Virginia Surprise?

NewsItems Weekend Edition.

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1. South China Morning Post:

A group of Chinese researchers has launched an international plan to increase the number of healthy years in people’s lives by proposing a new phase of the pioneering Human Genome Project to gain a deeper understanding of the human genome.

Building on the landmark achievements that generated the first human genome sequence two decades ago, the researchers have proposed to sequence the genomes of more than 1 per cent of the world’s population – 80 million people from more than 100 countries.

The data and findings would be used to extend the average health span of people by improving medical practices such as screening tests for genetic diseases and rare disease diagnoses, as well as contribute to the development of the evolving field of precision public health, according to their initial goals.

The concept refers to “using advanced technologies, data analytics and interventions to prevent disease, promote health and improve healthcare delivery at the population level”, according to the Human Genome Project II (HGP2) proposal, which was published in an editorial article in the journal Cell Research on September 11.

The researchers are from institutes in 15 countries: Australia, Belgium, Britain, China, France, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, the United States and Vietnam. (Source: scmp.com)

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2. Investors seeking to buy into OpenAI’s latest $6 billion-plus funding round are making an unprecedented bet that the ChatGPT-maker will become the world’s dominant artificial intelligence company and be worth trillions of dollars. The San Francisco-based start-up is finalising a new fundraising valuing the company at $150 billion. Thrive Capital, Josh Kushner’s venture capital firm, has already provided at least $1 billion to the company in recent weeks, according to people with knowledge of the deal. OpenAI aims to raise an additional $5 billion or more. Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft — the three most valuable technology companies in the world — are in talks to join the funding round. Others seeking to invest are New York-based Tiger Global and United Arab Emirates-backed fund MGX, according to multiple people with knowledge of the discussions. The deal is expected to close imminently. However, other leading tech investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital — Silicon Valley’s top venture capitalists and existing OpenAI backers — are sitting out of the round, according to people with knowledge of the matter. (Source: ft.com)

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3. Pennsylvania’s dormant Three Mile Island nuclear plant would be brought back to life to feed the voracious energy needs of Microsoft under an unprecedented deal announced Friday in which the tech giant would buy 100 percent of its power for 20 years. The restart of Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, would mark a bold advance in the tech industry’s quest to find enough electric power to support its boom in artificial intelligence. The plant, which Pennsylvanians thought had closed for good in 2019 amid financial strain, would come back online by 2028 under the agreement, according to plant owner Constellation Energy. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

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