Lifeboat Foundation

Real-time data from Axial Seamount off the Oregon coast is providing researchers with a good eruption forecasting test.

What is the deepest level of reality? In this Quanta explainer, Vijay Balasubramanian, a physicist at the University of Pennsylvania, takes us on a journey through space-time to investigate what it’s made of, why it’s failing us, and where physics can go next.

Explore black holes, holograms, “alien algebra,” and more space-time geometry: https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-un…

Continue reading “Space-Time: The Biggest Problem in Physics” »

Bringing in more AI agents to workflows means having a strong orchestrator agent to manage it all for enterprises.

Generative AI requires a new set of KPIs to measure success. These KPIs help track model accuracy, operational efficiency, user engagement, and financial impact, ensuring that AI investments deliver tangible ROI.

Living organisms monitor time—and react to it—in many different ways, from detecting light and sound in microseconds to responding physiologically in pre-programmed ways, via their daily sleep cycle, monthly menstrual cycle, or to changes in the seasons.

Such an ability to react at different timescales is made possible via molecular switches or nanomachines that act or communicate as precise molecular timers, programmed to turn on and off in response to the environment and time.

Now, scientists at Université de Montréal have successfully recreated and validated two distinct mechanisms that can program both the activation and deactivation rates of nanomachines in living organisms across multiple timescales.

The secret to cellular youth may lie in maintaining a small nucleolus—a dense structure within the cell nucleus—according to investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine. These findings were uncovered in yeast, a model organism renowned for its role in making bread and beer, yet surprisingly similar to humans at the cellular level.

The study, published Nov. 25 in Nature Aging, may lead to new longevity treatments that could extend human lifespan. It also establishes a mortality timer that reveals how long a cell has left before it dies.

As people get older, they are more likely to develop health conditions, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative diseases.

At first glance, it might seem obvious that atoms touch each other, especially when you consider the material world around us. From the objects we handle to the materials we utilize, everything indeed appears very solid. However, the question of whether atoms actually “touch” as we understand it on a human level is far more intricate than it might seem. In fact, the answer hinges on how we define “touch,” a concept that shifts significantly at the atomic scale.

At the human scale, “touch” generally refers to the meeting of well-defined surfaces. For instance, when you place a glass on a table, you might say the two objects are touching because their outer surfaces overlap. However, at the atomic scale, this notion of contact becomes much more ambiguous. An atom is neither a solid object nor an entity with a clear boundary. It consists of a central nucleus made up of protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of constantly moving electrons. This unpredictable movement means the electron cloud does not create a fixed and defined surface.

To understand what contact means between atoms, one must look into the internal structure of these particles and the interactions occurring between their electrons. Each atom is made up of a central nucleus surrounded by an electron cloud, which isn’t located at a specific spot but occupies areas known as orbitals. These orbitals are regions of probability where it’s more or less likely to find an electron at any given time. Their shape and organization vary depending on the chemical element of the atom, giving each type of atom unique characteristics.

Sir Roger Penrose, a name synonymous with genius, has tirelessly pursued the secrets of the universe with the fervour of a true renaissance seer. His intellectual contributions span a breathtaking range, from the intricate beauty of Penrose tilings to the vast expanse of cosmology, and even the enigmatic depths of human consciousness.

Metabolic imaging is a noninvasive method that enables clinicians and scientists to study living cells using laser light, which can help them assess disease progression and treatment responses.

But light scatters when it shines into biological tissue, limiting how deep it can penetrate and hampering the resolution of captured images.

Now, MIT researchers have developed a new technique that more than doubles the usual depth limit of metabolic imaging. Their method also boosts imaging speeds, yielding richer and more detailed images.

Continue reading “Noninvasive imaging method can penetrate deeper into living tissue” »