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Dec 25, 2019

The 9 Best Blobs of 2019

Posted by in category: futurism

When scientists find a round, lumpy object they can’t totally explain, they call it a “blob.” Here are our nine favorite blobs of 2019.

Dec 25, 2019

In the 2020s, human-level A.I. will arrive, and finally ace the Turing test

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

So, what’s it mean for us, the humans?

Dec 25, 2019

Neurotechnology today: What’s real, what’s coming

Posted by in categories: entertainment, neuroscience

A new film, I AM HUMAN, explores the state of neurotechnology today: Its challenge, promise, and the issues it raises.

Dec 25, 2019

Viewpoint: A Forbidden Transition Allowed for Stars

Posted by in categories: cosmology, evolution, nuclear energy, physics

The discovery of an exceptionally strong “forbidden” beta-decay involving fluorine and neon could change our understanding of the fate of intermediate-mass stars.

Every year roughly 100 billion stars are born and just as many die. To understand the life cycle of a star, nuclear physicists and astrophysicists collaborate to unravel the physical processes that take place in the star’s interior. Their aim is to determine how the star responds to these processes and from that response predict the star’s final fate. Intermediate-mass stars, whose masses lie somewhere between 7 and 11 times that of our Sun, are thought to die via one of two very different routes: thermonuclear explosion or gravitational collapse. Which one happens depends on the conditions within the star when oxygen nuclei begin to fuse, triggering the star’s demise. Researchers have now, for the first time, measured a rare nuclear decay of fluorine to neon that is key to understanding the fate of these “in between” stars [1, 2]. Their calculations indicate that thermonuclear explosion and not gravitational collapse is the more likely expiration route.

The evolution and fate of a star strongly depend on its mass at birth. Low-mass stars—such as the Sun—transition first into red giants and then into white dwarfs made of carbon and oxygen as they shed their outer layers. Massive stars—those whose mass is at least 11 times greater than the Sun’s—also transition to red giants, but in the cores of these giants, nuclear fusion continues until the core has turned completely to iron. Once that happens, the star stops generating energy and starts collapsing under the force of gravity. The star’s core then compresses into a neutron star, while its outer layers are ejected in a supernova explosion. The evolution of intermediate-mass stars is less clear. Predictions indicate that they can explode both via the gravitational collapse mechanism of massive stars and by a thermonuclear process [36]. The key to finding out which happens lies in the properties of an isotope of neon and its ability to capture electrons.

Dec 25, 2019

Planet Hunter TESS Is Already Spotting Hundreds of Crazy New Worlds

Posted by in category: space

The first data from the space telescope’s mission tallies more than 200 potential planets, including some just 50 light-years away.

Dec 25, 2019

The United States Needs a Strategy for Artificial Intelligence

Posted by in category: robotics/AI

Without one, it risks missing out on all the technology’s benefits—and falling behind rivals such as China.

Dec 25, 2019

This Ear Was Made With Vincent Van Gogh’s DNA

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

What secrets have been whispered into this creepy, living copy of the most famous ear in art history?

Dec 25, 2019

The ‘Quantum Computing’ Decade Is Coming—Here’s Why You Should Care

Posted by in categories: computing, encryption, internet, mathematics, quantum physics

The ability to process qubits is what allows a quantum computer to perform functions a binary computer simply cannot, like computations involving 500-digit numbers. To do so quickly and on demand might allow for highly efficient traffic flow. It could also render current encryption keys mere speedbumps for a computer able to replicate them in an instant. #QuantumComputing


Multiply 1,048,589 by 1,048,601, and you’ll get 1,099,551,473,989. Does this blow your mind? It should, maybe! That 13-digit prime number is the largest-ever prime number to be factored by a quantum computer, one of a series of quantum computing-related breakthroughs (or at least claimed breakthroughs) achieved over the last few months of the decade.

An IBM computer factored this very large prime number about two months after Google announced that it had achieved “quantum supremacy”—a clunky term for the claim, disputed by its rivals including IBM as well as others, that Google has a quantum machine that performed some math normal computers simply cannot.

Continue reading “The ‘Quantum Computing’ Decade Is Coming—Here’s Why You Should Care” »

Dec 25, 2019

Aging Is Reversible—at Least in Human Cells and Live Mice

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Study shows changes to gene activity that occur with age can be turned back.

Dec 25, 2019

Study Finds New Key To Longevity — And It’s In The Gut

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

Having a healthy gut should always be a priority when dealing with any health-related issues. It’s connected to various problems like IBS, asthma, thyroid disorders, and even diabetes. A new study, however, is giving us another reason to promote gut health—and we’re excited about it.

Using mice, an international research team has discovered a specific microorganism living in the gut that may affect the aging process.