Kurian’s group believes these large tryptophan networks may have evolved to take advantage of their quantum properties. When cells breathe using oxygen—a process called aerobic respiration—they create free radicals, or reactive oxygen species (ROS). These unstable particles can emit high-energy UV photons, which damage DNA and other important molecules.
Tryptophan networks act as natural shields. They absorb this harmful light and re-emit it at lower energies, reducing damage. But thanks to superradiance, they may also perform this protective function much more quickly and efficiently than single molecules could.
Digital transformation is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. From cloud computing, to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data, technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are shaping every aspect of our lives.
In the oil and gas industry, digital transformation is revolutionizing how we supply energy to the world. By deploying a range of 4IR technologies across our business, we aim to meet the world’s energy needs while enhancing productivity, reducing CO2 emissions, and creating next-generation products and materials.
Plasma is the fourth state of matter and is often referred to as an electrified gas. A plasma will form when a neutral gas is heated to the point where electrons are freed from their atoms. These free electrons allow current to flow through the gas so that it reacts to both electric and magnetic fields. Plasmas have many applications across materials science, medicine and manufacturing, however, specialised equipment is usually needed to maintain the plasma state.
The mostly widely used method for synthesising carbon nanotubes and other graphene nanocarbons is chemical vapour deposition, which requires substantial energy and material, and produces large quantities of carbon dioxide emissions. In 2009, Licht showed that a molten carbonate electrolysis method could be a more sustainable alternative. It involved directly splitting carbon dioxide into oxygen gas and carbon in the form of graphene nanocarbons.2
Now, Licht’s group has employed molten carbonate electrolysis to convert carbon dioxide into carbon nanotubes. Microwaving these carbon nanotubes in a regular microwave oven ignites a striking yellow-white plasma within seconds and reaches temperatures exceeding 800°C.
For centuries, the nature of consciousness has baffled scientists and philosophers alike. What transforms neural activity into the rich, subjective experience of seeing a face, hearing a melody, or feeling the warmth of the sun?
The Cogitate Consortium, a group of researchers from across the globe, including Professor Ole Jensen from Oxford University’s departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, set out to change that. The consortium brought together the proponents of two influential theories of consciousness—Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT), led by Stanislas Dehaene, and Integrated Information Theory (IIT), proposed by Giulio Tononi—for a rigorous empirical test.
Their adversarial collaboration, a model of scientific inquiry famously advocated for by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman over 20 years ago, represents a fundamental shift in how science can be done. Rather than seeking to confirm pre-existing beliefs, the experiment was designed such that all predictions, methods, and interpretations were registered in advance, eliminating post-hoc rationalisations.
An Irish startup has created the world’s first silicon-based quantum computer — it can still integrate seamlessly with classical computing in data centers.
Hardships in childhood could have lasting effects on the brain, new research shows, with adverse events such as family conflict and poverty potentially affecting cognitive function in kids for several years afterwards.
This study, led by a team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts, looked specifically at white matter: the deeper tissue in the brain, made up of communication fibers ferrying information between neurons.
“We found that a range of adversities is associated with lower levels of fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of white matter microstructure, throughout the whole brain, and that this is associated with lower performance on mathematics and language tasks later on,” write the researchers in their published paper.
This month’s AI news covers major breakthroughs, including humanoid robots that run and think faster than humans, and China deploying real robotic AI police on the streets. We also explore DeepMind accidentally breaking its own AI, Microsoft building its most efficient model yet, and Meta releasing a two-trillion-parameter AI called Llama 4. Plus, DeepSeek’s new self-learning AI, China’s ultra-fast AI agents, and next-gen video generators that look more real than reality are changing the game.
A humanoid robot that runs and thinks faster than humans
China’s real AI-powered police robots now patrolling streets
DeepSeek’s new self-learning AI rivaling top-tier models
DeepMind breaks its own AI with a single prompt
Microsoft accidentally creates its most efficient AI yet
Meta releases a massive two-trillion-parameter model
China unveils ultra-fast AI agents and hyper-real video generators
🎥 What You’ll See:
Advanced humanoid AI in action
Robotic cops deployed across Chinese cities
Self-improving AI models that beat OpenAI in key areas
DeepMind’s AI failure revealing system vulnerabilities
Meta’s Llama 4 shaking up the AI model race
China’s AI creating videos that look better than real life
📊 Why It Matters: From real-world AI deployments to record-breaking models, this month shows how fast AI is evolving—reshaping robotics, security, video generation, and self-learning systems in ways we’ve never seen before. #ai #openai #deepseek. Get the best AI news without the noise 👉 https://airevolutionx.beehiiv.com/
🔍 What’s Inside: A humanoid robot that runs and thinks faster than humans. China’s real AI-powered police robots now patrolling streets. DeepSeek’s new self-learning AI rivaling top-tier models. DeepMind breaks its own AI with a single prompt. Microsoft accidentally creates its most efficient AI yet. Meta releases a massive two-trillion-parameter model. China unveils ultra-fast AI agents and hyper-real video generators.
🎥 What You’ll See: Advanced humanoid AI in action. Robotic cops deployed across Chinese cities. Self-improving AI models that beat OpenAI in key areas. DeepMind’s AI failure revealing system vulnerabilities. Meta’s Llama 4 shaking up the AI model race. China’s AI creating videos that look better than real life.
📊 Why It Matters: From real-world AI deployments to record-breaking models, this month shows how fast AI is evolving—reshaping robotics, security, video generation, and self-learning systems in ways we’ve never seen before.
*GUEST BIO:* Janna Levin is a theoretical physicist and cosmologist specializing in black holes, cosmology of extra dimensions, topology of the universe, and gravitational waves.
