The Zen of Technology & Scientific Discovery! (& Robots)

[Jundo]

PS - Oh, I have to add this ...

Scientists create 'shape-shifting' metal robot which melts through bars

Engineers have designed miniature robots that rapidly and reversibly shift between liquid and solid states.

Scientists from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh took gallium, a metal that melts at room temperature, and enriched it with magnetic particles.

When an alternate magnetic field is run through the metal, it can melt, move and re-form.

https://youtu.be/3J87JgMgU88

Kinda reminds me of Gumby (for those Americans of a certain age ... ) ...

https://youtu.be/AhczFRlBT2E

[Jundo]

The world comes together, pulls apart, then (hopefully someday soon) comes together as one ...

100 Million Years Unveiled: The Most Detailed Model of Earth’s Surface Ever

... Scientists have published new research revealing a detailed and dynamic model of the Earth’s surface over the past 100 million years. ... For the first time, it provides a high-resolution understanding of how today’s geophysical landscapes were created and how millions of tonnes of sediment have flowed to the oceans.

Lead author Dr. Tristan Salles from the University of Sydney School of Geosciences, said: “To predict the future, we must understand the past. But our geological models have only provided a fragmented understanding of how our planet’s recent physical features formed. “If you look for a continuous model of the interplay between river basins, global-scale erosion, and sediment deposition at high resolution for the past 100 million years, it just doesn’t exist. So, this is a big advance. It’s not only a tool to help us investigate the past but will help scientists understand and predict the future, as well.”

World map animation of landscape evolution over the past 100 million years.

https://youtu.be/-Rq2jBqZCA8

https://scitechdaily.com/100-million...-surface-ever/

Spring is in the air. Ever wonder how the seeds know it is time to sprout, the flowers to flower?

Internal Thermometer Discovered That Tells Seeds When To Germinate

Researchers have discovered the mechanisms by which the seed decides to remain in “hibernation” or to trigger its germination depending on the outside temperature.

Germination is a crucial stage in the life of a plant as it will leave the stage of seed resistant to various environmental constraints (climatic conditions, absence of nutritive elements, etc.) to become a seedling much more vulnerable. The survival of the young plant depends on the timing of this transition. It is therefore essential that this stage be finely controlled. A Swiss team, led by scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), has discovered the internal thermometer of seeds that can delay or even block germination if temperatures are too high for the future seedling. This work could help optimize plant growth in a context of global warming.

... This mechanism of repression by temperature (thermo-inhibition) allows a very fine regulation. A variation of only 1 to 2°C can indeed delay the germination of a seed population and thus increase the chances of survival of future seedlings. ... These variations are detected by a protein sensitive to light and temperature, phytochrome B, which normally acts as a brake on plant growth. An increase of 1 to 2°C promotes the inactivation of phytochrome B, which makes it less effective in preventing growth. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/internal-th...-to-germinate/

However, how did our ancestors and near cousins smell the ancient Spring? A genetic study tried pretty sweet tricks to find out ...

What Did Ancient Noses Smell? ... Researchers are comparing the genetic makeup of humans’ extinct relatives to those of contemporary individuals.

... A study led by biological anthropologist Kara C. Hoover from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and biochemist Claire de March from Universite Paris-Saclay suggests that the Denisovan, with its heightened sensitivity to sweet odors, may have quickly honed in on the scent and beat the human to a high-energy feast.

... A paper on the research, recently published in iScience, was written by collaborators from UAF, Duke University, Universite Paris-Saclay, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and the University of Manchester. The study investigated whether humans share a sense of smell with their now-extinct Denisovan and Neanderthal cousins, who left Africa about 750,000 years ago. Contemporary humans left Africa about 65,000 years ago. ...

To recreate the noses of our extinct genetic relatives and compare them to those of present-day people, the research team used publicly available genome sequences from multiple Neanderthals, one Denisovan, and one ancient human. They used data from the 1000 Genomes project to represent modern humans. They then compared 30 olfactory receptor genes from each group. The team found that 11 of the receptors had some novel mutations present only in extinct lineages. In the largest study of its kind to date, the team created laboratory versions of those 11 olfactory receptors and then exposed them to hundreds of odors at different concentrations.

When the receptors detected an odor, they literally lit up. The speed and brightness of the luminescence told the scientists whether, how soon, and to what degree each “nose” could smell the odors. While the receptors could detect the same things as modern humans, they differed in sensitivity to many of the odors.

“We literally reproduced an event that hadn’t happened since the extinction of Denisova and Neanderthal 30,000 years ago: an extinct odorant receptor responding to an odor in cells on a lab bench,” de March said.

https://scitechdaily.com/what-did-ancient-noses-smell-new-study-provides-insight/

And finally, please enjoy a beautiful and relatively rare sunset ... on Mars ...

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Views First Dazzling “Sun Rays” on Mars

... Although Martian sunsets are uniquely moody, NASA’s Curiosity rover captured one last month that really stands out. As the Sun descended over the horizon on February 2, rays of light illuminated a bank of clouds. These “sun rays,” also known as crepuscular rays, from the Latin word for “twilight,” are bright streaks that occur when incoming light is partially obstructed by a cloud or tall feature on the horizon. It was the first time sun rays have been so clearly viewed on Mars. ...

,,, As on Earth, clouds provide scientists with complex but crucial information for understanding the weather. By looking at when and where clouds form, scientists can learn more about the Martian atmosphere’s composition and temperatures, and the winds within it. ... “Where we see iridescence, it means a cloud’s particle sizes are identical to their neighbors in each part of the cloud,” said Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “By looking at color transitions, we’re seeing particle size changing across the cloud. That tells us about the way the cloud is evolving and how its particles are changing size over time.”

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured these “sun rays” shining through clouds at sunset on February 2, 2023 ...


This feather-shaped iridescent cloud was captured just after sunset on January 27, 2023

https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-views-first-dazzling-sun-rays-on-mars/

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

Additional research on growing replacement neurons for the brain ...

A team of biologists has discovered how to awaken neural stem cells and reactivate them in adult mice.

Some areas of the adult brain contain quiescent, or dormant, neural stem cells that can potentially be reactivated to form new neurons. However, the transition from quiescence to proliferation is still poorly understood. A team led by scientists from the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Lausanne (UNIL) has discovered the importance of cell metabolism in this process and identified how to wake up these neural stem cells and reactivate them. Biologists succeeded in increasing the number of new neurons in the brain of adult and even elderly mice. These results, promising for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, are to be discovered in the journal Science Advances. ...

Stem cells have the unique ability to continuously produce copies of themselves and give rise to differentiated cells with more specialized functions. Neural stem cells (NSCs) are responsible for building the brain during embryonic development, generating all the cells of the central nervous system, including neurons. Surprisingly, NSCs persist in certain brain regions even after the brain is fully formed and can make new neurons throughout life. This biological phenomenon, called adult neurogenesis, is important for specific functions such as learning and memory processes. However, in the adult brain, these stem cells become more silent or ‘‘dormant’’ and reduce their capacity for renewal and differentiation. As a result, neurogenesis decreases significantly with age. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-...e-adult-brain/

And more information (a little better written) on "Organoid Intelligence" ... the computer that is human neurons, human neurons that are a computer ...

“Organoid Intelligence” – Revolutionary Biocomputers Powered by Human Brain Cells

Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been inspired by the human brain. This approach proved highly successful: AI boasts impressive achievements – from diagnosing medical conditions to composing poetry. Still, the original model continues to outperform machines in many ways. This is why, for example, we can ‘prove our humanity’ with trivial image tests online. What if instead of trying to make AI more brain-like, we went straight to the source?

Scientists across multiple disciplines are working to create revolutionary biocomputers where three-dimensional cultures of brain cells, called brain organoids, serve as biological hardware. They describe their roadmap for realizing this vision in the journal Frontiers in Science.

... Brain organoids are a type of lab-grown cell-culture. Even though brain organoids aren’t ‘mini brains’, they share key aspects of brain function and structure such as neurons and other brain cells that are essential for cognitive functions like learning and memory. Also, whereas most cell cultures are flat, organoids have a three-dimensional structure. This increases the culture’s cell density 1,000-fold, meaning that neurons can form many more connections.

But even if brain organoids are a good imitation of brains, why would they make good computers? After all, aren’t computers smarter and faster than brains?

“While silicon-based computers are certainly better with numbers, brains are better at learning,” ... Brains are not only superior learners, they are also more energy efficient. Brains also have an amazing capacity to store information, estimated at 2,500TB,” Hartung added. “We’re reaching the physical limits of silicon computers because we cannot pack more transistors into a tiny chip. But the brain is wired completely differently. It has about 100bn neurons linked through over 1015 connection points. It’s an enormous power difference compared to our current technology.”

https://scitechdaily.com/organoid-in...n-brain-cells/

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

Update on the Fountain of Youth ...

This is an interview done with the doctor in this study I posted some days ago ...

Old mice grow young again in study. Can people do the same?

... The experiments show aging is a reversible process, capable of being driven “forwards and backwards at will,” said anti-aging expert David Sinclair, a professor of genetics in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School and codirector of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research.

Our bodies hold a backup copy of our youth that can be triggered to regenerate, said Sinclair, the senior author of a new paper showcasing the work of his lab and international scientists. ... “The astonishing finding is that there’s a backup copy of the software in the body that you can reset,” Sinclair said. “We’re showing why that software gets corrupted and how we can reboot the system by tapping into a reset switch that restores the cell’s ability to read the genome correctly again, as if it was young.”

It doesn’t matter if the body is 50 or 75, healthy or wracked with disease, Sinclair said. Once that process has been triggered, “the body will then remember how to regenerate and will be young again, even if you’re already old and have an illness. Now, what that software is, we don’t know yet. At this point, we just know that we can flip the switch.” ... “One of our breakthroughs was to realize that if you use this particular set of three pluripotent stem cells, the mice don’t go back to age zero, which would cause cancer or worse,” Sinclair said. “Instead, the cells go back to between 50% and 75% of the original age, and they stop and don’t get any younger, which is lucky. How the cells know to do that, we don’t yet understand.”

More here: https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...l=1#post316905

The good doctor is quite optimistic in this interview. My gut reaction, however, is that the actual issue of aging is multi-faceted, there is not a single button to push ... and Dr. Sinclair is over-selling this a bit.

https://youtu.be/QaXTrP1rjzc

A related report:

https://youtu.be/DPARs7mL_7Q

By the way, Dr. Sinclair in this video is actually 97 years old! (Just Kidding!)

Gassho, J

stlah

(thank you to Bion for the link)

OH, and some technology that we definitely DO NOT NEED!!!!

https://youtu.be/ubkHLT49VAs

[Jundo]

What is soon to follow Hubble and Webb? Nancy Grace Roman ...

A new simulation shows how NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will turn back the cosmic clock, unveiling the evolving universe in ways that have never been possible before when it launches by May 2027. With its ability to rapidly image enormous swaths of space, Roman will help us understand how the universe transformed from a primordial sea of charged particles to the intricate network of vast cosmic structures we see today.

“The Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes are optimized for studying astronomical objects in-depth and up close, so they’re like looking at the universe through pinholes,” said Aaron Yung, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who led the study. “To solve cosmic mysteries on the biggest scales, we need a space telescope that can provide a far larger view. That’s exactly what Roman is designed to do.”

https://scitechdaily.com/turning-back-the-cosmic-clock-how-nasas-roman-space-telescope-will-rewind-the-universe/

https://youtu.be/0f3kFtq5O3c

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

The promise and perils of AI ...

An aid to lawyers, but will it also soon replace lawyers because their research, analysis, brief and contract writing and advising are no longer needed?

And what of other jobs, from doctor to bus driver, store clerk to insurance salesperson, translators to artists, airplane pilot to architect?

The new AI technology, CoCounsel, is the first A.I. legal assistant, and Pablo Arredondo and Jake Heller of Casetext discuss how it can impact the legal profession. ...

https://youtu.be/7IzbNQ2oYCM

"Our AI legal assistant is the first of its kind," said Jake Heller, co-founder and CEO of Casetext. "It creates a momentous opportunity for attorneys to delegate tasks like legal research, document review, deposition preparation, and contract analysis to an AI, freeing them to focus on the most impactful aspects of their practice."

... For the first time, lawyers can reliably delegate substantive, complex work to an AI assistant—just as they would to a legal professional—and trust the results. ... Unlike generalized, publicly available large language models, CoCounsel is a product that offers the reliability and security critical for legal matters, which are specialized, complex, and confidential. In building CoCounsel, Casetext has coupled the immense technological power of OpenAI's most advanced model with its own proprietary legal databases and market-leading legal search system, Parallel Search. As a result, CoCounsel can perform substantive tasks such as legal research, document review, deposition preparation, and contract analysis more quickly and accurately than ever before possible. Most importantly, CoCounsel produces results lawyers can rely on for professional use and keeps customers'—and their clients'—data private and secure.

"CoCounsel is a truly revolutionary legal tech innovation," noted John Polson, Chairman and Managing Partner of Fisher Phillips, the first major law firm to deploy CoCounsel firm-wide to its 500+ attorneys. "The power of this tool to help our attorneys perform efficient legal research, document review, drafting, and summarizing, has already resulted in immediate, sustained benefits to our clients, and we have only scratched the surface of what it has to offer."

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/casetext-unveils-cocounsel-the-groundbreaking-ai-legal-assistant-powered-by-openai-technology-301759255.html

Perhaps the 500+ lawyer firm can let about 450 of those lawyers go soon??

On the other hand, a recent funny (yet true) look at AI, its promise and pitfalls, by commentator and wit John Oliver ...

https://youtu.be/Sqa8Zo2XWc4

... caused me to put my open name in to OpenAI. The following is what it said. Certainly, pretty good but not totally reliable (the BOLDFACE items are just wrong):

Jundo Cohen is an American Zen teacher, author, and founder of the Treeleaf Zendo, an online Zen meditation community. He has been practicing Zen for over 30 years and was ordained as a Zen priest in the Soto school of Zen in 2002 by Taizan Maezumi Roshi. Jundo Cohen is known for his accessible and practical approach to Zen practice, which emphasizes the integration of meditation into daily life. He has written several books on Zen, including "The Heart of Zen" and "Sitting with Koans," and hosts the popular podcast "Treeleaf Zendo: The Drinking Gourd."

Okay, humans cannot be fully replaced yet. On the other hand, the memories and accuracy of human beings is often even less reliable.

Than I asked it a couple of more things about myself. OpenAI is quite the smooth talker ...

Please describe Jundo Cohen. What kind of person is he?

As an AI language model, I do not have personal experiences or opinions, but I can provide information on Jundo Cohen's public persona based on available sources.

From his teachings and interviews, Jundo Cohen comes across as a warm, compassionate, and down-to-earth person. He is known for his practical and accessible approach to Zen practice, which emphasizes the integration of meditation into daily life. He often uses humor and everyday examples to illustrate Zen teachings and concepts, making them more relatable to modern audiences.

Jundo Cohen is also known for his dedication to helping others, both through his teaching and his social activism. He has been involved in various social justice causes, including environmentalism and human rights, and he encourages his students to engage in compassionate action as part of their Zen practice.

Overall, Jundo Cohen appears to be a genuine and caring person who is dedicated to sharing the benefits of Zen practice with others and making a positive impact on the world.

That's nice!

Compare Jundo Cohen to Shirley Temple

Jundo Cohen and Shirley Temple are two very different people who made significant contributions in different fields. Jundo Cohen is a Zen teacher and author, while Shirley Temple was a famous child actress, singer, and diplomat. Therefore, it would not be appropriate or meaningful to compare them.

However, if we were to look at some qualities that they both possessed, we could say that both Jundo Cohen and Shirley Temple had a positive impact on people's lives. Jundo Cohen has helped many people to find peace and meaning through his Zen teachings, while Shirley Temple brought joy and entertainment to millions of people around the world with her acting and singing.

Both Jundo Cohen and Shirley Temple also demonstrated a strong work ethic and a commitment to their craft. Jundo Cohen has spent decades studying and practicing Zen, while Shirley Temple spent her childhood and early adulthood honing her talents as an actress and performer.

Overall, while Jundo Cohen and Shirley Temple are very different individuals, they both have made significant contributions in their respective fields and have inspired many people through their work.

Oh, also nice!

Please compare Jundo Cohen to a bag of chips

Jundo Cohen and a bag of chips are two very different things, so it would not be meaningful to compare them.

However, if we were to look for some qualities that they share, we could say that both Jundo Cohen and a bag of chips can provide nourishment and sustenance, although in very different ways. Jundo Cohen nourishes the mind and spirit through his Zen teachings, while a bag of chips provides physical sustenance and energy.

Additionally, both Jundo Cohen and a bag of chips can offer comfort and satisfaction. Jundo Cohen's teachings may bring comfort and solace to those who are seeking meaning and purpose in their lives, while a bag of chips can be a comforting snack that provides a momentary sense of pleasure and satisfaction.

Overall, while Jundo Cohen and a bag of chips are very different, they both have the potential to provide nourishment, comfort, and satisfaction in their own unique ways.

Well, it could have said that we are both full of air and provide empty calories, so I would say that OpenAI is quite the diplomat too!

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

The human-made neuron computer ... Organoids ...

(By the way, the following article is not that well written ... maybe AI, or an Organoid, could have done better ... )

Move over, artificial intelligence. Scientists announce a new ‘organoid intelligence’ field

Computers powered by human brain cells may sound like science fiction, but a team of researchers in the United States believes such machines, part of a new field called “organoid intelligence,” could shape the future — and now they have a plan to get there.

Organoids are lab-grown tissues that resemble organs. These three-dimensional structures, usually derived from stem cells, have been used in labs for nearly two decades ... Brain organoids don’t actually resemble tiny versions of the human brain, but the pen dot-size cell cultures contain neurons that are capable of brainlike functions, forming a multitude of connections.

Scientists call the phenomenon “intelligence in a dish.” ... He and his colleagues envision combining the power of brain organoids into a type of biological hardware more energy efficient than supercomputers. These “biocomputers” would employ networks of brain organoids to potentially revolutionize pharmaceutical testing for diseases like Alzheimer’s, provide insight into the human brain and change the future of computing. ... “Computing and artificial intelligence have been driving the technology revolution but they are reaching a ceiling,” said Hartung, senior study author, in a statement. “Biocomputing is an enormous effort of compacting computational power and increasing its efficiency to push past our current technological limits.” ...

... “The brain is still unmatched by modern computers,” Hartung said. “Brains also have an amazing capacity to store information, estimated at 2,500 (terabytes),” he added. “We’re reaching the physical limits of silicon computers because we cannot pack more transistors into a tiny chip.” ... Hartung recalled that he was asked by other researchers whether brain organoids could think or achieve consciousness. The question spurred him to consider feeding information to organoids about their environment and how to interact with it.

“This opens up research on how the human brain works,” said Hartung, who is also the codirector of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing in Europe. “Because you can start manipulating the system, doing things you cannot ethically do with human brains.”

... The brain organoids that Hartung currently uses would need to be scaled up for OI, or organoid intelligence. Each organoid has about the number of cells one would find in a fruit fly’s nervous system. A single organoid is about one-three-millionth the size of the human brain, which means it is the equivalent of about 800 megabytes of memory storage.

“They are too small, each containing about 50,000 cells. For OI, we would need to increase this number to 10 million,” he said.

The researchers also need ways to communicate with the organoids in order to send them information and receive readouts of what the organoids are “thinking.” The study authors have developed a blueprint that includes tools from bioengineering and machine learning, along with new innovations. Allowing for different kinds of input and output across organoid networks would allow for more complex tasks, the researchers wrote in the study.

“We developed a brain-computer interface device that is a kind of an EEG (electroencephalogram) cap for organoids, which we presented in an article published last August,” Hartung said. “It is a flexible shell that is densely covered with tiny electrodes that can both pick up signals from the organoid, and transmit signals to it.”

... sing brain organoids to create organoid intelligence is still very much in its infancy. Developing OI comparable to a computer with the brain power of a mouse could take decades, Hartung said.

But there are already promising results that illustrate what is possible. Study coauthor Dr. Brett Kagan, chief scientific officer at Cortical Labs in Melbourne, Australia, and his team recently showed that brain cells can learn to play Pong, the video game.

“Their team is already testing this with brain organoids,” Hartung said. “And I would say that replicating this experiment with organoids already fulfills the basic definition of OI. From hereon, it’s just a matter of building the community, the tools, and the technologies to realize OI’s full potential.” “We are entering a new world, where the interface between humans and human constructs blurs distinctions,” Kinderlerer wrote. “Society cannot passively await new discoveries; it must be involved in identifying and resolving possible ethical dilemmas and assuring that any experimentation is within ethical boundaries yet to be determined.” ...

This magnified image shows a brain organoid produced in Hartung's lab. The culture was dyed to show neurons in magenta, cell nuclei in blue and other supporting cells in red and green.

And we might also build computers the size of single atoms ...

New studies broaden the perspectives on what constitutes a “computer” and how small a computational unit can be.

When we define a “computer” as any device that processes information through input and output, it raises the questions of what objects can perform these computations and how small can these computers be. With transistors reaching the limits of miniaturization, finding answers to these questions becomes crucial, as they could lead to the development of a new computing paradigm.

In a new study published in EPJ Plus by researchers from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, Gerard McCaul and his team demonstrate that atoms, one of the most basic building blocks of matter,  can act as a reservoir for computing where all input-output processing is optical. ... The team proposed a non-linear single-atom computer with the input information encoded directly into light and the output also in the form of light. The calculation is then determined by filters that the light output is passed through.
https://scitechdaily.com/building-a-...a-single-atom/

Anyone should be able to be a parent ... but may all be good parents to their kids ...

(When we adopted our two kids, we had to go through all kinds of psychological checks, background checks, home visits, preparatory safety and parenting classes, post-adoption follow-ups ... Ideally (it will never happen), I think that ALL parents should be required to do the same as we experienced, and licenses should be issued to be parents.)

Dutch Healthcare System Deemed “Unprepared” for Pregnant Transgender Men

Transgender men can, and often wish to, become pregnant. However, they do need extra guidance and care providers often lack the necessary knowledge and skills. Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Amsterdam UMC) is the first to conduct qualitative research into the experiences of Dutch transgender people with maternity care. This research is now available as a pre-print in the journal Midwifery.

Transgender men often undergo medical procedures to adjust their bodies to their male gender identity. These medical interventions can affect fertility. Some transgender men, therefore, choose not to undergo these treatments, postpone them or, even, to temporarily stop them. Allowing them to retain the possibility of becoming pregnant. ... This research shows that their experiences differ greatly from a female pregnancy. For example, transgender men get little to no understanding of pregnancy from their environment, as pregnancy is seen as something feminine in society. Finding the right care providers can also be difficult, sometimes leading to individuals withholding the desire to become pregnant. Fear also plays a role in the process. On one hand, the fear that pregnancy will hinder their medical transition as well as the fear of negative reactions from healthcare providers. These findings echo international studies into the experience of pregnant transgender men.

https://scitechdaily.com/dutch-healthcare-system-deemed-unprepared-for-pregnant-transgender-men/

Look down at the solid ground you stand on, and consider this ...

Mysteries of the Earth: How Fast Did Ancient Magma Ocean Solidify?

During the early stages of Earth’s formation, a massive ocean of molten rock known as a “magma ocean” blanketed the planet’s surface and penetrated deep into its core. The cooling rate of this “magma ocean” played a crucial role in shaping the layered structure of the Earth and determining the chemical composition of those layers.

Previous research had suggested that it took hundreds of millions of years for the magma ocean to solidify, but new research from Florida State University published in Nature Communications has reduced these uncertainties to less than just a couple of million years.

https://scitechdaily.com/mysteries-o...cean-solidify/

Like superman ....

X-Ray Vision: MIT’s Augmented Reality Headset Enables You To See Hidden Objects

The device could help workers locate objects for fulfilling e-commerce orders or identify parts for assembling products.

MIT researchers have built an augmented reality headset that gives the wearer X-ray vision. The headset combines computer vision and wireless perception to automatically locate a specific item that is hidden from view, perhaps inside a box or under a pile, and then guide the user to retrieve it.

The system utilizes radio frequency (RF) signals, which can pass through common materials like cardboard boxes, plastic containers, or wooden dividers, to find hidden items that have been labeled with RFID tags, which reflect signals sent by an RF antenna.

https://scitechdaily.com/x-ray-vision-mits-augmented-reality-headset-enables-you-to-see-hidden-objects/

https://youtu.be/bdUN21ft7G0

Gassho, J

stlah

[Tokan]

This is possibly just the kind of technology we're needing. Let's not forget that zazen is a 'technology' of sorts, so technology that modulates errant human desire or mind/brain disease is just the next level isn't it?

Gassho, Tokan

satlah

[Jundo]

Scientists, using their brains to supplement the brain ...

Could something like this also head off extreme human anger, sexual attraction in sex offenders, etc. etc. ?

Suppressing Symptoms – A Neuro-Chip To Manage Brain Disorders

Researchers at EPFL have combined the fields of low-power chip design, machine learning algorithms, and soft implantable electrodes to create a neural interface capable of identifying and mitigating symptoms of various neurological disorders.

... The system boasts a 256-channel high-resolution sensing array and an energy-efficient machine learning processor, enabling it to effectively extract and categorize a wide range of biomarkers from real patient data and in-vivo animal models of disease. This results in a high level of accuracy in symptom prediction. ... NeuralTree functions by extracting neural biomarkers – patterns of electrical signals known to be associated with certain neurological disorders – from brain waves. It then classifies the signals and indicates whether they herald an impending epileptic seizure or Parkinsonian tremor, for example. If a symptom is detected, a neurostimulator – also located on the chip – is activated, sending an electrical pulse to block it.

... “Eventually, we can use neural interfaces for many different disorders, and we need algorithmic ideas and advances in chip design to make this happen. This work is very interdisciplinary, and so it also requires collaborating with labs like the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, which can develop state-of-the-art neural electrodes or labs with access to high-quality patient data. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/suppressing-symptoms-a-neuro-chip-to-manage-brain-disorders/

NeuralTree.

Growing our own neuron replacements too ...

Mature “Lab Grown” Neurons Hold Promise for Neurodegenerative Diseases Like Alzheimer’s

A team of researchers led by Northwestern University has achieved a breakthrough by producing the most mature neurons to date from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). This advancement opens up new avenues for medical research and the possibility of transplantation therapies for conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic injuries.

Previous efforts to turn stem cells into neurons have resulted in functionally immature neurons that resemble those from the early stages of development. The limited maturation achieved through current stem cell culture methods restricts their potential for studying neurodegeneration. ... Not only were the enriched neurons more mature, but they also demonstrated enhanced signaling capabilities and greater branching ability, which is required for neurons to make synaptic contact with one another. And, unlike typical stem cell-derived neurons which tend to clump together, these neurons did not aggregate, making them less challenging to maintain.

With further development, the researchers believe these mature neurons could be transplanted into patients as a promising therapy for spinal cord injuries as well as neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, or multiple sclerosis. ... For example, physicians could take skin cells from a patient with ALS or Parkinson’s disease, convert them into iPSCs, and then culture those cells on the coating to create healthy, highly functional neurons.

Transplanting healthy neurons into a patient could replace damaged or lost neurons, potentially restoring lost cognition or sensations. And, because the initial cells came from the patient, the new, iPSC-derived neurons would genetically match the patient, eliminating the possibility of rejection.

https://scitechdaily.com/mature-lab-grown-neurons-hold-promise-for-neurodegenerative-diseases-like-alzheimers/

Fluorescent images of human neurons (stained with red, green, and blue) growing on coatings with fast-moving molecules (left) or conventional laminin (right) for 60 days. Neurons spread homogenously and showed more complex branching on the highly mobile coating developed at Northwestern.

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

Better understanding the "glue" (ons) that held the early universe together ...

Breakthrough in Understanding Quark-Gluon Plasma, the Primordial Form of Matter in the Early Universe

New Model of Quark-Gluon Plasma Solves a Long-Standing Discrepancy Between Theory and Data
Researchers from Japan provide a novel theoretical framework for describing the quark-gluon plasma, which agrees better with experimental data.

The properties of quark-gluon plasma (QGP), the primordial form of matter in the early universe, is conventionally described using relativistic hydrodynamical models. However, these models predict low particle yields in the low transverse momentum region, which is at odds with experimental data. To address this discrepancy, researchers from Japan now propose a novel framework based on a “core-corona” picture of QGP, which predicts that the corona component may contribute to the observed high particle yields. ...

Research in fundamental science has revealed the existence of quark-gluon plasma (QGP) – a newly identified state of matter – as the constituent of the early universe. Known to have existed a microsecond after the Big Bang, the QGP, essentially a soup of quarks and gluons, cooled down with time to form hadrons like protons and neutrons – the building blocks of all matter. One way to reproduce the extreme conditions prevailing when QGP existed is through relativistic heavy-ion collisions. In this regard, particle accelerator facilities like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have furthered our understanding of QGP with experimental data pertaining to such collisions.

Meanwhile, theoretical physicists have employed multistage relativistic hydrodynamic models to explain the data, since the QGP behaves very much like a perfect fluid. However, there has been a serious lingering disagreement between these models and data in the region of low transverse momentum, where both the conventional and hybrid models have failed to explain the particle yields observed in the experiments.

Against this backdrop, a team of researchers from Japan, led by theoretical physicist Professor Tetsufumi Hirano of Sophia University, undertook an investigation to account for the missing particle yields in the relativistic hydrodynamic models. In their recent work, they proposed a novel “dynamical core-corona initialization framework” to comprehensively describe high-energy nuclear collisions. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/breakthroug...arly-universe/

More discoveries from the meteor samples brought back by the Japanese probe (built and controlled right here in Tsukuba) ...

NASA Discovers Organic Molecules on Asteroid Ryugu, Bolstering Theory of Extraterrestrial Life Ingredients

Asteroid Ryugu has a rich complement of organic molecules, according to a NASA and international team’s initial analysis of a sample from the asteroid’s surface delivered to Earth by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The discovery adds support to the idea that organic material from space contributed to the inventory of chemical components necessary for life.

Organic molecules are the building blocks of all known forms of terrestrial life and consist of a wide variety of compounds made of carbon combined with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and other atoms. However, organic molecules can also be made by chemical reactions that don’t involve life, supporting the hypothesis that chemical reactions in asteroids can make some of life’s ingredients.

... among the prebiotic organics found in the sample were several kinds of amino acids. Certain amino acids are widely used by terrestrial life as a component to build proteins. Proteins are essential to life as they are used to make enzymes which speed up or regulate chemical reactions and to make structures from microscopic to large such as hair and muscles. ...
https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-discov...e-ingredients/

Not yet future replacement parts, but for pre-surgery testing ... the (3-D Printed) Heart Sutra ...

MIT’s 3D-Printed Robotic Hearts Look and Pump Just Like the Real Thing

The soft robotic heart models are patient-specific and could help clinicians zero in on the best implant for an individual.

No two hearts beat alike. The size and shape of the heart can vary from one person to the next. These differences can be particularly pronounced for people living with heart disease, as their hearts and major vessels work harder to overcome any compromised function. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers are hoping to help doctors tailor treatments to patients’ specific heart form and function, with a custom robotic heart. The team has developed a procedure to 3D print a soft and flexible replica of a patient’s heart. They can then control the replica’s action to mimic that patient’s blood-pumping ability. The procedure involves first converting medical images of a patient’s heart into a three-dimensional computer model, which the researchers can then 3D print using a polymer-based ink. The result is a soft, flexible shell in the exact shape of the patient’s own heart. The team can also use this approach to print a patient’s aorta — the major artery that carries blood out of the heart to the rest of the body.

https://youtu.be/52qNGqBbTQA

https://scitechdaily.com/mits-3d-printed-robotic-hearts-look-and-pump-just-like-the-real-thing/

AI finding drug and genetic connections for addictions and mood ... but will we soon become addicted to AI???

Machine Learning Unveils Promising Smoking Cessation Medications

According to a study conducted by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and the University of Minnesota, certain medications, such as dextromethorphan, which is commonly used to treat coughs caused by colds and the flu, may be repurposed to aid individuals in quitting smoking. The researchers employed a cutting-edge machine learning approach, where computer algorithms scrutinize data sets to uncover patterns and trends, to identify the drugs that hold potential. Some of these drugs are already undergoing clinical trials.

... Using genetic data from more than 1.3 million people, Dajiang Liu, Ph.D., professor of public health sciences, and of biochemistry and molecular biology and Bibo Jiang, Ph.D., assistant professor of public health sciences, co-led a large multi-institution study that used machine learning to study these large data sets — which include specific data about a person’s genetics and their self-reported smoking behaviors.

The researchers identified more than 400 genes that were related to smoking behaviors. Since a person can have thousands of genes, they had to determine why some of those genes were connected to smoking behaviors. Genes that carry instructions for the production of nicotine receptors or are involved in signaling for the hormone dopamine, which makes people feel relaxed and happy, had easy-to-understand connections. For the remaining genes, the research team had to determine the role each plays in biological pathways and using that information, figured out what medications are already approved for modifying those existing pathways.

... They identified at least eight medications that could potentially be repurposed for smoking cessation, such as dextromethorphan, which is commonly used to treat coughs caused by cold and flu, and galantamine, which is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The study was published in Nature Genetics. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/machine-lea...n-medications/

No easy solution, but some hopeful directions ... Our second MIT story today ...

MIT Breakthrough: How To Efficiently Remove Carbon Dioxide From the Ocean

A new method for removing the greenhouse gas from the ocean could be far more efficient than existing systems for removing it from the air.

As carbon dioxide continues to build up in the Earth’s atmosphere, research teams around the world have spent years seeking ways to remove the gas efficiently from the air. Meanwhile, the world’s number one “sink” for carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is the ocean, which soaks up some 30 to 40 percent of all of the gas produced by human activities. Recently, the possibility of removing carbon dioxide directly from ocean water has emerged as another promising possibility for mitigating CO2 emissions, one that could potentially someday even lead to overall net negative emissions. But, like air capture systems, the idea has not yet led to any widespread use, though there are a few companies attempting to enter this area.

Now, a team of researchers at MIT says they may have found the key to a truly efficient and inexpensive removal mechanism. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/mit-breakthrough-how-to-efficiently-remove-carbon-dioxide-from-the-ocean/

Researchers have found an effective new method for removing carbon dioxide from the ocean.
It could be implemented by ships that would process seawater as they travel, or at offshore drilling platforms or aquaculture fish farms.

And an ancient Chinese invention, published by the famous archeologist I.P. Dailey of Dunlong Pu University ...

2,400-year-old flush toilet discovered in China could be one of the oldest ever

... Broken parts of the 2,400-year-old lavatory, as well as a bent flush pipe, were unearthed last summer by a research team among ancient palace ruins in the Yueyang archaeological site in the central city of Xi'an, according to Chinese state media. Details of the find were released last week, sparking widespread interest in China and offering a rare insight into the privileged and comparatively advanced world of the country's ancient ruling elite. Described by researchers as a "luxury object," the toilet was thought to have been located inside the palace, with a pipe leading to an outdoor pit ...

... the toilet would have likely been reserved for high-ranking officials during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the later Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). He added that servants would likely have poured water into the toilet bowl every time it was used. ...

... Prior to the newly announced discovery, the invention of the first flush toilet was widely credited to English courtier John Harington, who supposedly installed one for Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century, though 4,000-year-old drainage systems that might have been connected with toilets have been found in northwest India. ...

https://us.cnn.com/style/article/china-oldest-toilet-remains-discovered-intl-hnk/index.html

https://youtu.be/RMUfbbyF1nQ

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

Double gratitude for another of the body's amazing mechanisms ... to prevent doubling ...

Long-Puzzling Biologists: Cornell Study Reveals How Cells Prevent Harmful Extra DNA Copies

According to a recent study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, a protein that prepares DNA for replication also keeps the replication process in check, thus solving a long-standing mystery in biology. The research was recently published in the journal Molecular Cell.

The cells of humans and all other higher organisms employ a sophisticated system of checkpoints and licensing proteins to guarantee accurate replication of their genomes prior to division. In preparation for cell division, licensing proteins bind to specific locations in the DNA, marking them as replication origins. The DNA synthesis phase of the cell cycle only initiates replication at these designated sites and it only “fires”, or initiates, once, as per the current understanding. That model was missing a crucial point, though. “The same factor that is allowing for this licensing to happen is only degraded after these replication origins have fired,” said senior author Dr. Tobias Meyer, the Joseph Hinsey Professor in Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill Cornell Medicine. “In principle, the cell could load these licensing machines onto DNA that’s already replicated, so, instead of two copies, you’re getting three or four copies of that segment of the DNA, and these cells would be expected to lose genome integrity and die or become cancerous.”

... Ratnayeke used computer-aided microscopy to monitor thousands of growing cells simultaneously, catching the replicating cells in the act and analyzing the activities of their licensing and replication factors.

The work revealed that a well-known licensing factor, CDT1, not only licenses a segment of DNA to become a replication origin, but also acts as a brake for DNA replication, preventing an essential replication enzyme called CMG helicase from functioning. To start synthesizing DNA, the cell’s enzymes must first break down CDT1. “Previously proposed mechanisms for coordinating this transition from the licensing phase of the cell cycle to the firing phase of the cell cycle have depended on inhibiting licensing factors,” said Ratnayeke, adding that “the mechanism that we identified here is actually the opposite … the licensing factor CDT1 itself is preventing the progression of DNA synthesis.”

https://scitechdaily.com/long-puzzli...ra-dna-copies/

AI makes innovative proteins ... better than we can ... better than evolution can ...

Limitless Possibilities – AI Technology Generates Original Proteins From Scratch

Researchers have developed an AI system that can generate artificial enzymes from scratch. In laboratory experiments, some of these enzymes demonstrated efficacy comparable to natural enzymes, even when their artificially created amino acid sequences greatly deviated from any known natural protein.

The experiment shows that natural language processing, initially created for reading and writing language text, can grasp certain fundamental concepts of biology.

... Scientists said the new technology could become more powerful than directed evolution, the Nobel-prize-winning protein design technology, and it will energize the 50-year-old field of protein engineering by speeding the development of new proteins that can be used for almost anything from therapeutics to degrading plastic. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/limitless-possibilities-ai-technology-generates-original-proteins-from-scratch/

A space suit and a pitchfork ...

Revolutionizing Agriculture: The Next Frontier of Farming on the Moon

Sooner or later, settlers on the Moon will have to become farmers. A new European Space Agency (ESA) Discovery project led by Norway’s Solsys Mining is looking into the treatment of lunar soil to create fertilizer for growing plants.

The good news is that analysis of lunar samples returned to Earth in the past by Moonwalkers and robots shows sufficient essential minerals are available for plant growth, apart from nitrogen compounds. The bad news is that lunar soil (or ‘regolith’) compacts in the presence of water, creating problems for plant germination and root growth. Hydroponic farming therefore offers a practical alternative; this type of agriculture involves feeding plant roots directly with nutrient-rich water, without the need for soil. The potential is still there however to put lunar regolith to work, on the basis of ‘in-situ resource utilization’ – or living off the land.

The left of this artist’s impression shows a mechanical sorting area for the regolith, passing through to the central module for more advanced processing, such as chemical leaching. Finally extracted nutrients would be dissolved in water to be pumped to the hydroponic garden, right.

https://scitechdaily.com/revolutioni...g-on-the-moon/

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

A truly MASSIVE and very surprising Webb discovery is announced ...

“Massive” Webb Space Telescope Discovery Defies Prior Understanding of the Universe

Six massive galaxies discovered in the early universe are upending what scientists previously understood about the origins of galaxies in the universe.

“These objects are way more massive than anyone expected,” said Joel Leja, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, who modeled light from these galaxies. “We expected only to find tiny, young, baby galaxies at this point in time, but we’ve discovered galaxies as mature as our own in what was previously understood to be the dawn of the universe.”

Using the first dataset released from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the international team of scientists discovered objects as mature as the Milky Way when the universe was only 3% of its current age, about 500-700 million years after the Big Bang. The telescope is equipped with infrared-sensing instruments capable of detecting light that was emitted by the most ancient stars and galaxies. Essentially, the telescope allows scientists to see back in time roughly 13.5 billion years, near the beginning of the universe as we know it, Leja explained.

“This is our first glimpse back this far, so it’s important that we keep an open mind about what we are seeing,” Leja said. “While the data indicates they are likely galaxies, I think there is a real possibility that a few of these objects turn out to be obscured supermassive black holes. Regardless, the amount of mass we discovered means that the known mass in stars at this period of our universe is up to 100 times greater than we had previously thought. Even if we cut the sample in half, this is still an astounding change.”

https://scitechdaily.com/massive-webb-space-telescope-discovery-defies-prior-understanding-of-the-universe/

also ...

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05786-2

... and the universe takes an early breath ...

97% of the Age of the Universe – Astronomers Confirm Age of Most Distant Galaxy With Oxygen

A new study led by a joint team at Nagoya University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan has measured the cosmic age of a very distant galaxy. The team used the ALMA radio telescope array to detect a radio signal that has been traveling for approximately 97% of the age of the Universe. This discovery confirms the existence of galaxies in the very early Universe found by the James Webb Space Telescope. The research is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. ... So many bright distant galaxies were identified in the first few weeks of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations that it challenged our basic understanding of the formation of the earliest galaxies. However, these red colors are only indicative of a distant galaxy, and could instead be a very dust-rich galaxy masquerading as a more distant object. Only direct observations of spectral lines – lines present in a galaxy’s light spectrum used to identify the elements present – can robustly confirm the true distances of these galaxies.

... ALMA pointed at GHZ2/GLASS-z12 to hunt for an emission line associated with oxygen at the expected frequency suggested by the JWST observations. Oxygen is a typically abundant element in distant galaxies due to its relatively short formation timescale, therefore the team chose to search for an oxygen emission line to increase the chances of detection.

By combining the signal of each of its 12-meter telescopes, ALMA was able to detect the emission line close to the position of the galaxy. The observed redshift of the line indicates we see the galaxy as it was just 367 million years after the Big Bang. ...

The image of galaxy GHZ2/GLASS-z12 with the associated ALMA spectrum. ALMA’s deep spectroscopic observations revealed a spectral emission line associated with ionized Oxygen near the galaxy, which has been shifted in its observed frequency due to the expansion of the Universe since the line was emitted.

https://scitechdaily.com/97-of-the-a...y-with-oxygen/

The genetic balancing act that makes you, you ... and I ain't monkeying around ...

New Study: Evolution of Uniquely Human DNA Was a Delicate Balancing Act

Many alterations to the genomes of early humans had opposing effects, likely due to a delicate balance between enhanced cognitive abilities and an increased risk of psychiatric disorders.

Humans and chimpanzees share 99% of their DNA, with human accelerated regions (HARs) being the portions of the genome that exhibit a disproportionate amount of these differences. These HARs remained unchanged in mammals for millennia but underwent rapid transformation in early humans. Scientists have long wondered about the reason for these significant changes in these segments of DNA and how they distinguish humans from other primates.

Recently, the researchers at Gladstone Institutes conducted an analysis of thousands of human and chimpanzee HARs and found that a significant number of the modifications that occurred during human evolution had opposing effects from each other.

“This helps answer a longstanding question about why HARs evolved so quickly after being frozen for millions of years,” says Katie Pollard, Ph.D., director of the Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology and lead author of the new study published in the journal Neuron. “An initial variation in a HAR might have turned up its activity too much, and then it needed to be turned down. The findings, she says, have implications for understanding human evolution. In addition—because she and her team discovered that many HARs play roles in brain development—the study suggests that variations in human HARs could predispose people to psychiatric disease.

... “What this kind of pattern indicates is something called compensatory evolution,” says Pollard. “A large change was made in an enhancer, but maybe it was too much and led to harmful side effects, so the change was tuned back down over time—that’s why we see opposing effects.” ...

https://scitechdaily.com/new-study-e...balancing-act/

You have my (artificial) skin, flesh, bone and marrow ...

Superior to Human Skin: Scientists Have Artificial Skin With Incredible Sensing Capabilities

Researchers have created an artificial skin that surpasses human skin in its sensitivity to detect pressure applied by an object and its approach.

In a study published in the journal Small, scientists utilized the dual-responsive artificial skin for various purposes, including controlling virtual game characters, navigating electronic maps, and scrolling through digital documents. The artificial skin was able to distinguish different signals from approaching targets, enabling touchless object identification. The advance provides a proof-of-concept application for rendering a robot to classify materials including polymers, metals, and human skin in an entirely touchless mode. The researchers note that such artificial skin can be used in next-generation engineered electronics with potential in human–machine interfaces, artificial intelligence, prosthesis, and augmented reality.

https://scitechdaily.com/superior-to...-capabilities/

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

The brain is like an orchestra ... like waves in the ocean ...

Neuroimaging Study Finds the Brain Works Like a Resonance Chamber

It’s been over 20 years since neuroimaging studies – using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a widely-used technology to capture live videos of brain activity – have been detecting brain-wide complex patterns of correlated brain activity that appear disrupted in a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. These patterns form spontaneously, even at rest when no particular task is being performed, and have been detected not only in humans but also across mammals, including monkeys and rodents.

Although such spatial patterns of correlated activation have been consistently detected across neuroimaging centers around the world, the nature of these correlations was not clear. “We do not yet fully understand how the brain communicates over long distances. We know that distant areas exhibit signal correlations, and that they are implicated in brain function, but we do not completely understand their nature,” says Noam Shemesh, principal investigator of the Preclinical MRI Lab at the Champalimaud Foundation, in Lisbon ...

So what the team did was to speed up image acquisition, and they discovered that the signals in distant brain regions actually oscillate together in time. “These oscillatory patterns look like a higher-dimensional analogue of resonance modes in musical instruments; they are akin to reverberations, to echoes inside the brain,” says Cabral.

“Our data show that the complex spatial patterns are a result of transiently and independently oscillating underlying modes, just like individual instruments participate in creating a more complex piece in an orchestra,” says Shemesh. “The distinct modes, each contributing something to the overall picture at different time scales and different wavelengths, can be added up together, generating complex macroscopic patterns similar to the ones observed experimentally ... To our knowledge, this is the first time that brain activity captured with fMRI is reconstructed as the superposition of standing waves,” he points out.

... “When we first saw the videos of the recorded brain activity, we saw clear waves of activity, like waves in the ocean, propagating in complex patterns within the cortex and the striatum [a subcortical region of the forebrain],” says Cabral. “And we found that the signals could be described by the superposition of a small number of macroscopic stationary waves, or resonant modes, oscillating in time. Notably, each standing wave was found to cover extended areas of the brain, with peaks distributed in distinct cortical and subcortical structures, forming functional networks.” ...

They also found that increasing the amount of anesthetic reduces the number, frequency, and duration of the resonant stationary waves. As already mentioned, previous studies have shown that certain patterns of brain activation are consistently altered in disorders of consciousness. So this experimental design, says Cabral, was actually also meant to mimic different pathological states.

“Functional networks appear disrupted in several neurological and psychiatric disorders” she points out. If confirmed in humans, she speculates, their results could also lead to the use of resonant modes as biomarkers for disease. ...

https://scitechdaily.com/neuroimaging-study-finds-the-brain-works-like-a-resonance-chamber/

Signals captured with fMRI from a rat brain, viewed on top of an anatomical image of the animal.
Contralateral areas colored in red activate together at the same time, despite the long distance between them.

We need more sensitive instruments to understand the brain, and also to find life on Mars ...

Finding potential evidence of life on Mars may be more difficult than expected, according to new research.

Missions such as the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers are each equipped with a suite of scientific instruments that can analyze rock and dust samples and collect data about the red planet. But those instruments currently sitting on Mars, as well as those designed for future missions, may not be sensitive enough to detect biosignatures, or signs of existing or ancient life.

... To test the capabilities of these scientific tools, researchers went to Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest place on Earth and the world’s oldest desert. The arid desert has long been considered a Mars analog for scientists — even more so when researchers came across the desert’s Red Stone Jurassic fossil delta. The 100 million-year-old riverbed resembles Jezero Crater and its ancient river delta on Mars.... The researchers took things a step further by testing four scientific instruments designed to explore the red planet on samples they collected from the ancient riverbed. Although highly sophisticated, the instruments were barely able to detect any molecular signatures — proving that the tools may not be sensitive enough to accurately detect biosignatures.

... are will need to be taken when evaluating the first Martian samples returned to Earth, wrote Carol Stoker, a staff planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, in a Comment article accompanying the study. Stoker was not involved in the research.

This color picture of Mars was taken July 21--the day following Viking l's successful landing on the planet. The local time on Mars is approximately noon. The view is southeast from the Viking. Orange-red surface materials cover most of the surface, apparently forming a thin veneer over darker bedrock exposed in patches, as in the lower right. The reddish surface materials may be limonite (hydrated ferric oxide). Such weathering products form on Earth in the presence of water and an oxidizing atmosphere. The sky has a reddish cast, probably due to scattering and reflection from reddish sediment suspended in the lower atmosphere. The scene was scanned three times by the spacecraft's camera number 2, through a different color filter each time. To assist in balancing the colors, a second picture was taken of z test chart mounted on the rear of the spacecraft. Color data for these patches were adjusted until the patches were an appropriate color of gray. The same calibration was then used for the entire scene.
NASA's Viking 1 may have landed at the site of an ancient Martian megatsunami
“Any biological activity in these samples presumably took place billions of years ago, and only a few small samples can be brought to Earth for study,” Stoker wrote. “It remains to be seen if unambiguous signatures of life can be found in those limited samples. We must be cautious about interpreting absence of strong evidence of life as evidence of its absence!”

One of the instruments tested will travel to Mars aboard the first European rover, named Rosalind Franklin, which is expected to launch to the red planet by 2028.

“(It) will carry a drill with the unprecedented capability of reaching down to a depth of 2 meters (6.6 feet) to analyze sediments better protected against the harsh conditions on the Martian surface,” said study coauthor Alberto G. Fairén, research scientist at the Center of Astrobiology in Madrid and visiting scientist in Cornell University’s department of astronomy, in a statement.

“If biosignatures are better preserved at depth, which we expect, there will be more abundance and diversity, and better preservation of biosignatures, in those deep samples. Our instruments in the rover will therefore have more chances to detect them.”

https://us.cnn.com/2023/02/21/world/...scn/index.html

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

A new model for distinguishing natural selection from genetic noise and mere phylogenetic errors:

How Evolution Works – Scientists Develop a Novel Metric of Molecular Evolution

The European mole, equipped with its formidable digging shovels, can effortlessly tunnel through the earth. The same holds true for the Australian marsupial mole. Despite residing in vastly different regions, the two species have evolved similar appendages, which are perfectly suited for their subterranean lifestyle.

Science speaks of “convergent evolution” in such cases, when animal, but also plant species independently develop features that have the same shape and function. There are many examples of this: Fish, for example, have fins, as do whales, although they are mammals. Birds and bats have wings, and when it comes to using poisonous substances to defend themselves against attackers, many creatures, from jellyfish to scorpions to insects, have all evolved the same instrument: the venomous sting.

It is clear that scientists around the world are interested in finding out which changes in the genetic material of the respective species are responsible for the fact that identical characteristics have evolved in them, even though there is no relationship between them.

The search for this is proving difficult: “Such traits – we speak of phenotypes – are of course always encoded in genome sequences,” says plant physiologist Dr. Kenji Fukushima of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg. Mutations – changes in the genetic material – can be the triggers for the development of new traits.

However, genetic changes rarely lead to phenotypic evolution because the underlying mutations are largely random and neutral. Thus, a tremendous amount of mutations accumulate over the extreme time scale at which evolutionary processes occur, making the detection of phenotypically important changes extremely difficult.

Now, Fukushima and his colleague David D. Pollock of the University of Colorado (USA) have succeeded in developing a method that achieves significantly better results than previously used methods in the search for the genetic basis of phenotypic traits. They present their approach in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

“We have developed a novel metric of molecular evolution that can accurately represent the rate of convergent evolution in protein-coding DNA sequences,” says Fukushima, describing the main result of the now-published work. This new method, he says, can reveal which genetic changes are associated with the phenotypes of organisms on an evolutionary time scale of hundreds of millions of years. It thus offers the possibility of expanding our understanding of how changes in DNA lead to phenotypic innovations that give rise to a great diversity of species.

A key development in the life sciences forms the basis of Fukushima’s and Pollock’s work: the fact that in recent years more and more genome sequences of many living organisms across the diversity of species have been decoded and thus made accessible for analysis. “This has made it possible to study the interrelationships of genotypes and phenotypes on a large scale at a macroevolutionary level,” Fukushima says.

However, because many molecular changes are nearly neutral and do not affect any traits, there is often a risk of “false-positive convergence” when interpreting the data – that is, the result predicts a correlation between a mutation and a particular trait that does not actually exist. In addition, methodological biases could also be responsible for such false-positive convergences. “To overcome this problem, we expanded the framework and developed a new metric that measures the error-adjusted convergence rate of protein evolution,” Fukushima explains. This, he says, makes it possible to distinguish natural selection from genetic noise and phylogenetic errors in simulations and real-world examples. Enhanced with a heuristic algorithm, the approach enables bidirectional searches for genotype-phenotype associations, even in lineages that have diverged over hundreds of millions of years, he says.

https://scitechdaily.com/how-evoluti...lar-evolution/

How "attachment" may have some positive effects, but negative too ... and not just in Buddhist meaning ...

The Dark Side of Product Attachment: How Our Love for Possessions Impacts Sustainability

Custom sneakers, vintage dishware, and limited-edition cars are all examples of products that owners may consider special and irreplaceable, leading to strong feelings of attachment.

From a sustainability perspective, designers have traditionally viewed attachment as positive, as it leads people to retain products they care about for longer periods, reducing consumption and waste sent to landfills.

New Cornell University research provides a more nuanced understanding, showing that product attachment can also unintentionally encourage less sustainable behavior. To prevent damage or loss, people may limit the use of their most prized possessions – preserving shoes in a box, dishes as decorations, or a car in storage – and buy additional, less meaningful goods for practical daily purposes.

“The goal has been to get people to hold on to products longer, which was seen as inherently more sustainable,” said Michael Kowalski, a doctoral researcher in the field of human-centered design with a background as an industrial product designer. “But that’s not always the case if people aren’t actually using these things.”

... The research seeks to inform designers about the multiple factors driving product attachment and which could be tapped to encourage a product’s active use for as long as possible – consistent with sustainability goals – and avoid continued redundant consumption.

That’s important because Americans, on average, now throw out seven times more durable goods (meant to last at least three years) than they did in 1960, according to the research. Meanwhile, the average new U.S. home, the main location where these increasing numbers of products are used, stored, or thrown away, has grown by 1,000 square feet over the past 40 years.

https://scitechdaily.com/the-dark-side-of-product-attachment-how-our-love-for-possessions-impacts-sustainability/

Gassho, J

stlah

[Jundo]

In the Mountains and Waters Sutra, Master Dogen wrote ...

... [Water] flows over the earth; it flows across the sky; it flows up; it flows down. [Water] flows around bends and into deep abysses. It mounts up to form clouds; it descends to form pools. The Wen Tzu says, “The tao of water, ascending to heaven, becomes rain and dew, descending to earth, becomes rivers and streams.” ...

... I am sure that includes rivers of methane:

We Asked a NASA Scientist: Are There Rivers and Lakes on Other Worlds?

... Titan, which is the largest moon of Saturn, has lakes and rivers on its surface. Unlike Earth, the rivers and lakes, and streams on Titan are made out of methane and ethane. But very much like Earth, there’s what we call a hydrologic cycle. So methane can move back and forth between the surface and the atmosphere.

That means that we don’t just have lakes and streams and rivers. We also have rain and clouds. And Titan is one of the only places in the solar system where it might be possible to see a rainbow. ...

https://youtu.be/AwaEgxpHRh0

Make a left turn at Alpha Centauri, Go Straight ... But recall that a map of just your own body, every cell and neural connection and atom, would be just as intricate ...

... Using supercomputers and the help of thousands of citizen scientists around the world, researchers with The University of Texas at Austin have now revealed the locations of more than 200,000 new astronomical objects. Their goal is to map even more and use that knowledge to predict the ultimate fate of the universe.

For the first time, the researchers have cataloged astronomical objects — mapping over 51,863 Lyman-alpha-emitting galaxies at high redshift; 123,891 star forming galaxies at lower redshift; 5,274 non-emission line galaxies at low redshift; and 4,976 active galactic nuclei (AGN) — bright spots that signal the presence of black holes. The paper describing the catalog was published on February 7, 2023, in The Astrophysical Journal.

... A precise value of the expansion rate early in the Universe can be compared to the expansion rate today. This comparison can determine if the Universe will continue to expand forever, or will someday collapse on itself many billions of years from now.

“The whole point of the HETDEX project is to measure the expansion of the universe,” Gebhardt said.

https://scitechdaily.com/dark-energy-experiment-reveals-galaxy-gold-mine-in-first-large-survey/

Networks and networks ...

Astronomers Astounded by Intricate Networks of Gas and Dust in Nearby Galaxies Revealed by NASA’s Webb Space Telescope

The saying goes, ‘From a tiny acorn grows the mighty oak.’ This is accurate not just here on Earth, but in our solar system and beyond. Even on a galactic scale, where individual stars and star clusters can sculpt a galaxy’s overall structure. ... New imagery from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument is revealing never-before-seen details into how young, newly forming stars influence the structure of the gas and dust of nearby galaxies, and therefore how they evolve over time. Areas of galaxies that once appeared dim and dark in visible light, now under Webb’s infrared eye, are glowing cavities and huge cavernous bubbles of gas and dust.

... The images from Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveal the presence of a network of highly structured features within these galaxies – glowing cavities of dust and huge cavernous bubbles of gas that line the spiral arms. In some regions of the nearby galaxies observed, this web of features appears built from both individual and overlapping shells and bubbles where young stars are releasing energy.

“Areas which are completely dark in Hubble imaging light up in exquisite detail in these new infrared images, allowing us to study how the dust in the interstellar medium has absorbed the light from forming stars and emitted it back out in the infrared, illuminating an intricate network of gas and dust,” said team member Karin Sandstrom of the University of California, San Diego. ...

NGC 1365, observed here by Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), is one of a total of 19 galaxies targeted for study by the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies (PHANGS) collaboration.In the MIRI observations of NGC 1365, clumps of dust and gas in the interstellar medium have absorbed the light from forming stars and emitted it back out in the infrared, lighting up an intricate network of cavernous bubbles and filamentary shells created by young stars releasing energy into the galaxy’s spiral arms.
The exquisite resolution from Webb also picks up several extremely bright star clusters not far from the core and newly observed, recently formed clusters along the outer edges of the bar connecting to the spiral arms, only visible with Webb due to the thick dust in this region. Additionally, the Webb images provide insights into how the orbits of stars and gas vary depending on where they form, and how this results in the population of older clusters outside the inner star-formation ring. NGC 1365 is a double-barred spiral galaxy that lies about 56 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Fornax. It’s one of the largest galaxies currently known to astronomers, spanning twice the length of the Milky Way across.

Gassho, J

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