Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a way to structurally modify the antibiotic called vancomycin to make an already-powerful version of the antibiotic even more potent — an advance that could eliminate the threat of antibiotic-resistant infections for years to come.
“Doctors could use this modified form of vancomycin without fear of resistance emerging,” said Dale Boger, co-chair of TSRI’s Department of… read more
What does the research team behind AlphaGo do next after winning the three-game match Saturday (May 27) against Ke Jie — the world’s top Go player — at the Future of Go Summit in Wuzhen, China?
“Throw their energy into the next set of grand challenges, developing advanced general algorithms that could one day help scientists as they tackle some of our most complex problems, such as… read more
Engineering researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed a process for 3D-printing stretchable, flexible, and sensitive electronic sensory devices that could give robots or prosthetic hands — or even real skin — the ability to mechanically sense their environment.
One major use would be to give surgeons the ability to feel during minimally invasive surgeries instead of using cameras, or to increase the sensitivity of surgical… read more
How do you make humanoid robots look least creepy? With increasing use of industrial (and soon, service robots), it’s a good question.
Researchers at the University of Koblenz-Landau, University of Wurzburg, and Arts Electronica Futurelab decided to find out with an experiment. They created a skit with a human actor and the Roboy robot, and presented scripted human-robot interactions (HRIs), using… read more
Last week, KurzweilAI reported that Google is rolling out an enhanced version of its “smart reply” machine-learning email software to “over 1 billion Android and iOS users of Gmail” — quoting Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
We noted that the new smart-reply version is now able to handle challenging sentences like “That interesting person at the cafe we like gave me a glance,” as Google research… read more
Two scientists have developed a miniaturized positron emission tomography (PET) brain scanner that can be “worn” like a helmet.
The new Ambulatory Microdose Positron Emission Tomography (AMPET) scanner allows research subjects to stand and move around as the device scans, instead of having to lie completely still and be administered anesthesia — making it impossible to find associations between movement and brain activity.… read more
It’s not about artificial intelligence (AI) taking over — it’s about AI improving human performance, a new study by Yale University researchers has shown.
“Much of the current conversation about artificial intelligence has to do with whether AI is a substitute for human beings. We believe the conversation should be about AI as a complement to human beings,” said Nicholas Christakis, Yale University… read more
Technology developed by Princeton University computer scientists may do for audio recordings of the human voice what word processing software did for the written word and Adobe Photoshop did for images.
“VoCo” software, still in the research stage, makes it easy to add or replace a word in an audio recording of a human voice by simply editing a text transcript of the recording. New words… read more
Google is rolling out an enhanced version of its “smart reply” machine-learning email software to “over 1 billion Android and iOS users of Gmail,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said today (May 17, 2017) in a keynote at the annual Google I/O conference.
Smart Reply suggests up to three replies to an email message — saving you typing time, or giving you time to think through a… read more
UF Soft Matter | Silicone is 3D-printed into the micro-organogel support material. The printing nozzle follows a predefined trajectory, depositing liquid silicone in its wake. The liquid silicone is supported by the micro-organogel material during this printing process.
University of Florida (UF) researchers have developed a method for 3D printing soft-silicone medical implants that are stronger, quicker, less expensive, more flexible, and more comfortable… read more
Virtual reality (VR) technology can be an effective part of treatment for phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in combat veterans, and other mental health conditions, according to an open-access research review in the May/June issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry.
“VR-based exposure therapy” (VRE) has been found effective for treating panic disorder, schizophrenia, acute and chronic pain, addictions (including smoking), social anxiety disorder, claustrophobia, agoraphobia (fear or… read more
The Moogfest four-day festival in Durham, North Carolina next weekend (May 18 — 21) explores the future of technology, art, and music. Here are some of the sessions that may be especially interesting to KurzweilAI readers. Full #Moogfest2017 Program Lineup.
The Magenta by Google Brain team will bring its work to life through an interactive demo plus workshops on the… read more
“The human species will have to populate a new planet within 100 years if it is to survive,” famed physicist Stephen Hawking, PhD says in “Expedition New Earth” — a documentary that debuts this summer as part of the BBC’s forthcoming Tomorrow’s World TV series.
He cites “climate change, overdue asteroid strikes, epidemics and population growth” as reasons to leave.
That 100 figure is dramatically lower that… read more
“Deep Photo Style Transfer” is a cool new artificial-intelligence image-editing software tool that lets you transfer a style from another (“reference”) photo onto your own photo, as shown in the above examples.
An open-access arXiv paper by Cornell University computer scientists and Adobe collaborators explains that the tool can transpose the look of one photo (such as the time of day, weather, season, and artistic effects) onto… read more
Korean researchers have designed a “smart contact lens” that may one day allow patients with diabetes and glaucoma to self-monitor blood glucose levels and internal eye pressure.*
The study was conducted by researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, both of South Korea.
Most previously reported contact lens sensors can only monitor a single analyte (such as glucose)… read more