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How can AI bring academic research to the fore?
CategoriesSustainable News

How can AI bring academic research to the fore?

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: In 2024, more than two billion people could vote in elections being held throughout 50 countries. This is the largest sequence of elections since generative AI tools became widely available in 2023. Many experts believe that governments are not fully prepared for the new situation, with technology developments having rapidly outpaced regulation, and policies such as the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act not becoming active until 2025 at the earliest. But, as much as AI-driven misinformation is a particular concern for the coming year, the technology can also be used to help us access and interpret essential information. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help prioritise publications based on an individual’s preferences, which is how social media platform feeds work. For those worried about increasingly narrow perspectives forcing people into echo chambers, a new discussion platform is launching to help bring the latest research to the forefront of public discourse.  

Created by a Danish startup, Proemial is an AI-powered platform for open discussion that personalises reading recommendations to users and suggests connections across many different fields of study. The company brings together a variety of AI models to digest research and then make it not only applicable to scholars, but also interesting, relevant, and easy to understand for the general populace without specialist knowledge.

The platform encourages collaboration across teams and fields of study with a public Q&A forum. And by bringing scientific research into the larger public domain, Proemial’s team hopes to facilitate deeper, more innovative discussion and, ideally, further research fuelled by the connections made via the site. The platform customises feeds based on users’ queries and interests, and readers can ask detailed, conversational questions of the AI to garner more detailed insights into various research results.  

Proemial recently raised €2 million, and the company’s funders and advisors include leaders from the Pioneer Centre for AI in Copenhagen, Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta. 

Other recent use cases for AI highlighted in Springwise’s library include helping teachers build interactive curriculums and helping healthcare professionals stay on top of the latest in clinical developments.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

AI helps clinicians navigate research overload
CategoriesSustainable News

AI helps clinicians navigate research overload

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: In the past 10 years, the number of academic journals has grown by more than 28 per cent, at an average of more than 2.5 per cent every year. By 2022, that growth brought the global number of academic journals to more than 46,700. Such rapid increases create overwhelming amounts of information for researchers to review at every stage of their career, from students to experienced professionals.  

With first-hand experience of that overload, a team of Canadian clinicians and scientists created a digital platform designed to lessen the burden of staying informed on the latest clinical studies and academic articles. Called Pathway, the platform is free to use for clinicians anywhere in the world. 

Combining artificial intelligence-powered (AI) assistance with physician authors and editors, the platform summarises the latest in clinical guidelines and trials. It also provides diagnostic support tools such as a clinical calculator. All the articles and summaries include easy-to-access links to original references and adhere to the company’s robust assessment process. Information is available on 33 specialities in adult medicine, including endocrinology, geriatrics, neurosurgery, primary care, cardiology, and more.  

As well as the free-to-access option, there is a paid-for service for clinicians seeking to earn continuing medical education credits. And, the company recently introduced Pathway AI for real-time AI-generated answers to clinical queries. The tool is available in beta to clinicians in the United States. 

Having recently closed a $5 million (around €4.6 million) round of seed funding, Pathway is continuing to strengthen the volume and quality of content available as well as respond to user feedback. The company also plans to expand access to Pathway AI to clinicians in other countries and further develop the tool’s capability. 

Technology is helping reduce the care burden on overworked healthcare professionals around the world. Examples highlighted in Springwise’s database include a platform connecting temporary doctors with practices and an AI imaging analysis tool that helps prioritise patients needing the most urgent care. 

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Boosting science research with day-to-day spending
CategoriesSustainable News

Boosting science research with day-to-day spending

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: As the world continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, spending on the sciences is again a hot topic as governments work to decide which areas of research to fund and with how much money. In the UK, the government has announced almost £3.5 billion for use in developing supercomputing capabilities, regional innovation accelerators, and workforce skills for the next generation of jobs.

For citizens interested in science, a new bank card offers a way to get involved in the latest research. Called the Science Card, the current account and Mastercard debit card allows members to round-up everyday expenditure to support research projects.

There are two levels of membership available. The Standard account is free, while the premium ‘Fusion’ account costs £19.90 per month. The company is currently working on a new perk for Fusion account holders – the ability to become partial owners of the intellectual property (IP) of a new project. Depending on the commercial success of a project, IP owners could earn passive income for an extended period of time.

Cardholders use the app to explore available research projects and choose which ones to support, either with a direct payment or via micro-grants from rounding up common expenses. The company itself dedicates 10 per cent of its profits to scientific research. Cardholders also receive more conventional benefits such as immersive spending data, and the company plans to offer cashback on certain sales, including books, coffee, and software.

Other positive impact cards spotted by Springwise include a card that provides cashback on environmentally friendly products, a debit card that lets users fund tree-planting as they spend, and a card that powers the circular economy.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

A generative AI answers users’ questions about the latest scientific research 
CategoriesSustainable News

A generative AI answers users’ questions about the latest scientific research 

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Global scholarship in many fields has been growing for years, with more researchers and scientists publishing larger numbers of articles. Trying to stay on top of the latest findings is a difficult job, even for someone immersed in a field. New company Consensus is using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the time burden of searching for the latest information.  

An AI-powered search engine, Consensus’ platform reads peer-reviewed articles to find research that addresses a users’ query. Search results are ranked according to their relevance to the query and quality of answers found. The Consensus team reminds users that the AI is trained on scholarly publications and is therefore not a general search engine that provides answers to basic facts.

Video source Consensus

Currently in beta format, users must set up an account to use the platform. Consensus provides an online best practice guide that includes suggestions for phrasing questions. The company also provides examples of search terms that return more limited results and explains the reasons why.  

The platform is constantly improving, and the Consensus team lists a few of the ways in which they are actively working to strengthen results, including broadening the AI’s understanding of text formatting in scientific papers and increasing the AI’s contextual understanding of a sentence.  

Academic publishing is complex, and technology is providing researchers with a range of new tools to help work more efficiently. Springwise has spotted a browser extension that automates citations and an algorithm that evaluates new research for its business potential.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

A Journey of Movement and Form: Inner Mongolia’s Sculpture Research Center
CategoriesArchitecture

A Journey of Movement and Form: Inner Mongolia’s Sculpture Research Center

By Zarkon Group,

 

Inner Mongolia Normal University Sculpture Research Center – The project, which covers an area of 6,000 square meters, mainly functions as a sculpture workshop for research and development and production of various types of sculptures (stone, wood, copper, iron, plastic, leather, jade and pottery). It also has the functions of teaching, communication, exhibition and negotiation, and trading, etc. The creativity of the design is to establish the relationship between space and feeling.

Architizer chatted with Zhang Pengju at INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO., LTD. to learn more about this project.

Architizer: What inspired the initial concept for your design?

Zhang Pengju: The initial design concept came from the moving line of users entering the site, the organization structure guided by which established a series of overall orders in terms of form, space and structure, including: a movement line order that conforms to the relationship of the site, a form order that conforms to the functional needs, a structure order that conforms to the logic of construction, and a time order that conforms to the feeling of site. At the same time, it also further guides the selection of materials in line with the spatial temperament and the lighting strategy in line with the physical logic.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

This project won in the 10th Annual A+Awards! What do you believe are the standout components that made your project win?

At the core are construction, materials, low cost, light, and their interrelation. In the design, light steel was selected as the main structure and recycled concrete blocks served as the wall enclosure space. As both the structure and finishing, the block material expresses the sense of authenticity, achieves durability, and at the same time costs less. The design introduces sky light into the interior, maximizing the expression of the rough and natural block material and the hard and frank steel structure, reinforcing the feeling of a constant and natural site.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

What was the greatest design challenge you faced during the project, and how did you navigate it?

The greatest design challenge was to create an artistic and infectious spatial character. The design laid the foundation of the spatial character by means of spatial staging and enclosure, such as the staging of the space with axial guidance and dynamic variations; the enclosure was completed with the enclosing form of the entrance and the interior light environment; the design also strengthened this spatial character with the attributes of authenticity and purity, such as the authenticity of the materials and the construction. At the same time, the materials, construction, light and shadow also strive to express purity.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

© INNER MONGOLIAN GRAND ARCHITECTURE DESIGN CO.， LTD.

Inner Mongolia Normal University Sculpture Research Center Gallery

Reference

Using insects as sustainable bioreactor replacements for lab research
CategoriesSustainable News

Using insects as sustainable bioreactor replacements for lab research

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: One day in 2018, Matt and Jalene Anderson-Baron were standing in line at the University of Alberta Tim Hortons discussing how to grow a cell-based chicken nugget without using foetal bovine serum (which is harvested from bovine foetuses during slaughter). The two wondered if they could use fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, to act as a substitute for bioreactors. The result of this conversation was Future Fields and its fruit-fly-based EntoEngine.

Bioreactors (which look like giant steel tanks) are used to generate the biomolecules needed for things like medicine, vaccines, and cultivated meat. However, bioreactors have a large carbon footprint. To reduce this, Future Fields uses fruit flies as a replacement. The process begins by identifying the protein that they want to produce and cloning the necessary DNA sequence.

Future Fields inserts the DNA into the fruit fly genome and breeds the flies. It then extracts and purifies the protein, and tests for quality. Compared to traditional recombinant protein production methods, Future Fields’ insect-based EntoEngine uses less water and energy, emits fewer greenhouse gases, and has a smaller land footprint. It also produces waste products that have other uses, contributing to a circular economy.

Video source Future Fields

Co-founder Matt Anderson-Baron explains: “We’ve passed a tipping point where it’s scaling, not creating, biotech-based products that is the fundamental hurdle for founders, companies, and entire industries. Our approach is 30 times faster than tanks and more or less infinitely scalable with minimal investment.”

Future Fields recently $11.2 million (around €10.5 million), which will be used to scale the team and construct a “world first” production facility.

Researchers are increasingly turning to insects to improve sustainability. Some of the innovations Springwise has also spotted include a project that uses flies to convert food waste into animal feed and fertiliser, and salmon feed made from plastic-fed waxworms.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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