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As physicists continue their struggle to find and explain the origin of dark matter, the approximately 80% of the matter in the universe that we can’t see and so far haven’t been able to detect, researchers have now proposed a model where it is produced before the Big Bang.

Their idea is that dark matter would be produced during a infinitesimally short inflationary phase when the size of the universe quickly expanded exponentially. The new model was published in Physical Review Letters by three scientists from Texas in the US.

An intriguing idea among cosmologists is that dark matter was produced through its interaction with a thermal bath of some species, and its abundance is created by “freeze-out” or “freeze-in.” In the freeze-out scenario, dark matter is in chemical equilibrium with the bath at the earliest times—the concentration of each does not change with time.

Memory, a fundamental aspect of human cognition and consciousness, is multifaceted and extends beyond traditional conceptualizations of mental recall. This review article explores memory through various lenses, including brain-based, body-based, and cellular mechanisms. At its core, memory involves the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. Advances in neuroscience reveal that synaptic changes and molecular modifications, particularly in the hippocampus, are crucial for memory consolidation. Additionally, body memory, or somatic memory, highlights how sensory experiences and traumatic events are stored and influence behavior, underscoring the role of implicit memory. Multiple studies have demonstrated that memories can be encoded and stored in cells. Evidence suggests that these memories can then be transferred between individuals through organ transplantation.

The ability to control and optimize electron behavior is crucial for realizing the potential of the best quantum materials.


Scientists at Loughborough University have made an exciting breakthrough in understanding how fine-tuning the behavior of electrons in quantum materials can unlock the next generation of advanced technologies.

Was dark matter created some time after the Big Bang? Gravitational wave detectors could soon find the answer.


For now, the duo’s results suggest that the Dark Big Bang is far less constrained by past observations than Freese and Winkler originally anticipated. As Ilie explains, their constraints could soon be put to the test.

“We examined two Dark Big Bang scenarios in this newly found parameter space that produce gravitational wave signals in the sensitivity ranges of existing and upcoming surveys,” he says. “In combination with those considered in Freese and Winkler’s paper, these cases could form a benchmark for gravitational wave researchers as they search for evidence of a Dark Big Bang in the early universe.”

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Is the universe really infinite? Or could it close back on itself like a sphere? If it’s infinite, how can it expand? And is it true that there might be copies of you in it? Today I want to explain how much we know about those questions and what the expansion of space has to do with Hilbert’s Hotel.

This video comes with a quiz which you can take here: https://quizwithit.com/start_thequiz/.

The Kurzgesagt video is here: • The Paradox of an Infinite Universe.

The fabric of space and time is not exempt from the effects of gravity. Plop in a mass and space-time curves around it, not dissimilar to what happens when you put a bowling ball on a trampoline.

This dimple in space-time is the result of what we call a gravity well, and it was first described over 100 years ago by Albert Einstein’s field equations in his theory of general relativity. To this day, those equations have held up. We’d love to know what Einstein was putting in his soup. Whatever it was, general relativity has remained pretty solid.

One of the ways we know this is because when light travels along that curved space-time, it curves along with it. This results in light that reaches us all warped and stretched and replicated and magnified, a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. This quirk of space-time is not only observable and measurable, it’s an excellent tool for understanding the Universe.