Today there exists no public, freely downloadable, comprehensive database of all known chemical reactions and associated information. Such a database not only would serve chemical sciences and technologies around the world but also would enable the power of modern AI and machine learning methods to be unleashed on a host of fundamental problems. In time, this could lead to important scientific discoveries and economic developments for the benefit of humanity. While ideally such a repository ought to be created and maintained by an international consortium, in the near future, it may be easier to begin the process through governmental agencies such as the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health. Working together, we could use a multipronged approach that could combine negotiations with commercial stakeholders, crowd-sourcing efforts, automated extraction methods, and legislative actions.

New Institute will study how the brain’s circuitry and activity give rise to complex behavior,

The nutrient content of our vegetables is down 40% over the last two decades and our soil health is suffering due to increasingly harsh herbicide use, according to Carbon Robotics founder Paul Mikesell. And farmers are increasingly concerned about the long-term health impacts of continually spraying chemicals on their fields.

By Devin Coldewey@techcrunch

An in silico playground for creatures that learn, mutate, and evolve establishes the importance of morphological intelligence and suggests a new way to optimize embodied AIs.

Which company aims to help install 40,000 more destination chargers?

Bastian Stark agreed to add MGs to the dealership in north Bavaria where he is general manager. He sold three hybrids before even putting up a sign.Credit...Felix Schmitt for The New York Times

By Esther Ajao, News Writer

Amruta Pai, Ashok Veeraraghavan, Ashutosh Sabharwal

I think my career shows that you can do a lot with a physics degree – and the things you do can be very varied.”

So many of Google’s technology developments have had major impacts in the commercial world but the company’s impact on scientific computing has been far less pronounced. Teams at the search engine giant are trying to bridge that gap by creating software tools that blend the best of two worlds — traditional numerical simulations and modern machine learning.