🤖 Tech & Computer Science

Perplexity is reportedly looking to fundraise at an $8B valuation

AI search engine Perplexity is reportedly in talks to raise $500 million at an $8 billion valuation, more than doubling its $3 billion valuation from a recent SoftBank round. The company handles 15 million daily queries and earns about $50 million annually. While facing accusations of web scraping and a cease-and-desist from The New York Times, CEO Aravind Srinivas aims to collaborate with publishers. These talks follow OpenAI’s recent $6.6 billion fundraising round. Perplexity declined to comment on the report.

Application of spiral enhanced whale optimization algorithm in solving optimization problems

The Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) is a well-known metaheuristic but has limitations in population diversity, search balance, and solution accuracy. This paper proposes the Spiral-Enhanced Whale Optimization Algorithm (SEWOA), which integrates an Archimedean spiral structure and a nonlinear, self-adaptive perturbation strategy to overcome these issues. SEWOA improves solution accuracy, escapes local optima, and balances global and local searches. Validated using various test functions, the algorithm shows superior performance and successfully solves engineering design problems, highlighting its broad potential applications.

⚛️ Physics and Chemistry

Team develops promising new form of antibiotic that makes bacterial cells self-destruct

Scientists at the University of Toronto have developed new compounds that cause bacterial cells to self-destruct by overactivating the ClpP enzyme, which normally helps with cellular housekeeping. By triggering ClpP to break down essential proteins, the compounds kill the bacteria from within. This innovative approach, published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, builds on previous cancer research and aims to combat antibiotic resistance. The researchers hope to develop these compounds into a new class of antibiotics for clinical use.

China builds record-breaking magnet — but it comes with a cost

China now hosts the world’s most powerful resistive magnet, generating a magnetic field of 42.02 tesla at the Steady High Magnetic Field Facility (SHMFF). This surpasses the previous 41.4-tesla record set in the US in 2017. The achievement supports the development of stronger, reliable magnets that could lead to new discoveries in physics. The resistive magnet, available for international use, follows China’s 2022 creation of the world’s most powerful hybrid magnet, which reached 45.22 tesla.

Century-old photoelectric effect inspires a new search for quantum gravity

Researchers propose a new experiment to detect quantum gravity, inspired by the photoelectric effect. While quantum mechanics and general relativity describe the universe at different scales, gravity remains unquantified. The study, published in Nature Communications, suggests using resonant bars to absorb gravitons from gravitational waves, leading to detectable changes in their quantum state. This could provide evidence for the quantum nature of gravity and the existence of gravitons.

🧬 Biology & Medicine

FDA OKs Novel Levodopa-Based Continuous Sub-Q Regimen for Parkinson’s

The FDA has approved foscarbidopa and foslevodopa (Vyalev) for continuous subcutaneous infusion to treat motor fluctuations in advanced Parkinson’s disease. This non-surgical treatment shows superior efficacy compared to oral carbidopa/levodopa, with a 2.72-hour increase in "on" time without troublesome dyskinesia, compared to 0.97 hours for the oral medication. Improvements were seen from the first week and sustained throughout the study.

Fish oil speeds muscle recovery in aging rats, suggesting potential benefits for humans

A study in Nutrients found that fish oil supplements (45% EPA, 10% DHA) aid muscle healing in aged rats, mitigating slower recovery compared to younger rats. Supplemented older rats showed healing rates similar to younger counterparts, while control rats had a 30–40% reduction in muscle contractility post-injury. The findings suggest fish oil enhances membrane repair, potentially benefiting older adults prone to muscle injuries.

🔭 Space & Astronomy

Remote-control robots could help humanity explore the moon and Mars

Teleoperated rovers may soon be used on the moon, allowing human controllers on Earth to manipulate tools virtually for tasks like sample collection and assembly. Researchers from the University of Bristol tested their teleoperation system at the European Space Agency's center, successfully controlling a robotic arm to dig a sample of lunar regolith simulant without relying on potentially lagging camera feeds. Future operations could leverage signals relayed by satellites from ESA's planned Moonlight project, helping to overcome the 1.3-second signal delay between Earth and the moon.

NASA and Partners Scaling to New Heights 

NASA, in collaboration with AeroVironment and Aerostar, has introduced a new air traffic management concept called Upper-Class E traffic management (ETM) to facilitate safe aircraft operations at altitudes above 60,000 feet. This initiative aims to enhance internet coverage, disaster response, scientific missions, and potentially enable supersonic flight. Currently, there are no regulations for high-altitude air traffic, but advancements in aircraft design are enabling long-endurance vehicles, like balloons and solar aircraft, to operate at these heights. A robust traffic management system is essential to avoid overwhelming existing air traffic infrastructure as these new aircraft take to the skies.

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