https://www.cnet.com/science/biology/scientists-craft-living-skin-for-robots-made-of-human-cells/ Scientists Craft 'Living Skin' for Robots, Made of Human Cells What's happening Japanese researchers covered a robot finger with a self-healing pliable sheet made of human skin cells. Why it matters Helping robots resemble humans could improve their integration with our society. We'd like them more, trust them more and communicate with them better. What's next The team will focus on refining their prototype to make it more sophisticated and translatable to real-world robotics.
"Burn victims? **** those people, we've got sex robots to trick out" -- Lead Japanese Researcher, probably
This might be posted before. There was a story in 2021 about growing brain stem cells growing eyes. Lab-grown Brains Show Rudimentary Eye Development Stem cell–derived organoids treated with vitamin A spontaneously grew little optic cups. Scientists have managed to nurture small clumps of the human brain, giving them the ability to grow their own eyes Spoiler: full article Scientists have managed to nurture small clumps of the human brain, giving them the ability to grow their own eyes, or at least two functionally integrated optic vesicles that respond to light. These tiny brains, called brain organoids, are self-assembled aggregates resembling the embryonic human brain in both cytoarchitecture and cell type.1 They’re grown from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which can be differentiated into a variety of cell types in vitro. Until now, brain organoids were thought to be “chaotic three-dimensional tissues” unable to follow the self-patterning rules of embryos. However, these brains spontaneously developed bilaterally symmetric optic vesicles in what would be the forebrain region.2 While the eye structures are rudimentary, they have both a lens and a retina and can send signals to the brain tissue. To encourage the brain organoids to grow eyes, Jay Gopalakrishnan, PhD, of the University Hospital Düsseldorf in Germany, and his team modified an iPSC protocol for differentiating into neural tissue by adding retinoic acid, a vitamin A derivative key for embryonic eye development, 20 days into the brain organoids’ development. The researchers reported that 72% of 314 brain organoids treated with 60nM of retinol acetate reproducibly attempted to assemble optic vesicles by around day 30, and visible eye structures developed within 60 days. The organoids’ development timeframe parallels that of human embryonic retinal development. Analysis revealed that the optic vesicles contained primitive corneal epithelial and lens-like cells, retinal pigment epithelial cells, retinal progenitor cells, axon-like projections and electrically active neuronal networks, showing retinal connectivity to the brain. “In the mammalian brain, nerve fibers of retinal ganglion cells reach out to connect with their brain targets, an aspect that has never before been shown in an in vitro system,” said Dr. Gopalakrishnan. “Interestingly, various light intensities could trigger photosensitive activity of optic vesicle-containing brain organoids, and light sensitivities could be reset after transient photobleaching,” he said. “Thus, brain organoids have the intrinsic ability to self-organize forebrain-associated primitive sensory structures in a topographically restricted manner and can allow interorgan interaction studies within a single organoid.” The researchers say the relatively short time to generate eye-like structures is crucial for the future of in vivo developmental biology because such a timeframe will allow for multiple experimental setups. Brain organoids containing optic vesicles will pave the way for “personalized organoids and RPE sheets for transplantation,” they said. They believe such organoids will help to model retinopathies emerging from early neurodevelopmental disorders. https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/news/article/labgrown-brains-show-rudimentary-eye-development https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smar...lls-developed-eyes-can-sense-light-180978478/
Don't know if anybody is interested in this stuff, but the progression in quality from Dall-E to Dall-E 2 over just a few years is kind of terrifying. Dall-E mini will come up with amusingly bad photos using your writing prompts. Dall-E 2 is better at photo composting and digital composition than most Photoshop pros.
'No need to panic' as sunspot with potential for solar flares doubles in size overnight, scientists say https://phys.org/news/2022-06-panic-sunspot-potential-solar-flares.html
Spoiler: Why did the sun not go to college? Because it already has a million degrees (•_•) ( •_•)>⌐■-■ (⌐■_■)
Amazon demonstrates Alexa mimicking the voice of a deceased relative "Amazon is devising a way for users to speak to their family members through its Alexa voice assistant, even after they’ve died. At Amazon’s Re:Mars conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Rohit Prasad, senior vice president and head scientist for the Alexa team, detailed a feature that allows the voice assistant to replicate a specific human voice." https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/22/ama...micking-the-voice-of-a-deceased-relative.html
So, screw the T-600 and go straight to the T-800 right out of the chute...got it. Again...DO YOU WANT TERMINATORS?!?!?!!?!?!?! BECAUSE THIS IS HOW YOU GET TERMINATORS!!!!!!!
Capitol Records signs first AI virtual rapper FN Meka (CNN) – A robot rapper that has over 10 million followers on TikTok has signed with Capitol Records. FN Meka is the world’s first augmented reality – or “AR” – artist to sign with a major label. He has over one billion views on TikTok as the platform’s top “virtual being.” His debut single “Florida Water” was released this week. The song is a collaboration between billboard chart-topper Gunna - who’s currently facing charges in a RICO case alongside Atlanta rapper Young Thug - and professional Fortnite player Clix. While technically FN Meka is voiced by a human, everything else about his music is based in A.I. Capitol Records said the project is a mix of music, technology and gaming culture. https://www.fox8live.com/2022/08/21/capitol-records-signs-first-ai-virtual-rapper-fn-meka/