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Here’s the latest scoop from the markets, events, and tech world in this edition of The Weekly Slice, brought to you by our sponsors.

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Market Analysis - Last 7 days

In the last week, the market has stayed flat, however, the Utilities sector stood out, gaining 3.3%. As for the longer term, the market has risen 26% in the past 12 months. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 14% annually.

^{Source - https://www.simplywall.st/markets/us}

Market Trends and Economy

World’s Most Important Oil Price Transformed by Adding US Crude

Almost exactly a year ago, the US grade WTI Midland was added to the grades that are allowed to determine the price of Dated Brent, a benchmark for physical crude transactions the world over and critical to a web of derivatives. Since then, the measure has seen record trading volumes in both physical and derivative markets and new entrants — eliminating decades-long concerns over shrinking North Sea oil production.

Conferences

ALL-IN SUMMIT 2024

September 8th - 10th | Los Angeles, CA

The All-In Summit 2024, scheduled for September 8-10 in Los Angeles, aims to connect members of the All-In community with leading global thinkers to influence and shape the future of business, politics, and society.

FinTechLit! Financial Literacy Summit

October 13th - 15th, 2024 | Austin, TX

FinTechLit is hosting a 2-day financial literacy seminar, Tech Week Recap, awards ceremony, and music showcase to celebrate the best of Houston‘s first annual Tech Week! Invite only VIP meet and greet on Saturday, October 13 at Warehouse Live.

Communities - Let’s Grow Together 🌱

Women’s Business Centers | USA

Women's Business Centers (WBCs) are a part of a national network of entrepreneurship centers throughout the United States and its territories, designed to assist women in starting and growing small businesses. WBCs seek to "level the playing field" for women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles in the business world. Learn more here.

The Alliance for Positive Change

Founded in 1991, The Alliance for Positive Change provides comprehensive support for New Yorkers living with HIV and other chronic health conditions, including healthcare, housing, harm reduction, coaching, and programs aimed at economic mobility. The organization focuses on addressing systemic inequities and promoting health and well-being, specifically serving the city's Black, Hispanic/Latinx, LGBTQ+, and HIV-positive communities, as well as those who use drugs or are in recovery. Their bilingual services in English and Spanish are tailored to meet the unique needs of each individual they serve.

Emerging Technology Review

An AI dataset carves new paths to tornado detection

The return of spring in the Northern Hemisphere touches off tornado season. A tornado's twisting funnel of dust and debris seems an unmistakable sight. But that sight can be obscured to radar, the tool of meteorologists. It's hard to know exactly when a tornado has formed, or even why.

A new dataset could hold answers. It contains radar returns from thousands of tornadoes that have hit the United States in the past 10 years. Other severe storms flank storms that spawned tornadoes, some with nearly identical conditions, that never did. MIT Lincoln Laboratory researchers who curated the dataset, called TorNet, have now released it as open source. They hope to enable breakthroughs in detecting one of nature's most mysterious and violent phenomena.

Mapping the brain pathways of visual memorability

For nearly a decade, a team of MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) researchers have sought to uncover why certain images persist in people's minds, while many others fade. To do this, they set out to map the spatio-temporal brain dynamics involved in recognizing a visual image. And now for the first time, scientists harnessed the combined strengths of magnetoencephalography (MEG), which captures the timing of brain activity, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which identifies active brain regions, to precisely determine when and where the brain processes a memorable image.

Space Out

Curious asteroid Selam, spotted by NASA's Lucy spacecraft, is a cosmic toddler

When NASA's Lucy mission passed by the near-Earth asteroid Dinkinesh last November, it discovered that Dinkinesh had a companion — a little moonlet that astronomers soon named Selam. And now, scientists have measured Selam's age. Their estimate suggests that tiny Selam separated from its larger partner Dinkinesh just 2 to 3 million years ago, making Selam a toddler — by solar system standards, of course.

Astronauts on the moon could stay fit by running in a Wheel of Death

Any human who spends enough time in a low-gravity environment — such as a future habitat on the moon — will experience bodily changes as their muscles atrophy, their bones lose mass and their control over their whole body itself declines. This is why astronauts who spend time beyond Earth's atmosphere must exercise on their missions. Without physical fitness, they’ll struggle to function on even a basic level when they return to Earth’s gravity.

The Crypto State

Eigen Foundation to distribute 100 more EIGEN to token holders, following airdrop backlash

The Eigen Foundation will airdrop 100 more EIGEN to more than 280,000 wallet holders, shortly after its community took aim at its controversial airdrop. 

Season 1 claimants will receive at least 110 EIGEN, while Season 2 will get 100 EIGEN or more, the Eigen Foundation said Thursday in a post on X. The developers are distributing more tokens after facing public backlash over the EIGEN airdrop plan, including criticisms of a stipulation that bars claimants from cashing out their allocations for a fixed period of time.

FriendTech's token launches for trading alongside airdrop claims and version 2 rollout

The new native token for Web3 social media platform FriendTech has started trading on its native decentralized exchange on the Base network.

The Friend token currently trades at $3 with a circulating supply of about 14.5 million, according to DexScreener.

FriendTech, which launched last August on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base, has gained prominence with its unique, invite-only networking service that leverages social tokens called “Keys” that give users access to exclusive chats and content from creators.

Startup Spotlight

Rad AI

The Rad AI company, founded in 2018 by Dr. Jeff Chang and serial entrepreneur Doktor Gurson, focuses on developing AI solutions to help radiologists save time on report generation. The company has recently raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by Khosla Ventures, a venture capital firm known for its interest in AI-based technology startups.

That’s a Wrap Slice

What is VedasLabs.io again?

VedasLabs.io is a Web 3.0 funding and networking platform that incentivizes an active, global community comprising founders, mentors, and investors. Our vision is to create a world where investment, the exchange of knowledge, and collaboration among investors, issuers, and industry experts are secure, instantaneous, and without friction.