Astronomers using data from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) have revealed that the initial “breakout” phase of a supernova is elongated, not perfectly spherical.
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They Built a Crystal to Trap Light — And Found a New Kind of Quantum Link
Researchers at Rice University have developed a sophisticated 3D photonic-crystal cavity that can trap and control light in unprecedented ways, unlocking powerful light-matter interactions. Their work explores how photons and electrons interact under intense conditions — revealing exotic quantum states like polaritons and entering the realm of “ultrastrong coupling.”
Mindscape 242 | David Krakauer on Complexity, Agency, and Information
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Blog post with audio player, show notes, and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/07/10/242-…formation/
Complexity scientists have been able to make an impressive amount of progress despite the fact that there is not universal agreement about what “complexity” actually is. We know it when we see it, perhaps, but there are a number of aspects to the phenomenon, and different researchers will naturally focus on their favorites. Today’s guest, David Krakauer, is president of the Santa Fe Institute and a longtime researcher in complexity. He points the finger at the concept of agency. A ball rolling down a hill just mindlessly obeys equations of motion, but a complex system gathers information and uses it to adapt. We talk about what that means and how to think about the current state of complexity science.
David Krakauer received his D.Phil. in evolutionary biology from Oxford University. He is currently President and William H. Miller Professor of Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute. Previously he was at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he was the founding director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the Co-director of the Center for Complexity and Collective Computation. He was included in Wired magazine’s list of “50 People Who Will Change the World.”
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Scientists Invented an Entirely New Way to Refrigerate
Say hello to ionocaloric cooling. It’s a new way to lower temperatures with the potential to replace existing methods of chilling things with a process that is safer and better for the planet.
Typical refrigeration systems transport heat away from a space via a fluid that absorbs heat as it evaporates into a gas, which is then transported through a closed tube and condensed back into a liquid.
As effective as this process is, some of the choice materials we use as refrigerants are particularly unfriendly to the environment.
A Common Medicine May Stop Colorectal Cancer From Returning
A low dose of aspirin each day may significantly reduce the chances of colon and rectal cancer returning in certain cases, a new clinical trial has found.
Led by researchers from the Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, the study involved 626 people with stages 1 to 3 colon or rectal cancer, and specific genetic mutations in the cancer tumors.
Previous studies have suggested that cancers with these mutations – specifically in the PIK3 signaling pathway – could be targeted by aspirin, but this is the first time the hypothesis has been tested in a randomized clinical trial.