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Category Archives: Transhuman News

Laivly adds AI, ML and automation to improve CX – VentureBeat

Posted: July 19, 2022 at 1:58 am

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Its a simple and obvious fact: Businesses cant exist without customers. In no uncertain terms, they are their lifeblood.

Along with this, companies would be nothing without their first line of defense: Their customer service agents.

While this seems like a basic understanding, customer service has suffered in recent years with the advent of chatbots, online messaging and similar automated tools. While seemingly more convenient, these technologies are impersonalized and can lead to more customer frustration and sometimes even their abandonment of a company or brand altogether.

But human-centered customer experience (CX) is undergoing a renaissance of sorts what Jeff Fettes, founder and CEO of Laivly, calls self-service 3.0. To survive in this new landscape, organizations must arm their agents with the best possible tools, Fettes said. The company today announced the launch of its artificial intelligence (AI) platform, designed specifically for contact centers.

Your frontline team is dealing with your customers; they are the conduit to your customers, Fettes said. A good customer experience starts with a good agent experience.

According to Grand View Research, the global contact center software market will reach $149.58 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of more than 23%. Likewise, according to Markets and Markets, the global cloud-based contact center market was $17.1 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $54.6 billion by 2027. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just over 26%.

The Markets and Markets report emphasizes, Incorporating cutting-edge technologies such as AI, ML and analytics enables organizations to connect with their customers for better, efficient, and insightful customer experiences.

AI is powering this new era of CX, with companies such as Laivly, Zendesk, Genesys and Nice specializing in such tools. Some of the largest players have staked a claim in the growing market, as well, including IBMs Watson Assistant or Google Clouds Contact Center AI, for instance, or similar offerings from Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.

The pendulum is finally swinging back from hyper-automation to human-led conversation, but weve got some work to do, said Christina McAllister, senior analyst with Forrester. Organizations are beginning to embark on a journey to change the culture of their contact centers.Service delivered by human agents (not robots) is what drives positive customer outcomes.

Forrester predicts that companies will continue to leverage and accelerate AI programs, particularly when it comes to agent-facing use cases. As they do so, they must address agent burnout, advocate for agent career development, and transition from cost-centric key performance indicators (KPIs) to customer-centric ones.

Gone are the days of bolt-on AI applications, McAllister wrote. Forward-thinking companies will infuse AI across the employee workflow, facilitating greater collaboration among humans and their machine counterparts.

Laivlys platform dubbed SIDD (for systems integrated distributed dashboard) sits on an agents laptop and layers AI, ML and automation onto existing technology. This helps to streamline workflows, analyze customers in real-time and guide agents to the best outcomes, according to Fettes.

SIDD can draft email and chat responses, recommend and perform agent tasks, and can even block actions to avoid agent mistakes. For instance, disabling a refund button until it recognizes that an agent has worked through the designated workflow sequence. The tool also provides summaries of upcoming calls based on existing customer information and input, and guides them through the process of dealing with that particular case.

We liken it to a GPS system for a call center agent, said Fettes. SIDD really acts like a person would. It collects information using automation, reacts using automation, and it does it based on what is happening in real time. It is able to interrupt its own workflow intuitively.

The results, Fettes said, are simplified processes and task performances, consistent customer experiences, reduction in technical loads, and agents who are able to devote more of their attention to providing empathetic service.

Your AI is watching the screen all the time, providing additional oversight, assistance and support, he said.

The companys tailored orchestration layer ties an agents tech stack together without the use of back-end application programming interfaces (APIs), Fettes said, allowing for near-instant integration and the flexibility to change along with business needs.

Contact center systems typically have pretty extensive tech stacks, he pointed out anywhere from a handful to up to more than a dozen. We wanted to add AI, ML and/or automation anywhere inside that tech stack, he said.

Laivly employs human-in-the-loop AI, partnering its automated ML tuners with a team of human tuners. This creates a unique scenario and adds an extra layer of common sense to the tuning, Fettes said. It also allows companies and agents to gain insights more quickly.

Fettes described many existing AI and automation customer service tools as a little more fluffy and nebulous in terms of what they do. Many of these apply a top-down approach that is dependent on management teams to then take action on collected data.

Whats different about Laivly is its a bottom-up approach, Fettes said. Were starting right at the agents. Instead of being a management tool, Laivly is a performance tool.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Laivly has quietly built its contact center technology since its founding in July 2017. This involved careful selection of its initial customers. According to Fettes, these have included top Fortune 500 companies in -commerce, technology and consumer goods.

Early adopters are already achieving 50% to 300% return on investment (ROI), he said, and are seeing dramatic gains when it comes to agent job longevity and job satisfaction. In a recent survey, 88.5% of agents using Laivly said it was helpful or very helpful in delivering a better customer experience. Furthermore, 78% of agents said they would be disappointed or very disappointed if they had to do their jobs without the tool.

The company is led by a team of data scientists, developers and researchers well versed in customer service. Fettes himself was a contact center agent and manager for more than 20 years, and in fact had his first exposure to the industry as a kid his mother owned a telephone answering service and he and his brother sometimes helped answer those calls. He most recently cofounded 24-7 Intouch. The global business process outsourcing company partners with brands on contact center strategy, recruiting, IT, HR and workforce planning.

Laivly is born of [a] group of people who managed call centers and were agents ourselves, Fettes said. I know what I would want to use if I was answering a call or a direct message. We know what (agents) need. We built a tool to be popular with the superuser.

Such technologies are filling spaces where fully automated tools have often failed, he said, describing an initial huge rush to self-service once such tools first became available, then an era of self-service 2.0 with the arrival of chatbots and messenger platforms.

Now, technology is coming together with people again, Fettes said, to create this self-service 3.0.

This technology is really starting to emerge, and its a game changer, he said. Within the next five to 10 years, companies like Laivly at the forefront will coalesce into something thats an industry standard.

Ultimately, Fettes predicted: Every single contact center program, or a vast majority, will be using a tool like this.

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Voyager 1 and 2 Spacecraft Enter Final Phase of Their Mission | Planetary News – Planetary News

Posted: at 1:58 am

Pale Blue Dot, taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, showing Earth captured as a pale dot suspended in a sunbeam from beyond Neptunes orbit prior to the Voyager team turning off the onboard cameras. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA engineers will meet next month to discuss the possibility of shutting down scientific instruments to conserve power on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft after 44 years of service. These twin probes have traversed the reach of our Suns magnetic field and are the farthest-traveled human-made probes. Although Voyager 1 has four instruments that are still operational, and Voyager 2 has five, the radioactive energy sources on the spacecraft are producing only 40% of their original capacity, causing scientists and engineers to consider further decreasing power requirements to extend the missions until the 2030s.

Driven by a cosmic alignment that occurs every 176 years, NASAlaunched the Voyager spacecraft in 1977 to take advantage of a fortuitousalignment of the outer planets that lessened travel time to Neptune from 30 to12 years. Having successfully navigated obstacles such as crossing the asteroidbelt unscathed and performing repeated gravity assists, the missions werespectacularly successful. The Voyager spacecraft revealed that the satellitesof Jupiter and Saturn are not dead, icy bodies as previously thought, butinstead are dynamic, geologically active worlds. Additional discoveries includedthe wide variety of geologic terrains across the different moons and gas giants,which continue to inspire planetary scientists to expand our collectiveknowledge of these distant regions.

NASA began culling less-critical components of the spacecraft in 2019, turning off heaters and specific scientific instruments to maximize their longevity while continuing to collect plasma and magnetic data about interstellar space. Voyager 1 and 2 will continue their outward journeys long after their missions officially end. Each probe carries a gold-plated phonographic record encoded with images, sounds, and greetings from Earth in case intelligent life finds and collects the probes as they continue their journeys, in the very human hope that we are not alone in the universe. READ MORE

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European Bison Reintroduced To Roam Freely In Britain – Barron’s

Posted: at 1:58 am

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As the sun rose on Monday over southeast England, three bison emerged from a corral into a new woodland home as part of an ambitious project to transform the natural environment.

The trio immediately began munching birch tree leaves in the ancient woods near Canterbury, to restore and manage the area with their behaviour -- and minimal human interference.

It marks the first time in millennia that European bison -- the continent's largest land mammal and the closest living relative to ancient steppe bison that once roamed Britain -- will live in wild conditions once again.

"(It's a) really momentous occasion today," Mark Habben, of the Wildwood Trust which is leading the five-year conservation project, told AFP.

"It couldn't have gone any better... they took a glance back, looked at us and then disappeared into the woodlands," he added, moments after the release.

The female bison -- one matriarch and two younger cows -- will now graze, eat bark, fell trees and take so-called dust baths, churning up the ground in the woods.

This creates a multitude of benefits, helping other species forge habitats as the bison become the perfect "ecosystem engineers".

"We're doing this to restore the environment and restore a native English woodland and everything that thrives in and around that kind of habitat," explained Habben, saying it was "critically important".

"We don't want to be using machinery... using native resources, ecosystem engineers as we like to call them -- in the form in this case of the European bison -- is exactly the right thing to do."

The female bison, which arrived after living on smaller enclosures in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, will be joined by a bull at the site, owned by the Kent Wildlife Trust charity, in the coming months.

The bull's arrival from Germany was delayed due to Britain's post-Brexit bureaucracy for importing animals.

The herd will initially have 55 hectares (136 acres) of fenced woodland to roam within, before their habitable space is eventually increased to 200 hectares.

It is hoped the bull will breed with the females to increase the size of the herd, with the Kent site licensed to hold up to 20.

The bison will also soon be joined by other grazing animals including ponies from Exmoor, southwest England, Iron Age pigs and Longhorn cattle, which will aid the bid to create a variety of natural habitats.

"This is a model for what we would hope could be rolled out much (more) broadly across the UK, to similar landscapes, utilising bison," said Habben.

"I like to think bison that we bred on this project by the time they reach maturity... there'll be other projects looking to do the same kind of thing.

"And we can move bison around to continue this really amazing work that these animals are going to do."

After roaming the continent for millennia, the last wild European bison became extinct on the continent in 1927, due to hunting and habitat loss.

However, 50 animals remained in captive collections which have provided the basis for an extensive and intensive breeding programme, according to the project's conservationists.

The trio now calling the Kent woodland home are some of their descendants.

"The bison that we've selected are part of the European endangered species breeding programme," said Habben.

"We selected the animals based on their genetics... but also their location and source of origin was very important".

Another central aim of the habitat restoration project -- costing 1.1 million ($1.3 million) and largely funded by donors -- is to help British ecosystems cope with climate change and severe biodiversity loss.

The bison's impact will gradually alterthe forest away from a monoculture and create wetter areas that will store carbon, reducing emissions driving up temperatures, while also reducing flood risk.

In a sign of the stakes, their release Monday coincides with a heatwave sweeping parts of Europe that is set to break Britain's all-time temperature record early this week.

Habben calls the coincidence "extremely relevant".

"It's an incredible story, really, that we're releasing bison to help restore ecosystems, which help restore the environment and hopefully have some impact on climate change".

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Mogul Productions Becomes Gold Sponsor of the Blockchain Futurist Conference – Yahoo Finance

Posted: July 17, 2022 at 9:07 am

Web3 Media Pioneer Bringing Film3 to Canada's Largest Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Event.

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 14, 2022 / Mogul Productions, the decentralized film financing platform where movies meet blockchain, is proud to announce it is an Official Gold Sponsor of the fourth annual Blockchain Futurist Conference; Canada's largest blockchain and cryptocurrency event.

As part of Canada Crypto Week, the Blockchain Futurist Conference will be held at Toronto's Rebel Entertainment Complex & Cabana Pool Bar from August 9-10, featuring world-class speakers, panels, workshops, and roundtables. Mogul team members will be participating as ETH Toronto judges, and speaking on Web3 and entertainment; specifically, the emerging Film3 trend, and Mogul's work as a pioneer in the field. Additionally, James Pratt, the host of Mogul Live, will be interviewing speakers and sponsors throughout the conference to create new, innovative collaborative projects.

Film3 is the next generation of media, disrupting legacy models by utilizing blockchain technology and the power of digital communities. By eliminating the many layers of middlemen between artist and audience, revenue can be distributed across a flat organizational structure. Film3 gives independent filmmakers unprecedented access to financing; offers them greater creative control over their projects; allows them to leverage their audience and industry connections in new, revolutionary ways; and creates a more equitable financial model that benefits creators before creditors.

Mogul is an immersive and inclusive platform transforming how movies and other forms of art and entertainment get funded through decentralization, allowing members of its expansive community to participate in the production process like never before. Mogul partners with artists, filmmakers, actors, and other entertainers to provide an end-to-end solution for minting and launching their own NFT collections through their marketplace.

Story continues

"We are looking forward to showcasing what we have been working on at Mogul to fellow thought leaders, companies, and blockchain enthusiasts at Futurist this year.

This is always a fantastic event and it is great to be attending IRL conferences to meet with a lot of our early adopters as we are a Canadian company and have many supporters here.

Keep an eye out for some exciting products we will be showcasing throughout the event and also special perks for our Access Pass Holders" says Jake Fraser, Head of Business Development at Mogul Productions.

About Mogul Productions

Mogul Productions is revolutionizing film financing, allowing a global audience of fans to participate in the financing of movies and other forms of entertainment through NFT sales. Mogul's NFT marketplace serves as a bridge between the NFT arena and the world of entertainment financing. It's a platform for film fans, by film fans, empowering users to take an active role in the script-to-screen process. Through DeFi, NFTs, and Metaverse product lines, Mogul Productions brings fans closer to the big screen than ever before.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Reddit | Telegram

Media Contact:

Dan SpencerDan@energentmedia.net

SOURCE: Mogul Productions

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Earth’s Population Is About to Hit 8 Billion – Futurism

Posted: at 9:07 am

Holy crap.Eight Billion

The United Nations is estimating that the world's population could reach the eight billion mark as soon as mid-November, with India replacing China as the world's most populous country in 2023 a notable landmark in the history and future of humanity.

The report, dubbed "World Population Prospects," also has grim implications for China's aging population. Hampered by strict childbearing policies that appear to have overshot their goal, it could soon start declining and create profound demographic challenges for the ascendant world power.

The UN is projecting the world's population will reach 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, eventually reaching a peak of around 10.4 billion approximately 60 years from now.

More than half these increases will be driven by just eight countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania. Sub-Saharan Africa will contribute more than half of global population increases through 2050.

By 2050, there will be as many women in the world as there are men, according to the report. In 2022, the world's population was made up of 50.3 percent men.

In 2020, the first year of the global pandemic, the global growth rate dipped under one percent per year for the first time since 1950, according to the UN.

And that's just a sign of what's still to come. 61 countries will experience a projected decrease in their populations between 2022 and 2050.

The United States is projected to remain the third most populous country, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, and Indonesia through 2050.

The announcement comes with some seriously mixed implications. Despite the fact that we are staring down the barrel of a climate crisis of disastrous proportions, more people are able to live healthier lives yet their future is more uncertain than ever before.

"This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates," UN Secretary General Antnio Guterres said in a statement.

"Reaching a global population of eight billion is a numerical landmark, but our focus must always be on people," he added. "In the world we strive to build, eight billion people means eight billion opportunities to live dignified and fulfilled lives."

More on population growth: Data Shows That China's Population Is About to Start Actively Shrinking

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Floating Abortion Clinic Proposed in Gulf of Mexico to Circumvent Bans – Futurism

Posted: at 9:07 am

Image by Getty Images/Futurism

A California doctor is proposing a floating abortion clinic,located on a boat docked in the federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, to help people in the surrounding states access abortions following the fall of Roe v. Wade.

In an interview with theAssociated Press, Bay Area-based OB-GYN Dr. Meg Autry urged creativity such as the creation of a floating abortion clinic in handling the issues that arose from Roe's demise.

"We have to create options and be thoughtful and creative," Autry toldthe AP, "to help people in restrictive states get the health care they deserve."

The boat clinic concept is still in its fledgling phase, as a nonprofit called Protecting Reproductive Rights Of Women Endangered by State Statutes nonprofit (PRROWESS) works to raise money to bring it to floating fruition.

Like lots of other federal land-based clinic proposals that have sprung up in Roe's wake, PRROWESS' legal team believes that the swaths of federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico could serve as a safe harbor for licensed practitioners who could provide abortions to people in nearby states where the procedures are now illegal, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. It would also benefit Floridians seeking abortions after their state decided to ban the procedure after 15 weeks unless the life of the parent is in danger.

If someone in one of the aforementioned states was seeking an abortion, as Autry told the AP, it would be easier to go down to the Gulf and board a boat than travel to another state where abortion is still legal, which in many cases could result in a day-long drives or expensive plane tickets.

"This is closer and faster access for some people," she said, "particularly for working people that live in the southernmost part of these states."

The concept is certainly both novel and feasible, but it may ironically run into issues with the current Democratic administration, given that the Biden White House has rebuffed the concept of using federal lands (andquite possibly waters by extension) to provide abortions because, according to press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, "it could actually put women and providers at risk" of prosecution.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and this creative concept to help people in states where abortion was made illegal is certainly one for the books if the federal government lets it happen.

READ MORE:Floating abortion clinic proposed in Gulf to bypass bans [The Associated Press]

More on abortion:Google Says It Will Automatically Delete Abortion Clinic Visits From Users' History

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Get the Job Done With These 5 Work Totes – Futurism

Posted: at 9:07 am

If youre adjusting to being back in an office for the first time after two years of working from home, you might have realized that your work bag is a little out of date. Whether youre looking for a bag that wont look out of place at happy hour, or you want something that can withstand your morning commute, these work bags will have you looking forward to going back into the office.

Key Selling Point: This nylon backpack can easily function as a diaper bag, a work bag or a picnic basket it can be whatever you need.

The Jemma Jules Nylon Backpack truly has it all, including a smaller insulated bag inside of it that can be used as a lunch box for the busy mom on the go. You can carry the bag around using the handle on top, or use the comfortable webbed backpack straps for a hands-free option. If neither of those sound appealing, dont worry; you can also convert this bag into a crossbody. It comes with a changing mat (which doubles as a laptop sleeve pocket), stroller clips, and two water bottle holders thats perfect for moms and kids.

Key Selling Point: It may seem like a standard work bag, but this sustainable tote comes with multiple interior pockets so you dont have to sacrifice style for function.

Inspired by the busy and bustling Tokyo city, this tote bag might seem compact, but trust us: its bigger on the inside. It has a special compartment for your water bottle, tablet, and even an interior loop that can hold your pens or lipgloss, and theres still four other pockets (three on the inside and one on the outside) to fill with whatever you want. You can also easily adjust the strap to a length that suits you theres six lengths to choose from, and dont worry, the strap will definitely stay in place; theres also six knobs that secure the strap. Its lining is made out of recycled plastic bottles, and the black leather body will go with any outfit. If blacks not your color, no problem it also comes in gray and orange.

Key Selling Point: If you want a stylish bag that's also water-resistant, this is the bag for you.

The TUMI Hope Tote is perfect for those who are looking for a tote that can double as a briefcase or a purse, depending on the time of day. The interior of this spacious bag is just as good as its exterior; it has room for your laptop, zippable interior pockets for your phone and accessories. It even comes with a water-resistant pocked so you can stay hydrated all day with a water bottle. Leather straps add a touch of elegance this nylon tote, while the top zip keeps everything you need secure inside.

Key Selling Point: A hands-free bag thats perfect for anyones morning commute.

The Mobile Solution Convertible Caryall Tote bag was made for your morning commute; its sleek design means you wont bump into another commuter with your bulky bag, and its shoulder straps allow for hands-free carrying so that you can start answering work emails while youre on the train. Its wide enough to carry a 14 -inch laptop, which fits comfortably in a padded laptop sleeve. Inside the bag, there are multiple zip and wall pockets so that you can separate your chargers from your books, and your books from your pens. Lastly, the bag is made out of a water-resistant nylon material thats built to last longer than your companys work-from-home policy.

Key Selling Point: This tote is a trendy bag and portable organization aid, all in one.

The TUMI Devoe Hope Laptop Tote is a lightweight laptop tote thats perfect for towing around everything you need for your day. Whether youre commuting to the office, running errands after work, or simply hitting a coffee shop for a study sesh, this bag can be your saving grace. It comes equipped with nearly every storage pocket youll need, including a 15-inch laptop compartment and separate interior water bottle pocket, so you wont have to fret that your water bottle is loose and spilling on your important documents or worse, your tech devices. With an interior key leash, pen loop, two interior zip pockets and two separate media pockets, and even a quick-access phone pocket, youll be rest assured that everything youve packed is easy to access and wont be rattling around unsecured. The bag is easy to transport with its double top leather handles, and has a handy strap to add an extra bag in case you need an extra purse to carry everything; although, the tote bags size should suit just about anyones commuting needs.

A work bag doesnt have to be all style and no function or all function no style you can find options that fit your aesthetic without sacrificing added pockets or a place for your water bottle. Whether its a sustainable bag that keeps up with your packed after-work social life or a bag that you can turn into a diaper bag on the weekends, an upgraded work bag can make achieving work-life balance that much easier.

This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurisms owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.

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Russian Space Chief Leaving Post, May Be Headed to War Zone – Futurism

Posted: at 9:07 am

It's official.

The ever controversial head of the Russian space program, Dmitri Rogozin, is being replaced by deputy prime minister Yury Borisov, according to an official statement by the Kremlin.

"Bye, Dmitri!" tweeted Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

It's unclear what Rogozin's next gig will be, but according to Russian news siteMeduza, he could soon be overseeing operations in eastern Ukraine after repeatedly threatening neighboring countries with missile strikes a move that would blur the lines between firing and promotion.

The news comes after Rogozin repeatedly lashed out at Western partners, particularly following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He has garnered a reputation for making thinly-veiled threats, provocative statements, and going on countless unhinged rants, sometimes directed at fellow Twitter addict, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Rogozin went as far as to threaten the US with a plummeting International Space Station during the early days of the Russia's invasion earlier this year.

"Since the invasion of Ukraine, Rogozin has been increasingly bellicose and made numerous threats about Russian participation in the station," Ars Technica senior space editor Eric Berger,a close Rogozin watcher,tweeted in response to the news of the sacking. "While most of those threats have ended up being hollow, they have damaged working relations with the west."

Berger himself has repeatedly butted heads with Rogozin on Twitter, with the former space program head even accusing Berger of war crimes last year.

The news could take a massive load of pressure off NASA, which has been trying to keep operations on board the ISS going in spite of Rogozin's provocations.

The space agency is still planning to go ahead with a scheduled astronaut seat swap, allowing Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina to travel to the ISS on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in September.

"No one is happier this morning than [NASA's] Johnson Space Center, from the astronaut office to the corner office to comms," Berger wrote in a follow-up. "Rogozin was a nightmare to work with and a destabilizing force in the ISS partnership."

"He was also a nationalist asshole, of course," Berger concluded.

While the international space community can breathe a little easier, having a belligerent and trigger-happy crony at the helm of an active warzone isn't exactly the most reassuring of prospects either.

The Kremlin has yet to announce what itsofficial plans for Rogozin are next but we already dread to hear where he's headed next.

More on the news: Rumors Swirl That the Deranged Head of the Russian Space Program Is Getting Fired

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Japan May Need Nine Nuclear Reactors Turned On to Get Through Winter – Futurism

Posted: at 9:07 am

In an effort to prevent power outages this winter, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asked that as many as nine of the country's nuclear reactors be brought online.

Earlier today Bloomberg reportedthat Kishida is expecting the shortage because of extreme weather as well as delays in opening other nuclear power stations. That's in addition to Japan's decision to use fewer energy sources from Russia as it continues its bloody invasion in Ukraine.

Nuclear power is a fraught topic in Japan. Before the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, the country had as many as 54 nuclear reactors supplyingaround 30 percent of the country's energy demands. According to Bloomberg, if the nine reactors Kishida wants to come online actually do so, they could generate as much as 10 percent of the nation's energy needs.

That doesn't mean people are super thrilled just yet.

"Uh oh," one Twitter netizen said today of the news, recalling controversy over the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Experts, too, are torn on whether Japan's nuclear plans are really that bad. Chris Bataille, an energy expert with Columbia University's center for global energy policy, said Japan is acting just in time. He also suggested that proper safety precautions alone could prevent future disaster.

"Japan turns the corner in time, hopefully," Bataille said online today. "Keep your large, legacy nuclear reactors that are running safely open until new clean generation can be built."

Still, not everybody is convinced post-Fukushima regulations are enough to protect people and the environment. Jon Wolfsthal, a former presidential nuclear advisor, was far more skeptical of the news.

"Japan still has no plan for how to handle massive amounts of radioactive spent fuel and accumulating plutonium from reprocessing," Wolfsthal said online today. "Some will laud this step as a sign of nuclear renaissance, but solutions continue to elude us in the real world."

Given that Japan recently gave the all-clear for "treated" nuclear waste to be dumped into the Pacific Ocean, Kishida's request is certainly worth some of the skepticism. But it's also worth mentioning that the government is fining four former executives responsible for part of the 2011 disaster billions of dollars some small steps toward accountability.

Let's hope the country finds the right balance, getting the energy it needs without more disaster.

Updated to adjust context around the Fukushima disaster.

More on Earth and energy news: Active Supervolcano Is Causing Ground Above it to Shift, Study Finds

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Here’s how the $100 Human Genome will Change Medicine – BioSpace

Posted: at 9:06 am

Ultima CEO Gilad Almogy, Ph.D./courtesy of Ultima Genomics

The information stored within the confines of the human genome is some of the most important data we can use in the diagnosis of disease, prevention efforts and therapeutics. Despite the fact that the technology to conduct whole genome sequencing (WGS) has been around for decades, financial barriers have stood in the way not just for patients and doctors looking for information, but for researchers as well.

Leveraging over $600 million in funding and five years of hard work, Newark, California-based Ultima Genomics has designed a way to surmount that financial barrier lowering the cost of a human genome from the realm of $1,000 to just $100.

Ultima has achieved this through the use of its sequencing architecture which replaces the traditional flow cell, a channel that contains all of the surfaces where chemistry and imaging occur during sequencing, with a silicon wafer. The technology serves the same function but at a lower cost with larger surface area, allowing for billions of reads. The process is easier to scale, amounting in large volumes of genetic data, and avoids costly and complicated fluidics.

The company also touts novel scalable chemistry, which combines the speed, efficiency and read lengths of natural nucleotides with the accuracy and scalability of endpoint detection. Add machine learning at the genome scale that can deliver accurate results and youve got yourself a cost-effective and useful human genome ready for interpretation.

Why it Matters

The importance of cost goes beyond simply enabling access to a larger quantity of existing genomic solutions. It also enables qualitatively different experiments to be envisioned and executed, not just once, but routinely, Ultima CEO Gilad Almogy, Ph.D. said in an interview with BioSpace. This can enable scientists to ask new questions they previously couldnt answer, and it can change the way genomic information is incorporated into the broader healthcare system.

The $100 genome stands to make genomics research that was once thought of as impossible, possible. In 2020, an article celebrating the 20th anniversary of Nature Reviews Genetics discussed the future of genetics and genomics research. In the piece, Stacey Gabriel, senior director of the genomics platform at the Broad Institute, commented that the real promise of genome sequencing lies in true population-scale sequencing at the scale of tens of millions of individuals that would enable the comprehensive, unbiased study of the human genome and the variations found within it.

Genomic research has provided physicians with a wealth of knowledge about genes that can increase a persons risk of developing a certain condition, such as the BRCA2 gene which is linked to an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. However, without the ability to conduct large-scale studies, simply understanding the role that one gene or a handful of genetic mutations plays in developing disease is often not enough information to elucidate the genome's full impact. With scalable and cost-effective WGS, it will become much easier for researchers to understand the parties within our genome that contribute to the manifestation of disease, which could ultimately lead to targeted therapeutics.

Genomic Data can Inform Treatment

Gabriel stated that she believes WGS should become a part of the electronic health record. There are plenty of good reasons to collect and include genomic data as it relates to health and disease. Beyond using this data to understand the risk someone is at for a certain condition, genomic information can help direct treatment. For example, some cancer therapies specifically target genetic mutations or alterations that have occurred in the tumor microenvironment. If patients and physicians have access to more affordable genomic testing, they can use the information to choose a targeted therapy that will work best for them.

We envision a future where in nearly every interaction patients have with the healthcare system, their genomic information will be sequenced to reveal not just their inherited DNA, but also what changes in their bodies are encoded into circulating DNA, RNA, methylation and proteomics, Almogy said.

Early Application

The $100 genome is already proving its worth. Researchers from Stanford University utilized the low-cost genomic sequencing to investigate the trajectories in precancerous polyps to early colorectal adenocarcinoma. The paper, not yet peer-reviewed but published on bioRxiv, demonstrated the technologys ability to observe changes in DNA methylation that occur early in the malignant transformation process, providing clues as to what happens at a molecular level when a polyp turns cancerous. This type of research could one day translate into clinical use, where physicians could use genomic sequencing to detect DNA changes in cells that might signal the danger of an impending malignant tumor.

Low-cost genomics helps therapeutic development in a couple of fundamental ways, Almogy said. Firstly, many companies seek to understand the genomic drivers of disease by sequencing populations and looking for associations between variants and disease. This type of work inherently requires large numbers to be useful, and the $100 genome certainly enables larger studies in a wider variety of populations. Second, low-cost genomics enables large-scale experiments to reveal the function of many genes.

Ultima isnt prepared to stop at $100 though. As evidenced by its recent collaboration with Exact Sciences, the goal is to continue driving the price down. The companies entered into a long-term supply agreement in June aimed at lowering the cost of sequencing and improving patient access to genomics-based testing. As part of the alliance, Ultima and Exact will develop one or more of Exacts advanced cancer diagnostic tests that will be developed using Ultimas technology. Earlier in June, Ultima paired with Olink Holding AB to combine the latter's Explore assay with its sequencing system to enable larger-scale projects.

Were currently in early access mode, so were focused on optimizing the platform with our initial customers before making it available for broad commercial launch next year, Almogy explained. "Beyond that, we continue to develop improvements in the architecture, because for us the $100 genome is only the beginning and were committed to continuously [driving] down the cost of genomic information.

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Here's how the $100 Human Genome will Change Medicine - BioSpace

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