AI is nearly as good as humans in detecting breast cancer

Someday, computers could help doctors diagnose diseases much faster than they can today. Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) have developed a way to train artificial intelligence to read and interpret pathology images. Andrew Beck from BIDMC explains that their “method is based on deep learning,” which is commonly used to train AI to recognize speech, images and objects. They recently got the chance to prove just how effective their technique is during a competition at the annual International Symposium of Biomedical Imaging, where the AI was tasked to look for breast cancer in images of lymph nodes.

The team started training their machine by feeding it hundreds of slides marked to indicate which parts have cancerous cells and which have normal ones. They then identified which types of slides it was having the most trouble with and fed it more difficult samples. Using that method, the AI improved enough to be accurate 92 percent of the time and to win in two separate categories during the contest. It’s still no match for human pathologists who are accurate 96 percent of the time, but it’s clearly shown great promise.

Beck said what’s truly exciting is that when they combined pathologists’ analysis with their creation’s, the results showed 99.5 percent accuracy. He added: “Our results in the ISBI competition show that what the computer is doing is genuinely intelligent and that the combination of human and computer interpretations will result in more precise and more clinically valuable diagnoses to guide treatment decisions.” If you want to read more about this breast cancer-detecting AI, the team published a paper detailing their experience.

Source: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

New York votes to ban ads for whole apartments on Airbnb

New York already makes it illegal to offer your whole apartment for short-term rentals through services like Airbnb, but it’s giving that legislation some added bite. As part of a flurry of end-of-term approvals, the state’s assembly and senate have voted for a bill that would make it illegal just to advertise your entire place for a short (under 30 days) rental. You’ll face a $1,000 fine the first time you’re caught, $5,000 the second time and $7,500 the third. Governor Cuomo still has to sign the bill into law, but that’s likely to be a mere formality.

Assuming the measure becomes law, it’ll please some local residents as well as the hotel and real estate businesses. They’ve complained that services like Airbnb enable illegal hotels that both take away apartments for honest-to-goodness residents and drive up rental rates at the units that are left. In theory, this makes it too costly to even consider the tactic — unless the offending hosts lie about the nature of their rentals, it could be too costly to run these makeshift accommodations.

Not surprisingly, Airbnb isn’t happy. It portrays the bill’s approval as a conspiracy between the government and the hotel industry, and argues that it’ll increase the odds of “bankruptcy, eviction, or foreclosure” for 30,000 state residents who might otherwise struggle to make ends meet. Of course, the truth is mixed. While some of those people were earnestly trying to make money while away from home, it’s no secret that many others were snapping up properties solely to profit from Airbnb stays. The would-be law should limit short-term rentals to people who actually live in their homes.

Via: Gothamist

Source: New York State Senate

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: The world’s skinniest tower, and more!

Local Motors just unveiled the bus of the future, and it’s fully autonomous, made by a 3D printer and controlled by IBM’s flagship artificial intelligence system. In other transportation news, a German official declared that all new cars registered in the nation will need to be zero-emission by the year 2030. Tesla announced plans to sell its electric vehicles in a Nordstrom store in Los Angeles. And a solar-powered boat embarked on a historic journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
The world’s new tallest tower was just approved for Dubai — and it’ll dwarf the reigning Burj Khalifa by 100 meters. Meanwhile, Brighton, England unveiled the world’s skinniest tower: It’s topped with a space-age moving observation pod. Kazakhstan broke ground on a futuristic eco city that will host the World Expo 2017, while a gigantic green pyramid popped up in Paris. Elsewhere in the world, researchers used lasers to reveal lost cities hidden by jungle near Angkor Wat, and a gigantic “Gateway to the Underworld” opened up in Serbia — and it’s rapidly growing.

Hydrogen is a clean, renewable energy source that can be easily stored, but it tends to be expensive and difficult to produce. That’s why it’s exciting that California-based HyperSolar has developed a breakthrough technique for producing hydrogen fuel from water and sunlight. In other energy news, Australia smashed a wind power record last month by generating 1,299 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity, and Scotland managed to reach its aggressive emissions goal a full six years ahead of schedule. We also spotted a self-sufficient mountain hut that generates all of its own electricity and a chic floating home that’s powered by the sun. Finally, we shared 10 classic science experiments sure to inspire kids of all ages.

Blue Origin lands its reusable rocket a fourth time

Blue Origin’s reusable rocket is practically running like clockwork. The private spaceflight outfit has successfully landed its New Shepard rocket a fourth time (during its first-ever live stream), touching down with a seemingly effortless amount of grace. Jeff Bezos and company weren’t just showing off, though. They also successfully tested the redundancy of the crew capsule’s parachute system, showing that the capsule can survive even if one of the chutes fails. We’re still a long way from testing a manned capsule (the windows are still painted on in this version), but it’s an important step toward the goal of lower-cost space travel. You can watch the entire replay below — if you want to cut to the chase, the launch starts around the 1h 2m mark.

Source: Blue Origin (YouTube)