🤖 Tech & Computer Science

South Korea summit to target 'blueprint' for using AI in the military

South Korea hosted an international summit to discuss responsible military use of AI, with over 90 countries, including the U.S. and China, attending. This two-day event in Seoul, the second of its kind, aims to create a non-binding blueprint for AI use in warfare. The first summit was held in The Hague last year, where nations endorsed a modest "call to action" without legal commitments. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun highlighted the role of AI-enabled drones in the Russia-Ukraine war, emphasizing the potential and risks of AI in military operations.

What is Bluesky? Everything to know about the app trying to replace Twitter

Bluesky, a decentralized social app created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has grown rapidly since becoming open to the public in February 2024, gaining over 9 million users by September 2024. The app, which offers a Twitter-like interface, community-specific moderation, and algorithmic choice, uses the open-source AT Protocol for transparency. While it has seen significant growth, particularly after X (formerly Twitter) was banned in Brazil, it still lags behind competitors like Meta's Threads with 130 million monthly active users and Mastodon's 1.8 million.

⚛️ Physics and Chemistry

Electro-active material ‘learns’ to play Pong

Researchers at the University of Reading, UK, have shown that an electro-active polymer hydrogel can "memorize" experiences similar to biological neurons. By configuring the hydrogel to play the game Pong, it improved its performance over time. While this does not mean the hydrogel truly learns like humans, the study suggests implications for artificial neural networks and raises questions about the complexity of such systems.

Scientists demonstrate first experimental evidence of non-Hermitian edge burst in photonic quantum walks

Scientists have observed the first experimental evidence of non-Hermitian edge bursts in quantum dynamics using a photonic quantum walk setup. This study highlights the unique physics of non-Hermitian systems, such as boundary localization, which differs from Hermitian systems and has potential applications in photonics and condensed matter physics.

🧬 Biology & Medicine

Neurode wants to treat and track ADHD symptoms through a wearable headband

Neurode, a Sydney-based company, has developed a wearable headband designed to help manage ADHD symptoms. The device uses light electrical stimulation on the prefrontal cortex for 20 minutes daily, potentially improving focus and brain balance over time. Co-founder Nathalie Gouailhardou, a neuroscientist with ADHD, created the headband inspired by her experience with non-invasive brain imaging technology.

Gene Therapy Shown to Improve Vision in Congenital Blindness

An early-phase clinical trial published in The Lancet found that the investigational gene therapy ATSN-101 improved functional vision in patients with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) 1, a rare congenital blindness. Results showed significant enhancement in visual acuity, with the highest dose leading to a measurable improvement of about eight letters on an eye test over 12 months.

A promising new therapeutic target for MASLD identified

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have identified a potential drug target to reduce fat accumulation in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) using a new stem cell platform. Their study, published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, reveals a pathway that could be targeted to treat MASLD, a condition affecting nearly a quarter of Americans and often leading to liver fibrosis and cancer.

🔭 Space & Astronomy

These 2 monster black holes may be the closest pair ever discovered (video)

NASA's Chandra and Hubble telescopes have discovered a pair of supermassive black holes in the merging galaxies MCG-03-34-64, located about 800 million light-years away and just 300 light-years apart. These black holes, which are actively consuming surrounding gas and dust, emit intense light and powerful jets, making their active galactic nuclei (AGNs) exceptionally bright.

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