Creativity has long been considered one of the most difficult aspect of human intelligence for AI to mimic. However, the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, has raised questions about whether AI can match or even surpass human creativity.
Scientists have developed imaging-guided, biodegradable microrobots that can be propelled acoustically or magnetically through tissues for targeted drug delivery and enhanced ultrasound imaging contrast.
Thirty-five years ago, our Cosmic Background Explorer, or COBE, was launched! The satellite was a crucial stepping stone in understanding the cosmic microwave background — the afterglow of the earliest moments of our universe.
Launched from what’s now Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 18, 1989, COBE carried three instruments to space to measure microwave and infrared light across the whole sky. COBE’s observations helped us learn how our universe started and evolved.
Continue reading “Season 5, Episode 31: Meet a Webb Scientist Who Looks Back in Time” »
The concept of vectors can be traced back to the 17th century with the development of analytic geometry by René Descartes and Pierre de Fermat. They used coordinates to represent points in a plane, which can be seen as a precursor to vectors. In the early 19th century, mathematicians like Bernard Bolzano and August Ferdinand Möbius began to formalize operations on points, lines, and planes, which further developed the idea of vectors.
Hermann Grassmann is considered one of the key figures in the development of vector spaces. In his 1844 work “Die lineale Ausdehnungslehre” (The Theory of Linear Extension), he introduced concepts that are central to vector spaces, such as linear independence, dimension, and scalar products. However, his work was not widely recognized at the time.
In 1888, Giuseppe Peano gave the first modern axiomatic definition of vector spaces. He called them “linear systems” and provided a set of axioms that precisely defined the properties of vector spaces and linear maps. Hilbert helped to further formalize and abstract the concept of vector spaces, placing it within a broader axiomatic framework for mathematics. He played a key role in the development of functional analysis, which studies infinite-dimensional vector spaces.
With billions of stars in the Milky Way, some nomenclature standardization is necessary.
By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings.
As the global population ages, more of us face frightening cognitive decline, personally or in our loved ones. There are over 10 million new cases of dementia globally each year.
But a study published this year suggests up to 13 percent of people diagnosed with dementia in the US may have a misdiagnosis and are instead left struggling with a condition that can be treated.
“Health care providers [must be] made aware of this potential overlap between dementia and hepatic encephalopathy, which is treatable,” said Virginia Commonwealth University hepatologist Jasmohan Bajaj in July.
Astronomers have discovered a pair of young stars near the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy. Studying them can offer a rare glimpse into how stars can endure — at least briefly — the immense gravity exerted by such cosmic behemoths.
New therapies that are less intrusive but more lasting than current interventions promise to arrest and even reverse neurodegeneration.
Scientists at The University of Manchester have achieved a significant breakthrough in using cyanobacteria—commonly known as “blue-green algae”—to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable bio-based materials.
Their work, published in Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, could accelerate the development of sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel-derived products like plastics, helping pave the way for a carbon-neutral circular bioeconomy.
The research, led by Dr. Matthew Faulkner, working alongside Dr. Fraser Andrews, and Professor Nigel Scrutton, focused on improving the production of citramalate, a compound that serves as a precursor for renewable plastics such as Perspex or Plexiglas. Using an innovative approach called “design of experiment,” the team achieved a remarkable 23-fold increase in citramalate production by optimizing key process parameters.
