Science

Science

Death Cap Mushroom: The Lethal Beauty Lurking in the Forest

/

Nature’s wonders are often a double-edged sword, captivating us with their beauty while harboring hidden dangers. The death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides) is a prime example of this paradox. This innocuous-looking mushroom, with its pale cap and graceful silhouette, holds a deadly secret that has led to countless tragic encounters. In this article, we will explore the enigmatic allure of the death cap mushroom, delve into its toxic properties, and discuss the importance of awareness and caution in preventing accidental poisonings. The Death Cap’s Deceptive Elegance Nature has an uncanny ability to disguise danger with beauty. The death cap mushroom is a striking example of this phenomenon. Its smooth, bell-shaped cap varies in color from pale yellow-green to olive, and it often features distinctive white patches. This ethereal appearance is part of what makes it appealing to foragers and collectors, who may unwittingly fall prey to its toxic effects. Toxic Chemistry: Unveiling the Lethal Ingredients Behind the alluring façade of the death cap lies a toxic chemistry that can spell disaster for anyone who consumes it. The mushroom contains potent toxins, primarily α-amanitin, which is responsible for its lethal nature. Once ingested, these toxins target the liver and kidneys, causing severe damage that can lead to organ failure and death. Symptoms and Progression of Poisoning Recognizing the symptoms of death cap poisoning is crucial for seeking immediate medical attention. The initial symptoms often manifest between 6 to 12 hours after ingestion and include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. This seemingly benign phase can lead to a false sense of security, as a temporary improvement may follow. However, this is merely the prelude to the more critical phase of poisoning. As the toxins continue to ravage the body, the individual might experience jaundice, abdominal pain, and a noticeable decrease in urine production. At this stage, irreversible damage may have already occurred, necessitating emergency medical intervention. The progression of symptoms underscores the importance of early detection and prompt medical care. Death Cap’s Notorious Culinary Connection The allure of foraging for wild mushrooms has grown in recent years, as more people seek to reconnect with nature’s bounty. Unfortunately, this has led to a rise in accidental poisonings, often due to the misidentification of the death cap mushroom as an edible variety. One of the most notorious cases of death cap poisoning occurred in 2012, when a family in California fell seriously ill after consuming a soup made with foraged mushrooms, including the death cap. Tragically, the family’s youngest member lost his life as a result of this tragic mistake. Preventing Accidental Poisonings: Awareness and Caution Education and awareness play pivotal roles in preventing death cap mushroom poisonings. Anyone interested in foraging for wild mushrooms should undergo thorough training to recognize edible varieties from toxic ones. Consulting experienced mycologists or field guides can provide valuable insights into safe mushroom identification. To further mitigate the risk, it’s advisable to purchase mushrooms from reputable sources rather than relying solely on foraging. This can substantially reduce the chances of inadvertently consuming a death cap mushroom or other toxic species. Additionally, teaching children about the dangers of consuming wild mushrooms can be a crucial step in preventing accidents, as they might be inclined to explore and ingest unfamiliar plants. The death cap mushroom serves as a somber reminder of nature’s ability to conceal danger beneath a beguiling exterior. Its elegant appearance belies the deadly toxins it harbors, capable of causing irreversible damage to vital organs. The rise in foraging enthusiasts underscores the urgency of educating the public about the dangers of misidentification and the importance of cautious behavior in the wild. As we continue to marvel at the intricacies of the natural world, let us not forget that knowledge and respect are our best allies in navigating its complexities. The death cap mushroom’s lethal beauty serves as a testament to the intricate dance between life and death, a lesson that humbles us and encourages us to approach the natural world with both wonder and caution.

pexels photo 998653
Latest Now, Science

Desert Problem – Earth Creation Science

/

Desert Problem For Young Earth Creation Science Young-earth creationists have a problem. According to their creation model, all the fossil-bearing rock layers in the world need to be created during the Flood of Noah. Fossils, in ancient rock layers, imply that death occurred before the Fall of man, which is contrary to their interpretation of Scripture. The most visible rock layers in the world are those in the Grand Canyon. For many years young-earth creation scientists have invested a lot of time and research into the Grand Canyon. They believe that if they can find a model to explain the canyon rocks, then their followers will probably accept the rest of the earth is rocks as young. Coconino Sandstone One of the problems that the young earth model encounters in the Grand Canyon is the Coconino Sandstone. I’ve already discussed this in another article, so let me only summarise here. Geologists have stated that this formation of 315-foot thick sandstone was created by a desert environment, and is a deposition of wind-deposited sand dunes. The problem for the young earth creationist is that this rock layer is topped by two other fossil-bearing marine rock layers, the Toroweap Limestone and the Kaibab Limestone. This presents a problem to the young-earth model because if the sandstone originated by wind, then obviously it could not have been produced by Noah ís Flood. The young-earth scientist would have to explain how the water receded, then the sandstone formed, then the water came back and deposited the other layers. However, in the Biblical Flood account, the waters rose, then fell. There were no cyclic water levels, nor was there a massive amount of time during the flood for a desert environment to create a 315-foot thick rock layer. The desert formation of this sandstone would disprove its formation during the Flood, and would disprove the young age of the earth. Several young-earth scientists have attempted to explain this away, claiming that this sandstone was created underwater, and thus is not a desert sandstone. I dispute this theory because their model does not have the necessary forces to create the Coconino Sandstone (for more on this, see Coconino Sandstone). However, that is not the purpose of this article. Other sandstones which are desert in origin will also disprove the young age of the earth. Therefore, the young-earth scientist must discredit every desert sandstone in the world. If one desert sandstone exists with a fossil-bearing ocean-deposited layer on top, it discredits the entire young earth flood model, and proves the old age of the earth. Let’s look at other desert-origin sandstones. I will continually add to this article as I read through the research and discover other sandstones. Navajo Sandstone I’ll start with the Navajo Sandstone. This sandstone is most evident in the tall cliffs of Zion Canyon National Park in Utah. The thickness of this formation varies from 1,600 to 2,200 feet. It is evident from the excellent cross-bedding in this formation and other features that this is created from a desert environment. Below the Navajo there are thousands of feet of rock layers, including the layers of the Grand Canyon. Again, please note all the layers of the Grand Canyon are below the Navajo. Looking at the rocks above the Navajo, the problem for the young-earth scientist gets even more complicated.. Looking at the Navajo at Arches National Park, there are at least 1,500 feet of rock layers above the Navajo at this location alone. The first is the Entrada Sandstone, which consists of three units, the Moab and Slick Rock members, (which are themselves desert dune sandstones), and the Dewey Bridge Member, which is about 200 feet of marine deposits. Above this is the thin Summerville Formation, siltstone from a lake/lagoon environment. Then comes the most serious problem for the young earth model…the Morrison Formation. This formation has yielded thousands of dinosaur fossils, supposedly killed during Noah’s Flood. Above the Morrison are the Dakota Sandstone (beach environment) and the Mancoa Shale (shallow marine). In fact, all the dinosaur fossils are far above the Grand Canyon sediments. The young earth model says the Flood killed most of the dinosaurs1…and according to their model, all the layers of the Grand Canyon were deposited during the Flood2. That is over 1 mile of sediment. The first dinosaur fossils appear in the Chinle formation, which is two formations above the Grand Canyon layers. How did these dinosaurs survive the deposition phase of the flood, which deposited over 8,000 feet of sediment before we see the first dinosaur fossil? Young earth explanations (see sources below) fail to offer a valid explanation of this problem they make absolutely no sense out of the solid facts of the rock layers. Given the young earth model, the flood waters must have created all these layers. However, you can’t have Flood-deposited rocks of the Grand Canyon, topped Stratigraphy by a desert sandstone, the Navajo, to the north of the Canyon, and then covered by more sea-deposited layers. None of these layers above the Grand Canyon, including the layers above the Navajo, can be accounted for by the young-earth model. Evidence From Creation Scientists! Here is the most amazing evidence for the desert, wind-formed Navajo Sandstone. Creation scientists themselves admit it! I don’t know if they are aware of this or not. I’ve done a review of the cornerstone book of young-earth proof of Noah’s Flood and the Grand Canyon (located at the Answers In Creation website) . The book is called Grand Canyon: Monument to Catastrophe. It is published by the Institute for Creation Research. This book was put together by 14 of the pre-eminent young-earth creation scientists in the world. On page 32 of this book, they are making a case for the Coconino Sandstone of the Grand Canyon. They claim it was deposited not in a dry, desert environment, but in a water environment. Figure 3.10 shows a plot of grain sizes for the Coconino, two modern water environments, and

Space Debris
Science

What do we know about space garbage, created by Human

/

Understanding Space Garbage: Humanity’s Growing Challenge in Orbit Space garbage, also known as space debris, refers to the leftover fragments and objects in Earth’s orbit created by human activities. These remnants, ranging from defunct satellites to discarded rocket parts, have become a significant issue for space exploration and the sustainability of near-Earth orbit. What Is Space Garbage? Space garbage consists of man-made objects that no longer serve a purpose but continue to orbit the Earth. This includes: Defunct Satellites: Old or malfunctioning satellites left in orbit. Rocket Stages: Spent rocket boosters and parts discarded after launch. Fragments: Pieces from collisions, explosions, or disintegration of spacecraft. Miscellaneous Debris: Tools, paint flecks, and even lost items from astronauts. The Scale of the Problem According to data from space agencies like NASA and ESA, there are: Over 36,000 pieces of debris larger than 10 cm. About 1 million fragments between 1–10 cm. Tens of millions of smaller particles that are harder to track but can still pose risks. This growing accumulation is a concern due to the Kessler Syndrome—a scenario where collisions between objects generate more debris, creating a chain reaction that could render some orbits unusable. How Does Space Garbage Impact Us? Threat to Active Satellites Space debris can collide with operational satellites, disrupting communication, navigation, and weather monitoring systems. Hazards to Space Missions Spacecraft and astronauts are at risk from high-speed debris, which can cause catastrophic damage. Environmental Concerns Space garbage adds to the environmental footprint of human activities, posing long-term challenges for orbital management. Economic Costs Collisions and damage from debris lead to significant financial losses and increase the cost of maintaining space infrastructure. Efforts to Tackle Space Garbage Space agencies and private companies are working on solutions to address the issue, including: Debris Tracking Systems: Advanced radar and telescopes are used to monitor and predict the movement of space debris. Active Debris Removal: Technologies like nets, harpoons, and robotic arms are being developed to capture and de-orbit debris. Designing Sustainable Satellites: Creating satellites with shorter lifespans or self-disposal mechanisms to reduce future debris. International Agreements: Collaboration through organizations like the United Nations’ Outer Space Treaty promotes responsible practices. What Can Be Done Moving Forward? Stringent Regulations Enforcing stricter guidelines for satellite design, launch, and end-of-life disposal can limit the creation of new debris. Research and Innovation Investing in cutting-edge technology to clean up space and develop sustainable solutions for future missions. Public Awareness Educating the global population about the importance of space sustainability to garner support for proactive measures. Final Thoughts Space garbage is a growing concern that demands immediate attention. As humanity continues to explore and utilize space, responsible actions are essential to ensure that near-Earth orbit remains safe and accessible for future generations. Efforts to mitigate space debris must combine innovation, regulation, and international cooperation to tackle this pressing issue effectively. By addressing space garbage today, we can safeguard the opportunities of tomorrow.

1613823257 Ingenuity helicopter phones home from Mars 720x540 1
Latest Now, Science

Ingenuity helicopter phones home from Mars

/

Ingenuity helicopter phones home from Mars- The Ingenuity helicopter, sidekick, and traveling companion of NASA’s Perseverance rover have checked in with an honest report and are “operating needlessly to say,” consistent with the agency. If effective, Ingenuity will be the first helicopter to fly on another planet, leading to an “extraterrestrial Wright Brothers moment,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Tweet The rover landed safely on the surface of Mars Thursday after launching from Earth on July 30. Perseverance has already sent back a powerful set of images to point out that she’s safe and prepared to travel through a “checkout” phase before starting her journey across the surface. Now, the mission team has heard directly from the helicopter for the primary time — and it’s excellent news. Ingenuity is currently tucked up beneath the rover and attached to Perseverance’s belly. The rover is about the dimensions of an SUV, while the helicopter only weighs about 4 pounds helicopter was ready to phone home via the rover by sending data back through NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which acts as a communications relay between Mars and Earth and has been orbiting the Mars since 2006. Ingenuity is comfortable where it’s and is not letting go of the rover anytime soon for a test flight. The helicopter will persist snug with the rover for 30 to 60 days. “Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter I carry, is functioning needless to say. I’m currently charging it, but once I set it down, it’ll rely solely on its solar panels. If it survives the brutally cold Martian nights, the team will attempt flight,” read a tweet from the Perseverance Twitter account. Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter I carry, is working as expected. I’m currently charging it, but once I set it down, it’ll rely solely on its solar panels. If it survives the brutally cold Martian nights, the team will attempt flight. https://t.co/8pksN06ZwP #CountdownToMars pic.twitter.com/80kEoww0QU — NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 20, 2021 Ingenuity helicopter phones home from Mars “There are two big-ticket items we are trying to find within the data: the state of charge of Ingenuity’s batteries also as confirmation the bottom station is working as designed, commanding heaters to show off and on to stay the helicopter’s electronics within an expected range,” said Tim Canham, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter operations lead at NASA’s reaction propulsion Laboratory, during a statement. “Both appear to be working great. With this positive report, we’ll move forward with (Saturday’s) charge of the helicopter’s batteries.” Ingenuity must power up and store energy so it can keep itself warm and maintain other vital functions during the cold Martian nights once the rover deposits the helicopter on the red planet’s surface. Then, Ingenuity is going to be on its own.  And it’ll be got to withstand nights where temperatures can drop as low as negative 130 degrees Fahrenheit. As Elton John famously sings in “Rocket Man,” Mars is, indeed, as cold as hell. Maintaining function and good battery health is going to be critical if the helicopter is to survive the frigid Martian climate before attempting any test flights afterward. a complete of 5 test flights are planned over a 31-day period once the rover finds the proper “helipad,” or nice flat spot, to deposit Ingenuity. As long as Ingenuity is attached to Perseverance, the helicopter can give its batteries a lift. The helicopter has six lithium-ion batteries. Once it’s detached from the rover, those batteries are going to be charged by the helicopter’s solar panels first flight of Ingenuity is going to be short, only about 20 seconds of hovering off the bottom. But it’ll be a historic moment. very similar to the very first Martian rover, Sojourner, Ingenuity may be a technology demonstration — an experiment. Proving that this idea can work could lead to the event of rotorcraft that would act as scouts for both rovers and human missions to Mars within the future. If that first flight is successful, “over 90% of the project’s goals will are achieved,” consistent with NASASubsequent flights could last longer and test out more of the helicopter’s capabilities. It carries two cameras which will provide aerial images. Perseverance also will train its cameras on Ingenuity to capture the sights and sounds, including video, of those historic flights. “We are in uncharted territory, but this team is employed thereto,” said MiMi Aung, project manager for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at JPL, during a statement. “Just about every milestone from here through the top of our flight demonstration program are going to be a primary, and everyone has got to succeed for us to travel on to subsequent. We’ll enjoy this excellent news for the instant, on the other hand, we’ve to urge back to figure .”

Silences are sounds 23
Latest Now, Science

Climate Change Effects – Science

/

Climate change is as of now having a noteworthy effect on biological systems, economies, and communities. Rising normal temperatures don’t essentially cruel more refreshing winters. A few regions will encounter more extraordinary warmth whereas others may cool somewhat. Flooding, drought, and strong summer warmth might result. Violent storms and other extraordinary climate occasions might moreover result from the expanded vitality put away in our warming atmosphere. One of the foremost serious impacts of climate change is how it’ll influence water assets around the world. Water is personally tied to other asset and social issues such as food supply, health, industry, transportation, and environment integrity. The impacts of climate change are already being watched over Canada’s different geographic locales. Canada’s woodlands are anticipated to be among the foremost defenseless within the world to climate change. These woodlands bolster endless species and biological systems and are among the numerous cases of at-risk environment. The worldwide emergency of ice sheets and elevated icy masses speaks to another, taking a colossal toll on Cold ecosystems. Climates alter too threatens the wellbeing of our children and grandchildren through expanded infection, freshwater shortages, declined smog and more. These impacts too posture limitless financial dangers that far exceed the financial dangers of acting today. The world’s leading researchers report that to anticipate unsafe levels of worldwide warming governments ought to act to restrain worldwide warming to less than 2ºC by taking concerted activity to decrease nursery gas emissions. The sooner we act to decrease nursery gasses, the less serious impacts will be. Now is the time to execute solutions. Damage to your home Floods, the foremost common and deadly common catastrophes within the U.S., will likely be exacerbated and heightens by ocean level rise and extraordinary climate. Overwhelming precipitation is anticipated to extend all through the century to possibly three times the authentic normal. A 2018 think about found that over 40 million Americans are at chance of flooding from waterways, and over 8.6 million individuals live in ranges that as of now involve coastal flooding from storm surges amid storms. FEMA assessed that indeed one inch of floodwater in an average-sized domestic might take a toll property holder nearly $27,000 in damages. A national examination found that 775,654 homes are at extreme risk of rapidly spreading fire in these 13 states. But indeed, on the off chance that homes don’t burn to the ground, they may endure smoke and fire harm, as well as water harm and flooding from firefighting efforts. How to protect yourself Flooding: Apply sealants and coatings to avoid floodwaters from entering your house Install a sump pump Keep your canals and channels clear Where flooding happens routinely, raise your domestic up on stilts or piles Wildfires: Remove dry vegetation around the house When supplanting a roof, prefer tile or metal Take all departure notices truly and have a crisis supply pack prepared to go More expensive home insurance As insurance companies pay out gigantic sums to mortgage holders whose houses have been harmed by climate alter impacts, numerous are raising premiums to balance their costs. Home insurance rates expanded more than 50 percent between 2005 and 2015. In high-risk regions, premiums and deductibles may rise, scope may be more restricted, and protections seem eventually to end up exorbitant or inaccessible for a few, particularly in climate-vulnerable zones. For Connecticut mortgage holders, protections rates have gone up 35 percent within the final 10 a long time; for property holders with property along the coast, rates have gone up by over 50 percent. In 2016, California protections companies would not reestablish over 10,000 arrangements for homes in high-risk regions. (As of late, be that as it may, the state issued a one-year ban anticipating guarantees from dropping clients who live in zones at hazard from rapidly spreading fire.) Travelers Protections Company presently requires isolated deductibles in zones where typhoons and tornadoes are more common. Additionally, standard homeowners’ insurance does not cover flooding, so homeowners must purchase private protections or sign up for the National Surge Protections Program run by FEMA. Due to billions of dollars in payouts for Storms Katrina, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Sandy, be that as it may, NFIP is $20.5 billion in debt. In October, FEMA declared that rates would rise 11.3 percent in April 2020, and will be assisted rebuild in October 2021. How to secure yourself When choosing a home, calculate in climate risks Check FEMA surge maps (indeed although nearly 60 percent are out of date) Understand your protections scope and needs Shop around for your protections policy Raise your deductible for lower month to month payments Make your home more disaster-resistant Outdoor work could become unbearable Individuals who work outside, such as development laborers, mineworkers, firefighters, and agricultural workers, will be most affected by increasing temperatures. Florida, for example, has one of the most elevated rates of heat-related hospitalizations within the U.S. This summer amid a warm wave, the lion’s share of heat-related visits to crisis rooms in Virginia were made by individuals who were 29-40, 70 percent of whom were men. Indoor specialists in distribution centers and steel plants can moreover be influenced by over the top warm. One study recommended that outdoor laborers ought to start their shifts prior within the day, but if worldwide warming proceeds at the current pace, by 2100, they would have to begin working four to six hours some time first light. As of now, there are no government laws that ensure specialists from warm push, but in July, a charge was presented into the House of Agents that would require the Occupational Security and Wellbeing Organization to set up benchmarks to ensure those working within the warm. How to protect yourself Take frequent shade and water breaks Use a clammy cloth to keep cool Wear light-colored clothing and a hat Know the indications of warm fatigue and warm stroke Higher electric bills and more blackouts As temperatures rise, individuals will have to remain cool for health and consolation

frontiers in ecology evolution ape human bonobo muscles
Science

How are monkeys and humans similar?

/

Most definitely, we’re for all intents and purposes vague from these monkeys: 97% of our DNA is indistinguishable. It’s nothing unexpected, at that point, that monkeys far and wide show some “humanlike” conduct. You’ve most likely observed monkeys on TV that are prepared to move, do deceives, and ask for cash. Be that as it may, on a more profound mental level monkeys are shockingly like individuals. In the event that you were conceived in 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, or 1992, at that point you are a Monkey in Chinese astrology. They are described as insightful and able to influence people. An energetic achiever, you are effortlessly disheartened and befuddled. Your best matches are with a Dragon or a Rat and are careful the Tiger. Monkeys are acceptable audience members and tackle confused circumstances easily. This Sign’s natural curiosity gives it a broad-based intellectual curiosity. Monkeys have a hotshot side that cherishes just to intrigue their companions with all they know. The Monkey’s world, full of wild vitality, and party, isn’t for everybody. Keep in mind, however, it isn’t so much that this Sign is mean; it may very well be a piece unreasonably inquisitive to its benefit. Monkeys regularly want to take a stab at everything in any event once, which can make for a carousel of connections. The Monkey’s adoration for guilty pleasure can likewise prompt different sorts of difficulty. This Sign may have constrained poise concerning food, liquor, and other pleasurable exercises. It’s gathering time constantly for the Monkey, yet when it prompts a beast after effect or a broken heart (for the most part somebody else’s, not theirs), this Sign may really show a bit of regret. They won’t level out concede the mistake of their ways, however in any event they’ll pull back and attempt to mitigate things – for some time. Monkeys must attempt to figure out how to consider others in front of themselves, probably a portion of the time. This present Sign’s reality will be increasingly finished once it understands the world doesn’t spin around it. How are monkeys like humans How are monkeys like humans How are monkeys like humans

Science

The foundation of efficient robot learning

/

The past 10 years have seen enormous breakthroughs in machine learning, leading to game-changing applications in computer vision and language processing. the sector of intelligent robotics, which aspires to construct robots which will perform a broad range of tasks during a sort of environments with general human-level intelligence, has not yet been revolutionized by these breakthroughs. A critical difficulty is that the required learning depends on data which will only come from acting during a sort of real-world environments. Such data are costly to accumulate because there’s enormous variability within the situations a general-purpose robot must deal with . it’ll take a mixture of latest algorithmic techniques, inspiration from natural systems, and multiple levels of machine learning to revolutionize robotics with general-purpose intelligence. Most of the successes in deep-learning applications are in supervised machine learning, a setting during which the training algorithm is given paired samples of an input and a desired output and it learns to associate them. For robots that execute sequences of actions within the world, a more appropriate framing of the training problem is reinforcement learning (RL) (1), during which an “agent” learns to pick actions to require within its environment in response to a “reward” signal that tells it when it’s behaving well or poorly. One essential difference between supervised learning and RL is that the agent’s actions have substantial influence over the info it acquires; the agent’s ability to regulate its own exploration is critical to its overall success. The original inspirations for RL were models of animal behavior learning through reward and punishment. If RL is to be applied to interesting real-world problems, it must be extended to handle very large spaces of inputs and actions and to figure when the rewards may arrive long after the critical action was chosen. New “deep” RL (DRL) methods, which use complex neural networks with many layers, have met these challenges and have resulted in stunning performance, including solving the games of chess and Go (2) and physically solving Rubik’s Cube with a robot hand (3). they need also seen useful applications, including energy efficiency improvement in computer installations. On the idea of those successes, it’s tempting to imagine that RL might completely replace traditional methods of engineering for robots and other systems with complex behavior within the physical world. There are technical reasons to resist this temptation. Consider a robot that’s designed to assist in an older person’s household. The robot would need to be shipped with a substantial amount of prior knowledge and skill , but it might also got to be ready to learn on the work . This learning would need to be sample efficient (requiring relatively few training examples), generalizable [applicable to several situations aside from the one(s) it learned], compositional (represented during a form that permits it to be combined with previous knowledge), and incremental (capable of adding new knowledge and skills over time). Most current DRL approaches don’t have these properties: they will learn surprising new abilities, but generally they require tons of experience, don’t generalize well, and are monolithic during training and execution (i.e., neither incremental nor compositional). How can sample efficiency, generalizability, compositionality, and incrementality be enabled in an intelligent system? Modern neural networks are shown to be effective at interpolating: Given an outsized number of parameters, they’re ready to remember the training data and make reliable predictions on similar examples (4). to get generalization, it’s necessary to supply “inductive bias,” within the sort of built-in knowledge or structure, to the training algorithm. As an example, consider an autonomous car with an inductive bias that its braking strategy need only depend upon cars within a bounded distance of it. Such a car’s intelligence could learn from relatively few examples due to the limited set of possible strategies that might fit well with the info it’s observed. Inductive bias, generally , increases sample efficiency and generalizability. Compositionality and incrementality are often obtained by building especially sorts of structured inductive bias, during which the “knowledge” acquired through learning is decomposed into factors with independent semantics which will be combined to deal with exponentially more new problems (5). The idea of building in prior knowledge or structure is somewhat fraught. Richard Sutton, a pioneer of RL, asserted (6) that humans shouldn’t attempt to build any prior knowledge into a learning system because, historically, whenever we attempt to build something in, it’s been wrong. His essay incited strong reactions (7), but it identified the critical question within the design of a system that learns: What sorts of inductive bias are often built into a learning system which will provides it the leverage it must learn generalizable knowledge from an inexpensive amount of knowledge while not incapacitating it through inaccuracy or overconstraint? There are two intellectually coherent strategies for locating an appropriate bias, with different time scales and trade-offs, which will be used together to get powerful and versatile prior structures for learning agents. One strategy is to use the techniques of machine learning at the “meta” level—that is, to use machine learning offline at system design time (in the robot “factory”) to get the structures, algorithms, and prior knowledge which will enable it to find out efficiently online when it’s deployed (in the “wild”). The basic idea of meta-learning has been present in machine learning and statistics since a minimum of the 1980s (8). the elemental idea is that within the factory, the meta-learning process has access to several samples of possible tasks or environments that the system could be confronted with within the wild. instead of trying to find out strategies that are good for a private environment, or maybe one strategy that works well altogether the environments, a meta-learner tries to find out a learning algorithm that, when faced with a replacement task or environment within the wild, will learn as efficiently and effectively as possible. It can do that by inducing the commonalities among the training tasks and using them to make a robust prior or inductive bias that permits the agent within the wild to find out only the aspects that differentiate the new task from the training tasks. Meta-learning are often very beautifully and usually formalized as a kind of hierarchical Bayesian (probabilistic) inference (9) during which the training tasks are often seen as providing evidence about what the task within the wild are going to be like, and using that evidence to leverage data obtained within the wild. The Bayesian view are often computationally difficult to understand , however, because it requires reasoning over the massive ensemble of tasks experienced within the factory which may potentially include the particular task within the wild. Another approach is to explicitly characterize meta-learning as two nested optimization problems. The inner optimization happens within the wild: The agent tries to seek out the hypothesis from some set of hypotheses generated within the factory that has the simplest “score” on the info it’s within the wild. This inner optimization is characterized by the hypothesis space, the scoring metric, and therefore the computer algorithm which will be wont to look for the simplest hypothesis. In traditional machine learning, these ingredients are supplied by a person’s engineer. In meta-learning, a minimum of some aspects are instead supplied by an outer “meta” optimization process that takes place within the factory. Meta-optimization tries to seek out parameters of the inner learning process itself which will enable the training to figure well in new environments that were drawn from an equivalent distribution because the ones that were used for meta-learning. Recently, a useful formulation of meta-learning, called “model-agnostic meta-learning” (MAML), has been reported (10). MAML may be a nested optimization framework during which the outer optimization selects initial values of some internal neural network

international space station 988 1920 e1589684514324
Science

COVID-19-NASA Satellite Spots Less Air Pollution

/

Novel Coronavirus outbreak – NASA Satellite found Less Air Pollution on US East Coast And China. Over the past several weeks, NASA satellite estimations have revealed significant reductions in pollution over the significant metropolitan territories of the Northeast United States. Comparative decreases have been seen in different regions of the world. These ongoing upgrades in air quality have come at a significant expense, as communities struggle with widespread lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders as a result of the spread of COVID-19. Nitrogen dioxide, primarily emitted from burning fossil fuels for transportation and electricity generation, is often used as an indicator of changes in human movement. The pictures above show average concentrations of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide as measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite, as processed by a team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. The left image within the slider shows the typical concentration in March of 2015-19, while the proper image within the slider shows the typical concentration measured in March of this year.   Though differences in climate from year to year source differences within the monthly means for individual years, March 2020 shows lowest bottom monthly atmospheric nitrogen dioxide levels of any March during the OMI data evidence, which spans 2005 to the present. In fact, the info indicates that the nitrogen dioxide levels in March 2020 are about 30% lower on the average across the region of the I-95 corridor from Washington, DC to Boston than in comparison to the March mean of 2015-19. Further investigation will be required to thoroughly measure the measure of the adjustment in nitrogen dioxide levels related to changes in emanations versus regular varieties in climate. If processed and interpreted carefully, nitrogen dioxide levels observed from space function an efficient proxy for nitrogen dioxide levels at surface, though there’ll likely be differences within the measurements from space and people made at ground level. It’s also important to notice that satellites that measure nitrogen dioxide cannot see through clouds, so all data shown is for days with low cloudiness. Such nuances within the data make long-term records vital in understanding changes like those shown during this image. COVID-19-NASA Satellite Air Pollution- China NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) contamination observing satellites have distinguished critical declines in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) over China. There’s evidence that the change is a minimum of partly associated with the economic slowdown following the outbreak of coronavirus. At the end of 2019, clinical experts in Wuhan, China, were treating many pneumonia cases that had an obscure source. Days later, researchers confirmed the illnesses were caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19). By January 23, 2020, Chinese authorities had shut down transportation going into and out of Wuhan, also as local businesses, so as to scale back the spread of the disease. It was the first of several quarantines set up in the country and around the world. The maps on this page show concentration of nitrogen dioxide, a noxious gas emitted by automobiles, power plants, and industrial facilities. The maps above show NO2 values across China from January 1-20, 2020 (preceding the isolate) and February 10-25 (during the isolate). The information was gathered by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on ESA’s Sentinel-5 satellite. A related sensor, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite, has been making comparable estimations. COVID-19-NASA Satellite This is that the first time I ever have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a good area for a selected event,” said Fei Liu, an air quality researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Liu recalls seeing a drop by NO2 over several countries during the economic recession that began in 2008, but the decrease was gradual. Scientists also observed a big reduction around Beijing during the 2008 Olympics, but the effect was mostly localized around that city, and pollution levels rose again once the Olympics ended. COVID-19-NASA Satellite

Scroll to Top