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Nov 21, 2021

Brains of smarter people have bigger and faster neurons

Posted by in category: neuroscience

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Our brain works through the activity of its almost 100 billion neurons that each collect, process and pass on information in the form of electrical signals. But so far, not much had been known about how the differences in the properties of these cells from person to person matter for human cognitive abilities like intelligence.

Some evidence had suggested that the size of so-called dendrites, the long branched out protrusions through which each neuron receives signals from thousands of other cells, might play a role: Especially in brain areas that integrate different types of information, such as the frontal and temporal lobes, brain cells have bigger dendrites. In these brain areas the cortex, where most of the neurons are, is also thicker in people with higher IQ. Theoretical studies additionally predicted that larger dendrites may help cells to initiate electrical signals faster.

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Nov 21, 2021

Inside X’s Mission to Make Robots Boring

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Plus: The man behind a famous paradox, the laws that will govern the metaverse, and a deadly swarm of scorpions.

Nov 21, 2021

Creating an artificial material that can sense, adapt to its environment

Posted by in categories: drones, entertainment, robotics/AI

Move over, Hollywood—science fiction is getting ready to leap off the big screen and enter the real world. While recent science fiction movies have demonstrated the power of artificially intelligent computer programs, such as the fictional character J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Avenger film series, to make independent decisions to carry out a set of actions, these imagined movie scenarios could now be closer to becoming a reality.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, a journal of Nature, researchers at the University of Missouri and University of Chicago have developed an , called a metamaterial, which can respond to its environment, independently make a decision, and perform an action not directed by a human being. For example, a drone making a delivery might evaluate its environment including , speed or wildlife, and automatically change course in order to complete the delivery safely.

Guoliang Huang, Huber and Helen Croft Chair in Engineering, and co-author on the study, said the mechanical design of their new artificial material incorporates three main functions also displayed by materials found in nature—sensing; information processing; and actuation, or movement.

Nov 21, 2021

Herpesviruses steal one cell’s protein, use it to infect another

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

Without protein theft, the virus can’t get to the nucleus of nerve cells.

Nov 21, 2021

4 of Physics’ (Other) Greatest Mysteries

Posted by in categories: cosmology, physics

Physicists are interested in the big questions like “Where did we come from?” and “What is all this stuff?”. But the answers to some of these questions, just lead to more questions.

Hosted by: Michael Aranda.

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Nov 21, 2021

How Did the First Atom Form? Where did it come from? | Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics, quantum physics

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Background videos:
Fundamental forces: https://youtu.be/669QUJrF4u0
Electroweak theory: https://youtu.be/u05VK0pSc7I
Is Big Bang hidden in gravity waves: https://youtu.be/VXr1mzY2GnY
Cosmic Microwave background: https://youtu.be/XcXCrFIivyk.

Continue reading “How Did the First Atom Form? Where did it come from? | Big Bang Nucleosynthesis” »

Nov 21, 2021

Is the Universe Fine Tuned for Life? The Case FOR and AGAINST Fine Tuning

Posted by in categories: alien life, chemistry, particle physics

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Arguments for fine tuning: Physics has many constants like the charge of the electron, the gravitational constant, Planck’s constant. If any of their values were different, our universe, as we know it, would not be the same, and life would probably not exist.
0:00 — Defining fine tuning.
2:20 — Gravitational constant.
3:59 — Electromagnetic Force.
5:02 — Strong force.
6:13 — Weak force.
7:51 — Philosophical Arguments against fine tuning.
9:36 — Scientific arguments against fine tuning.
11:59 — Sentient puddle.
13:29 — Does fine tuning need an agent.
15:14 — Louse on the tail a lion.
Some say that it could not have occurred by chance, that there must be some agent, like a god that set up the constants to enable life.

Continue reading “Is the Universe Fine Tuned for Life? The Case FOR and AGAINST Fine Tuning” »

Nov 21, 2021

How we could Time Travel through a (special) black hole — Back to the PAST!

Posted by in categories: cosmology, information science, singularity, space travel, time travel

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Chapters.
0:00 — You are a time traveler.
2:32 — Spacetime & light cone review.
6:15 — Flat Spacetime equations.
7:03 — Schwarzschild radius, metric.
8:42 — Light cone near a black hole.
10:15 — How to escape black hole.
10:39 — Kerr-Newman metric.
11:34 — How to remove the event horizon.
11:50 — What is a naked singularity.
12:20 — How to travel back in time.
13:26 — Problems.

Continue reading “How we could Time Travel through a (special) black hole — Back to the PAST!” »

Nov 21, 2021

Is God in Physics? Fine Tuning Scrutinized

Posted by in categories: alien life, information science, mathematics, particle physics

Signup for your FREE TRIAL to The GREAT COURSES PLUS here: http://ow.ly/5KMw30qK17T. Until 350 years ago, there was a distinction between what people saw on earth and what they saw in the sky. There did not seem to be any connection.

Then Isaac Newton in 1,687 showed that planets move due to the same forces we experience here on earth. If things could be explained with mathematics, to many people this called into question the need for a God.

Continue reading “Is God in Physics? Fine Tuning Scrutinized” »

Nov 21, 2021

The ‘bullet’ airplane that could revolutionize business aviation

Posted by in categories: business, energy, transportation

Is it an egg, a blimp or a bullet? Whatever you might want to call the shape of the Otto Celera 500L, it’s one that catches the eye. It looks like no other plane out there, and for a good reason: unique aerodynamics.

The shape of the Celera is designed to drastically reduce drag by allowing air to flow very smoothly over the surface of the plane. That makes the aircraft less power-hungry, which means it burns less fuel.

“This gets us four to five times the efficiency of other turboprop aircraft, and seven to eight times the efficiency of jet aircraft,” says William Otto Jr., CEO of Otto Aviation.