Links for 2024-05-06
AI:
‘ChatGPT for CRISPR’ creates new gene-editing tools https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01243-w [archived: https://archive.is/L2ebp]
A team of Taiwanese researchers conducted a new study of 16,000 patients to predict patient risk in hospitals. They trained AI on 450,000 ECG tests, and the technology reduced overall deaths by 31% and deaths from heart problems by more than 90%. https://x.com/EricTopol/status/1784936718283805124
Universal computation by attention: Running cellular automata and other programs on Claude 3 Opus. https://x.com/ctjlewis/status/1786948443472339247
“LoRA Land highlights the quality and cost-effectiveness of employing multiple specialized LLMs over a single, general-purpose LLM.” https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.00732
“I am convinced, after some hours of conversation, that this 120b version is actually smarter than Opus. What an amazing thing, to have an Opus level AI that's open source and not to mention very lightly censored.” https://x.com/erhartford/status/1787051837729960106
AI investment boom extends to nuclear power generation and uranium https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/AI-investment-boom-extends-to-nuclear-power-generation-and-uranium [no paywall: https://archive.is/1AVL8]
Miscellaneous:
Is memory the only thing that keeps us from saying the same things over and over again? Does lack of memory affect IQ? Conducting experiments under the influence of memory-inhibiting drugs. https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bkr9BozFuh7ytiwbK/my-hour-of-memoryless-lucidity
Papua New Guinean populations show genetic variation based on environment https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/anthropology/papua-new-guinea-genetic-adaptations/
Economics terminology that differs from common usage https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economics_terminology_that_differs_from_common_usage
Politics:
Poland's Industria says that it now has all the necessary ministerial opinions required to move on to the next stage of its plans for the construction of small modular reactor plants using Rolls-Royce SMR's technology. https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Industria-and-Rolls-Royce-SMR-plans-hit-ministeria
Macau is trending toward 0.49 births per woman in 2024 https://x.com/MoreBirths/status/1786831863585116285
Unscientific American: Science journalism surrenders to progressive ideology. https://www.city-journal.org/article/unscientific-american
Ukraine:
“Currently, over 90% of the injuries are from FPV or drone drops” Inside embattled Chasiv Yar, Russia's next target https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYShkaNugKk
German defense company Rheinmetall will deliver hundreds of thousands of rounds to Ukraine this year. This includes prototypes of artillery shells with a range of 100 kilometers. https://x.com/deaidua/status/1787025568019407131
Did Ukraine target an Iskander site using ATACMS on May 4th as suggested? https://x.com/GeoConfirmed/status/1787407325361230194
Ukrainian Magura V5 uncrewed vessels (USVs) of GUR hit a Russian Navy landing craft in northern Crimea. https://x.com/CovertShores/status/1787390990342619612
“The AFU is experimenting with the use of FPV kamikaze drones to intercept Russian reconnaissance UAVs. The first attempts failed because the drones could not overcome the Orlan's prop wash. The next attempts may include the addition of a fragmentation warhead that can be remotely detonated.” https://x.com/UKikaski/status/1787094548180590754
“The Ministry of Strategic Industry of Ukraine has introduced a new long-range Neptune missile capable of hitting targets up to 1000 kilometers. As a reminder, the Neptun missile has sunk the most advanced russian ship Moskva.” https://x.com/rshereme/status/1786972766899470493
“Russian channel Fighterbomber claims that Ukrainian naval drones are now equipped with R-60/73 air-to-air missiles.” https://x.com/NOELreports/status/1787418701660102744 (Video: https://x.com/clashreport/status/1787432313405497643)