All posts tagged: PhD

SandboxAQ brings its drug discovery models to Claude — no PhD in computing required

SandboxAQ brings its drug discovery models to Claude — no PhD in computing required

Published by skeptic

Drug discovery is one of the most expensive pursuits in modern industry. Finding a single viable molecule can take a decade and cost billions, and most candidates still don’t make it. A generation of AI startups has promised to fix that — most have made the problem less painful for researchers, who are already technically sophisticated enough to use the tools. But SandboxAQ thinks the bottleneck isn’t the models. It’s the interface. The company has teamed up with Anthropic to integrate its scientific AI models directly into Claude — putting powerful drug discovery and materials science tools behind a conversational interface that requires no specialized computing infrastructure to use. Founded roughly five years ago as an Alphabet spinout, SandboxAQ counts Eric Schmidt, Google’s former CEO, as its chairman. The company, which has raised more than $950 million from investors, has built out a number of different business lines, including a cybersecurity business. One of the more unique things SandboxAQ does, however, is produce large quantitative models, or LQMs. These proprietary models are “physics-grounded,” meaning they’re …

People In Their 50s And 60s Say These 4 Things Help When Loneliness Feels Like Just Too Much To Bear | Ruth Schimel, PhD

People In Their 50s And 60s Say These 4 Things Help When Loneliness Feels Like Just Too Much To Bear | Ruth Schimel, PhD

Published by Jenni Sidey

Did you know loneliness is considered a public health threat in the United States and in England? In fact, England announced a government position, the Minister of Loneliness, — to deal with its growing loneliness epidemic. Of course, there are times when many people choose to be alone to seek restorative solitude or “me time.” Yet, when you’re not feeling alone by choice, it can be a difficult situation to bear. If your loneliness results in feeling unimportant, disconnected, ignored, or isolated, research has shown there may be serious effects on mental and physical health, comparable to the high mortality rates of obesity. The good news is, many of the issues that cause symptoms of loneliness can be cured or improved when you’re willing to deal with them. Studies have consistently suggested that changing how lonely people view their social world is more effective than just providing more social contact. Teaching social skills, providing support, increasing social opportunities, and correcting negative thinking can help change negative thinking about social situations. People in their 50s and …

Outside academia, people aren’t well informed about PhD research – and that’s a problem

Outside academia, people aren’t well informed about PhD research – and that’s a problem

Published by skeptic

Around 1% of the global population has a PhD. It’s the highest academic qualification, the result of years spent on original research. But – and this is a question that many PhD students will have faced, at some time or another – what’s the point? The number of PhDs being undertaken globally is rising. Around a fifth of all PhDs studied for by UK students are funded through UK Research and Innovation, a governmental public body that directs funding for research from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Given the ongoing cost of living crisis, alongside significant public investment in PhD programmes by UK research councils, it feels vital that the wider public is engaged in how public funds are used. PhDs play a key role in furthering global research. Students undertake advanced research training as part of their doctorate, developing skills that can be used to support innovation and complex problem-solving across different countries, industries and sectors. PhD graduates enjoy a greater earning potential than other graduates or non-graduates, providing a labour market …

PHD student built the first-ever 3D map of Uranus’s upper atmosphere

PHD student built the first-ever 3D map of Uranus’s upper atmosphere

Published by Jenni Sidey

Uranus does not behave like an ordinary planet. Its magnetic field tilts by nearly 60 degrees and sits off-center, so the charged particles that spark auroras do not gather in neat rings. They sweep across the ice giant in complicated paths, sometimes brightening, sometimes thinning out, depending on how the magnetic field funnels energy into the upper air. That odd geometry now has a new kind of map. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team led by Northumbria University PhD student Paola Tiranti has produced the first three-dimensional view of Uranus’ upper atmosphere, tracking faint infrared emission from molecules as high as about 5,000 kilometers above the cloud tops. The study was published in Geophysical Research Letters. Uranus (January 2025). (CREDIT: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, STScI, P. Tiranti, H. Melin, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)) A night-long watch on a rotating planet The team watched Uranus for 15.4 hours on Jan. 19, 2025, close to a full rotation of the planet, which is about 17.2 hours. The data came from JWST General Observer program 5073, led …

Ed. Dept. Scraps “Unconstitutional” Race Preferences In Federal PhD Grant Program

Ed. Dept. Scraps “Unconstitutional” Race Preferences In Federal PhD Grant Program

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Jennifer Kabbany via The College Fix, The U.S. Department of Education has agreed to rewrite the exclusionary race-based eligibility rules of a federal student scholarship program, resolving a lawsuit filed against the program. “That means the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program–a federal program distributing roughly $60 million annually to help students pursue graduate education–will no longer discriminate based on race,” stated Young America’s Foundation, which had sued the Biden administration in 2024 over the program. The lawsuit had alleged the program excluded Asians, Arabs, Middle Easterners, non-Hispanic Latinos, some Africans, and whites unless they meet a limited exception for first-generation low-income students. Instead, it supported primarily black, Native American and Pacific Islander students, according to the complaint. “The McNair Program’s race-based provisions are unconstitutional, should not and will not be enforced, and are subject to a planned forthcoming regulatory change to rescind the race-based criteria,” according to YAF’s Feb. 17 motion to dismiss, with which the Education Department agreed to by not objecting. U.S. Department of Education press secretary for higher education Ellen Keast confirmed the changes in a statement to Fox News: “Consistent …

How African principles of community are helping Black students in the UK into PhD study

How African principles of community are helping Black students in the UK into PhD study

Published by skeptic

Across the UK, Black students remain significantly underrepresented in doctoral programmes. This is despite years of widening participation policies and a growing awareness that the pathways into a PhD are often far harder to navigate for some groups than others. My research with colleagues shows that a different approach is possible: one that draws on long-standing African philosophies of community, character and collective care. In 2021, I and colleagues launched the Accomplished Study Programme in Research Excellence (Aspire), an initiative led by Sheffield Hallam University in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University and higher education charity Advance HE. The programme emerged from a national funding competition aimed at widening access and participation for Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups in postgraduate research. Aspire provides personalised, culturally grounded mentorship that combines academic development and wellbeing support. The programme works with Black students in their final year of undergraduate and master’s degrees, as well as graduates who may have left university long ago, helping them find their way into doctoral study. Aspire takes inspiration from two African philosophies. …

Who is Jade? Meet The Traitors season 4 contestant and PhD student

Who is Jade? Meet The Traitors season 4 contestant and PhD student

Published by Daniella Wilson

The Traitors has provided viewers with non-stop twists and turns since it returned at the start of the year. During the premiere, it was revealed there would be a secret Traitor playing the game. Since then, the secret Traitor has been revealed, roundtables have taken place early in the game and suspicion has been at an all time high. One player who has received plenty of suspicious glances is Jade, despite being a Faithful from the very start, a role she always wanted. Later episodes have revealed more about Jade’s past and why she feels she has been seen as standoffish. As the series continues, scroll on to learn more about The Traitors season 4 contestant. Who is Jade from The Traitors? Jade. BBC/Studio Lambert/Euan Cherry Age: 25 Job: PhD student Location: West Midlands Jade is a PhD student from the West Midlands who believes herself to be quite an observant person, particularly being able to pick up on things that people may think she misses. “I have quite good problem solving abilities, so that will …