A new state between metal and insulator.
Though the notion of the supernatural has captivated humanity across continents and centuries, the most compelling path to explaining such mysteries may reside in the fundamental operations of nature itself. The premise that there is no realm beyond the natural order underpins the hypothesis that any genuine paranormal or spiritual phenomenon, if it exists, must be quantum in character. On the surface, this sounds audacious: quantum theory is already widely deemed one of the most counterintuitive scientific frameworks, replete with superpositions, entanglement, and the undeniable role of altering reality via measurement. Yet these very features seem to provide the most plausible scaffolding upon which experiences such as extrasensory perception (ESP), clairvoyance, telepathy, contact with disembodied spirits, psychokinesis, reincarnation, or even a continuation of existence in an afterlife, could be built.
Those who have conducted painstaking investigations into alleged parapsychological happenings often begin with the simplest question: Can these events be rigorously documented? The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) program endeavored to place mind–machine interactions under stringent laboratory conditions for more than two decades, testing whether human intention could alter random-event generators. Their experimental data reported “small but consistent deviations from expected outputs” (Jahn & Dunne, 1987, p. 45). Mainstream critics rightly pointed to the difficulty of reconciling such deviations with known physics. However, these critics also noted that if the data were taken at face value, the underlying mechanism could only be teased out by exploring deeper layers of reality that engage both mind and matter — precisely the realm where quantum theory holds sway.
As we delve further into the annals of psychical research, Dean Radin’s contributions provide an illuminating guide. In The Conscious Universe: The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena, Radin (1997) summarizes meta-analyses across thousands of trials testing telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition. He concludes that “if psi is real, then we will see small but systematic deviations from chance expectations across many studies” (p. 136). Over and over, this is what he reports. Conventional interpretations falter, but an appeal to quantum processes — whose probabilistic nature might be subtly influenced by consciousness — begins to feel less like arcane speculation and more like a coherent, if daring, hypothesis.
Scientists at deCODE genetics/Amgen have constructed a complete map of how human DNA is mixed as it is passed down during reproduction. The map marks a major step in the understanding of genetic diversity and its impact on health and fertility. It continues 25 years of research at deCODE genetics into how new diversity is generated in the human genome, and its relationship to health and disease.
The new map, appearing today in the online edition of Nature, is the first to incorporate shorter-scale shuffling, (non crossover) of grandparental DNA, which is difficult to detect due to the high DNA sequence similarity. The map also identifies areas of DNA that are devoid of major reshuffling, likely to protect critical genetic functions or prevent chromosomal problems. This insight offers a clearer picture of why some pregnancies fail and how the genome balances diversity with stability.
While this shuffling, known as recombination, is essential for genetic diversity, errors in the process can lead to serious reproductive issues. These failures can result in genetic errors that prevent pregnancies from continuing, helping to explain why infertility affects around one in ten couples worldwide. Understanding this process offers new hope for improving fertility treatments and diagnosing pregnancy complications.
Quantum entanglement—a phenomenon where particles are mysteriously linked no matter how far apart they are—presents a long-standing challenge in the physical world, particularly in understanding its behavior within complex quantum systems.
A research team from the Department of Physics at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and their collaborators have recently developed a novel algorithm in quantum physics known as ‘entanglement microscopy’ that enables visualization and mapping of this extraordinary phenomenon at a microscopic scale.
By zooming in on the intricate interactions of entangled particles, one can uncover the hidden structures of quantum matter, revealing insights that could transform technology and deepen the understanding of the universe.
Scientists in the laboratory of Navdeep Chandel, Ph.D., the David W. Cugell, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, have discovered how mitochondria influence the body’s immune response through modulating specific cell signaling pathways, according to a study published in Science Advances.
The findings highlight the potential of targeting mitochondrial function specifically in immune cells to treat a range of inflammation-related diseases.
“Therapies aimed at improving mitochondrial activity could benefit inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, sepsis, and chronic infections by enhancing the immune system’s ability to regulate inflammation,” said Chandel, also a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.
Summary: A new AI model, based on the PV-RNN framework, learns to generalize language and actions in a manner similar to toddlers by integrating vision, proprioception, and language instructions. Unlike large language models (LLMs) that rely on vast datasets, this system uses embodied interactions to achieve compositionality while requiring less data and computational power.
Researchers found the AI’s modular, transparent design helpful for studying how humans acquire cognitive skills like combining language and actions. The model offers insights into developmental neuroscience and could lead to safer, more ethical AI by grounding learning in behavior and transparent decision-making processes.
Summary: A study reveals that London taxi drivers prioritize complex and distant junctions during their initial “offline thinking” phase when planning routes, rather than sequentially considering streets. This efficient, intuitive strategy leverages spatial awareness and contrasts with AI algorithms, which typically follow step-by-step approaches.
The findings highlight the unique planning abilities of expert human navigators, influenced by their deep memory of London’s intricate street network. Researchers suggest that studying human expert intuition could improve AI algorithms, especially for tasks involving flexible planning and human-AI collaboration.
“Part of the atmosphere of this planet is moving towards us at a high velocity while another part is moving away from us at the same speed,” said Dr. Lisa Nortmann.
Do habitable exoplanets exist that possess life as we know it? Scientists have pondered this longstanding question ever since the first exoplanet was confirmed in the mid-1990s, and this will be the goal of NASA’s upcoming Pandora mission, which is due for launch in the second half of 2025. In preparation for its launch, engineers recently finished assembly of the spacecraft bus, which will house the primary systems of the spacecraft, including its power.
“This is a huge milestone for us and keeps us on track for a launch in the fall,” said Dr. Elisa Quintana, who is the principal investigator for Pandora at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, although the mission operations center for Pandora will be located at the University of Arizona (U of A) Space Institute. “The bus holds our instruments and handles navigation, data acquisition and communication with Earth – it’s the brains of the spacecraft.”
The primary science objectives for Pandora will be to analyze the atmospheres of 20 confirmed exoplanets during the science operations phase of the mission, which is slated to last approximately one year. This will be accomplished when the exoplanet passes in front of its parent star, known as a transit, resulting in light passing through the exoplanet’s atmosphere which Pandora will analyze for the presence of water, hazes, and clouds.
“Part of the atmosphere of this planet is moving towards us at a high velocity while another part is moving away from us at the same speed,” said Dr. Lisa Nortmann.
Do weather patterns on exoplanets mimic those on Earth? This is what a recent study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics hopes to address as an international team of researchers explored unique weather patterns on WASP-127b, which is a hot Jupiter exoplanet located approximately 520 light-years from Earth. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of weather patterns on exoplanets throughout the cosmos and how these patterns compare to Earth’s.
For the study, the researchers used the CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph (CRIRES+) instrument installed on the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) to observe the atmospheric characteristics during one transit of WASP-127b passing in front of its parent star, with one orbit being completed in approximately 4.2 days.
In the end, the researchers identified signals of water (H2O) and carbon monoxide (CO) within WASP-127b’s atmosphere, along with identifying supersonic jet winds occurring at the exoplanet’s equator estimated to be traveling at approximately 7.7 kilometers per second (4.8 miles per second) or 27,720 kilometers per hour (17,280 miles per hour). These winds were identified to only exist at the equator and not at the poles. For context, the fastest winds recorded at the Earth’s equator is only a few kilometers (miles) per hour. They also found significant temperatures differences between the dayside and night side of WASP-127b, which mimics planetary atmosphere behavior of Earth and other planets in our solar system.
face_with_colon_three Year 2012
Elevated land-based islands could protect people living in low-lying areas from tsunamis – and archipelagos of them could form entire towns.