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Jul 11, 2022

Israeli study: Chemical heals wounds twice as fast, could be antibiotic alternative

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry

Researchers say ointment could become standard medication, but long path ahead; chemical ‘jams’ communication between bacteria at injury site, making healing easier.

Jul 11, 2022

Researchers in China claim they have developed ‘mind-reading’ artificial intelligence that can measure loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, reports say

Posted by in categories: education, robotics/AI

In a now-deleted video, researchers reportedly said the software could analyze citizens’ reactions to “thought and political education.”

Jul 11, 2022

AI-written academic paper submitted to peer review

Posted by in categories: information science, robotics/AI

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mSypDliC8g0

A Swedish researcher tasked an AI algorithm to write an academic paper about itself. The paper is now undergoing a peer-review process.

Almira Osmanovic Thunstrom has said she “stood in awe” as OpenAI’s artificial intelligence algorithm, GPT-3, started generating a text for a 500-word thesis about itself, complete with scientific references and citations.

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Jul 11, 2022

The building blocks of life were discovered floating at the center of the Milky Way

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Scientists have spotted the building blocks of RNA at the center of the Milky Way. They published their findings in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. According to the study, the researchers discovered some of those building blocks in a cloud that lies near the center of our galaxy.

The team of researchers discovered the building blocks of RNA in a molecular cloud known as G+0.693–0.027. The discovery, they say, could have implications on the theories about how life on Earth began. It could also shed more light on how life on other planets began, too.

RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is a molecule similar to DNA. It’s present in all living cells and even behaves similarly to the more well-known double-helix. Unlike DNA’s double-strand, though, RNA is only made up of a single strand. Its overall part in the origin of life is unclear. But, there is some evidence the building blocks of RNA could have preceded DNA.

Jul 11, 2022

Megastructures: Ringworlds

Posted by in category: space

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Ringworlds are a type of megastructure that engulf an entire star, first popularized in Larry Niven’s classic novel Ringworld. These constructs a million times larger than Earth have captivated minds for nearly half a century but been considered impossible to build under known science. Today, we will attempt to show otherwise.

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Jul 11, 2022

Enter the General Relativity Rabbit Hole: Unraveling Space, Time and the Fourth Dimension

Posted by in categories: physics, space

Piecing together our universe’s most paradoxical and confusing, yet elegant and shatterproof, theory.

Jul 11, 2022

The stabilizing effect of vertical east-west oriented PV systems

Posted by in category: food

German researchers have looked at how vertical PV systems could provide more electricity during periods of higher demand, while enabling a higher level of integration with agricultural activities.

Jul 11, 2022

Elusive exotic matter called a tetraneutron possibly seen in the lab

Posted by in category: futurism

Twenty years ago, researchers saw hints of the existence of a type of exotic matter made of four neutrons. Now, researchers have found the clearest evidence it exists yet.

Jul 11, 2022

Meteorite impact two billion years ago may have ended an ice age

Posted by in category: climatology

The Australian crater Yarrabubba is the oldest known on Earth, according to new measurements, and it might be linked to the end of a “Snowball Earth” ice age.


Yarrabubba crater in western Australia stretches roughly 40 miles across. And since its discovery in 2003, scientists have speculated it’s one of Earth’s oldest meteorite craters. Now, a team of researchers has pinned down the crater’s precise age, revealing it’s about 2.23 billion years old. This officially makes Yarrabubba the oldest known crater on Earth, surpassing the age of Vredefort crater by about 200 million years.

The meteorite impact that created Yarrabubba would have slammed into our planet at the end of one of our “Snowball Earth” ice ages, the researchers say, and it’s possible that the impact heated up our planet and ended that icy episode in Earth’s history.

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Jul 11, 2022

Reaction Engines begins testing its high-Mach propulsion technology

Posted by in categories: engineering, transportation

U.K.’s Reaction Engines has revealed the start of a new testing campaign to expand the performance envelope of their high-Mach propulsion technology. Over the coming weeks, the company hopes to prove that its technology could enable current jet engines to operate from takeoff up through Mach 4 and beyond.

The new tests are being conducted in conjunction with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as a part of the Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program at the Department of Defense. The FCT program is administered by the Directorate of Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities and is focused on the discovery, assessment, and testing of leading foreign technology with the potential to satisfy U.S. Defense technical demands. The program seeks high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) technologies that could rapidly and economically satisfy current and emerging requirements.

“FCT demonstrates U.S. commitment to a ‘two-way street’ for defense procurements with both allied and friendly nations. Reaction Engines technology is world-class and is a great fit for the FCT program,” describes William Reed, the Air Force FCT manager.