Window to the soul? Maybe, but the eyes are also a flashing neon sign for a new artificial intelligence-based system that can read them to predict what you’ll do next.
A University of Maryland researcher and two colleagues have used eye-tracking technology and a new deep-learning AI algorithm to predict study participants’ choices while they viewed a comparison website with rows and columns of products and their features.
The algorithm, known as RETINA (Raw Eye Tracking and Image Ncoder Architecture), could accurately zero in on selections before people had even made their decisions.
Researchers mapped over 10,000 mouse hippocampal #neurons, creating the world’s most comprehensive database of single-neuron #connectivity #patterns.
Summary: Researchers unveiled the most extensive single-neuron projectome database to date, featuring over 10,000 mouse hippocampal neurons.
The study provides an unprecedented view of the spatial connectivity patterns at the mesoscopic level, crucial for understanding learning, memory, and emotional processing in the hippocampus. By employing machine learning algorithms for categorizing axonal trajectories and integrating spatial transcriptome data, researchers identified 43 distinct projectome cell types, revealing intricate projection patterns and soma locations’ correspondence to projection targets.
This work, accessible via the Digital Brain CEBSIT portal, lays the structural foundation for advancing our knowledge of hippocampal functions and their molecular underpinnings.
A consensus has arisen in the astronomical community that familiar matter made of atoms is not the dominant form of matter in the Universe. Instead, an invisible form of matter, called dark matter, is thought to be far more prevalent. However, a small group of researchers deny the existence of dark matter, instead saying our understanding of how objects move is incomplete. A recent paper in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society seems to have ruled this out definitively.
Stars, planets, and galaxies move under the direction of the force of gravity, and Isaac Newton worked out the laws that govern that motion, which we now call Newtonian dynamics. However, despite the enormous success of Newtonian dynamics, this success is not universal. Indeed, when Newton’s equations are applied to certain astronomical phenomena, they do not make the correct predictions. One such example is the speed at which galaxies rotate. When astronomers measure the speed of stars in the periphery of a galaxy, they move faster than can be explained by accepted theory. Instead, the galaxies should fly apart.
The solution to this mystery favored by most scientists is that beyond the familiar stars and clouds of gas, our galaxy also hosts a large amount of invisible matter, called dark matter. This dark matter adds to the gravitational force holding the galaxy together. Thus, the evidence for dark matter is indirect. It has never been observed in the laboratory; yet its ability to explain the motion of galaxies is strong circumstantial evidence that it exists.
In the world of quantum computing, the spotlight often lands on the hardware: qubits, superconducting circuits, and the like. But it’s time to shift our focus to the unsung hero of this tale – the quantum software, the silent maestro orchestrating the symphony of qubits. From turning abstract quantum algorithms into executable code to optimizing circuit designs, quantum software plays a pivotal role.
Here, we’ll explore the foundations of quantum programming, draw comparisons to classical computing, delve into the role of quantum languages, and forecast the transformational impact of this nascent technology. Welcome to a beginner’s guide to quantum software – a journey to the heart of quantum computing.
Quantum vs. Classical Programming: The Core Differences.
Scientists identified 18 new Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs), instances where a nearby black hole violently tears apart a neighboring star.
The powerful gravitational force of the black holes rips apart the star in its vicinity, resulting in a substantial release of energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
The new catalog of TDEs was found by combing through the archival data of the satellite telescope NEOWISE. The team identified infrared patterns associated with these intense, transient bursts using a novel algorithm.
A new approach to solving arrays of two-dimensional differential equations may allow researchers to go beyond the one-dimensional oscillator paradigm.
A frictionless pendulum and a pendulum clock behave alike, but they belong to different worlds: Hamiltonian systems and dissipative systems, respectively. In the Hamiltonian world, completely integrable—that is, solvable—systems serve as a mathematical basis for dealing with more general cases that aren’t integrable. An analogous strategy doesn’t work for nonlinear non-Hamiltonian dissipative systems, however. In that case, the best researchers can achieve is partial integrability. Until recently, it was thought that an array of globally coupled oscillators could be partially integrable only if each oscillator has only one degree of freedom. Now Rok Cestnik and Erik Martens, both at Lund University in Sweden, report on a quasi-integrable system consisting of N two-dimensional oscillators described by ordinary differential equations (ODEs) [1].
This technology is perfectly suited to the spike plates in bobsleigh, which, until now, was essentially off-the-shelf. 3D printing opens up entirely new possibilities. Performance factors such as geometry – where exactly the spikes placed, the number of struts and teeth, and the weight can be efficiently varied. The spike plates can be printed quickly and inexpensively, tested by athletes until the optimal result is achieved. There is no longer a standard; the efficiency of the process allows for the production of individual plates for each athlete. The ongoing optimisations are expected to be completed by the 2026 Winter Olympics. The experts are also targeting the stiffness of the plates and, consequently, the shoes because not every athlete performs best with the same shoe stiffness.
Another milestone in this journey was reached this year. Various materials for 3D printing are now available for the spikes, tested by athletes. The use of special construction software is also new. It is utilised to optimise components for vehicles as well as equipment for BMW Group production systems in terms of weight and stiffness. This software also aids engineers at the BMW Group in designing the spike plates. It allows for the rapid, automated, and, above all, individually tailored creation of the respective 3D print data. The preferred parameters of each athlete – such as geometry, stiffness, number, and shape of spikes – are automatically incorporated into the design and adapted to the individual plates, based on 3D scans of the athletes’ shoes. This algorithmic design process results in significant time savings and maximum variability.
How can back-to-back atmospheric rivers impact the economy? This is what a recent study published in Science Advances hopes to address as a team of researchers led by Stanford University investigates the economic toll of back-to-back atmospheric rivers compared to single events. This study holds the potential to help scientists, the public, and city planners better prepare for atmospheric rivers, as they can cause widespread flooding in short periods of time.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data from the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2, (MERRA-2) between 1981 and 2021 and computer algorithms to ascertain the economic impact of atmospheric rivers throughout California. The goal was to ascertain how much worse back-to-back atmospheric rivers were compared to single events. The study’s findings discovered that back-to-back atmospheric rivers caused three times greater economic damage than single events, which is also higher when the first atmospheric river exhibits greater strength.
“Our work really shows that we need to consider the likelihood for multiple, back-to-back events for predicting damages, because damage from multiple events could be far worse than from one event alone,” said Dr. Katy Serafin, who is a coastal scientists and assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida and a co-author on the study.
We are witnessing a professional revolution where the boundaries between man and machine slowly fade away, giving rise to innovative collaboration.
Photo by Mateusz Kitka (Pexels)
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to advance by leaps and bounds, it’s impossible to overlook the profound transformations that this technological revolution is imprinting on the professions of the future. A paradigm shift is underway, redefining not only the nature of work but also how we conceptualize collaboration between humans and machines.
As creator of the ETER9 Project(2), I perceive AI not only as a disruptive force but also as a powerful tool to shape a more efficient, innovative, and inclusive future. As we move forward in this new world, it’s crucial for each of us to contribute to building a professional environment that celebrates the interplay between humanity and technology, where the potential of AI is realized for the benefit of all.
