Tuesday - October 10 2023, 11:22 UTC - 1 year ago

A team of astrophysicists has theorized that pulsars, rapidly rotating neutron stars, could be used to detect the elusive dark matter. This could be done by tracking axions, theoretical elementary particles that may potentially constitute dark matter, near a pulsar. The team further studied the process using computational models, providing the first step forward to detecting axions directly.

Tuesday - October 10 2023, 06:52 UTC - 1 year ago

A study conducted by the Frontiers in Psychology has uncovered how odors can strongly influence our perception of colors, such that the presence of certain smells will make us perceive a ‘neutral’ color differently. For example, the presence of coffee may unconsciously make us perceive grey as more of a reddish-brown, while the presence of lemon may unconsciously make us perceive grey as a more yellowish color. Additionally, the authors have discussed potential implications of this influence in the field of marketing and behavior modification.

Tuesday - October 10 2023, 02:18 UTC - 1 year ago

This week, three studies in Nature focused on plasma proteins as a translator between genes and bodily functions. By tapping into the UK Biobank database of 500,000+ participants, the Pharma Proteomics Project was able to link genetic changes to various health concerns such as fatty liver disease. This major collaboration between 13 biopharmaceutical companies has the potential to lead to new medications, diagnosis, and treatments.

Monday - October 9 2023, 22:14 UTC - 1 year ago

The Wireless Emergency Alert system had its third nationwide test on Oct. 4, 2023. This test is important because the lack of public awareness and distrust caused by previous tests raise the question if public trust in emergency alerting is eroding. Previous tests have highlighted the danger of too many alerts, confusion over the origin of alerts, and potential biases that cause people to ignore and be resistant to these messages. To rebuild trust, there needs to be more public testing and awareness of the Wireless Emergency Alert system.

Monday - October 9 2023, 17:28 UTC - 1 year ago

George de Hevesy's experiment of experimenting with food leftovers at a boarding house in Manchester, U.K., in 1911 led to the discovery of a powerful science tool, called radioactive tracers. Radioactive tracers are unstable isotopes which transform into a different element on radioactive decay, and their radioactivity serves as a signature indicating the presence of a given isotope. The successful use of this closely-monitored substance in a variety of sciences, including medicine and physics, led to George de Hevesy's Nobel Prize in Chemistry win in 1943.

Monday - October 9 2023, 12:09 UTC - 1 year ago

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke to a courtroom in Washington DC, where the US Department of Justice is attempting to persuade a federal judge that Google has illegally paid billions to Apple and others to preserve its monopoly on the search engine market. Nadella broadly backed the government's arguments and expressed worries that Google could use its dominance to strongarm content providers in the generative AI field.

Monday - October 9 2023, 07:16 UTC - 1 year ago

This study explores the sixth taste known as ammonium chloride, which activates the protein OTOP1 to stimulate the sour receptor on the tongue. It also modulates behaviour in mice with the OTOP1 receptor. Different species have shown varying levels of sensitivity to the salt, likely due to different dietary habits and ecological niches.

Monday - October 9 2023, 02:57 UTC - 1 year ago

Computer scientists have discovered a new algorithm which could reduce the number of qubits required to crack encryption. Thanks to quantum computing, cracking encryption with prime factoring is simple. Today's quantum computers are unable to do it, but with advances in quantum computing the algorithm created by Oded Regev could reduce the number of qubits needed to crack encryption. Current estimates place a 1,024-bit key taking a quantum computer running for 12 hours to crack.

Sunday - October 8 2023, 22:53 UTC - 1 year ago

Harvard's George Church has been involved in starting successful biotech companies and has past experience initiating the Human and Personal Genome Projects. His current project, with Rejuvenate Bio, is a combination gene therapy clinical trial to treat age-related diseases in humans with an aim of developing and scaling human genome engineering to 20,000 targeted genes at a time. This ultimately aims for extreme longevity in humans.

Sunday - October 8 2023, 18:21 UTC - 1 year ago

Mercury's shrinkage is attributed to the cooling of its core, and a recent study undertaken by researchers at the United Kingdom's Open University has provided fresh insights into this planetary phenomenon. The analysis of NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft data shows evidence of new geological features, known as "graben" that formed on scarps, suggesting that Mercury's contraction activity occurred around 300 million years ago. The BepiColombo mission currently holds the potential to solve the mystery of Mercury's ongoing shrinking process.

Sunday - October 8 2023, 13:43 UTC - 1 year ago

Michigan State University has published a research article in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that reveals that on a warming planet, plants like oaks and poplars will emit more of a compound called isoprene that exacerbates poor air quality. The team led by University Distinguished Professor Tom Sharkey is now working to better understand the biomolecular processes plants use to make isoprene and how these processes are affected by the environment, especially in the face of climate change. The main goal is to understand how the increasing carbon dioxide and temperatures counteract isoprene production.

Sunday - October 8 2023, 09:32 UTC - 1 year ago

A new research from Cornell, Xbox and Microsoft Research has revealed the importance of diversifying the data used to label gaming titles. By surveying 5,174 gamers from around the world, the team found that the model fed on a global dataset outperformed a model fed on a single-country dataset. This research highlights the need to account for cultural diversity when labeling datasets in order to create more accurate AI models.

Sunday - October 8 2023, 05:16 UTC - 1 year ago

Robots are increasingly being used in agriculture to help with tasks such as harvesting crops, and weeding. However, robots often face the challenge of navigating through complex and changing environments. An algorithm inspired by ant navigational skills and neuromorphic computing has now been developed to tackle this problem. The algorithm can increase the navigational capabilities of robots and can also be used in self-driving cars.

Sunday - October 8 2023, 01:12 UTC - 1 year ago

The fifth generation fighters (F-22/F-35) of the US, Russia, and China have yet to show major success in any air combat operations, however the possibility of using drones as wingmen with the 5th gen aircrafts might change the picture. The US is further supported by their fourth generation fighters which have been successful in recent operations. Meanwhile, Russia and China have largely relied on their inferior Russian-based aircrafts and have yet to use their own 5th gen planes for operations.

Saturday - October 7 2023, 20:33 UTC - 1 year ago

Two Microsoft researchers have introduced a novel technique for training small language models - by raising them on a strict diet of children's stories. Their paper, posted to arxiv.org, shows how language models thousands of times smaller then current state-of-the-art systems can rapidly learn to tell consistent and grammatical stories, hinting at new ways of training large models and understanding their behavior.

Saturday - October 7 2023, 16:24 UTC - 1 year ago

As the NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) approaches the end of its life cycle by the 2030s, China is expanding its space station from three to six modules, giving astronauts from other countries a different platform for near-Earth missions. The station, currently called Tiangong - the Chinese word for "Heavenly Palace", will be 180 metric tons and accommodating up to six astronauts. China has expressed its willingness to collaborate with other countries and organizations on scientific research and experimentation aboard the CSS, making the country a leader in space exploration.

Saturday - October 7 2023, 12:06 UTC - 1 year ago

Eco-anxiety is a growing mental health issue experienced by people across the globe, caused by climate change worries. To tackle this, UPSTREAM is a useful acronym representing some evidence-based tips to help cope, such as understanding and self-compassion, participate in the solution, and do sensible self-talk.

Saturday - October 7 2023, 07:16 UTC - 1 year ago

Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Elon Musk, and has since raised over $1 billion in investments from Softbank & other venture capitalists. They are working on projects to revolutionize the Operating System by language modelling, reinforcement learning and developing an iPhone-like device with the help of X-Apple designer Dan Ives.

Saturday - October 7 2023, 03:10 UTC - 1 year ago

The US's Federal Communications Commission recently issued a $150,000 fine to the US TV provider Dish for failing to move one of its satellites into a safe orbit. This could be more than a symbolic gesture as it sets a precedent for taking action against bad actors who leave dangerous junk orbiting Earth. It could also give life to the still-small market for commercial removal of space debris. The action taken by the FCC could also inspire other countries to take more action towards space junk.