People attend a yoga class in celebration of the summer solstice at the 22nd annual all-day outdoor yoga event in Times Square in New York on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI People attend a yoga class in celebration of the summer solstice at the 22nd annual all-day outdoor yoga event in Times Square in New York on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI People attend a yoga class in celebration of the summer solstice at an 22nd annual all-day outdoor yoga event in Times Square in New York City on Thursday, June 20, 2024. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI People attend a yoga class in celebration of the summer solstice at the 22nd annual all-day outdoor yoga event in Times Square in New York on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI People attend a yoga class in celebration of the summer solstice at the 22nd annual all-day outdoor yoga event in Times Square in New York on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

June 20 (UPI) -- Hundreds of people converged on Times Square in New York on Thursday to celebrate the summer solstice with an entire day of outdoor yoga classes.

The event, dubbed Solstice in Times Square: Mind Over Madness Yoga, commenced at 7:30 a.m. with a class taught by yogi Richa Dhekne and presented by Consulate General of India.

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Classes are being held throughout the day at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue, between 43rd & 48th Streets, with the last one scheduled to end at 8:30 p.m.

The yearly tradition began with three yogis who gathered to welcome the solstice with yoga in Times Square at sunrise on June 21, 2003, and they went on to make it into an annual event.

"Summer Solstice Yoga in Times Square with its inspiring yoga teachers, has become an iconic setting to reaffirm your yoga practice under the Broadway lights and the invigorating sun," Douglass Stewart, co-founder of Solstice in Times Square, said in a news release.

The yoga classes are being livestreamed at http://www.TSQ.org/Solstice and on the official Times Square Facebook page.

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Yogis celebrate solstice with Times Square takeover - UPI News

The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune

Natural food co-ops are known for their organic produce and fair-trade coffee. Their chutes of bulk grains and jars of hard-to-find spices. Their wide assortment of cage-free, farm-fresh eggs and nut grinders that let you crush your own container of almond butter gooeyness.

But what many consumers dont usually associate with todays co-ops are cheap prices.

Changing values and economic pressures, though, have pushed natural food co-ops to focus more on affordability.

This year natural food co-ops have seen elevated sales as they have dramatically increased cheaper organic offerings such as United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI)s Field Day brand. Co-ops have also recently started to add less expensive, conventional and sometimes even less healthy items, including Coke products.

The changes signal an evolution in philosophy from the roots that helped pioneer the co-op movement in the 1970s and went on to sweep the country.

Co-ops have and continue to struggle over should I stock that product or not, said C.E. Pugh, chief executive of the National Co+op Grocers organization, which is based in St. Paul, Minnesota. It doesnt really meet my values. Its not local. Its not organic. Its not natural. Its just inexpensive. We are beginning to see co-ops experiment with it.

At the Mississippi Market co-op off 7th Street in the Daytons Bluff neighborhood of St. Paul, customers can buy a variety of locally sourced and organic food such as air-chilled, free-range hens and farmstead cheese staples of all three of the Mississippi Markets.

But the E. 7th store, which serves a neighborhood with 19% of residents below the poverty level, also has added Coca-Cola and Sprite and 100 items under the discount Essential Everyday private brand, which is owned by SuperValu, now a subsidiary of UNFI, Jif peanut butter and other national brands found in conventional supermarkets.

We have observed significant growth in the sales of these products, prompting us to gradually expand the selection across various departments, including grocery, cheese, wellness, and produce, said Yani Clement, Mississippi Markets purchasing director, in an email.

Currently our conventional product selection at the East 7th store makes up around 9% of our total product offerings. This expansion not only provides customers with more affordable options but also ensures that we continue to cater to a diverse range of preferences and budgetary needs.

A higher percentage of sales at the E. 7th store also comes from Mississippi Markets Co-op Basics line of products, which is a lineup of natural or organic household goods that are priced below the suggested retail price.

Co+op Basics, which National Co+op Grocers started in 2016, was a game changer for co-ops because it gave small independent cooperatives the buying power of a larger chain to negotiate lower pricing of organic products, Pugh said. The National Co+op Grocers also negotiates Co+op Deals sales flyers.

That negotiating power was essential as more mainstream stores began to offer their own organic private labels.

Whole Foods has Whole Foods 365, Kroger has Simple Truth, Target has their own organic brand and Walmart has their own private labels, Pugh said. We didnt have anything like that and we were just getting blown out of the water price wise.

Now food co-op sales are on the rise thanks in a large part to their increase in cheaper organic goods and conventional grocery products, Pugh said. During the first quarter of this year, sales at the 230 or so co-op stores that are part of the National Co+op Grocers were up 5% compared with last year, boosted by a 30% jump in Field Day sales.

Over the past decade as a whole, the growth was 2% annually, Pugh said.

Since the end of the pandemic, the Wedge Community Co-op has seen store traffic increase with people shopping more frequently.

We strive to provide options for people, said Rebecca Lee, senior director of purchasing and merchandising at the Wedge. As we adapt, as all of us adapt to increased prices, we look for more options for people so that they can continue to buy those free-range eggs like they want to but have another option for olive oil thats less expensive.

Buying in bulk is still a major way for people to save money at co-ops. Its 52% less to buy the same oats in bulk as it is packaged, Lee said. Other items that are cheaper in bulk are honey (44%), olive oil (28%) and coffee (20%).

If you dont need a lot of something like you are trying a new recipe or if you dont know that you like lentils, you can buy a quarter cup at a time you dont have to buy a whole package, she said.

Two years ago, the Wedge started its co-op perks loyalty program where coupons are sent directly to customers to match their buying habits. The individualized program has proven effective.

David Schmit, 69, of Minneapolis, considers the recently renovated Seward Community Co-op on Franklin Avenue in the Cedar-Riverside part of Minneapolis his familys neighborhood store.

We like eating healthy and they have an abundance of healthy foods, he said as he pushed a cart of fresh foods like tomatoes and spinach.

However, Schmit said his weekly store visits have gotten pricey as grocery prices at co-ops as well as conventional stores have climbed over the last two years.

Part of the problem with organics is that they are expensive, Schmit said.

Stetson McAdams, 32, of Minneapolis, visits Seward three to four times a week. His partner works there so their household gets a discount, but even with the savings, it has been hard to cope with the high prices of food at the co-op.

They are pricier, McAdams said. It feels like my wallet has shrunk by half.

Natalia Mendez, marketing director for Seward, the oldest co-op in the Twin Cities, said there used to be very stringent purchasing guidelines about what merchandise Seward sold.

Seward recently incorporated Jarritos and Mexican Coke to its Franklin Avenue store, additions that have sold well but initially received some pushback about if those products met Sewards standards. In the end, Seward decided to carry them because people do want the things that they recognize, Mendez said.

Its this balancing act, Mendez said

Seward has seen success in adding Essential Everyday and Field Day products too.

While shopping in bulk or buying generic organic items can save money at co-ops, for many consumers, value is not only about a lower price tag, said Faye Mack, executive director of the Vermont-based Food Co-op Initiative, which helps communities open co-ops.

People want to spend their dollars on what is valuable to them, and they want to support local producers and stores that provide decent wages to workers, she said.

That piece is often just as important. People are really eager to have control of their access to food, she said.

2024 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Food co-ops aren't known for their price-conscious customers, but that's changing - Sunbury Daily Item

Last month, Apple's tablets got a major revamp with the arrival of the M4 chip, two size options for the iPad Air, updates to the Magic Keyboard and a new iPad Pro packing a fancy Tandem OLED display. And now at WWDC 2024, Apple is looking to flesh out the iPad's software with the introduction of Apple Intelligence and a number of fresh features heading to iPadOS 18, which is due out sometime later this year.

To start, iPadOS is getting deeper customization options for your home screen including the ability to put app icons pretty much wherever you want. Apple's Control Center has also been expanded with support for creating multiple lists and views, resizing and rearranging icons and more. There's also a new floating tab bar that makes it easy to navigate between apps, which can be further tuned to remember your favorites. Next, SharePlay is getting the ability to draw diagrams on someone else's iPad or control someone else's device remotely (with permission) for times like when you need to help troubleshoot.

After years of requests, the iPad is also getting its own version of the Calculator app, which includes a new Math Notes feature that supports the Apple Pencil and the ability to input handwritten formulas. Math Notes will even update formulas in real time or you can save them in case you want to revisit things later. Alternatively, the Smart Script tool in the Notes app uses machine learning to make your notes less messy and easier to edit.

General privacy is also being upgraded with a new feature that lets you lock an app. This allows a friend or family member to borrow your device without giving them full access to everything on your tablet. Alternatively, theres also a new hidden apps folder so you can stash sensitive software in a more secretive way.

In Messages, Tapbacks are now compatible with all your emoji. Furthermore, you'll be able to schedule messages or send texts via satellite in case you aren't currently connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network. Apple even says messages sent using satellite will feature end-to-end encryption.

The Mail and Photos apps are also getting similarly big revamps. Mail will feature new categorizations meant to make it easier to find specific types of offers or info (like plane flights). Meanwhile, the Photos app will sport an updated UI that will help you view specific types of images while hiding things like screenshots. And to better surface older photos and memories, there will be new categories like Recent Days and People and Pets to put similar types of pics all in a single collection.

Audio controls on iPads is also getting a boost with a new ability for Siri to understand gestures for Yes and No by either shaking or nodding your head while wearing AirPods. This should make it easier to provide Apple's digital assistant with simple responses in areas like a crowded bus or quiet waiting room where you might be uncomfortable talking aloud.

However, the biggest addition this year is that alongside all the iPad-specific features, Apples tablet OS is also getting Apple Intelligence. This covers many of the companys new AI-powered features like the ability to create summaries of websites, proofread or rewrite emails or even generate new art based on your prompts.

Apple says that to make its AI more useful, features will be more personalized and contextual. That said, to help protect your privacy and security, the company claims it wont build profiles or sell data to outside parties. Generally, Apple says it will use on-device processing for most of its tools, though some features require help from the cloud.

As its iconic digital assistant, Siri is getting a big refresh via Apple Intelligence too. This includes better natural language recognition and the ability to understand and remember context from one query to another. Siri will also be able to help you use your device, allowing you to ask your tablet how to perform certain tasks, search for files or control apps and features using your voice.

Some examples of what Apple Intelligence can do is highlight priority emails and put them at the top of your inbox so you don't miss important messages or events. Or if you're feeling more creative, you can use AI to create unique emoji (called Genmoji). And in photos, Apple Intelligence can help you edit images with things like the Clean Up tool. And for those who want the freedom to use other AI models, Apple is adding the option to integrate other services, the first of which will be Chat GPT.

Finally, other minor updates including a new Passwords app for stashing credentials across apps and websites, a new dedicated Game Mode with personalized spatial audio, expanded hiking results in Apple Maps and a new eye-tracking feature for improved accessibility.

Catch up here for all the news out of Apple's WWDC 2024.

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iPadOS 18's Smart Script uses machine learning to make your handwriting less horrible - Yahoo Movies Canada

The most underrated area of innovation in artificial intelligence is not in computing, nor is it in the development of algorithms or techniques for data collection. It is in the human ability to recast problems in terms of predictions.

Leading economist and academic Ajay Agrawal told the Fiduciary Investors Symposium in Toronto that it helps to think of AI and machine learning as simply a drop in the cost of prediction.

Agrawal serves as the Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Torontos Rotman School of Management, as well as being aProfessor of Strategic Management.

AI is computational statistics that does prediction, Agrawal said.

Thats all it is. And so, on the one hand, that seems very limiting. On the other hand, the thing thats so remarkable about it is all the things weve discovered that we can do with high fidelity prediction.

Agrawal said prediction is, in simple terms, taking information you have to generate information you dont have. And its the creativity of people to recast problems, that none of us in this room characterised as prediction problems, into prediction that underpins developments in and the potential of AI, he said.

Five years ago, probably nobody in this room would have said driving is a prediction problem.

Very few people in the room would have said translation is a prediction problem. Very few of you would have said replying to email is a prediction problem. But thats precisely how were solving all those things today.

Whether its predictive text when replying to an email or enhancing investment performance, the supporting AI systems are all implementations of statistics and prediction, Agrawal said.

These prediction models reached a zenith in large language models (LLMs), where machines were trained on how to predict the next most likely word in a sequence of words that made up sentences, paragraphs and whole responses.

If you think about language, lets say English, every book, every poem, every scripture that youve ever read, is a resequencing of the samecharacters: 26 letters, a few punctuation marks just re-sequenced over and over again makes all the books. What if we could do that with actions? Agrawal said.

The principles of LLMs (next most likely word) are now being applied to large behavioural models robots by training them to predict the next most likely verb or action.

In that case, we could take all the tasks think about everyone that you know, every job they do, and every job probably has 30 or 40 different tasks, so theres hundreds of thousands of tasks. But what if all those tasks are just really sequences of a small number of verbs?

So what theyre doing is theyre training that robots to do a handful verbs 50, 80, 120 verbs. Then you give the robot a prompt, just like chat GPT. You say to the robot, can you please unpack those boxes and put the tools on the shelf? The robot hears the prompt, and then predicts what is the optimal sequence of verbs in order to complete the task.

It is, Agrawal said, another application of prediction.

Agrawal said that businesses and industries are now facing a tidal wave of problems that have been recast as prediction problems.

So we now are pointing machine intelligence at many of these.

The problem is, it has come so hard and so fast, that people seem to be struggling with where do we start? And how do we actually point this towards something useful?

Agrawal said it pays to be very specific about the metric or the performance measure that needs to be improved, and then [point] the AI at that.

AIs are mathematical optimisers, they have to know what theyre optimising towards, he said.

If the problem is a tidal wave of new solutions available, and the problem is we dont know how to harness it, here is a way to think about the solution a short-term and a long-term strategy.

Agrawal said short-term strategies are basically productivity enhancements. Theyre deployable within a year, aim for 20 per cent productivity gains, and have a payback period of no more than two years.

And heres the key point, no change in the workflow, he said.

In other words, its truly a technology project where you just drop it in, but the rest of the system stays the same.

Long-term strategies take longer to deploy but theyre genuine game-changers, offering gains 10 times or more greater than short-term deployments. But critically, they require a redesign of workflows. Agrawal said AI, like electricity, is a general-purpose technology,

a useful analogy is when factories were first electrified and started to move away from stream-powered engines.

In the first 20 years after electricity was invented, there was very low take-up less than 3 per cent of factories used electricity, and when they did, the main value propositionwas it will reduce your input costs by doing things like replacing gas lamps.

Nobody wanted to tear apart their existing infrastructure in order to have that marginal benefit, Agrawal said.

The only ones that were experimenting with electricity were entrepreneurs building new factories, and even then, most of them said, No, I want to stick with what I know in terms of factory design.

But a few entrepreneurs realised there was a chance to completely reimagine and redesign a factory that was powered by electricity, because no longer was it dependent on transmitting power from engines outside the factory via long steel shafts to drive the factory machinery.

When the shafts became obsolete, so did the large columns inside the factories to support them. And that opened the door to lightweight, lower-cost construction, and factory design and layout changed to having everything on one level.

They redesigned the entire workflow, Agrawal said.

The machines, the materials, the material handling, the people flow, everything [was] redesigned. Some of the factories got up to 600 per cent productivity lift.

Agrawal said initially, the productivity differences between electrified and non-electrified factories were very small.

You could be operating a non-electrified factory and think those guys who want the newfangled electricity, its more trouble than its worth, he said.

But the but the productivity benefits just started taking off from electricity.

Now were seeing the same thing with machine intelligence [and] the adoption rate of AI.

However, Agrawal said the characteristic that makes AI different from every other tool weve ever had in human history, is this the only one that learns from us.

He said this explains the headlong development rush and the commitment of so much capital to the technology.

The way AI works is that whoever gets an early lead, their AI gets better; when their AI gets better, they get more users; when they get more users, they get more data; when they get more data, then the AI the prediction improves, he said.

And so, once they get that flywheel turning, it gets very hard to catch up to them.

Agrawal said AI and machine learning is developing so quickly its virtually impossible for companies and businesses to keep up, let alone implement and adapt.

The thing I would pay attention to is not so much the technology capability, because obviously thats important and its moving quickly, he said.

But what Im watching are the unit economics of the companies who are first experimenting with it, and then putting it into production, he said.

Cost just keeps going down because the AI is learning and getting better. And so that, like my sense there is, just pay very laser-close attention to the unit economics of what it costs to do a thing.

And you can go right down the stack of every good and service watching how, when you start applying these machine intelligence solutions to that thing, do the unit economics change?

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How to think about the economics of AI - Top1000funds.com

Could you commit to exercising for seven hours per week and eating a whole-food diet? Physiotherapist and wellness coach Brad Dixon says this is optimal for reducing the risk of developing diabetes, Alzheimers, heart disease and cancer. He shares what he eats and how he exercises, and tells Megan Wilson how people can start with the low-hanging fruit to change their habits and use diet and exercise to take control of their health.

When Mount Maunganuis Brad Dixon adopted a pretty strict vegan, whole-food diet nearly 10 years ago, he lost 10kg, slept better, and recovered more quickly from exercise sessions.

Dixon says a good diet and exercise helps reduce the risk of developing the four horsemen of chronic disease cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive diseases such as Alzheimers and metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

It also improves your health span.

Rather than needing 20 years of rest home care, you might only need two. And you might be able to live independently and functionally for a lot longer.

He describes the ability to move and live independently as priceless and something money cant buy.

The same with a good diet - if youre eating good quality whole food that hasnt been mucked around by man and hyper-processed with lots of additives and salt and sugar, then its again going to have a positive effect on all of those four horsemen.

Dixon mostly follows a whole-food, plant-based diet but occasionally eats dairy, eggs and fish.

He says his typical breakfast is soaked oats oats, soy milk, chia seeds, frozen fruit, cacao powder and water in a jar refrigerated overnight.

Lunch is typically peanut butter sandwiches with seeds sprinkled on them, and fruit and nuts.

He recommends raw vegetables and hummus for a pre-dinner snack if needed.

Dinner might be a plum and Chinese five-spice stir fry with tofu and seasonal vegetables, or a plant-based Mexican bowl with black beans, kidney beans and vegetables.

He says people should not get hung up on the [diet] label and find a nutritional way of eating that works for them.

Dixon says the optimal amount of exercise is 420 minutes a week including cardiovascular exercise, mobility or flexibility (such as yoga or pilates), and strength and core.

His weekly routine includes yoga, swimming, running, and biking with friends. Having training buddies is a great way to stay consistent.

Dixon says everyone should do resistance and strength work at least twice a week particularly people over 40.

People could work up to those goals by starting with the low-hanging fruit: Can you go to bed earlier? Can you not snack on crap food after dinner? Can you get up early and go for a walk for 10 minutes with the sun rising?

He says preventative healthcare through exercise and diet can help mitigate, avoid and reverse a large portion the Governments billions in annual health spending, and should be promoted more.

You can create an amazing momentum with just one small step with intention. And if you keep that in your mind, the changes that Ive seen in some of my clients, its just been mindblowing.

It hasnt cost them anything, in fact, its saved them money. Theyve gone to bed earlier, theyve watched less Netflix, theyre buying better food, theyre feeling better, theyre more productive at work.

Taup GP Dr Glen Davies says people eating more carbohydrates and ultra-processed food has led to escalating rates of diabetes and pre-diabetes.

The Government estimates more than 300,000 people have diabetes in New Zealand and that prediabetes affects about 20 per cent of Kiwi adults.

To combat this, the GP of 35 years says people should return to eating whole foods simple, unprocessed meat, fish, chicken and veges.

We will see a complete turnaround in these appalling statistics.

Davies was named General Practitioner of the Year in 2021 for his engagement with diabetics and pre-diabetics.

He established the Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Taup group to promote a diet that includes nutrient-rich, whole, unprocessed foods and natural fats, and avoids processed carbohydrates, industrial seed oils and sugar.

Davies says whole foods are things that have recently been growing, walking, swimming or flying.

He defines anything that comes in a packet as ultra-processed.

Examples of whole-food meals include an omelette for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch and steak, broccoli and cauliflower for dinner.

To help grocery shoppers make better choices, he believes the Government should intervene by warning about the dangers of ultra-processed food or introducing a sugar tax.

Davies and Dixon are speaking at a Prevention is Cure event in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday hosted by social enterprise Prekure.

Ministry of Health deputy director of public health Harriette Carr says some factors contributing to health and wellbeing are not under peoples direct control.

Differences in social, cultural, economic, accessibility, practical and personal factors contribute significantly to inequity in diet, physical activity and health.

The Ministry agreed a preventative approach to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes is critical for individuals and society.

She says eating well and staying active are important for physical and mental health and more than a third of health loss can be prevented by addressing common risk factors such as smoking, alcohol abuse, obesity, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.

Carr says the ministrys Eating and Activity Guidelines for New Zealand Adults gives reliable information, built on evidence and expert advice.

Ppmoa 72-year-old Marie Benvin had not climbed to the top of Mauao for many years but recently achieved the feat after participating in a Sport Bay of Plenty challenge.

Benvin said her GP referred her to the organisations Green Prescription Programme this year as she was having trouble with her weight, exercising, and experiencing pain in her knees and hips.

She signed up for a challenge to climb Mauao.

Benvin said her fitness was reasonable before and she walked twice per week but had trouble with her blood pressure when she went on longer walks that included hills.

After making gradual progress in the five-week challenge, reaching the summit felt absolutely awesome, and her fitness and health improved greatly.

She got a puppy she walked for an hour each day, and is in a walking group.

Sport Bay of Plenty organised the Mauao Challenge to inspire people to adopt a more active lifestyle and improve their wellbeing.

Green prescription advisor Danilo led the Mauao challenge and said the goal was to support clients with achievable milestones starting with smaller portions up sections of Mauao.

The Green Prescription programme - which started in 2000 - receives about 250 patient referrals per month from medical practices across the Bay of Plenty.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.

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How to use diet and exercise to take control of your health - Bay of Plenty Times

The Superposition Guys Podcast, hosted by Yuval Boger, CMO at QuEra Computing

Nick Farina, CEO of EeroQ, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. They discuss EeroQs unique approach to building quantum computers using electrons on helium with a CMOS chip substrate, a technology researched for over 20 years but revisited by Farinas co-founder at Caltech. Farina outlines the companys journey from its founding in 2016, its strategic focus on hardware, and plans to release a functional prototype soon with a goal of achieving 10,000 qubits by 2026. They also explore the technical advantages, future plans, and the companys commitment to quantum ethics. Farina highlights challenges such as the funding climate and potential negative impacts of quantum technology, and endorses neutral atoms and silicon spin qubits as alternative modalities.

Listen on Spotify here

ere

Catherine Vollgraff Heidweiller, product manager at Google Quantum AI, is interviewed by Yuval Boger. Catherine describes the development of full-stack quantum computing, the importance of their 2019 quantum supremacy milestone, Googles product focus, and the early customers they work with. We discuss the evaluation of quantum usefulness, their error correction roadmap, the intersection of quantum computing and AI, the societal responsibilities of quantum development, and much more.

Yuval: Hello Nick, thank you for joining me today.

Nick: Thank you so much, I appreciate you having me on the show.

Yuval: So who are you and what do you do?

Nick: So my name is Nick Farina and I am the CEO of EeroQ. We were started in 2016, incorporated back in 2017. So weve been around for quite a while now in terms of quantum computing industry startups. We were originally spun out of Michigan State University. Weve been a little bit stealthy then and since.

But the first five years of the company was really a joint venture between myself working with some partners on providing investment funding to do sponsored research at Michigan State University. And ironically I came from a software background and our focus is 100% on hardware. So Im a lifelong entrepreneur, Im an angel investor and I came to quantum somewhat by accident.

Ill keep the story brief but I was on the board of directors of my co-founders wifes theater company in 2011 and I just became so fascinated. At the time he was a PhD student, later did a postdoc at Caltech and then got that professorship at MSU. But I became really enchanted by how magical quantum mechanics are and just not even thinking about quantum computing originally. I was just really mystified by the world of ultra low temperature experimental physics.

And then to keep the narrative rolling then in 2022 we felt that we were in a position to get to a 10,000 range quantum computer within five years. And Ill mention we had also brought on a CTO, Steve Lyon, who is a professor at Princeton. And Steve changed our trajectory in a few ways that we can discuss later but especially focusing on a CMOS compatible architecture. And the company itself does electrons on helium.

So there will be a lot to unpack there because on the one hand it sounds exotic and new. On the other hand its been in the literature since 1999. So its very old but also very new at the same time.

Yuval: So I understand that the company makes quantum computers or makes technology by which you can make quantum computers. Help me focus on that.

Nick: Absolutely. So we make quantum computers. So we are building a quantum computer that as with many other companies we envision having both on-prem offerings as well as cloud offerings.

There are as you know between seven to 10 different ways to build a quantum computer and electrons on helium using a CMOS chip as your substrate is a unique way out of those seven to 10. So one thing that makes EeroQ unique is that we are our only competitors. So electrons and helium has to work. And Im happy to describe how that system works in a minute. But we are our own lane.

And the reason that we chose this particular qubit modality is because its been researched theoretically and experimentally for over 20 plus years now. So we know a lot about the system. And similar to technologies like neutral atoms, its a next generation technology that is earlier stage in its development but at the same time offers some really compelling advances and advantages once someone is able to get it to work.

Yuval: I gather from the description of the CMOS substrate that the idea is that once you have this working as you describe then its easy to scale because CMOS chips are super well understood. There are so many places and you can make them and so the scaling part is almost solved. I know its far from solved but its almost solved once you have the basic building blocks in place. But Im curious, you mentioned that you are in your own lane. Is that because others are not aware of this technology? Is that because of IP protection? Why wouldnt you have additional competitors?

Nick: Thats a classic question to answer so Im happy to answer that one. But first Ill say that you did just give our sales pitch regarding CMOS which is essentially what we call it has been building a quantum computer in reverse. So no one has ever performed a two qubit gate with this system because we think thats actually the easier part and thats the part that were working in now.

But what weve done is the CMOS now has gone well beyond theory. So we work with a foundry called SkyWater up in Minnesota and SkyWater produced for us a chip where we can control ensembles of 2,432 electrons. So its similar to these large scale demonstrations in neutral atoms where you dont necessarily have 6,000 qubits but you have an array of atoms that can be controlled. So were at a similar stage there where weve proven the CMOS can work with the liquid helium. So were a scaling first company.

And the reason now to answer your other question is theres a few reasons that we are in our own lane. The first is that the way that quantum computing had developed in the United States very broadly is that in the early 2000s there was quite a bit of money provided by the government to fund different approaches. And some of these approaches were successful like superconducting circuits and ion traps at their very early stages. And then as a result, a lot of investment began to pour into those areas because they had shown promising early results.

Electrons and helium didnt work. So when there were attempts made in the early 2000s is when the experimental work began, we just didnt have the mastery of the properties of electrons and helium. We didnt have the equipment needed. So now for example, we can work with partners out there, vendors like Bluefors, like quantum machines that provide tools that were not available at all when this was first experiment I started.

So then what happened was because it wasnt a system that was able to get up and running quickly, there was a drought of funding for it. So it wasnt pursued as heavily as it might have been and therefore it lost some traction and ground. And then where we came in is during my co-founder Johannes time at Caltech, he basically put two and two together and dusted off an old paper. And he said, Well, at Caltech, everyones talking about quantum computing.

He got very familiar with the other modalities because he had been a condensed matter physicist generally at ultra-low temperatures, not focused on quantum computing until he went to Caltech. And there he said, Look, everyones talking about the pros and cons of these technologies, but I remember a paper in Science from 1999 that proposed electrons and helium, which is an expertise of his, that really wouldnt have any of these flaws where you could have exceptionally long coherence times, you could have all-to-all connectivity, you could have mobile qubits on the surface of the helium.

And the fun scientific fact is that electrons floating above helium are attracted to their own image beneath the helium surface. So the trapping is natural and this provides for immense potential for scalability and no requirement for modular interconnects. So for those reasons, we decided that even though this technology is really early, it needs to get the same type of shot that everyone else did because this could be a really compelling second generation technology.

And its taken a long time. Once we brought it back initially with some funding from myself and my friends and then later from venture capital. So our lead investors, B Capital Group, theyre the strategic venture arm of the Boston Consulting Group. And a few other reasons that we are able to stay in this lane is that its a very, very small field. So theres probably 10 or so people in the world who are truly experts at electrons on helium and about seven of them work at EeroQ.

So we were able to create a moat around talent, a moat with IP and a moat with a head start to actually build a scalable computer. And thats the reason why we have this very, very deep moat. Now that doesnt mean someone is not going to start one of these companies as we become more successful. But we do feel that we have a pretty strong moat around it.

Yuval: This is liquid helium, right? So this would be about four Kelvin and the electrons would swim around in the helium?

Nick: Yeah. So were running around 10 millikelvins, so quite cold. And what happens is, so its superfluid helium and you have your bottom layer is your CMOS chip. And then we put a layer of bulk helium at the bottom, which crawls the walls as superfluids do. And then that coats that CMOS chip and the electrodes on the chip. And then we use a tungsten filament, just basically a light bulb, to spray electrons into the system.

And then control and readout is done very similar to superconducting circuits using CQED. And thats what the system looks like. And if your listeners want to compare it to another technology that exists thats better known, it would be silicon spin qubits. The advantage being that the comparison being that were both using single electrons as qubits and were both a CMOS compatible system, but with electrons on helium, that little additional layer of helium provides a protective barrier so that the qubits dont get stuck in the silicon and are therefore exposed to all the defects of silicon like trapped charges, valley splitting, and so forth.

Yuval: When can I use one? How far are you from demonstrating or showcasing to the outside world this computer?

Nick: Well, watch this space over the next couple of months. Weve got some pretty exciting news coming out regarding the basics of the system. We have a functional prototype of the scaling system in our engineering facility. Were based in Chicago. When can you use it? I would say aggressively sometime next year. Were working on building a simulator for it as well. Being able to use it in a simulation environment, the answer would be much sooner.

But 2025 and 2026 are really when we see this system fully come online in working with both cloud vendors and potentially, depending on the demand, on-premise installations. One advantage Ill mention there is that because theres no need for modular interconnects, if someones looking for an on-prem quantum computer, all they need to do is get one chip from us and a Bluefors. Thats the entire setup. In that way, it has the ability to have a very small footprint, similar to neutral atoms in that way.

Yuval: Can you give us a hint on how many qubits?

Nick: Yes, I can. Our goal is going to be 10,000 qubits at some point in 2026. How exactly we distribute that, again, the split between on-prem and cloud remains to be seen. But the whole purpose of the system, as you already noted, is that we can go from our upcoming two-qubit gate to simply adding it to a scaling layer that we have already proven out works with liquid helium and with our system. So thats what enables us to leapfrog so quickly and scale so quickly.

And then from there, because its CMOS, in terms of going beyond 10,000, its just a matter of making more features in the CMOS.

Yuval: What can you tell us about coherence time or clock speed or anything that people use to measure the performance of existing systems?

Nick: Yeah, absolutely. I will note, of course, this is all theoretical because we have to build the system and have it out there. But the reasons that were excited about this system are that you can get well over 10 seconds of coherence time. Three nines in terms of key fidelities. We have all-to-all connectivity, which allows you, in addition to mobile qubits, both of which allow us to run the state of the art in error correction, whatever that may be.

Clock speed is something that will change due to variations. So we dont usually give a precise number on that. And lets see, I covered all-to-all connectivity. And the other key advantage in terms of metrics and benchmarking is that, well, this falls a little bit out of the scope and more into the advantages, is were able to control all the electrons with a single voltage. So in terms of actually being able to practically operate the machine in terms of wiring, youre able to do with far fewer wires than with some other systems.

Yuval: That point about fewer controls is also an important selling point of neutral atom systems. In neutral atom systems, the qubits move around with optical tweezers. How do they move around in your system?

Nick: So we use RF pulses. So again, its very similar, its sort of a mixture of superconducting circuits and silicon spin qubits in some ways. But we use a pretty standard circuit-quantum electrodynamics toolkit to control and read out the qubit states. And whats nice about the qubits, I keep mentioning mobility, but its a really important point.

The fact that theyre mobile on the surface allows us to, if we have any bad qubits, simply move them around and reconfigure. Because a lot of efforts having bad qubits and getting around them can be quite a challenge. So the mobility there is also something that is a significant part of the control of the qubits. And then the electrons themselves, before theyre moved into the operation zones, to the gates, we store them in little microchannels that are etched onto the chip.

And then theyre taken to the operation zones where we apply voltages and do computation in the very near future.

Yuval: Tell me more about the company. You mentioned when you were founded and how this started, you mentioned your lead investor. How many people are you and what are you looking for?

Nick: So were about 15 people now. We are very proud to be located in Chicago, which I think is, we had a national search for a headquarters, given that we were all over the place. We had people, of course, in Princeton, in New York City, and Michigan as well. So I was originally from Chicago, but we chose Chicago not because of that, but because of the talent pool there. So we moved into, we have about a 10,000 square foot engineering lab. And it was actually a fun challenge to find because we needed something very, very stable to avoid any fluctuations of the liquid helium. And as you mentioned, it can slosh around. So we are headquartered in an old locomotive headlight factory.

One thing that makes the company unique is that we have a pure 100% hardware focus. So we view ourselves as a fabless semiconductor company. And this allows us to be very capital efficient because at the end of the day, we dont need to build out our own fabrication, our own machinery around that. We simply are, we design the chips and then we can have them produced by third party foundries.

Now that being said, we dont have to wait around, I shouldnt say waste, but we dont have to wait around for wafers to come back in order to test and prototype new designs. So we do local fabrication here as well to test and iterate on a weekly basis on new chip designs.

One other thing that makes the company unique is that weve been focused on quantum ethics and responsibility since before it was cool. So back in 2018, we put out a white paper written by a PhD from MIT in philosophy about the ethics and governance of quantum computing and why we should get ahead of that at that time. So we stay very focused on hardware, but we also have a focus on policy and making sure that quantum computing is something that is a force for good in the world. As you know, its a dual use technology, so there are good and bad things you can do with it. And were definitely on our way to making a quantum computer and were pretty confident in our path now and we want to make sure now that it feels inevitable that its used properly.

Yuval: So all these hardware things, not bad for a software guy.And as an entrepreneur, what keeps you up at night? What are you worried about?

Nick: Well, as an entrepreneur, youre always up at night because theres an endless amount of things to worry about. But one thing I dont worry about is the quality of our team. I love the people that we work with and the technological effort. I certainly worry about the funding climate in general for quantum computing and where were going to see. Now this has begun to change because even though the general funding climate is in a bit of a downturn now, weve seen strong investment in quantum computing. So that keeps me up a little bit less.

We are not raising money now, but you always have to be thinking about that as a CEO. And finally, Ill say the potentially negative consequences of this technology do keep me up a little bit at night. Thinking about, again, because we have a very high level of confidence that were going to be able to build this computer. And we also have confidence in other pathways. And I dont even want to call them competing pathways because I think there will be room for multiple different qubit pathways to exist and to be successful.

So knowing that, having such a bullish perspective on us being able to achieve quantum advantage perhaps quicker than some folks think, that certainly keeps me up at night a little bit. But Im very proud of what were building here.

Yuval: Speaking of alternative modalities, so if there were no electrons on helium, which modality would you endorse?

Nick: I would endorse neutral atoms and silicon spin qubits. I would do a dual endorsement because I think they both have key advantages. Silicon spin qubits, they both have a lot of brilliant people working on them. And silicon spin qubits, you have the CMOS, with neutral atoms, you have a small footprint, and you have a system that seems like it can scale in a way that others cant.

Again, were focused 95% on scalability. The type of two qubit gates were working on are very well understood. So for us its about how we can make this scalable in addition to having high quality. But those are the two that I would, and Im not just saying this because youre involved in the neutral atom world, but were big fans of those two. But we want to see everyone succeed.

Yuval: One measure that we forgot to talk about is gate fidelity. What are you looking to achieve in the near term in terms of single or two-qubit gate fidelity?

Nick: We think three nines is something that we can get to. That will be the first design perhaps, but by the time within the period of two years or so, we think we can get there. Especially given that were the combination of using the spin state of the electron magnetic field there, as well as the intrinsic purity of the environment. So were not afraid to say that in terms of fidelities that we would predict that.

Yuval: And last hypothetical, so if you could have dinner with one of the quantum greats dead or alive, who would that be?

Nick: Thats a great question. I would say someone who I know from quantum Twitter, Jens Eisert. I dont even know if Im pronouncing his name correctly. Could be Jens. But Im going to give a shout out to him. A lot of the work that hes been doing lately has been really, really interesting, particularly at the conversion of quantum computing and artificial intelligence, which is something that I dont say lightly because I know we dont really know if there is a speed up there, but hes been doing really great work in that area and thats something I know very little about. And hes accomplished quite a bit. I would put him down actually.

Yuval: Nick, thank you so much for joining me today.

Nick: Thank you so much. It was really a pleasure and always appreciate the show.

To subscribe to the audio podcast, please Spotify here

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Superposition Guy's Podcast -- Nick Farina - CEO of EeroQ The Superposition Guy's Podcast: Workforce Development - The Quantum Insider

Sanskriti Deva, an Indian-American quantum engineer and passionate STEM educator, has an extraordinary story to share. Having taught over 10,000 people about the fascinating realm of quantum computingfrom elementary schoolers to industry professionalsher journey has yielded profound lessons that transcend scientific boundaries.

For Deva, who at 17 became one of the youngest elected officials and got to bring a lot of youth engagement to the United Nations as a member of Gen Z, the path to quantum enlightenment began with an unlikely source of inspirationsuperhero movies.

Im a really big comic fan and I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I kept hearing that word [quantum] over and over again I became more interested in what it meant, she explained during a recent TEDx talk at North Carolina State University.

However, Devas initial self-doubt nearly prevented her from embarking on this quantum adventure.

Honestly, if you had asked me like five years ago if I would be on stage talking about quantum computers, I would have said no, thats impossible. Im not smart enough, she admitted. It was her students who helped her overcome this mindset, leading to her first powerful realization: You dont have to be an innate genius or super talented at something to pursue something that youre passionate about.

Devas second lesson came from witnessing her students shared struggles and triumphs.

I learned this when I started teaching quantum computing for the first timeit was honestly the first time I had interacted with other people that were interested in the same subject I was, she said. There are people out there who like the same thing you do, regardless of how niche it is, and there are people out there that are also facing the same issues that you are as well.

But it was her youngest pupils who imparted perhaps the most profound wisdom.

They raised their hand and they said, I want to be a quantum computing princess ballerina dancer boxer president, or they said something like, Why not? I thought this would be cool, Deva recounted. From their unencumbered perspectives, she realized: You dont have to just choose one thing. You can be a multitude of things.

Reflecting on this revelation, Deva expressed that she believes our quality of life improves when we, like quantum particles that exist in dual states, embrace our multitude of identities and our multifaceted nature.

She passionately urged her audience: I encourage you to become an engineer and an artist, a scientist and a storyteller, a princess and a president.

Sanskriti Devas extraordinary journey from aspiring quantum student to esteemed educator has yielded profound insights into the boundless potential of curiosity, community, and self-acceptance. Her inspirational call to embrace the superposition of our multidimensional identities resonates far beyond the realm of quantum physics, reminding us all to fearlessly explore the infinite possibilities that lie within.

Featured image: Credit: TEDx

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What Teaching Thousands in Quantum Taught One Rising STEM Leader - The Quantum Insider

New Delhi: Indian Council for Cultural Relations on Friday 31 May, conferred the International Award for Promotion of Buddhism on Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw Dr. Ashin Nyanissara.

At a special ceremony held at the India Centre of the Embassy of India in Yangon, E. Kumar Tuhin, Director General, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) conferred the International Award for Promotion of Buddhism 2023 on Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw Dr. Ashin Nyanissara, one of the most revered personalities in the Buddhist community in Myanmar.

This Award carries a citation, a medallion and a cash prize of USD 20,000 (USD twenty thousand). It recognizes Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw Dr. Ashin Nyanissara's dedicated self-less service to promotion of Buddhism and Buddhist teachings in Myanmar and beyond. In the past, the International Award for Promotion of Buddhism had been presented to Otani University (Japan), Dr. Duong Thi Thanh Huong (Vietnam) and Mr. Choijamts Demberel (Mongolia).

In 2021, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) instituted the prestigious"International Award for Promotion of Buddhism", to recognize the outstanding contribution of foreign scholars/individuals/organizations for the promotion of Buddhism globally.

For millennia, India and Myanmar have shared a deep-rooted Buddhist connection, serving as conduit for the transmission of wisdom and culture across our borders.

Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw Dr Ashin Nyanissara's tireless efforts have further strengthened this bond, transcending geographical boundaries to promote harmony and understanding among diverse communities.

Through his extensive philanthropic initiatives, Dr. Ashin Nyanissara has played a pivotal role in providing education, healthcare, and humanitarian aid to the people. His holistic approach to social welfare has empowered countless individuals to lead fulfilling lives.

Furthermore, Dr Ashin Nyanissara's efforts in preserving and promoting the rich Buddhist cultural heritage, shared by both India and Myanmar, have been instrumental in fostering greater cultural exchange and understanding between the two nations.

His initiatives have promoted exchanges of visits of monks and scholars between India and Myanmar, facilitated academic dialogue and enriched the cultural tapestry of both countries.

The Award Ceremony today was attended by about 150 guests. Ambassador of India to Myanmar Abhay Thakur welcomed them, and underscored India's abiding Buddhist connection with Myanmar.

In his acceptance speech, Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw dwelt upon the role and contribution of Buddhism in addressing individual and social problems as well as in promoting mutual understanding and spiritual ties between India and Myanmar. Union Minister for Information U Maung Maung Ohn, Union Minister of Religious Affairs and Culture U Tin Oo Lwin, Chief Minister of Yangon Region U Soe Thein, Mayor and Chairman of Yangon City Development Committee U Bo Htay graced the event.

In addition to senior Buddhist figures including Venerable Sayadaw Sobhita from the International Buddhist Education Centre in Sagaing Region and Venerable Panna Zaw Da, Chief Monk of the Alodawpyie Meditation Centre and Monastery in Rakhine State, President of U Nu Daw Mya Yi Foundation Daw Than Than Nu, scholars, academics, ICCR Alumni from Universities across Myanmar, and members of the Indian and Indian-origin community in Myanmar attended the event.

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Sitagu Sayadaw Receives International Buddhism Promotion Award in Yangon - ETV Bharat

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Chris Pan, Ohio State Universitys most recent commencement speaker, has told NBC4 what he shouldve changed about his speech while standing by certain portions.

Dubbed a social entrepreneur by Ohio State ahead of the speech, Pan is a 1999 graduate from the university with previous stints at PepsiCo China, McKinsey and Co., and Facebook. He now runs his own company called Spirit Labs, which includes custom bracelet-maker MyIntent in its fold.

But Pan, returning to his alma mater on May 5, drew boos from an audience of graduates and parents at Ohio Stadium when he mentioned Bitcoin. Calling it a misunderstood asset, he encouraged attendees to keep an open mind and look into it as an investment while reminding them of runaway inflation in the U.S.

I have tons of love mail, I have hate mail too, Pan acknowledged. You get a little bit of both out of 70,000 people.

In an interview Friday with NBC4, Pan said the controversial moment was born from a March 8 email asking him to be the speaker.

I asked all the faculty and staff that I know are at the university, Did you nominate me? And nobody said they did, Pan said. I couldnt really believe it. It was such a huge honor. And I immediately screenshotted it, and I texted to people here at the university. And I said, Is this what I think it is? Like, just to confirm, because I didnt want to jump the gun.

Pan was joined on stage for the speech by Ohio State President Ted Carter, who also happens to be on the board of directors for a nuclear-powered Bitcoin mining company. And while the pair shares what Carter called a completely random connection, Pan admitted the cryptocurrency was more of a new discovery for him. He doesnt think it had anything to do with his being picked to speak.

People speculate that there was some Bitcoin conspiracy, Pan said. I only got into Bitcoin like mid-February. That was when I got the news of the ETF and then I spent two weeks really understanding it for myself.

Pan voiced support in his speech and the interview specifically for Bitcoin ETFs, a new investment option that lets people buy into a fund that tracks the price of the cryptocurrency. While Bitcoin ETFs simplify secure investing into it, they also come with some disadvantages compared to buying the coin outright.

An investor placing money in one of these funds wont directly own the cryptocurrency, meaning they cant use it outside of the ETF. And while direct cryptocurrency can be bought, sold, sent and received at any time, ETF buys and sales are limited by stock market hours, as well as accompanied by additional fees.

Pan noted he had dabbled directly with Bitcoin in 2020 before selling it at a loss. But he said he made his first social media post about the cryptocurrency on March 2, six days before he received the email inviting him to speak. Carter and Pan both acknowledged that they talked about Bitcoin at the dinner before commencement. There, the social entrepreneur also received another answer from the president: This year, they wanted an alumni.

Its not surprising because Ive done other events here, I was on the cover of the 2018 alumni magazine, Pan said. And they did a big spread on me and the bracelets.

Pan also wasnt shy about how he made the speech, announcing on LinkedIn that he used the psychedelic drug ayahuasca to write it. He told NBC4 he has previously used the drug multiple times, starting out for therapy. Looking back, he doesnt regret doing so or speaking about it publicly.

You look at John Lennon, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, these are all guys whove worked with psychedelics, you know, LSD in particular, to fuel creativity, Pan said. And obviously, this is the biggest speech of my life. Of course I was gonna do psychedelics, how could I not? It would be crazy for me not to, right? Because thats part of my practice.

Pan pointed out that Ohio State is home to a group whose entire focus is studying the drugs, alongside some states in the U.S. making moves toward legalizing certain psychedelics for therapy.

Over at Bricker Hall, we have one of a handful of psychedelic clinical research centers in the middle of campus that a lot of people probably dont know about, Pan said. And it started with researching for veterans PTSD. By me talking about it, yes, Im getting a lot of flack. But I do hope its going to help a lot of people. And its going to take ayahuasca from What the heck is this to Oh, its just another healing modality.'

On what was possibly the biggest point of conflict in his speech, Pan said he felt misinterpreted about Bitcoin, as well as comments about barriers to investing: fear, laziness and closed-mindedness. NBC4 asked him if he saw how that could come off to an audience with fresh student debt.

Some people took offense because they think I was calling them that, Pan said. I was not, I was calling myself that. I was that person who was fearful and who was lazy and who was closed-minded. In terms of debt, I actually had a section that I ended up cutting out, because I just didnt have time. And it was around, you know, we buy things we dont need to impress people we dont like. And we have an emptiness inside us, a sense of unworthiness, emptiness, you know, not being loved. And we use retail therapy.

The speaker also issued an apology, and separately explained what he would have changed in his message about Bitcoin.

I think it comes from a notion, probably a couple of things. One is what is appropriate at a commencement, right? Because theyre like, Well, you know, I didnt want to hear about this. Yeah, thats probably right, so I apologize. I didnt mean to offend you, I just thought it was really important, Pan said. My main message isnt even around Bitcoin, its around being open-minded, its around love, its around conflict resolution. If I were to do it over again, I would probably make it clear that I only got in three months ago.

At the same time, Pan stood by his message about researching cryptocurrency and investing in general.

I think dont put your rent money in there, Pan said. Dont put money you need over the next two years, three years, right? If its something you need in the short term, dont put it in there. But if its long-term money, thats five years and up, which hopefully all of us are thinking about retirement. Obviously, the earlier we start saving for retirement, the bigger the nest egg is going to be and thats where we get to retire. For any long-term investment, Im so bullish on Bitcoin. Ive never been more bullish on an asset class.

Pan said while his speech may have been criticized, the boos he received on stage will be worth it if a graduate says he helped them years from now.

Im really sorry, if you had a bad experience. I genuinely am, Pan said. That was not my intention. I have never had an intention to make people upset. My intention was actually to be helpful.

Regarding the MyIntent bracelets he promised to the stadium at the end of his speech, Pan said his company sent codes to OSU for each student and three of their attendees to get free bracelets. He noted the university did not give students emails to MyIntent, and OSU will handle sending the codes out. Redeeming the codes is optional.

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Im really sorry: Chris Pan on Ohio State Bitcoin speech, and how he was picked - NBC4 WCMH-TV

Biking is a great low-impact cardio exercise, but it may also help prevent knee pain and arthritis, new research shows.

People who participated in biking or cycling at any point in their lives were 17% less likely to experience knee pain and 21% less likely to develop osteoarthritis in the knee joint, according to a new study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

The study included over 2,600 participants in their sixties, who were asked how often they biked or cycled during four time periods through their lifetime: ages 12 to 18, 19 to 34, 35 to 49, and age 50 and older.

Researchers analyzed data and compared outcomes for knee pain and osteoarthritis of the knee joints between participants who had a history of bicycling and participants who do not bike.

Based on our observational study, bicycling over a lifetime is associated with better knee health, including less knee pain and less damage to the joint, the studys lead author, Dr. Grace Lo, chief of rheumatology at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, told NBC News.

The more periods of time in life a person spent bicycling, the less likely she or he had knee pain and signs of osteoarthritis," Lo said.

Arthritis is a term used to describe the inflammation, pain and swelling of one or more joints. The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage which cushions the bones that come together to form the knee joint wears down, causing the bones to rub together, per the Cleveland Clinic. This can cause pain, stiffness, and limited mobility.

Anyone can develop osteoarthritis, but the risk increases with age and symptoms typically appear in the fifties, TODAY.com previously reported. Other risk factors include previous joint injury or overuse, being overweight, and a family history of osteoarthritis, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the study, researchers took X-rays of the participants to look for signs of arthritis in the knee joints. They found that people who participated in bicycling were less likely to have X-ray evidence and symptoms of osteoarthritis in the knees than non-bicyclers.

While osteoarthritis cannot be cured or reversed, lifestyle changes may help reduce symptoms. People with knee arthritis are often told to move their joints and engage in activities such as cycling, swimming, or walking as opposed to high-impact activities like running or tennis, per the Cleveland Clinic.

Previously, it wasn't clear which low-impact exercise may be most beneficial for knee health, until now.

The observational study did not prove cause and effect or explain why biking is protective, but the findings did suggest there is an association between cycling and less knee pain and damage.

Biking and cycling combine cardio and strength training, but are low-impact and put less pressure on the joints. We do know that activities that are non-weight bearing are less likely to cause pain. Thats probably a reason why people have less pain when bicycling as compared to other activities, Lo said.

Biking also builds and strengthens the muscles around the knees, without the pounding and stress on the joints from exercises such as running, NBC News previously reported.

According to Lo, participants who biked between 12 and 18 when most reported a history of biking may have built up their quadricep muscles, and that this development remained even if they stopped biking as they got older.

The study did not look at the differences between outdoor biking and indoor cycling or suggest how often people should bike. However, experts told NBC News that people who aren't active should start with two to three days of low-intensity biking.

According to thePhysical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should get at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week or at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week.

Ideally, activity should be spread throughout the week for example, 30 minutes of biking or cycling five days a week.

When riding a bike outside, always remember to wear a helmet, obey traffic signs and signals, and use a bike lane when possible.

If you are cycling indoors, make sure to adjust the seat and handlebars to the appropriate height to avoid injury. (Here's a tutorial for setting up your spin bike and workouts for beginners.)

If you have concerns about knee pain, always talk to your doctor.

Caroline Kee is a health reporter at TODAY based in New York City.

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Cycling May Reduce Risk of Knee Pain and Arthritis, Study Finds - TODAY