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Unlocking the Mysteries of the Fruit Fly Brain: How a Gigantic Map of Neurons is Transforming Neuroscience

The first complete brain-wiring diagram of a small insect, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, was recently produced by scientists. The map depicts 3,016 neurons and 548,000 synapses tightly packed in the brain of a young Drosophila, which is the size of a poppy seed. This groundbreaking study is significant because it for the first time provides a brain-wiring diagram known as the connectome of a complex animal.

This diagram depicts how the brain processes sensory information and converts it into action. This reference brain can help researchers learn more about neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The researchers used a nanometre-resolution electron microscope to capture images of the brain of a single six-hour-old Drosophila larva, and then used a computer-assisted program to pinpoint the neurons and synapses. The researchers followed each neuron’s twisting connections and annotated 548,000 synapses into four types, demonstrating that the insect’s brain was multilayered.

The current map contains data from a single animal, but the authors believe that technological advances will allow them to map more flies—and eventually other species—in the future. This study is regarded as a watershed moment in neuroscience, and there are plans to map the adult Drosophila brain, which has more neurons and is more complex.

Source: Nature (link)
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Space Medicine Revolution: How Blue Origin’s Innovations Are Transforming Astronaut Health

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, is pioneering new technologies to revolutionize space exploration. Robotic surgery, radiation shielding, and artificial gravity systems are examples of these technologies.

The Robotic-Assisted Surgery System (RASS) is a robotic arm that enables astronauts to receive medical treatment while in space. It is capable of performing a wide range of procedures in a sterile environment, including biopsies, suturing, and wound care. Blue Origin is also working on new radiation shielding technology to protect astronauts from the hazardous levels of radiation in space.

Furthermore, the company is looking into other ways to mitigate the effects of microgravity, such as using artificial gravity systems to reduce the amount of muscle atrophy experienced by astronauts during long-term space missions. Furthermore, Blue Origin has created the Blue Origin Health Monitoring System (BHMS), a set of medical diagnostic tools designed to monitor and track the health of astronauts on long-term missions.

These technologies have the potential to make space exploration safer and more efficient, as well as to improve astronaut health and well-being in space.

Source: TS2 Space (link)
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Why We Disagree So Often: New Study Reveals the Surprising Truth Behind our Misaligned Concepts

A new study conducted by psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley sheds light on why people tend to talk over each other, especially during heated debates. According to the findings, even the most basic concepts, such as animals and politicians, can be perceived and described differently by people as a result of their lived experiences.

The researchers enlisted over 2,700 people to make similarity judgments about animals and politicians, and they discovered significant variation in how people conceptualize even simple animals like penguins. The likelihood that two people chosen at random will have the same idea about penguins is only about 12%, indicating that people disagree on even the most basic animal characteristics.

The study also found that people significantly overestimate the number of people who share their conceptual beliefs, which leads to misunderstandings and misaligned concepts. This finding is especially pertinent in today’s polarized society, where political words are far less likely than animal words to have a single meaning.

The study suggests that asking simple questions like “What do you mean?” can keep a disagreement on track, and that working out disagreements is critical to understanding each other’s points of view. The study is significant because it demonstrates that most people we meet will not have the same concept of ostensibly clear-cut things, such as animals, and that their concepts may be radically different.

Source: Berkley Education (link)
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How to detoxify and defuse social conversations, using ChatGPT

Been on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks lately? A toxic zoo, right?  

“More than 100 billion messages are sent every day on Facebook and Instagram alone, and approximately 7 billion conversations occur daily on Facebook Messenger,” say researchers at Brigham Young University and Duke University.

Such conversations can have far-reaching impacts. “Some of the most significant social movements have recently emerged out of sprawling conversations on social media. And discussions between high-profile social media users can shape the stock market, politics, and many other aspects of the human experience.

However, “toxicity in conversations increases polarization and corrodes the capacity of diverse societies to cooperate in solving social problems,” they note. “Nearly half of social media users report observing mean or cruel behavior.” 

Chat assistant as neutral moderator

Now there’s a proposed solution: Reduce divisiveness and improve the quality of conversations, using a large language model, ChatGPT. To test that idea, the researchers conducted a large-scale experiment, choosing the perennial controversial argument: gun control.

Respondents write messages unimpeded until, at predefined intervals, the chat assistant intercepts the treated user’s message, using GPT-3 to propose evidence-based alternative phrasings while retaining the semantic content. (Credit: Brigham Young University and Duke University)

The chat assistant suggests randomly ordered alternatives to the message author: accept or edit any of these rephrasing suggestions, or send their original message. That choice is then sent to their partner, and the conversation continues.

In the research, the chat assistant recommended real-time, context-aware and evidence-based ways to rephrase messages with specific wording during a live, online conversation. esult: improved conversation quality and decreased divisiveness.  

How to reduce toxicity

These suggestions were based on three specific techniques for improving conversations without affecting the content of the message:

Restatement: simply repeating back a person’s main point to demonstrate understanding;

Validation: positively affirming the statement made by the other person without requiring explicit statements of agreement (e.g. “I can see you care a lot about this issue”).

Politeness: modifying the statement to use more civil or less argumentative language. 

In an arXiv paper, the authors report that these techniques improved conversation quality and tone and reduced political divisiveness.

“Our use of AI in this experiment does not seek to change participants’ minds. The research shows that the benefits of such conversations do not require persuasion or agreement between participants on the issues discussed. Each person’s perspective was heard, understood, and respected.“ 

Citation: Argyle, L. P., Busby, E., Gubler, J., Bail, C., Howe, T., Rytting, C., & Wingate, D. (2023). AI Chat Assistants can Improve Conversations about Divisive Topics. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.07268

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Ledger Launches Browser Extension for Easier and Safer Crypto Wallet Connectivity

Ledger, one of the world’s largest crypto wallet providers, has released a new browser extension to improve digital asset security and connectivity.

Users can connect to their crypto wallets and interact with decentralized applications directly via Bluetooth using the Ledger Extension, while remaining protected by the hardware security of their cold wallets. The extension also includes two security measures to keep users safe: smart contract analysis to detect potentially malicious transactions and transaction simulation to demonstrate the impact on the wallet. Although the Ledger Extension is currently only available for Safari, iOS, and MacOS, the company plans to add support for Windows and other browsers in the near future.

Ledger’s focus on improving crypto connectivity and security aims to make it easier for consumers and businesses to interact with dApps and platforms in the space. It hopes to bridge the gap between the technical complexities of the crypto space and mainstream adoption by doing so. As the crypto space evolves, the Ledger Extension is an important step toward securing the future of web3.

Source: TechCrunch (link)
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Revolutionizing Cybersecurity: Beyond Identity’s Zero Trust Authentication Initiative Takes on the Hackers

Beyond Identity has begun a Zero Trust Authentication initiative to secure infrastructure and data by eliminating arbitrary perimeters and requiring authentication from all users and endpoints. The initiative, which aims to codify how IT should apply the zero trust framework in practice, is supported by major companies such as Optiv, Palo Alto Networks, Zero Scaler, Ping Identity, and Crowdstrike. The initiative aims to protect corporate accounts and credentials from phishing and ransomware attacks, among other threats, by eliminating arbitrary perimeters. The program is intended to address the security, password, and MFA gaps that can allow attacks like the one that resulted in the hacking of a LastPass engineer’s corporate laptop in 2022. The Zero Trust Authentication initiative includes a set of measures that businesses can use to strengthen defenses and protect endpoints from lateral movement. Protocols include, among other things, passwordless and phishing-resistant systems, continuous risk assessment, device validation and analysis, and integration with security infrastructure. According to Beyond Identity’s VP of product and solutions, continuous monitoring is critical to security, and Beyond Identity’s policy engine takes signals in and sends instructions out to authenticate or not authenticate to single sign-on systems.

Source: Tech Republic (link)
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Ethereum’s Web3 URL: Access DApps and NFTs Without Centralized Censorship

ERC-4804, a new standard for Web3 URLs introduced by Ethereum, allows internet users to access decentralized applications (DApps) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) without fear of centralized censorship. Web3 URLs work similarly to HTTP URLs, and the new standard allows users to access on-chain Web3 content directly. It was proposed on February 14, 2022, by ETHStorage founder Qi Zhou, Ethereum researcher Sam Wilson, and Chao Pi. On March 1, ERC-4804 was approved and finalized on the mainnet.

While the new Web3 URLs standard theoretically allows access to entire websites stored on the Ethereum blockchain, the prohibitively expensive costs of on-chain storage present a challenge. On-chain data storage is expensive, according to ETHStorage founder Qi Zhou, costing around $10 million for 1 GB of data. Many web2 applications and NFTs are rendered impractical as a result, but layer-2 storage solutions may help mitigate some of the costs.

The new Web3 URL standard, on the other hand, is useful for specific applications that require protection from centralized censorship. Censorship threatens decentralized apps like Tornado Cash and others, and Web3 URLs give users direct access to them. The new standard is the first of its kind for Ethereum, and it offers a decentralized web hosting alternative.

Source: Cointelegraph (link)
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Scientists Confirm the Incredible Existence of Time Reflections

Time reflection, a phenomenon previously only theorized by scientists for over 50 years, has been confirmed by researchers in New York City. Time reflections occur when the entire medium through which an electromagnetic wave travels abruptly changes direction, causing a portion of the wave to reverse and its frequency to change. The researchers observed this phenomenon using an engineered metamaterial that allowed them to trigger switches at will, doubling impedance along the strip and causing the signals to carry a successful time-reversed copy. Time reflections behave differently than spatial reflections, with the time echo reflecting the last part of the signal first, and the shift in frequency would appear to the eyes as colors of light abruptly changing to another color. Time reflection is difficult to study because of its counter-intuitive nature.

The implications of this discovery are enormous, with minute control of electromagnetic waves capable of vastly improving wireless communications and even leading to advances in low-energy, wave-based computers. Understanding electromagnetic waves in both directions is critical for these advancements. This ground-breaking discovery advances our understanding of the nature of time and could pave the way for exciting new technologies. The headline “Scientists Confirm the Incredible Existence of Time Reflections” piques readers’ interest and draws them in to learn more about this fascinating discovery.

Source: Popular Mechanics (link)
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Wyoming’s New Law Protects Digital Asset Owners’ Privacy

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has signed legislation to protect digital asset owners’ privacy. Except in cases where individuals are required to disclose the ownership or transfer of crypto during a lawful proceeding, the law prohibits courts from requiring individuals to disclose their private keys. According to the new law, Wyoming courts will no longer compel individuals to provide access to any private keys that grant access to their digital assets, digital identity, or any other interests or rights that the private key provides. The only exception to this rule is when individuals are required to disclose cryptocurrency ownership or transfer during any legal proceeding.

Court-ordered disclosure of private keys contradicts how private keys are intended to work, and the courts lack the experience to protect private keys. Wyoming, as a state, has taken a crypto-friendly approach to regulating cryptocurrency in the US, becoming the first jurisdiction to recognize decentralized autonomous organizations as limited liability business entities. The new law aims to clarify the legal status of a private key and how courts should treat it, while also protecting digital asset holders’ privacy and property rights.

Source: CoinTelegraph (link)
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Microsoft Fires Ethical AI Team Despite Push for OpenAI Integration

Microsoft’s recent decision to lay off its ethics and society team, which is responsible for ensuring AI innovation results in ethical, responsible, and sustainable outcomes, raises questions about the company’s commitment to responsible AI principles. The move comes as Microsoft invests billions of dollars in its partnership with OpenAI, as well as redesigning its Bing search engine and Edge web browser. The team was in charge of ensuring that Microsoft’s responsible AI principles were reflected in the design of its products, but its demise suggests that the company is more concerned with getting its AI products to market first and less concerned with long-term, socially responsible thinking. The team had recently been working to identify the risks posed by Microsoft’s integration of OpenAI’s technology across its product suite.

The elimination of the ethics and society team calls Microsoft’s commitment to responsible AI principles into question, even as it maintains its Office of Responsible AI, which sets rules for responsible AI through governance and public policy work. The move emphasizes the importance of companies prioritizing ethical AI principles and design. Failure to do so may have negative societal consequences as well as legal ramifications. Companies must strike a balance between the pursuit of technological innovation and responsible decision-making that considers the long-term impact on society.

Source: Tech Crunch (link)
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