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An exploration into ten potential ways that we may have already detected alien life in the universe.

Cylinder Eight by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.…)
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Cylinder Three by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.…)
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Cylinder Five by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.…)

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Experiments conducted at Montana State University in collaboration with Columbia University and the Honda Research Institute have resulted in the emission of single photons of light in a new type of quantum material—a feat that could lead to the development of controllable light sources for use in quantum technologies.

A comprehensive article about the breakthrough was published in the journal Nature Communications. It describes ultra small, two-dimensional, ribbon-shaped materials measuring one atom thick and tens of atoms wide—about a thousand times narrower than the width of a human hair.

The nanoribbons were grown by the Honda Research Institute, stretched over specialized surfaces developed by Columbia to stimulate , then manipulated and tested by the MSU team, which analyzed and described the nanoribbons’ characteristics, including their ability to emit single photons.

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Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found a promising drug candidate that could help restore vision in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological conditions that damage neurons.

The study was published this week in the journal Nature Communications.

The drug, LL-341070, enhances the brain’s ability to repair damaged — the protective sheath around nerve fibers. Damage to myelin is a hallmark of diseases like MS, as well as a natural consequence of aging, often resulting in , loss of motor skills, and cognitive decline.

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In an article published in Physical Review Letters on Thursday, scientists carried out an innovative study testing the existence of mirror asymmetries in our universe by studying the handedness of the gravitational-wave emission from black-hole mergers detected by Advanced LIGO and Virgo.

The pillar of modern cosmology—known as the Cosmological Principle—states that, when observed at large scales, the universe is isotropic and homogeneous. This is, all observers in the universe will roughly observe the same structures regardless of where they are or where they look. As a consequence, the universe must not display a preference for stuff that rotates clock or anti-clockwise but, which is known as “mirror symmetry.”

Einstein’s theory of gravity, known as General Relativity, predicts that massive bodies can produce a type of radiation known as gravitational waves, which consist of distortions of spacetime that travel away from their sources at the speed of light. Such waves are produced in some of the most violent events in the universe, like supernovae, black-hole mergers or the big bang itself.

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The University of Seville’s SMART tokamak has achieved a critical milestone by creating its first tokamak plasma.

Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid, and gas. It is an ionized gas consisting of positive ions and free electrons. It was first described by chemist Irving Langmuir in the 1920s.

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A study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that while the baboons noticed and responded to a laser mark shining on their arms, legs and hands, they did not react when they saw, via their mirror reflection, the laser on their faces and ears.

It was the first time a controlled laser mark test has been done on these animals in a wild setting and strengthens the evidence from other studies that monkeys don’t recognize their own reflection.

The researchers observed 120 Chacma in Tsaobis Nature Park, Namibia, between May and October 2021 to better understand among wild non-hominid primates, who have previously been tested almost exclusively in captivity.

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The divide between their lineage and ours narrowed even further in 2010, when researchers published the first Neandertal genome sequence. Comparison of that ancient DNA with modern human DNA showed that the two species had interbred and that people today still carry the genetic fingerprint of that intermixing. Since then, numerous studies have explored the ways in which Neandertal DNA affects our modern physiology, revolutionizing our understanding not only of our extinct cousins but of ourselves as a hybrid species.

This area of research, clinical paleogenomics, is still in its infancy, and there are many complexities to unravel as we explore this new frontier. We therefore must take the findings from these studies with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, the research conducted to date raises the fascinating possibility that Neandertal DNA has wide-­reach­ing effects on our species—not only on general health but on brain development, including our propensity for conditions such as autism. In other words, DNA from our extinct relatives may, to some extent, shape the cognition of people today.

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This old talk by Daniel Dennett touches on a lot of topics we’ve discussed recently. Dennett explains why it’s wrong to regard phenomenal consciousness (the “what it’s likeness” or “raw experience” version) as separate from access consciousness (the cognitive access of information for decision making, memory, report, etc).

Note that Dennett doesn’t deny the existence of phenomenal consciousness here, just the idea that it’s something separate and apart from access. He even passes up opportunities to dismiss qualia, although he does provide a reduction of them.

This video is about 66 minutes long. Unfortunately the video and sound quality aren’t great, and the camera operation is annoying, but the talk is worth powering through.

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