In a First, Woman’s Type 1 Diabetes Reversed by a Stem Cell Transplant
The 25-year-old woman had suffered through decades of medical nightmares. A native of Tianjin, a city roughly two hours west of Beijing, she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 11 years ago. A chronic autoimmune disease, her body’s immune system savagely attacks the cells in her pancreas that produce insulin, spiking blood sugar to deadly...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/09/in-a-first-womans-type-1-diabetes-reversed-by-a-stem-cell-transplant/
The 25-year-old woman had suffered through decades of medical nightmares. A native of Tianjin, a city roughly two hours west of Beijing, she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 11 years ago. A chronic autoimmune disease, her body’s immune system savagely attacks the cells in her pancreas that produce insulin, spiking blood sugar to deadly...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/09/in-a-first-womans-type-1-diabetes-reversed-by-a-stem-cell-transplant/
Singularity Hub
In a First, Woman’s Type 1 Diabetes Reversed by a Stem Cell Transplant
The cells restored the woman’s ability to process sugar and carbohydrates to that of non-diabetic people. In a sense, it reversed her condition completely.
You’ll Soon Be Able to Book a Room at the World’s First 3D-Printed Hotel
The first 3D-printed house in the US was unveiled just over six years ago. Since then, homes have been printed all over the country and the world, from Virginia to California and Mexico to Kenya. If you’re intrigued by the concept but not sure whether you’re ready to jump on the bandwagon, you’ll soon be...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/10/youll-soon-be-able-to-book-a-room-at-the-worlds-first-3d-printed-hotel/
The first 3D-printed house in the US was unveiled just over six years ago. Since then, homes have been printed all over the country and the world, from Virginia to California and Mexico to Kenya. If you’re intrigued by the concept but not sure whether you’re ready to jump on the bandwagon, you’ll soon be...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/10/youll-soon-be-able-to-book-a-room-at-the-worlds-first-3d-printed-hotel/
Singularity Hub
You’ll Soon Be Able to Book a Room at the World’s First 3D-Printed Hotel
El Cosmico, a hotel in Texas, will gain 43 new rooms and 18 houses, which will be printed using Icon's giant gantry-style Vulcan printer.
AI Agents Could Collaborate on Far Grander Scales Than Humans, Study Says
Humans are social animals, but there appear to be hard limits to the number of relationships we can maintain at once. New research suggests AI may be capable of collaborating in much larger groups. In the 1990s, British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggested that most humans can only maintain social groups of roughly 150 people. While...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/11/ai-agents-could-collaborate-on-far-grander-scales-than-humans-study-says/
Humans are social animals, but there appear to be hard limits to the number of relationships we can maintain at once. New research suggests AI may be capable of collaborating in much larger groups. In the 1990s, British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggested that most humans can only maintain social groups of roughly 150 people. While...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/11/ai-agents-could-collaborate-on-far-grander-scales-than-humans-study-says/
Singularity Hub
AI Agents Could Collaborate on Far Grander Scales Than Humans, Study Says
A new study found the most capable AI models could cooperate in groups of at least 1,000—an order of magnitude more than humans.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 12)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AI’s Penicillin and X-Ray Moment Matteo Wong | The Atlantic “When the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel wrote his will in 1895, he designated funds to reward those who ‘have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.’ The resulting Nobel Prizes have since been awarded to the discoverers of penicillin, X-rays, and the structure of DNA—and,...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/12/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-october-12-2/
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AI’s Penicillin and X-Ray Moment Matteo Wong | The Atlantic “When the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel wrote his will in 1895, he designated funds to reward those who ‘have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.’ The resulting Nobel Prizes have since been awarded to the discoverers of penicillin, X-rays, and the structure of DNA—and,...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/12/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-october-12-2/
Singularity Hub
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 12)
From AI's Nobel prizes to the case for radical optimism, check out this week's awesome tech stories from around the web.
Are We Reaching the Limit of Human Longevity? A New Study Says Yes
Human life expectancy dramatically increased last century. Compared to babies born in 1900, those born at the turn of the 21st century could live, on average, three decades longer—with many living to celebrate their 100th birthdays. In other words, for much of the century, each passing year added something like three months to a person’s...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/14/are-we-reaching-the-limit-of-human-longevity-a-new-study-says-yes/
Human life expectancy dramatically increased last century. Compared to babies born in 1900, those born at the turn of the 21st century could live, on average, three decades longer—with many living to celebrate their 100th birthdays. In other words, for much of the century, each passing year added something like three months to a person’s...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/14/are-we-reaching-the-limit-of-human-longevity-a-new-study-says-yes/
Singularity Hub
Are We Reaching the Limit of Human Longevity? A New Study Says Yes
A new paper is sparking debate with its finding that, despite progress in medicine, increases in life expectancy are slowing.
AI Has a Secret: We’re Still Not Sure How to Test for Human Levels of Intelligence
Two of San Francisco’s leading players in artificial intelligence have challenged the public to come up with questions capable of testing the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like Google Gemini and OpenAI’s o1. Scale AI, which specializes in preparing the vast tracts of data on which the LLMs are trained, teamed up with the...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/15/ai-has-a-secret-were-still-not-sure-how-to-test-for-human-levels-of-intelligence/
Two of San Francisco’s leading players in artificial intelligence have challenged the public to come up with questions capable of testing the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like Google Gemini and OpenAI’s o1. Scale AI, which specializes in preparing the vast tracts of data on which the LLMs are trained, teamed up with the...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/15/ai-has-a-secret-were-still-not-sure-how-to-test-for-human-levels-of-intelligence/
Singularity Hub
AI Has a Secret: We’re Still Not Sure How to Test for Human Levels of Intelligence
We need to know when machines are getting close to human-level reasoning, with all the safety, ethical, and moral questions this raises.
Autoimmune Diseases Stopped in Their Tracks by ‘Phenomenal’ Donor Cell Therapy
For the first time, an off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapy has been used to treat potentially life-threatening autoimmune disorders in three people. With a single shot, the treatment rapidly reversed their debilitating symptoms for up to a year. The treatment changed one recipient’s life. Diagnosed with systemic sclerosis—an autoimmune condition that wrecked his muscles and...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/17/autoimmune-diseases-stopped-in-their-tracks-by-phenomenal-donor-cell-therapy/
For the first time, an off-the-shelf CAR T cell therapy has been used to treat potentially life-threatening autoimmune disorders in three people. With a single shot, the treatment rapidly reversed their debilitating symptoms for up to a year. The treatment changed one recipient’s life. Diagnosed with systemic sclerosis—an autoimmune condition that wrecked his muscles and...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/17/autoimmune-diseases-stopped-in-their-tracks-by-phenomenal-donor-cell-therapy/
Singularity Hub
Autoimmune Diseases Stopped in Their Tracks by ‘Phenomenal’ Donor Cell Therapy
Living drugs like these are costly. By using donor cells, the new study hints we might be able to mass produce them in the future and thereby slash costs.
This DeepMind AI Helps Polarized Groups of People Find Common Ground
In our polarized times, finding ways to get people to agree with each other is more important than ever. New research suggests AI can help people with different views find common ground. The ability to effectively make collective decisions is crucial for an open and free society. But it is a skill that’s atrophied in...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/18/this-deepmind-ai-helps-polarized-groups-of-people-find-common-ground/
In our polarized times, finding ways to get people to agree with each other is more important than ever. New research suggests AI can help people with different views find common ground. The ability to effectively make collective decisions is crucial for an open and free society. But it is a skill that’s atrophied in...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/18/this-deepmind-ai-helps-polarized-groups-of-people-find-common-ground/
Singularity Hub
This DeepMind AI Helps Polarized Groups of People Find Common Ground
In our polarized times, finding ways to get people to agree with each other is more important than ever. New research suggests AI can help.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 19)
SPACE SpaceX Catches Returning Rocket in Mid-Air, Turning a Fanciful Idea Into Reality Stephen Clark | Ars Technica “This achievement is the first of its kind, and it’s crucial for SpaceX’s vision of rapidly reusing the Starship rocket, enabling human expeditions to the moon and Mars, routine access to space for mind-bogglingly massive payloads, and...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/19/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-october-19-2/
SPACE SpaceX Catches Returning Rocket in Mid-Air, Turning a Fanciful Idea Into Reality Stephen Clark | Ars Technica “This achievement is the first of its kind, and it’s crucial for SpaceX’s vision of rapidly reusing the Starship rocket, enabling human expeditions to the moon and Mars, routine access to space for mind-bogglingly massive payloads, and...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/19/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-october-19-2/
Singularity Hub
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 19)
From the key to human-level AI to hope for limitless geothermal energy, check out this week's awesome tech stories from around the web.
Dusty Snow on Mars Could Harbor Life According to a New NASA Simulation
Water is the essence of life. When scientists discovered permafrost ice caps on Mars’ north pole in 1976, the news immediately sparked speculation about potential life on the red planet. The later discovery of exposed ice on the south pole further teased the idea. In 2003, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spacecraft, equipped with cameras that...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/21/dusty-snow-on-mars-could-harbor-life-according-to-a-new-nasa-simulation/
Water is the essence of life. When scientists discovered permafrost ice caps on Mars’ north pole in 1976, the news immediately sparked speculation about potential life on the red planet. The later discovery of exposed ice on the south pole further teased the idea. In 2003, the Mars Odyssey orbiter spacecraft, equipped with cameras that...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/21/dusty-snow-on-mars-could-harbor-life-according-to-a-new-nasa-simulation/
Singularity Hub
Dusty Snow on Mars Could Harbor Life According to a New NASA Simulation
If life exists on Mars, a creature would have to withstand radiation and have access to water. One potential niche fulfilling these requirements? Dusty ice.
Nuclear Rockets Could Take Us to Mars in Half the Time. NASA Plans to Fly One by 2027.
NASA plans to send crewed missions to Mars over the next decade—but the 140 million-mile (225 million-kilometer) journey to the red planet could take several months to years round trip. This relatively long transit time is a result of the use of traditional chemical rocket fuel. An alternative technology to the chemically propelled rockets the...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/22/nuclear-rockets-could-take-us-to-mars-in-half-the-time-nasa-plans-to-fly-one-by-2027/
NASA plans to send crewed missions to Mars over the next decade—but the 140 million-mile (225 million-kilometer) journey to the red planet could take several months to years round trip. This relatively long transit time is a result of the use of traditional chemical rocket fuel. An alternative technology to the chemically propelled rockets the...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/22/nuclear-rockets-could-take-us-to-mars-in-half-the-time-nasa-plans-to-fly-one-by-2027/
Singularity Hub
Nuclear Rockets Could Take Us to Mars in Half the Time. NASA Plans to Fly One by 2027.
NASA and DARPA will fly a prototype nuclear rocket in 2027—potentially making it one of the first of its kind built and operated by the US.
Scientists Just Discovered Over 70,000 Bizarre New Viruses With AI
Viruses are everywhere. They’re in the air; in sewage, lakes, and oceans; in grasslands and decaying wood. Some thrive in extreme conditions, like hydrothermal vents, Antarctic ice, and potentially even outer space. They’re also ancient. Some are likely as old as, if not even older than, the very first cells. Despite cohabitating with viruses since...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/23/scientists-just-discovered-over-70000-bizarre-new-viruses-with-ai/
Viruses are everywhere. They’re in the air; in sewage, lakes, and oceans; in grasslands and decaying wood. Some thrive in extreme conditions, like hydrothermal vents, Antarctic ice, and potentially even outer space. They’re also ancient. Some are likely as old as, if not even older than, the very first cells. Despite cohabitating with viruses since...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/23/scientists-just-discovered-over-70000-bizarre-new-viruses-with-ai/
Singularity Hub
Scientists Just Discovered Over 70,000 Bizarre New Viruses With AI
Charting the "dark matter" of the viral universe has implications not just for biotechnology—but potentially for battling the next pandemic too.
This Radical New Farming Method Would Replace Photosynthesis With Solar Power
Farming immediately sparks images of lush fields of leafy greens under a blue sky, corn blowing in the wind, or majestic terraced rice paddies carved into mountainsides. Agriculture changed societies and our food habits roughly 12,000 years ago when humans switched from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to more permanent settlements. In recent centuries, innovative farming equipment...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/24/this-radical-new-farming-method-would-replace-photosynthesis-with-solar-power/
Farming immediately sparks images of lush fields of leafy greens under a blue sky, corn blowing in the wind, or majestic terraced rice paddies carved into mountainsides. Agriculture changed societies and our food habits roughly 12,000 years ago when humans switched from nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles to more permanent settlements. In recent centuries, innovative farming equipment...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/24/this-radical-new-farming-method-would-replace-photosynthesis-with-solar-power/
Singularity Hub
This Radical New Farming Method Would Replace Photosynthesis With Solar Power
Dubbed “electro-agriculture,” the approach uses solar panels to trigger a chemical reaction that turns ambient CO2 into an energy source called acetate.
‘Electric Plastic’ Could Merge Technology With the Body in Future Wearables and Implants
Finding ways to connect the human body to technology could have broad applications in health and entertainment. A new “electric plastic” could make self-powered wearables, real-time neural interfaces, and medical implants that merge with our bodies a reality. While there has been significant progress in the development of wearable and implantable technology in recent years,...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/25/electric-plastic-could-more-closely-merge-technology-with-the-body-in-future-wearables/
Finding ways to connect the human body to technology could have broad applications in health and entertainment. A new “electric plastic” could make self-powered wearables, real-time neural interfaces, and medical implants that merge with our bodies a reality. While there has been significant progress in the development of wearable and implantable technology in recent years,...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/25/electric-plastic-could-more-closely-merge-technology-with-the-body-in-future-wearables/
Singularity Hub
‘Electric Plastic’ Could Merge Technology With the Body in Future Wearables and Implants
A new "electric plastic" could make self-powered wearables, real-time neural interfaces, and medical implants that merge with our bodies a reality.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 26)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Anthropic Wants Its AI Agent to Control Your Computer Will Knight | Wired “It took a while for people to adjust to the idea of chatbots that seem to have minds of their own. The next leap into the unknown may involve trusting artificial intelligence to take over our computers, too. Anthropic, a...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/26/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-october-26-2/
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Anthropic Wants Its AI Agent to Control Your Computer Will Knight | Wired “It took a while for people to adjust to the idea of chatbots that seem to have minds of their own. The next leap into the unknown may involve trusting artificial intelligence to take over our computers, too. Anthropic, a...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/26/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-october-26-2/
Singularity Hub
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through October 26)
From AI agents taking over computers to implants that restore vision to the legally blind, check out this week's awesome tech stories from around the web.
The Legally Blind See Again With an Implant the Size of a Grain of Salt
Seeing is believing. Our perception of the world heavily relies on vision. What we see depends on cells in the retina, which sit behind the eyes. These delicate cells transform light into electrical pulses that go to the brain for further processing. But because of age, disease, or genetics, retinal cells often break down. For...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/28/the-clinically-blind-see-again-with-an-implant-the-size-of-a-grain-of-sand/
Seeing is believing. Our perception of the world heavily relies on vision. What we see depends on cells in the retina, which sit behind the eyes. These delicate cells transform light into electrical pulses that go to the brain for further processing. But because of age, disease, or genetics, retinal cells often break down. For...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/28/the-clinically-blind-see-again-with-an-implant-the-size-of-a-grain-of-sand/
Singularity Hub
The Legally Blind See Again With an Implant the Size of a Grain of Salt
Each chip contains nearly 400 light-sensitive pixels, which convert light patterns into electrical pulses the brain can interpret.
Did the Early Cosmos Inflate Like a Balloon? A Mirror Universe Going Backwards in Time May Be a Simpler Explanation
We live in a golden age for learning about the universe. Our most powerful telescopes have revealed that the cosmos is surprisingly simple on the largest visible scales. Likewise, our most powerful “microscope,” the Large Hadron Collider, has found no deviations from known physics on the tiniest scales. These findings were not what most theorists...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/29/did-the-early-cosmos-inflate-like-a-balloon-a-mirror-universe-going-backwards-in-time-may-be-a-simpler-explanation/
We live in a golden age for learning about the universe. Our most powerful telescopes have revealed that the cosmos is surprisingly simple on the largest visible scales. Likewise, our most powerful “microscope,” the Large Hadron Collider, has found no deviations from known physics on the tiniest scales. These findings were not what most theorists...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/29/did-the-early-cosmos-inflate-like-a-balloon-a-mirror-universe-going-backwards-in-time-may-be-a-simpler-explanation/
Singularity Hub
Did the Early Cosmos Inflate Like a Balloon? A Mirror Universe Going Backwards in Time May Be a Simpler Explanation
There may well be simpler, more powerful and more testable explanations for the basic properties of the universe than those the standard orthodoxy provides.
The US Says Electric Air Taxis Can Finally Take Flight Under New FAA Rules
Electric air taxis have seen rapid technological advances in recent years, but the industry has had a regulatory question mark hanging over its head. Now, the US Federal Aviation Authority has published rules governing the operation of this new class of aircraft. Startups developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have attracted billions of...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/31/the-us-says-electric-air-taxis-can-finally-take-flight-under-new-faa-rules/
Electric air taxis have seen rapid technological advances in recent years, but the industry has had a regulatory question mark hanging over its head. Now, the US Federal Aviation Authority has published rules governing the operation of this new class of aircraft. Startups developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have attracted billions of...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/10/31/the-us-says-electric-air-taxis-can-finally-take-flight-under-new-faa-rules/
Singularity Hub
The US Says Electric Air Taxis Can Finally Take Flight Under New FAA Rules
The FAA published the rules governing eVTOLs from the likes of Archer and Joby, recognizing the first new aircraft category in 80 years.
What Is AI Superintelligence? Could It Destroy Humanity? And Is It Really Almost Here?
In 2014, the British philosopher Nick Bostrom published a book about the future of artificial intelligence with the ominous title Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. It proved highly influential in promoting the idea that advanced AI systems—“superintelligences” more capable than humans—might one day take over the world and destroy humanity. A decade later, OpenAI boss Sam...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/11/01/what-is-ai-superintelligence-could-it-destroy-humanity-and-is-it-really-almost-here/
In 2014, the British philosopher Nick Bostrom published a book about the future of artificial intelligence with the ominous title Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. It proved highly influential in promoting the idea that advanced AI systems—“superintelligences” more capable than humans—might one day take over the world and destroy humanity. A decade later, OpenAI boss Sam...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/11/01/what-is-ai-superintelligence-could-it-destroy-humanity-and-is-it-really-almost-here/
Singularity Hub
What Is AI Superintelligence? Could It Destroy Humanity? And Is It Really Almost Here?
Broadly speaking, superintelligence is anything more intelligent than humans. But unpacking what that might mean in practice can get a bit tricky.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through November 2)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Google CEO Says Over 25% of New Google Code Is Generated by AI Benj Edwards | Ars Technica “We’ve always used tools to build new tools, and developers are using AI to continue that tradition. On Tuesday, Google’s CEO revealed that AI systems now generate more than a quarter of new code for...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/11/02/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-november-2-2/
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Google CEO Says Over 25% of New Google Code Is Generated by AI Benj Edwards | Ars Technica “We’ve always used tools to build new tools, and developers are using AI to continue that tradition. On Tuesday, Google’s CEO revealed that AI systems now generate more than a quarter of new code for...
https://singularityhub.com/2024/11/02/this-weeks-awesome-tech-stories-from-around-the-web-through-november-2-2/
Singularity Hub
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through November 2)
From AI taking over coding at Google to an off-the-shelf fusion reactor, check out this week's awesome tech stories from around the web.