Are Humans the New Supercomputer?

A screenshot of one of the many games that are available. In this case the task is to shoot spiders in the "Quantum-Shooter" but there are many other kinds of games. Source: CODER/AU

The saying of philosopher René Descartes of what makes humans unique is beginning to sound hollow. 'I think -- therefore soon I am obsolete' seems more appropriate. When a computer routinely beats us at chess and we can barely navigate without the help of a GPS, have we outlived our place in the world? Not quite. Welcome to the front line of research in cognitive skills, quantum computers and gaming.

Today there is an on-going battle between man and machine. While genuine machine consciousness is still years into the future, we are beginning to see computers make choices that previously demanded a human's input. Recently, the world held its breath as Google's algorithm AlphaGo beat a professional player in the game Go--an achievement demonstrating the explosive speed of development in machine capabilities.

But we are not beaten yet -- human skills are still superior in some areas. This is one of the conclusions of a recent study by Danish physicist Jacob Sherson, published in the prestigious science journal Nature.

"It may sound dramatic, but we are currently in a race with technology -- and steadily being overtaken in many areas. Features that used to be uniquely human are fully captured by contemporary algorithms. Our results are here to demonstrate that there is still a difference between the abilities of a man and a machine," explains Jacob Sherson.

At the interface between quantum physics and computer games, Sherson and his research group at Aarhus University have identified one of the abilities that still makes us unique compared to a computer's enormous processing power: our skill in approaching problems heuristically and solving them intuitively. The discovery was made at the AU Ideas Centre CODER, where an interdisciplinary team of researchers work to transfer some human traits to the way computer algorithms work. ?

How Augmented Reality Will Impact Labs

Apprentice Field Suite displays a series of smart glasses at Interphex 2016.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are two futuristic technologies that have attracted interest from all sectors.

VR creates an immersive, three dimensional world through some type of electrical equipment that feels very realistic. AR, by contrast, overlays computer-generated image through a lens or similar product so users are aware of their surroundings.

Media companies like the New York Timesare experimenting with new ways to tell stories through VR whereas mysterious startups like Magic Leap are exploring how to create the next generation of entertainment.

There are vast possibilities for creating these environments, but an exhibit at Interphex this year demonstrated methods for incorporating augmented reality into laboratory settings.

Paging Dr. Robot—Autonomy in Computerized Surgery?

Dr. Azad Shademan and Ryan Decker during supervised autonomous in-vivo bowel anastomosis performed by the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot. (Credit: Axel Krieger)

While companies, such as Intuitive Surgical Inc., are utilizing robots in the operating room to assist with surgery, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Children’s National Health System have developed a robotic surgeon that recently performed a soft-tissue surgery with limited guidance from humans.

Called the Smart Tissue Automation Robot (STAR), the system “consists of tools for suturing as well as fluorescent and 3D imaging, force sensing, and submillimeter positioning,” the researchers wrote in their paper appearing in Science Translational Medicine.

Each year in the U.S., roughly 44.5 million soft-tissue surgeries are performed. With autonomous surgeries, medical practitioners will be able to provide substantial benefits through improved safety by pushing out the likelihood of human error, according to the researchers.

Interestingly, another study recently published in BMJ by Johns Hopkins University researchers suggests medical error may be the third leading cause of death in the country, claiming about 251,000 lives per year.

Under a surgeon’s supervision, the STAR system performed a procedure called anastomosis, where two tubular ends are connected with sutures. The procedure is performed more than 1 million times per year in the U.S., according to the researchers. Leakages occur nearly 20 percent of the time in colorectal surgery, and 25 to 30 percent of the time in abdominal surgery.  

Using Microbes, Methane to Create Sustainable Omega 3

Scientists are trying to find a new way to produce the nutritional fatty acids called Omega 3 that are currently sourced from fish oil from the world's declining natural fish stocks.

In a groundbreaking branch of new science – synthetic biology – the team at The University of Nottingham's Synthetic Biology Research Centre are working with biotechnology company CHAIN Biotech and industry partner Calysta, Inc. to develop microbial technology that uses microorganisms to ferment methane gas into valuable nutritional supplements.

The pioneering project is called PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids). It will run for a year and is being funded by industrial biotechnology catalyst grants from InnovateUK and the BBSRC with potential further significant scaling up investment from Calysta, a sustainable nutrition company based in the US.

Exploring the Landscape of Cell Receptors

Professor Scott Prosser and post-doc Libin Ye are studying class of receptors responsible for regulating neuronal function. (Credit;University of Toronto).

Ever wonder how caffeine works so marvelously to give you that extra boost you need the night before your final exam?

The caffeine molecule—much loved by students the world over—binds to a receptor, preventing the action of the sleep-inducing molecule adenosine, giving you those extra few hours to prep for your exam in the morning.

The class of receptors responsible for regulating neuronal function are part of the focus of a recent study by Prof. Scott Prosser in the Department of Chemical & Physical Sciences at U of T Mississauga. Their paper, "Activation of the A2A adenosine G-protein-coupled receptor by conformational selection," appears in the latest edition of the prestigious international science journal, Nature. The research also involved UTM postdoctoral scientist, Libin Ye, and Oliver Ernst in the Department of Biochemistry at U of T.

Scientists ID Genes Associated with Educational Attainment

An international group of 253 scientists has conducted one of the largest genetic studies to date and identified 74 genetic variants that are associated with the years of formal education that an individual completes.

The study was published on May 11 by the journal Nature.

"This study builds on our earlier work in which we had studied 100,000 individuals and found three genetic variants linked to educational attainment," said Daniel Benjamin, corresponding author and an associate professor of the Center for Economic and Social Research in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "This time, because of our much larger sample - almost 300,000 individuals - we were able to identify far more genetic variants that are associated with educational attainment."

Benjamin said that genetic and environmental factors both account for variation in how much schooling a person receives. Genes only partially influence cognitive abilities and personality traits, such as persistence, that in turn affect the number of years one spends in school.

SpaceX Rocket Achieves Second Successful Ocean Landing

First-stage landing of SpaceX (Credit: SpaceX ORBCOMM-2)

The space exploration company owned by billionaire executive Elon Musk, SpaceX, accomplished another impressive goal on Friday by making its second consecutive landing at sea.

One of its Falcon X rockets took off from Cape Canaveral on Friday to send a communications satellite,  “into an orbit more than 20,000 miles (32,200 km) beyond that of the International Space Station, which is about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth,” reported Reuters.

The satellite came in at an approximate 10,300 pounds, which is a weight that has affected the ability for SpaceX rockets to land in the past.

In April, another Falcon 9 rocket was able to launch an 11,000 pound satellite into orbit, but the weight of the cargo caused a reduction in fuel needed to slow the rocket’s descent to earth ultimately causing an explosive hard landing.