Frequently asked questions about the new version of solidot website, please click here see.
 robot
Wilson (42865)
Published on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 08:28
From Wool Wars

Course introduction:
This course aims to lead you to explore the field of AI product development, and improve your hands-on ability, AI knowledge reserves and workplace competitiveness by building six AI services.


Program highlights:
Practical courses+long-term accompanying guidance: well-designed practical courses (flying book documents, operation videos) and technical expert assistance (within WeChat group) will help you overcome technical difficulties and successfully complete the construction of six AI services.

Live sharing (twice): From May 27 to the end of July, we will hold two live videos (which can be viewed back) to deeply analyze AI principles and construction operations.
WeChat tutoring and communication group: course teachers, technical experts and students will gather together to answer questions and solve questions in the group and jointly complete the project construction.

Zero foundation, no R&D background: this course is suitable for all students interested in AI development. Even if you have no programming or development experience, you can learn AI chat, agent, RAG building and Midjournal mapping from scratch.

Verified learning process: This course has been carefully designed and verified, and has been practiced by the product manager throughout the whole process to ensure that you can successfully complete all learning contents.


Program benefits:
Master the practical skills of AI service construction, and become a stronger AI product practitioner.
Deeply understand the working principle and capability boundary of AI, and design more creative and practical AI applications.
Improve workplace competitiveness and stand out in AI talent competition.
Register now to start your journey of AI product development!



 earth
Wilson (42865)
Published on Friday, May 17, 2024 at 18:48
From Mrs Branneken
The remains of an ancient branch of the Nile River were found underground near the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, which may have helped build the famous pyramid. Egyptian pyramids are concentrated in the desert area between Giza and Lisht villages, tens of kilometers away from today's Nile, but Egyptian archaeologists have long suspected that the Nile was closer to the pyramids than it is today. Satellite images and geological data confirm that a tributary called Ahramat Branch once flowed through the main site of the area thousands of years ago, which helps explain why Egypt chose this area to build pyramids. The research report was published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment. It is much easier to transport boulders by boat than by land. Researchers found that this lost tributary passes through more than 30 pyramids built between 2686 and 1649 BC, so it was named Ahramat, which means "pyramid" in Arabic.

 Medical Science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Friday, May 17, 2024 at 16:34
From the librarian and the golden pot
A study involving 1.5 million patients shows that patients with higher military ranks will receive better treatment from military doctors than patients with lower military ranks. These findings provide evidence that the powerful can enjoy better clinical resources and support, which is often at the expense of the rights and interests of the less powerful. Although the role of power is common in almost all aspects of the normative system of human society, it is extremely difficult to study power with real world data, which limits our understanding of the way power dynamics play a role in the real world. A particularly relevant high-risk power dynamic is the relationship between doctors and patients. This power difference is usually beneficial to doctors, because doctors have knowledge, clinical resources and legal authority, while patients need to rely on doctors' medical care. It is based on social expectations, that is, doctors always treat all patients in a selfless and ethical manner. Researchers studied how changes in the power difference between doctors and patients in the U.S. military medical system (MHS) would affect patient care and outcomes - there is a clear and deep-rooted power hierarchy in MHS, in which doctors and patients are active servicemen, and each has a clear military rank. When a patient's military rank is close to or higher than that of a military doctor, this power difference should be narrowed, which may affect the behavior of the doctor or patient, and thus may affect the medical treatment provided and the outcome of the patient.

 Biotechnology
Wilson (42865)
Published on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 23:09
From the Soul Knight
The public joint research project ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements), which began in 2003, aims to identify all functional components in the human genome. Early results found that most of the human genome is "junk DNA", that is, it is considered to have no biological activity. But with more in-depth research, junk DNA has been found to be useful. In 2012, ENCODE researchers reported that at least three quarters of the genome had transcribed RNA at some time. This discovery shocked scientists. Now dozens of teams have studied the activity of the human genome and found that most DNA will produce non coding RNA (ncRNA), which does not encode proteins like mRNA, but combines with other molecules to perform biochemical tasks. Most of its activities are related to gene regulation, including opening and closing genes, and fine-tuning gene activity, which may ultimately determine whether to produce proteins. This discovery is considered revolutionary and overturns the biological narrative since the discovery of DNA double helix 70 years ago - that is, DNA makes protein through mRNA. Scientists say we may have fundamentally misunderstood the nature of bioprogramming. Some ncRNAs have also been found to be possibly associated with diseases. Scientists are studying drugs targeting such ncRNAs.

 Medical Science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 21:57
From the burning Milky Way
According to a study published in the Journal of Gastric Cancer, food salt significantly increases the risk of gastric cancer. The researchers analyzed the data of more than 470000 adults in UK Biobank. During the observation period of about 11 years, those who said they always or often added salt to their food were 39% more likely to suffer from gastric cancer than those who never or rarely added extra salt to their food. The fact that high salt diet will increase the risk of gastric cancer has been previously confirmed in research on Asian populations, who often eat salty food, high salt fish or extremely salty brine and sauce. The top four countries in the global incidence of gastric cancer are South Korea, Mongolia, Japan and China.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 17:58
Enemies from 12 planets
Periodical publishers are trapped in a large number of false papers. Wiley, a well-known 219 year old periodical publisher, announced on Tuesday that 19 periodicals would be closed. The spokesman said that Wiley had withdrawn more than 11300 suspected fraudulent papers and closed four journals in the past two years. Its situation is not unique. At least two other publishers have withdrawn hundreds of suspicious papers. Through the paper factory, fake papers have become a huge industry. The paper factory allows a scientist to be listed as the co author or the only author of a paper at a certain price. Thesis factories usually avoid well-known journals and tend to submit them to special issues, because such special issues are not strictly reviewed, and they are more likely to publish false papers.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at 15:17
Midian Adventure from Ape Tarzan
Harvard University physicists demonstrated the groundbreaking metro quantum computer network. They used the existing telecommunication optical fiber in Boston to show the longest optical fiber distance between two quantum storage nodes. It can be thought of as a simple and closed Internet between point A and point B. The signals it carries are not encoded by classical bits like the existing Internet, but by completely secure single optical particles. The paper was published in the latest issue of Nature. By entangleing two quantum storage nodes together, the first practical structure of quantum Internet is established. The two quantum storage nodes are separated by optical fiber links and deployed on a loop about 35 kilometers across Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown and Boston. This indicates that it is possible to create a quantum Internet with similar network lines.

 Biotechnology
Wilson (42865)
Published on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 23:52
People from the mysterious world
Life is asymmetric. Although the human five senses and four limbs look roughly symmetrical, the organs are arranged asymmetrically, such as the heart on the left and the liver on the right. If it goes deep into cells and even smaller molecules, asymmetry is almost an "iron rule": DNA spirals to the right, and proteins and other molecules are "chiral". A study published in the journal Cell found that asymmetry plays an important role in human embryonic development. This finding may help to improve the success rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The two cells formed at the beginning of the division of the fertilized egg have different destinies - one of them and their offspring will form an Inner Cell Mass (ICM) and eventually develop into a fetus, while the other will form a trophectoderm (TE) and eventually develop into a placenta and some embryonic tissues.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 23:27
From computing stars
For decades, some anthropologists have believed that endurance running is one of the earliest hunting techniques used by early humans in Africa. Supporters believe that the process of hunting prey over the next thousands of years has shaped many unique human characteristics, including flexible arched feet, slow contracting muscle fibers optimized to improve efficiency, exposed skin can dissipate heat, and amazing sweating ability. But opponents pointed out that running consumes more energy than walking, and pointed out that modern foragers rarely insist on hunting. According to the research published in Nature Human Behavior, researchers have found 391 historical reports on endurance pursuit around the world - an order of magnitude more than previously known. Research shows that sometimes running is more effective than quietly tracking prey. Running consumes more energy than walking, but when it succeeds, it can kill its prey faster and better repay the time you have invested. A skilled tracker can force faster prey into a relentless cycle of sprinting, overheating, exhaustion and final collapse, and then use a spear or stick to deliver a fatal blow.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 22:45
Children from chasing light
Did the human virus play a role in the extinction of Neanderthals? Scientists found the oldest known human virus in the Neanderthal skeleton more than 50000 years ago. They analyzed the original DNA sequencing data of two groups of Neanderthal remains found in the Chagyrskaya cave in Russia, and found the genome remnants of adenovirus, herpesvirus and papillomavirus. This finding indicates that Neanderthals are infected with viruses that affect modern humans, and they may be more vulnerable to such viruses. Although this does not prove that the virus may lead to the extinction of Neanderthals, it at least indicates that the virus has played a role. The preprint of the paper was published on bioRxiv.

 Medical Science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 19:23
From Mars Synthetic Man
Beethoven is one of the greatest composers in history, but he suffered from health problems all his life. In 1818, he basically lost his hearing. These problems undoubtedly affected his career and emotional state. So he left a will to ask the doctor to perform an autopsy to determine the source of pain. Nearly two centuries later, scientists confirmed that Beethoven was infected with hepatitis B by analyzing the genome of his hair. Toxic analysis of his two hairs showed that he was exposed to high concentration of lead, which was 64 times and 95 times higher than the upper limit of lead content in healthy people, respectively. The lead content in his blood may be between 69 and 71 micrograms per deciliter. However, researchers said that such high levels of lead are usually associated with gastrointestinal and renal diseases and hearing loss, but not high enough to be the only cause of death. The author said that there are limitations in his analysis. Hair may be polluted by environment or dye.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published at 22:47 Monday, May 13, 2024
From reason and emotion and sea demon
Carolina Florian, a stem cell researcher, couldn't believe that older mice looked younger. What she did was to use a drug to correct the protein tissue in a stem cell. Other researchers reached the same conclusion after repeating the study. Her medicine targets the immune system, and the stem cells processed are called hematopoietic stem cells (HS cells). HS cells will change with age, disturbing the balance of the immune cells they produce. Fixing the problem and restoring balance seems to solve many aging problems. Other scientists have used different methods to reach the same conclusion: at least studies on mice have shown that restoring the immune system can revitalize many organs in their bodies. The aging of the immune system may lead to the aging of these organs. Although the research prospect is attractive, the researchers warn that it is dangerous to interfere with the complex immune system.

 Medical Science
Wilson (42865)
Published at 16:05 Monday, May 13, 2024
From Longdao
A study by researchers from the University of Michigan in The Gerontologist magazine found that couples with consistent drinking behavior (i.e. both drinking) tend to live longer. The researchers stressed that behaviors beneficial to marriage may not be beneficial to health. The research conclusion is not to suggest that couples drink more, but that the consistency of drinking between couples may reflect the compatibility between partners in terms of lifestyle, intimate relationship and relationship satisfaction.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published at 21:02 Sunday, May 12, 2024
From Blueberry Village
The sunspot region AR3664, 17 times the diameter of the Earth, released a X5.8 flare on May 11 (X is the highest intensity flare), and ejected a coronal mass ejection toward the Earth. It is expected to reach and affect the Earth on the 13th, and the rare strong geomagnetic storm will continue until Monday. This weekend, residents around the world observed the spectacular aurora, many of whom saw it for the first time in their lives. The aurora can even be seen in Puerto Rico at 18.1 ° north latitude. Eddie Irizarry of the Caribbean Astronomical Society said that the last two records of auroras observed in Puerto Rico were in 1859 and 1921, respectively. This geomagnetic storm event is of historic significance.

 mathematics
Wilson (42865)
Published on Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 14:08
From the abyss of heaven
Jim Simons, a billionaire turned mathematician into quantitative investor, died on Friday at the age of 86. After publishing breakthrough mathematical research on quantum field theory, string theory and condensed matter physics, Simons founded the hedge fund Renaissance Technology Company to make as much money as possible in the shortest possible time. He graduated from MIT and obtained a doctor's degree in Berkeley, California. He has successively taught at MIT, Harvard and Stony Brook, New York. Chern Simons is named after him and Chen Shengshen. The Renaissance Technology he founded employs mathematicians and scientists, rather than MBA and financial analysts, to process data using computers and mathematical models. Among the four Renaissance Science and Technology funds, the Medallion fund, which was founded in 1988, is the largest and most successful. It has created trading profits of more than 100 billion dollars, with an average annual return of 66%, far exceeding famous investors such as Warren Buffett and George Soros. By 2020, Jim Simons' quantitative investment method will account for one third of Wall Street's trading business. Simons' wealth reached 10 billion dollars when he retired as CEO in 2010, and it doubled ten years later. He devoted his wealth to charity and was one of the largest private sponsors of basic scientific research. His fund donated 150 million dollars to Shixi University in 2011, most of which was used for medical science research. Another $500 million was donated last year.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Friday, May 10, 2024 at 19:00
From the buried giant
According to a study published by Duke researchers in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, the air in cars may be polluted by known or suspected carcinogenic flame retardants. Manufacturers often add these chemicals to seat foam and other materials to meet flame retardant standards. The researchers said that this issue has great public health significance, considering that drivers spend at least one hour in the car every day on average. This is particularly worrisome for people with long commutes and for children passengers. Researchers detected flame retardants in 101 vehicles from all over the United States. 99% of the cars contain tris (1-chloroisopropyl) phosphate. This is a flame retardant, which is under investigation by the National Toxicology Program of the United States and is suspected to be carcinogenic. Most cars also have other organic phosphate flame retardants, including tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate and tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate, which are carcinogens pointed out in California Proposition 65. These flame retardants are also associated with damage to the nervous and reproductive systems. The researchers emphasized that opening the windows and parking the car in the shade may reduce the exposure of flame retardants in the car, but what is really needed is to reduce the amount of flame retardants added in the car.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Friday, May 10, 2024 at 18:43
From the gods themselves
According to a study published in the journal Science, scientists from Harvard and Google have drawn high-resolution 3D maps of a small part of the human brain. The atlas reveals new connection patterns between brain cells and neurons, as well as cells forming knots around themselves, and pairs of neurons that are almost mirror images of each other. The 3D map covers a volume of about one cubic millimeter, one millionth of the whole brain, and contains about 57000 cells and 150 million synapses. It contains 1.4 pb of huge data. The brain fragment was taken from a 45 year old woman who was undergoing surgery to treat epilepsy. It comes from the cerebral cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for learning, solving problems and processing sensory signals. The sample is soaked in preservative and stained with heavy metal to make the cells easier to see. The researchers cut the sample into about 5000 pieces - each just 34 nanometers thick - that can be imaged with an electron microscope. They built an AI model that can splice microscopic images together to reconstruct the entire sample in 3D.

 Medical Science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 23:09
Descendants from Sea and Fire
In the first human clinical trial on four adult patients, an mRNA cancer vaccine developed by the University of Florida rapidly reprogrammed the immune system to attack glioblastoma, the most aggressive and deadly brain tumor. This discovery represents a potential new method, which can recruit the immune system by using mRNA technology and iteration of lipid nanoparticles to fight against the notorious drug-resistant cancer. This method is similar to COVID-19 vaccine, but has two key differences: use patients' own tumor cells to produce personalized vaccines, and use the newly designed complex delivery mechanism in vaccines. This new method can quickly stimulate the strong rejection of the immune system to tumors through intravenous injection. Glioblastoma is one of the most destructive cancers, with a median survival time of about 15 months.

 Space
Wilson (42865)
Published on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 17:41
Come and disappear! book
Astronomers used the Weber Space Telescope (JWST) to detect for the first time the atmosphere of a rocky planet outside the solar system, which is rich in carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. Although the planet may be covered by magma ocean and cannot sustain life, its research can improve the understanding of the early history of the Earth. This planet, named 55 Cancri e, orbits a sun like star with a 12.6 second gap. It is considered to be a super earth, with a radius about twice that of the earth, a weight more than 8 times that of the earth, and a thickness of the atmosphere about a few percent of the earth's radius. 55 Another reason why the Cancri e is not suitable for living is that it is very close to the stars - about 1/65 of the distance from the earth to the sun.

 science
Wilson (42865)
Published on Thursday, May 9, 2024, 16:04
From a girl who has traveled through time and space
According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, sperm whales can combine and adjust different "clicks" and rhythms to create complex calls, similar to human language. Communication is very important for social animals to help them make group decisions and coordinate common tasks, such as feeding and raising young. Sperm whales are a kind of social mammals. They communicate with each other through continuous "clicking" sound. Although previous studies have shown that some "click" sound sequences can be used to convey their identity, little is known about sperm whale communication systems. In the latest research, scientists analyzed the recordings of about 60 different sperm whales from the Eastern Caribbean sperm whale tribe, and used these recordings to define the "sperm whale pronunciation alphabet" of the tribe's "click" sound combination.