New research has found that the transport of proteins into chloroplasts in plants is differentially regulated by the age of the chloroplast; upturning the previously accepted notion that this process is age-independent or only globally up- or down- regulated for all proteins. The research, led by Dr. Hsou-min Li, a Research Fellow from the Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica of Taiwan, is published October 30 in the open access journalPLOS Biology.
It's long been known that gene expression changes with age, for example, some genes are expressed in young organisms, others in aged organisms. However, up until now, it has been generally believed that the protein-transport processes that take place inside a cell occur independently of the cell's age.
Dr. Li and colleagues investigated pea leaves of different ages and discovered that proteins imported into chloroplasts?the organelles in plant cells where photosynthesis occurs?can be divided into three groups: one group prefers to be imported into very young chloroplasts, the second group has no special preference, and the third group prefer to be imported into older chloroplasts.
"Age-dependent regulation at the protein transport level had not been thoroughly investigated due to technical difficulties," Dr Li explained. "Pea seedlings offer an excellent model for such studies because each plant has leaves of different ages on a single stem and they are cheap to grow. Other scientists have taken advantage of this but at that time, they only had a very limited number of proteins to test. Now with data from genomic and proteomic analyses, we can test a lot more proteins and can show not only that the regulation exists, but also that every protein can be regulated differently."
After finding this novel regulation, Dr Li's group then attempted to find the signal that controls age selectivity. They found that, for each protein, the age-selective signal is located within the signal peptide that controls organelle import. They also identified a signal-peptide motif that is necessary for targeting proteins to older chloroplasts.
"We knew that signal peptides specify the organelle a protein is supposed to be targeted to, acting like address labels," said Dr Li. "When we found that they also contain the information for the age selectivity we observed, we decided to try to identify the "code" that instructs a protein to go to older chloroplasts first. The existence of such a code means that chloroplast signal peptides are not just address labels - they also contain information about "when" a protein should be delivered."
These findings may have implications for selectively targeting proteins into organelles of aging tissues, said Dr Li. "We believe similar kinds of regulation mechanisms may also exist for other organelles in other organisms, like humans. For example, there may be signal peptide motifs that will allow us to specifically target therapeutic proteins into mitochondria in aging cardiac tissues."
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Citation: Teng Y-S, Chan P-T, Li H-m (2012) Differential Age-Dependent Import Regulation by Signal Peptides. PLoS Biol 10(10): e1001416. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001416
Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org
Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.
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Discussions pop up everywhere about topics like polyamory and open relationships. (As a reminder, "open relationships" and "polyamory" are not synonyms.) Discussions tend to help, as the more people talk, the more we see there is a diversity of needs when it comes to relationships and sexuality, and that polyamorous people or people in open relationships are not bad people or people nobody knows. They are quite often great people, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual, who live next door in harmony with monogamists. An example is this poll and discussion at baby-gaga.com initiated by Abbey & Ethan. Here are some highlights...
That's what I have always wanted but DH doesn't agree. Yeah. I didn't put much thought into that part of things when I decided to marry DH.
I've always been a very monogamous person and I don't think I could actually be in a relationship with another person.
However, lately I've been wondering about other things, like threesomes. I love my husband but I miss sleeping with women. I can live without dating and being in a relationship with a woman, my husband is quite fulfilling in that, but I miss the sex. I'm afraid it would somehow harm our relationship, though.
For the people I know, it's often just sex. But there are a lot of instances where the intimacy level is brought to it's max (a max often beyond that of a monogamous relationship) with certain practices.
Mama to William + 1 added...
DH would be fine with it, it's me that has reservations. I'm not afraid that I'll become emotionally attached to the woman, it's more that I like the way my relationship is with DH and I'm afraid that having sex with someone else would alter it in a negative way.
My sexuality is a little complicated. I'm not bisexual - I don't like men enough for me to feel like the term applies. I love my husband, but beyond that I have no interest in men at all. Besides for him everyone that I've ever dated, smurfed, been attracted to, etc. has been female.
Asked why she married a man, she replied...
I don't know. He was my best friend and I fell in love with him. We started dating and I made it very clear at the beginning that I made no promises because at the time I wasn't sure if I'd be happy to have sex with him. But it worked out wonderfully and we seem happier than most couples I know. I'm by no means unhappy with him now, even though I can't explain why he was/is such a major exception, but sometimes I miss the sex.
It is a weird thing and it's pretty impossible to explain, but it is what it is.
One*day*at*a*time...
I don't think I could do it. I would feel left out and cheated out of part of him (DH). I want 100% of him. I give him 100% of me so I expect that back. Now could we share a woman in our relationship? Yes and we have before but it was mutual, shared and never on our own. She was a part of "our" relationship not something separate on the side On a side note though DH could never share me with another man (he's told me) so it's kind of a double standard. Although it doesn't bother me because I have no desire to be with another man. Even if he was involved. I can't really say for sure that I would involve another woman again. Even though it worked before and was mostly about sex it just seems like trying again with someone else may be pressing our luck. It might not work out so well with another woman. It ended because she met someone else and is now engaged. I think part of why it worked is because her and I had been best friends since 3rd grade, when she met DH we all became friends. She never hit on him and he never did her. We were just friends. then we got adventurous.
These are not "other" people. These are the people you live next to, work with, and are probably in your family. These people especially are the people you see pushing baby carriages. Isn't it ridiculous to perpetuate stigmas and discrimination against people who aren't monogamous?
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Apple's iPad Mini will bring a lot more excitement and a little more confusion to the holiday shopping season.
It only takes a few minutes playing with the iPad Mini to realize the scaled-down tablet computer will be a sure-fire hit with longtime Apple disciples and potential converts who've been looking for a more affordable entree into the mobile computing market.
With a 7.9-inch screen, the iPad Mini is perfectly sized to be stuffed in Christmas stockings. Recipients who will discover the pleasure and convenience of being able to take pictures, surf the Web, watch video, read books and listen to music on an exquisitely designed device that's pancake thin.
As enticing as that all sounds, the iPad Mini also causes a dilemma, albeit a pleasant one.
The new option will make it even more difficult for holiday shoppers to figure out which mobile device to buy for their loved ones ?or for themselves.
I felt the pangs of indecision within a few minutes of picking up the iPad Mini for the first time.
As the company usually does at its product unveilings, Apple Inc. only provided reporters with limited, strictly supervised access to the iPad Mini on Tuesday. That meant I could only experiment with it for about 15 minutes, but as an experienced user of the iPad 2, I could quickly see that the smaller tablet does just about everything its bigger brethren does.
Even though the Mini's screen is 1.8 inches smaller than the standard iPad, the movie "The Avengers" looked lush, even in a side-by-side comparison with the larger tablet. When I pulled up the latest issue of the New Yorker, I didn't have to strain to see the text or pictures on the smaller screen. A quick check of other websites verified that the Mini's screen isn't so tiny that it's going to cause a lot of squinting. After I took a very crisp picture of another reporter testing out a Mini, I decided to email it to her to test how easy it was to use the keyboard on the smaller screen. No problem there. Best of all, the iPad Mini can be held in one hand and is about half the weight of the larger iPad.
The Mini worked so much like my standard iPad that it immediately caused me to have second thoughts about a decision I thought I had already made. I like my iPad 2 a lot, but it's just too big to carry with me wherever I am. But there have been times I really wish I had it with me, like when I spot something that would make a great picture or when I've needed to check something on the Web. For various reasons, I didn't want a smartphone that would require a data plan, so I had my mind set on buying the latest iPod Touch, which has an iPhone-size screen and superb camera.
Now, the iPad Mini has me vacillating. Apple isn't making it easier with its pricing strategy. The latest iPod Touch with 32 gigabytes sells for $299. An iPad Mini with 16 gigabytes of storage sells for $329. I'm tempted.
Like others who will no doubt be weighing the same decision, I'll have to make up my mind. Do I want something that can fit in my one of pant pockets like the Touch? For starters, it comes in more colors than the black-or-white Mini and offers more storage capacity for a cheaper price.
Or do I want to pay a little more for another tablet computer that can slip into a coat pocket and offer a richer experience with a screen nearly two times larger than the new Touch?
The iPad Mini is so mighty that I can't believe the iPad 2 will be on the market too much longer. The iPad 2's $399 price now looks like too much, given that the iPad Mini can do just about everything it does on a slightly smaller screen. The iPad 2 still may have some appeal for people who want a larger tablet at a lower price the newest iPads, but I can't see too many consumers buying Apple's second-generation tablet now that the Mini is available.
Consumers who aren't set on buying one of Apple's devices will have even more choices to make. The iPad Mini is clearly aimed at siphoning sales away from the Nexus 7 tablet that Google Inc. began selling four months ago and the longer-established Kindle Fire from Amazon.com Inc. Figuring out which one is best-suited for you (or that special someone on your shopping list) will likely come down to weighing price against performance.
Amazon is sells a Kindle Fire HD with 16 gigabytes of storage and 7-inch screen for $199 and a similarly sized Nexus 7 goes for $249. That means an iPad Mini will cost $80 to $130 more, a price that Apple believes is justified because it boasts more features, such as front and back cameras. The Mini's reliance on aluminum instead of plastic for its exterior also makes it look more stylish and more enjoyable to hold.
If the speculation on technology blogs pans out, Google might make things even more interesting ? and dizzying for holiday shoppers ? by introducing a $99 version of the Nexus 7 in the coming weeks.
If the title and tags were enough to convince you, http://www.roleplaygateway.com/roleplay/the-city-of-fallen-angels/ Dear, (Subject name here) I regret to inform you that your parents were killed yesterday. Because you are young and have no other relatives in the area, you must report to the orphanage on the south side of the city until you are of the age to become an apprentice. I wish you luck and am terribly sorry about the situation. A city guard will be sent tomorrow to escort you. Best wishes, Guard Captain Marcus.
Welcome to Myrdin, the City of Fallen Angels, a crime-filled city nestled in the Rowak Mountains. You are an apprentice to one of six choices. Your master/mentor will teach you everything they know and will usually send you on missions to help rid the town of crime. In the event of your mentor's death, you will take over for them and continue your studies.
Today is the day of your choice to become an apprentice. Several adults walk in and everyone of age is gathered. Your choices of mentors are: The town wizard Habyr, a man who can cast magics beyond your wildest dreams, and even the ones within your wildest dreams.
The summoner, Latniel. A summoner can summon creatures or transform himself, and Latniel isn't the guildmaster just because he's the oldest. He is the only summoner who can currently summon Barimel, Lord of the Dragons, and turn into a dragon. No, he doesn't do children's parties.
The guard captain, Marcus. The night is filled with evildoers, and Marcus and his crew are hellbent on stopping them. It doesn't work, though.
The leader of the rangers, Naceh. The Rangers are the city's wardens, making sure that the forests remain free of poaching, and use their incredible skill with the bow and arrow to make sure of it. Naceh's watchful eye lets none escape his sight. They also handle bringing in game for selling at the market.
The assassin, Utosah. The assassins are a prideful guild, that specializes in the art of maintaining the REAL peace around the city, laying low any who might wish harm to the city and it's inhabitants. Utosah's word is law in this guild, his blade the ultimate decision. You could say he... gets to the point.
The head wyvern rider, Jessa. The Wyvern Riders are a proud, brave bunch, willing to dive in whenever needed. Their leader, Jessa, is the only female leader, but don't let her gender fool you, she can put you into the ground on or off her wyvern. A dragon both on and off the field.
The thief, Olssan. Nobody knows how the thieves got themselves a guild, but the main theory is that the king lost a game of dice. Olssan just is their main rep. Watch your belongings around the thieves.
You may take the skills of two different masters or stick with one. The wyvern riders, however, must only be wyvern riders, due to the dedication needed.
You can be as far past the day of choosing as you wish.
A quick explanation of magic for mages: Magic is kind of like your thumbprint, the way you do magic is different from everyone else. Granted, almost everybody can cast a fireball, but they're going to all do it a slightly different way. For example, one mage may need to charge the spell in their hands before they can fire it off, another may just have to call out "FIREBALL!", and one more might punch the air to have a fireball come from their fist.
Magic as applied to summoners: Summoners make their contracts by first creating a bond with one creature of that species. They then perform a blood ritual so that the summoner has a part of the animal's blood within them. From that point on, they can transform into that creature at any time, and summon an animal of that type at any time.
If you've finished reading, and now you're convinced, http://www.roleplaygateway.com/roleplay/the-city-of-fallen-angels/
As the third presidential debate got underway Monday night, some University of Virginia students said they had no interest in watching, while others said they did want to hear what the candidates had to say about foreign policy.
The college vote was critical in 2008 when Barack Obama won a historic presidential election, but where did that energy go?
"Interest and excitement around this election is a little bit down versus 2008," said Philip Williamson, a third-year student at the University of Virginia School of Law.
"Some people maybe think that their vote's not going to count, that something's automatically going to happen," said Lindsay Sackellares, a second-year foreign affairs student at UVa.
At an August rally in Charlottesville geared toward college students, attendance to see the president speak was a few thousand less than his previous trip to town in 2010.
"I think from the liberal side, you don't want Romney, but Obama didn't do everything in the way he said he was going to, which is expected but still disappointing," said UVa. third-year foreign affairs student Katlyn Alley.
Monday's debate at Lynn University centered around foreign policy, a topic that might not resonate with many college students.
"It's an issue they should care about, but I'd venture to say probably not as high on their radar as things like, 'Am I going to have a job when I get out of school?' Williamson said.
"I don't think I'm going to be amazed by anything they say in the debate, but it's still probably the most important part," Alley said.
Students say the political vibes aren't as strong now as they were four years ago, but that's not to say there's no action on grounds.
"People are definitely very discussion-based here. It's not a lot of protest. It's not a lot of loud demonstration," Sackellares said. "People just want to engage and find out what other students think."
Students also point out that this is the first presidential election in which many students will be able to cast a vote, generating some excitement around the university.
In USA Today yesterday, a group of American entrepreneurs and business leaders spoke out in a full-page, open letter to President Obama and to their fellow citizens.
The full text is reprinted below. The signatories are here. As Mitt Romney has told voters repeatedly during the debates and on the campaign trail, we don?t have to settle. Do the right thing!
In a campaign season marked by new lows in polarizing rhetoric, some of the most divisive has originated from the President and his allies ? and has been aimed at successful people in the business sector.
These attacks are not getting us anywhere. They are really just political tricks to distract from the President?s own policy failures.
Consider for instance what the President hasn?t said. He has no solution for the staggering $16 trillion debt the nation carries ? a burden his policies increase minute by minute. He won?t explain why the stimulus spending hasn?t produced the jobs recovery he predicted. His party has failed to produce a budget in nearly four years. He has no answer for investors who need fiscal stability before they can put money at risk.
Instead, his Administration has increased regulations on virtually every sector of the economy while the President maligns business achievement in his campaign stump speeches.
American free enterprise is not the problem. Free enterprise is the essence of opportunity. It employs tens of millions, generates tax revenue, and pays healthcare benefits for millions of families. It is the engine that drives new industries, products, services, and innovation.
So when the President and his aides pit Americans against one another, it is not only misguided, it is irresponsible. Americans deserve solutions, not political ploys.
Fair-minded people can differ on those solutions. But the President seems oblivious to the fact that dynamic, productive job growth comes not from government spending, but from the private sector.
How do we know? Our entire careers have been dedicated to growing businesses and creating jobs. That entrepreneurial spirit is where America?s real strength is found. The solution must come from encouraging individual initiative and rewarding innovation. It?s about teaching someone to fish, not giving fish away by the billions as this Administration thinks.
Before you vote on Election Day, think carefully about what kind of country we are creating for ourselves and coming generations. Will it be a country that demeans job-creating business owners by saying, ?You didn?t build that??
Or will it be a country that protects free enterprise and allows everyone to pursue their highest aspirations?
~ For the latest breaking news, be sure to join Michelle's e-mail list ~
As we know, There are known knowns. There are things We know we know. We also know There are known unknowns. That is to say We know there are some things We do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, The ones we don?t know We don?t know.
? Donald Rumsfeld, Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing
INTELLIGENCE, A CORNUCOPIA?
It seems to me that those who believe into the possibility of catastrophic risks from artificial intelligence act on the unquestioned assumption that intelligence is kind of a?black box, a?cornucopia?that can sprout an abundance of novelty. But this implicitly assumes that if you increase intelligence you also decrease the distance between discoveries.
Intelligence is no solution in itself, it is merely an effective searchlight for unknown unknowns and who knows that the brightness of the light increases proportionally with the distance between unknown unknowns? To enable an intelligence explosion the light would have to reach out much farther with each increase in intelligence than the increase of the distance between unknown unknowns. I just don?t see that to be a reasonable assumption.
INTELLIGENCE AMPLIFICATION, IS IT WORTH IT?
It seems that if you increase intelligence you also increase the computational cost of its further improvement and the distance to the discovery of some unknown unknown that could enable another quantum leap. It seems that you need to apply a lot more energy to get a bit more complexity.
If any increase in intelligence is vastly outweighed by its computational cost and the expenditure of time needed to discover it then it might not be instrumental for a perfectly rational agent (such as an artificial general intelligence), as?imagined by game theorists, to increase its intelligence as opposed to using its existing intelligence to pursue its terminal goals directly or to invest its given resources to acquire other means of self-improvement, e.g. more efficient sensors.
What evidence do we have that the payoff of intelligent, goal-oriented experimentation yields?enormous advantages?(enough to enable an?intelligence explosion) over evolutionary discovery relative to its cost?
We simply don?t know if intelligence is instrumental or quickly hits diminishing returns.
Can intelligence be effectively applied to itself at all? How do we know that any given level of intelligence is capable of handling its own complexity efficiently? Many humans are not even capable of handling the complexity of the brain of a worm.
HUMANS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF DISCOVERY
There is a significant difference between intelligence and evolution if you apply intelligence to the improvement of evolutionary designs:
Intelligence is goal-oriented.
Intelligence can think ahead.
Intelligence can jump fitness gaps.
Intelligence can engage in direct experimentation.
Intelligence can observe and incorporate solutions of other optimizing agents.
But when it comes to unknown unknowns, what difference is there between intelligence and evolution? The critical similarity is that both rely on dumb luck when it comes to genuine novelty. And where else but when it comes to the dramatic improvement of intelligence itself does it take the discovery of novel unknown unknowns?
We have no idea about the nature of discovery and its importance when it comes to what is necessary to reach a level of intelligence above our own, by ourselves. How much of what we know was actually the result of people thinking quantitatively and attending to scope, probability, and marginal impacts? How much of what we know today is the result of dumb luck versus goal-oriented, intelligent problem solving?
Our ?irrationality? and the patchwork-architecture of the human brain might constitute an actual feature. The noisiness and patchwork architecture of the human brain might play a significant role in the discovery of unknown unknowns because it allows us to become distracted, to leave the path of evidence based exploration.
A lot of discoveries were made by people who were not explicitly trying tomaximizing expected utility. A lot of progress is due to luck, in the form of the discovery of unknown unknowns.
A basic argument in support of risks from superhuman intelligence is that we don?t know what it could possible come up with. That is also why it is called it a ?Singularity?. But why does nobody ask how a superhuman intelligence knows what it could possible come up with?
It is not intelligence in and of itself that allows humans to accomplish great feats. Even people like Einstein, geniuses who were apparently able to come up with great insights on their own, were simply lucky to be born into the right circumstances,?the time was ripe for great discoveries, thanks to previous discoveries of unknown unknowns.
EVOLUTION VERSUS INTELLIGENCE
It is argued that the mind-design space must be large if evolution could stumble upon general intelligence and that there are?low-hanging fruits?that are much more efficient at general intelligence than humans are, evolution simply went with the first that came along. It is further argued that?evolution is not limitlessly creative, each step must increase the fitness of its host, and that therefore there are artificial mind designs that can do what no product of natural selection could accomplish.
I agree with the above, yet given all of the apparent disadvantages of?the blind idiot God, evolution was able to come up with altruism, something that works two levels above the individual and one level above society. So far we haven?t been able to show such ingenuity by incorporating successes that are not evident from an individual or even societal position.
The example of?altruism?provides evidence that intelligence isn?t many levels above evolution. Therefore the crucial question is,?how?great is the performance advantage? Is it large enough to justify the conclusion that the probability of an intelligence explosion is easily larger than 1%? I don?t think so. To answer this definitively we would have to fathom the significance of the?discovery?(?random mutations?) of unknown unknowns in the dramatic amplification of intelligence versus the?invention?(goal-oriented ?research and development?) of an improvement within known conceptual bounds.
Another example is?flight. Artificial flight is not even close to the energy efficiency and maneuverability of birds or insects. We didn?t went straight from no artificial flight towards flight that is generally superior to the natural flight that is an effect of biological evolution.
Dragonfly
Take for example a?dragonfly.?Even if we were handed the design for a perfect artificial dragonfly, minus the design for the flight of a dragonfly, we wouldn?t be able to build a dragonfly that can take over the world of dragonflies,?all else equal, by means of superior flight characteristics.
It is true that a Harpy Eagle can?lift more than three-quarters of its body weight?while the?Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter?has a maximum take-off weight of almost double its operating empty weight (I suspect that insects can do better). My whole point is that we never reached artificial flight that is strongly above the level of natural flight. An eagle can after all catch its cargo under various circumstances like the slope of a mountain or from beneath the sea, thanks to its superior maneuverability.
HUMANS ARE BIASED AND IRRATIONAL
It is obviously true that our expert systems are better than we are at their narrow range of expertise. But that expert systems are better at certain tasks does not imply that you can effectively and efficiently combine them into a coherent agency.
The noisiness of the human brain might be one of the important features that allows it to exhibit general intelligence. Yet the same noise might be the reason that each task a human can accomplish is not put into execution with maximal efficiency. An expert system that features a single stand-alone ability is able to reach the unique equilibrium for that ability. Whereas systems that have not fully relaxed to equilibrium feature the necessary characteristics that are required to exhibit general intelligence. In this sense a decrease in efficiency is a side-effect of general intelligence. If you externalize a certain ability into a coherent framework of agency, you decrease its efficiency dramatically. That is the difference between a tool and the ability of the agent that uses the tool.
In the above sense, our tendency to be biased and act irrationally might partly be a trade off between plasticity, efficiency and the necessity of goal-stability.
EMBODIED COGNITION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Another problem is that general intelligence is largely a result of an interaction between an agent and its environment. It might be in principle possible to arrive at various capabilities by means of induction, but it is only a theoretical possibility given unlimited computational resources. To achieve real world efficiency you need to rely on slow environmental feedback and make decision under uncertainty.
AIXI?is often quoted as a?proof of concept?that it is possible for a simple algorithm to improve itself to such an extent that it could in principle reach superhuman intelligence. AIXI proves that there is a general theory of intelligence. But there is a minor problem, AIXI is as far from real world human-level general intelligence as an abstract notion of a?Turing machine?with an infinite tape is from a supercomputer with the computational capacity of the human brain. An abstract notion of intelligence doesn?t get you anywhere in terms of real-world general intelligence. Just as you won?t be able to?upload yourself?to a non-biological substrate?because you showed that in some abstract sense?you can simulate every physical process.
Just imagine you?emulated a grown up human mind?and it wanted to become apick up artist, how would it do that with an Internet connection? It would needsome sort of avatar, at least, and then wait for the environment to provide a lot of feedback.
Therefore even if we?re talking about the emulation of a grown up mind, it will be really hard to acquire some capabilities. Then how is the emulation of a human toddler going to acquire those skills? Even worse, how is some sort of abstract AGI going to do it that misses all of the hard coded capabilities of a human toddler?
Can we even attempt to imagine what is wrong about a boxed emulation of a human toddler, that makes it unable to become a master of?social engineering?in a very short time?
Can we imagine what is missing that would enable one of the existing expert systems to quickly evolve vastly superhuman capabilities in its narrow area of expertise? Why haven?t we seen a learning algorithm teaching itself chess intelligence starting with nothing but the rules?
In a sense an intelligent agent is similar to a stone rolling down a hill, both are moving towards a sort of equilibrium. The difference is that intelligence is following more complex trajectories as its ability to read and respond to environmental cues is vastly greater than that of a stone. Yet intelligent or not, the environment in which an agent is embedded plays a crucial role. There exist a?fundamental dependency on unintelligent processes. Our environment is structured in such a way that we use information within it as an extension of our minds. The environment enables us to learn and improve our predictions by providing a testbed and a constant stream of data.
NECESSARY RESOURCES FOR AN INTELLIGENCE EXPLOSION
If artificial general intelligence is unable to seize the resources necessary to undergo explosive recursive self-improvement then the ability and cognitive flexibility of superhuman intelligence in and of itself, as characteristics alone, would have to be sufficient to self-modify its way up to massive superhuman intelligence within a very short time.
Without advanced?real-world nanotechnology?it will be considerable more difficult for an AGI to undergo quick self-improvement. It will have to make use of existing infrastructure, e.g. buy stocks of chip manufactures and get them to create more or better CPU?s. It will have to rely on puny humans for a lot of tasks. It won?t be able to create new computational substrate without the whole economy of the world supporting it. It won?t be able to create an army of robot drones overnight without it either.
Doing so it would have to make use of considerable amounts of social engineering without its creators noticing it. But, more importantly, it will have to make use of its existing intelligence to do all of that. The AGI would have to acquire new resources slowly, as it couldn?t just self-improve to come up with faster and more efficient solutions. In other words, self-improvement would demand resources. The AGI could not profit from its ability to self-improve regarding the necessary acquisition of resources to be able to self-improve in the first place.
Therefore the absence of advanced nanotechnology constitutes an immense blow to the possibility of explosive recursive self-improvement and?risks from AI?in general.
One might argue that an AGI will solve nanotechnology on its own and find some way to trick humans into manufacturing a molecular assembler and grant it access to it. But this might be very difficult.
There is a strong interdependence of resources and manufacturers. The AGI won?t be able to simply trick some humans to build a high-end factory to create computational substrate, let alone a molecular assembler. People will ask questions and shortly after get suspicious. Remember, it won?t be able to coordinate a world-conspiracy, it hasn?t been able to self-improve to that point yet because it is still trying to acquire enough resources, which it has to do the hard way without nanotech.
Anyhow, you?d probably need a brain the size of the moon to effectively run and coordinate a whole world of irrational humans by intercepting their communications and altering them on the fly without anyone freaking out.
People associated with the SIAI would at this point claim that if the AI can?t make use of nanotechnology it might make use of something we haven?t even thought about. But what, magic?
ARTIFICIAL GENERAL INTELLIGENCE, A SINGLE BREAK-THROUGH?
Another point to consider when talking about risks from AI is how quickly the invention of artificial general intelligence will take place. What evidence do we have that there is some principle that, once discovered, allows us to grow superhuman intelligence overnight?
If the development of AGI takes place slowly, a gradual and controllable development, we might be able to learn from small-scale mistakes while having to face other risks in the meantime. This might for example be the case if?intelligencecan not be captured by a discrete algorithm, or is modular, and therefore never allow us to reach a point where we can suddenly build the smartest thing ever that does just extend itself indefinitely.
To me it doesn?t look like that we will come up with artificial general intelligence quickly, but rather that we will have to painstakingly optimize our expert systems step by step over long periods of times.
PAPERCLIP MAXIMIZERS
It is claimed that an artificial general intelligence?might wipe us out inadvertentlywhile undergoing explosive recursive self-improvement to more effectively pursue its terminal goals. I think that it is unlikely that most AI designs will not hold.
I agree with the argument that any AGI that isn?t made to care about humans won?t care about humans. But I also think that the same argument applies for spatio-temporal scope boundaries and resource limits. Even if the AGI is not told to hold, e.g. compute as many digits of Pi as possible, I consider it an far-fetched assumption that any AGI intrinsically cares to take over the universe as fast as possible to compute as many digits of Pi as possible. Sure, if all of that are presuppositions then it will happen, but I don?t see that most of all AGI designs are like that. Most that have the potential for superhuman intelligence, but who are given simple goals, will in my opinion just bob up and down as slowly as possible.
Complex goals need complex optimization parameters (the design specifications of the subject of the optimization process against which it will measure its success of self-improvement).
Even the creation of paperclips is a much more complex goal than telling an AI to compute as many digits of Pi as possible.
For an AGI, that was designed to design paperclips, to pose an existential risk, its creators would have to be capable enough to enable it to take over the universe on its own, yet forget, or fail to, define time, space and energy bounds as part of its optimization parameters. Therefore, given the large amount of restrictions that are inevitably part of any advanced general intelligence, the nonhazardous subset of all possible outcomes might be much larger than that where the AGI works perfectly yet fails to hold before it could wreak havoc.
FERMI PARADOX
The?Fermi paradox?does allow for and provide the only conclusions and data we can analyze that amount to?empirical criticism?of concepts like that of a?Paperclip maximizer?and general risks from superhuman AI?s with non-human values without working directly on AGI to test those hypothesis ourselves.
If you accept the premise that life is?not?unique and special then one other technological civilisation in the observable universe should be sufficient to leave potentially observable traces of technological tinkering.
Due to the absence of any signs of intelligence out there, especially paper-clippersburning the cosmic commons, we might conclude that unfriendly AI could?not be the most dangerous existential risk?that we should worry about.
SUMMARY
In principle we could build antimatter weapons capable of destroying worlds, but in practise it is much harder to accomplish.
There are many question marks when it comes to the possibility of superhuman intelligence, and many more about the possibility of recursive self-improvement. Most of the arguments in favor of those possibilities?solely derive their appeal from being vague.
I've made my choice to re-elect President Barack Obama.","date":"Tue, Oct 23, 2012 12:06 PM EDT","credit":null,"byline":null,"provider":"Yahoo! Contributor Network","photo_title":"First Person: Romney and Ryan's Lack of Moderation a Turn-Off for This Florida Voter","pivot_alias_id":"first-person-romney-ryans-lack-moderation-turn-off-photo-160500239","plink":"\/photos\/first-person-romney-ryans-lack-moderation-turn-off-photo-160500239.html","plink_vita":"http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/photos\/first-person-romney-ryans-lack-moderation-turn-off-photo-160500239.html","srchtrm":"First Person: Romney and Ryan's Lack of Moderation a Turn-Off for This Florida Voter","revsp":"","rev":"92b0b670-1d2b-11e2-bfff-8e559bb985b0","surl":"http:\/\/l1.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/x0vEDjlswxr8dMBZzRbWhQ--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD02MztxPTg1O3c9NTY-\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/associatedcontent\/470_2523631.jpg","swidth":56,"sheight":63},{"type":"image","url":"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/bt\/api\/res\/1.2\/BlgmZpkUn7E5p_wZrbseEg--\/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD01ODc7cT04NTt3PTQ3MA--\/http:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en_us\/News\/associatedcontent\/470_2523634.jpg","width":470,"height":587,"uuid":"8cd84d51-d687-37de-bf80-263fd4879851","caption":"President Barack Obama.","captionBakedHtml":"
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As our common life-span improves, our company is being mindful of the requirement to protect our health by means of wise options produced throughout our way of life. Exactly what is the point of extended life whenever we are certainly not match to savor it? Irrespective of what your age, contemplating this article can help you to begin to make options that will use a positive impact on your overall health, health and fitness, and general effectively-becoming throughout you life.
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Delinquency and foreclosure rates are rising on subprime mortgages. As evidenced through the most recent results from the Mortgage Banker?s Association National Delinquency Survey of first mortgage loans, foreclosure rates are on the rise. Currently, the national delinquency and foreclosure rates are dominated by four states: Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.
Foreclosures occur when an owner is behind in mortgage payments and the lender initiates foreclosure action on the property. Foreclosures are devastating for the homeowners and unfortunate for the lenders. However, homeowners and lenders are not the only parties involved. Foreclosures also affect families with children living in rental units and set in place a negative spiral for at-risk neighborhoods. Foreclosures are harmful for borrowers, lenders, the neighborhood, and locality.
Foreclosures in Western states are increasing faster than in the Eastern US. Nationally, the number of foreclosures this March, 2007, was 47% higher than the previous year. Most experts agree that these high foreclosure rates are not likely to decline any time soon.
As this year has progressed, more and more individuals and families are being forced out of their homes by banks and lenders, yet half of the borrowers who enter into foreclosure never call their lenders. Sub-prime lenders are often cited as a big factor in raising the foreclosure rates due to adjustable rate mortgages and other forms of predatory lending. In addition, the lenders? attempts to auction off the wave of foreclosed homes as quickly as possible, to liquidate their falling mortgage assets, is pushing down home prices.
The real problem is that over the past four years, the government has been telling lenders that they?ve been discriminating against poor would-be home buyers, and that they haven?t been making enough loans to low-income folks, or minority groups. At the same time, increased lending to households with limited financial resources raises the likelihood of higher default rates. While the impact will be felt most in low-income and minority communities, the national economy could also be severely affected if faith in the housing finance system falters.
The only good news is that an increase could mean lenders will work with homeowners rather than foreclosing immediately. Lenders contend they are helping borrowers work out troubled loans so that they can stay in their homes. Against a backdrop of rising foreclosures and increasing criticism over the way lenders are handling loan ?workouts,? housing advocates are stepping up efforts to prevent foreclosures that will lead to local residents losing their homes. Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services (FFPS) is one of the leading companies in this field. Our primary focus is stopping foreclosure by using advanced loss mitigation techniques that help the homeowners and mortgage lenders reach resolutions, while keeping the best interest of the home owners in mind. With the state of the market, FFPS is recruiting thousands of consultants to keep up with the rising foreclosure rate. For more information on how you can do your part to help homeowners avoid foreclosure go to unemp loyment and mortgage defaults continue to rise, efforts to promote homeownership among low- and moderate-income households will only be successful if accompanied by measures to control default rates and increase cure rates for borrowers already reaching delinquency. With subprime defaults increasing and a grim forecast for the near future, many are calling for legislative changes to help keep Americans in their homes. Congress has addressed this issue through a number of hearings on the prevalence of subprime loans and the increased mortgage defaults and foreclosure rates that have resulted from their use.
The FHA has historically had a higher default rate because they loan more money to low income families than conventional financing. The way the FHA loan program is currently structured, FHA will give the lender back all of the money owed on the loan if the home buyer defaults. To qualify as a ?high-default? lender, the mortgage banker must have a foreclosure rate that is at least 1. However, for all lenders who do FHA loans, the average default rate is just over 2.
Soaring foreclosure rates are sending states scrambling. No matter the reason, the fact remains that foreclosure rates are increasing drastically throughout the US. Other higher foreclosure rates are expected in generally high cost regions with or without minority communities. Foreclosure rates are expected to continue to increase as the subprime mortgage crisis continues.
Exercise and complete decongestive therapy best ways to manage lymphedema, MU expert saysPublic release date: 22-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jesslyn Chew ChewJ@missouri.edu 573-882-8353 University of Missouri-Columbia
Living with chronic condition requires patients to use comprehensive self-care practices
COLUMBIA, Mo. Nearly 40 percent of breast cancer survivors suffer from lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes body limbs to swell from fluid buildup, as a result of lymph node removal and radiation therapy. A cure for lymphedema does not exist, so individuals with the condition must find ways to manage the symptoms throughout their lifetimes. Now, a team of researchers and clinicians working with a University of Missouri lymphedema expert has found that full-body exercise and complete decongestive therapy (CDT) are the best ways for patients to minimize their symptoms and maintain their quality of life.
"There's a sense of empowermentof autonomythat comes from meeting the challenge of living with lymphedema," said Jane Armer, an MU nursing professor. "Some breast cancer survivors say that they've become a new person after cancer because they met a challenge, and they like the stronger person they've become. The challenge of lymphedema is similar. It's something that is pervasive in every part of life. It takes problem solving and persistence to manage the condition without letting it interfere with their goals."
Armer and her colleagues reviewed published research about lymphedema self-management in order to determine which practices were most effective in managing the condition. The researchers found that full-body exercise, such as weight lifting and stretching, was likely to be effective in minimizing lymphedema symptoms. In addition, the researchers concluded that complete decongestive therapy (CDT), a comprehensive treatment approach that incorporates skin care, exercise, manual lymphatic drainage and bandaging of swollen limbs, also helps patients effectively manage the condition.
"Previous research suggests that, the earlier the interventions, the better the outcomes," Armer said. "If patients can learn how to successfully manage the condition early on, then they can continue those processes throughout their lives, and their outcomes will be better than those of individuals who resist participating in self-care."
###
Armer is a professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing and director of nursing research at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. The literature review, "Self-Management of Lymphedema," recently published in Nursing Research, was led by nurse colleagues, Sheila Ridner, professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, and Mei Fu, associate professor at New York University College of Nursing and MU nursing alumna. The review is the fifth in a series of 12 to be published in conjunction with the American Lymphedema Framework Project (ALFP). Another literature review, "A Systematic Review of the Evidence for Complete Decongestive Therapy in the Treatment of Lymphedema From 2004 to 2011," was published by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation earlier this year. This review was led by expert lymphedema clinicians and educators, Bonnie Lasinski, Long Island, N.Y.; Kathryn Thrift, Dallas; and DeCourcy Squire, Atlanta.
As director of the ALFP, Armer works alongside clinical experts and investigators to increase awareness of lymphedema and related disorders. The ALFP was founded in 2008 and is headquartered at the MU Center for Lymphedema Research, Practice and Health Policy. Its steering committee and staff currently are partnering with the International Lymphedema Framework (ILF) in producing an updated edition of the ILF Best Practice Document from 2006.
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Exercise and complete decongestive therapy best ways to manage lymphedema, MU expert saysPublic release date: 22-Oct-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jesslyn Chew ChewJ@missouri.edu 573-882-8353 University of Missouri-Columbia
Living with chronic condition requires patients to use comprehensive self-care practices
COLUMBIA, Mo. Nearly 40 percent of breast cancer survivors suffer from lymphedema, a chronic condition that causes body limbs to swell from fluid buildup, as a result of lymph node removal and radiation therapy. A cure for lymphedema does not exist, so individuals with the condition must find ways to manage the symptoms throughout their lifetimes. Now, a team of researchers and clinicians working with a University of Missouri lymphedema expert has found that full-body exercise and complete decongestive therapy (CDT) are the best ways for patients to minimize their symptoms and maintain their quality of life.
"There's a sense of empowermentof autonomythat comes from meeting the challenge of living with lymphedema," said Jane Armer, an MU nursing professor. "Some breast cancer survivors say that they've become a new person after cancer because they met a challenge, and they like the stronger person they've become. The challenge of lymphedema is similar. It's something that is pervasive in every part of life. It takes problem solving and persistence to manage the condition without letting it interfere with their goals."
Armer and her colleagues reviewed published research about lymphedema self-management in order to determine which practices were most effective in managing the condition. The researchers found that full-body exercise, such as weight lifting and stretching, was likely to be effective in minimizing lymphedema symptoms. In addition, the researchers concluded that complete decongestive therapy (CDT), a comprehensive treatment approach that incorporates skin care, exercise, manual lymphatic drainage and bandaging of swollen limbs, also helps patients effectively manage the condition.
"Previous research suggests that, the earlier the interventions, the better the outcomes," Armer said. "If patients can learn how to successfully manage the condition early on, then they can continue those processes throughout their lives, and their outcomes will be better than those of individuals who resist participating in self-care."
###
Armer is a professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing and director of nursing research at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. The literature review, "Self-Management of Lymphedema," recently published in Nursing Research, was led by nurse colleagues, Sheila Ridner, professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, and Mei Fu, associate professor at New York University College of Nursing and MU nursing alumna. The review is the fifth in a series of 12 to be published in conjunction with the American Lymphedema Framework Project (ALFP). Another literature review, "A Systematic Review of the Evidence for Complete Decongestive Therapy in the Treatment of Lymphedema From 2004 to 2011," was published by the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation earlier this year. This review was led by expert lymphedema clinicians and educators, Bonnie Lasinski, Long Island, N.Y.; Kathryn Thrift, Dallas; and DeCourcy Squire, Atlanta.
As director of the ALFP, Armer works alongside clinical experts and investigators to increase awareness of lymphedema and related disorders. The ALFP was founded in 2008 and is headquartered at the MU Center for Lymphedema Research, Practice and Health Policy. Its steering committee and staff currently are partnering with the International Lymphedema Framework (ILF) in producing an updated edition of the ILF Best Practice Document from 2006.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Groundwater removal triggered the unusually shallow and deadly earthquake that hit Lorca, Spain, in 2011, according to a new study.
Scientists have known for decades that pumping water into the Earth can set off small earthquakes. But this is the first time that removing water has been identified as an earthquake trigger, researchers said. Both the size and the location of the quake were influenced by groundwater pumping, the study found.
"The fact that the very tiny stress changes due to normal processes, such as the extraction of groundwater, could have an effect on very large systems such as faults, that's very surprising," said Pablo Gonz?lez, lead study author and a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Western Ontario in Canada.
The researchers were also able to precisely calculate the physical changes that generated the quake. The results will help seismologists better understand the physics that control when an earthquake starts and stops ? an important step in predicting when and where a quake will occur, and its size.
"We need observations of this sort to calibrate physical models" of faults, said Jean-Philippe Avouac, a geologist at Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., who was not involved in the study. "The initiation and arrest of [fault] ruptures are something we are trying to constrain," he told OurAmazingPlanet.
Small quake, devastating effect
The May 5, 2011, earthquake was a relatively moderate magnitude 5.1. Quakes of this size usually don't cause significant damage in developed countries. A 2006 earthquake of magnitude 4.8 near Lorca did not cause any deaths. [Video: What Does Earthquake 'Magnitude' Mean?]
But the 2011 quake ruptured only 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) below the Earth's surface, which meant the earthquake's energy was concentrated at the surface. Nine people were killed and dozens were injured, and both unreinforced masonry, like medieval churches, and modern buildings were damaged.
Thanks to previous research work in Spain, Gonz?lez suspected the quake's shallow epicenter could be related to groundwater extraction near Lorca. The groundwater table south of Lorca has dropped as much as 820 feet (250 meters) since 1960.
"When the tragic event occurred, we asked ourselves if the earthquake might be related to the subsidence. The earthquake was very shallow, and moreover, this pattern of subsidence was bounded by the fault," Gonz?lez told OurAmazingPlanet.
Linking subsidence to fault rupture
Using data from satellite imagery and GPS stations, Gonz?lez and his colleagues first confirmed the quake occurred on the Alhama de Murcia fault. Then, they calculated how the crust responded to removing the weight of the water. Releasing the load increased the stress on the Alhama de Murcia fault by a few tens of kilopascals ? less than atmospheric pressure ? the study found.
During the quake, the fault broke only in areas where removing groundwater increased stress on the fault. From this correlation, Gonz?lez inferred that the groundwater removal not only helped trigger the quake, but also controlled the size of the fault rupture and the earthquake's magnitude.
However, the amount of energy released by the quake far exceeded that built up by groundwater extraction. Thus, the earthquake released both stress caused by groundwater extraction and several centuries of regional deformation, the study concludes. Southeastern Spain is near the plate boundary region that separates the Eurasia and Africa tectonic plates.
The findings were detailed in the Oct. 21 issue of the journal Nature Geosciences.
Reach Becky Oskin at boskin@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @beckyoskin. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.
Copyright 2012 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Chopra Well, is proud to announce the launch of three new shows this fall! 30 Days of Intent, Urban Yogis, and The Rabbit Hole are unprecedented shows targeted to engage the critical mass on a journey of exploration, transformation, wellness, and growth. Our unique position as a YouTube channel allows us to harness the communicative power of technology to share uplifting, inspiring stories ? entirely free of cost, as they should be!
Deepak?s thoughts on technology and social media?
Social Media is a powerful tool that connects people from around the world, and gives them practical ways to improve their lives. Technology allows us to build a critical mass of people dedicated to personal transformation for global transformation.
The channel draws on Deepak, Gotham?and?Mallika?s collective experiences, inter-generational wisdom and life journeys to help fulfill their mission to inspire 100 million people to change the world, one personal transformation at a time. We offer shows on how to meditate, become happier, do yoga, come to terms with death and loss, become more spiritual, increase personal awareness, realize one?s full potential, and integrate mind, body, and spirit for overall health.
Here?s a bit more on our new shows:
30 Days of Intent is a reality series that takes viewers on a journey of physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation. Two brave participants ? YouTube star Iman Crosson (?Alphacat?) and former professional soccer player Natalie Spilger ? plunge from their comfort zones in order to work on powerful intentions to change their lives.?Led by Deepak Chopra, Mallika Chopra, and a team of experts,?Iman and Natalie endure experiences and gain tools that range from spiritual psychology, healing horse therapy, yoga, underwater massage, orgasmic meditation, and reflections on death and dying. Guest stars include (to name a few):
Read more: Community, Do Good, Fitness, Health, Life, Love, Spirit, Yoga, alphacat, brain, cancer, Chopra Well, Community Service, Deepak Chopra, God, Gotham Chopra, iman crosson, inner-city, makeover, Mallika Chopra, meditation, moby, natalie spilger, personal growth, rainn wilson, reality, religion, russell brand, russell simmons, science, social media, spirit, technology, violence, wellness, yoga, youth
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Public release date: 22-Oct-2012
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30 Days of Intent is a reality series that takes viewers on a journey of physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation. Two brave participants ? YouTube star Iman Crosson (?Alphacat?) and former professional soccer player Natalie Spilger ? plunge from their comfort zones in order to work on powerful intentions to change their lives.?Led by Deepak Chopra, Mallika Chopra, and a team of experts,?Iman and Natalie endure experiences and gain tools that range from spiritual psychology, healing horse therapy, yoga, underwater massage, orgasmic meditation, and reflections on death and dying. Guest stars include (to name a few):
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