INT International News & Trends » Science

OpenAI Sam Altman and his mystery

internet — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:27:26 +0000

Samuel Harris Altman is an American entrepreneur and business executive who has served as the chief executive officer of the artificial intelligence research organization OpenAI since 2019. In this role, he has played a central part in shaping the organization’s mission to develop advanced artificial intelligence systems that benefit society. Altman gained global prominence after overseeing the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, a breakthrough product that brought generative AI into mainstream public use and demonstrated the transformative potential of large language models.

Under his leadership, OpenAI has accelerated research, expanded strategic partnerships, and influenced how governments, businesses, and the public think about the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence. As a result, Altman is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures of the modern AI boom, known both for advancing cutting-edge technology and for advocating discussions around AI safety, ethics, and long-term societal impact.

Canberra hail storm 2020

internet — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:27:30 +0000

On the afternoon of 20 January 2020 a short but severe storm struck Canberra and nearby Queanbeyan in NSW. Hailstones as large as golf-balls and winds over 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) were noted. Many thousands of motor vehicles were badly damaged by hail and many were written off. Over 50,000 insurance claims were lodged, largely for vehicles, and the event was declared a catastrophe by the National Insurance Council. The cost of the storm was over A$500,000,000. Power to about 1,000 homes was cut. Sixty-five Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) experimental greenhouses were severely damaged by hail, and as consequence years of crop, and other types of research, were lost. The Australian Academy of Science’s Shine Dome was seriously damaged, with smashed skylights and denting of the copper roof surface. Large numbers of fauna were killed and trees were also damaged.

Regional Climate Centers WMO

internet — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 04:34:47 +0000

Regional Climate Centers provide vital services but their future is cloudy: https://t.co/oq0wub4ULQ pic.twitter.com/r2RxoaMfmh

— Forbes Science (@SciForbes) June 9, 2017

Museums Australia Conference 2015

Editor — Sat, 23 May 2015 13:20:47 +0000

Photo reportage from Museums Australia National Conference – Town Hall Sydney 2015

New York snow storm Juno

Editor — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 10:49:07 +0000

On January 25, 2015, blizzard warnings were issued for areas of coastal New England, New York and New Jersey. High winds and heavy snow were forecast for the evening of January 26 and all day January 27, impacting a 250 mile area from New York City to Boston. On January 26, many roads in New York and New England were closed to all vehicles except emergency vehicles due to life-threatening conditions on area roadways. Many churches and other houses of prayer are going to remain open to those in need of a warming center.

RB 2 Dementia Conference 2014

internet — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 02:35:05 +0000

The Risky Business 2 International Dementia Conference, organized by the HammondCare took place from 26th June to the 27th June 2014 in Sydney, Australia. The conference covered subjects on how do we support people with dementia to live their lives well, are we really delivering personal care to anyone with dementia. The changes which have been made after Risky Business 2012 are the main questions and issues that have been discussed in this conference. Some prominent speakers include Alistair Burns, Colm Cunningham, John Swinton, Mary Marshall, Roderick MacLeod, Stephen Judd, Sue Kurrle, Una McCluskey.

Sydney Endoscopy Symposium 2014

Editor — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:59:41 +0000

Gastrointestinal endoscopy was the main theme of the 7th Sydney International Endoscopy Symposium on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th March 2014. The conference which has been held in Hilton Sydney has attracted many medical professionals to participate in lectures as well as live demonstrations from specialized endoscopy unit.

The topics of the symposium included: colonoscopy, Barrett’s oesophagus, endoscopic stenting for benign and malignant disease, adenoma detection, histological diagnosis, endoscopic ultrasound and new endoscopic haemostatic therapies. The main focus for this year’s meeting was the clinical practice of colonoscopy. The most popular part of the conference was interactive transmission from the Westmead Endoscopy Unit. During the live telecasts anyone from gathered scientific community could see live operation and watch the procedure with questions and answers at that end of presentation.
The highlight of the second day was The Peter Gillespie Lecture on Screening and Prevention of the Colorectal Cancer with with Dr. Douglas K. Rex from Indiana University School of Medicine. Doug Rex has been an international leader in the movement to improve the quality of colonoscopy performance.

For more information visit Sydney International Endocscopy Symposium website.

Chiesi and Selvita cooperation

internet — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 04:33:22 +0000

The collaboration between Chiesi and Selvita started with fee-for-service chemical synthesis in 2011. After the successful completion of several projects, it evolved into FTE-based collaboration in 2012-2013. The joint projects support Chiesi proprietary drug discovery and development pipeline, which is focused on respiratory, cardiovascular and special care disorders.
“We are very proud to be working for such renowned and innovative company as Chiesi. Chiesi projects always involve novel, challenging chemistry and they let us demonstrate the full potential of Selvita’s chemistry team, our broad knowledge, experience and skills.” said Dr Miroslawa Zydron, Director of Contract Chemistry Department at Selvita.

About Selvita
Selvita is the largest independent integrated drug discovery services provider in Central and Eastern Europe, based in Krakow, Poland. The company was established in 2007, and ever since its mission has been to serve our clients with a comprehensive panel of products and solutions targeted at lowering the cost of, and accelerating, the introduction of new drugs to the market. The company employs 170 people including 55 PhDs.
Drug discovery clients of Selvita include more than fifty large and medium-sized pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies from USA and Europe. Selvita is listed on the NewConnect market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange in Poland (SLV). Additional information about Selvita can be found on http://www.selvita.com/
For more information about the project or the company, please contact: selvita@selvita.com

About Chiesi Farmaceutici
Founded in 1935 in Parma, Italy, Chiesi Farmaceutici currently has 25 affiliates worldwide and markets its therapeutics in over 60 countries. Chiesi’s manufacturing plants in Parma, Blois (France) and Santana de Parnaiba (Brazil), and R&D centers in Parma, Paris, Rockville (USA) and Chippenham (UK) integrate their efforts to advance the Group’s pre-clinical, clinical and registration programs. At the end of 2012, the Chiesi Group’s total staff stood at over 3,800 people, more than 350 of whom are dedicated to R&D. The main areas of activity are in respiratory therapeutics and specialist medicine areas.

Catalent Pharma Softgel offerings

internet — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 00:41:47 +0000

Catalent Pharma Solutions, the global leader in development solutions and advanced delivery technologies for drug, biologic and consumer health products, today announced that it is introducing several new drug delivery technologies at CPhI Worldwide/ICSE (Messe Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany 21-24 October 2013, Hall 4.2), all of which may offer delivery solutions and important IP advantages to drug manufacturers.

Catalent announced two new RP Scherer Softgel offerings to help develop more molecules into better treatments for patients. The first, OptiGel LockTM, is designed to prevent the abuse of prescription pain medications, and the deliberate misuse of consumer pseudoephedrine products. Developed in response to regulatory demands for alternative technologies that might deter abuse, this new softgel delivery technology incorporates several levels of deterrent into a single formulation designed to prevent extraction of the active substance.

Also new is OptiGel BioTM, which may enable certain macromolecules to be delivered orally and overcome permeability and stability challenges in a more easily administered form than injection. OptiGel Bio may improve the permeability of large molecule APIs, while also enabling targeted delivery to be achieved via an enteric coating. This protective coating eliminates degradation of the encapsulated formulation in the stomach. Patient advantages may include reduced dosing complexity, improved safety and better adherence.

Finally, OptiGel MiniTM technology enables the creation of capsules that are approximately 30% smaller and yet accommodate the same amount of active ingredients as conventional softgel capsules, providing a substantial benefit over many prescription and consumer health products and making them easier for the patient or consumer to swallow. Following the recent introduction of OptiShell™ technology, to provide solutions for complex semi-solid lipid-based formulations, Catalent continues to innovate by delivering advanced drug delivery technologies, bioavailability solutions and versatile and proven softgel technologies.

In addition, Catalent announced two new technologies under its proprietary Zydis® Oral Fast Dissolve Technology platform. Zydis BioTM may help deliver large molecules such as proteins, peptides, viral vaccines and allergens in a patient preferred oral fast dissolve format in as little as three seconds. Zydis NanoTM technology is designed to improve bioavailability of compounds in a fast dissolve format.

Catalent will also be discussing new OSDrC® OptiDose™ advanced tableting technology for multiple release profiled (pulsatile, immediate release and extended release ) and combination products at CPhI, as well as its next generation antibody drug conjugation (ADC) technology for Biologics – SMARTag™.

“These innovations underline Catalent’s commitment to constantly bringing new products to market faster, with the ultimate goal of providing better treatments to patients, in the most effective manner,” commented Kurt Nielsen, Senior Vice President, Catalent R&D. “Whether deterring substance abuse, providing an alternative to injection, or improving compliance and adherence, our new technologies deliver significant benefits to developers, marketers and end users.”

About Catalent

Catalent Pharma Solutions is the global leader in development solutions and advanced drug delivery technologies, providing world-wide clinical and commercial supply capabilities for drugs, biologics and consumer health products. With over 75 years serving the industry, Catalent has proven expertise in bringing more customer products to market faster, enhancing product performance and ensuring reliable product supply. Catalent employs approximately 8,500 people, including over 1,000 scientists, at nearly 30 facilities across 5 continents and generates more than $1.7 billion in annual revenue. Catalent is headquartered in Somerset, N.J. For more information, visit www.catalent.com

Cyclone Phailin hits eastern India

internet — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 11:03:30 +0000

The Japan Meteorological Agency has detected a tropical depression on 4th October 2013. It has developed in the Gulf of Thailand, about 400 km (250 mi) west of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Over the next few days the system moved westward within an area of low to moderate vertical wind shear. As it passed over the Malay Peninsula, it moved out of the Western Pacific Basin on October 6. The system then subsequently emerged into the Andaman Sea during the next day, before the India Meteorological Department (IMD) started to monitor the system as Depression BOB 04 early on October 8. During that day the system moved towards the west-northwest into an environment for more development. The IMD reported that the system had become a deep depression early on October 9 as it intensified and consolidated further. The United States Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) subsequently initiated advisories on the depression and designated it as Tropical Cyclone 02B, before the system slightly weakened, as it passed near to Mayabunder in the Andaman Islands and moved into the Bay of Bengal. After moving into the Bay of Bengal, the system quickly reorganized as it moved along the southern edge of a subtropical ridge of high pressure. The IMD reported that the system had intensified into a cyclonic storm and named it Phailin.
After it was named, Phailin rapidly intensified further, and became equivalent to a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) early on October 10. After bands of atmospheric convection had wrapped into the systems low level circulation center and formed an eye feature. Later that day the IMD reported that the system had become a very severe cyclonic storm, before the JTWC reported that Phailin had become equivalent to a category 4 hurricane on the SSHWS, after it had rapidly intensified throughout that day. Early the next day the system underwent an eye-wall replacement cycle and formed a new eye-wall which subsequently consolidated. After the new eye-wall had consolidated the system slightly intensified further, with the JTWC reporting that the system had reached its peak intensity, with 1-minute sustained wind speeds of 260 km/h (160 mph) which made it equivalent to a category 5 hurricane on the SSHWS. Early on October 12, the system started to weaken as it underwent a second eye-wall replacement cycle, before Phailin’s eye started rapidly to deteriorate as it moved towards the Indian coast. The system subsequently made landfall later that day near Gopalpur in Odisha, between 20:30 – 21:30 IST (15:00 – 16:00 UTC) as a very severe cyclonic storm. After the system made landfall, the JTWC issued their final advisory on Phailin, before during the next day the IMD reported that the system had weakened into a cyclonic storm.