Once a primal instinct, olfaction is now being mapped, measured, and modeled by machines.
Category: futurism – Page 69
Antarctica sits above Earth’s strongest ‘gravity hole.’ Now we know how it got that way
Gravity feels reliable—stable and consistent enough to count on. But reality is far stranger than our intuition. In truth, the strength of gravity varies over Earth’s surface. And it is weakest beneath the frozen continent of Antarctica after accounting for Earth’s rotation.
A new study reveals how achingly slow rock movements deep under Earth’s surface over tens of millions of years led to today’s Antarctic gravity hole. The study highlights that the timing of changes in the Antarctic gravity low overlaps with major changes in Antarctica’s climate, and future research could reveal how the shifting gravity might have encouraged the growth of the frozen continent’s climate-defining ice sheets.
“If we can better understand how Earth’s interior shapes gravity and sea levels, we gain insight into factors that may matter for the growth and stability of large ice sheets,” said Alessandro Forte, Ph.D., a professor of geophysics at the University of Florida and co-author of the new study recreating the Antarctic gravity hole’s past.
Antibody modulation of B cell responses—Incorporating positive and negative feedback
Antibodies modulate ongoing and future B cell responses. Cyster and Wilson review the various mechanisms whereby antibody feedback shapes B cell responses and present a framework for conceptualizing the ways antigen-specific antibody may influence immunity in conditions as diverse as infectious disease, autoimmunity, and cancer.
Where Do Minds Exist?
In this talk from the CSCSC 25 Conference on Complex Systems and Contemplative Studies, Dr. Michael Levin asks a question with deep resonance for both science and contemplative practice:
Rule-breaking discovery reveals new way to strengthen metal in extreme conditions
There’s a reason why blacksmiths fire metals before hammering them. Heat always softens metal, making it more malleable and easier to reshape. Or does it? In a surprising new study, Northwestern University engineers discovered that, in extreme conditions, heat doesn’t soften pure metals—it strengthens them.
Not only does this new finding challenge long-held assumptions of how metals behave, it also could provide new insights for designing metals for futuristic applications in extreme conditions, such as hypersonic flight, extraterrestrial construction and advanced manufacturing.
The study will be published Tuesday (Feb. 17) in Physical Review Letters.