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Executive function may stem from schooling rather than innate cognition

A new study of in schooled and unschooled environments, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, raises questions about some of the assumptions underlying the way psychologists and scholars of cognitive science think about these processes.

Instead of defining an innate, basic feature of human cognition, the executive functions supposedly captured in the assessments are likelier to depend on the influence of formal schooling.

The study, “The cultural construction of ‘executive function,’” tested children in the Kunene region of Africa, which spans the countries of Namibia and Angola, as well as children in the U.K. and Bolivia. Children in rural areas of Kunene who received limited or no formal schooling differed profoundly in so-called executive function testing from their schooled peers, or a “typical” Western schooled sample.

Universal law predicts how city traffic adapts during extreme flood events

When a 100-year flood hits a city, traffic doesn’t suddenly stop or disappear—it adapts.

“In spite of increasing flood risks, more and more people are moving into flood-prone areas,” said Jianxi Gao, associate professor of computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “This makes it even more urgent to understand how resilient our infrastructure is—and how people adapt when disaster strikes.”

Gao is part of an international team studying how urban transportation systems adapt to like floods. Their work, “Adaptive capacity for multimodal transport network resilience to extreme weather,” published in Nature Sustainability, uses an innovative modeling approach to uncover a universal law governing how travelers shift between and during such disruptions. This law reveals that shifts between transport modes, such as from cars to buses, follow predictable patterns driven by changes in travel demand, the density of transport networks, and how modes either compete or support each other.

Quantum tool could lead to gamma-ray lasers and access the multiverse

A University of Colorado Denver engineer is on the cusp of giving scientists a new tool that can help them turn sci-fi into reality.

Imagine a safe gamma ray laser that could eradicate cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue. Or a tool that could help determine if Stephen Hawking’s multiverse theory is real by revealing the fabric underlying the universe.

Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering Aakash Sahai, Ph.D., has developed a quantum breakthrough that could help those sci-fi ideas develop and has sent a ripple of excitement through the quantum community because of its potential to revolutionize our understanding of physics, chemistry, and medicine.

Optical frequency comb integration transforms absolute distance measurement precision

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science has successfully developed a length measurement system that achieves a level of precision approaching the theoretical limit allowed by quantum physics.

The system boasts world-leading measurement accuracy while maintaining a compact and robust design suitable for field deployment, making it a strong candidate to serve as the new benchmark for next-generation length metrology. The work is published in the journal Laser & Photonics Reviews.

Currently, the most precise instruments for measuring length are national length measurement standards, which define the unit of one meter. These instruments, operated by leading national metrology institutes including KRISS, utilize interferometers based on single-wavelength lasers to perform ultra-precise length measurements.

New research fuels the future of data storage: Predicting spin accumulation for faster, greener memory

Researchers from SANKEN (The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research) at The University of Osaka have developed a new program, “postw90-spin,” that enables high-precision calculations of a novel performance indicator for the spin Hall effect, a phenomenon crucial for developing energy-efficient and high-speed next-generation magnetic memory devices.

This breakthrough addresses a long-standing challenge in spintronics research by providing a definitive measure of the spin Hall effect, overcoming ambiguities associated with traditional metrics. The research is published in the journal npj Spintronics.

The spin Hall effect, where many researchers recognize an generates a perpendicular , is key to devices. Previously, the spin Hall conductivity was used as a performance indicator. However, this metric is affected by how the spin current is defined, leading to inconsistencies.

Earth Is Broadcasting Its Location to Aliens — And We Didn’t Mean To

Radar from airports and military systems may expose Earth to alien detection. These signals could be used to find intelligent civilizations. New research indicates that radar systems operated by both civilian airports and military facilities may be unintentionally broadcasting Earth’s presence to

“Never Been Seen Before” — Astronomers Discover Bizarre “Infinity” Galaxy

Astronomers have discovered a galaxy shaped like an infinity symbol that may contain the first directly observed newborn supermassive black hole. Yale astronomer Pieter van Dokkum and his team have identified a remarkable object in deep space, which they’ve named the “Infinity” galaxy. This struc

Researchers Crack One of Aromatic Chemistry’s Toughest Challenges

A team of scientists has developed an electrochemical technique that enables precise, para-position single-carbon insertion into polysubstituted pyrroles. This advancement holds significant promise for synthetic organic chemistry, particularly in the development of pharmaceutical compounds.

Their work was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“We set out to address the longstanding challenge of achieving single-carbon insertion into aromatic rings with precise positional control,” said Mahito Atobe, Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University.

New Catalyst Breakthrough Slashes Platinum Use in Green Hydrogen Tech

Researchers engineered a graphene-encased catalyst with ultra-low platinum use that delivers high-efficiency, industrial-scale hydrogen production. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis plays a key role in the production of green hydrogen on a large scale. One of the most commonly use

An Extra Sense May Connect Gut Bacteria With Our Brain

According to new research, communication between the gut and the brain is sophisticated enough to be classed as a new and distinct sense – one capable of affecting our appetite and even our mood.

This two-way link has previously been associated with a variety of health issues, though the physical processes at work have never been clearly identified.

Building on what we already know about our digestive and neurological systems, a team from Duke University in the US traced a series of biochemical actions from the digestive tracts of mice to their brains.