x01a Research Archives

Bonobo Calls Are More like Human Language Than We Thought– www.scientificamerican.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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We humans concoct never-before-heard sentences with ease, embedding phrases within phrases to express the wildest ideas we can dream up (“the purple pangolin that waltzed across the ballroom had a flaming pineapple on its nose”). Such abilities seem unrivaled in the animal world, but a new study suggests they’re not entirely absent: bonobos, our closest living relatives, create combinations of calls that seem to share key aspects of human language.

In a new study published on Thursday in Science, researchers report that bonobo communication is rich in a feature that linguists call compositionality. This refers to the way we string words together to compose larger structures with more complicated meanings. Linguists divide compositionality into two categories, a simple version and a more sophisticated one, and researchers have long thought human language stands alone in the higher tier. Previous studies have found that some primates and birds are capable of “trivial” compositionality, in which words that each have a specific meaning on their own can be added together to create a fuller, more meaning-rich picture (“bake pie”).

But the new study shows that bonobos, like us, seem to do something a bit more advanced than that. In “nontrivial” compositionality, certain parts modify others. An example is the sentence “they baked a pumpkin pie.” Here “pumpkin” and “pie” join to form a new composite idea. This strategy gets more bang for your communicative buck, according to the new paper’s co-senior author Simon Townsend, who studies comparative communication at the University of Zurich. “That’s what we’ve evolved it for,” he says, “to add this important nuance and complexity to the meaning that we convey.”

Border Encounters of Unaccompanied Children Fall to Record Low– www.dailysignal.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

Border Encounters of Unaccompanied Children Fall to Record Low– www.dailysignal.com
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The number of migrant children arriving alone at the southern border reached an all-time low in March.

Border Patrol encountered 631 unaccompanied alien children at the southwest border last month, down 97% from the record high of 18,716 under the administration of then-President Joe Biden in March 2021, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security official.

“March was the lowest number of unaccompanied children arriving at our southern border in recorded history,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told The Daily Signal.

President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “are stopping the exploitation and trafficking of children,” McLaughlin said. “Thanks to strong leadership, we now have the most secure border in American history.”

How companies like Delta and Cisco are sticking up for their DEI policies– fortune.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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… But that doesn’t mean they aren’t scared. Around 55% of leaders surveyed say they have serious concerns about lawsuits, additional government actions, and shareholder votes, forcing them to make serious changes to their programs. Costco and Apple, for example, were recently faced with proposals from anti-DEI shareholder activists, both of which were voted down.

Keeping a cool head right now is critical. Some research suggests that businesses that rapidly change viewpoints on issues customers care about could face backlash for coming off as “inauthentic.” And experts say that despite the fear created by Trump’s recent executive orders focused on eliminating DEI, if a corporate diversity program is open to everyone and compliant with existing civil rights laws, it’s perfectly legal.

“Despite the increased scrutiny, many companies seem to be taking a measured approach, rather than rushing to end or scale back IE&D efforts,” Jeanine Conley Daves, an employment attorney at Littler and member of the firm’s IE&D consulting practice, told Fortune. “It makes sense not to make extensive changes to efforts and initiatives that have helped to build a strong company culture.”

At least 100 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza– www.euronews.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

At least 100 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza– www.euronews.com
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At least 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, including 27, or more sheltering at a school in the north of the strip, according to Palestinian medical authorities.

The attacks come as Israel heightens its offensive in what it said is a campaign intended to ramp up pressure on Hamas and eventually expelling the Gaza-based group.

The bodies of 14 children and five women were recovered from the school in the Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City. The death toll may continue to rise as some of the 70 wounded sustained critical injuries, according to the spokesperson of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, Zaher al-Wahidi.

‘Super’ AI uses less power by mimicking the human brain– www.futurity.org

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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A new approach to AI’s “thinking” mimics the human brain and has the potential to revolutionize the AI industry.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can perform complex calculations and analyze data faster than any human, but to do so requires enormous amounts of energy. The human brain is also an incredibly powerful computer, yet it consumes very little energy.

Suin Yi, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering, is on a team of researchers that developed “Super-Turing AI,” which operates more like the human brain.

This new AI integrates certain processes instead of separating them and then migrating huge amounts of data like current systems do.

The “Turing” in the system’s name refers to AI pioneer Alan Turing, whose theoretical work during the mid-20th century has become the backbone of computing, AI, and cryptography. Today, the highest honor in computer sciences is called the Turing Award.

The findings appear in Science Advances.

 

 

3-D Printed skin to replace animal testing– www.sciencedaily.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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A research team from TU Graz and the Vellore Institute of Technology in India is developing a 3D-printed skin imitation equipped with living cells in order to test nanoparticles from cosmetics without animal testing.

Directive 2010/63/EU laid down restrictions on animal testing for the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients throughout the EU. Therefore, there is an intense search for alternatives to test the absorption and toxicity of nanoparticles from cosmetics such as sun creams. A team of researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in India is working on the development of skin imitations that mimic the native three-layer tissue structure and biomechanics of human skin. Such imitations can be produced using 3D printing and consist of hydrogel formulations that are printed together with living cells.

Hydrogels in which skin cells survive and grow

“The hydrogels for our skin imitation from the 3D printer have to fulfil a number of requirements,” says Karin Stana Kleinschek from the Institute of Chemistry and Technology of Biobased Systems. “The hydrogels must be able to interact with living skin cells. These cells not only have to survive, but also have to be able to grow and multiply.” The starting point for stable and 3D-printable structures are hydrogel formulations developed at TU Graz. Hydrogels are characterised by their high-water content, which creates ideal conditions for the integration and growth of cells. However, the high-water content also requires methods for mechanical and chemical stabilisation of the 3D prints.

Luna discusses possible solution to new parent proxy voting with Johnson– www.politico.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) has discussed a potential solution with Speaker Mike Johnson over her push to allow proxy voting for new parents, the congresswoman said in a post on X.

“[Johnson] has called me after POTUS statement and we discussed limiting the vote to just new moms who cannot physically travel in event of emergency,” Luna said in the post. “This is smart.”

President Donald Trump told reporters earlier on Thursday that he endorsed letting new mothers vote by proxy in the House — but ultimately said it was Johnson’s decision. Luna had forced a vote on the issue, which tanked the rest of Johnson’s legislative plans for the week after an attempt to stop her effort through a rule vote.

“I don’t know why it’s controversial,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, according to a pool report. He added, “I’m going to let the speaker make the decision, but I like the idea.”

Great News: Trump Fires Anthony Fauci’s Wife from the National Institutes of Health– lidblog.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

Great News: Trump Fires Anthony Fauci’s Wife from the National Institutes of Health– lidblog.com
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The Trump administration has done it again, this time by firing vaccine killer Anthony Fauci’s wife from the National Institutes of Health.

So much winning, folks!

If only they can put her murderous husband in jail where he belongs.

Per The New York Times:

At N.I.H., several institute directors — including Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the institute formerly led by Dr. Anthony S. Fauci — were reassigned. So were Dr. Fauci’s wife, Christine Grady, the head of the N.I.H. Office of Bioethics, and Dr. Clifford Lane, a close ally of Dr. Fauci’s who oversaw clinical research.

Luna says Johnson called her to discuss proxy voting strictly for new moms– thehill.com

pgnewser April 4, 2025 0

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called her to discuss the possibility of allowing proxy voting only for new moms after President Trump appeared to back the Florida Republican in her efforts.

Luna, who had led the fight against GOP leaders in the House to push for proxy voting for new parents, was embraced by Trump earlier Thursday when he was asked about her effort and the recently failed procedural vote.

Trump told reporters abord Air Force One that he spoke to Luna about her effort and didn’t understand why it was controversial.

“I’m gonna let the speaker make the decision, but I like the idea. Having a baby? I think you should be able to call in and vote. I’m in favor of that,” Trump said.