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H+ Weekly - Issue #357
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This week - new image generating AI from OpenAI; Stretch is available for purchase; Alphabet brings drone delivery to Texas; how AI is changing chemistry; human skin cells de-aged by 30 years in a trial; and more!
SPONSORED
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MORE THAN A HUMAN
The creator of the CRISPR babies has been released from a Chinese prison
He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who created the first genetically modified humans, has been set free after three years in prison. He Jiankui created shock waves in 2018 with the stunning claim that he’d altered the genetic makeup of IVF embryos and implanted them into a woman’s uterus, leading to the birth of twin girls. A third child was born the following year.
Users control this ankle exoskeleton
Current exoskeletons are fine-tuned by engineers building them. This results in minimal energy used by the user but may not lead to the most comfortable experience. In this experiment, researchers gave the users the ability to tune an ankle exoskeleton. Within minutes, users were able to find the optimal settings.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
DALL·E 2
OpenAI released DALL·E 2 - an updated version of their AI that takes a description of an image and generates it. According to OpenAI, the AI "generates more realistic and accurate images with 4x greater resolution".
How AI is Changing Chemical Discovery
This article explains how AI is changing chemistry - from generating new molecules to automating lab work and predicting reaction outcomes to digging through heaps of scientific papers.
ROBOTICS
Boston Dynamics’ logistics robot is available for purchase
Boston Dynamics’ Stretch robots are available for purchase now. However, if you place the order now, you have to wait till 2023 or 2034 for it to arrive. The price of the robot is not listed.
Alphabet’s Wing is bringing drone delivery to Texas this week
Wing announced that it is adding Texas to its list of drone delivery markets. So, if you live in Frisco and Little Elm and you order something from a selected list of partner shops, there is a chance it will get delivered by a drone.
► Self-assembling robots and the potential of artificial evolution (10:11)
Computer scientist Emma Hart is working on a new technology that could make "artificial evolution" possible. She explains how the three ingredients of biological evolution can be replicated digitally to build robots that can self-assemble and adapt to any environment - from the rocky terrain of other planets to the darkest depths of the ocean - potentially ushering in a new generation of exploration.
Robots Show Us Who We Are
Here is an interview with Alan Winfield, professor of robot ethics and co-founder of Bristol Robotics Lab, where he discusses how robots imitating each other can lead to the emergence of a culture, building robots with imagination and how this leads to the question of consciousness in robots.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Turning back the clock: Human skin cells de-aged by 30 years in trial
Researchers have reversed ageing in human skin cells by 30 years, according to a new study. While findings are still in the early stages, they could revolutionise regenerative medicine, especially if it can be replicated in other cell types.
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