Sustainable Fusion, Chat GPT, and Life Beyond Earth - Speciale Focus #2
Two breakthrough tech advancements that could propel humanity - for real!
We’re back as we promised with 5 of the coolest technology breakthroughs and discoveries from around the world, each one more mind-bending than the other 🤯🤯🤯.
Don’t believe us? Read on!
Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory demonstrate sustained fusion
On Dec. 5, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history to demonstrate a sustained fusion reaction producing more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it.
The 192-beam NIF laser heated up a pepper-corn sized deuterium-tritium fuel capsule to a 100 Million Degrees and the capsule went pop (imploded) to produce 3.15 megajoules of energy by using only 2.05 MJ thereby achieving fusion ignition. While the lasers used up the electricity equivalent that could power up a small city to produce energy that can help you boil a glass of water, it is still one of the most significant breakthroughs of this century! Seriously. It is. 🥸🥸🥸
Chat GPT - The AI assistant that took the world by storm!
OpenAI’s ChatGPT - an AI powered chat bot that can solve equations, edit code, write essays, translate languages, and tell you jokes when you’re bored took the world by storm acquiring over a million users in just 5 days. What’s so special about it?
Chat GPT uses the GPT-3.5 language technology – a large artificial intelligence model made by OpenAI that has been trained on a massive amount of text data from a variety of sources. It’s free, and it’s also uncannily human, sometimes - Try it out!
DNA Script’s SYNTAX helps you print custom DNA on demand.
Widely regarded by scientists as a paradigm shifting breakthrough in life sciences research, SYNTAX is the world’s first DNA printer powered by EDS (Enzymatic DNA Synthesis) that allows you to print custom DNA on demand quicker, safer, and in a reliable manner. Traditional chemical synthesis method involved a team of highly specialised scientists (3rd party middle men) handling dangerous chemicals to print batches of DNA upon order. The process was unreliable, complex, slow. SYNTAX turns it upside down and shifts control to the user with a simple, easy to use, desktop printer that prints and delivers DNA on the same day. Looks more like a normal 3-d printer. Anti-climatic, huh! 😩😩😩
UT Austin researchers develop model that could bring life on Jupiter’s moon- Europa
“Impact as a way to transport oxidants” has been long discussed in the science community. The idea is to force critical life-making ingredients into an otherwise stale environment that has the potential for sustaining life. In an important development, a research team at UT Austin has developed a scientific model that simulates comet impact on the 10 Km thick icy shell of Europa. The model shows that if an impact can make it at least halfway through the moon’s ice shell, the heated meltwater it generates will sink through the rest of the ice, bringing oxidants — a class of chemicals required for life — from the surface to the ocean, where they could help sustain any potential life in the sheltered waters.
As if trying to FIND alien life wasn’t crazy enough, we are now trying to CREATE life elsewhere. We said we’ll also include a touch of humour, remember?
Well then, onto our final story for the month…
NextMind’s 400 $ band helps you control devices using your mind
NextMind developed a non-invasive brain computer interface (BCI) technology in order to enable easier hands-free interaction using electronic devices, including computers and AR/VR wearables and headsets. This technology monitors neural activity to understand your intent when interacting with a computing interface, allowing you to push a virtual button simply by focusing on it.
Phewwwwww 😮💨😮💨😮💨 , that’s enough mind-bending and futuristic technology updates for December.
We’ll see you soon in Jan 23. Until then, Happy New year from Speciale Invest.
Oh, also subscribe to Speciale Focus.