Category Archives: Cloning

A clone of legendary showjumper Arko III has been born in the US, seven months after the stallions death.

The foal, who arrived in August, is the result of a combined effort by UK-based genetic preservation company, Gemini Genetics, and partner ViaGen Pets and Equine in the US.

It was an extremely sad day for our family when we lost Arko, he was truly a horse of a lifetime, said a joint statement from Pat, John and Lisa Hales, of Shaw Farm Stud, owners of Arko and his clone.

The birth of his clone was very emotional. We believe it is not only exciting for our sport worldwide, but especially for the future of British breeding for years to come. We look forward to breeding many more champions from this wonderful bloodline.

The Arko III clone. Credit: Terry Stickle.

The clone was generated from a small skin sample from Arko, genetically preserved by Gemini Genetics, the sister company to Stallion AI Services. The sample was then shipped to ViaGen Pets & Equine in the US.

Gemini Genetics manager Lucy Morgan, who undertook the preservation, told H&H the clone will remain at ViaGens facility in the US until he is weaned, at the earliest.

She added plans for what his future may hold in terms of competition have not been decided yet, but stressed the main intention is for him to be a breeding sire.

We are thrilled at the successful birth of Arkos clone, she added. A much-loved stallion in terms of his outstanding performances and his unique and full of life character, it is brilliant to have enabled his cloning so that his outstanding legacy can continue. Gemini Genetics are thrilled and highly privileged to have facilitated this amazing revival of Arko III via his genetic twin.

Ms Morgan clarified there is no issue surrounding the quality or availability of Arkos semen, rather the decision to clone was about taking the opportunity to preserve his genetics for the future.

There is plenty of semen left in reserve, but you would never be able to breed another Arko with the exact same genetics [other than by cloning], as 50% of the DNA would be different, she said.

The original Arko III. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo.

The original Arko (Argentinius x Beach Boy) won grands prix across the globe with rider, Nick Skelton. The pair finished 10th individually at the 2004 Athens Olympics and represented Britain at the 2005 European Championships. Arko was also the horse Nick credited with getting him back in the saddle after he broke his neck in a riding accident in 2000.

Their numerous victories included the sports richest prize, the CN International at Spruce Meadows. Arko won the leading British showjumper of the year title on five occasions, before stepping down from competition in 2008. He retired from stud in 2019 and died in January 2021.

His off-spring include John Whitakers current stable star, Argento, as well as the Hales familys SFS Aristo.

Blake Russell, president of ViaGen Pets & Equine, said the company has delivered more than 1,000 healthy, cloned foals to clients and each project is truly special.

The ability to play a part in reproducing a phenomenal genotype like Arko III is what makes our effort worthwhile, he said.

We are very excited to see him grow and develop and make his footprint on the industry. It is a real pleasure to collaborate with great partners like Gemini Genetics and their sister company, Stallion AI Services, to help bring our services to clients around the globe.

The relationships that we have developed with partners like Gemini Genetics are what make this venture work for everyone. I hope all can see that cloning technology is a powerful advanced reproductive technology that can bring great opportunity.

Tullis Matson, founder and director of Stallion AI Services, added it has been a privilege working with Arko and the Hales family for almost 10 years of the stallions life.

We are thrilled at the news of the successful birth of his clone and are privileged to have been involved in this project via our sister company, Gemini Genetics, he said.

We look forward to the coming years of his clone, [and the benefits he will bring] to the performance industry and the breeding sector.

You might also be interested in:

Cloning is a concept that, for many people, is still shrouded in mystery. Here we bring you answers to some

I feel incredibly honoured to be able to do this. I absolutely love it

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoythe magazine deliveredto your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access ouronline service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

Follow this link:

Showjumping legend Arko III cloned: the birth was very emotional - Horse & Hound

Including during the research for this thesis, MarketsandResearch.biz concentrated on the industry in terms of Global Voice Cloning Market rate of economic growth in 2021 and 2027, respectively. Included within the analysis are chronological trends and competitive advantages, as well as a review of something like the industrys most prominent adversaries.

Concentrated on either the pace of Voice Cloning economic development of the country between 2021 through 2027 in the following discussion. The evaluation involves chronological trends, the competitive climate, as well as a review of the markets most prominent competitors.

DOWNLOAD FREE SAMPLE REPORT: https://www.marketsandresearch.biz/sample-request/213256

The report also includes a global perspective of key regions, namely:

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, etc.), Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

Throughout this research project, youll also uncover how so many of the worlds biggest firms strive constantly to outperform the contemporary real competition.

The product types covered in the report include:

Cloud, On-premises

The application types covered in the report include:

Healthcare and life sciences, Education, Media and entertainment, Telecom, Travel and hospitality, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Others

Another factor affecting profitability was the companys business availability and client cancellation, production capabilities, stock levels, as well as several other factors, all of which were covered in the Voice Cloning real economy summary.

The key players in the market include:

IBM, Google, Lyrebird, Nuance Communications, Baidu, Microsoft, AWS, AT&T, NeoSpeech, Smartbox Assistive Technology, exClone, LumenVox, Kata.Ai, Alt.Ai, CereProc, Acapela Group, VocaliD, Voicery, Aristech, Cepstral, Ispeech, VivoText, Voctro Labs, rSpeak, CandyVoice

ACCESS FULL REPORT: https://www.marketsandresearch.biz/report/213256/global-voice-cloning-market-2021-by-company-regions-type-and-application-forecast-to-2026

New technologies and product advance significantly impact business requirements. Final thoughts: The general market total population increase is affected by current planning and construction activity. A revenue growth analysis is included in the longitudinal study.

Customization of the Report:

This report can be customized to meet the clients requirements. Please connect with our sales team (sales@marketsandresearch.biz), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs. You can also get in touch with our executives on +1-201-465-4211 to share your research requirements.

Contact UsMark StoneHead of Business DevelopmentPhone: +1-201-465-4211Email: sales@marketsandresearch.biz

More:

Global Voice Cloning Market 2021: Key Players, Industry Insights and Dynamics, Growth and Supply Chain Analysis 2027 Stillwater Current - Stillwater...

The return of the dead to life has long fascinated storytellers, featuring in myths like Orpheus and Eurydice, festivals like the Mexican Dia del Muerte, in Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and, of course, Jurassic Park. The idea continues to cast its spell. As we describe in our book Strange Natures, de-extinction, or the resurrection of extinct species is the idea about the use of novel genetic technologies that most excites commentators about conservation.

The best-established approach to de-extinction is by cloning. In 2003, Spanish scientists cloned the Pyrenean ibex, a subspecies of the Iberian ibex that went extinct in 2000. The animal lived a scant seven minutes, but it was hailed as the first species brought back from extinction. De-extinction continues to yield startling headlines and graphics: attempts to bring back mammoths even made the cover of the April 2013 issue of National Geographic.

Unfortunately, perhaps, you cant clone a mammoth. At least, that is Beth Shapiros conclusion in her fascinating book How to Clone a Mammoth (notwithstanding its title). It turns out that the DNA in all mammoth samples will always be too degraded to make cloning possible. And the same goes for velociraptors or tyrannosaurs, condemning Jurassic Park in all is guises to remain only a delightful exercise in science fiction.

But there is another approach to de-extinction. It uses the techniques of gene editing to re-engineer parts of the genome of a closely-related extant species to match that of its extinct relative. Before starting you will need a complete genome sequence of the extinct species and of a relatively closely related living species. Working to create the novel life form requires use of the novel technologies of gene editing (especially CRISPR, for which Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020).

The woolly mammoth is now the focus of a serious project, led by the charismatic figure of George Church of Harvard University and the American NGO Revive & Restore. They have sequenced the DNA of mammoths semi-preserved in Arctic permafrost and that of its closest living relative, the Asian elephant.

Gene editing is being used to rewrite genes in Asian elephant cell lines, generating increasingly mammoth-like cells (controlling haemoglobin, hair growth and fat production) with each edit. In theory these synthesised strands of mammoth DNA could be inserted into the egg of an Asian elephant and implanted into a host female elephant. If a foetus were brought to term and born alive, it would carry woolly mammoth traits not exactly a mammoth but more like a mammoth than anything since the last one went extinct some 4,000 years ago.

Read more about de-extinction:

There are about 1.4 million differences between mammoth and Asian elephant genomes so theyre hardly exactly alike. Bridging this gap to make a mammoth-like elephant will keep the project focused for years on scientific complexities of the genetic basis for production of cellular proteins. It is best understood as an eye-catching biological experiment, a driver of scientific discovery and an advertisement for gene editing.

While the science of de-extinction obviously excites those doing it, it is less clear whether de-extinction should be a priority for conservationists. De-extinction certainly has its supporters beyond the coterie of synthetic biologists in their laboratories. Charismatic species already exert a strong fascination for conservationists and the public.

Some conservationists also point out that de-extinct species could drive ecosystem recovery by re-starting lost ecological processes (a kind of extreme rewilding vision). From this perspective, it is not the fact that the species is alive that is important, but what it does, and the ecological interactions that result.

On the other hand, however scientifically or culturally intriguing it is, the conservation benefits of de-extinction are far from obvious. First, all the laboratory experimentation might create an organism that resembled an extinct species, but it will be a genetic hybrid with the modern species. It would contain just a part of the genetic diversity of the whole former species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature suggests the term proxies of extinct species and not de-extinct species for such creatures, should they be created.

And where would such a species live? Many (perhaps most) resurrected species (not least the mammoth) would struggle to find space to live outside laboratory or zoo conditions, let alone having the chance to establish viable free-ranging populations such as the Russian tundra as proposed for novo-mammoths. A single de-extinct species would be just as alone as the last original individual, probably living its life out in a zoo enclosure. It might be alive, but it would still be on the cusp of re-extinction.

There are about 1.4 million differences between the Asian elephant (pictured) and the mammoth Getty Images

There are lots of other questions about any organism genetically engineered to resemble an extinct species. Taxonomists would have to decide how it should be classified, and lawyers whether the genetic modification could be patented. There are also obvious and significant ethical issues around the animal welfare implications of animal experimentation in the name of de-extinction.

All applications of synthetic biology to conservation are new and untested. Their use in laboratory experiments aimed at the eventual de-extinction of species is fascinating, complicated, expensive, ethically fraught and speculative. On balance, it is unlikely to make an important strategy for conservation. Indeed, as critics have pointed out, the possibility that extinct species could be brought back from the dead could distract from the challenges of addressing the drivers of extinction today.

Despite its glitter and appeal, de-extinction is not the furthest developed, the most significant, or the most potentially controversial application of synthetic biology to conservation. As we discuss in Strange Natures, scientists are discussing a host of ways to engineer the genes of wild species for conservation purposes, from the use of gene drives to control invasive species to gene editing to enhance survival in the face wildlife disease or climate change.

These raise fundamental questions about the distinction between what is natural and what is human-made. The idea of bringing extinct species back from the dead is bizarre and exciting, but the greatest opportunities, and challenges, of the power to edit the genes of wild species lie not in resurrecting the past, but in shaping the future of conservation.

Read more about conservation:

Strange Natures:Conservation in the Era of Synthetic Biology by Kent H Redford and William M Adams is out now (25, Yale Books).

Continue reading here:

Resurrecting the mammoth could be possible but we shouldn't bother - BBC Science Focus Magazine

The idea of a mechanicalrobotgiving birth to a child seems absurd. However, many of the technologies we use today began as outlandish concepts at one point or another. Arobotis a machine that resembles a human person and is capable of autonomously replicating some human actions and activities. The majority of us have preconceptions about what arobotis and how it should behave.

Our understanding of mechanical machines will develop through time, from purely mechanical devices to hybrid mechanical-organic contraptions, primarily alive machines, and pure synthetic life forms, with the process of creating machines being superseded by the process of growing them.Artificial intelligence(AI) will be phased out in favor of degrees of synthetic intelligence, which will be followed by what many would regard as a better kind of genuine intellect.

The term biot, which means biological robot, is a smart adjective. Several new disciplines are bridging the gap between biology androbotics. Cybernetics, bionics, biomimicry, and synthetic biology are only a few examples. 3D printers will be used to create human tissue, stem cells, and even artificial blood cells in this scenario. Bone, cartilage, muscle, teeth, organs, blood arteries, and even ears may be printed using other 3D manufacturing equipment.

With the cloning of Dolly, the sheep in 1996, the science of cloning became well known. Hundreds of other animals, including camels, dogs, deer, horses, monkeys, cows, frogs, rabbits, and many others, have been closed since then. Human cloning has long been considered a logical outgrowth of animal research, offering an identical genetic clone of any individual. Theres a distinction to be made between natural clones and manufactured clones, which appear like identical twins in humans and other species. Gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning are the three forms of artificial cloning.

Emanuel Greenberg invented the first artificial womb in 1955, which was more than 60 years ago. Japanese researchers succeeded in nurturing goat babies in a machine containing artificial amniotic fluid for weeks in the mid-1990s. The lowest gestational age for human embryos to survive has been pushed down to less than 22 weeks thanks to recent advances in neonatal intensive care. This is only about halfway through a typical 40-week pregnancy. The technology isnt nearly as far-fetched as it appears. As a replacement organ, an artificial uterus might be used in a variety of ways.

With this quick rundown of some of the most recent developments, the thought of arobotgiving birth to a baby, whether a baby human or a babyrobot, no longer seems so far-fetched. Controlling weather, gravity, and time have long been theoretical sciences that have progressed from science fiction to science realities, and the notion of robots giving birth to robots is approaching the same point.

Victoria, created by Miami, FL-based Gaumard scientific and initially unveiled in 2014, is the firstrobotto give birth to a childrobot. Victorias eyes can now concentrate and engage with her caregivers, allowing users to do a neurological evaluation that looks for symptoms of a stroke, head trauma, drug use, cranial nerve damage, and other disorders in her eye movements. Most significantly, Victoria pushes the boundaries of labor and delivery education. Now arobot also can celebrate mothers day and enjoy motherhood.

Continued here:

Will A Robot be Able to Give Birth to A Child Robot of Her Own? - Analytics Insight

The business intelligence report of the Cloned Competent Cells market entails key growth drivers, opportunities, and challenges that will influence industry expansion in the near future.

According to the research literature, the industry is projected to record XX% CAGR between 20XX-20XX and reach a valuation of USD XX by the end of the forecast period.

However, the covid-19 pandemic has greatly influenced market conditions worldwide. Industries all over the world are channeling their resources into addressing the impact of the pandemic which is likely to be felt for years to come. In view of this, the report includes an in-depth analysis of market conditions which will facilitate investors and other stakeholders to formulate robust action plans to deal with this crisis.

Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.nwdiamondnotes.com/request-sample/20712

The research document studies the industry at a granular level by dividing it into several segments and regions to provide insights on top revenue prospects for the upcoming years.

Key inclusions in the Cloned Competent Cells market report:

Cloned Competent Cells Market segments covered in the report:

Regional fragmentation: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East & Africa, South East Asia

Product gamut: 20*100I 1/4 l , 50*100I 1/4 l , 100*100I 1/4 l and Other

Application scope: Subcloning & Routine Cloning , Phage Display Library Construction , Toxic/Unstable Dna Cloning and High-Throughput Cloning

Competitive dashboard: Merck KGaA , Yeastern Biotech , Takara Bio , Thermo Fisher Scientific , GeneScript Corporation , Agilent Technologies , QIAGEN N.V. , Beijing TransGen Biotech , Promega Corporation , New England Biolabs , Bioline , OriGene Technologies , Bio-Rad Laboratories , Lucigen and Zymo Research

This Cloned Competent Cells Market Research/analysis Report Contains Answers To Your Following Questions:

The scope of the Report:

The report offers a complete company profiling of leading players competing in the global Cloned Competent Cells marketwith a high focus on the share, gross margin, net profit, sales, product portfolio, new applications, recent developments, and several other factors. It also throws light on the vendor landscape to help players become aware of future competitive changes in the global Cloned Competent Cells market.

Reasons to Buy the Report:

MAJOR TOC OF THE REPORT:

Request Customization on This Report @ https://www.nwdiamondnotes.com/request-for-customization/20712

More here:

Cloned Competent Cells Market Analysis and Demand with Forecast Overview To 2026 - Northwest Diamond Notes

The new Cloned Competent Cells market research report consists of a granular analysis of the business landscape and covers a detailed overview related to market share, market size, and growth opportunities for the Cloned Competent Cells market. Also, the report elaborates on various market segmentations.

In addition to this, the report emphasizes on the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the growth prospects of the Cloned Competent Cells market.

Key pointers included in Cloned Competent Cells market report:

Request Sample Copy of this Report @ https://www.nwdiamondnotes.com/request-sample/20102

Regional Analysis of Cloned Competent Cells market:

Cloned Competent Cells Market Segmentation: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East & Africa, South East Asia

Overview of the regional terrain of Cloned Competent Cells market:

Product types and application scope of Cloned Competent Cells market:

Product segment:

Product types: 20*100I 1/4 l , 50*100I 1/4 l , 100*100I 1/4 l and Other

Key factors enclosed in the report:

Application Landscape:

Application segmentation: Subcloning & Routine Cloning , Phage Display Library Construction , Toxic/Unstable Dna Cloning and High-Throughput Cloning

Details stated in the report:

Other details specified in the report:

Competitive spectrum of the Cloned Competent Cells market:

Competitive landscape of Cloned Competent Cells market: Merck KGaA , QIAGEN N.V. , Thermo Fisher Scientific , Takara Bio , Promega Corporation , Agilent Technologies , Yeastern Biotech , Beijing TransGen Biotech , New England Biolabs , GeneScript Corporation , OriGene Technologies , Bio-Rad Laboratories , Zymo Research , Bioline and Lucigen

Major features cited by the report:

The scope of the Report:

The report offers a complete company profiling of leading players competing in the global Cloned Competent Cells market with a high focus on the share, gross margin, net profit, sales, product portfolio, new applications, recent developments, and several other factors. It also throws light on the vendor landscape to help players become aware of future competitive changes in the global Cloned Competent Cells

This Cloned Competent Cells Market Research/analysis Report Contains Answers To Your Following Questions:

Reasons for Buying this Report:

To conclude, Cloned Competent Cells Industry report mentions the key geographies, market landscapes alongside the product price, revenue, volume, production, supply, demand, market growth rate, and forecast, etc. This report also provides SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

Request Customization on This Report @ https://www.nwdiamondnotes.com/request-for-customization/20102

See the article here:

Cloned Competent Cells Market: Qualitative Analysis Of The Leading Players And Competitive Industry Scenario, 2026 - Northwest Diamond Notes

A couple of decades from now when golf historians look back on Jon Rahms inevitably remarkable Ryder Cup record, this years edition of the matches at Whistling Straits might serve as something of a coming out party.

Although, whats a party with a European performance on Friday that, save for Rahm, was as flat as three-day old Champagne? Unless European captain Padraig Harrington can locate a cloning laboratory in Sheboygan, Wisc., from which to replicate his Spanish star, it could be an empty week for the reigning Cup holders.

Still, much like the late Seve Ballesteros, and the leading point-scorer in the history of the event, Sergio Garcia, the 26-year-old and current world No.1 is proving that he is built for the Ryder Cup. Especially if his play on Friday is any indication of whats to come, the rest of this week and the rest of the years ahead.

Europe with mountain to climb after dire day

Former Ryder Cup star hits out at fan behaviour

Playing alongside Garcia in the first foursomes match of the day, the two Spaniards blitzed Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, 3&1, in a match that wasnt as close as the score. Then he marched back out to nab a halve with Tyrrell Hatton in the afternoons four-ball match against Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler.

US 6, Europe 2, with Rahm contributing one-and-a-half of those points.

A little bit of pressure to play with somebody like that, Rahm said of Garcia, who is playing in his tenth Ryder Cup and has scored a career 26.5 points. But at the same time, with his ball-striking, I knew my job was going to be to make some putts, and that's exactly what I did early on, and we kept the vibe going.

Indeed.

After Spieth and Thomas took a 1-up lead on the second hole, Rahm responded by pouring in a 12-footer for birdie on the par-3 third to square the match. One hole later, he bombed in another, from 60 feet. Three more birdies followed on Nos. 7, 8 and 10 for the Spaniards to take a commanding 3-up lead and they never looked back.

With birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 to bring their total to eight on the day, they closed out the match without much of a sweat.

Harry Potter star collapses at Ryder Cup

Then, Rahm, with he and Hatton 1 down on the 16th and Europe seemingly bleeding out, drained an 18-footer for birdie to keep hope alive. Scheffler responded by matching him but Rahms putt helped get the match to the 18th, where Hatton slid in a short putt to nab a half point.

In the end, though, it was Rahm who was one of the few players whose games showed up for Europe - by contrast Rory McIlroy, a veteran of now six Ryder Cups and lynchpin in and out of the team room, got annihilated in both of his contests Friday and is now to just 2-6 in his last eight matches dating back to singles in 2016.

Things didn't look great on 16 for a while, Rahm said. Glad we could get that halve. Almost feels like a win and now hoping we end strong as a team.

That Rahm was Europes best player was not a surprise. He has 13 career worldwide wins, including a major, and is the top-ranked player in the world.

But the birth of his Ryder Cup prowess didnt occur on Friday, or in winning all those titles, though they surely helped. Instead, it likely took place in the 2018 matches outside Paris.

Brandel Chamblee takes swipe at Ian Poulter

After having contributed zero points in two matches over his first two days in that Ryder Cup - his first - Rahm was faced with the daunting task of taking on Tiger Woods in Sundays singles. Unnerved by his play to that point, he leaned on teammate Tommy Fleetwood and spent 30 minutes on the phone with his mental coach. Then he went out and beat his boyhood idol Woods, 2&1, clinching the victory with what he later called the best drive of his life on the 17th hole and a sensational approach to five feet to set up an easy birdie.

The fourth match of the day that afternoon, the victory helped stanch a comeback by the Americans, who began the day four points behind but had cut into the deficit by winning two-and-a-half points in the first three matches of the day.

Rahm's victory that day was worth just a point but felt like more to him given the circumstances. The same could be said about his afternoon halve with Hatton on Friday. Rahm's play was one of the few bright spots for Europe on an otherwise sunny day along the windswept shores of Lake Michigan.

"We can come back from 6-2," said McIlroy.

Only if everyone else starts playing like Rahm.

Read this article:

Ryder Cup: Rahm rises to the occasion - and just as - bunkered

Cloning your voice using artificial intelligence is simultaneously tedious and simple: hallmarks of a technology thats just about mature and ready to go public.

All you need to do is talk into a microphone for 30 minutes or so, reading a script as carefully as you can (in my case: the voiceover from a David Attenborough documentary). After starting and stopping dozens of times to re-record your flubs and mumbles, youll send off the resulting audio files to be processed and, in a few hours time, be told that a copy of your voice is ready and waiting. Then, you can type anything you want into a chatbox, and your AI clone will say it back to you, with the resulting audio realistic to fool even friends and family at least for a few moments. The fact that such a service even exists may be news to many, and I dont believe weve begun to fully consider the impact easy access to this technology will have.

The work of speech synthesis has improved massively in recent years, thanks to advances in machine learning. Previously, the most realistic synthetic voices were created by recording audio of a human voice actor, cutting up their speech into component sounds, and splicing these back together like letters in a ransom note to form new words. Now, neural networks can be trained on unsorted data of their target voice to generate raw audio of someone speaking from scratch. The end results are faster, easier, and more realistic to boot. The quality is definitely not perfect when rolling straight out the machine (though manual tweaking can improve this), but theyre only going to get better in the near future.

Theres no special sauce to making these clones, which means dozens of startups are already offering similar services. Just Google AI voice synthesis or AI voice deepfakes, and youll see how commonplace the technology is, available from specialist shops that only focus on speech synthesis, like Resemble.AI and Respeecher, and also integrated into companies with larger platforms, like Veritone (where the tech is part of its advertising repertoire) and Descript (which uses it in the software it makes for editing podcasts).

These voice clones have simply been a novelty in the past, appearing as one-off fakes like this Joe Rogan fake, but theyre beginning to be used in serious projects. In July, a documentary about chef Anthony Bourdain stirred controversy when the creators revealed theyd used AI to create audio of Bourdain speaking lines hed written in a letter. (Notably, few people noticed the deepfake until the creators revealed its existence.) And in August, the startup Sonantic announced it had created an AI voice clone of actor Val Kilmer, whose own voice was damaged in 2014 after he underwent a tracheotomy as part of his treatment for throat cancer. These examples also frame some of the social and ethical dimensions of this technology. The Bourdain use case was decried as exploitative by many (particularly as its use was not disclosed in the film), while the Kilmer work has been generally lauded, with the technology praised for delivering what other solutions could not.

Celebrity applications of voice clones are likely to be the most prominent in the next few years, with companies hoping the famous will want to boost their income with minimal effort by cloning and renting out their voices. One company, Veritone, launched just such a service earlier this year, saying it would let influencers, athletes, and actors license their AI voice for things like endorsements and radio idents, without ever having to go into a studio. Were really excited about what that means for a host of different industries because the hardest part about someones voice and being able to use it and being able to expand upon that is the individuals time, Sean King, executive vice president at Veritone One, told The Vergecast. A person becomes the limiting factor in what were doing.

Such applications are not yet widespread (or if they are, theyre not widely talked about), but it seems like an obvious way for celebrities to make money. Bruce Willis, for example, has already licensed his image to be used as a visual deepfake in mobile phone ads in Russia. The deal allows him to make money without ever leaving the house, while the advertising company gets an infinitely malleable actor (and, notably, a much younger version of Willis, straight out of his Die Hard days). These sorts of visual and audio clones could accelerate the scales of economy for celebrity work, allowing them to capitalize on their fame as long as theyre happy renting out a simulacrum of themselves.

In the here and now, voice synthesis technology is already being built into tools like the eponymous podcast editing software built by US firm Descript. The companys Overdub feature lets a podcaster create an AI clone of their voice so producers can make quick changes to their audio, supplementing the programs transcription-based editing. As Descript CEO Andrew Mason told The Vergecast: You can not only delete words in Descript and have it delete the audio, you can type words and it will generate audio in your voice.

When I tried Descripts Overdub feature myself, it was certainly easy enough to use though, as mentioned above, recording the training data was a bit of a chore. (It was much easier for my colleague and regular Verge podcast host Ashley Carman, who had lots of pre-recorded audio ready to send the AI.) The voice clones made by Overdub are not flawless, certainly. They have an odd warble to their tone and lack the ability to really charge lines with emotion and emphasis, but theyre also unmistakably you. The first time I used my voice clone was a genuinely uncanny moment. I had no idea that this deeply personal thing my voice could be copied by technology so quickly and easily. It felt like a meeting with the future but was also strangely familiar. After all, life is already full of digital mirrors of avatars and social media feeds that are supposed to embody you in various forms so why not add a speaking automaton to the mix?

The initial shock of hearing a voice clone of yourself doesnt mean human voices are redundant, though. Far from it. You can certainly improve on the quality of voice deepfakes with a little manual editing, but in their automated form, they still cant deliver anywhere near the range of inflection and intonation you get from professionals. As voice artist and narrator Andia Winslow told The Vergecast, while AI voices might be useful for rote voice work for internal messaging systems, automated public announcements, and the like they cant compete with humans in many use cases. For big stuff, things that need breath and life, its not going to go that way because, partly, these brands like working with the celebrities they hire, for example, said Winslow.

But what does this technology mean for the general public? For those of us who arent famous enough to benefit from the technology and are not professionally threatened by its development? Well, the potential applications are varied. Its not hard to imagine a video game where the character creation screen includes an option to create a voice clone, so it sounds like the player is speaking all of the dialogue in the game. Or there might be an app for parents that allows them to copy their voice so that they can read bedtime stories to their children even when theyre not around. Such applications could be done with todays technology, though the middling quality of quick clones would make them a hard sell.

There are also potential dangers. Fraudsters have already used voice clones to trick companies into moving money into their accounts, and other malicious uses are certainly lurking just beyond the horizon. Imagine, for example, a high school student surreptitiously recording a classmate to create a voice clone of them, then faking audio of that person bad-mouthing a teacher to get them in trouble. If the uses of visual deepfakes are anything to go by, where worries about political misinformation have proven largely misplaced but the technology has done huge damage creating nonconsensual pornography, its these sorts of incidents that pose the biggest threats.

One things for sure, though: in the future, anyone will be able to create an AI voice clone of themselves if they want to. But the script this chorus of digital voices will follow has yet to be written.

Read more:

Everyone will be able to clone their voice in the future - The Verge

Despite a growing demand for coconuts worldwide, the trees grow slowly and are challenging to clone. Coconut trees are also facing many different threats, including climate change, disease, and rising sea levels.

In a new study led by KU Leuven, researchers have developed a method to multiply coconut trees faster and store them more efficiently in gene banks.

The research was inspired by another fruit the banana. Based on previous work with banana plants, study co-author Bart Panis predicted that a certain plant hormone could also be successful in coconut trees.

Coconut plants do not form side shoots. They put all their energy into one shoot that has to grow as fast and as tall as possible. This makes it very difficult to clone and store the plants, said Panis.

First, the scientists extracted the coconut tree embryo from the coconut. Next, they applied the plant hormone to the meristem contained in the embryo. This caused the embryo to form not only one shoot, but several side shoots.

Nobody thought we could do it. But we persevered with determination, said Panis. There are other methods of vegetatively propagating coconut trees but we are confident that this is the first method that is also time- and cost-efficient.

The teams top priority is to safeguard the coconut trees genetic diversity as efficiently as possible. The researchers explained that it is very crucial to preserve as many varieties of the coconut plant because each variety has specific characteristics some are resistant to a particular disease, while others are more resistant to heat or drought.

Currently, the coconut tree is kept as a tree in field collections. But some of these collections are threatened by Lethal Yellowing Disease, said study lead author Hannes Wilms.

Our technique now also allows the shoots of the coconut plant to be preserved for eternity by cryopreservation, in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196C.

This is important for the future: if a new disease was to affect coconut production, there may be a variety in the gene bank that is resistant to this disease and can be planted out in the affected areas, said Panis.

Theres a huge demand for coconut. The existing plantations are old and need to be replanted in the short term. So our technique meets the great demand for healthy plant material.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Originally posted here:

Scientists have had a breakthrough in cloning coconut trees - Earth.com

Photo: Daniel Eskridge/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Messing with megafauna usually doesnt work out for the human parties involved, whether its a fictional island theme park overrun by killer dinosaurs or its Florida, where, in 1992, Hurricane Andrew released scores of exotic species held as pets, resulting in invasive Burmese pythons living in over 1,000 square miles of the state.

Into this legacy steps a company called Colossal, which plans to jumpstart natures ancestral heartbeat by cloning and re-introducing thousands of wooly mammoths in Siberia. Led by Harvard Medical School biologist George Church, the plan is to edit mammoth hair and tendencies into elephant DNA and produce mammoth embryos within several years.

There are potential benefits for the larger state of the world, if they can pull it off. Some researchers suggest that wooly mammoths helped transformed the now-mossy tundra into a fertilized grassland; if the Frankenstein version were able to achieve this feat again, the tundra could serve as a buffer against erosion and a potential carbon-dioxide sink to combat global warming. Colossal, which describes itself as the de-extinction company, also hopes the reanimation of the wooly mammoth could serve as a first step toward further genetic alterations to save endangered species on a planet threatened by biodiversity collapse by rewriting their DNA to allow them to adapt to a changing climate.

But as the New York Times notes, there are some obvious concerns with the ambitious venture:

If Colossal does manage to produce baby mammoth-like elephants, the company will face serious ethical questions. Is it humane to produce an animal whose biology we know so little about? Who gets to decide whether they can be set loose, potentially to change the ecosystems of tundras in profound ways?

Heather Bushman, a philosopher at the London School of Economics, said that whatever benefits mammoths might have to the tundra will need to be weighed against the possible suffering that they might experience in being brought into existence by scientists.

You dont have a mother for a species that if they are anything like elephants has extraordinarily strong mother-infant bonds that last for a very long time, she said. Once there is a little mammoth or two on the ground, who is making sure that theyre being looked after?

Considering the recent controversy surrounding much simpler gain-of-function research, perhaps its best to leave this idea in the ground for now or, even better, to actually put political resources toward preventing theworst outcomes of the climate crisis rather than play around with deep adaptation schemes that intentionally riff on Jurassic Park.

Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.

The rest is here:

Maybe Lets Not Try to Clone Wooly Mammoths Right Now - New York Magazine