This is today’s edition of The Downloadour weekday newsletter that offers a day-to-day dosage of what’s going on worldwide of innovation.
The next generation of neural networks might reside in hardware
Networks set straight into computer system chip hardware can determine images much faster, and utilize much less energy, than the conventional neural networks that underpin most contemporary AI systems. That’s according to work provided at a leading artificial intelligence conference in Vancouver recently.
Neural networks, from GPT-4 to Stable Diffusion, are developed by circuitry together perceptrons, which are extremely streamlined simulations of the nerve cells in our brains. In large numbers, perceptrons are effective, however they likewise take in massive volumes of energy.
Part of the problem is that perceptrons are simply software application abstractions– running a perceptron network on a GPU needs equating that network into the language of hardware, which takes some time and energy. Developing a network straight from hardware elements gets rid of a great deal of those expenses. And one day, they might even be constructed straight into chips utilized in smart devices and other gadgets. Check out the complete story.
— Grace Huckins
Drugs like Ozempic now comprise 5% of prescriptions in the United States
What’s brand-new? United States medical professionals compose billions of prescriptions each year. Throughout 2024, however, one kind of drug stood apart–“question drugs” referred to as GLP-1 agonists. Since September, among every 20 prescriptions composed for grownups was for among these drugs, according to the health information business Truveta.
The huge photo: According to the information, individuals who get prescriptions for these drugs are more youthful, whiter, and most likely to be female. Ladies are two times as most likely as guys to get a prescription. Not everybody who’s recommended the drugs ends up taking them. Half the brand-new prescriptions for weight problems are going unfilled. Check out the complete story.
— Antonio Regalado
Why youth vaccines are a public health success story
Youth vaccination is a success story. In the 50 years given that the World Health Organization released its enthusiastic international youth vaccination program, vaccines are approximated to have actually prevented 154 million deaths. That number consists of 146 million kids under the age of 5.
Issues around vaccines sustain. Specifically, it appears, amongst the people Donald Trump has actually chosen as his options to lead United States health firms from January. Let’s take an appearance at their claims, and where the proof actually stands on youth vaccines. Check out the complete story.
— Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly health and biotech newsletter. Register to get it in your inbox every Thursday.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to discover you today’s most fun/important/scary/ remarkable stories about innovation.
1 Elon Musk is the “shadow president” of the United States
The billionaire pressured Republicans into hampering a costs costs,