Recent fossil finds suggest that big brains weren’t an evolutionary asset to our ancestors but evolved by accident – and are likely to shrink again in the near future.
By Colin Barras
This Perspective explores the potential of organic electrochemical neurons, which are based on organic electrochemical transistors, in the development of adaptable and biointegrable neuromorphic event-based sensing applications.
In an application of terahertz phonon engineering, terahertz phonons were generated, detected and manipulated through precise integration of atomically thin layers in van der Waals heterostructures.
The Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics from (Bub & Pitowsky, 2010) has been criticized in two ways related to the ontological picture it supplies. This paper explores whether Ontic Structural Realism can supplement the metaphysics of ITIQM in a way that would satisfy its critics. The many similarities between the two views are detailed. And it is argued that the ITIQM view ca. 2010 does seem to be compatible with OSR, but as the view evolved in Bub’s Bananaworld (2016), its fundamental metaphysical commitments shifted, making it a less clean fit with OSR.
AI-powered robots are popping up across Silicon Valley. If some industry experts are right, they could help solve a global labor shortage.
Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft and Nvidia have plowed billions of dollars into what are known as “humanoid” robots. These machines typically stand on two legs, and are designed to perform tasks meant for people.
We Are All Dennettians Now
Posted in robotics/AI
“Of all currently known temperate exoplanets, LHS 1,140 b could well be our best bet to one day indirectly confirm liquid water on the surface of an alien world beyond our Solar System,” said Charles Cadieux.
The search for Earth’s twin just got a little closer as astronomers recently presented findings regarding a potential icy or watery “super-Earth” called LHS 1,140 b, which is located approximately 49 light-years from Earth and whose radius is approximately 1.7 times our planet, along with orbiting within its star’s habitable zone. What makes this finding unique is LHS 1,140 b was previously hypothesized to be a mini-Neptune and astronomers speculate could be completely covered in either ice or water.
The findings were recently accepted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters and hold the potential to help astronomers better understand the formation and evolution of exoplanets, and specifically Earth-sized exoplanets within their star’s habitable zone.
Global Food Waste in 2024
Posted in food
Global food waste is a cross-cutting issue that starts during agricultural production, available food supply, and continues all of the way to the landfill.
Over 30% of food is lost or wasted each year. This number is even more striking, given the large number of hungry people in the world. Wasted food is not only inefficient, it’s a social justice issue – as all the food wasted could be used to serve the food recovery hierarchy and prevent perfectly good food from being wasted.
The extent and impact of global insect movements is hindered by tracking limitations. This study reveals a 4,200 km transatlantic journey by butterflies from West Africa to South America, lasting 5–8 days, highlighting the remarkable capacity of certain insects to disperse over vast distances.
This study investigated the ability of vessel wall imaging to identify the rarely reported spontaneous intracranial carotid dissection (sICD) guided by postmortem validation:
Background and Objectives.