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Is there life on Jupiter’s moons?

On April 13, 2023, the European Space Agency is scheduled to launch a rocket carrying a spacecraft called Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE), destined for Jupiter; followed by NASA’s robotic spacecraft Europa Clipper, launching in October 2024.

But the real interest for both: three of Jupiter’s moons — Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. All three almost certainly possess underground oceans of liquid water,” says Purdue University Professor of Planetary Science Dr. Mike Sori in The Conversation.

Top to bottom: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto (credit: NASA, CC BY-ND)

Europa’s ocean alone has more than double the water of all of Earth’s oceans combined

These three moons “have chilly surfaces that are hundreds of degrees below zero,” says Sori. “At these temperatures, ice behaves like solid rock. But just like Earth, the deeper underground you go on these moons, the hotter it gets. Go down far enough and you eventually reach the temperature where ice, warmed by a volcanic sea floor, melts into water.”

How do we know? “When these moons travel through Jupiter’s magnetic field, they generate a secondary, smaller magnetic field that signals to researchers the presence of an underground ocean. Using this technique, planetary scientists have been able to show that the three moons contain underground oceans.”

What about extraterrestrial life?

Liquid water is an important piece of what makes for a habitable world, but far from the only requirement for life. “Life also needs energy and certain chemical compounds in addition to water to flourish. On Europa, for example, the liquid water ocean overlays a rocky interior. That rocky seafloor could provide energy and chemicals through underwater volcanoes that could make Europa’s ocean habitable.

Magnetometers will also be on both missions. These tools will give scientists the opportunity to study the secondary magnetic fields produced by the interaction of conductive oceans with Jupiter’s field in great detail and will hopefully give researchers clues to salinity and volumes of the oceans.

“Scientists will also observe small variations in the moons’ gravitational pulls by tracking subtle movements in both spacecrafts’ orbits. That could help determine if Europa’s seafloor has volcanoes that provide the needed energy and chemistry for the ocean to support life.”

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Generative modeling tool renders 2D sketches in 3D

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have developed a machine learning tool that could potentially allow beginner and professional designers to create 3D virtual models of everything from customized household furniture to video game content.

Pix2pix3d allows anyone to create a realistic, 3D representation of a simple or rough 2D sketch, using generative artificial intelligence tools similar to those powering popular AI photo generation and editing applications.

Pix2pix3d has been trained on data sets including cars, cats and human faces, and the team is working to expand those capabilities. In the future, it could be used to design consumer products, like giving people the power to customize furniture for their homes. Both novice and professional designers could use it to customize items in virtual reality environments or video games, or to add effects to films.

Once pix2pix3d generates a 3D image, the user can modify it in real time by erasing and redrawing the original two-dimensional sketch.

Citation: Deng, K., Yang, G., Ramanan, D., & Zhu, J. (2023). 3D-aware Conditional Image Synthesis. https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.08509

 

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Technology breakthrough allows for more detailed 3D holograms for virtual reality and other uses

Creating a dynamic holographic projection typically involves using a spatial light modulator (SLM) to modulate the intensity and/or phase of a light beam. But today’s holograms are limited in terms of quality because current SLM technology only allows for a few low-resolution images to be projected onto separate planes, with low depth resolution.

Researchers have now invented a way to pack more details in a 3D image by creating ultra-high-density planes. “A 3D hologram can present real 3D scenes with continuous and fine features,” said Lei Gong, who led a research team from the University of Science and Technology of China.

“For virtual reality, our method could be used with headset-based holographic displays to greatly improve the viewing angles, which would enhance the 3D viewing experience. It could also provide better 3D visuals without requiring a headset.”

Citation: P. Yu et al. Gong, “Ultrahigh-density 3D Holographic Projection by Scattering-assisted Dynamic Holography,” 10, 4 (2023). DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.483057. https://opg.optica.org/optica/fulltext.cfm?uri=optica-10-4-481&id=528843 (open-access).

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Deep-learning aging clock tracks human aging, detects eye and other diseases from retinal images

A team of biomedical researchers has developed a non-invasive, more accurate, and inexpensive “aging clock” for tracking and slowing human aging by examining retinal images and using trained deep-learning models of the eye’s fundus (the deepest area of the eye), using a new “eyeAge” system.

The researchers are affiliated with Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Google Research, Google Health, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education, and Research (India), and University of California, San Francisco.

Tracking eye changes that accompany aging and age-related diseases: the eyeAge system

The eyeAge system uses blood-vessel-rich tissue in the retina to identify 39 eye diseases, including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as non-eye diseases, such as chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to establish the genetic basis to create the clock. Google researchers trained and tuned the eyeAGE model using their well-studied EyePACS data set  (involves more than 100,000 patients, with 5 million retinal images) and applied it to patients from the UK Biobank, based on data from more than 64,000 patients.

Slowing the aging process

“This type of imaging could be really valuable in tracking the efficacy of  interventions aimed at slowing the aging process,” says Pankaj Kapahi, a senior author of the study.

“The results suggest that potentially, in less than one year, we should be able to determine the trajectory of aging with 71% accuracy by noting discernable changes in the eyes of those being treated, providing an actionable evaluation of gero-protective therapeutics,” he said. 

Eye data likely more reliable than biomarkers from blood tests

Kapahi also noted that retinal scans are likely more reliable than blood tests because changes in the eye are less susceptible to day-to-day fluctuations, compared to biomarkers from the blood (which are more dynamic and can be influenced by something as simple as eating a meal or a current infection).

He also noted that subtle changes in small blood vessels often go undetected by even the most sophisticated instruments.

Making tracking aging more robust, powerful and comprehensive

“Our study emphasizes the value of longitudinal data for analyzing accurate aging trajectories,” adds co-corresponding author Sara Ahadi, a former Fellow at Google Research, and now Senior Computational Biologist at San Carlos, CA-based Alkahest, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company targeting neurodegenerative and age-related diseases with transformative therapies. 

“Through EyePACS is a longitudinal dataset, involving multiple scans from individual people over time, our results show a more accurate positive prediction ratio for two consecutive visits of an individual, rather than random, time-matched individuals,” Ahadi says.

Looking at aging through a different lens

“The eyeAge is independent from phenotypic age [an aging clock based on blood markers],” Ahadi adds. “We are looking at aging through a different lens and bringing more information to the table. We hope eyeAge will be utilized along with other clocks to make tracking aging more robust, powerful and comprehensive.”

Citation: Ara Ahadiet et al. 2023. Longitudinal fundus imaging and its genome-wide association analysis provide evidence for a human retinal aging clock. eLife. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.82364. https://elifesciences.org/articles/82364 (open access)

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Protecting Lives: FDA Mandates Cybersecurity Guidelines for Medical Devices

To address growing concerns about cyber attacks and ransomware incidents, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has mandated new cybersecurity guidelines for medical devices. All new medical device applicants are now required to submit a cybersecurity plan outlining how they intend to “monitor, identify, and address” cybersecurity issues.

The FDA must also develop a process to ensure “reasonable assurance” that the device is secure from cyber threats. The FDA will require applicants to provide regular security updates and patches, as well as to disclose any open-source or other software used in their devices, according to CNN News.

In the past, the FDA has been chastised for not doing enough to address medical device cybersecurity concerns. FDA must now update its medical device cybersecurity guidance every two years, according to the bill.

According to a 2022 FBI report, more than half of digital medical devices and internet-connected products in hospitals had known vulnerabilities. Hackers could use these flaws to provide inaccurate readings, administer drug overdoses, or cause other risks to patient health.

Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrell

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New RNA nanoparticles can perform gene editing in the lungs to treat lung diseases

Engineers at MIT and the University of Massachusetts Medical School have designed a new type of nanoparticle that can be administered to the lungs, where it can deliver messenger RNA for encoding useful proteins.

With further development, these particles could offer an inhalable treatment for cystic fibrosis and other diseases of the lung, the researchers say.

Treating or repairing a range of genetic diseases

“We are hopeful that [these particles] can be used to treat or repair a range of genetic diseases, including cystic fibrosis,” says Daniel Anderson, a professor in MIT’s Department of Chemical Engineering and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES).

In a study of mice, Anderson and his colleagues used the particles to deliver mRNA encoding the machinery needed for CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. That could open the door to designing therapeutic nanoparticles that can snip out and replace disease-causing genes.

Particle structure designed to be most likely to reach the lungs

The particles are made up of molecules that contain two parts: a positively charged headgroup and a long lipid tail. The positive charge of the headgroup helps the particles to interact with negatively charged mRNA, and it also help mRNA to escape from the cellular structures that engulf the particles once they enter cells.

The lipid tail structure, meanwhile, helps the particles to pass through the cell membrane. The researchers came up with 10 different chemical structures for the lipid tails, along with 72 different headgroups. By screening different combinations of these structures in mice, the researchers were able to identify those that were most likely to reach the lungs.

They are now working on making their nanoparticles more stable, so they could be aerosolized and inhaled using a nebulizer.

Promising therapeutic lung gene delivery applications

“This achievement paves the way for promising therapeutic lung gene delivery applications for various lung diseases,” says Dan Peer, director of the Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine at Tel Aviv University, who was not involved in the study. “This platform holds several advantages compared to conventional vaccines and therapies, including that it’s cell-free, enables rapid manufacturing, and has high versatility and a favorable safety profile.”

The study appears March 30, 2023 in Nature Biotechnology.

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Should we pause development of AI systems smarter than GPT-4 for six months?

A “call for a pause” open letter sent out Wednesday warns of an “out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever-more-powerful AI systems.”

The letter, by Future of Life Institute, an organization focused on technological risks to humanity, warns that “AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research.”        

The letter calls on “all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.” As of early Thursday, the letter has been signed by verified AI experts at 1377 AI labs.

Overreach?

One AI expert not on that list: Dr. Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNet and an AI scientist noted for his work in AGI (artificial general intelligence). “I don’t see how pausing training of bigger LLMs [large language models] for six months is going to suddenly cause the corporate honchos and tech bros to start pushing toward UBI for the poorest nations in the world, in anticipation of the difficulty pre-Singularity AI will cause to their economies,” he told Mindplex.

“I think the justification for pausing tech dev due to worries should need to be quite strong. Just like I think the justification for suspending freedom of speech should be quite strong. OK, you ban shouting fire in a crowded theater. But you don’t ban speech that seems like it might indirectly cause someone to do something illegal.

“Similarly, you take action against an LLM that demonstrably turns everyone who talks to it into murderous psychopaths, or a 3D printer whose express purpose is to cheaply 3D print bombs out of ordinary kitchen ingredients. But not against exciting new technologies with complex mixes of good and bad aspects and no immediate huge deadly threat associated with them.”

Other leading AI experts who have refused to sign include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Yann LeCun, Chief AI Scientist at Meta, who explained: “The year is 1440 and the Catholic Church has called for a 6 months moratorium on the use of the printing press and the movable type,” he said. “Imagine what could happen if commoners get access to books! They could read the Bible for themselves and society would be destroyed.”

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Coca-Cola and other major marketers enter ‘test and learn’ phase with generative AI

Coca-Cola and other major marketers are experimenting with generative AI to determine how to incorporate AI technologies into their marketing strategies.

But marketers are currently focused on using AI in the creative process. The potential legal ramifications of using generative AI platforms, which scrape data without the consent of publishers, artists, and others, could cause clients legal problems, according to consulting firm DigiDay.

Clients are cautious, according to marketers and agency executives, because of the potential legal issues, and are working with legal teams to ensure that generative AI platforms comply with data collection methods.

Despite the challenges, the potential of generative AI in marketing is very exciting. Christian Pierre, chief data intelligence officer at Gut Miami, believes that by 2024, the majority of the ideas in any major industry awards show’s Creative Data category will be some form of generative AI or inspired by it.

Marketers and agencies are currently in the early stages of testing and learning about how to use generative AI in meaningful ways to deliver on consumer expectations.

Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrell

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The Shape of Your Heart May Predict Your Risk for Heart Disease and Atrial Fibrillation

Cedars-Smidt Sinai’s Heart Institute researchers have shown that the shape of your heart and certain genetic markers may indicate your risk of developing atrial fibrillation and heart muscle disease.

Patients with round hearts, similar in shape to a baseball, were found to be 31% more likely to develop atrial fibrillation and 24% more likely to develop cardiomyopathy than those with longer hearts shaped like a traditional Valentine’s heart.

Deep learning-enabled measurement of left ventricular sphericity index

The study, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Med-Cell Press, examined cardiac MRI images from 38,897 healthy people to identify genetic markers linked to the risk of developing these cardiac conditions. Atrial fibrillation raises the risk of stroke, while cardiomyopathy can result in heart failure; both conditions affect millions of people worldwide, CBS News reports.

Cardiologists at Cedars-Sinai emphasize the potential for cardiac imaging and deep learning for diagnosing and preventing heart conditions before they become life-threatening diseases. They also stress the importance of understanding how a heart changes shape when sick and identifying genetic variations affecting the heart. The findings shed light on effective prevention methods for these conditions.

Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrel

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Improve GPT-4’s Performance by 30% with This Self-Reflective Agent Technique!

Northeastern University and MIT researchers have created Reflexion, a self-reflective natural language agent that they claim can improve GPT-4 performance by an astounding 30%.

The agent can generate new prompts autonomously until it reaches the correct answer, by analyzing its mistakes and taking them into account. Reflexion was tested on two benchmarks, AlfWorld and HotPotQA, and achieved 97% success and a 17% improvement over the base agent, respectively.

Reflexion appears to be an important step toward natural language agents that can learn through trial and error, without constant human intervention. This approach enables agents, based on their experience history, to generate new ideas, explore previously unseen state spaces, and develop more precise action plans. It also allows agents to solve tasks and environments that were previously thought to be impossible.

Self-reflective agents such as Reflexion may play an important role in improving the performance of large-scale language models such as GPT-4, paving the way for more intelligent and autonomous AI systems.

Sources: MarkTechPost and arXiv
Images: MidJourney, Prompts by Lewis Farrell

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