Google says it has made a significant step in identifying disease-causing genes, which could help spot rare genetic disorders. A new model named AlphaMissense is able to confidently classify 89 per cent of all possible “missense” variants in genes, identifying whether they are likely to cause diseases or benign. That compares with just 0.1 per cent of all missense variants that have been confidently classified by human experts. Missense variants happen when a single letter is substituted in the DNA, which in turn leads to proteins with a different amino acid. That small change can have significant effects – Google likened it to the way that changing a letter in one word can change the meaning of the whole sentence. Most of those variants are benign: the average person has more than 9,000 of them. But some of them can be disastrous, leading to rare genetic diseases. The new AlphaMissense looked at existing information about missense variants, and how commonly they are seen in humans and closely-related primates. It looked for those that were rarely seen, classifying them as pathogenic, and from that was able to use that information to analyse other protein sequences – giving not just a verdict on whether they were likely to cause problems, but also how confident it was. Experiments, conducted by humans, which look to find those mutations are expensive and slow: they require people to examine each unique protein and designed separately. Google says that the new system means that researchers can “preview” those results for thousands of proteins at a time, helping them decide where to focus. The company has used its systems to release a vast catalogue of “missense” mutations, so that researchers can learn about what effect they have. In some cases, those variations can lead to conditions such as cystic fibrosis, sickle-cell anaemia, or cancer, and understanding them could be key to researchers studying ways to treat or prevent those diseases. It is just the latest health breakthrough from Google’s Deepmind division, which is looking to use artificial intelligence to both identify and treat a variety of conditions. The new system was built on AlphaFold, the breakthrough model that helped unfold proteins, the building blocks of life. The research is described in a new paper, ‘Accurate proteome-wide missense variant effect prediction with AlphaMissense’, published in the journal Science. The catalogue is being made “freely available to the research community”, Google said, and the company will release the code behind the AI system. Read More BBC removes some Russell Brand content as monetisation suspended on YouTube Google Bard can now link to Gmail and other apps to help with responses Long-form video content is here to stay, says YouTube UK boss

Andrew Tate recently claimed that he teaches men to be hard-working and motivates them to be strong

Bond deals arranged by Credit Suisse and Bank of America Corp. in connection with debt swaps for emerging-market

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 29, 2023--

OpenAI, the AI firm behind ChatGPT, has warned that the arrival of artificial intelligence that surpasses humans is unavoidable. Artificial general intelligence, also known as superintelligence, has been theorised by philosophers and academics for decades, though rapid advances in recent years mean we may now be on the cusp of it, senior figures within OpenAI warned. In a blog post published on Wednesday, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever said that AI superintelligence will be unprecedented in its power – both positive and negative. “Given the picture as we see it now, it’s conceivable that within the next ten years, AI systems will exceed expert skill level in most domains, and carry out as much productive activity as one of today’s largest corporations,” the post stated. “In terms of both potential upsides and downsides, superintelligence will be more powerful than other technologies humanity has had to contend with in the past.” OpenAI laid out three ways humanity can navigate the arrival of superintelligence, though warned lawmakers and regulators against trying to stop it. “We believe it would unintuitively risky and difficult to stop the creation of superintelligence,” the post warned. “Because the upsides are so tremendous, the cost to build it decreases each year, the number of actors building it is rapidly increasing, and it’s inherently part of the technological path we are on, stopping it would require something like a global surveillance regime, and even that isn’t guaranteed to work. So we have to get it right.” Mr Altman appeared before a congressional hearing last week to face questions from US senators about the risks that advanced artificial intelligence poses. The 38-year-old told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law that he believed AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT were a “significant area of concern” and required rules and guidelines to prevent misuse. “There’s no way to put this genie in the bottle. Globally, this is exploding,” Democratic Senator Cory Booker acknowledged. One potential way to prevent AI harms like election manipulation would be by introducing licensing and testing requirements for the development of AI, Mr Altman said. One possibility, according to OpenAI, is through the creation of a US licensing agency for AI called the Office for AI Safety and Infrastructure Security (Oasis). Read More 10 ways AI will change the world – from curing cancer to wiping out humanity

The best productivity keyboard PCMag has tested is the Razer Pro Type Ultra, closely followed

Choose the best fitness streamers on Twitch to make your life healthy

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS Google will provide more information on targeted advertisements and give researchers more access

Apple is planning a cheaper version of its upcoming Vision Pro headset, according to reports – though it will still be far from cheap. The company announced its Vision Pro in June, starting at $3,500, and said that it would be coming in early 2024. Immediately, many noticed that the inclusion of the “Pro” in the name suggested that a cheaper version might also be on its way. Now new reports suggest that cheaper headset will cost as much as $2,500. The company is aiming for a price of $1,500 to $2,500, according to a new report from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. That would still be considerably more expensive than other augmented reality headsets. The new Meta Quest 3, for instance, starts at $499, and the company has suggested that its lower price is one of the key ways it aims to compete with Apple. To make it cheaper, Apple is aiming to drop one of the key features from the Vision Pro, known as EyeSight. That is a screen that shows a virtual version of the wearer’s eyes on the front of the headset, to make conversations more natural and to give a sense of what the person is doing on the inside. The cheaper headset is also rumoured to include a cheaper processor – likely one from the iPhone, rather than the Mac chip that powers the Vision Pro – as well as fewer cameras and a less high-quality display. Apple has moved resources towards building the cheaper version, Mr Gurman reported in his Bloomberg newsletter. That has also meant moving staff away from devoted the augmented reality glasses that have been assumed to be the end goal of Apple’s work in headsets, but which he suggested had proven “too technically challenging” so far. Read More Google is about to ditch passwords forever You need to update your new iPhone if you want to avoid it getting hot Apple is preparing an urgent iPhone 15 update after they started overheating

SoftBank Group Corp. satisfied its ambitions for Arm Holdings Plc by raising $4.87 billion in the year’s biggest

Internet criticized Meghan King's hypocrisy as she shared an unblurred photo of her niece but still continues to hide her own children's faces online

COP28 Daily Reports: Sign up for the Green Daily newsletter for comprehensive coverage of the climate summit right