Links for 2022-02-09
Tel Aviv University researchers engineer human spinal cord implants for treating paralysis. https://scitechdaily.com/human-spinal-cord-implants-breakthrough-may-enable-people-with-paralysis-to-walk-again/ [Paper: Regenerating the Injured Spinal Cord at the Chronic Phase by Engineered iPSCs‐Derived 3D Neuronal Networks https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358423853_Regenerating_the_Injured_Spinal_Cord_at_the_Chronic_Phase_by_Engineered_iPSCs-Derived_3D_Neuronal_Networks]
A paralysed man with a severed spinal cord has been able to walk again, thanks to an implant developed by a team of Swiss researchers. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60258620 [Paper: Activity-dependent spinal cord neuromodulation rapidly restores trunk and leg motor functions after complete paralysis https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01663-5]
New Reprogrammable Chip Lets AI Learn Continuously—Just Like the Brain https://singularityhub.com/2022/02/07/new-reprogrammable-chip-lets-ai-learn-continuously-just-like-the-brain/
AlphaCode: what it does and what it doesn't https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/smwvca/alphacode_what_it_does_and_what_it_doesnt/
Babies Emit HEX From Their Heads. Smelling it triggers aggression in women but blocks it in men: both should increase babies' survival. One theory is that female aggression toward others protects infants while less male aggression protects them from him! https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg1530
Post by Jacob Steinhardt on the surprising power of empirical generalization in Machine Learning. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ekFMGpsfhfWQzMW2h/empirical-findings-generalize-surprisingly-far
The Karikó problem: Lessons for funding basic research — “To be sure, the success rate of this approach might be low. But, if we funded 10,000 people who looked like a younger Karikó, and only one of them did something that would have the impact of her mRNA research, that would be well worth it.” https://www.statnews.com/2022/02/01/kariko-problem-lessons-funding-basic-research/
Ice-Penetrating Radar Reveals Age of Greenland Ice Sheet Layers https://eos.org/research-spotlights/ice-penetrating-radar-reveals-age-of-greenland-ice-sheet-layers
How you will go bust on a favorable bet. (Kelly/Shannon/Thorp) https://youtu.be/91IOwS0gf3g
The weight of evidence against the birth of new neurons in the adult human brain is becoming increasingly compelling. https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627322000046
Terraform Industries Whitepaper: Cheaper hydrocarbons from CO2 direct air capture and sunlight. https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2022/02/03/terraform-industries-whitepaper/
“A future with a lot of nuclear energy is also one that can accommodate a lot of wind and solar. A future that forecloses the option of zero-carbon nuclear energy is one that, one way or another, is likely to require a lot of gas and even coal.” https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/10/08/energy-crisis-nuclear-natural-gas-renewable-climate/
Carl Shulman post on what a world immune to biological threats would look like http://reflectivedisequilibrium.blogspot.com/2020/05/what-would-civilization-immune-to.html