My latest piece for MIT Tech Review tells the story of how synthetic biologists got excited about the prospect of mirror-image life - and then grew terrified of it. What should scientists do when they see the shadow of the end of the world in their own research? Link: ter.li/gz2vpmiq

No one’s sure if synthetic mirror life will kill us all

Synthetic biologists were tantalized by the idea of making mirror images of microbes. Then things got complicated.

ter.li

Wakefield was secretly hired by a lawyer to make up a phony new bowel disease & create a study that tested a tiny cohort of vaccine-skeptical parents’ kids, in part by giving children as young as 5 unnecessary colonoscopies (w/out proper informed consent). One child almost died from complications

Walker Bragman@walkerbragman.bsky.social · 9mo ago

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson is crowing about Robert Kennedy Jr.’s CDC pushing debunked vaccine misinformation. “Time to apologize to Dr. Andrew Wakefield and all the others who were maligned and vilified for simply asking the right questions,” he says. Wakefield’s paper was *fraudulent.*

Can #NeuromorphicComputing help reduce AI’s high #energy cost? Researchers see big potential in #EnergyEfficient systems inspired by the #HumanBrain. A PNAS Core Concept explainer: https://ow.ly/45rk50XkYt5 #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #LLMs #ChatGPT #NeuralNetwork #DataCenter

SPARK sighting at @possible-futures.bsky.social! Less than two weeks till it's available at a bookstore near you! Share the story of Jim West and his invention of the microphone we all use today on Zoom, phones 🎤 Preorder here: bit.ly/SPARKbk #WomeninSTEM 🧪 #SciArt #Booksky #Science #Blacksky

Three-time AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award winner @stephenornes.bsky.social will kick off this year's AAAS Kavli Fall Lecture Series at @ugagrady.bsky.social next week. Ornes will discuss the history of AI, why it has become so seductive to cover, and the demands for getting it right.

In a recent study, researchers introduced a small data set of easily hackable code to a collection of chatbots. Shortly after, the AI began to offer helpful tips for how to get away with murder. www.quantamagazine.org/the-ai-was-f...

The AI Was Fed Sloppy Code. It Turned Into Something Evil. | Quanta Magazine

The new science of “emergent misalignment” explores how PG-13 training data — insecure code, superstitious numbers or even extreme-sports advice — can open the door to AI’s dark side.

quantamagazine.org

The Trump administration has dismissed the scientists behind the U.S. climate report. Now scientific societies are stepping in to finish the job—because the climate crisis doesn’t pause for politics. Science will not be silenced. apnews.com/article/clim... #ClimateScience #StandUpForScience

Scientific societies say they'll step up after Trump puts key climate report in doubt

Two major scientific societies say they will try to fill the void from the Trump administration’s dismissal of scientists writing a cornerstone federal report on what climate change is doing to the Un...

apnews.com

In other news, Der Spiegel found private phone numbers, email addresses and some passwords for Waltz, Gabbard and Hegseth online www.spiegel.de/internationa...

Hegseth, Waltz, Gabbard: Private Data and Passwords of Senior U.S. Security Officials Found Online

Donald Trump's most important security advisers used Signal to discuss an imminent military strike. Now, reporting by DER SPIEGEL has found that the contact data of some of those officials, including ...

spiegel.de

It’s been difficult to find important questions that quantum computers can answer faster than classical machines, but a new algorithm appears to do it for some critical optimization tasks. @stephenornes.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/quantum-spee...

Quantum Speedup Found for Huge Class of Hard Problems | Quanta Magazine

It’s been difficult to find important questions that quantum computers can answer faster than classical machines, but a new algorithm appears to do it for some critical optimization tasks.

quantamagazine.org

Small language models (SLMs) can use only a few billion parameters — a mere fraction of their LLM counterparts. buff.ly/i0Jjuq4

Why Do Researchers Care About Small Language Models? | Quanta Magazine

Larger models can pull off a wider variety of feats, but the reduced footprint of smaller models makes them attractive tools.

buff.ly

Happy Pi Day to all who celebrate! Math and political artist John Sims found inspiration in everyone's favorite irrational number to produce quilts, prints, dresses, spoken word poetry, and more. Together with Vi Hart, he also produced this Pi Day Anthem: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsKH...

The Pi Day Anthem featuring John Sims and Vi Hart

YouTube video by John Sims

youtube.com

Larger models can pull off greater feats, but the accessibility and efficiency of smaller models make them attractive tools. @stephenornes.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/why-do-resea...

Why Do Researchers Care About Small Language Models? | Quanta Magazine

Larger models can pull off a wider variety of feats, but the reduced footprint of smaller models makes them attractive tools.

quantamagazine.org

the richest man in the world has decided that your kids don't deserve special education programs

I've met with many cabinet nominees across many admins, and my meeting with RFK Jr. was by far the most troubling. He rattled off debunked conspiracy theories & lied to my face—denying his own statements he'd made on record. We cannot confirm an anti-vaxxer as Secretary of Health.

The Seattle Times@seattletimes.com · last yr.

"He threw out so many nonsense, nonsensical questions and statements that it was head-spinning," Washington's senator said of her private meeting with Kennedy.

Senator Bill Cassidy just voted to advance illness, disability, and death for the American people. Disgraceful abandonment of your obligations as a doctor and an elected official. The preventable deaths this man will cause are on your hands. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Senate panel advances RFK Jr.'s nomination to be health secretary

The Senate Finance Committee voted along party lines to send Kennedy’s bid to lead the Department of Health and Human Services to the full chamber.

nbcnews.com

Thread. Nothing good.

Dave Levitan@davelevitan.bsky.social · 2y ago

From a source inside the National Cancer Institute: “Everyone is scrambling to figure out how we’re supposed to work to serve the public when we can’t engage at all.”

"Discovering Our Journalism: Empowering First-Gen Undergraduates and Early Career Science Writers Through Mentorship" is a 2024 NASW #SciWriGrants recipients—and they're currently seeking mentee signups! Learn How to Apply: sites.google.com/uri... About the Grant: www.nasw.org/article... 💚🧪📝

It's time to apply for a Knight Science Journalism Program fellowship at MIT! We have 10 openings for a 2025-26 academic year fellowship and one opening for a one semester fellowship for journalists from Africa and the Middle East. Learn more here. ksj.mit.edu/news/2024/11...

A little healthy debate can go a long way: Computer scientists are using moderated argument as a key strategy to strengthen large language model accuracy. www.quantamagazine.org/debate-may-h...

Debate May Help AI Models Converge on Truth | Quanta Magazine

Letting AI systems argue with each other may help expose when a large language model has made mistakes.

quantamagazine.org