X chief Yaccarino claims renamed Twitter 'close' to break-even
Linda Yaccarino, CEO of social media platform X, said Thursday that the company formerly known as Twitter is "close" to breaking even and is hiring to beef up a...
2023-08-11 01:52
Google and Universal Music might license artists' voices for AI-generated music
Google and Universal Music Group (UMG) are reportedly working on a partnership to license artists'
2023-08-11 00:27
AI can predict Parkinson’s subtype with up to 95% accuracy, study suggests
Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can classify four subtypes of Parkinson’s disease with up to 95% accuracy. Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology in London “trained” a computer program to recognise the subtypes of the condition using images of stem cells from patients. The team said their work, published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, could pave the way for personalised medicine and targeted drug discovery. Sonia Gandhi, assistant research director and group leader of the Neurodegeneration Biology Laboratory at the Crick, said: “We understand many of the processes that are causing Parkinson’s in people’s brains. The hope is that one day this could lead to fundamental changes in how we deliver personalised medicine Sonia Gandhi, Francis Crick Institute “But, while they are alive, we have no way of knowing which mechanism is happening, and therefore can’t give precise treatments. “We don’t currently have treatments which make a huge difference in the progression of Parkinson’s disease. “Using a model of the patient’s own neurons, and combining this with large numbers of images, we generated an algorithm to classify certain subtypes – a powerful approach that could open the door to identifying disease subtypes in life. “Taking this one step further, our platform would allow us to first test drugs in stem cell models, and predict whether a patient’s brain cells would be likely to respond to a drug, before enrolling into clinical trials. “The hope is that one day this could lead to fundamental changes in how we deliver personalised medicine.” Parkinson’s is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years. Symptoms include involuntary shaking of particular parts of the body, slow movement, and stiff and inflexible muscles. But there is also a wide range of other physical and psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety, problems sleeping, and memory problems. These vary from person to person due to differences in the underlying mechanisms causing the disease. The researchers said that until now, there was no way to accurately differentiate Parkinson’s subtypes. It means people are given nonspecific diagnoses and do not always have access to targeted treatments, support or care, the team added. For the study, the researchers generated stem cells, which have the ability to develop into specialised cell types in the body, from patients’ own cells. The team then used those cells to chemically create four different subtypes of Parkinson’s: two involving pathways leading to toxic build-up of a protein called alpha-synuclein and two involving pathways associated with dysfunctional mitochondria, the cell’s battery packs. Working with the British technology company Faculty AI, the team developed machine-learning algorithms which were able to accurately predict the Parkinson’s subtype when presented with images it had not seen before. James Evans, a PhD student at the Crick and UCL, and first co-author of the study, said: “Now that we use more advanced image techniques, we generate vast quantities of data, much of which is discarded when we manually select a few features of interest. “Using AI in this study enabled us to evaluate a larger number of cell features, and assess the importance of these features in discerning (the) disease subtype. “Using deep learning, we were able to extract much more information from our images than with conventional image analysis. “We now hope to expand this approach to understand how these cellular mechanisms contribute to other subtypes of Parkinson’s.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Oxford scientists find no evidence to suggest Facebook not good for wellbeing Many adults would struggle to understand video-sharing platforms’ rules – Ofcom Ozzy Osbourne PlayStation tweet which failed to reveal link to Sony banned
2023-08-10 23:18
Bumble launches new features, including for compatibility
The dating app Bumble is rolling out new features today, for both its free and
2023-08-10 22:57
Co-founder of Russia's equivalent of Google slams 'barbaric' invasion of Ukraine
The co-founder of Russian internet giant Yandex, Arkady Volozh, on Thursday condemned what he described as Moscow's "barbaric" invasion of Ukraine, days after criticism in Russia over his apparent efforts to distance himself from the country.
2023-08-10 22:26
Florida’s ‘Last Resort’ Property Insurer Is Now State’s Biggest
Florida is the fastest-growing US state and, with more than 8,000 miles (12,875 kilometers) of coastline, one of
2023-08-10 20:59
US investment curbs deal 'major blow' to Chinese startups
New constraints on US investments in advanced technology in China will exacerbate a slump in deals between the world's top two economies and deliver a "major blow" to Chinese startups, analysts and investors told CNN Thursday.
2023-08-10 20:27
UK Weighs Measures to Crimp Investment in China After Biden
The UK is considering whether to follow President Joe Biden’s move to limit US investment in some Chinese
2023-08-10 19:57
How popular is Joe Rogan's 'JRE' podcast? Exploring influencer's viewership growth after $200M Spotify deal
From Ustream start to YouTube shift in 2013, 'The Joe Rogan Experience' podcast now thrives with over 15 million subscribers
2023-08-10 19:48
Homeland Security report details how teen hackers exploited security weaknesses in some of the world's biggest companies
A group of teenage hackers managed to breach some of the world's biggest tech firms last year by exploiting systemic security weaknesses in US telecom carriers and the business supply chain, a US government review of the incidents has found, in what is a cautionary tale for America's critical infrastructure.
2023-08-10 19:29
Analysis-Biden's China tech curbs to keep investors sidelined, fearing more steps
By Kane Wu and Michael Martina HONG KONG/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden's move to prohibit some U.S. technology investments in
2023-08-10 18:54
Uranium Hunters in US West Face Partial Ban, Pollution Concerns
Five weeks before President Joe Biden announced a historic new ban on new uranium mining around the Grand
2023-08-10 17:59