The surface of Earth’s inner core may be shape-shifting, new research suggests.
The study, published Feb. 10 in the journal Nature, looked at earthquake waves that have skimmed the edge of the inner core, 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers) deep. It revealed that, even when the core had rotated into a previously observed position, there were often subtle differences.
Sökandet efter intelligent utomjordiskt liv har börjat tas på större allvar inom akademin. Foliehatt-stämpeln är på väg att suddas bort, och till våren håller ett svenskt lärosäte för första gången en akademisk kurs om ufon.
A laboratory prototype of a plasma electric rocket engine based on a magnetic plasma accelerator has been produced by Rosatom scientists, who say it could slash travel time to Mars to one or two months.
Rosatom says that the average power of the engine, operating in pulse-periodic mode, reaches 300kW making it possible to accelerate the spacecraft to much higher speeds than conventional engines.
Alexey Voronov, first deputy director general for science at the Rosatom Research Institute in Troitsk, said: “Currently, a flight to Mars using conventional engines can take almost a year one way, which is dangerous for astronauts due to cosmic radiation and exposure to radiation. Using plasma engines can shorten the mission to 30–60 days, meaning it will be possible to send an astronaut to Mars and back.”
After Elon Musk said SpaceX would rescue the “stranded” Starliner astronauts, NASA moved their return date up by two weeks — a slight adjustment to a plan that had already been in place for months.
Scientists have developed a revolutionary catalyst that not only converts CO2 into valuable products but actually increases in activity over time.
Made from tin microparticles on a nanotextured carbon structure, this innovative electrocatalyst efficiently produces formate—a key compound for various industries. Unlike conventional catalysts that degrade, this one self-optimizes by breaking down into smaller tin nanoparticles, dramatically improving performance.
Insulin is a key hormone that regulates metabolism in many living organisms. When food is abundant, insulin.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, crucial for regulating blood glucose levels. It helps cells in the body absorb glucose from the bloodstream and convert it into energy or store it for future use. Insulin production and action are essential for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. In people with diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin (Type 1 diabetes) or cannot effectively use the insulin it does produce (Type 2 diabetes), leading to elevated levels of glucose in the blood. This can cause various health complications over time, including heart disease, kidney damage, and nerve dysfunction. Insulin therapy, where insulin is administered through injections or an insulin pump, is a common treatment for managing diabetes, particularly Type 1. The discovery of insulin in 1921 by Frederick Banting and Charles Best was a landmark in medical science, transforming diabetes from a fatal disease to a manageable condition.
A specialized version, Goku+, focuses on creating authentic-looking advertising clips featuring humans and products, which ByteDance says could reduce video ad production costs by 99 percent.
This lecture was recorded at the Ri on 2 December 2024.
Just as surgeons once believed pain was good for their patients, some argue today that death brings meaning to life. But given humans rarely live beyond a century – even while certain whales can thrive for over two hundred years – it’s hard not to see our biological limits as profoundly unfair.
Yet, with ever-advancing science, will the ends of our lives always loom so close? For from ventilators to brain implants, modern medicine has been blurring what it means to die. In a lucid synthesis of current neuroscientific thinking, Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston explains that death is no longer the loss of heartbeat or breath, but of personal identity – that the core of our identities is our minds, and that our minds are encoded in the structure of our brains. On this basis, he explores how recently invented brain preservation techniques may offer us all the chance of preserving our minds to enable our future revival, alongside the ethical implications this technology could create.
I presented these slides (PDF and images below) during the Workshop on Philosophy and Ethics of Brain Emulation (January 28th-29th, 2025) at the Mimir Center for Long Term Futures Research in Stockholm, Sweden. In my talk, I explored how various biological phenomena beyond standard neuronal electrophysiology may exert noticeable effects on the computations underlying subjective experiences. I emphasized the importance of the large range of timescales that such phenomena operate over (milliseconds to years). If we are to create emulations which think and feel like human beings, we must carefully consider the numerous tunable regulatory mechanisms the brain uses to enhance the complexity of its computational repertoire.