Google has dismantled the original AlphaFold team, according to Financial Times (paywalled), reassigning many researchers to Gemini and Isomorphic Labs. Several other key members, including Nobel laureate John Jumper, left for Anthropic. Engadget reports: AlphaFold is an AI program that can accurately predict three-dimensional structures of proteins from their amino acid sequences in minutes instead of years. It's now being used to accelerate drug discovery, develop vaccines and understand the structural changes in proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

DeepMind started developing AlphaFold in 2018. In 2020, it was recognized as a solution to humanity's 50-year-old "protein folding problem," which sought to answer how amino acids automatically fold into complex 3D shapes. Those shapes determine the biological role of a protein. Scientists had identified the structures of roughly 170,000 proteins over the past 50 years, using tools and techniques like X-ray and nuclear magnetic resonance. The AlphaFold team took information from those previous work and then fed it to their AI to train AlphaFold.

In 2021, Nature published the papers with AlphaFold's methodology and the structure predictions of the entire human proteome, or the complete set of proteins expressed by our species. DeepMind then launched the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database, giving researchers free access to over 200 million protein structure predictions. In 2024, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, who was a staff research scientist when the project began and who eventually became a VP and engineering fellow, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on AlphaFold.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

First-in-nation law sets up test on states’ power to regulate use of AI as it tries to outlaw fake nude images of real people

Elon Musk’s company xAI has sued Minnesota over the state’s first-in-the-nation law banning “nudification” technology on websites and apps, potentially providing a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence.

Musk’s company sued on Monday in federal court, days before the law is set to take effect on Saturday and make Minnesota the first state to try to outlaw the increasingly proliferating technology that lets people use AI to create fake nude images of real people. The law was signed in May.

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banzainetsurfer has added a photo to the pool:

Shimizu-en is a stunning daimyo-style strolling garden said to incorporate design elements inspired by the famous Omi Hakkei (Eight Views of Omi). A strolling garden incorporating the Eight Views of Lake Biwa, its central feature is a pond shaped like the cursive character for "water," surrounded by five teahouses. The garden also includes a simple Sukiya-style villa called the "Shimizu-dani Goten," predating the garden itself. It is believed to have been created during the Kanbun era (1661–1673) by Sotomo Agata, a tea master of the Enshu school and a garden designer for the shogunate.

In 1891, it was acquired by the landowner Ito Bunkiichi. Since 1946, it has been a branch of the Hokubu Culture Museum and named "Shimizu-en." During this time, comprehensive restoration took place, with the garden recreated by the gardener Tanaka Taiami.

In 2003, along with the Igokono Gotchaya Garden (also designed under Agano Munetomo's guidance), Shimizu-en was designated a Place of Scenic Beauty. The designation cited it as a "representative daimyo garden of Echigo (the old province)."

Shimizu-en is a beloved destination, harmoniously blending history and nature. Its ever-changing beauty throughout the seasons makes it a rewarding visit year-round. Be sure to visit when you're in Shibata.

Sources:
discover-niigata.com/things-to-do/5513/
www.sparkle.travel/en/place/8284519c-dc5c-11ee-9b39-c7c89...

Vroeger lag het gebouw waarin nu ons appartementencomplex zit, aan een haven die inmiddels gedempt is.

Een kruiswoordpuzzel, maar dan heel klein (en snel).

Als je wel zin hebt om te sudokuen, maar het liever bij een gridje van 5x5 houdt.

Je krijgt een paar cijfers cadeau, maar het grid van 9x9 moet foutloos ingevuld worden.

Een Precies Vier bestaat uit 16 woorden, begrippen of namen, die moeten worden verdeeld in precies vier groepen van vier. Er is telkens maar één oplossing mogelijk. Welke woorden vormen een connectie?

Wie of wat staat er midden in het nieuws? Een actuele puzzel, die makkelijker is als je het nieuws een beetje volgt.

DEN BOSCH (ANP) - Regionale lunchketens weten hun klanten beter aan zich te binden dan grote landelijke en internationale ketens, blijkt uit een rapport van marktonderzoeksbureau Multiscope onder ruim 3500 Nederlanders.

De Broodbode en Bufkes voeren de ranglijst aan, terwijl grote ketens als Subway en Starbucks lager scoren op loyaliteit en aanbeveling. Bezoekers hebben bij De Broodbode, oorspronkelijk uit Twente, een herhaalintentie van 99 procent en bij Bufkes van 98 procent. Bij grote landelijke ketens zoals D.E. Café, Subway en Starbucks ligt de herhaalintentie daar duidelijk onder, aldus Multiscope.

Daarnaast gaat bijna driekwart van alle bezoekers aan koffie- en lunchketens naar die met een Nederlandse oorsprong. Die zijn samen goed voor 73 procent van alle bezoekers. Volgens het onderzoek onderscheidt de koffie- en lunchmarkt zich daarmee duidelijk van de fastfoodbranche. Daar zijn het juist internationale ketens zoals McDonald's en Domino's die met een gezamenlijk marktaandeel van 62 procent de branche domineren.