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Sep 5, 2023

North Korea stages tactical nuclear attack drill

Posted by in categories: existential risks, military, nuclear weapons

SEOUL, Sept 3 (Reuters) — North Korea conducted a simulated tactical nuclear attack drill that included two long-range cruise missiles in an exercise to “warn enemies” the country would be prepared in case of nuclear war, the KCNA state news agency said on Sunday.

KCNA said the drill was successfully carried out on Saturday and two cruise missiles carrying mock nuclear warheads were fired towards the West Sea of the Korean peninsula and flew 1,500 km (930 miles) at a preset altitude of 150 meters.

Pyongyang also said it would bolster its military deterrence against the United States and South Korea.

Sep 5, 2023

Neurons On Edge: Avalanches in Brain Reveal Info Processing Secrets

Posted by in category: neuroscience

Summary: Researchers provided robust evidence supporting the controversial “critical brain hypothesis” through a project called DishBrain.

This experiment, involving 800,000 human neural cells playing Pong, reveals how neurons shift into a “neural critical” state when informed about the surrounding environment, enabling cascades of brain activity. This state lies between the extremes of epileptic excitation and a comatose stall.

The findings hint at profound insights into brain function and potential treatments for neurological disorders.

Sep 5, 2023

Asteroid the size of 81 bulldogs to pass Earth on Wednesday

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Asteroid 2021 JA5 is around the size of 81 bulldogs, the symbol of the college football team of the University of Georgia. But it won’t hit us – hopefully the Bulldog team will have better luck.

Sep 5, 2023

How do electric batteries work, and what affects their properties?

Posted by in categories: chemistry, sustainability, transportation

Electric vehicles use lithium ion batteries with small amounts of nickel, manganese and cobalt. How do they work and what chemistry affects their properties?

Sep 5, 2023

Bizarre ‘failed star’ the size of Jupiter is 2,000 degrees hotter than the sun

Posted by in category: space

This Jupiter-size object is 80 times denser than a planet and hotter than the sun.

Sep 5, 2023

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Unveils New Structures of an Iconic Supernova

Posted by in category: cosmology

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of this iconic supernova with a keyhole in its center.

Sep 5, 2023

Scientists synthesize new organometallic ‘sandwich’ compound capable of holding more electrons

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, solar power

Organometallic compounds, molecules made up of metal atoms and organic molecules, are often used to accelerate chemical reactions and have played a significant role in advancing the field of chemistry.

Metallocenes, a type of organometallic compound, are known for their versatility and special “sandwich” structure. Their discovery was a significant contribution to the field of organometallic chemistry and led to the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1973 to the scientists who discovered and explained their sandwich structure.

The versatility of metallocenes is due to their ability to “sandwich” many different elements to form a variety of compounds. They can be used in various applications, including the production of polymers, glucometers—used to measure the amount of glucose in the blood, perovskite , and as a catalyst, a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed or changed by the reaction itself.

Sep 5, 2023

Scientists Slowed Down a Chemical Reaction 100 Billion Times to See What Happens

Posted by in categories: chemistry, computing, particle physics, quantum physics

Scientists have been able to observe a common interaction in quantum chemistry for the first time, by using a quantum computer to shadow the process at a speed 100 billion times slower than normal.

Known as a conical intersection, the interactions have long been known about, but are usually over in mere femtoseconds – quadrillionths of a second – making direct observations impossible to carry out.

Continue reading “Scientists Slowed Down a Chemical Reaction 100 Billion Times to See What Happens” »

Sep 5, 2023

AI and design: Exploring the synergy of creativity and technology

Posted by in categories: innovation, robotics/AI

Generative AI is dominating the conversation in 2023, and the design community is no exception to its transformative potential. Product innovations fueled by emerging AI capabilities have the potential to unlock new opportunities and put the power of real-time intelligence in customers’ hands like never before.

As a design leader focused on creating innovative products and solutions for millions of our consumers and for thousands of our employees, I find AI’s potential particularly exciting for the design discipline. New technological advances like generative AI, computer vision, natural language processing and large language models can augment, complement and elevate the capabilities of designers, enabling them to focus on work that delivers maximum value to their users. At the same time, there are ongoing and important conversations about designing and implementing new safeguards and frameworks to mitigate risk and ensure the responsible application of AI.

Let’s take a closer look at the dynamic intersection of AI and design, focusing on how AI-enhanced design tools can enhance designer workflows, improve outputs and fuel product innovation.

Sep 5, 2023

Low-oxygen planets may impede advanced civilisations

Posted by in categories: alien life, futurism

The existence of an oxygen bottleneck has significant implications for future searches of technological activities on exoplanets.


Astrobiologists theorise that low-oxygen planets would be unlikely to produce advanced civilisations, as the discovery of fire requires easy access to open air combustion, which is only possible when oxygen partial pressure is above 18%.

When the Earth formed around 4.6 billion years ago, its atmosphere consisted mostly of carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and water vapour – with a lack of free oxygen making it totally inhospitable for aerobic life.

Continue reading “Low-oxygen planets may impede advanced civilisations” »