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GPT-4 is here: what scientists think

March 21, 2023

Artificial intelligence company OpenAI this week unveiled GPT-4, the latest incarnation of the large language model that powers its popular chat bot ChatGPT. The company says GPT-4 contains big improvements — it has already stunned people with its ability to create human-like text and generate images and computer code from almost any a prompt. Researchers say these abilities have the potential to transform science — but some are frustrated that they cannot yet access the technology, its underlying code or information on how it was trained. That raises concern about the technology’s safety and makes it less useful for research, say scientists.

One upgrade to GPT-4, released on 14 March, is that it can now handle images as well as text. And as a demonstration of its language prowess, Open AI, which is based in

Science GPT4, Scientists

Scientists Create Supercharged Bacteria With Immunity to Viral Infections

March 20, 2023

An illustration of viruses called phages infecting a bacterial cell. Researchers have developed a modified strain of Escherichia coli bacteria that is resistant to natural viral infections and has a low risk of escaping into the environment. This breakthrough in genetic engineering and synthetic biology is expected to decrease the risk of viral contamination in the production of medicines and other substances, such as biofuels. Currently, viral infections in bacteria can cause a halt in production, endanger drug safety, and result in high financial costs. Credit: Behnoush Hajian

Researchers create virus-resistant, safely restrained E. coli for medical, industrial applications.

In a step forward for genetic engineering and synthetic biology, researchers have modified a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria to be immune to natural viral infections while also minimizing the potential for the bacteria or their modified genes to escape into the wild.

The work promises to reduce the threats

Scientists Identify 100 Important Questions Facing Plant Science

March 19, 2023

Phytology Plant Science Agriculture Concept

An international panel of scientists has identified 100 important questions facing plant science in order to tackle global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity crises, and feeding a growing population sustainably. A new panel was formed in 2022 to re-evaluate research priorities and gathered over 600 questions about plant science from various sources. A team of 20 plant scientists from 15 nations was then assembled to identify the 100 most important questions. The findings are published in a letter in the journal New Phytologist.

An international panel of scientists has identified 100 of the most important questions facing plant science.

What are the key research priorities that will help tackle the global challenges of climate change, the biodiversity crises and feed a growing population in a sustainable way? Ten years after these priorities were first debated and summarised by a panel of scientists and published in New Phytologist,

Flinders University scientists use biology from insects to build robots with a brain

March 16, 2023 sNawaWebs.ADV

Scientists at a South Australian university are using biology from insects to build robots with a brain – technology that could become a game changer for police, defence and national security.

“I’m giving a robot a brain so it can understand its environment,” said Flinders University associate professor for autonomous systems, Dr Russell Brinkworth.

His biologically-inspired robots have the ability to not just take a picture of the world, but interpret the surrounding environment and adapt accordingly.

“Our current robots work well in structured environments that don’t change. That sounds complex – but they’re all the same,” Dr Brinkworth

Scientists just created mice with two biological fathers

March 13, 2023 sNawaWebs.ADV

Scientists have been able to replicate gametes in mice to produce a live birth. (Getty)

Scientists have managed to create mice with two biological fathers, which could lead to implications for same-sex reproduction in the future.

Researchers at Kyushu University, in Japan, were able to create lab-grown egg cells by using the skin cells of male mice.

While creating mice with two biological fathers was technically possible prior to the achievement, it involved a series of elaborate steps, including genetic engineering.

After creating stem cells from eight-week-old male mice, scientists manipulated the genetic code of the cell to create a mature egg.

After successful cultivation, the eggs were fertilised and implanted into a surrogate mouse, which eventually resulted in the birth of seven mouse pups.

The breakthrough could revolutionise infertility treatments, as well as potentially create a new method of conception for same-sex couples.

Research director Katsuhiko Hayashi presented the