SciTech #ScienceSunday Digest - 16/2016.
SciTech #ScienceSunday Digest - 16/2016.
Permalink here: http://www.scitechdigest.net/2016/04/neocortical-sequence-memory-neural.html
Neocortical sequence memory, Neural bypass for movement, 3D printed ovaries, Human tissue textiles, Noisy CPUs, Smartphone satellite messaging, CRISPR edited mushrooms, Sticky wearable display, Full duplex radio, SpaceX ship landing.
1. Neocortical Sequence Memory
Numenta have presented a tantalising new theory of how networks of neurons in the neocortex learn sequences that explains (i) why neocortical neurons have thousands of synapses that are segregated onto different parts of the cell, and (ii) how neocortical column arrangement can form a powerful sequence memory http://numenta.com/press/numenta-researchers-discover-how-the-brain-learns-sequences.html. The new models are vastly different to current artificial neuron models and deep learning models, and exhibit powerful properties including high fault tolerance, continuous unsupervised learning, and the ability to learn complex sequences. Such models, if validated, will greatly accelerate the development of machine intelligence. In related news certain neural circuit mapping tools are now 20 times more powerful http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-04-brain-tool-powerful-previous-version.html.
2. Neural Bypass Links Brain to Hand
A new neural bypass system uses a brain implant to record signals from the motor cortex, then decodes and sends these to a sleeve of electrodes that stimulate the appropriate forearm muscles, and can do this with an accuracy that allows the person with spinal injury to pick up a bottle or hit the right chord on guitar hero http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/bionics/now-theres-a-way-around-paralysis-neural-bypass-links-brain-to-hand. With just 96 electrodes sampling 30,000 times per second, machine learning algorithms separate signal from noise in order to correctly encode the correct signals to be sent to the arm electrodes and muscles. With higher-density electrodes and better interfaces with distant muscle neurons we might be well on the way to providing natural, remote brain-body and brain-machine movement.
3. 3D Printed Ovaries Work in Mice
When new ovaries 3D printed with a new technique were implanted into mice they were able to successfully give birth to live healthy pups http://singularityhub.com/2016/04/10/this-3d-printed-prosthetic-ovary-restores-female-fertility-in-mice/. Comprised of a cross-linked biomaterial scaffold and seeded with ovarian follicles the implants were completely innervated by blood vessels, restored the animal’s hormone cycle, and produced eggs that could be fertilised. Human trials and therapies will commence once induced pluripotent stem cell technology can reliably produce the necessary oocytes and support cells needed to seed the scaffold.
4. Textile Techniques for Human Tissue Fabrication
Leading on from 3D printed ovaries, studies of different textile manufacturing techniques have determined which processes are ideal for engineering tissues needed for organ repair and implant http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2016/0407-methods-used-to-create-textiles-also-could-help-manufacture-human-tissues-2/. The processes tested included the standard electrospinning technique, as well as meltblowing, spunbonding, and carding, all of which exceeded the cost-performance of electrospinning. The main driver for exploring these techniques is the requirement for industrial scale up of these engineered tissues, for example the need to produce 100s of meters of tissue material with consistent and reliable properties.
5. Engineering Noisy CPUs
DARPA-funded Singular Computing is producing CPU chips that deliberately perform mathematical operations incorrectly to a small extent, outputting 2.01 when performing 1 + 1 for example https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601263/why-a-chip-thats-bad-at-math-can-help-computers-tackle-harder-problems/. This fuzzy output turns out to be an asset when processing noisy, messy data and resulting in lower-power computation while software is still able to produce a useful result. Applications include radar imaging, 3D information from stereo photos, deep learning, and others. Demonstrations of object tracking in video performed 100 times faster on these error prone chips and consumed only 2% of the power of a conventional processor.
6. Smartphone Satellite Messaging
Higher Ground has developed a smartphone case called StaPaq that communicates to the phone via bluetooth while packing a satellite communications antenna that allows basic text messaging and email via satellite from remote locations lacking standard network connectivity http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/could-satellite-messaging-startup-higher-ground-bring-down-the-911-system. There are concerns with spectrum interference and antenna power density at close range, but there is a genuine use-case and benefits for people in remote areas, and also for remote sensors and intermittent reporting monitors as part of the Internet of Things. In related news Facebook unveiled ARIES, a wireless antenna array that can deliver data communications to devices dozens of miles away http://www.wired.com/2016/04/facebooks-massive-new-antennas-can-beam-internet-miles/.
7. CRISPR Edited Mushroom Available for Sale
Mushrooms whose genomes have been edited with CRISPR can be cultivated and sold without further regulatory interference http://www.nature.com/news/gene-edited-crispr-mushroom-escapes-us-regulation-1.19754. This is the first CRISPR-edited organism to receive such a green light; the mushroom was edited to disable 6 genes and this resulted in an increased resistance to browning. The mushroom made it through regulatory oversight because the only edits involved disabled genes and didn’t include the introduction of foreign or novel genes from other organisms.
8. Wearable Display Adheres to Skin
A skin-like microns-thick organic LED display can stick comfortably to the skin and display information from similarly wearable sensors http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/this-wearable-digital-display-just-sticks-on-your-skin. With further development one might imagine higher resolution displays capable of images and more dense information such as a replacement for a smartwatch as a form of temporary stick-on tattoo, a full-body version of which would be a pretty impressive / magical sight.
9. Low Power Full Duplex Radio
Building on work and prototypes first demonstrated last year a low-power full-duplex radio chip has been demonstrated that can transmit and receive signals on the same frequency at the same time using a single antenna http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/new-full-duplex-radio-chip-transmits-and-receives-wireless-signals-at-once. The promise is that mature rollout of such a chip would double the data capacity of existing technology. This breakthrough required a novel hardware solution involving the exact arrangement of transistors on the chip as well as an echo-cancelling receiver. The current chip should work for WiFi but will need to have its power capacity boosted to facilitate longer distance mobile communications.
10. SpaceX Lands Rocket on Drone Ship
At the start of the week we got to bear witness to SpaceX achieve yet another remarkable milestone in drastically reducing the cost to reach orbit by successfully launching a Falcon 9 rocket 200km into space, deploying an inflatable habitat in space, then re-entering the atmosphere and landing on a drone ship out at sea http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/like-a-boss-falcon-soars-into-space-and-lands-in-the-ocean/. Landing out at sea is more fuel efficient. If it passes firing tests the same rocket will be relaunched by June with the company offering a 30% price saving to customers.
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Permalink here: http://www.scitechdigest.net/2016/04/neocortical-sequence-memory-neural.html
Neocortical sequence memory, Neural bypass for movement, 3D printed ovaries, Human tissue textiles, Noisy CPUs, Smartphone satellite messaging, CRISPR edited mushrooms, Sticky wearable display, Full duplex radio, SpaceX ship landing.
1. Neocortical Sequence Memory
Numenta have presented a tantalising new theory of how networks of neurons in the neocortex learn sequences that explains (i) why neocortical neurons have thousands of synapses that are segregated onto different parts of the cell, and (ii) how neocortical column arrangement can form a powerful sequence memory http://numenta.com/press/numenta-researchers-discover-how-the-brain-learns-sequences.html. The new models are vastly different to current artificial neuron models and deep learning models, and exhibit powerful properties including high fault tolerance, continuous unsupervised learning, and the ability to learn complex sequences. Such models, if validated, will greatly accelerate the development of machine intelligence. In related news certain neural circuit mapping tools are now 20 times more powerful http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-04-brain-tool-powerful-previous-version.html.
2. Neural Bypass Links Brain to Hand
A new neural bypass system uses a brain implant to record signals from the motor cortex, then decodes and sends these to a sleeve of electrodes that stimulate the appropriate forearm muscles, and can do this with an accuracy that allows the person with spinal injury to pick up a bottle or hit the right chord on guitar hero http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/bionics/now-theres-a-way-around-paralysis-neural-bypass-links-brain-to-hand. With just 96 electrodes sampling 30,000 times per second, machine learning algorithms separate signal from noise in order to correctly encode the correct signals to be sent to the arm electrodes and muscles. With higher-density electrodes and better interfaces with distant muscle neurons we might be well on the way to providing natural, remote brain-body and brain-machine movement.
3. 3D Printed Ovaries Work in Mice
When new ovaries 3D printed with a new technique were implanted into mice they were able to successfully give birth to live healthy pups http://singularityhub.com/2016/04/10/this-3d-printed-prosthetic-ovary-restores-female-fertility-in-mice/. Comprised of a cross-linked biomaterial scaffold and seeded with ovarian follicles the implants were completely innervated by blood vessels, restored the animal’s hormone cycle, and produced eggs that could be fertilised. Human trials and therapies will commence once induced pluripotent stem cell technology can reliably produce the necessary oocytes and support cells needed to seed the scaffold.
4. Textile Techniques for Human Tissue Fabrication
Leading on from 3D printed ovaries, studies of different textile manufacturing techniques have determined which processes are ideal for engineering tissues needed for organ repair and implant http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2016/0407-methods-used-to-create-textiles-also-could-help-manufacture-human-tissues-2/. The processes tested included the standard electrospinning technique, as well as meltblowing, spunbonding, and carding, all of which exceeded the cost-performance of electrospinning. The main driver for exploring these techniques is the requirement for industrial scale up of these engineered tissues, for example the need to produce 100s of meters of tissue material with consistent and reliable properties.
5. Engineering Noisy CPUs
DARPA-funded Singular Computing is producing CPU chips that deliberately perform mathematical operations incorrectly to a small extent, outputting 2.01 when performing 1 + 1 for example https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601263/why-a-chip-thats-bad-at-math-can-help-computers-tackle-harder-problems/. This fuzzy output turns out to be an asset when processing noisy, messy data and resulting in lower-power computation while software is still able to produce a useful result. Applications include radar imaging, 3D information from stereo photos, deep learning, and others. Demonstrations of object tracking in video performed 100 times faster on these error prone chips and consumed only 2% of the power of a conventional processor.
6. Smartphone Satellite Messaging
Higher Ground has developed a smartphone case called StaPaq that communicates to the phone via bluetooth while packing a satellite communications antenna that allows basic text messaging and email via satellite from remote locations lacking standard network connectivity http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/could-satellite-messaging-startup-higher-ground-bring-down-the-911-system. There are concerns with spectrum interference and antenna power density at close range, but there is a genuine use-case and benefits for people in remote areas, and also for remote sensors and intermittent reporting monitors as part of the Internet of Things. In related news Facebook unveiled ARIES, a wireless antenna array that can deliver data communications to devices dozens of miles away http://www.wired.com/2016/04/facebooks-massive-new-antennas-can-beam-internet-miles/.
7. CRISPR Edited Mushroom Available for Sale
Mushrooms whose genomes have been edited with CRISPR can be cultivated and sold without further regulatory interference http://www.nature.com/news/gene-edited-crispr-mushroom-escapes-us-regulation-1.19754. This is the first CRISPR-edited organism to receive such a green light; the mushroom was edited to disable 6 genes and this resulted in an increased resistance to browning. The mushroom made it through regulatory oversight because the only edits involved disabled genes and didn’t include the introduction of foreign or novel genes from other organisms.
8. Wearable Display Adheres to Skin
A skin-like microns-thick organic LED display can stick comfortably to the skin and display information from similarly wearable sensors http://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/this-wearable-digital-display-just-sticks-on-your-skin. With further development one might imagine higher resolution displays capable of images and more dense information such as a replacement for a smartwatch as a form of temporary stick-on tattoo, a full-body version of which would be a pretty impressive / magical sight.
9. Low Power Full Duplex Radio
Building on work and prototypes first demonstrated last year a low-power full-duplex radio chip has been demonstrated that can transmit and receive signals on the same frequency at the same time using a single antenna http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/new-full-duplex-radio-chip-transmits-and-receives-wireless-signals-at-once. The promise is that mature rollout of such a chip would double the data capacity of existing technology. This breakthrough required a novel hardware solution involving the exact arrangement of transistors on the chip as well as an echo-cancelling receiver. The current chip should work for WiFi but will need to have its power capacity boosted to facilitate longer distance mobile communications.
10. SpaceX Lands Rocket on Drone Ship
At the start of the week we got to bear witness to SpaceX achieve yet another remarkable milestone in drastically reducing the cost to reach orbit by successfully launching a Falcon 9 rocket 200km into space, deploying an inflatable habitat in space, then re-entering the atmosphere and landing on a drone ship out at sea http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/04/like-a-boss-falcon-soars-into-space-and-lands-in-the-ocean/. Landing out at sea is more fuel efficient. If it passes firing tests the same rocket will be relaunched by June with the company offering a 30% price saving to customers.
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