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How a hatter and railroad clerk kickstarted cancer research
A hatter and a railway clerk's 1925 medical breakthrough became one of the most profound events in medical history. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. In 1925,, one of the world's most prestigious medical journals, published a blockbuster finding so significant that its editors offered a rare prelude: "The two communications which follow mark an event in the history of medicine . They form a detailed description of a prolonged and intensive research into the origin of malignant new growths, and they may present a solution of the central problem of cancer." On the day the studies were scheduled to be released, word began to spread beyond the scientific community.
GeRM: A Generalist Robotic Model with Mixture-of-experts for Quadruped Robot
Song, Wenxuan, Zhao, Han, Ding, Pengxiang, Cui, Can, Lyu, Shangke, Fan, Yaning, Wang, Donglin
Multi-task robot learning holds significant importance in tackling diverse and complex scenarios. However, current approaches are hindered by performance issues and difficulties in collecting training datasets. In this paper, we propose GeRM (Generalist Robotic Model). We utilize offline reinforcement learning to optimize data utilization strategies to learn from both demonstrations and sub-optimal data, thus surpassing the limitations of human demonstrations. Thereafter, we employ a transformer-based VLA network to process multi-modal inputs and output actions. By introducing the Mixture-of-Experts structure, GeRM allows faster inference speed with higher whole model capacity, and thus resolves the issue of limited RL parameters, enhancing model performance in multi-task learning while controlling computational costs. Through a series of experiments, we demonstrate that GeRM outperforms other methods across all tasks, while also validating its efficiency in both training and inference processes. Additionally, we uncover its potential to acquire emergent skills. Additionally, we contribute the QUARD-Auto dataset, collected automatically to support our training approach and foster advancements in multi-task quadruped robot learning. This work presents a new paradigm for reducing the cost of collecting robot data and driving progress in the multi-task learning community. You can reach our project and video through the link: https://songwxuan.github.io/GeRM/ .
Hear It Before You See It: Unlocking the Power of the Visual Microphone
When it comes to saving money, many people think that they need to make big sacrifices to see any results. But the truth is that even small lifestyle changes can add up and help you save money in the long run. Here's what you need to know about making small, budget-friendly changes to save money. First, it's important to take a closer look at your budget. Make sure you're not spending more than necessary on items like food, entertainment, and transportation.
Learning to help the adaptive immune system
In the human body, the adaptive immune system fights germs by remembering previous infections so it can respond quickly if the same pathogens return. This complex process depends on the cooperation of many cell types. Among these are T helpers, which assist by coordinating the response of other parts of the immune system -- called effector cells -- such as T killer and B cells. When an invading pathogen is detected, antigen presenting cells bring an identifying piece of the germ to a T cell. Certain T cells become activated and multiply many times in a process known as clonal selection.
Your iPhone won't recognize you in a face mask โ but a Samsung Galaxy might
You're wearing a mask, as encouraged by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and possibly by your local government during this coronavirus outbreak, and you want to use FaceID to open your iPhone or Android phone. Yes, says a Chinese researcher from Tencent's Xuanwu lab. But according to Apple, this is frowned upon big time and could affect the integrity of your phone. There are several hacks available online, and most will send the user to reregister for FaceID on the iPhone by covering the left and right side of their face separately. After the researcher from Tencent originally demonstrated and popularized this setup, many others copied and tweaked with videos on YouTube.
This Music-Playing Robot Kills 99.99% of Bacteria, Germs, and Mites
In life, bacteria are everywhere. Even on the cleanest sheets and pillowcases, bacteria are there. You can't see them with the naked eye but that does not mean they can not harm you. They cause you to get colds, viral infections, and put your life at risk. How can one get rid of these bacteria? ROCKUBOT: Sterilizing Robot is here to help.
10 Ways Tech Can Make Your Home Tidier
We may not have robot maids just yet, but you can still outsource a surprising number of household chores to machines. There are specialized robot cleaners that can do just about everything, short of putting your dishes in the dishwasher and making your bed. Robot vacuums have been on the market for more than a decade, and they've gotten pretty savvy. Autonomous vacuums can work on carpet or hard floors and can be set to run on a preset schedule, so by the time you return home, your floors are clean and your vacuum is back at its charging station. Sensors and bumpers help the vacuum map the room, avoid obstacles and figure out the dirtiest spots to focus on.