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When disasters happensuch as hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakesevery second counts. Emergency teams need to find people fast, send help and stay organized. In todays world, one of the fastest ways to get information is through social media. In recent years, researchers have explored how artificial intelligence can use social media to help during emergencies. These programs can scan millions of posts on sites such as X, Facebook, and Instagram. However, most existing systems look for simple patterns like keywords or images of damage. In my research as an AI scientist, Ive developed new models that go further. They can understand the meaning and context of postswhat researchers call semantics. This helps improve how accurately the system identifies people in need and classifies situational awareness information during emergencies. The results show that these tools can give rescue teams a clearer view of whats happening on the ground and where help is needed most. From posts to lifesaving insights People share billions of posts on social media every day. During disasters, they often share photos, videos, short messages and even their location. This creates a huge network of real-time information. But with so many posts, its hard for people to find whats important quickly. Thats where artificial intelligence helps. These systems, which use machine learning, can scan thousands of posts every second, find urgent messages, spot damage shown in pictures, and tell real information from rumors. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, people sent over 20 million tweets over six days. If AI tools had been used then, they could have helped find people in danger even faster. Training AIs Researchers begin by teaching AI programs to understand emergencies. In one study I conducted, I looked at thousands of social media posts from disasters. I sorted them into groups like people asking for help, damaged buildings and general comments. Then, I used these examples to train the program to sort new posts by itself. One big step forward was teaching the program to look at pictures and words together. For example, a photo of flooded streets and a message like were trapped are stronger signals than either one alone. Using both, the system became much better at showing where people needed help and how serious the damage was. Finding information is just the first step. The main goal is to help emergency teams act quickly and save lives. Im working with emergency response teams in the United States to add this technology to their systems. When a disaster hits, my program can show where help is needed by using social media posts. It can also classify this information by urgency, helping rescue teams use their resources where they are needed most. For example, during a flood, my system can quickly spot where people are asking for help and rank these areas by urgency. This helps rescue teams act faster and send aid where its needed most, even before official reports come in. Addressing the challenges Using social media to help during disasters sounds great, but its not always easy. Sometimes, people post things that arent true. Other times, the same message gets posted many times or doesnt clearly state where the problem is. This mix can make it hard for the system to know whats real. To fix this, Im working on ways to check a posts credibility. I look at who posted it, what words they used and whether other posts say the same thing. I also take privacy seriously. I only use posts that anyone can see and never show names or personal details. Instead, I look at the big picture to find patterns. The future of disaster intelligence As AI systems improve, they are likely to be even more helpful during disasters. New tools can understand messages more clearly and might even help us see where trouble is coming before it starts. As extreme weather worsens, authorities need fast ways to get good information. When used correctly, social media can show people where help is needed most. It can help save lives and get supplies to the right places faster. In the future, I believe this will become a regular part of emergency work around the world. My research is still growing, but one thing is clear: Disaster response is no longer just about people on the groundits also about AI systems in the cloud. Ademola Adesokan is a postdoctoral researcher in computer science at Missouri University of Science and Technology. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Its no secret that warming temperatures, wildfires and flash floods are increasingly affecting lives across the United States. With the U.S. government now planning to ramp up fossil fuel use, the risks of these events are likely to become even more pronounced. That leaves a big question: Is the nation prepared to adapt to the consequences? For many years, federally funded scientists have been developing solutions to help reduce the harm climate change is causing in peoples lives and livelihoods. Yet, as with many other science programs, the White House is proposing to eliminate funding for climate adaptation science in the next federal budget, and reports suggest that the firing of federal climate adaptation scientists may be imminent. As researchers and directors of regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers, funded by the U.S. Geological Survey since 2011, we have seen firsthand the work these programs do to protect the nations natural resources and their successes in helping states and tribes build resilience to climate risks. Here are a few examples of the ways federally funded climate adaptation science conducted by university and federal researchers helps the nation weather the effects of climate change. Protecting communities against wildfire risk Wildfires have increasingly threatened communities and ecosystems across the U.S., exacerbated by worsening heat waves and drought. In the Southwest, researchers with the Climate Adaptation Science Centers are developing forecasting models to identify locations at greatest risk of wildfire at different times of year. Knowing where and when fire risks are highest allows communities to take steps to protect themselves, whether by carrying out controlled burns to remove dry vegetation, creating fire breaks to protect homes, managing invasive species that can leave forests more prone to devastating fires, or other measures. The solutions are created with forest and wildland managers to ensure projects are viable, effective and tailored to each area. The research is then integrated into best practices for managing wildfires. The researchers also help city planners find the most effective methods to reduce fire risks in wildlands near homes. In Hawaii and the other Pacific islands, adaptation researchers have similarly worked to identify how drought, invasive species and land-use changes contribute to fire risk there. They use these results to create maps of high-risk fire zones to help communities take steps to reduce dry and dead undergrowth that could fuel fires and also plan for recovery after fires. Protecting shorelines and fisheries In the Northeast, salt marshes line large parts of the coast, providing natural buffers against storms by damping powerful ocean waves that would otherwise erode the shoreline. Their shallow, grassy waters also serve as important breeding grounds for valuable fish. However, these marshes are at risk of drowning as sea level rises faster than the sediment can build up. As greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels and from other human activities accumulate in the atmosphere, they trap extra heat near Earths surface and in the oceans, raising temperatures. The rising temperatures melt glaciers and also cause thermal expansion of the oceans. Together, those processes are raising global sea level by about 1.3 inches per decade. Adaptation researchers with the Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been developing local flood projections for the regions unique oceanographic and geophysical conditions to help protect them. Those projections are essential to help natural resource managers and municipalities plan effectively for the future. Researchers are also collaborating with local and regional organizations on salt marsh restoration, including assessing how sediment builds up each marsh and creating procedures for restoring and monitoring the marshes. Saving salmon in Alaska and the Northwest In the Northwest and Alaska, salmon are struggling as temperatures rise in the streams they return to for spawning each year. Warm water can make them sluggish, putting them at greater risk from predators. When temperatures get too high, they cant survive. Even in large rivers such as the Columbia, salmon are becoming heat stressed more often. Adaptation researchers in both regions have been evaluating the effectiveness of fish rescuestemporarily moving salmon into captivity as seasonal streams overheat or dry up due to drought. In Alaska, adaptation scientists have built broad partnerships with tribes, nonprofit organizations and government agencies to improve temperature measurements of remote streams, creating an early warning system for fisheries so managers can take steps to help salmon survive. Managing invasive species Rising temperatures can also expand the range of invasive species, which cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year in crop and forest losses and threaten native plants and animals. Researchers in the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers have been working to identify and prioritize the risks from invasive species that are expanding their ranges. That helps state managers eradicate these emerging threats before they become a problem. These regional invasive species networks have become the go-to source of climate-related scientific information or thousands of invasive species managers. The Northeast is a hot spot for invasive species, particularly for plants that can outcompete native wetland and grassland species and host pathogens that can harm native species. Without proactive assessments, invasive species management becomes more difficult. Once the damage has begun, managing invasive species becomes more expensive and less effective. Losing the nations ability to adapt wisely A key part of these projects is the strong working relationships built between scientists and the natural resource managers in state, community, tribal and government agencies who can put this knowledge into practice. With climate extremes likely to increase in the coming years, losing adaptation science will leave the United States even more vulnerable to future climate hazards. Bethany Bradley is a professor of biogeography and spatial ecology at UMass Amherst. Jia Hu is an associate professor of natural resources at the University of Arizona. Meade Krosby is a senior scientist for the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
Its one thing to invent something cool within controlled laboratory environments. Its entirely another to scale that new baby for sale. The tension between innovation and commercialization is something we regularly wrestle with at Abstrax. Every morning, we don lab coats and ask the same question: “How do you make money from research done in a lab?” Balance innovation with commercial reality Discovery for its own sake isnt enough. Many R&D-heavy companies discover that brilliant ideas can languish for years if they dont have a system for bringing them to market. We decided early on to build that bridge proactively. This meant investing heavily not just in research, but in the systems and machinery that connect lab work to real-world products. Our scientists dont concoct in ivory towers, they work hand-in-hand with product developers to ensure (most) experiments align with market needs. This pragmatic approach focuses our curiosity. We poured resources into advanced analytical technology. Among other exquisite toys, we operate an ultra-sensitive aroma analysis platform nicknamed OMNI. With it, we can break down a complex flavor into hundreds of molecular components and pinpoint the ones that matter. By capturing a “3D metabolite fingerprint” of a material (cannabis flower, hop varietals, etc.), we get a complete map of that samples aroma chemistry. Why go to these extremes? Because understanding a flavor at that granular level is the key to replicating it, enhancing it, and ultimately monetizing it. We can identify over 500 distinct compounds in a single hop strain. That level of resolution lets us see opportunities others might miss, like the trace molecules that round out pineapple, or a sulfur compound responsible for skunky notes. From breakthrough to beer glass To illustrate how lab research turns into revenue, take our recent work with Citra, one of the most celebrated hops in craft brewing. Citras appeal lies in its remarkably juicy, complex flavorthink grapefruit, lime, peach, and passionfruit steamrolled into one. This tropical medley makes a Citra-hopped beer delicious. But heres the rub: Achieving that same flavor consistently at scale is hard. Hops are agricultural products, subject to the whims of weather and yearly variation. The Citra you get this year might not taste exactly like last years crop. This is where our lab-to-market philosophy shines. Using OMNI, we profiled Citras chemical makeup in exquisite detail. Armed with that blueprint, we developed an Omni Hop Profile extract that mirrors Citras flavor profile with uncanny accuracy. For brewers, this is a game-changer. Instead of being at the mercy of Mother Nature, they can rely on our Citra extract to deliver the exact same flavor in every batch, forever. And because its made from botanically derived ingredients, it stays true to the clean-label standards brewers abide by. We even worked with veteran brewmasters on pilot brews to fine-tune the extracts performance in different beer styles. By the time our Citra profile hit the market, it was brewer-tested and production-ready. Our Citra victory highlights our core principle of reasonable innovation. We didnt stop at discovering what makes that hop special, we pushed to make it a tangible solution to a real problem. That is the essence of monetizing R&D: moving from Eureka! to a viable SKU. No fluff, only real solutions In avant-garde industries like cannabis and craft beer, its easy to get caught up in hype and bold claims. We prefer a different tack: Let the results speak. If we say our new formulation improves a beers shelf-life or an extract boosts an IPAs aroma, weve got the data to back it up. Grounding innovation in evidence keeps us credible and ensures we stay focused on real market value. We also recognize that not every experiment will pan out, and thats okay. Part of our system is knowing never to become 100% pot committed. Well test 10 ideas, then swiftly double down on the one or two that show commercial promise. By failing fast and smart, we conserve resources for the innovations that count. The new R&D playbook Our journey from lab to market hasnt been quick or easy. It took patience and a willingness to invest up front. But that patience is paying off. Today, Abstraxs approach is turning niche scientific insights into mainstream products. What others consider to be a cost center is our engine for growth. When scientists and strategists work in sync, every discovery is viewed through the lens of real-world impact. The healthy tension between invention and commercialization keeps us sharp. As it turns out, the lab and the market are pretty good at balancing each other. Kevin Koby is CEO and cofounder of Abstrax.
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