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Researchers at The University of Manchester have discovered record-high magnetoresistance in graphene.

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon in the form of a single layer of atoms in a two-dimensional hexagonal lattice in which one atom forms each vertex. It is the basic structural element of other allotropes of carbon, including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes. In proportion to its thickness, it is about 100 times stronger than the strongest steel.

Some people might be regretting throwing their old cassette tapes.


In the music world, vinyl records get a lot of attention when it comes to physical media. Sales for vinyl records have been on the rise for years, and now the same thing is starting to happen with cassette tapes.

The resurgence of vinyl records has been so strong that it’s not really even a “trend” anymore. In 2021, people spent more on vinyl than CDs for the first time since 1986. Cassette tape sales, on the other hand, have been very low for a long time. However, in the last five years, things are changing.

The cassette tape was introduced in 1963 by Philips. The first cassettes could hold 45 minutes of music on each side, which was much more than vinyl records. But perhaps the biggest advantage of cassette tapes was their compact size.

Donald Hoffman interview on spacetime, consciousness, and how biological fitness conceals reality. We discuss Nima Arkani-Hamed’s Amplituhedron, decorated permutations, evolution, and the unlimited intelligence.

The Amplituhedron is a static, monolithic, geometric object with many dimensions. Its volume codes for amplitudes of particle interactions & its structure codes for locality and unitarity. Decorated permutations are the deepest core from which the Amplituhedron gets its structure. There are no dynamics, they are monoliths as in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Background.
0:00 Highlights.
6:55 The specific limits of evolution by natural selection.
10:50 Don’s born in a San Antonio Army hospital in 1955 (and his parents’ background)
14:44 As a teenager big question he wanted answered, “Are we just machines?“
17:23 Don’s early work as a vision researcher; visual systems construct.
20:43 Carlos’s 3-part series on Fitness-Beats-Truth Theorem.

Fitness-Beats-Truth Theorem.

But we expect that it’s in that first tiny fraction of a second that the key features of our universe were imprinted.

The conditions of the universe can be described through its “fundamental constants”—fixed quantities in nature, such as the gravitational constant (called G) or the speed of light (called C). There are about 30 of these representing the sizes and strengths of parameters such as particle masses, forces, or the universe’s expansion. But our theories don’t explain what values these constants should have. Instead, we have to measure them and plug their values into our equations to accurately describe nature.

The values of the constants are in the range that allows complex systems such as stars, planets, carbon, and ultimately humans to evolve. Physicists have discovered that if we tweaked some of these parameters by just a few percent, it would render our universe lifeless. The fact that life exists, therefore, takes some explaining.

Scientists in Britain have finally solved one of the greatest mysteries of life: how chromosomes get their X shape. Chromosomes, discovered in the late 1800s, are DNA molecules which contain the genetic material of an organism.

All chromosomes, without exception, either go through or end up with an X shape before the cells of an organism divide.

But it was always a mystery how they are X-shaped. While Biology students across the world study that chromosomes get their shape during cell division, the exact reason behind their X shape was not known.

Now, we live in a time in which AI research and technology is advancing exponentially. In the coming years, AI — and ultimately AGI — has the potential to drive one of the greatest social, economic and scientific transformations in history.

That’s why today Sundar is announcing that DeepMind and the Brain team from Google Research will be joining forces as a single, focused unit called Google DeepMind. Combining our talents and efforts will accelerate our progress towards a world in which AI helps solve the biggest challenges facing humanity, and I’m incredibly excited to be leading this unit and working with all of you to build it. Together, in close collaboration with our fantastic colleagues across the Google Product Areas, we have a real opportunity to deliver AI research and products that dramatically improve the lives of billions of people, transform industries, advance science, and serve diverse communities.

By creating Google DeepMind, I believe we can get to that future faster. Building ever more capable and general AI, safely and responsibly, demands that we solve some of the hardest scientific and engineering challenges of our time. For that, we need to work with greater speed, stronger collaboration and execution, and to simplify the way we make decisions to focus on achieving the biggest impact.