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Jun 10, 2024

New study reveals brain’s fractal-like structure near phase transition, a finding that may be universal across species

Posted by in categories: nanotechnology, neuroscience, physics

While researchers have long studied brain dynamics using imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalograms (EEG), advances in neuroscience have only recently provided massive datasets for the brain’s cellular structure. These data opened possibilities for Kovács and his team to apply statistical physics techniques to measure the physical structure of neurons.

For the new study, Kovács and Ansell analyzed publicly available data of 3D brain reconstructions from humans, fruit flies and mice. By examining the brain at nanoscale resolution, the researchers found the samples showcased hallmarks of physical properties associated with criticality.

One such property is the well-known, fractal-like structure of neurons. This nontrivial fractal-dimension is an example of a set of observables, called “critical exponents,” that emerge when a system is close to a phase transition.

Jun 10, 2024

New insights on the role of nucleon exchange in nuclear fusion

Posted by in categories: computing, nuclear energy, physics

A recent study has explored the influence on low-energy fusion processes of isospin composition. This is a key nuclear property that differentiates protons from neutrons. The researchers used and theoretical modeling to investigate the fusion of different nuclei with varying isospin configurations. The results show that the isospin composition of the nuclei in a fusion reaction plays a crucial role in understanding the reaction. The paper is published in the journal Physical Review C.

In this study, researchers at Fisk University and Vanderbilt University used high-performance computational and theoretical modeling techniques to conduct a detailed many-body method study of how the dynamics of isospin influence nuclear fusion at low energies across a series of isotopes. The study also examined how the shape of the nuclei involved affect these dynamics. In systems where the nuclei are not symmetrical, the dynamics of isospin become particularly important, often leading to a lowered fusion barrier, especially in systems rich in neutrons. This phenomenon can be explored using facilities that specialize in the generation of beams composed of exotic, unstable nuclei.

The findings provide critical knowledge regarding the fundamental nuclear processes governing these reactions, which have broad implications for fields such as , astrophysics, and, perhaps someday, fusion-based energy.

Jun 10, 2024

How does light interact with matter at extreme intensities, near the Schwinger limit?

Posted by in category: physics

The experimental generation of increasingly intense light beams could help to unveil new physical regimes occurring in the presence of very strong electromagnetic fields. While some progress has been made towards this goal, physicists are yet to develop a reliable strategy to achieve extreme light intensities.

Jun 10, 2024

The discovery of new turbulence transition in fusion plasmas

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Fusion energy is released when two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier one (nuclear fusion reaction). Fusion energy-based power generation (fusion power plant) uses the energy generated when deuterium and tritium combine to form helium.

Jun 10, 2024

Lone star state: Tracking a low-mass star as it speeds across the Milky Way

Posted by in category: space

It may seem like the sun is stationary while the planets in its orbit are moving, but the sun is actually orbiting around the Milky Way galaxy at an impressive rate of about 220 kilometers per second—almost half a million miles per hour. As fast as that may seem, when a faint red star was discovered crossing the sky at a noticeably quick pace, scientists took notice.

Jun 10, 2024

Neuralink and the Future of Work — Deep Interview With Yip Thy Diep Ta

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, finance, robotics/AI, singularity

This interview with Yip Thy Diep Ta, CEO of J3d.ai, delves into AI-driven collective intelligence for decision-making, ethical considerations in AI development (fairness, bias mitigation, diversity), the implications of human-machine integration technologies (e.g., Neuralink), and the evolving role of humans in an AI-driven workforce.

Systain3r Summit: https://www.systain3r.com/

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Jun 10, 2024

Ned Block — What’s the Meaning of Consciousness?

Posted by in categories: evolution, neuroscience

Listen to audio versions of your favorite interviews with the Closer To Truth podcast: https://shorturl.at/hwGP3

Only about consciousness can we be 100 percent sure. That consciousness exists almost everyone agrees. What consciousness means—that’s where arguments and disputations arise. Must consciousness have ‘meaning’? Or can consciousness be a random accident, selected by evolution, the ‘foam on the waves’ of brain activity. But consciousness seems so radically vital.

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Jun 10, 2024

The New Math of How Large-Scale Order Emerges

Posted by in category: mathematics

Emergent phenomena: large-scale patterns and organization arise from innumerable interactions between component parts.

The behavior of a complex system might be considered emergent if it can’t be predicted from the properties of the parts alone.


The puzzle of emergence asks how regularities emerge on macro scales out of uncountable constituent parts. A new framework has researchers hopeful that a solution is near.

Jun 10, 2024

The Strange Mystery of Quantum Time

Posted by in category: quantum physics

An exploration of various ways of looking at time and how General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics views it differently and the ultimately question, what exactly is time?

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Jun 10, 2024

A rare black hole is lurking 6,000 light-years away in Earth’s cosmic backyard

Posted by in category: cosmology

Astronomers, with the help of the Hubble telescope, have now detected a rare intermediate-size black hole.

This black hole is hiding the Earth’s cosmic backyard at a distance of 6,000 light-years away within a globular star cluster.

The iconic Hubble Space Telescope has been used by astronomers to observe a compact region of space which has a mass of 800 Suns and is likely to be a black hole.

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