Microsoft’s new “Majorana 1” processor is the first quantum chip powered by a topological core based on a new class of materials. (Photo by John Brecher.
There are plenty of types of stars out there, but one stands out for being just a little weirder than the others. You might even say it’s strange. According to a paper from researchers at Guangxi University in China, the birth of one might have recently been observed for the very first time.
A strange star is a (so far theoretical) compact star that is so dense it literally breaks down regular parts of atoms (like neutrons) into their constituent quarks. Moreover, even those quarks (the up and down that comprise a neutron) get compressed into an even rarer type of quark called a strange quark—hence the name strange star.
Technically, the “strange” matter that a strange star would be composed of is a combination of up, down, and strange quarks. But, at least in theory, this mix of sub-hadronic particles could even be more stable than a traditional neutron star, which is similar to a strange star but doesn’t have enough gravity to break down the neutrons.
In today’s AI news, ByteDance cofounder Zhang Yiming has become China’s richest man as investors bet on companies with AI potential. Zhang’s fortune has grown to $65.5 billion, ahead of beverage giant Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan’s $56.5 billion, according to Forbes estimates. Zhang, 41, derives his net worth from a 21% stake in the privately held tech behemoth …
And, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and smaller firms like Anthropic are losing massive amounts of money by giving away their AI products or selling them at a loss. “We are in the era of $5 Uber rides anywhere across San Francisco but for LLMs,” wrote early OpenAI engineer Andrej Karpathy. Chatbots are free, programming assistance is cheap, and attention-grabbing, money-losing AI toys are everywhere. AI is in its free(ish) trial era.
Meanwhile, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, Foxconn, said it has built its own large language model with reasoning capabilities, developed in-house and trained in four weeks. Initially designed for internal use within the company, the artificial-intelligence model, called FoxBrain, is capable of data analysis, mathematics, reasoning and code generation. Foxconn said Nvidia provided support …
Then, once upon a time, software ate the world. Now, AI is here to digest what’s left. The old model of computing, where apps ruled, marketplaces controlled access and platforms took their cut, is unraveling. What’s emerging is an AI-first world where software functions aren’t trapped inside apps but exist as dynamic, on-demand services accessible through AI-native interfaces.
In videos, learn how to integrate ElevenLabs Conversational AI platform with Cal. com for automated meeting scheduling. Angelo, takes you through the process with step-by-step instructions, and you can view and use the complete guide with Eleven Labs full documentation.
As Japan copes with a labor shortage, the service robot market is expected to triple in the next five years.
Marine worms use nature’s 3D printing to build their bristles piece by piece.
A new study has shed light on how certain marine worms form bristles, hair-like projections on each side.
A team of researchers, led by molecular biologist Florian Raible from the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna, used advanced imaging techniques to closely study Platynereis dumerilii, which is often considered a living fossil.
These annelid worms have extraordinary bristles that enable them to navigate their aquatic environment. But how are these intricate structures formed? It turns out that these species develop bristles piece by piece, similar to the process of 3D printing.
From green screen to Unreal Engine, Industrial Light & Magic’s Dean Yurke revealed his secrets to master camera tracking in an in-depth video.
A neutron-scattering experiment has confirmed the existence of an unusual phase of ice that forms at high temperature and high pressure.
The discovery of a mini aurora above a light-emitting polymer material reveals an electron-ejection process that might be useful in field-emission displays and material fabrication.
Auroras occur in the night sky when charged solar-wind particles, such as protons and electrons, are deflected by Earth’s magnetic field and interact with molecules in the atmosphere. Researchers have now found an aurora-like emission coming from a light-emitting polymer [1]. The surprising display consisted of flashes of green light above the polymer surface. The researchers explained the emission as the result of electrons being ejected from the polymer and interacting with a vapor of organic molecules. The discovery suggests that these polymers might be useful as electron emitters for applications such as spectroscopy, medical technology, and lithography.
Jun Gao from Queen’s University in Canada is amazed by auroras, and he’s even gone out on cold nights to look for them. But he was not prepared for the aurora that showed up in his lab two years ago. He and his student at the time, Dongze Wang, were testing failure modes for polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells, or PLECs, used in light sources and display devices. These cells are organic semiconductors that are electrochemically doped on one side to have excess electrons (making an n-type semiconductor) and on the other side to have electron deficiencies, or holes (making a p-type semiconductor). Electrons crossing the p – n boundary can fill holes and produce red light.
The quantum properties of superconducting qubits might be improved by coating them with a noble metal such as gold.
No evidence for ‘wind turbine syndrome’ claims: Windmill noise is no more stressful than traffic sounds, study suggests
Posted in biotech/medical, health, neuroscience | Leave a Comment on No evidence for ‘wind turbine syndrome’ claims: Windmill noise is no more stressful than traffic sounds, study suggests
A team of cognitive neuroscientists and acoustic engineers at Adam Mickiewicz University, in Poland, has found no evidence that wind turbine noise causes mental impairment. In their study, published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communication, the group conducted experiments exposing human volunteers to various noises and measured a range of impacts.
Over the past several years, several groups and individuals around the world, most particularly in the U.S., have conceived of the idea of something called “wind turbine syndrome”—a theory that suggests noise from windmills can cause mental illness, or other health problems such as cancer. To date, such claims have not been backed up by research or any other type of proof. In this new effort, the research team in Poland sought to find out if there is any merit to the theory.
The researchers recruited 45 students at a local university who listened to various noises while wearing devices that measured their brainwaves. The researchers intentionally chose young volunteers because prior research has shown they are more sensitive to noise than older people.