Tag Archives: Innovation and Invention

Understanding how artificial intelligence algorithms solve problems like the Rubik’s Cube makes AI more useful. Roland Frisch via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Forest Agostinelli, University of South Carolina The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has created computers that can drive cars, synthesize chemical compounds, fold proteins and detect high-energy particles at a superhuman level. However, these AI algorithms cannot explain …

Bales of plastic waste destined for recycling. Koron/Getty Images Susannah Scott, University of California Santa Barbara If you thought those flimsy disposable plastic grocery bags represented most of our plastic waste problem, think again. The volume of plastic the world throws away every year could rebuild the Ming Dynasty’s Great Wall of China – about 3,700 miles long. In the …

Mostly male, white faces up on stage at the Nobel Prize award ceremony. © Nobel Media/Alexander Mahmoud Marc Zimmer, Connecticut College In 2007, I served as a consultant for the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ deliberations about the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. As a result, I was invited to attend the Nobel ceremonies. Staying at the Grand Hotel with all …

This antibody adopts a Y-shape. The arms of the Y make up the part of the antibody that binds to the target. ALFRED PASIEKA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY Dimiter Stanchev Dimitrov, University of Pittsburgh Although a vaccine could be the ultimate solution to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and stop future ones, it will not be 100% effective. If it is anything like …

<figure> <img src=”https://images.theconversation.com/files/357982/original/file-20200914-18-qfqjei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C26%2C5911%2C4126&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip” /> <figcaption> How many vaccines will be needed to vaccinate the world against COVID-19? <span class=”attribution”><a class=”source” href=”https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/covid-19-vaccine-with-world-map-in-background-royalty-free-image/1248797862?adppopup=true”>Tetra Images/Getty Images</a></span> </figcaption> </figure> <span><a href=”https://theconversation.com/profiles/charles-m-schweik-1107510″>Charles M Schweik</a>, <em><a href=”https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-massachusetts-amherst-1563″>University of Massachusetts Amherst</a></em> and <a href=”https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-ford-1154482″>Timothy Ford</a>, <em><a href=”https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-massachusetts-lowell-1534″>University of Massachusetts Lowell</a></em></span> <p>An international, multi-billion-dollar race is underway to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, and progress is <a href=”https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/08/health/coronavirus-vaccine-race-intl/”>moving at …