US Office of the Inspector General issues scary warning about country's nuclear plants

Scientists take another important step to solve the mystery of Alzheimer's, OpenAI top scientist says AI might already be conscious. Researchers respond furiously Feb 12, 2022 [View in browser]( A warning for Nuclear Power Plants! According to the investigation conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, most nuclear plants contain Counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items (CFSI). The CFSI pose security concerns that could have serious consequences. Since nuclear energy is already a highly disputed, hot topic, this report seems to raise concerns. Good morning. I’m Mert, an editor here at IE. This is The Blueprint. Keep Reading. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Here's how Soviet engineers converted Yuri Gagarin's spacecraft into a spy satellite]( It flew more than 650 times as a spy satellite! [Here's how Soviet engineers converted Yuri Gagarin's spacecraft into a spy satellite]( SCIENCE [US Office of the Inspector General issues scary warning about country's nuclear plants]( [Aerial view of nuclear power plant.]( [Nuclear power is seen]( by many experts as one of the key ways to transition to a low-emissions future. Although some see the plants as dangerous, experts [continue to argue]( that extremely safe power plants are possible. [A new report]( by the Office of the Inspector General of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), however, is casting doubts on those beliefs. - Counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items (CFSI). "Counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect items (CFSI) are present in operating plants," wrote the report's authors. The CFSI pose security concerns that could have serious consequences, added the authors. The NRC undertook the investigation after several unnamed individuals made claims that most nuclear plants had CFSI. The report also highlighted how the Department of Energy had also identified 100 more incidents involving counterfeit parts in nuclear power plants in 2021. The NRC did not outline a future course of action but as the popularity of nuclear plants continues to grow some new measures will need to be undertaken. Whether these will thwart the development of nuclear or increase trust in the [form of energy]( by guaranteeing all parts are safe and compliant is still uncertain. [Read More]( HEALTH [Scientists take another important step to solve the mystery of Alzheimer's]( [MRI brain scan]( Alzheimer's has long been a mystery as researchers work hard to try and figure out [a way to prevent]( and [even cure the debilitating condition](. [There may be help on the way](. A new study [published in Plos Genetics]( is revealing that the condition may be directly linked to circadian rhythms. The finding may lead to a new preventative treatment, one that this time may actually work. What did the researchers find? Their work revealed that the immune cells responsible for clearing away a key protein that accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease function according to daily circadian rhythms, the 24-hour cycles that control many elements of human physiology. The research evaluated the activity of immune cells responsible for clearing away proteins called amyloid-beta that build up as plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The scientists found that the immune cells clear away the amyloid-beta on a cycle determined by circadian rhythms. Any glitch in that rhythm resulted in the disappearance of the daily cycle and therefore an increased accumulation of dangerous amyloid-beta proteins. From there, the scientists deduced that a molecular mechanism potentially responsible for the connection between Alzheimer's disease and circadian rhythms existed and played a key role in the development of the condition. [Read More]( INNOVATION [OpenAI top scientist says AI might already be conscious. Researchers respond furiously]( [Robot giving his hand.]( It's a long-standing debate, one that this weekend made headlines: [will artificial intelligence (AI) ever be conscious]( or is it already so? So change this sentence to: OpenAI top researcher Ilya Sutskever took to Twitter to declare his view on the matter and saw backlash from many scientists in the field, [as first spotted by Futurism.]( - It all began with a Tweet. Sutskever [tweeted on Thursday]( “it may be that today’s large neural networks are slightly conscious.” This might seem like a harmless enough statement but it was met with immediate and swift backlash. Why? According to UNSW Sidney AI researcher Toby Walsh, it's because the topic derails the conversation and perhaps even the evolution of AI. “Every time such speculative comments get an airing, it takes months of effort to get the conversation back to the more realistic opportunities and threats posed by AI,” [tweeted Walsh.]( Independent sociotechnologist Jürgen Geuter further called the view unrealistic. He tweeted that “it may also be that this take has no basis in reality and is just a sales pitch to claim magical tech capabilities for a startup that runs very simple statistics, just a lot of them.” [But is the backlash warranted?]( Sure, claims that AI may be or [may become conscious]( do stir up fears in people of the technology taking over but if the facts prove that the technology may be indeed advancing to that stage is it not worth mentioning? [Read More]( THINGS WE LOVE Roses are red, violets are blue, we made a list of[extra special Valentine's Day gifts]( for you... MAIL & MUSINGS Well, considering the discussions on artificial intelligence and consciousness... Do you think artificial intelligence being conscious is a scary thing? Be sure you check back tomorrow for the results! [I think they are already conscious and there is nothing to be afraid of.]( [Sounds a little eery.]( [Absolutely terrible scenario. They can take our place!]( [I don't know enough about the subject.]( Yesterday’s Results Yesterday, we asked you to imagine if you evolved somewhere else and answer which kind of Solar System settlement would you call home? Well, almost half of the participants preferred an alien city in a nearby solar system while more than a quarter preferred a pyramid city on Mars. An alien city in a nearby solar system. Just a quick warp jump away! 42% A pyramid city on Mars. 26% A spacecraft colony in Saturn’s orbit. 22% Cloud cities of Venus. 10% QUOTE OF THE DAY “ Great is the power of steady misrepresentation - but the history of science shows how, fortunately, this power does not endure long. ” Charles Darwin in Origin of Species AND ANOTHER THING... - Scientists discover the first [dinosaur with a respiratory infection](?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=mailing&utm_campaign=Newsletter-12-02-2022). - [Teen sentenced to prison]( for plotting a terror attack in Minecraft. (Futurism) - [What is quantum entanglement]( All about this 'spooky' quirk of physics. - [Here is why Metaverse avatars are without legs](. (Digital Information World) - Is climate restoration [the key to stopping climate change]( - [Google paid a record $8.7 million]( to bug hunters in 2021. (Dark Reading) - Improving your diet with healthier choices [could add 13 years to your life](. 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