Microsoft fixed 111 vulnerabilities, including a Windows Kerberos zero-day enabling full AD compromise via BadSuccessor.
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Is gravity quantum? Experiments could finally probe one of physics’ biggest questions
“How quantum mechanics and gravity fit together is one of the most important outstanding problems in physics,” says Kathryn Zurek, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena.
Generations of researchers have tried to create a quantum theory of gravity, and their work has produced sophisticated mathematical constructs, such as string theory. But experimental physicists haven’t found concrete evidence for any of these, and they’re not even sure what such evidence could look like.
Now there is a sense that insights could be around the corner. In the past decade, many researchers have become more optimistic that there are ways to test the true nature of gravity in the laboratory. Scientists have proposed experiments to do this, and are pushing the precision of techniques to make them possible. “There’s been a huge rise in both experimental capability and our theoretical understanding of what we actually learn from such experiments,” says Markus Aspelmeyer, an experimental physicist at the University of Vienna and a pioneer of this work.
Graphene in Focus: Keeping Up to Date with Advances in Research
Graphene is a two-dimensional material composed of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. Its first discovery was so astonishing because, despite its atomic-scale thickness, graphene exhibits exceptional mechanical strength, approximately 200 times greater than steel.
It also has high electrical and thermal conductivity and a very high theoretical surface area of approximately 2,630 m2/g, which means it can easily be functionalized, broadening its scope.
These properties make graphene suitable for applications in quantum electronics, biomedicine, sustainable construction, and energy storage.
Graphene’s role in technology is expanding, offering solutions for energy storage, cancer therapy, and sustainable construction through innovative research.
Maternal microbes play a significant role in shaping early brain development, study suggests
Research from Michigan State University finds that microbes play an important role in shaping early brain development, specifically in a key brain region that controls stress, social behavior, and vital body functions.
The study, published in Hormones and Behavior, used a mouse model to highlight how natural microbial exposure not only impacts brain structure immediately after birth but may even begin influencing development while still in the womb. A mouse model was chosen because mice share significant biological and behavioral similarities with humans and there are no other alternatives to study the role of microbes on brain development.
This work is of significance because modern obstetric practices, like peripartum antibiotic use and Cesarean delivery, disrupt maternal microbes. In the United States alone, 40% of women receive antibiotics around childbirth and one-third of all births occur via Cesarean section.
This Tiny Brain Grown in a Lab Could Revolutionize Mental Health Research
A lab-grown brain that mimics real brain function may offer breakthroughs in autism, schizophrenia, and mental health drug testing.
Scientists Identify How Young Blood Reverses Aging in Human Skin Cells
The idea of taking blood from the young to rejuvenate the elderly is getting an increasing amount of attention from scientists, and a new study has shown how some of the youthful properties of our skin can be restored with this kind of blood swap.
A special 3D human skin model was set up in the lab by researchers, who then tested the effects of young blood serum on the skin cells. By itself, the serum had no effect, but when bone marrow cells were added to the experiment, anti-aging signals were detected in the skin.
It appears that the young blood serum interacts with the bone marrow cells in specific ways to roll back time in skin cells. The study was led by scientists from Beiersdorf AG, a skin care company in Germany, who say their findings have huge potential in helping us understand anti-aging mechanisms.