Lifeboat Foundation

Stars could be sliced in half by “relativistic blades,” or ultra-powerful outflows of plasma shaped by extremely strong magnetic fields, a wild new study suggests. And these star-splitting blades could explain some of the brightest explosions in the universe.

The study authors, based at the Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics at New York University, outlined their results in a paper published in September to the preprint database arXiv. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Modern computer models—for example for complex, potent AI applications—push traditional digital computer processes to their limits. New types of computing architecture, which emulate the working principles of biological neural networks, hold the promise of faster, more energy-efficient data processing.

A team of researchers has now developed a so-called event-based architecture, using photonic processors with which data are transported and processed by means of light. In a similar way to the brain, this makes possible the continuous adaptation of the connections within the neural network. This changeable connections are the basis for learning processes.

For the purposes of the study, a team working at Collaborative Research Center 1,459 (Intelligent Matter)—headed by physicists Prof. Wolfram Pernice and Prof. Martin Salinga and computer specialist Prof. Benjamin Risse, all from the University of Münster—joined forces with researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Oxford in the UK. The study has been published in the journal Science Advances.

SEOUL, Oct 23 (Reuters) — South Korea’s Samsung SDI (006400.KS) said on Monday it will supply Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) with electric vehicle (EV) batteries for seven years starting 2026, marking the first battery supply deal between the two companies.

“The latest supply deal marks the first ever partnership between Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group in the field of electric vehicle batteries,” Samsung SDI said in a statement.

The battery maker, which supplies to General Motors Co (GM.N), Stellantis (STLAM.MI), and BMW (BMWG.DE) among others, added that it will supply prismatic batteries manufactured at its factory in Hungary for Hyundai Motor’s EVs targeting the European market from 2026 through 2032.

Read more about Hubble snaps a trio of interacting galaxies nearly 500 million light-years from Earth on Devdiscourse.

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Investigators have discovered a new subtype of interneurons in the retina that allows the eye to see and identify objects better in both the light and in the dark, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in Nature Communications.

The findings dismantle previous notions about the inner workings of the eye and also have broader implications for informing future neuroscience research, according to Yongling Zhu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Ophthalmology, of Neuroscience and senior author of the study.

In a mammalian eye, the retina converts light into electrical signals that the optic nerve then sends to the brain, enabling vision. Before being transmitted to the brain, the electrical signals are processed in a dense, synaptic layer within the retina, which is divided into two halves.

SpaceX has released footage showing a unique view of its latest Starship rocket test ahead of its second launch atop the mighty Super Heavy rocket.

Astronaut and Maine native Jessica Meir has been inducted into another hall of fame.

Meir, who grew up in Caribou, was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum on Saturday.