MINNEAPOLIS—The Nature Conservancy announced today that it has added four new trustees—Catherine Gunsbury, Jessica Hellmann, George Hicks and William Rahr—to its Board of Trustees overseeing the organization’s work in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. In addition to the new trustees, Jay Kim, executive vice president & general counsel and chief administrative officer of Heartland HTLF…

Artificial intelligence (AI) drives innovation across society, economies and science. We argue for the importance of building AI technology according to open-source principles to foster accessibility, collaboration, responsibility and interoperability. The computer science community has a long tradition of embracing open-source principles. However, companies increasingly restrict access to AI innovations. An example is OpenAI, which…

The field of human genetics has witnessed significant growth and advancements, leading to profound implications in understanding genetic diseases, population diversity, and personalized medicine. Advances in human genetics research rely heavily on international collaborations that encourage the cultivation and exchange of ideas, expertise, and resources. However, most of the genetic studies are largely Eurocentric [1].…

Associate Professor Jaime Gongora pictured with an armadillo during his Peace with Nature work. [Credit: Jon Spaull] The program, Peace with Nature, led by Associate Professor Jaime Gongora, was first established in 2017 and has been instrumental in empowering former combatants who once took refuge in remote forested areas and now share a deep affinity…

The manufacturing process for a refrigerant still used in air conditioners in developing countries can release a by-product called HFC-23, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.Credit: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures via Getty Efforts to curb emissions of a powerful greenhouse gas commonly produced as a by-product of refrigerant manufacture might be falling short, and it seems…

An older female chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) makes her way through Kibale National Park, Uganda.Credit: Riccardo Maywald/Getty The females in a group of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are the first non-human primates to be documented experiencing menopause. The finding, published today in Science1, deepens the mystery of why a handful of mammals — including humans and…

Abstract Wireless radio communications provide a backbone to our technological civilization. However, radio communications are widely believed to be impossible in many situations where radios are surrounded by conductive media, such as underwater or underground, thus making ocean exploration difficult and creating well-known mine safety problems. In addition, since most imaging techniques rely on electromagnetic…

Abstract Clinical studies have demonstrated an association between high myopia (HM) and neuropsychiatric disorders; however, the underlying mechanism of the association is not clear. We used whole exome sequencing (WES) in combination with the Genetic Variants Classification Criteria and Guidelines published by the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) and bioinformatics analysis to clarify the…

Abstract Machine learning approaches using satellite imagery are providing accessible ways to infer socioeconomic measures without visiting a region. However, many algorithms require integration of ground-truth data, while regional data are scarce or even absent in many countries. Here we present our human-machine collaborative model which predicts grid-level economic development using publicly available satellite imagery…

Credit: Totto Renna A person with a burning need to know whether the video game Doom is compatible with the values taught in the Bible might once have had to spend days studying the two cultural artefacts and debating the question with their peers. Now, there’s an easier way: they can ask AI Jesus. The…