethics #innovation.
AI expert warns we’re close to extinction
Connor Leahy discusses the motivations of AGI corporations, how modern AI is “grown”, the need for a science of intelligence, the effects of AI on work, the radical implications of superintelligence, and what you might be able to do about all of this. https://www.thecompendium.ai 00:00 The AI Race 02:14 CEOs Lying 04:02 The Entente Strategy 06:12 AI is grown, not built 07:39 Jobs 10:47 Alignment 14:25 What should you do? Original Podcast: • Connor Leahy on Why Humanity Risks Extinct… Editing: https://zeino.tv/
Can Physics Use Inconsistent Mathematics?
Discussion with logician Graham Priest on the existence of true contradictions in reality.
Please consider financially supporting my work (ONLY if you have the means).
Patreon: https://patreon.com/trsam?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join…t=copyLink.
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com.
PayPal: https://paypal.me/rsampod?country.x=AU&locale.x=en_AU
{Podcast}
Substack: https://rsampod.substack.com/podcast.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ryEqjut4r6SMtfxLdM1Le.
SFP: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rahul-samaranayake.
{Website}
Physicists solve a quantum mystery that stumped scientists for decades
Physicists at Heidelberg University have developed a new theory that finally unites two long-standing and seemingly incompatible views of how exotic particles behave inside quantum matter. In some cases, an impurity moves through a sea of particles and forms a quasiparticle known as a Fermi polaron; in others, an extremely heavy impurity freezes in place and disrupts the entire system, destroying quasiparticles altogether. The new framework shows these are not opposing realities after all, revealing how even very heavy particles can make tiny movements that allow quasiparticles to emerge.
Tumor-derived aminopeptidase N promotes early stages of brain metastatic colonization
In this study, we identified the aminopeptidase CD13 as a key mediator in a subset of human BrMs originating from breast and lung cancers, with approximately 30% of samples exhibiting cancer cell-specific CD13 expression. Notably, this prevalence aligns with previous reports in breast and lung primary tumors. In BC, CD13 cancer cell expression was documented in 36% of patient samples analyzed, with higher rates in invasive ductal carcinoma,31 while in lung cancer, 35% of patients analyzed were positive for cancer cell CD13 expression.32 These observations suggest that CD13 expression is maintained during metastatic progression to the brain, underscoring its potential as a therapeutic target. Importantly, CD13 expression in primary lung cancer is associated with significantly reduced survival, with a similar trend in BC.31,32 Consistent with these data, we show here that patients with HER2+ BC with CD13high tumors have significantly poorer clinical outcomes. These findings emphasize the importance of stratifying patients by CD13 status to better assess both its prognostic significance and therapeutic potential.
To gain mechanistic insight into CD13 function, we employed murine BrM models from three primary origins (breast, lung, and melanoma) that recapitulate distinct stages of the metastatic cascade. Notably, only the breast-BrM model exhibited robust CD13 expression, suggesting that lung cancer and melanoma may rely on alternative, CD13-independent mechanisms to colonize the brain. CD13 knockdown in breast-BrM cells significantly prolonged survival and reduced metastatic seeding following intracardiac injection. This effect was less pronounced when cancer cells were introduced directly into the brain parenchyma (intracranial injection) or implanted at the primary site (MFP), underscoring CD13’s predominant role during the initial colonization phase of metastasis.
Both gain-and loss-of-function experiments confirmed CD13’s functional importance in metastatic seeding. CD13 has been described as a moonlighting enzyme with diverse cellular functions relevant to regulating metastasis,16,17 including β1 integrin recycling,21 cell migration,21 and activation of the MAPK and PI3K pathways.33 Based on our RNA-seq analysis, CD13 overexpression may further enhance metastatic efficiency through activation of Rho family GTPases and effectors that orchestrate cytoskeletal remodeling, endothelial cell adhesion, and transendothelial migration.34 These features position CD13 as a compelling anti-cancer target; indeed, CD13 inhibition has been explored in several therapeutic development efforts. However, no brain-permeable CD13 inhibitor has yet been approved worldwide for clinical use,16 representing a critical gap in the translational landscape.