Month: September 2023

ChatGPT diagnoses rare medical condition that 17 doctors could not

The impact of AI reached new heights when a concerned mother turned to ChatGPT to seek a diagnosis of her four-year-old son, Alex.

It all started with a chronic toothache, but as soon as the growth rate slowed, it raised further concerns. A doctor suggested that it could be a lingering effect of COVID-19, but the situation remained unresolved. Frustrated after visiting 17 doctors over three years without a final diagnosis, the mother turned to an unlikely source: ChatGPT.

She shared the child’s symptoms with the AI tool, hoping for some solution. ChatGPT suggested a rare neurological condition known as tethered cord syndrome.

A neurosurgeon later confirmed the diagnosis.

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This remarkable instance isn’t the first time ChatGPT has aided in diagnosing medical conditions. Earlier this year, a Twitter user shared how the AI tool correctly helped discover a diagnosis for their pet dog when conventional doctors had failed to do so.

New planet much bigger than earth is possibly covered with oceans

Newly found Planet K2-18 b, located 120 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, is 8.6 times the size of Earth. In a ground breaking discovery by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope this seems to be a Hycean exoplanet, a type of planet with a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface.

The discovery of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide on K2-18 b has sparked interest among astronomers, as it supports the hypothesis of a water ocean underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.

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The planet orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone.

These ‘sub-Neptunes’, which have sizes between those of Earth and Neptune, are unlike anything in our solar system and are poorly understood due to their unique nature.

According to NASA, “Traditionally, the search for life on exoplanets has focused primarily on smaller rocky planets, but the larger Hycean worlds are significantly more conducive to atmospheric observations.”

:: Picture :: Shows (an artist’s concept) what exoplanet K2-18 b could look like based on science data (as per www.nasa.gov).

India record their biggest ODI win against Pakistan

On September 11, 2023, India crushed arch-rivals Pakistan by 228 runs in the Asia Cup 2023 Super Four match, played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The previous day, rain played a spoilsport as India was left stranded at 147 for 2 in 24.1 overs. The match resumed on the reserve day as Virat Kohli and KL Rahul helped post 356/2 on the scoreboard, both scoring a ton. Pakistan’s innings folded at 128, with Kuldeep Yadav taking 5 wickets.

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>This was only the fourth time India’s top four made fifty-plus scores in ODIs.

>Virat Kohli became the fastest batsman to score 13000 ODI runs. This record previously belonged to Sachin Tendulkar, who took 321 innings. Kohli achieved the same in his 267th inning.

>Kohli also posted his fourth century in four successive innings he played at the R Premadasa Stadium, in the process becoming only the second batter to achieve the feat of scoring four successive hundreds at a particular venue after Hashim Amla, who made this sequence at Centurion.

G20 Summit highlights: leaders unite for a better world

The G20 summit achieved consensus among world leaders on various issues. Here are the key moments from the summit.

Welcomes Africa on board!

The 55-member African Union (AU) was formally made permanent member of the G20, on par with the European Union, in order to make the grouping more representative. Until now only South Africa was a member of the G20.

On Ukraine War

G20 nations agreed that states cannot grab territory by force and highlighted the suffering of the people of Ukraine. The declaration was seen as an apparent softening from the position that the G20 took last year when it condemned Russia for the war and demanded that it withdraw from Ukraine.

Economic Transport Corridor: India to Middle East

Leaders of the United States, India and Saudi Arabia among others announced plans to set up an economic corridor between the Middle East and South Asia and eventually to Europe. The project involves laying down railway lines in the Middle East and then connecting them to India by port.

Global Biofuel Alliance

Brazil, India, and the United States, as leading biofuel producers and consumers, will work together during the next few months towards the development of a Global Biofuels Alliance along with other interested countries.

Progress on Climate Change

The G20 leaders agreed to pursue tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and accepted the need to phase-down unabated coal power, but stopped short of setting major climate goals.

India makes a big impact

India’s hosting the G20 Summit showcased the country as an influential diplomatic and economic power, and drive investment and trade flows into the world’s most populous country.

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> The biggest achievement for India in the G20 Summit was that the New Delhi Leaders’ Summit Declaration was adopted with a “100 per cent consensus on all developmental and geo-political issues ” on the opening day.

> The Preamble of the 38-paragraph Delhi Declaration starts with the lines: We are One Earth, One Family, and we share One Future.

Novak Djokovic wins his 24th Grand Slam, pays tribute to Kobe Bryant

On September 10, 2023, Novak Djokovic won his record-extending 24th Grand Slam, defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the US Open Final. Right after creating tennis history, Djokovic changed into a custom shirt with an image of himself and the basketball star Kobe Bryant with the phrase “Mamba Forever” on the front and No. 24 on the back.  The legendary Kobe Bryant, nicknamed the “Black Mamba”, sported jersey no. 24 for 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.

On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. After Bryant’s death in 2020, Djokovic shared that the two had developed a personal relationship over ten years and called the late superstar a mentor and “one of the greatest athletes of all time.”

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>This win at the Flushing Meadows moved him past Serena Williams and tied him with Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam titles of all time.

>Novak Djokovic is the oldest US Open champion in the Open era, and he has now won the tournament four times.

>The Serbian tennis star is also the first man to have won three grand slam titles in a season on four separate occasions.

PM Modi gives unique lotus-shaped gifts to G20 delegates

All state heads and foreign dignitaries at the G-20 summit in New Delhi received this unique memento from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

> It is a hand-made artefact of brass in the shape of a lotus, named ‘Kamalam’.

> The artefact is five inches tall with 16 petals— eight big and eight small.

> The memento has been crafted by Manmohan Saini, a metal craftsman and a national award winner from Mahoba in Bundelkhand, UP.

> It took him 3 months to craft 50 such brass lotuses.

“Once it is opened the artefact resembles a lotus in full bloom, and when it is closed all the petals are closed inside and a lotus bud is visible,” said Saini.

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Uttar Pradesh is the largest brass and copper making region in the world with thousands of establishments spread all over for articles made out of one or more pieces of metal.

Mahoba is known nationwide for its exquisite gaura stone craft. Gaura stone craft is made of radiant white-colored stone that is predominantly found in this region.

NASA’s MOXIE produces oxygen in Mars

For the first time ever, breathable oxygen has been produced in Mars. NASA’s Perseverance rover generated 4.3 ounces of breathable oxygen while on the Red Planet — enough to sustain an adult human for three hours.

MOXIE’s success marks a significant step toward enabling astronauts to “live off the land” on Mars by producing their own oxygen and rocket propellant, supporting long-term exploration and sustainability on the Red Planet.

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NASA’s Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE), a device roughly the size of a microwave oven, has demonstrated its ability to convert Martian carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen.

MOXIE produces molecular oxygen by separating one oxygen atom from each molecule of carbon dioxide pumped in from Mars’ thin atmosphere. Mars’ atmosphere provides the source of carbon dioxide.

1000-year-old mummy belonging to the Yschsma culture found in Peru

Archaeologists have discovered a mummy in Peru’s capital, Lima – thought to date back to 1,000 A.D, belonging to the Yschsma culture, inhabitants of whom lived south of Lima.

The mummy, believed to be of an adult individual, was discovered at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site (seen in picture above). It was found alongside two ceramic vessels and textiles. It was found seated with bent legs, with its jaw and long hair still preserved.

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The Huaca Pucllana site is viewed as a Pandora’s Box and archaeologists anticipate that many more artifacts could be found. The mummy was discovered here on 6 September 2023.

In June 2023 archaeologists had found another pre-Hispanic mummy surrounded by coca leaves on top of a hill in Peru’s capital next to the practice field of a professional soccer club.

In March 2023, a Peruvian man was arrested and charged after a mummy believed to be 600 to 800 years old was found his cooler delivery bag.

The Ychsma society was one of the most important civilizations developed between 900 and 1532 CE in Lima, the present Peruvian capital, situated on the central coast of Peru. The Ychsma territory included the lower basin of the Rímac and Lurín valleys in the current city of Lima (Peru).

50% of glaciers can disappear by 2100 due to climate change: Study

If the world reaches 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, 50 per cent of the glaciers would disappear and contribute 9 cm to sea level rise by 2100, as per a study published in the journal Science.

If the world reaches 2.7 degrees of warming — the estimated temperature increase based on climate pledges made at the Conference of Parties (COP26) of the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change — nearly all glaciers in Central Europe, western Canada, and the US (including Alaska) will have melted.

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Ice shelves in Antarctica, such as the Getz Ice Shelf (seen in picture), are sensitive to warming ocean temperatures. Ocean and atmospheric conditions are some of the drivers of ice sheet loss that scientists considered in this new study.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, US, modelled glaciers around the world — not counting the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets — to predict how they will be affected by global temperature increases of 1.5 to 4 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.

Pleasantly mysterious golden egg found on the ocean floor

Ocean researchers using a remotely operated survey vehicle spotted a strange golden item on a rock about two miles deep in the Gulf of Alaska. It is over 4 inches in diameter and has a small tear near its base.

Initially it looked like a hat but as the videographers zoomed into, it seemed like a dead sponge attachment or a coral or an egg casing. But it was neither.

Invoking almost fairytale-like imagery, the specimen has since been dubbed a ‘golden orb’ and even a ‘golden egg.

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This unidentified object was seen on August 30, 2023, during Dive 07 of the Seascape Alaska 5: Gulf of Alaska Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping expedition.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the object is shiny delicate to the touch, is like skin tissue.

DNA tests in the lab could reveal an entirely new animal completely unknown to science. Dr Tammy Horton at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton couldn’t say what the mystery object is but agreed it is ‘potentially a new species’.

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