Amazing stuff!
"Living in an essentially zero-gravity environment, many deep-sea animals have evolved soft, gelatinous bodies and collect food using elaborate mucous filters. Until now, studying these delicate structures has been virtually impossible. A new study published in the journal Nature describes a unique laser-based system for constructing 3D models of diaphanous marine animals and the mucous structures they secrete. ... To gather these data, ... a team of engineers, scientists, and submersible pilots to develop an instrument called DeepPIV (PIV stands for particle imaging velocimetry). Mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the DeepPIV instrument projects a sheet of laser light that illuminates particles in the water, like dust motes in a sunbeam. By recording the movement of these particles in video, researchers can quantify tiny currents around marine animals as well as water flowing through their filters and their transparent bodies. ..."
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Researchers Discover the Largest Virus in the Oceans Yet
What lurks in the depth of the still largely unknown oceans!
" ... At 875 kilobases, the so-called ChoanoVirus’s genome is impressive in size, and the proteins it codes for are particularly exciting to the researchers. Among hundreds of protein sequences, ... identified three for rhodopsins—light-processing receptors found in certain cellular membranes of many living organisms, including humans, who require rhodopsin in the retina for sight. The viral genome also codes for the components of a pathway that synthesizes a molecule called β-carotene along with the enzyme that processes it into retinal, the pigment that does the actual light sensing within the rhodopsin protein. By contrast, humans and indeed most eukaryotes make only part of the rhodopsin machinery and have to obtain β-carotene from external sources to make retinal. ...That some organisms use rhodopsins to generate chemical energy from light is not a new discovery. Decades ago, scientists reported that halophilic archaea make use of rhodopsins for just that. And in 2000, [researchers] ... described marine bacteria that also use rhodopsins to capture light energy. Since then, marine biologists have uncovered this form of metabolism in a wide range of microbial species in the ocean, ..."
Researchers Discover the Largest Virus in the Oceans Yet | The Scientist Magazine®
" ... At 875 kilobases, the so-called ChoanoVirus’s genome is impressive in size, and the proteins it codes for are particularly exciting to the researchers. Among hundreds of protein sequences, ... identified three for rhodopsins—light-processing receptors found in certain cellular membranes of many living organisms, including humans, who require rhodopsin in the retina for sight. The viral genome also codes for the components of a pathway that synthesizes a molecule called β-carotene along with the enzyme that processes it into retinal, the pigment that does the actual light sensing within the rhodopsin protein. By contrast, humans and indeed most eukaryotes make only part of the rhodopsin machinery and have to obtain β-carotene from external sources to make retinal. ...That some organisms use rhodopsins to generate chemical energy from light is not a new discovery. Decades ago, scientists reported that halophilic archaea make use of rhodopsins for just that. And in 2000, [researchers] ... described marine bacteria that also use rhodopsins to capture light energy. Since then, marine biologists have uncovered this form of metabolism in a wide range of microbial species in the ocean, ..."
Researchers Discover the Largest Virus in the Oceans Yet | The Scientist Magazine®
Unlocking the secrets of a plastic-eater at MIT
No reason to panic over plastic waste! Human ingenuity triumphs anytime! Even mother nature has already developed microbes to munch on human artifacts like plastic.
"Before arriving at MIT, Zhong began looking for organisms that could degrade plastic and learned that a group in Japan had published a paper on Ideonella sakaiensis. “It’s this weird environmental microbe that really likes digesting weird compounds,” says Zhong. One of those weird compounds is PET."
Unlocking the secrets of a plastic-eater | MIT News Graduate student Linda Zhong and professor of biology Anthony Sinskey are studying the plastic-devouring enzyme PETase as a way to improve recycling.
"Before arriving at MIT, Zhong began looking for organisms that could degrade plastic and learned that a group in Japan had published a paper on Ideonella sakaiensis. “It’s this weird environmental microbe that really likes digesting weird compounds,” says Zhong. One of those weird compounds is PET."
Unlocking the secrets of a plastic-eater | MIT News Graduate student Linda Zhong and professor of biology Anthony Sinskey are studying the plastic-devouring enzyme PETase as a way to improve recycling.
Iran: People Of The Flame with David Adams
Very recommendable!
Isfahan, Order of Assassins, Zoroaster, Iranian wrestling ...
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Computer algorithms find tumors’ molecular weak spots
Good news! Cancer is history! Another promising approach to defeat cancer! This is a very long and extensive article!
"... Findings of the analysis suggested a transcription factor called STAT3 plays a critical role in those cancers. And ruxolitinib was known to inhibit STAT3. ... focused instead on identifying a few transcription factors that act as bottlenecks ... Target those master regulators, ... and you will stop cancer in its tracks, no matter what mutation initially caused it. ..."
Computer algorithms find tumors’ molecular weak spots | Science | AAAS
"... Findings of the analysis suggested a transcription factor called STAT3 plays a critical role in those cancers. And ruxolitinib was known to inhibit STAT3. ... focused instead on identifying a few transcription factors that act as bottlenecks ... Target those master regulators, ... and you will stop cancer in its tracks, no matter what mutation initially caused it. ..."
Computer algorithms find tumors’ molecular weak spots | Science | AAAS
Balls of cells mimic an unseen stage of human embryo development
How many more years will it take to gestate a human fertilized egg outside of the womb? Perhaps 15-30 years?
"After about 14 days, the embryo elongates and forms layers, revealing a rough plan for the body. But this dramatic transformation, called gastrulation, has never been directly observed in human embryos: Growing them to this stage in a lab is technically difficult and ethically fraught. Now, researchers have made structures from human stem cells that mimic some features of embryos after gastrulation, an advance that could reveal how genetic mutations and chemical exposures can lead to miscarriages and birth defects."
"The structures, created from stem cells and called gastruloids, are the first to form a 3D assembly that lays out how the body will take shape. The gastruloids developed rudimentary components of a heart and nervous system, but lacked the components to form a brain and other cell types that would make them capable of becoming a viable fetus. ... Human embryos take a momentous leap in their third week, when the largely homogeneous ball of cells starts to differentiate and develop specific characteristics of the body parts they will become, a process known as gastrulation. During this process, the embryo elongates and lays down a body plan with a head and tail, often called the head-to-tail axis.
But scientists have never seen this process in action. That is partly because many countries have regulations that stop embryos from being grown in the laboratory for research beyond 14 days after conception. ... Moris says the most thrilling result was the formation of pockets of cells that symmetrically straddle the head-to-tail axis. Genetic analysis showed that the cells were those that would eventually go on to form muscles in the trunk, vertebrae, heart and other organs. ..."
Balls of cells mimic an unseen stage of human embryo development | Science | AAAS
"After about 14 days, the embryo elongates and forms layers, revealing a rough plan for the body. But this dramatic transformation, called gastrulation, has never been directly observed in human embryos: Growing them to this stage in a lab is technically difficult and ethically fraught. Now, researchers have made structures from human stem cells that mimic some features of embryos after gastrulation, an advance that could reveal how genetic mutations and chemical exposures can lead to miscarriages and birth defects."
"The structures, created from stem cells and called gastruloids, are the first to form a 3D assembly that lays out how the body will take shape. The gastruloids developed rudimentary components of a heart and nervous system, but lacked the components to form a brain and other cell types that would make them capable of becoming a viable fetus. ... Human embryos take a momentous leap in their third week, when the largely homogeneous ball of cells starts to differentiate and develop specific characteristics of the body parts they will become, a process known as gastrulation. During this process, the embryo elongates and lays down a body plan with a head and tail, often called the head-to-tail axis.
But scientists have never seen this process in action. That is partly because many countries have regulations that stop embryos from being grown in the laboratory for research beyond 14 days after conception. ... Moris says the most thrilling result was the formation of pockets of cells that symmetrically straddle the head-to-tail axis. Genetic analysis showed that the cells were those that would eventually go on to form muscles in the trunk, vertebrae, heart and other organs. ..."
Balls of cells mimic an unseen stage of human embryo development | Science | AAAS
Lab-grown cells mimic crucial moment in embryo development Artificial structures developed the rudimentary components of a heart and nervous system.
Heartsick. Anguished. Enraged Women's & Gender Studies at MIT
The current tuition for this elite, top ranked global university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is about $54,000 per 9 months. It is enraging that they have such lunatic professors on the faculty. And which elite university educated this lady Harvard Law School.
MIT is not hiding their nutty professors. Her piece was featured in the latest MIT Weekly newsletter of 6/13/2020.
"Injustice after injustice, it’s enough to make us explode. ... We must keep talking about the organization and funding of the project of white supremacy that deepens inequality and attacks black lives by strategic design, and we must keep talking about who invests in and profits from this project."
Heartsick. Anguished. Enraged. — Women's & Gender Studies at MIT by Helen Elaine Lee
Director, MIT Program in Women's & Gender Studies (this post is undated)
"WGS Faculty Director Helen Elaine Lee was educated at Harvard College and Harvard Law School."
MIT is not hiding their nutty professors. Her piece was featured in the latest MIT Weekly newsletter of 6/13/2020.
"Injustice after injustice, it’s enough to make us explode. ... We must keep talking about the organization and funding of the project of white supremacy that deepens inequality and attacks black lives by strategic design, and we must keep talking about who invests in and profits from this project."
Heartsick. Anguished. Enraged. — Women's & Gender Studies at MIT by Helen Elaine Lee
Director, MIT Program in Women's & Gender Studies (this post is undated)
"WGS Faculty Director Helen Elaine Lee was educated at Harvard College and Harvard Law School."
Novel Error Correction Code Opens a New Approach to Universal Quantum Computing
This could be a breakthrough! Quantum computers are still very unstable so better error correction might go a long way to improve robustness and results. It may reduce quantum decoherence.
Novel Error Correction Code Opens a New Approach to Universal Quantum Computing - IEEE Spectrum A British scientist working in Australia has found a way to apply a three-dimensional code to a two-dimensional framework for quantum error correcting
Novel Error Correction Code Opens a New Approach to Universal Quantum Computing - IEEE Spectrum A British scientist working in Australia has found a way to apply a three-dimensional code to a two-dimensional framework for quantum error correcting
Discovered: Brain Cells that Control Hibernation-Like States
Two papers from different research teams simultaneously report this discovery in about the same region of the brain. Just wondering, do humans also have these brain cells to go into torpor?
"Focusing on the hypothalamus ... the team used a “clever genetic trick,” ... to tag cells activated upon entry into torpor. Later, once the animals were fed and recovered, the genetic trickery enabled the team to reactivate those same neurons, sending the fed animals back into torpor."
Discovered: Brain Cells that Control Hibernation-Like States | The Scientist Magazine® Two independent teams identify neuron populations in the mouse brain that regulate the physiological changes associated with torpor.
"Focusing on the hypothalamus ... the team used a “clever genetic trick,” ... to tag cells activated upon entry into torpor. Later, once the animals were fed and recovered, the genetic trickery enabled the team to reactivate those same neurons, sending the fed animals back into torpor."
" ... were investigating the function of a tiny handful of hypothalamus cells that express a particular neuropeptide called pyroglutamylated RF-amide peptide (QRFP). ... So, when they stimulated the QRFP-producing cells, which they call Q neurons, in mice and found it induced an extended torpor ... Inhibiting Q neurons impaired normal torpor, the team also showed."
Discovered: Brain Cells that Control Hibernation-Like States | The Scientist Magazine® Two independent teams identify neuron populations in the mouse brain that regulate the physiological changes associated with torpor.
60 Years of Presidential Attack Ads, in One Video
Recommendable! Too bad Barry Goldwater did not become president perhaps partially due to this very dramatic attack ad (hint: the one with the little girl followed by a atomic bomb explosion)
The lure of power or when the gloves come off!
Friday, June 12, 2020
Who Is Booker T. Washington?
Recommendable, but the video is way too short to do justice to this great Booker T. Washington!
Dangerous Synergies between Russia and China Concerning Covert Digital Influence Operations
This study should be of grave concern to Western democracies! I suspect, the recent riots, mob violence, and Antifa operations in the U.S. were also influenced by Russia and China and/or other authoritarian states.
"Their digital influence campaigns work in tandem and toward the following objectives:
"
Dangerous Synergies | Center for a New American Security
Here is what the Heritage Foundation had to say about this report:
"Deep Dive: Russia & China's propaganda synergy
What's new: A new report from the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) says, "Although there is no concrete evidence to suggest that Beijing and Moscow explicitly coordinate their information operations, the two countries are increasingly finding common cause as their interests align on a number of issues and in strategic regions."
Why this matters: Influence operations by Moscow and Beijing complement one another by undermining democratic forms of governance and by promoting techno-totalitarianism as a viable alternative.
Go deeper: According to the report, "Democracies worldwide are likely to see growing synergy between the two authoritarian powers in the information environment. In fact, digital influence efforts by China and Russia have already proved mutually reinforcing by:
"Magnifying impact through complementary approaches. Although China’s and Russia’s approaches are different and seemingly uncoordinated, taken together, they have a more corrosive effect on democracy than either would have single-handedly.
"Amplifying narratives. There are a growing number of instances in which Chinese and Russian narratives overlap, amplifying the impact of such messages.
"Legitimizing norm change. In multilateral forums, China and Russia are jointly chipping away at norms and standards governing the free flow of information.
But that's not all: The report says this cooperation is likely to grow and to produce an even more potent threat. This evolution will likely include the following trends:
"Deepen coordination. China and Russia already conduct a number of exchanges designed to share technologies and processes to control the internet. Beijing and Moscow could leverage their comparative strengths to pollute the global information environment while setting forth alternative platforms by which information can be disseminated.
"Divide and conquer. While Russian efforts remain most intensely focused on weakening and dividing democratic societies in Europe and the United States, China is spreading the tentacles of its online influence campaigns in strategically positioned developing countries across Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
"Leverage each other’s platforms to broaden reach. The proliferation of popular Chinese-designed and -marketed social media apps has the potential to create entirely alternative information ecosystems that China and Russia could jointly leverage.
"Jointly harness technological change. China and Russia are increasingly well positioned to pilot “viral” apps to collect, analyze, and generate data on users in democracies.
In light of this, the report offers a number of recommendations, including the following:
Bolster Resilience to Digital Campaigns
"Fund targeted open source research. To address a critical knowledge gap, the National Science Foundation should ramp up funding for rigorous social science analysis of how online interference by China and Russia shapes the perceptions of citizens in democracies.
"Expand digital literacy education to adults. The U.S. Department of Education should partner with a leading information technology company to design a digital citizenship course for American adults, with participation incentivized through small tax rebates.
"Regulate the social media landscape. For example, Congress should enact legislation mandating that social media companies label content disseminated by state-sponsored actors.
Expand Coordination among Democracies
"Red team China-Russia synergies. This would involve convening officials and technologists from the United States, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia to explore future digital influence coordination between the world’s two leading authoritarian powers.
"Stress-test existing coordination structures. The Group of Seven’s (G7) Rapid Response Mechanism should conduct an intelligence sharing exercise to identify bottlenecks for disseminating classified information regarding Chinese and Russian influence campaigns.
"Leverage the Community of Democracies (CoD). To enable developing countries to combat authoritarian digital interference, the United States should propose a new coordination mechanism within the CoD, which has a more diverse membership than the G7.
"Act in concert within international organizations. The United States should work with its democratic allies and partners to advance an agenda in multilateral forums that delegitimizes online influence campaigns by China and Russia and mitigates their potential impact.
Construct and Sustain Healthy Information Ecosystems
"Support independent diaspora media. One step could include a partnership between the State Department and a highly credible nongovernmental organization to award grants to Chinese- and Russian-language reporters and media entrepreneurs.
"Subsidize fact-based content in regions where affordability matters most. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation should extend loans and other supports to American media companies looking to grow their presence in developing markets.
"Catalyze innovative technological solutions. This could begin with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) organizing a “Democratic Integrity Hackathon” to develop products to protect social media platforms against Chinese and Russian digital influence campaigns.
Finally, Enhance Efforts to Deter China and Russia
"Develop a menu for cost imposition. The United States and its democratic allies and partners should develop a robust set of options to impose costs on China and Russia, with the aim of deterring the most egregious forms of digital influence campaigns. These options should range from demonstrating the ability to hold at risk the personal data of authoritarian elites to injecting fact-based information that exposes regime corruption into the online ecosystems of China or Russia.
"Establish a declaratory policy. The United States should quietly convey to China and Russia that it is willing and able to impose costs, particularly with respect to online interference that touches on election integrity.
My thought bubble: The report's central assessment is dead-on: Russia and China have complementary influence objectives and there's every reason to believe this synergy will be more effectively leveraged by both nations going forward.
Having said that, we're not going to spend or regulate our way out of this mess. Instead, the single best thing the United States can do is to govern itself in such a way that its security, prosperity, and human thriving decisively undermine foreign influence efforts as not credible. The goal in every counter-influence campaign is not to "snuff out" the opposition (that's almost always impossible); but, it is instead to move the opposition's narrative to the periphery of public thought by making it unrepresentative of reality and popular sentiment.
Finally, the US must also use the full suite of national power to change the calculus of foreign governments so that they no longer understand the benefits of political interference to be worth the costs of US reprisals."
"Their digital influence campaigns work in tandem and toward the following objectives:
- Undermine liberal democratic norms and institutions.
- Weaken cohesion among democratic allies and partners.
- Reduce U.S. global influence.
- Advance Russian and Chinese positions.
"
Dangerous Synergies | Center for a New American Security
Here is what the Heritage Foundation had to say about this report:
"Deep Dive: Russia & China's propaganda synergy
What's new: A new report from the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) says, "Although there is no concrete evidence to suggest that Beijing and Moscow explicitly coordinate their information operations, the two countries are increasingly finding common cause as their interests align on a number of issues and in strategic regions."
Why this matters: Influence operations by Moscow and Beijing complement one another by undermining democratic forms of governance and by promoting techno-totalitarianism as a viable alternative.
Go deeper: According to the report, "Democracies worldwide are likely to see growing synergy between the two authoritarian powers in the information environment. In fact, digital influence efforts by China and Russia have already proved mutually reinforcing by:
"Magnifying impact through complementary approaches. Although China’s and Russia’s approaches are different and seemingly uncoordinated, taken together, they have a more corrosive effect on democracy than either would have single-handedly.
"Amplifying narratives. There are a growing number of instances in which Chinese and Russian narratives overlap, amplifying the impact of such messages.
"Legitimizing norm change. In multilateral forums, China and Russia are jointly chipping away at norms and standards governing the free flow of information.
But that's not all: The report says this cooperation is likely to grow and to produce an even more potent threat. This evolution will likely include the following trends:
"Deepen coordination. China and Russia already conduct a number of exchanges designed to share technologies and processes to control the internet. Beijing and Moscow could leverage their comparative strengths to pollute the global information environment while setting forth alternative platforms by which information can be disseminated.
"Divide and conquer. While Russian efforts remain most intensely focused on weakening and dividing democratic societies in Europe and the United States, China is spreading the tentacles of its online influence campaigns in strategically positioned developing countries across Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Latin America, and Africa.
"Leverage each other’s platforms to broaden reach. The proliferation of popular Chinese-designed and -marketed social media apps has the potential to create entirely alternative information ecosystems that China and Russia could jointly leverage.
"Jointly harness technological change. China and Russia are increasingly well positioned to pilot “viral” apps to collect, analyze, and generate data on users in democracies.
In light of this, the report offers a number of recommendations, including the following:
Bolster Resilience to Digital Campaigns
"Fund targeted open source research. To address a critical knowledge gap, the National Science Foundation should ramp up funding for rigorous social science analysis of how online interference by China and Russia shapes the perceptions of citizens in democracies.
"Expand digital literacy education to adults. The U.S. Department of Education should partner with a leading information technology company to design a digital citizenship course for American adults, with participation incentivized through small tax rebates.
"Regulate the social media landscape. For example, Congress should enact legislation mandating that social media companies label content disseminated by state-sponsored actors.
Expand Coordination among Democracies
"Red team China-Russia synergies. This would involve convening officials and technologists from the United States, Europe, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia to explore future digital influence coordination between the world’s two leading authoritarian powers.
"Stress-test existing coordination structures. The Group of Seven’s (G7) Rapid Response Mechanism should conduct an intelligence sharing exercise to identify bottlenecks for disseminating classified information regarding Chinese and Russian influence campaigns.
"Leverage the Community of Democracies (CoD). To enable developing countries to combat authoritarian digital interference, the United States should propose a new coordination mechanism within the CoD, which has a more diverse membership than the G7.
"Act in concert within international organizations. The United States should work with its democratic allies and partners to advance an agenda in multilateral forums that delegitimizes online influence campaigns by China and Russia and mitigates their potential impact.
Construct and Sustain Healthy Information Ecosystems
"Support independent diaspora media. One step could include a partnership between the State Department and a highly credible nongovernmental organization to award grants to Chinese- and Russian-language reporters and media entrepreneurs.
"Subsidize fact-based content in regions where affordability matters most. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation should extend loans and other supports to American media companies looking to grow their presence in developing markets.
"Catalyze innovative technological solutions. This could begin with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) organizing a “Democratic Integrity Hackathon” to develop products to protect social media platforms against Chinese and Russian digital influence campaigns.
Finally, Enhance Efforts to Deter China and Russia
"Develop a menu for cost imposition. The United States and its democratic allies and partners should develop a robust set of options to impose costs on China and Russia, with the aim of deterring the most egregious forms of digital influence campaigns. These options should range from demonstrating the ability to hold at risk the personal data of authoritarian elites to injecting fact-based information that exposes regime corruption into the online ecosystems of China or Russia.
"Establish a declaratory policy. The United States should quietly convey to China and Russia that it is willing and able to impose costs, particularly with respect to online interference that touches on election integrity.
My thought bubble: The report's central assessment is dead-on: Russia and China have complementary influence objectives and there's every reason to believe this synergy will be more effectively leveraged by both nations going forward.
Having said that, we're not going to spend or regulate our way out of this mess. Instead, the single best thing the United States can do is to govern itself in such a way that its security, prosperity, and human thriving decisively undermine foreign influence efforts as not credible. The goal in every counter-influence campaign is not to "snuff out" the opposition (that's almost always impossible); but, it is instead to move the opposition's narrative to the periphery of public thought by making it unrepresentative of reality and popular sentiment.
Finally, the US must also use the full suite of national power to change the calculus of foreign governments so that they no longer understand the benefits of political interference to be worth the costs of US reprisals."
Deutschland hat zu viele Trottel als führende Politiker
Eine Demokratie kann im Zeitablauf degenerieren, wenn zu viele maßgeblichen Politiker sich als unfähig entpuppen. Ich würde mal behaupten, dass Deutschland diesen Zustand erreicht hat.
Im laufe der Jahrzehnte hat sich in Deutschland eine Politikerkaste in allen politischen Parteien herausgebildet (mit Ausnahme der noch jungen AfD), die leider wenig gutes bedeutet. Viele Politiker sind schlicht Traumtänzer, haben vom Tuten und Blasen keine Ahnung, sind realitätsfern, und leben in einer Blase. Eine solche Entwicklung kann einer repräsentativen Demokratie nur schaden, da diese Politiker längst nicht mehr repräsentativ sind!
Die SED Kanzlerin Merkel hat so viele schwere politische Fehler (z.B. abrupte, unnötige Abschaltung aller Atomkraftwerke) begangen, dass es extrem verwunderlich ist, dass sie immer noch Kanzlerin ist seit 2005!
Eine der wenigen erfrischenden Entwicklungen der letzten Jahre war das aufsteigen der Alternative für Deutschland!
Es gibt und gab zu viele Deppen in der Politiker als das ich sie hier alle benennen könnte. Z.B. Heiko Maas ein maßloser! Christian Lindner seit 2005 der FDP Parteivorsitzende, ein gut gekleideter Clown und a great showman, but nothing to show for!
Amtszeitbegrenzung für Bundeskanzler und Bundestagsabgeordnete ist dringen angeraten! Mit einer solchen verfassungsrechtlichen Maßnahme sind die USA auch Deutschland weit voraus!
Das Beispiel Donald Trump sollte auch in Deutschland Schule machen. Jemanden als Bundeskanzler zu wählen, wer noch nie vorher politische Ämter bekleidet hat!
What A Pathetic Show By Top U.S. Democratic Politicians!
Can Schumer and Pelosi go any lower than that?
Kneeling and putting on these African styled scarfs! It is so ridiculous!
In a democratic country with a traditional two party system it is very critical that both political parties are functioning well. If one of the two parties, in this case the Democratic Party, becomes a joke then this should be of serious concern to everyone!
Why can't the Democratic Party not get rid of Pelosi! For many years, this politician has proven again and again what a fool she is. How many elections has the Democratic Party lost with this politician over the years. She is 80 years old, let her play with her grandchildren.
Chuck Schumer, now 69, is also becoming more infantile as time goes by!
Thursday, June 11, 2020
A MASSIVE BACKLASH Against the WOKE FAR LEFT Has Begun!!!
Very recommendable! Gun sales jumped in May to 1.5 million! What would the U.S. Constitution be without the 2nd Amendment or state constitutions without similar provisions?
Retweeting through the Great Firewall
It way past high time that Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social networks come to realize that they are being massively abused and exploited by totalitarian dictatorships like China to spread disinformation and propaganda!
"This activity largely targeted Chinese-speaking audiences outside of the Chinese mainland (where Twitter is blocked) with the intention of influencing perceptions on key issues, including the Hong Kong protests, exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and, to a lesser extent Covid-19 and Taiwan. ... The main vector of dissemination was through images, many of which contained embedded Chinese-language text. The linguistic traits within the dataset suggest that audiences in Hong Kong were a primary target for this campaign, with the broader Chinese diaspora as a secondary audience. ... 78.5% of the accounts in Twitter’s takedown dataset have no followers at all ..."
"Analysing the dataset as a whole, we found that the posting patterns of tweets mapped cleanly to working hours at Beijing time (despite the fact that Twitter is blocked in mainland China). Posts spiked through 8 a.m.–5 p.m. working hours Monday to Friday and dropped off at weekends. Such a regimented posting pattern clearly suggests coordination and inauthenticity."
Is such stupidity not so very typical for communist regimes?
"There’s evidence that aged accounts—potentially purchased, hacked or stolen—are also a feature of the campaign. Here again, there’s little effort to disguise the incongruous nature of accounts (from Bangladesh, for example) posting propaganda inspired by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."
Some of this is almost comical!
Retweeting through the Great Firewall | Australian Strategic Policy Institute | ASPI A persistent and undeterred threat actor
"This activity largely targeted Chinese-speaking audiences outside of the Chinese mainland (where Twitter is blocked) with the intention of influencing perceptions on key issues, including the Hong Kong protests, exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui and, to a lesser extent Covid-19 and Taiwan. ... The main vector of dissemination was through images, many of which contained embedded Chinese-language text. The linguistic traits within the dataset suggest that audiences in Hong Kong were a primary target for this campaign, with the broader Chinese diaspora as a secondary audience. ... 78.5% of the accounts in Twitter’s takedown dataset have no followers at all ..."
"Analysing the dataset as a whole, we found that the posting patterns of tweets mapped cleanly to working hours at Beijing time (despite the fact that Twitter is blocked in mainland China). Posts spiked through 8 a.m.–5 p.m. working hours Monday to Friday and dropped off at weekends. Such a regimented posting pattern clearly suggests coordination and inauthenticity."
Is such stupidity not so very typical for communist regimes?
"There’s evidence that aged accounts—potentially purchased, hacked or stolen—are also a feature of the campaign. Here again, there’s little effort to disguise the incongruous nature of accounts (from Bangladesh, for example) posting propaganda inspired by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."
Some of this is almost comical!
Retweeting through the Great Firewall | Australian Strategic Policy Institute | ASPI A persistent and undeterred threat actor
What is gender bias?
Posted: 6/11/2020
First of all, it is one of those many terrible ideologies du jour that occupy and corrupt human minds.
Gender bias is extremely lopsided. Unequal treatment of gender is its hallmark. Why is misogyny used much more frequently than misandry although the latter is very prevalent as well?
Why do gender bias advocates/agitators never or rarely demand mandatory conscription and draft for women?
Why are natural differences between women and men ignored or worse savagely attacked all the time? E.g. how many women voluntarily apply to become a trash hauler for a waste management company despite the fact that the pay e.g. for a garbage truck driver is not low?
Many men, I am afraid, do not realize that this so-called gender bias is a strategy in the battle of the sexes to the advantage of women. After all, men are still gentlemen and chivalrous! Any man who does not believe that women are power hungry as well is a fool! The battle of the sexes is only heating up! Remember, there are women out there who think men are superfluous!
New Technologies Are Making Iran's Military Tougher Than Ever Before
Very recommendable!
"... decades of sanctions and post-revolutionary strategic decisions to be militarily self-sufficient has led Islamic Republic to focus more on its own indigenous industries. ... one of the primary motives for the Islamic Republic to send students—especially the children of regime elites and other loyalists—to Western universities and to invest heavily in cyber-espionage is to gain access to the latest in advanced technical fields. ... There is a persistent tendency within Washington to underestimate Iran; indeed, this was one of the reasons why the Islamic Republic was able to keep its covert nuclear enrichment and weapons research secret for so long. Iran’s entire nuclear program—not only enrichment and energy generation but also, according to pre-Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reporting, detonator development and a neutron initiator—demonstrated the Iranian ability to achieve advanced technological abilities indigenously. ... Recent incidents not only with the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf but also in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq have also highlighted Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) work. Iran put its first drone into operation in 1985, a decade or two before many other regional states did. Today the IRGC maintains perhaps a dozen different UAV models, the newest of which operate in day and night, utilize GPS guidance, and remain airborne for twelve hours at a time. ... Tehran and Beijing, for example, have created joint nanotech centers in China and active links between Iranian and Chinese nanotech companies. Russian leaders, especially, seem willing not only to export technology to Iran, but also to allow Iranian scientists to manufacture it themselves. ..."
New Technologies Are Making Iran's Military Tougher Than Ever Before | The National Interest Robotics and more.
"... decades of sanctions and post-revolutionary strategic decisions to be militarily self-sufficient has led Islamic Republic to focus more on its own indigenous industries. ... one of the primary motives for the Islamic Republic to send students—especially the children of regime elites and other loyalists—to Western universities and to invest heavily in cyber-espionage is to gain access to the latest in advanced technical fields. ... There is a persistent tendency within Washington to underestimate Iran; indeed, this was one of the reasons why the Islamic Republic was able to keep its covert nuclear enrichment and weapons research secret for so long. Iran’s entire nuclear program—not only enrichment and energy generation but also, according to pre-Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reporting, detonator development and a neutron initiator—demonstrated the Iranian ability to achieve advanced technological abilities indigenously. ... Recent incidents not only with the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf but also in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq have also highlighted Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) work. Iran put its first drone into operation in 1985, a decade or two before many other regional states did. Today the IRGC maintains perhaps a dozen different UAV models, the newest of which operate in day and night, utilize GPS guidance, and remain airborne for twelve hours at a time. ... Tehran and Beijing, for example, have created joint nanotech centers in China and active links between Iranian and Chinese nanotech companies. Russian leaders, especially, seem willing not only to export technology to Iran, but also to allow Iranian scientists to manufacture it themselves. ..."
New Technologies Are Making Iran's Military Tougher Than Ever Before | The National Interest Robotics and more.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
This Sahara Railway In Mauritania Is One of the Most Extreme in the World
Recommendable! But almost surreal!
Machine Learning more craft & art than measurable progress?
The latest The Batch contains a recommendable article titled "Running Fast, Standing Still"
"Machine learning researchers report better and better results, but some of that progress may be illusory.
What’s new: Some models that appear to set a new state of the art haven't been compared properly to their predecessors, Science News reports based on several published surveys. Under more rigorous comparison, they sometimes perform no better than earlier work."
The Batch: AI's Progress Problem, Recognizing Masked Faces, Mapping Underwater Ecosystems, Augmenting Features by Andrew Ng's deeplearning.ai June 10, 2020
"Machine learning researchers report better and better results, but some of that progress may be illusory.
What’s new: Some models that appear to set a new state of the art haven't been compared properly to their predecessors, Science News reports based on several published surveys. Under more rigorous comparison, they sometimes perform no better than earlier work."
The Batch: AI's Progress Problem, Recognizing Masked Faces, Mapping Underwater Ecosystems, Augmenting Features by Andrew Ng's deeplearning.ai June 10, 2020
Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives
I would not hesitate warn and to instantly fire any scientist participating in this demagoguery! Any scientist can demonstrate and protest at their hearts delight during their leisure time off work!
Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives Academics and scientific organizations will stop research activities on 10 June to reflect and take action on systemic inequalities in science.
Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives Academics and scientific organizations will stop research activities on 10 June to reflect and take action on systemic inequalities in science.
Nature Editorial: Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change
Is this science or is this brainwashed demagoguery dressed up as science? This is far worse than medieval superstition! This is a perversion of science not unlike science in Germany under Nazi dictatorship!
It is abhorrent how one of the leading science journals of the world can release such an ideologically tainted editorial!
The latest Nature editorial statement (see below) and its language ("killing") are extremely premature and prejudicial! At this point, thanks to such relentless demagoguery, can the involved police officers even expect to have a fair trial in court?
What are these smart ass elite scientists now going to do? Look at skin color of each author of a new paper to be reviewed for acceptance? Ah two black faces and one brown face, great we accept!
"The killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police department, and President Donald Trump’s crushing of protests across the United States, has angered the world, and led to marches in cities globally. ... and we must never shirk our responsibility to end systemic racism."
Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change Nature commits to working to end anti-Black practices in research.
It is abhorrent how one of the leading science journals of the world can release such an ideologically tainted editorial!
The latest Nature editorial statement (see below) and its language ("killing") are extremely premature and prejudicial! At this point, thanks to such relentless demagoguery, can the involved police officers even expect to have a fair trial in court?
What are these smart ass elite scientists now going to do? Look at skin color of each author of a new paper to be reviewed for acceptance? Ah two black faces and one brown face, great we accept!
"The killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police department, and President Donald Trump’s crushing of protests across the United States, has angered the world, and led to marches in cities globally. ... and we must never shirk our responsibility to end systemic racism."
Systemic racism: science must listen, learn and change Nature commits to working to end anti-Black practices in research.
Racism is not one way and it is multi cultural
If history is any guide, racism has come and gone in many forms and shapes. Feelings or attitudes of superiority or inferiority of people is a very old scourge of mankind!
It is also well known, e.g. that there are plenty of African and black American individuals who have been exhibiting black supremacy and white racism or hatred in the past and present!
What about some Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Muslim/Arab, or Hindu individuals? And so on ...
Today in Western countries, most so called racism is a foul ideology exploited by agitators and demagogues in the tradition of e.g. Joseph Goebbels! It is very sad and disturbing that such racism is so en vogue and has so many followers in Western countries! As a minimum this is a display of dramatic and massive failure of government run public education! Obviously, children, teenagers, or young adults did not learn to recognize the siren calls of demagogues!
From ocean waves to electricity: clean power for our planet
Who wants these type of power generators to spoil their coastlines? How environmentally friendly are they actually?
Another case of tilting at windmills or nutty environmentalism!
From ocean waves to electricity: clean power for our planet - ISRAEL21c
Another case of tilting at windmills or nutty environmentalism!
From ocean waves to electricity: clean power for our planet - ISRAEL21c
Google Brain, Intel, and UC Berkeley train robotic surgery AI with videos
Are we ready for the next round in robotic surgery? The famous da Vinci Surgical System has been around now for 20 years. What a dream team: Google Brain together with Intel and UC Berkeley!
Google Brain, Intel, and UC Berkeley train robotic surgery AI with videos | VentureBeat
Google Brain, Intel, and UC Berkeley train robotic surgery AI with videos | VentureBeat
Facebook researchers propose using language models for fact-checking
Facts are often in the eye of the beholder or carefully selected and filtered! More of the rise of the modern social hygiene and temperance movements!
Facebook researchers propose using language models for fact-checking | VentureBeat
Facebook researchers propose using language models for fact-checking | VentureBeat
Brazil to consider leaving World Health Organization
Good news! Bravo Bolsonaro! More Western countries should follow Brazil's example! It is time for Western democracies to form their own health organisation!
"Speaking to CNN Brasil, Bolsonaro said the WHO has not acted responsibly and has lost a lot of credibility, repeating recent criticism of what he claimed last week is a “partisan political organization.”"
Brazil to consider leaving World Health Organization: Bolsonaro - Reuters
"Speaking to CNN Brasil, Bolsonaro said the WHO has not acted responsibly and has lost a lot of credibility, repeating recent criticism of what he claimed last week is a “partisan political organization.”"
Brazil to consider leaving World Health Organization: Bolsonaro - Reuters
Tuesday, June 09, 2020
Die Zigarre - Dokumentation von NZZ Format (2004)
Sehr empfehlenswert! Es gibt sogar eine private Zigarrenindustrie im kommunistischen Kuba.
Disgraceful Reverend Speech at George Floyd Funeral Calls to 'Clean Out the White House'
What kind of bigoted and prejudiced reverend is this! An agitator! A race peddler!
Did this man ever read the Bible! Does he understand and live by the 10 Commandments? Doubtful!
To have a racist reverend like this speak at this funeral is a disgrace!
To have a racist reverend like this speak at this funeral is a disgrace!
Chinese Propaganda Outlet Paid Millions to Washington Post, Wall Street ...
An example how totalitarian dictatorships exploit open, free societies!
Aufgedeckt: Influencerin verstrickt sich in Widersprüche
Sehr empfehlenswert! Trifft vieles genau auf den Punkt! Z.B. das Black Lives Matter Aktivisten eigentlich agitatorische Rassisten sind!
Auf Hainan soll der erste Freihandelshafen Chinas entstehen
Big news! Could be a game changer in several ways! Konkurrenz zu Hong Kong! Maritime Dominanz in der South China Sea mit all seinen Anrainerstaaten usw.
NZZ Asien Aktuelle Entwicklungen in Fernost - für Sie analysiert und kommentiert
NZZ Asien Aktuelle Entwicklungen in Fernost - für Sie analysiert und kommentiert
Scripps Research Institute Enters Presidential Election Campaign Exploiting Racism
Another leftist academic moron has come out with propaganda and demagoguery regarding race in America. Apparently, we are in a presidential election year. Stoking race tensions has now become part of it!
This time it is James Williamson, PhD, Executive Vice President, Research and Academic Affairs, Scripps Research, La Jolla, California
"Black Lives Matter." All lives matter you ignorant fool!
"We understand that Black members of our community are hurting, and please know that we see you, we care about you, and we are here for you. We see the momentum of support for the Black community swelling, and we will be a part of that. We insist that we use this time of crisis as a catalyst for change."
This is so pathetic, it is beyond words!
email : Webview : Scientists in solidarity
This time it is James Williamson, PhD, Executive Vice President, Research and Academic Affairs, Scripps Research, La Jolla, California
"Black Lives Matter." All lives matter you ignorant fool!
"We understand that Black members of our community are hurting, and please know that we see you, we care about you, and we are here for you. We see the momentum of support for the Black community swelling, and we will be a part of that. We insist that we use this time of crisis as a catalyst for change."
This is so pathetic, it is beyond words!
email : Webview : Scientists in solidarity
Google's Performer AI architecture could advance protein analysis and cut compute costs
Good news! If we can finally better understand the folding, structure, and dynamics of proteins, this would be a monumental eureka effect! What took nature and evolution many millions of years ...
"Performer is an offshoot of [the very successful] Transformer, an architecture proposed by Google researchers in 2017. Transformers rely on a trainable attention mechanism that specifies dependencies between elements of each input sequence (for instance, amino acids within a protein). ... By contrast, Performers scale linearly [not quadratically like transformers] by the number of tokens in an input sequence. Their backbone is fast attention via orthogonal random features (FAVOR), a technique that maintains marginal distributions of inputs while recognizing that different inputs are statistically independent. This lets Performers handle long sequences and remain backward-compatible with pretrained regular Transformers, allowing them to be used beyond the scope of Transformers as a more scalable replacement for attention in computer vision, reinforcement learning, and other AI applications."
Google's Performer AI architecture could advance protein analysis and cut compute costs | VentureBeat
"Performer is an offshoot of [the very successful] Transformer, an architecture proposed by Google researchers in 2017. Transformers rely on a trainable attention mechanism that specifies dependencies between elements of each input sequence (for instance, amino acids within a protein). ... By contrast, Performers scale linearly [not quadratically like transformers] by the number of tokens in an input sequence. Their backbone is fast attention via orthogonal random features (FAVOR), a technique that maintains marginal distributions of inputs while recognizing that different inputs are statistically independent. This lets Performers handle long sequences and remain backward-compatible with pretrained regular Transformers, allowing them to be used beyond the scope of Transformers as a more scalable replacement for attention in computer vision, reinforcement learning, and other AI applications."
Google's Performer AI architecture could advance protein analysis and cut compute costs | VentureBeat
Uber open-sources Neuropod to unify AI frameworks and turn models into products
Good news! A laudable effort by Uber!
"Neuropod aims to prevent incompatibilities by making frameworks look the same when running a model, with out-of-the-box support for TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, and TorchScript."
Uber open-sources Neuropod to unify AI frameworks and turn models into products | VentureBeat
"Neuropod aims to prevent incompatibilities by making frameworks look the same when running a model, with out-of-the-box support for TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, and TorchScript."
Uber open-sources Neuropod to unify AI frameworks and turn models into products | VentureBeat
Facebook's TransCoder AI converts code from one programming language into another
Good news! We have been waiting for decades for this capability to automatically, correctly and efficiently translate one programming language into another one!
Facebook's TransCoder AI converts code from one programming language into another | VentureBeat
Facebook's TransCoder AI converts code from one programming language into another | VentureBeat
IBM ends all facial recognition business as CEO calls out bias and inequality
Good news for the competition! IBM needs a new CEO! What a clown is heading this company! As expected, the stock price of IBM is falling today (6/9/2020) while tech stocks are soaring to new heights! This man ought to go into politics and leave running businesses!
Or his he trying to cover up that IBM was not successful in this line of business?
IBM ends all facial recognition business as CEO calls out bias and inequality | TechCrunch
IBM ends all facial recognition business as CEO calls out bias and inequality | TechCrunch
Monday, June 08, 2020
On Modern Social Hygiene And Temperance Movements
You might find them in rather unlikely places. Not only that their members might be hidden behind elite education and their members are involved in most advanced research.
If you think, movements like the Social Hygiene Movement or the Temperance Movement are human follies of the past, you might be very mistaken.
I just happen to study following preprint research paper in computational linguistics: Language Models are Few-Shot Learners
The authors of this paper are affiliated with OpenAI. Several of the researchers, who authored this paper, are highly cited and regarded.
The paper is about one of the very largest language models ever built to date, GPT-3 with about 175 billion parameters. The paper is unusually long with 74 pages written by 30 authors.
Well, the authors did not fail to address issues like social responsibility or social implications in this paper.
In their chapter about e.g. gender bias (pages 36-37), they discover in all earnest that there is a distinct bias in the occupational choices of women and men. Oh really! This chapter is quite amusing unless you are indoctrinated by feminist orthodoxy!
Among other things, the authors recommend:
"Ultimately, it is important not just to characterize biases in language systems but to intervene. ... There is room for more research that engages with the literature outside NLP [Natural Language Processing], better articulates normative statements about harm, and engages with the lived experience of communities affected by NLP systems" (page 39). By that they mean perceived and exaggerated gender, racial bias, and religious bias and other biases. Such politically correct obsessions, I am afraid, are all to typical for academics living in a ivory tower bubble!
Bund will Steuer für Spritschlucker ab 2021 deutlich erhöhen
Mehr schreckliche Bevormundung und Gängelung des Bürgers! Blinder Aktionismus im Namen grüner Orthodoxie! Das Diktat der vermeintlichen Umweltschützer!
Als ob diese Maßnahme einen Unterschied machen würde! Das ist Augenwischerei und Gefühlsduselei Politik!
Bund will Steuer für Spritschlucker ab 2021 deutlich erhöhen Die Kfz-Steuer für stärker motorisierte Neuwagen soll deutlich steigen. Das trifft Autos, die besonders viel CO2 ausstoßen. Die Details des Gesetzentwurfs sickern durch.
Bund will Steuer für Spritschlucker ab 2021 deutlich erhöhen Die Kfz-Steuer für stärker motorisierte Neuwagen soll deutlich steigen. Das trifft Autos, die besonders viel CO2 ausstoßen. Die Details des Gesetzentwurfs sickern durch.
Responsible Business Initiative in Switzerland
This is alarming! Historically, the Swiss people have shown a lot of common sense when it comes to doing business. However, this new referendum has the potential to cripple successful Swiss businesses. Hopefully, the Swiss people will soundly reject such initiatives!
Businesses should follow the law not the whims of ideological or political activists and agitators!
"The Responsible Business Initiative wants multinationals to respect human rights and the environment in their activities abroad. Under the Responsible Business Initiative, companies will be legally obliged to incorporate respect for human rights and the environment in all their business activities. This mandatory due diligence will also be applied to Swiss based companies’ activities abroad.
The mandatory due diligence instrument is based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights."
Businesses should follow the law not the whims of ideological or political activists and agitators!
"The Responsible Business Initiative wants multinationals to respect human rights and the environment in their activities abroad. Under the Responsible Business Initiative, companies will be legally obliged to incorporate respect for human rights and the environment in all their business activities. This mandatory due diligence will also be applied to Swiss based companies’ activities abroad.
The mandatory due diligence instrument is based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights."
Who is behind these Guiding Principles? Perhaps Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela ...
Stalin's Spies and The Secrets Of The NKVD
Very recommendable! You wonder if not Putin's Russia is not behind some of the mob violence and riots that have recently erupted in the U.S. Putin was a KGB officer and former director of the successor of the KGB!
It also tells the story what a paranoid monster Stalin was. He killed numerous spies and even the heads of his intelligence service!
Caution: Contains lot's of disturbing footage!
Sunday, June 07, 2020
Sen. Graham: FISA court rebuked the DOJ and FBI
Much bigger and much more sophisticated than Watergate!
‘Be The Black Radicals That We Need to Overthrow the System’ Shout BLM Protesters in London
Black supremacy ideology on display! What delusional agitators!
The competitive debate of the Chatbots is heating up
In January 2020, Google presented its multi-turn Meena chatbot (Towards a Human-like Open-Domain Chatbot). To be followed in April 2020 by Facebook's BlenderBot (Recipes for building an open-domain chatbot). How far behind is Microsoft in this competition? Or is Microsoft even ahead?
Will these two chatbots soon compete in the World Universities Debating Championship? I am looking forward to it!
Chatbots get ready!
Where will the first contest held? Oxford Union Society or Harvard Speech and Parliamentary Debate Society?
Google Translate Annoyances
In this day and age of almost daily major advances in computational linguistics and the reputation of Google and its affiliates a wizards of AI & machine learning it is almost astonishing how poorly their smartphone application does.
I have a strong need for English to Chinese and vice versa translations. Thus my list of annoyances covers only these two language pairs and it covers only voice input.
Annoyances:
- English sentences longer than about 5-6 words will be truncated or it runs into trouble with transcribing it into proper English text.
- Frequently, I have to repeat English sentences, because it misinterprets my words although it is my smartphone for over a year (Samsung S10)
- Chinese voice input by a native Chinese speaker from central China does not fare any better on my smartphone. He sometimes has to repeat speaking the Chinese sentences for half a dozen times until he gives up.
A new 3-D map illuminates the 'little brain' within the heart
Amazing stuff! So when someone is heartless, this person is also brainless? :-) It is actually surprising and disturbing to me that this group of heart nerve cells has not previously been studied in more detail. There can be little doubt that these nerve cells might be of critical importance to the functioning of our most important muscle!
"To make their map, [researchers] imaged male and female rat hearts with a method called knife-edge scanning microscopy, creating detailed pictures of heart anatomy. Those images could then be built into a 3-D model of the heart. The scientists also plucked out individual neurons and measured the amount of gene activity within each cell."
A new 3-D map illuminates the 'little brain' within the heart | Science News Nerve cells in the organ are poorly understood
"To make their map, [researchers] imaged male and female rat hearts with a method called knife-edge scanning microscopy, creating detailed pictures of heart anatomy. Those images could then be built into a 3-D model of the heart. The scientists also plucked out individual neurons and measured the amount of gene activity within each cell."
A new 3-D map illuminates the 'little brain' within the heart | Science News Nerve cells in the organ are poorly understood
“Nerve cells (yellow) that make up a heart’s “brain” cluster around the top of this reconstructed rat heart, near where blood vessels enter and exit the organ.”
In online vigil, MIT community shares grief, anger, and hope
More evidence that one of the top elite universities of the world, the Massachusetts Institute or MIT, has decayed into a propaganda and demagoguery school! These university agitators and demagogues are corrupting and brainwashing the minds of young students! Some of these agitators, including the current President of MIT, are even delusional!
It is absolutely astonishing how many of its academic staff from the President of MIT down are espousing such disinformation and propaganda!
"“What has happened is not simply the results of a few bad people doing bad things,” Dozier said. “Rather it speakes to the systemic dehumanizing and undervaluing of Black lives, borne out of slavery, reinforced by Jim Crow law, and promoted even today by media stereotypes. I’m here as a Black man, son, husband, and a father, who is in deep pain from watching history repeat itself over and over again.”"
Institute Community and Equity Officer John Dozier
"Sandy Alexandre, associate professor of literature, also spoke of the collective harm to Black lives caused by racial injustice and violence: “Past and present have proven time and time again that racism is not merely a thorn in a person’s side, it’s also a suffocating knee on a person’s neck,” she said."
"Vice President for Human Resources Ramona Allen, who grew up in segregated Boston and rode a school bus that was the target of stones, eggs, and bullets, noted, “These are collective, deep-seated traumas that are manifesting on our streets. It’s exhausting to be a person of color in this country, and quite frankly, we’re tired.” ... I draw strength from knowing that at MIT we continue to be committed to educating students in ways that will serve the nation and the world. … We have the best and the brightest minds here, so we need to lead the country from Cambridge the way we do in every other way that makes MIT a place of excellence"
It goes on and on, you get the idea!
In online vigil, MIT community shares grief, anger, and hope | MIT News “If you say you care about the injustice in this nation and in this world, you have a role to play,” said Associate Dean DiOnetta Jones Crayton.
It is absolutely astonishing how many of its academic staff from the President of MIT down are espousing such disinformation and propaganda!
"“What has happened is not simply the results of a few bad people doing bad things,” Dozier said. “Rather it speakes to the systemic dehumanizing and undervaluing of Black lives, borne out of slavery, reinforced by Jim Crow law, and promoted even today by media stereotypes. I’m here as a Black man, son, husband, and a father, who is in deep pain from watching history repeat itself over and over again.”"
Institute Community and Equity Officer John Dozier
"Sandy Alexandre, associate professor of literature, also spoke of the collective harm to Black lives caused by racial injustice and violence: “Past and present have proven time and time again that racism is not merely a thorn in a person’s side, it’s also a suffocating knee on a person’s neck,” she said."
"Vice President for Human Resources Ramona Allen, who grew up in segregated Boston and rode a school bus that was the target of stones, eggs, and bullets, noted, “These are collective, deep-seated traumas that are manifesting on our streets. It’s exhausting to be a person of color in this country, and quite frankly, we’re tired.” ... I draw strength from knowing that at MIT we continue to be committed to educating students in ways that will serve the nation and the world. … We have the best and the brightest minds here, so we need to lead the country from Cambridge the way we do in every other way that makes MIT a place of excellence"
It goes on and on, you get the idea!
In online vigil, MIT community shares grief, anger, and hope | MIT News “If you say you care about the injustice in this nation and in this world, you have a role to play,” said Associate Dean DiOnetta Jones Crayton.
First Human Trial for COVID-19 Antibody Drug Begins
Amazing stuff! Wow! The speed and the collaborative effort of this development is breathtaking! Going forward one can assume drug development will be permanently accelerated!
"Just three months after the start of the pandemic, drugmaker Eli Lilly [plus AbCellera, and the Vaccine Research Center at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] has announced the first human test of an antibody treatment designed to fight the novel coronavirus. ... In 2018, AbCellera joined DARPA’s Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) program to develop technologies to deliver rapid medical countermeasures to emerging pandemics."
"On 25 February, the company received the recovered COVID-19 patient’s blood sample. ... Within three days, AbCellera had over 2,000 positive hits: antibodies that demonstrated some binding to the virus. ... At that point, the company handed off the antibodies to partner Eli Lilly, a drug company with experience in running clinical trials and manufacturing new drugs. AbCellera and Lilly narrowed the candidates to a set of 190 antibodies, which they sent to the Vaccine Research Center for potency testing against the virus in cells and animals. By mid-April, the group had narrowed them down to 24 front-runners. ... On 1 June, Eli Lilly announced that it had begun dosing patients with one of those finalists, LY-CoV555, for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19."
First Human Trial for COVID-19 Antibody Drug Begins - IEEE Spectrum The antibody was discovered in a recovered patient’s blood using microfluidics, machine vision, and big-data tools
"Just three months after the start of the pandemic, drugmaker Eli Lilly [plus AbCellera, and the Vaccine Research Center at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] has announced the first human test of an antibody treatment designed to fight the novel coronavirus. ... In 2018, AbCellera joined DARPA’s Pandemic Prevention Platform (P3) program to develop technologies to deliver rapid medical countermeasures to emerging pandemics."
"On 25 February, the company received the recovered COVID-19 patient’s blood sample. ... Within three days, AbCellera had over 2,000 positive hits: antibodies that demonstrated some binding to the virus. ... At that point, the company handed off the antibodies to partner Eli Lilly, a drug company with experience in running clinical trials and manufacturing new drugs. AbCellera and Lilly narrowed the candidates to a set of 190 antibodies, which they sent to the Vaccine Research Center for potency testing against the virus in cells and animals. By mid-April, the group had narrowed them down to 24 front-runners. ... On 1 June, Eli Lilly announced that it had begun dosing patients with one of those finalists, LY-CoV555, for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19."
First Human Trial for COVID-19 Antibody Drug Begins - IEEE Spectrum The antibody was discovered in a recovered patient’s blood using microfluidics, machine vision, and big-data tools
A Milky Way flash suggests magnetars are sources of fast radio bursts
Amazing stuff! There is some palpable excitement about this momentous discovery!
"But the outburst in our own galaxy, detected simultaneously by two radio arrays on April 28, was close enough to see that it was generated by a highly magnetic neutron star called a magnetar. That observation is a smoking gun that magnetars are behind at least some of the extragalactic fast radio bursts, or FRBs, that have defied explanation for over a decade"
A Milky Way flash suggests magnetars are sources of fast radio bursts | Science News High-energy event nearby could help explain mystery signals from distant galaxies
"But the outburst in our own galaxy, detected simultaneously by two radio arrays on April 28, was close enough to see that it was generated by a highly magnetic neutron star called a magnetar. That observation is a smoking gun that magnetars are behind at least some of the extragalactic fast radio bursts, or FRBs, that have defied explanation for over a decade"
A Milky Way flash suggests magnetars are sources of fast radio bursts | Science News High-energy event nearby could help explain mystery signals from distant galaxies
Atom-Thin Switches Could Route 5G and 6G Radio Signals
Good news! Let the age of 5G commence!
"Cellular radios do a lot of switching. They have to switch between transmit and receive, they have to switch between different frequencies to prevent interference, and they may have to switch among signals with different phases to steer their data beams around. RF switches are pretty demanding devices that need a combination of characteristics that are hard to come by."
Atom-Thin Switches Could Route 5G and 6G Radio Signals - IEEE Spectrum Texas engineers devise a non-volatile memristor-like switch from 2D hexagonal boron nitride
"Cellular radios do a lot of switching. They have to switch between transmit and receive, they have to switch between different frequencies to prevent interference, and they may have to switch among signals with different phases to steer their data beams around. RF switches are pretty demanding devices that need a combination of characteristics that are hard to come by."
Atom-Thin Switches Could Route 5G and 6G Radio Signals - IEEE Spectrum Texas engineers devise a non-volatile memristor-like switch from 2D hexagonal boron nitride
Machine-learning tool could help develop tougher materials
Good news! This has the potential of tremendous new discoveries of better materials with even previously unknown properties!
Machine-learning tool could help develop tougher materials | MIT News Engineers develop a rapid screening system to test fracture resistance in billions of potential materials.
Machine-learning tool could help develop tougher materials | MIT News Engineers develop a rapid screening system to test fracture resistance in billions of potential materials.
Why Taiwan Needs Nuclear Weapons
This is a very provokative article by Michael Rubin, but also serious food for thought!
Sure enough, with its more assertive and bullying behavior of recent years, the Communist Party of China under their latest dictator for life has triggered new arms races and the build up of new alliances to counter China.
"They realize that while Chinese officials have long claimed the island nation as an indivisible part of China, historically and with the exception of just a few decades over the course of centuries, Taiwan has been distinct and its own entity. Any visitor to Taiwan can observe this the second they leave the airport. After all, Taiwanese—both those indigenous to the island and those who are more recent immigrants—have a very different narrative, one rooted more in history. ... In 1968, Taiwan—then recognized at the United Nations—as the legitimate government of China has signed the NPT and was a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Officially, when Washington and the United Nations shifted recognition of China from Taipei to Beijing, the United States and Taiwan agreed that Taiwan would continue to abide by the NPT."
Why Taiwan Needs Nuclear Weapons | The National Interest With communist authorities in China openly and gleefully shredding the post-World War II liberal order, it may be time for the United States and Taiwan to show Beijing the dangers of doing so by allowing Taiwan to become a nuclear weapons power.
Sure enough, with its more assertive and bullying behavior of recent years, the Communist Party of China under their latest dictator for life has triggered new arms races and the build up of new alliances to counter China.
"They realize that while Chinese officials have long claimed the island nation as an indivisible part of China, historically and with the exception of just a few decades over the course of centuries, Taiwan has been distinct and its own entity. Any visitor to Taiwan can observe this the second they leave the airport. After all, Taiwanese—both those indigenous to the island and those who are more recent immigrants—have a very different narrative, one rooted more in history. ... In 1968, Taiwan—then recognized at the United Nations—as the legitimate government of China has signed the NPT and was a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Officially, when Washington and the United Nations shifted recognition of China from Taipei to Beijing, the United States and Taiwan agreed that Taiwan would continue to abide by the NPT."
Why Taiwan Needs Nuclear Weapons | The National Interest With communist authorities in China openly and gleefully shredding the post-World War II liberal order, it may be time for the United States and Taiwan to show Beijing the dangers of doing so by allowing Taiwan to become a nuclear weapons power.
Renewables Dethrone King Coal
Don't ever believe headlines of news articles especially when they sound to good to be true! Misleading journalism is all too prevalent! Like in this case! When was the last time coal was king? Let me not fail to mention this article did not appear in the usual suspect media, but in an official flagship publication of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).
Hydroelectric power generation was included "the second-largest renewable source of energy in both generation and nominal capacity ... In 2015, hydroelectric power produced 35% of the total renewable electricity, and 6.1% of the total U.S. electricity." (Source)
To include hydroelectric power is a very typical disinformation by environmentalists! They want you to believe its wind and solar power!
"The month [April] marks “shoulder season,” he says, “when heating is coming off but air-conditioning hasn’t really kicked in yet.” It’s when electricity demand is typically the lowest, which is why many power plants schedule their yearly maintenance during this time. Spring is also when wind and hydropower generation peak ..."
Thus, more deliberate disinformation!
Lastly, but not least, coal energy generation was forced to shut down or was phased out by government! With filter technology etc. coal fired power plants are not necessarily dirty! Coal fired plants can also be located in remote areas etc.
Renewables Dethrone King Coal - IEEE Spectrum In April, more power was generated from renewables like wind and solar than coal for the first time in US history
Hydroelectric power generation was included "the second-largest renewable source of energy in both generation and nominal capacity ... In 2015, hydroelectric power produced 35% of the total renewable electricity, and 6.1% of the total U.S. electricity." (Source)
To include hydroelectric power is a very typical disinformation by environmentalists! They want you to believe its wind and solar power!
"The month [April] marks “shoulder season,” he says, “when heating is coming off but air-conditioning hasn’t really kicked in yet.” It’s when electricity demand is typically the lowest, which is why many power plants schedule their yearly maintenance during this time. Spring is also when wind and hydropower generation peak ..."
Thus, more deliberate disinformation!
Lastly, but not least, coal energy generation was forced to shut down or was phased out by government! With filter technology etc. coal fired power plants are not necessarily dirty! Coal fired plants can also be located in remote areas etc.
Renewables Dethrone King Coal - IEEE Spectrum In April, more power was generated from renewables like wind and solar than coal for the first time in US history
These flexible feet help robots walk faster
Would you believe it takes coffee grounds to achieve that?
"The feet are flexible spheres made from a latex membrane filled with coffee grounds. Structures inspired by nature‒ such as plant roots‒ and by man-made solutions‒ such as piles driven into the ground to stabilize slopes‒ are embedded in the coffee grounds.
The feet allow robots to walk faster and grip better because of a mechanism called granular jamming that allows granular media, in this case the coffee grounds, to go back and forth between behaving like a solid and behaving like a liquid. When the feet hit the ground, they firm up, conforming to the ground underneath and providing solid footing."
These flexible feet help robots walk faster Roboticists at the University of California San Diego have developed flexible feet that can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips. The work has applications for search-and-rescue missions as well as space exploration.
"The feet are flexible spheres made from a latex membrane filled with coffee grounds. Structures inspired by nature‒ such as plant roots‒ and by man-made solutions‒ such as piles driven into the ground to stabilize slopes‒ are embedded in the coffee grounds.
The feet allow robots to walk faster and grip better because of a mechanism called granular jamming that allows granular media, in this case the coffee grounds, to go back and forth between behaving like a solid and behaving like a liquid. When the feet hit the ground, they firm up, conforming to the ground underneath and providing solid footing."
These flexible feet help robots walk faster Roboticists at the University of California San Diego have developed flexible feet that can help robots walk up to 40 percent faster on uneven terrain such as pebbles and wood chips. The work has applications for search-and-rescue missions as well as space exploration.
A good egg: robot chef trained to make omelettes
Can't wait to have a robot chef in our kitchen just waiting for your orders! Today, Chinese, tomorrow Italian, next weekend French cuisine!
A good egg: robot chef trained to make omelettes | University of Cambridge A team of engineers have trained a robot to prepare an omelette, all the way from cracking the eggs to plating the finished dish, and refined the ‘chef’s’ culinary skills to produce a reliable dish that actually tastes good.
A good egg: robot chef trained to make omelettes | University of Cambridge A team of engineers have trained a robot to prepare an omelette, all the way from cracking the eggs to plating the finished dish, and refined the ‘chef’s’ culinary skills to produce a reliable dish that actually tastes good.
Butterfly landmines mapped by drones and machine learning
Good news!
Butterfly landmines mapped by drones and machine learning | The Engineer The Engineer IEDs and so-called butterfly landmines could be detected over wide areas using drones and advanced machine learning, according to research from Binghamton University, State University at New York.
Butterfly landmines mapped by drones and machine learning | The Engineer The Engineer IEDs and so-called butterfly landmines could be detected over wide areas using drones and advanced machine learning, according to research from Binghamton University, State University at New York.
Saturday, June 06, 2020
Police group breaks with Biden amid George Floyd protests
Black Americans are coming off the Democratic Party plantation in droves! Police officers are getting fed up with lefty, sleepy Joseph Biden!
Trump: Biden did nothing for black people in 40 years
Looking forward to the upcoming presidential debates! Should be fun, but not for Sleepy Joseph!
Statistics reveal police shoot and kill twice as many white suspects as ...
Very recommendable! Let the truth be told! Contains a lot of interesting statistics contradicting the systemic racism propaganda!
The Big Picture: India, Australia First Virtual Summit
Recommendable! This is big news! The potential for better India-Australia relations is enormous! The British Commonwealth is coming together again sort of. The UK will probably be participating! India is cautiously stepping out out of self imposed isolation (non-alignment)! An assertive and bullying Communist Party of China is the driving force.
There is a 700,000 diaspora of Indians living in India.
Scandalous MIT community vigil with the President of MIT
It is incredible! These are the words of the President of one of the top elite Universities of the world, MIT! This man, Mr. L. Rafael Reif, is a racist ideologue of the worst kind. He pretends to be a force for good while he is stoking racism as part of a presidential election campaign! He is an agitator in the tradition of e.g. Joseph Goebbels! This is my second blog post about this crazed man in less than 10 days!
All lives matter, you fool!
" ... We come together now because we know, and we insist, that black lives matter. That black lives are worthy and complex and inspiring. That every black person is unique and beautifully human, and that every black person of every age, everywhere, deserves dignity and decency and respect.
And of course, we come together because we know that these truths, and the basic humanity of people of color, are violated in our nation every day.
Last week, the example that shocked the nation was the brutal killing of George Floyd. But so many have suffered before him over weeks and decades and centuries. ... "
His narrative about black Americans is much a fantasy as the Ewige Jude propagandized by Joseph Goebbels!
If I were a student at MIT, I would ask for my money back ASAP!
MIT community vigil | MIT Office of the President (Speech by the President of MIT, Mr. L. RAFAEL REIF, 6/2/2020)
All lives matter, you fool!
" ... We come together now because we know, and we insist, that black lives matter. That black lives are worthy and complex and inspiring. That every black person is unique and beautifully human, and that every black person of every age, everywhere, deserves dignity and decency and respect.
And of course, we come together because we know that these truths, and the basic humanity of people of color, are violated in our nation every day.
Last week, the example that shocked the nation was the brutal killing of George Floyd. But so many have suffered before him over weeks and decades and centuries. ... "
His narrative about black Americans is much a fantasy as the Ewige Jude propagandized by Joseph Goebbels!
If I were a student at MIT, I would ask for my money back ASAP!
MIT community vigil | MIT Office of the President (Speech by the President of MIT, Mr. L. RAFAEL REIF, 6/2/2020)
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