Menu

Blog

Page 64

Nov 13, 2024

Raise the roof: How to reduce badminton birdie drift

Posted by in category: futurism

“For an existing barrel roof , renovating the opening will be a good solution. Reworking the roof will be much costlier,” Jayanarasimhan explained.

Jayanarasimhan hopes these findings will help the sports community realize that there are better solutions for mitigating wind drift beyond just turning off the .

“We expect that with this pace of research down the road, wind complaints will be negligible from badminton tournaments,” said Jayanarasimhan. “We are preparing to study other configurations [and] the deviation of the shuttlecock trajectory in different directions and conduct a case study of the existing indoor badminton stadiums.”

Nov 13, 2024

Testing AI systems on hard math problems shows they still perform very poorly

Posted by in categories: mathematics, robotics/AI

A team of AI researchers and mathematicians affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and the U.K. has developed a math benchmark that allows scientists to test the ability of AI systems to solve exceptionally difficult math problems. Their paper is posted on the arXiv preprint server.

Nov 13, 2024

NASA Recorded Something Escaped A Black Hole At Almost The Speed Of Light (Video)

Posted by in categories: cosmology, materials

A black hole in the MAXI J1820+070 system ejected about 400 million billion pounds of gas in twin jets—equivalent to 500 million times the mass of the Empire State Building.

In a significant astronomical discovery, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured a rare phenomenon: a black hole ejecting massive jets of material at nearly the speed of light. This black hole is part of the binary system MAXI J1820+070, positioned approximately 10,000 light-years away, which is relatively close in cosmic terms. This proximity allowed detailed observations that contribute to our understanding of how black holes interact with companion stars.

The MAXI J1820+070 system features a black hole about eight times the mass of the sun, drawing material from a companion star roughly half the sun’s mass. This process creates an accretion disk—a luminous sphere emitting bright X-rays as material is funneled toward the black hole. While some gas is absorbed, some is expelled in powerful jets that travel in opposite directions.

Nov 13, 2024

James Webb Space Telescope Has Captured A Perfect Einstein Ring 12 Billion Light-Years Away

Posted by in category: space

Since the initial James Webb Space Telescope photographs were released in July, our feeds have been inundated with breathtaking images of space, ranging from amazingly detailed images of Jupiter to the furthest distant known star.

This is an updated (quotes and sources) version of the previous article.

Webb has done it again, this time capturing an almost perfect Einstein ring from a distance of 12 billion light-years. And we can’t take our eyes off them.

Nov 13, 2024

A Supermassive Black Hole Shot A Light-Speed Jet Pointing Straight Toward Earth

Posted by in category: cosmology

Astronomers have found a supermassive black hole ejecting a jet of energy at nearly the speed of light. This event, called AT2022cmc, is the most distant tidal disruption event (TDE) ever recorded, taking place 12.4 billion light years away from Earth. The international team of researchers shared their findings in papers published on November 30 in Nature and Nature Astronomy, noting that this TDE was observable due to the intense brightness of its jet and the direction it pointed—right toward Earth.

Igon Andreoni, an astronomer at the University of Maryland and co-leader of the study, emphasized how unusual it is to witness such a jet, as it must be aimed almost directly at Earth for detection. The light from AT2022cmc reached Earth after traveling across space for approximately 8.5 billion years, implying that this event happened when the universe was just a third of its current age.

The observation has led researchers to propose that the black hole involved was spinning at a high rate, which likely contributed to the formation of the jet. Despite its classification as “supermassive,” this black hole’s mass, estimated at a few hundred million times that of the Sun, is typical for black holes at the centers of galaxies.

Nov 13, 2024

Quantum Leap for MRI: Atomic Sensors Unlock New Imaging Potential

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, electronics

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a fundamental tool in modern medicine, offering detailed views of internal organs and tissues. These large, tube-shaped MRI machines, commonly seen in hospitals, utilize powerful magnets to analyze and visualize the density of water and fat molecules within the body.

In addition to these molecules, other substances like metabolites can also be mapped, but their concentrations are often too low to produce clear images. To overcome this limitation, a technique known as hyperpolarization is employed to enhance the magnetic resonance signal of these substances, making them more visible during MRI scans.

Hyperpolarization involves preparing a substance outside the body in a state where its magnetization—key to creating MRI images—is near its maximum. This process can boost the signal by thousands of times compared to its natural state. Once hyperpolarized, the substance is injected into the patient and transported to the target organ or tissue. However, before this can happen, it is crucial to confirm that the substance is adequately hyperpolarized through rigorous quality control processes.

Nov 13, 2024

Sex-specific brain pathways influence threat processing

Posted by in categories: neuroscience, sex

Male and female mice use different brain circuits to process threats, revealing sex-specific neural pathways despite similar behaviors. These findings suggest the need for sex-inclusive neuroscience research to improve understanding and treatments.

Nov 13, 2024

Study examines how early experiences shape our mental health trajectory

Posted by in categories: biological, health, neuroscience

Satellite Data Reveals How Environment Shapes Kids’ Brain Health https://neurosciencenews.com/environment-brain-development-28026/


Adverse childhood experiences can lead to adult symptoms of anxiety and depression, mediated by life history strategies, according to a study published in Biodemography & Social Biology.

Existing research underscores the psychological impact of early-life adversity, with theories across cognitive, behavioral, and evolutionary psychology exploring these long-term effects. The life history theory, specifically, offers insight by framing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in terms of fast or slow life strategies, each with distinct reproductive and developmental adaptations suited to one’s environment.

Continue reading “Study examines how early experiences shape our mental health trajectory” »

Nov 13, 2024

YouTube’s role in shaping autism perceptions explored in new study

Posted by in categories: education, neuroscience

YouTube videos on autism primarily provide educational content with balanced perspectives, reducing stigmatization, though viewer comments often remain negative. This highlights YouTube’s dual role in improving understanding while revealing persistent public misconceptions.

Nov 13, 2024

People whose parents suffered from substance use disorders are more likely to develop psychiatric disorders

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, health, neuroscience

Substance use disorders are a group of conditions involving the recurrent use of substances, like drugs or alcohol, despite harmful consequences to physical, mental, or social health. These disorders are characterized by an inability to control usage, intense cravings, and continued use despite negative impacts on relationships, work, or health.

While it is well-known that substance use disorders have negative consequences for the individual, research has recently begun to focus on the effects of these disorders on others, known as the “harm to others” framework. A key area of these studies is the impact on children growing up with parents affected by substance use disorders. These children have been found to have lower academic achievement than their peers whose parents do not have such disorders, as well as an increased risk of various mental health and developmental issues.

Study author Hélio Manhica and his colleagues aimed to explore the mental health risks for children of parents with substance use disorders in greater detail. They also sought to determine whether these risks differ between males and females and if certain periods in childhood or adolescence are particularly critical in relation to exposure to parental substance use disorder (i.e., periods that influence the overall risk of developing psychiatric disorders).

Page 64 of 12,052First6162636465666768Last