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A team of engineers and physicists at Southern University of Science and Technology, in China, has created a nickel-based material that behaves as a superconductor above the −233°C (40 K) threshold under ambient pressure. In their study published in Nature, the researchers synthesized thin films of bilayer nickelate (La₂.₈₅Pr₀.₁₅Ni₂O₇) and found one that behaved as a high-temperature superconductor.

The −233°C threshold (40 K), often associated with the McMillan limit, marks a boundary beyond which conventional superconductivity theories become less predictive.

Scientists have been searching for a room-temperature superconductor that could revolutionize a wide range of technologies. The ability to achieve superconductivity without the need for costly and complex cooling systems would significantly reduce energy loss due to heat conversion in electrical transmission, leading to dramatic improvements in efficiency and cost reduction. This breakthrough could lead to advancements in numerous fields, including maglev trains, fusion reactors and MRI machine components. This new effort by the team in China represents another step in reaching the ultimate goal.

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The Standard Model ℠, the main physics framework describing elementary particles and the forces driving them, outlines key patterns in physical interactions referred to as gauge symmetries. One of the symmetries it describes is the so-called UY hypercharge: a gauge symmetry that contributes to the electric charge of particles before electromagnetic and weak forces become distinct (i.e., before the electroweak phase transition).

Researchers at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid’s Theoretical Physics Department (DFT) and Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT) recently carried out a study investigating how the conditions present in the early universe could prompt the spontaneous breaking of this gauge symmetry, linking this phenomenon to certain models of neutrino mass generation known as radiative neutrino mass models. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, specifically builds on a theoretical framework called the Zee-Babu model, an extension of the SM explaining neutrino mass generation.

“In the SM, the spontaneously broken electroweak gauge symmetry, which governs the electromagnetic and weak interactions of nature, was restored in the universe’s first instants, when the universe’s temperature was higher than the electroweak energy scale,” Prof. Jose Miguel No, Luca Merlo, Alvaro Lozano-Onrubia and Sergio López-Zurdo told Phys.org.

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An early-career physicist mathematically connects timelike and spacelike form factors, opening the door to further insights into the inner workings of the strong force. A new lattice QCD calculation connects two seemingly disparate reactions involving the pion, the lightest particle governed by the strong interaction.

As an undergraduate student at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, Felipe Ortega-Gama worked at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility as part of the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships program. There, Ortega-Gama worked with Raúl Briceño, who was a jointly appointed staff scientist in the lab’s Center for Theoretical and Computational Physics (Theory Center) and professor at Old Dominion University.

Briceño introduced him to quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the theory that describes the strong interaction. This is the force that binds quarks and gluons together to form protons, neutrons and other particles generically called hadrons. Theorists use lattice QCD, a computational method for solving QCD, to make predictions based on this theory. These predictions are then used to help interpret the results of experiments involving hadrons.

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An international research collaboration led by the University of Surrey’s Nuclear Physics Group has overturned the long-standing belief that the atomic nucleus of lead-208 (²⁰⁸Pb) is perfectly spherical. The discovery challenges fundamental assumptions about nuclear structure and has far-reaching implications for our understanding of how the heaviest elements are formed in the universe.

Lead-208 is exceptionally stable due to being a “doubly magic” nucleus—and is the heaviest that we know of. However, a new study published in Physical Review Letters used a high-precision experimental probe to examine its shape and found that rather than being perfectly spherical, the nucleus of lead-208 is slightly elongated, resembling a rugby ball (prolate spheroid).

Dr. Jack Henderson, principal investigator of the study from the University of Surrey’s School of Mathematics and Physics, said, “We were able to combine four separate measurements using the world’s most sensitive experimental equipment for this type of study, which is what allowed us to make this challenging observation. What we saw surprised us, demonstrating conclusively that lead-208 is not spherical, as one might naively assume. The findings directly challenge results from our colleagues in nuclear theory, presenting an exciting avenue for future research.”

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University of California, Los Angeles researchers have discovered that chronic stress flips brain activity between two amygdala-striatal pathways, disrupting flexible decision-making and promoting inflexible habits.

The research identifies distinct roles for the –dorsomedial striatum (BLA→DMS) and central amygdala–dorsomedial striatum (CeA→DMS) circuits in action-outcome learning and habit formation.

Chronic stress impairs goal-directed decision-making, often leading to rigid, habitual behaviors that underpin several psychiatric conditions. Understanding the involved could illuminate vulnerabilities in disorders like substance use, , and depression.

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Brain circuits are known to gradually form and develop after birth as the result of both innate biological processes and life experiences. Past studies suggest that the initial development of brain circuits spans across two different stages.

The first of these stages takes place before animals and humans start experiencing life. During this stage, the initial organization of cortical networks is established via internal (i.e., endogenous) mechanisms.

Following the formation of this initial organization, the second stage begins. This second phase entails the refinement of cortical networks over time in response to an animal or human’s individual life experiences.

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The ancient peoples of the Philippines and of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) may have built sophisticated boats and mastered seafaring tens of thousands of years ago—millennia before Magellan, Zheng He, and even the Polynesians.

In a paper in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Ateneo de Manila University researchers Riczar Fuentes and Alfred Pawlik challenge the widely-held contention that technological progress during the Paleolithic only emerged in Europe and Africa.

They point out that much of ISEA was never connected to mainland Asia, neither by land bridges nor by ice sheets, yet it has yielded evidence of early human habitation. Exactly how these peoples achieved such daring ocean crossings is an enduring mystery, as organic materials like wood and fiber used for boats rarely survive in the .

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In this interview Jeff Sebo discusses the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and why we must take the possibility of AI sentience seriously now. He explores challenges in measuring moral significance, the risks of dismissing AI as mere tools, and strategies to mitigate suffering in artificial systems. Drawing on themes from the paper ‘Taking AI Welfare Seriously’ and his up and coming book ‘The Moral Circle’, Sebo examines how to detect markers of sentience in AI systems, and what to do about it. We explore ethical considerations through the lens of population ethics, AI governance (especially important in an AI arms race), and discuss indirect approaches detecting sentience, as well as AI aiding in human welfare. This rigorous conversation probes the foundations of consciousness, moral relevance, and the future of ethical AI design.

Paper ‘Taking AI Welfare Seriously’: https://eleosai.org/papers/20241030_T… — The Moral Circle by Jeff Sebo: https://www.amazon.com.au/Moral-Circl?tag=lifeboatfound-20?tag=lifeboatfound-20… Jeff’s Website: https://jeffsebo.net/ Eleos AI: https://eleosai.org/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:40 Implications of failing to take AI welfare seriously 04:43 Engaging the disengaged 08:18 How Blake Lemoine’s ‘disclosure’ influenced public discourse 12:45 Will people take AI sentience seriously if it is seen tools or commodities? 16:19 Importance, neglectedness and tractability (INT) 20:40 Tractability: Difficulties in measuring moral significance — i.e. by aggregate brain mass 22:25 Population ethics and the repugnant conclusion 25:16 Pascal’s mugging: low probabilities of infinite or astronomically large costs and rewards 31:21 Distinguishing real high stakes causes from infinite utility scams 33:45 The nature of consciousness, and what to measure in looking for moral significance in AI 39:35 Varieties of views on what’s important. Computational functionalism 44:34 AI arms race dynamics and the need for governance 48:57 Indirect approaches to achieving ideal solutions — Indirect normativity 51:38 The marker method — looking for morally relevant behavioral & anatomical markers in AI 56:39 What to do about suffering in AI? 1:00:20 Building in fault tolerance to noxious experience into AI systems — reverse wireheading 1:05:15 Will AI be more friendly if it has sentience? 1:08:47 Book: The Moral Circle by Jeff Sebo 1:09:46 What kind of world could be achieved 1:12:44 Homeostasis, self-regulation and self-governance in sentient AI systems 1:16:30 AI to help humans improve mood and quality of experience 1:18:48 How to find out more about Jeff Sebo’s research 1:19:12 How to get involved Many thanks for tuning in! Please support SciFuture by subscribing and sharing! Have any ideas about people to interview? Want to be notified about future events? Any comments about the STF series? Please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mr9P… Kind regards, Adam Ford

Book — The Moral Circle by Jeff Sebo: https://www.amazon.com.au/Moral-Circl?tag=lifeboatfound-20?tag=lifeboatfound-20…

Jeff’s Website: https://jeffsebo.net/

Continue reading “Taking AI Welfare Seriously” | >

Keeping up with the Joneses…

The big elephant in the room here is Micro-LED. That’s because, like QDEL, Micro-LED pixels are self-emissive, with each pixel containing a tiny red, blue, and green LED, which combine to produce different colors as needed. It also means that Micro-LED displays have that pixel-level control for true blacks.

But QDEL could win here, too. Quantum dots seem to be able to produce more saturated and more pure colors than LEDs, which is why quantum dots are used on many high-end TVs today. Of course, it’s entirely possible that Micro-LED technology could be combined with a quantum dot layer for purer and more vibrant colors, which would create a stunning image with a high level of brightness.

Likely, however, QDEL could end up doing a similar job as Micro-LED for much cheaper. Micro-LED has proven expensive to produce. While QDEL isn’t being used on consumer screens just yet, it could end up being much cheaper given the fact that quantum dots at this point are relatively easy to manufacture.

Continue reading “Could QDEL replace OLED? Yes, and it might happen sooner than expected” | >