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

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  • Jundo
    Treeleaf Founder and Priest
    • Apr 2006
    • 40317

    Unlearning fear/PTSD via serotonin ...

    New Research: Fearlessness Can Be Learned

    The absence of a specific serotonin receptor has been linked to a reduction in previously acquired fear responses.


    Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, plays a crucial role in both the development and the elimination of fear and anxiety. A research team from the Department of General Zoology and Neurobiology at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany, led by Dr. Katharina Spoida and Dr. Sandra Süß, has been studying the underlying mechanisms of this process.

    In their experiments, the researchers found that mice lacking a specific serotonin receptor were able to unlearn fear more quickly than wild-type mice. These findings may help to explain how medications commonly used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affect brain activity. PTSD patients often struggle with the inability to unlearn fear, which can hinder their ability to undergo therapies. The study was recently published in the journal Translational Psychiatry.


    Well, the following would be nice ... and its kind of like making an omelette ...

    99% Efficiency: Princeton Engineers Have Developed a New Way To Remove Microplastics From Water

    Princeton Engineering researchers have developed a cost-effective way to use breakfast foods to create a material that can remove salt and microplastics from seawater.

    The researchers used egg whites to create an aerogel, a versatile material known for its light weight and porosity. It has a range of uses, including water filtration, energy storage, and sound and thermal insulation. Craig Arnold, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and vice dean of innovation at Princeton, leads a lab that focuses on creating new materials, including aerogels, for engineering purposes. ... Egg whites are a complex system of almost pure protein that — when freeze-dried and heated to 900 degrees Celsius in an environment without oxygen — create a structure of interconnected strands of carbon fibers and sheets of graphene. In a paper published Aug. 24 in Materials Today, Arnold and his coauthors showed that the resulting material can remove salt and microplastics from seawater with 98% and 99% efficiency, respectively.

    “The egg whites even worked if they were fried on the stove first, or whipped,” said Sehmus Ozden, the first author of the paper. Ozden is a former postdoctoral research associate at the Princeton Center for Complex Materials and is now a scientist at Aramco Research Center. While regular store-bought egg whites were used in initial tests, Ozden said, other similar commercially available proteins produced the same results.

    ... One next step for the researchers, Ozden noted, is refining the fabrication process so it can be used in water purification on a larger scale. If this challenge can be solved, the material has significant benefits because it is inexpensive to produce, energy-efficient to use, and highly effective. “Activated carbon is one of the cheapest materials used for water purification. We compared our results with activated carbon, and it’s much better,” said Ozden. Compared with reverse osmosis, which requires significant energy input and excess water for operation, this filtration process requires only gravity to operate and wastes no water.

    Both stories wonderful for folks with a FEAR of MICROPLASTICS!

    Gassho, J
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

    Comment

    • Jundo
      Treeleaf Founder and Priest
      • Apr 2006
      • 40317

      Just a note of gratitude, and let us offer Metta, on the passing of the Mars rover, InSight ...

      ‘It’s hard to say goodbye.’ Quake-sensing lander dies on Mars

      InSight mission spent 4 years probing planet’s interior, fighting hostile conditions


      The end has come for NASA’s InSight mission, a Mars lander that for more than 4 years listened for ground shaking that illuminates the structure of the planet’s interior, the agency announced yesterday.

      The lander last communicated with Earth on 15 December. NASA could not reach it in two follow-up attempts, leading the agency to conclude its batteries had run out of energy and its dust-covered solar panels could no longer deliver power.

      “We’ve thought of InSight as our friend and colleague on Mars for the past 4 years, so it’s hard to say goodbye,” Bruce Banerdt, the mission’s principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said ...

      ... InSight, which has been stationary since it landed on the Red Planet in November 2018, conducted studies on the deep interior of the planet.

      It landed on Elysium Planitia, a plain on the equator, where it placed a seismometer to detect seismic activity and provide 3D models of the planet’s interior.

      It also used a heat probe to study the early geological evolution of Mars.

      JPL said InSight achieved its primary science goals within its first Martian year (which is around two Earth years), detecting more than 1,300 “marsquakes,” as well as multiple meteor impacts, and gaining insight into the planet’s interior makeup.

      https://www.science.org/content/arti...nder-dies-mars
      The rover transmitted the following last message and picture ...

      NASA InSight
      @NASAInSight

      My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me.


      Yet, also something new ...

      The first orbital space launch from British soil will take off on Monday

      A modified Boeing 747 airplane known as Cosmic Girl will take off from Spaceport Cornwall in England. Once it reaches 35,000 feet in the air, the converted aircraft will deploy a rocket, called LauncherOne, into space.

      The LauncherOne rocket will deliver several payloads into orbit, including Wales' first satellite and the first ever satellite launched by Oman to observe Earth.

      In addition to being the first orbital launch ever from the United Kingdom, it is also the first commercial launch from Western Europe.

      https://www.npr.org/2023/01/08/11475...aunch-cornwall
      Here is an image of what to expect ...


      Gassho, J

      stlah
      Last edited by Jundo; 01-08-2023, 12:22 PM.
      ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

      Comment

      • Jundo
        Treeleaf Founder and Priest
        • Apr 2006
        • 40317

        A comet ... last here when Neanderthals walked the earth ... and which may never return from deep space again ...

        ... may be (depending where you are) visible with the naked eye ...

        During the upcoming weeks, a newly-discovered comet will be making a relatively close approach to the Earth. On Feb. 1, comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will pass to within 28 million miles (42 million km) of our planet, its first approach in 50,000 years. ... Whether or not one will actually be able to see it will depend on a variety of factors including location and light pollution from both natural and artificial sources. But don't be dismayed! Even if you don't have the right gear or conditions to see comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), the Virtual Telescope Project will be hosting a free livestream of the comet beginning at 11:00 p.m. EST on Jan. 12 (0400 GMT on Jan. 13). You can watch the live webcast courtesy of the project's website(https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2022...n-13-jan-2023/) or on its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@GianMasiVirtualTelescope).

        ... astronomers determined C/2022 E3 to have an orbital period of roughly 50,000 years. Its last passage through the inner solar system apparently came during the Upper Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. If we take these calculations at face value, then the last people to look up and witness this visitor from the depths of the outer solar system, were likely very early Homo sapiens or Neanderthals.

        But this may very well be the last time that C/2022 E3 comes our way again. The latest orbital elements suggest that the comet is currently traveling on an orbital path with an eccentricity of 1.00027, or in other words, a parabolic orbit. Such an orbit is not closed, so after it sweeps around the sun C/2022 E3 will move back out into deep space, never to return again. So, this will be the comet's last time to "perform" for us.

        ... For a comet to become readily visible without optical aid, it usually needs to approach closer to the sun than the Earth (92.95 million miles or 149.56 million km). But at perihelion (its closest approach to the sun) on January 12th, C/2022 E3 will get no closer than 103.4 million miles (166.4 million km). It will then begin to move away from the sun. Most comets, however, continue to remain quite active for a few weeks after passing the sun and this will be good so far as the comet's visibility for us is concerned.

        In fact, during the few weeks following perihelion, the orbital geometry between the comet and the Earth has the distance between the two rapidly shrink. That distance will decrease by nearly 40 million miles (64 million km) between Jan. 12 and Feb. 1. As a result, the anticipated increase in the comet's brightness during that timeframe is expected to correspondingly increase, perhaps more than five-fold.

        Closest approach to Earth (perigee) will come at 1:11 p.m. EST on Feb. 1 at a distance of 28,390,710 miles (42,471,730 km).

        DETAILS ON LOCATING and MORE: https://www.space.com/comet-c2022-e3...e-january-2023

        ... But actually seeing it will strongly depend on your observing site. From locations that are plagued by light pollution, I'll bet that sighting this comet is going to prove to be a rather difficult task. And even for those who are blessed with dark and starry skies, finding the comet could prove to be a bit of a challenge. This is because as the comet gets closer to Earth it will become rather large in angular size — perhaps appearing nearly as large as the moon by the start of February — as well as appearing rather diffuse.

        Indeed, many with little observing experience will sharply question the predictions for a fifth or sixth magnitude object. But remember, you're not looking for a sharp star-like object, but rather something which is spreading its light out over a comparatively large area.

        In fact, under a completely dark sky, free of light pollution, perhaps the best instruments for locating the comet will be your own two eyes, especially if you use averted vision.

        And Webb leads to a surprise ... early galaxies that look like ours ... and its spiraling bars (not the drinking kind where the room stars to spiral) are vital ...

        James Webb Space Telescope Looks Back Into the Early Universe, Sees Galaxies Like Our Milky Way

        New images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveal for the first time galaxies with stellar bars — elongated features of stars stretching from the centers of galaxies into their outer disks — at a time when the universe was a mere 25% of its present age. The finding of so-called barred galaxies, similar to our Milky Way, this early in the universe will require astrophysicists to refine their theories of galaxy evolution.

        ... In an article accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, they highlight these two galaxies and show examples of four other barred galaxies from more than 8 billion years ago. ...

        Bars play an important role in galaxy evolution by funneling gas into the central regions, boosting star formation.

        “Bars solve the supply chain problem in galaxies,” Jogee said. “Just like we need to bring raw material from the harbor to inland factories that make new products, a bar powerfully transports gas into the central region where the gas is rapidly converted into new stars at a rate typically 10 to 100 times faster than in the rest of the galaxy.”


        This simulation shows both how stellar bars form (left) and the bar-driven gas inflows (right). Stellar bars play an important role in galaxy evolution by funneling gas into the central regions of a galaxy, where it is rapidly converted into new stars, at a rate typically 10 to 100 times as fast as the rate in the rest of the galaxy. Bars also indirectly help to grow supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies by channeling the gas part of the way.

        Remember, being Zen "goalless" DOES NOT mean that we cannot/should not have some purpose and goals in life ...

        According to a new study, having a sense of purpose in life may have health benefits that are independent of race/ethnicity and gender. The study also found that women may potentially experience slightly more health benefits than men from having a sense of purpose.

        A new study led by a researcher at the Boston University School of Public Health has found that individuals with a higher sense of purpose in life may be at a lower risk of death from any cause, regardless of race/ethnicity or gender. Previous research has suggested that having a sense of purpose may be linked to a range of health benefits, including improved physical functioning and reduced risks of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. This latest study adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the importance of having a sense of purpose in promoting overall health and well-being.

        Published in the journal Preventive Medicine, the study results did suggest that this association is slightly stronger among women than it is among men, but there was no significant difference by race/ethnicity.

        https://scitechdaily.com/new-researc...risk-of-death/
        Gassho, J

        stlah
        Last edited by Jundo; 01-09-2023, 12:17 AM.
        ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

        Comment

        • Jundo
          Treeleaf Founder and Priest
          • Apr 2006
          • 40317

          The potential to give sight ...

          New Treatment for Hereditary Blindness Possible Using Nanoparticles and mRNA

          Scientists from the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy have demonstrated in animal models the possibility of using lipid nanoparticles and messenger RNA, the technology underpinning COVID-19 vaccines, to treat blindness associated with a rare genetic condition.

          Researchers developed nanoparticles that are able to penetrate the neural retina and deliver mRNA to the photoreceptor cells whose proper function makes vision possible.

          ... As a therapy for vision impairment resulting from inherited retinal degeneration, or IRD, the mRNA would instruct photoreceptor cells – faulty because of a genetic mutation – to manufacture the proteins needed for sight. ...

          https://scitechdaily.com/new-treatme...cles-and-mrna/
          ... restoring bodily balance ...

          Artificial Pancreas Developed That Can Help Maintain Healthy Glucose Levels in Type 2 Diabetes Patients

          Scientists at the University of Cambridge have successfully trialed an artificial pancreas for use by patients living with type 2 diabetes. The device – powered by an algorithm developed at the University of Cambridge – doubled the amount of time patients were in the target range for glucose compared to standard treatment and halved the time spent experiencing high glucose levels. ...

          ... The device combines an off-the-shelf glucose monitor and insulin pump with an app developed by the team, known as CamAPS HX. This app is run by an algorithm that predicts how much insulin is required to maintain glucose levels in the target range. ...

          https://scitechdaily.com/artificial-...etes-patients/
          A planet with a head-start, that changed its balance, and ran dry ...

          Researchers Discover Mars May Have Had the Conditions for Life Before Earth

          A new study has found that Mars was covered by 300-meter-deep oceans.


          ... According to a recent study from the University of Copenhagen, it is believed that Mars was once covered in a 300-meter-deep ocean of water around 4.5 billion years ago.

          “At this time, Mars was bombarded with asteroids filled with ice. It happened in the first 100 million years of the planet’s evolution. Another interesting angle is that the asteroids also carried organic molecules that are biologically important for life,” says Professor Martin Bizzarro from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation.

          In addition to water, the icy asteroids also brought biologically relevant molecules such as amino acids to the Red Planet. Amino acids are used when DNA and RNA form bases that contain everything a cell needs.

          ... “This happened within Mars’s first 100 million years. After this period, something catastrophic happened for potential life on Earth. It is believed that there was a gigantic collision between the Earth and another Mars-sized planet. It was an energetic collision that formed the Earth-Moon system and, at the same time, wiped out all potential life on Earth,” says Martin Bizzarro.

          Therefore, the researchers have really strong evidence that conditions allowing the emergence of life were present on Mars long before Earth. ...

          https://scitechdaily.com/researchers...-before-earth/
          ... but are we, tragically, losing our balance ... also requiring millions of years to restore ...

          Extinction Wave Imminent: 23 Million Years of Evolution Under Threat in Madagascar

          According to a new study, it would take an astounding 3 million years for the number of species that have been lost due to human activity on Madagascar to be restored. Furthermore, the study found that if currently threatened species were to become extinct, it would take more than 20 million years for the island to recover, which is significantly longer than has been found on any other island. ...

          ... The staggering time it would take to recover this diversity surprised the scientists: ”It is much longer than what previous studies have found on other islands, such as New Zealand or the Caribbean,” leading researcher Luis Valente says The results of this new research, published in the scientific journal Nature Communications, suggest that an extinction wave with deep evolutionary impact is imminent on Madagascar unless immediate conservation actions are taken. However, the study finds that with adequate conservation action we may still preserve over 20 million years of unique evolutionary history on the island. Valente: “It was already known that Madagascar was a hotspot of biodiversity, but this new research puts into context just how valuable this diversity is. These findings underline the potential gains of the conservation of nature on Madagascar from a novel evolutionary perspective.”

          And a "peek-a-boo" from a "tiny" neighbor ... only 1,200 light-years in size ...

          The Most Extraordinary Example Yet – Tiny, Hidden Galaxy Provides a Portal Into the Distant Past

          ... Dubbed “Peekaboo,” the tiny HIPASS J1131–31 galaxy has only been visible to astronomers for the past 50-100 years due to its emergence from behind the glare of a fast-moving star. The galaxy is only 1,200 light-years in size. ... “Uncovering the Peekaboo Galaxy is like discovering a direct window into the past, allowing us to study its extreme environment and stars at a level of detail that is inaccessible in the distant, early universe,” ...

          Astronomers describe galaxies like Peekaboo as “extremely metal-poor” (XMP). In astronomy, “metals” refers to all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The very early universe was almost entirely made up of primordial hydrogen and helium, elements forged in the big bang. Heavier elements were forged by stars over the course of cosmic history, building up to the generally metal-rich universe humans find ourselves in today. Life as we know it is made from heavier element “building blocks” like carbon, oxygen, iron, and calcium. ... While the universe’s earliest galaxies were XMP by default, similarly metal-poor galaxies have also been found in the local universe. Peekaboo caught astronomers’ attention because, not only is it an XMP galaxy without a substantial older stellar population, but at only 20 million light-years from Earth it is located at least half the distance of the previously known young XMP galaxies.




          Tiny galaxy HIPASS J1131–31 peeks out from behind the glare of star TYC 7215-199-1, a Milky Way star positioned between Hubble and the galaxy. ... With Hubble’s resolution and sensitivity, astronomers resolved 60 stars in the galaxy and were struck by the fact that they all appear to be relatively young—a few billion years old or younger.
          Gassho, J

          stlah
          ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

          Comment

          • Jundo
            Treeleaf Founder and Priest
            • Apr 2006
            • 40317

            A Fountain of Youth?

            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.”

            Today, Sinclair’s team is trying to find a way to deliver the genetic switch evenly to each cell, thus rejuvenating the entire mouse at once.

            “Delivery is a technical hurdle, but other groups seem to have done well,” Sinclair said, pointing to two unpublished studies that appear to have overcome the problem.

            “One uses the same system we developed to treat very old mice, the equivalent of an 80-year-old human. And they still got the mice to live longer, which is remarkable. So they’ve kind of beaten us to the punch in that experiment,” he said.

            “But that says to me the rejuvenation is not just affecting a few organs, it’s able to rejuvenate the whole mouse because they’re living longer,” he added. “The results are a gift and confirmation of what our paper is saying.”


            All mammals hold a backup copy of cellular youth, a new study says. All we have to do is trigger the switch to turn back the clock, researchers say.

            and
            https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S...22)01570-7#%20
            And this is good news too (everybody, remember to get your cancer checks. They saved my life.) ...

            Latest Cancer Statistics Released by American Cancer Society – 3.8 Million Cancer Deaths Averted since 1991 (and I think that is only in the USA) ...

            ... According to the report, overall cancer mortality has dropped 33% since 1991, averting an estimated 3.8 million cancer deaths. Based on ACS data, in 2023 there are projected to be 1,958,310 new cancer cases and 609,820 cancer deaths in the United States. ...

            https://scitechdaily.com/latest-canc...eaths-averted/
            They have a lot of (artificial) nerve!

            Artificial Organic Neurons Created – Almost Like Biological Nerve Cells

            An artificial organic neuron that closely mimics the characteristics of biological nerve cells has been created by researchers at Linköping University (LiU), Sweden. This artificial neuron can stimulate natural nerves, making it a promising technology for various medical treatments in the future. ... [It] closely mimics 15 out of the 20 neural features that characterize biological nerve cells, making its functioning much more similar to natural nerve cells. ...

            ... In experiments that were carried out in collaboration with Karolinska Institute (KI), the new c-OECN neurons were connected to the vagus nerve of mice. The results show that the artificial neuron could stimulate the mice’s nerves, causing a 4.5% change in their heart rate.

            The fact that the artificial neuron can stimulate the vagus nerve itself could, in the long run, pave the way for essential applications in various forms of medical treatment. In general, organic semiconductors have the advantage of being biocompatible, soft, and malleable, while the vagus nerve plays a key role, for example, in the body’s immune system and metabolism.

            https://scitechdaily.com/artificial-...l-nerve-cells/
            Possible signs of life in England! ... But is there intelligent life there? ...

            “Building Blocks of Life” Discovered in Meteorite That Crashed Landed in England

            New research has been published on the organic analysis of the Winchcombe meteorite which crashed landed onto a driveway in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England in 2021. The research, led by Dr. Queenie Chan, from the Department of Earth Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, found organic compounds from space which holds the secrets to the origin of life. ...

            [It] is the first-ever meteorite of this type to be found in the UK with an observed meteorite fall event, with more than 1,000 eyewitnesses and numerous footages of the fireball. ... [And] with the meteorite so promptly recovered and curated, the team was able to study the organic content of the meteorite prior to its interaction with the Earth’s environment.

            ... “Studying the organic inventory of the Winchcombe meteorite provided us with a window into the past, how simple chemistry kick-started the origin of life at the birth of our solar system. Discovering these life’s precursor organic molecules allowed us to comprehend the fall of similar material to the surface of the Earth, prior to the emergence of life on our own planet.


            https://scitechdaily.com/building-bl...ed-in-england/
            And here is a story that I am surprised is not getting more coverage ... ASTRONAUTS MAROONED IN SPACE! ... RESCUE MISSION PLANNED! ...

            Russia Sending Spacecraft To Rescue Crew From ISS After Damaged Soyuz Ruled “Not Viable”

            NASA and Roscosmos are adjusting the International Space Station (ISS) flight plan after completing an investigation into a coolant leak on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the station.

            NASA hosted a joint media briefing on Wednesday, January 11, about the Roscosmos-led investigation to update the public on the Soyuz status and the forward strategy.

            As a part of the work, Roscosmos engineers determined the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft is not viable for a normal crew return, but is available for crew return in an emergency aboard the space station. The Soyuz MS-22 will be replaced by the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft that will launch to the space station without a crew on Monday, February 20. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will return to Earth in the replacement Soyuz after spending several additional months on the station.

            ... On December 14, 2022, ground teams noticed significant leaking of external coolant from the aft portion of the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the Rassvet module on the space station. ...

            https://scitechdaily.com/russia-send...ed-not-viable/
            Gassho, J

            stlah
            Last edited by Jundo; 01-14-2023, 08:42 AM.
            ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

            Comment

            • Jundo
              Treeleaf Founder and Priest
              • Apr 2006
              • 40317

              I am for anything which avoids knives ...

              A sound you can’t hear but may one day change your life

              Undergoing clinical trials around the world is a brain surgery that doesn’t need an incision or produce any blood yet drastically improves the lives of people with essential tremor, depression and more. The procedure, known as a focused ultrasound, aims sound waves at parts of the brain to disrupt faulty brain circuits causing symptoms. ... Kassell describes the way it works as “analogous to using a magnifying glass to focus beams of light on a point and burn a hole in a leaf. ... With focused ultrasound, instead of using an optical lens to focus beams of light,” he added, “an acoustic lens is used to focus multiple beams of ultrasound energy on targets deep in the body with a high degree of precision and accuracy, sparing the adjacent normal tissue.”

              ... Today, focused ultrasound technology is used globally in various stages, including clinical trials and approved regulatory use. There are more than 170 clinical uses — including for neurodegenerative disorders and tumors of the brain, breast, lung, prostate and more — and the field is growing, Kassell said. “You can watch the effect of the ultrasound treatment in real time while the treatment’s being administered, whereas with radiation, the effect of the treatment is invisible while it’s being administered,” Kassell said. “And it takes weeks or months for the effect of radiation to become apparent.”

              ... Use for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder is on the table, according to a small 2020 study by Lipsman and a team of researchers. They found focused ultrasound was safe and effective in improving symptoms for people with major depression and OCD. But further studies are needed.
              https://us.cnn.com/2023/01/15/health...ess/index.html
              Fuel out of this air!

              Revolutionizing Renewable Energy: Using Sunlight To Produce Hydrogen Fuel Out of Thin Air

              A device that can harvest water from the air and provide hydrogen fuel—entirely powered by solar energy—has been a dream for researchers for decades. Now, EPFL chemical engineer Kevin Sivula and his team have made a significant step towards bringing this vision closer to reality. They have developed an ingenious yet simple system that combines semiconductor-based technology with novel electrodes that have two key characteristics: they are porous, to maximize contact with water in the air; and transparent, to maximize sunlight exposure of the semiconductor coating. When the device is simply exposed to sunlight, it takes water from the air and produces hydrogen gas. The results are published on 4 January 2023 in Advanced Materials.

              ... In their research for renewable fossil-free fuels, the EPFL engineers in collaboration with Toyota Motor Europe, took inspiration from the way plants are able to convert sunlight into chemical energy using carbon dioxide from the air. A plant essentially harvests carbon dioxide and water from its environment, and with the extra boost of energy from sunlight, can transform these molecules into sugars and starches, a process known as photosynthesis. The sunlight’s energy is stored in the form of chemical bonds inside of the sugars and starches. The transparent gas diffusion electrodes developed by Sivula and his team, when coated with a light harvesting semiconductor material, indeed act like an artificial leaf, harvesting water from the air and sunlight to produce hydrogen gas. The sunlight’s energy is stored in the form of hydrogen bonds.

              ... [However] While the scientists did not formally study the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency in their demonstration, they acknowledge that it is modest for this prototype, and currently less than can be achieved in liquid-based PEC cells. Based on the materials used, the maximum theoretical solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of the coated wafer is 12%, whereas liquid cells have been demonstrated up to 19% efficient.
              https://scitechdaily.com/revolutioni...t-of-thin-air/
              This is not our first 'Global Warming' ... but, sadly, we are far outdoing it ...

              Orbit of Doom: The Surprising Connection Between Earth’s Orbital Patterns and an Ancient Warming Event

              An international team of scientists has suggested that changes in Earth’s orbit that resulted in hotter conditions may have played a role in triggering a rapid global warming event that occurred 56 million years ago. This event, known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), is considered to be an analog to modern-day climate change.

              “The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum is the closest thing we have in the geologic record to anything like what we’re experiencing now and may experience in the future with climate change,” said Lee Kump, professor of geosciences at Penn State University. “There has been a lot of interest in better resolving that history, and our work addresses important questions about what triggered the event and the rate of carbon emissions.” The team of scientists studied core samples from a well-preserved record of the PETM near the Maryland coast using astrochronology, a method of dating sedimentary layers based on orbital patterns that occur over long periods of time, known as Milankovitch cycles. They found the shape of Earth’s orbit, or eccentricity, and the wobble in its rotation, or precession, favored hotter conditions at the onset of the PETM and that these orbital configurations together may have played a role in triggering the event.

              “An orbital trigger may have led to the carbon release that caused several degrees of global warming during the PETM as opposed to what’s a more popular interpretation at the moment that massive volcanism released the carbon and triggered the event,” said Kump, the John Leone Dean in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

              The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, also indicated the onset of the PETM lasted about 6,000 years. Previous estimates have ranged from several years to tens of thousands of years. The timing is important to understand the rate at which carbon was released into the atmosphere, the scientists said.

              ... A 6,000-year onset, coupled with estimates that 10,000 gigatons of carbon were injected into the atmosphere as the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide or methane, indicates that about one and a half gigatons of carbon were released per year.

              “Those rates are close to an order of magnitude slower than the rate of carbon emissions today, so that is cause for some concern,” Kump said. “We are now emitting carbon at a rate that’s 5 to 10 times higher than our estimates of emissions during this geological event that left an indelible imprint on the planet 56 million years ago.”

              The checkerboard in your ear necessary for you to hear (and for other senses to work too) ...

              Discovery of Checkerboard Pattern of Inner Ear Cells That Is Vital for Hearing

              The inner ear cochlea is necessary for hearing sound, and located inside it is the organ of Corti. When the organ of Corti is viewed from above under a microscope, two types of cells arranged in a precisely ordered layout resembling a chess or checkerboard can be seen. Hair cells that convey sound waves to the brain are separated by support cells, which prevent the hair cells from touching each other. Although it has been thought that this checkerboard arrangement is necessary for the organ of Corti to function properly, the relationship between this pattern and hearing function has long remained unclear.

              For the first time in the world, it was understood that the checkerboard layout plays a fundamental structural role in preserving hair cells and their functionality as the arrangement prevents hair cells from adhering to each other. This mosaic pattern of cells has been observed in various sensory organs in many different kinds of animals. Understanding the mechanism behind how cell self-organization forms these mosaic patterns will help illuminate the functions of a variety of sensory organs and the mechanisms behind disorders.




              Left: The organ of Corti from a normal (control) mouse. The hair cells and their support cells are lined up in an alternating, checkerboard-like pattern. Right: The organ of Corti [in which] the hair cells in nectin KO mice disappeared due to apoptosis (cell death).
              Gassho, J

              stlah
              Last edited by Jundo; 01-16-2023, 01:47 AM.
              ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

              Comment

              • Jundo
                Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                • Apr 2006
                • 40317

                Some nice news (thank you, Koushi, for the tip), a tech alternative to animal testing ... helping little beings ...

                The US Just Greenlit High-Tech Alternatives to Animal Testing
                Lab animals have long borne the brunt of drug safety trials. A new law allows drugmakers to use miniature tissue models, or organs-on-chips, instead.


                ANIMAL TESTING HAS long been necessary for a drug to gain approval by the US Food and Drug Administration—but it may be on its way out. A new law seeks to replace some lab animal use with high-tech alternatives.

                The FDA Modernization Act 2.0, signed by President Biden at the end of December with widespread bipartisan support, ends a 1938 federal mandate that experimental drugs must be tested on animals before they are used in human clinical trials. While the law doesn’t ban animal testing, it allows drugmakers to use other methods, such as microfluidic chips and miniature tissue models, which use human cells to mimic certain organ functions and structures.

                “We have many important drugs that have been developed using animal tests. But as we get into some of these more difficult diseases, especially neurological diseases, the animal models just aren't serving us as well,” says Paul Locke, a scientist and lawyer at Johns Hopkins University who studies alternatives to animal testing. “We need new ways to really unlock the molecular mechanisms that are causing these diseases, and the alternatives I think hold great promise.”

                Locke and other advocates point to studies that have shown animal testing to be an unreliable predictor of toxicity in humans. And plenty of drugs work in mice but aren’t effective in people. An estimated 90 percent of drug candidates in clinical trials never reach the market, and drugs that target the brain typically have an even higher failure rate. These inconsistencies, combined with the time, expense, and ethical issues associated with using animals, have led scientists to develop alternative testing methods that aim to better recapitulate human physiology.

                These include microfluidic organs-on-chips—clear, flexible polymer gadgets about the size of a computer memory stick that contain different kinds of human cells and push fluid through tiny channels to mimic blood flow. The first successful chip containing living human cells, a lung model, was described in 2010 by Donald Ingber and his team at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute. The miniaturized device was able to carry out basic functions of the lung, including exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide. Researchers at the Wyss Institute and elsewhere have gone on to create chips that simulate the liver, stomach and intestine, brain, skin, and more, using them to test the effects of drugs and environmental toxins.

                Then there are organoids—tiny, three-dimensional blobs of tissue grown in the lab. In 2008, Japanese biologist Yoshiki Sasai showed that, under the right conditions, it is possible to transform stem cells into neural tissue in a dish. By feeding cells certain nutrients and genetic instructions, scientists can coax them to self-organize into structures that resemble miniature organs and contain several cell types. Though no bigger than a pea, these models have some of the characteristics of full-size hearts and brains, and because they’re grown in a lab dish, they provide scientists with a detailed window into how organs form and develop. They’ve also been shown to predict patient responses to certain drugs, including cystic fibrosis medications and chemotherapy.

                Computer models that use artificial intelligence and machine learning trained on human data could also provide fast and cheap alternatives to animal testing. One 2018 study from the University of Oxford found that a computer simulation representing human heart cells outperformed animal tests in predicting adverse effects among cardiac drugs.

                Previously, the US government required that all investigational drugs be tested on animals before they could progress to initial trials in humans. But the new law allows drug developers to submit safety and efficacy data from sources other than animals.

                This doesn’t mean it will be easier to get drugs approved, says Aysha Akhtar, a neurologist and president and CEO of the Center for Contemporary Sciences, a Washington, DC, nonprofit that advocates for human-based testing methods. “The decision is still up to the FDA to decide whether the method was adequate and whether to allow the drug to continue through the pipeline.”

                ...

                For its part, the FDA will need to thoroughly vet any new methods that are used in place of animals. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the agency wrote that the new law does not change the regulatory process for drugs: “The FDA will continue to ensure clinical investigations of drugs are reasonably safe for initial use in humans.” A spending bill passed at the end of 2022 also includes $5 million for an agency program aimed at evaluating alternative methods.

                And it may be that different methods are useful for testing different drugs or watching for certain side effects. “They have to be shown to be relevant and reliable and actually predict the endpoints that they're evaluating,” says Locke. “That's going to be a scientific challenge, and it's going to take a while to do that.”

                Lab animals have long borne the brunt of drug safety trials. A new law allows drugmakers to use miniature tissue models, or organs-on-chips, instead.

                Gassho, J

                sattodaylah
                ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                Comment

                • Jundo
                  Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                  • Apr 2006
                  • 40317

                  I just wonder why this stuff isn't more in the news, but the nonsense in Washington, 10 Downing etc. etc. is what we obsess about ...

                  Nature's workshop is dusty ...

                  Webb Space Telescope Reveals Dusty Leftovers of Planet Formation Like Never Seen Before

                  Not so very far away in cosmic terms, the dusty leftovers of planet formation surround the red dwarf star AU Mic. Caused by smash-ups of small, solid objects called planetesimals, these remnants encircle the small star in an enormous debris disk. Now, Webb is providing scientists with detailed, never-before-seen views of AU Mic’s dusty disk in infrared light, including the region very close to the star. These images offer clues to the makeup of the debris disk and the history of the star system.


                  These two images are of the dusty debris disk around AU Mic, a red dwarf star located 32 light-years away in the southern constellation Microscopium. The team used Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) to study AU Mic. NIRCam’s coronagraph, which blocked the intense light of the central star, allowed the team to study the region very close to the star. The location of the star, which is masked out, is marked by a white, graphical representation at the center of each image. The region blocked by the coronagraph is shown by a dashed circle.

                  Longer batteries, less recharging ... a simple equation ...

                  A new battery has been developed that boasts four times the capacity of lithium batteries, and at a more affordable cost.

                  ... According to the Clean Energy Council, in 2021 32.5 percent of Australia’s electricity came from clean energy sources and the industry is accelerating. Household energy storage is also growing. According to a recent report a record 33,000 batteries were installed in 2021.

                  “Our sodium battery has the potential to dramatically reduce costs while providing four times as much storage capacity. This is a significant breakthrough for renewable energy development which, although it reduces costs in the long term, has had several financial barriers to entry,” said lead researcher Dr. Zhao.

                  “When the sun isn’t shining and the breeze isn’t blowing, we need high-quality storage solutions that don’t cost the Earth and are easily accessible on a local or regional level.

                  https://scitechdaily.com/300-more-ca...storage-costs/
                  But this is the most important discovery today (for us with a sweet tooth) ...

                  Scientists Discover Secret Behind Chocolate’s Irresistible Texture – Paves Way for Healthier Luxury Chocolates

                  Scientists have decoded the physical process that takes place in the mouth when a piece of chocolate is eaten, as it changes from a solid into a smooth emulsion that many people find totally irresistible. ... “We are showing that the fat layer needs to be on the outer layer of the chocolate, this matters the most, followed by effective coating of the cocoa particles by fat, these help to make chocolate feel so good.” ... Dr. Siavash Soltanahmadi, from the School of Food Science and Nutrition at Leeds and the lead researcher in the study, said: “With the understanding of the physical mechanisms that happen as people eat chocolate, we believe that a next generation of chocolate can be developed that offers the feel and sensation of high-fat chocolate yet is a healthier choice. ...
                  https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-...ry-chocolates/
                  CAT LOVERS ... KEEP THEM INSIDE, PLEASE!!!!

                  New Research Reveals Why You Shouldn’t Let Your Cat Outside

                  ... keeping cats indoors can significantly reduce the risks of transmitting diseases and hunting wildlife, which can have a negative impact on native animal populations and biodiversity....


                  Gassho, J

                  stlah

                  https://scitechdaily.com/new-researc...r-cat-outside/
                  ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                  Comment

                  • Jundo
                    Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                    • Apr 2006
                    • 40317

                    Whenever such announcements are made, I must remind everyone:

                    When looking at such sights, recall that the Zen Buddhist does not see vastness in contrast to our minute being. Rather, one is looking upon oneself, which is each and all and all pouring fully into you and me and each other ... all beyond "big or small."

                    If it is vast, so are you and me. If it is small, so are you and me. All of this is held within your every cell, your every cell is as large and larger than all of this
                    .

                    Dark Energy Camera Unveils Billions of Celestial Objects in Unprecedented Survey of the Milky Way

                    Astronomers have released a gargantuan survey of the galactic plane of the Milky Way. The new dataset contains a staggering 3.32 billion celestial objects — arguably the largest such catalog so far. ... The Milky Way Galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars, glimmering star-forming regions, and towering dark clouds of dust and gas. Imaging and cataloging these objects for study is a herculean task, but a newly released astronomical dataset known as the second data release of the Dark Energy Camera Plane Survey (DECaPS2) reveals a staggering number of these objects in unprecedented detail. The DECaPS2 survey, which took two years to complete and produced more than 10 terabytes of data from 21,400 individual exposures, identified approximately 3.32 billion objects — arguably the largest such catalog compiled to date. ... “When combined with images from Pan-STARRS 1, DECaPS2 completes a 360-degree panoramic view of the Milky Way’s disk and additionally reaches much fainter stars,” said Edward Schlafly, a researcher at the AURA-managed Space Telescope Science Institute and a co-author of the paper describing DECaPS2 published in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement. “With this new survey, we can map the three-dimensional structure of the Milky Way’s stars and dust in unprecedented detail.”

                    ... “This is quite a technical feat. Imagine a group photo of over three billion people and every single individual is recognizable,” said Debra Fischer, division director of astronomical sciences at the National Science Foundation, in a statement. ...




                    This image, which is brimming with stars and dark dust clouds, is a small extract — a mere pinprick — of the full Dark Energy Camera Plane Survey (DECaPS2) of the Milky Way.
                    And that's just our one galaxy!

                    And here, on the planet of the naked apes ... we walked upright ...

                    Not Where We Thought: Human Bipedalism May Have Evolved in Trees

                    ... The study, published in the journal Science Advances, analyzed the behaviors of wild chimpanzees living in the Issa Valley of western Tanzania, an area similar to the habitat of early human ancestors and known as “savanna-mosaic” – a mix of dry open land with few trees and patches of dense forest. The researchers aimed to determine if the openness of this type of landscape could have led to bipedalism in early hominins. ... Overall, the study found that the Issa chimpanzees spent as much time in the trees as other chimpanzees living in dense forests, despite their more open habitat, and were not more terrestrial (land-based) as expected. Furthermore, although the researchers expected the Issa chimpanzees to walk upright more in open savanna vegetation, where they cannot easily travel via the tree canopy, more than 85% of occurrences of bipedalism took place in the trees.

                    The authors say that their findings contradict widely accepted theories that suggest that it was an open, dry savanna environment that encouraged our prehistoric human relatives to walk upright – and instead suggest that they may have evolved to walk on two feet to move around the trees.
                    https://scitechdaily.com/not-where-w...lved-in-trees/
                    ... we got (sometimes too) smart ...

                    New research suggests that microRNAs play a crucial role in the advanced development of the brain, including in humans.

                    An international team of researchers from Dartmouth College and the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) in Germany has published a study in the journal Science Advances, revealing that octopuses are the first known invertebrates to contain a high number of gene-regulating microRNAs. The genes of two octopus species were found to have an increase in microRNAs, which are associated with the development of advanced cells with specific functions, over evolutionary time, a finding that has previously only been observed in humans, mammals, and other vertebrates. When combined with the known intelligence of octopuses, the findings provide crucial support for the theory that microRNAs are key to the evolution of intelligent life, said co-corresponding author Kevin Peterson, a Dartmouth professor of biological sciences. ... “MicroRNAs are known as the ‘dark matter’ of the animal genome — they don’t make protein, but they regulate the expression of proteins,” Peterson said, referring to the hypothetical form of matter thought to constitute most of the universe.

                    “This is the only instance in all of the invertebrates of dramatic microRNA increase and those genes are all expressed in the brain,” he said. “This was always a big test for the hypothesis, that it is not specific to vertebrates. This was a big moment — we discovered the secret to complex life, and the secret to complex life is microRNAs.”
                    https://scitechdaily.com/new-researc...c-dark-matter/
                    And perhaps we will use that intelligent brain to solve one human problem ...

                    Scientists Recycle Previously Unrecyclable Plastic

                    PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is a widely used plastic in the United States and globally, ranking as the third highest by volume worldwide.

                    It can be found in a variety of everyday products, including hospital equipment such as tubing, blood bags, and masks, as well as plumbing pipes. PVC is also used in construction materials like window frames, housing trim, siding, and flooring. Additionally, it is used in coatings for electrical wiring and in various items such as shower curtains, tents, tarps, and clothing. t also has a zero percent recycling rate in the United States.

                    Now, the University of Michigan researchers, led by study first author Danielle Fagnani and principal investigator Anne McNeil, have discovered a way to chemically recycle PVC into usable material. The most fortuitous part of the study? The researchers found a way to use the phthalates in the plasticizers—one of PVC’s most noxious components—as the mediator for the chemical reaction. Their results are published in the journal Nature Chemistry.



                    Gassho, J

                    stlah
                    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                    Comment

                    • Jundo
                      Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                      • Apr 2006
                      • 40317

                      Soon, we will have AI suing AI ...

                      An AI rival to ChatGPT passed a university level law and economics exam, and did better than many humans, professor says

                      An AI which received funding from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried passed a university-level law and economics exam, according to a professor at Virginia's George Mason University.

                      The AI, named Claude, was designed by AI safety and research firm Anthropic, and was used by Alex Tabarrok to take a law and economics

                      Claude received a "marginal pass" on a recent law and economics exam at George Mason University in Virginia, Alex Tabarrok, an economics professor at the college wrote on the influential Marginal Revolution University blog, which he runs with fellow economist Tyler Cowen.

                      Tabarrok said the exam was graded blind and that he considered Claude "a competitor" and "improvement" to OpenAI's GPT3, the tech underlying viral sensation ChatGPT.

                      Tabarrok did note that there were some weaknesses in the answer including the fact that it was "mostly opinion," and a better answer would have used more economic reasoning.

                      "Still a credible response and better than many human responses," he added.

                      https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-f...cs-exam-2023-1
                      Gassho, J

                      stlah
                      ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                      Comment

                      • Jundo
                        Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                        • Apr 2006
                        • 40317

                        Synapses standing by ...

                        Surprising Discovery: MIT Neuroscientists Find That Adult Brain Is Filled With Millions of “Silent Synapses”

                        The ability of the adult brain to form new memories and absorb new information may be explained by these immature connections.


                        MIT neuroscientists have found that the adult brain is filled with millions of “silent synapses” — immature connections between neurons that are not active until they are needed to help create new memories.

                        It was previously believed that silent synapses only existed during early development, playing a role in helping the brain learn new information encountered in early life. However, the new MIT study discovered that in adult mice, approximately 30% of all synapses in the brain’s cortex are silent.

                        The existence of these silent synapses may help to explain how the adult brain is able to continually form new memories and learn new things without having to modify existing conventional synapses, the researchers say.

                        “These silent synapses are looking for new connections, and when important new information is presented, connections between the relevant neurons are strengthened. This lets the brain create new memories without overwriting the important memories stored in mature synapses, which are harder to change,” says Dimitra Vardalaki, an MIT graduate student and the lead author of the new study.

                        ...

                        When scientists first discovered silent synapses decades ago, they were seen primarily in the brains of young mice and other animals. During early development, these synapses are believed to help the brain acquire the massive amounts of information that babies need to learn about their environment and how to interact with it. In mice, these synapses were believed to disappear by about 12 days of age (equivalent to the first months of human life).

                        However, some neuroscientists have proposed that silent synapses may persist into adulthood and help with the formation of new memories. ... The findings offer support for the theory proposed by Abbott and Fusi that the adult brain includes highly plastic synapses that can be recruited to form new memories, the researchers say.

                        “This paper is, as far as I know, the first real evidence that this is how it actually works in a mammalian brain,” Harnett says. “Filopodia allow a memory system to be both flexible and robust. You need flexibility to acquire new information, but you also need stability to retain the important information.”

                        https://scitechdaily.com/surprising-...lent-synapses/
                        A robot is thrown out of court ...

                        A robot was scheduled to argue in court, then came the jail threats

                        A British man who planned to have a "robot lawyer" help a defendant fight a traffic ticket has dropped the effort after receiving threats of possible prosecution and jail time.

                        Joshua Browder, the CEO of the New York-based startup DoNotPay, created a way for people contesting traffic tickets to use arguments in court generated by artificial intelligence.

                        Here's how it was supposed to work: The person challenging a speeding ticket would wear smart glasses that both record court proceedings and dictate responses into the defendant's ear from a small speaker. The system relied on a few leading AI text generators, including ChatGPT and DaVinci.

                        The first-ever AI-powered legal defense was set to take place in California on Feb. 22, but not anymore.

                        As word got out, an uneasy buzz began to swirl among various state bar officials, according to Browder. He says angry letters began to pour in.

                        "Multiple state bar associations have threatened us," Browder said. "One even said a referral to the district attorney's office and prosecution and prison time would be possible."

                        In particular, Browder said one state bar official noted that the unauthorized practice of law is a misdemeanor in some states punishable up to six months in county jail.

                        "Even if it wouldn't happen, the threat of criminal charges was enough to give it up," he said.

                        ...

                        Even if the use of AI in court was not being challenged, some observers have questioned just how effective DoNotPay's AI tools would be for people in need of legal services, with some having mixed to shoddy results attempting to use its basic features.

                        Browder has been known for drumming up attention with stunts. Earlier this month, he claimed on Twitter that the company would pay any lawyer $1 million to argue in front of the U.S. Supreme Court wearing AirPods that would pipe AI-generated arguments from its "robot lawyer."

                        Founded in 2015, DoNotPay has raised $28 million, including funding from prominent venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, according to analytics firm PitchBook.

                        https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/11514...e-jail-threats
                        Soon, we will have robots suing robots in court, with robot lawyer and robot judges ... in cases about robots ...

                        Gassho, J

                        stlah
                        Last edited by Jundo; 01-26-2023, 07:55 AM.
                        ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                        Comment

                        • Jundo
                          Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                          • Apr 2006
                          • 40317

                          Work that core!

                          Earth’s inner core may have stopped turning and could go into reverse, study suggests

                          The rotation of Earth’s inner core may have paused and it could even go into reverse, new research suggests.

                          The Earth is formed of the crust, the mantle and the inner and outer cores. The solid inner core is situated about 3,200 miles below the Earth’s crust and is separated from the semi-solid mantle by the liquid outer core, which allows the inner core to rotate at a different speed from the rotation of the Earth itself.

                          With a radius of almost 2,200 miles, Earth’s core is about the size of Mars. It consists mostly of iron and nickel, and contains about about one-third of Earth’s mass.

                          In research published in the journal Nature Geoscience on Monday, Yi Yang, associate research scientist at Peking University, and Xiaodong Song, Peking University chair professor, studied seismic waves from earthquakes that have passed through the Earth’s inner core along similar paths since the 1960s to infer how fast the inner core is spinning. What they found was unexpected, they said. ...

                          “We show surprising observations that indicate the inner core has nearly ceased its rotation in the recent decade and may be experiencing a turning-back,” they wrote in the study.

                          “When you look at the decade between 1980 and 1990 you see clear change but when you see 2010 to 2020 you don’t see much change,” added Song.

                          The spin of the inner core is driven by the magnetic field generated in the outer core and balanced by the gravitational effects of the mantle. Knowing how the inner core rotates could shed light on how these layers interact and other processes deep in the Earth.

                          However, the speed of this rotation, and whether it varies, is debated, said Hrvoje Tkalcic, a geophysicist at the Australian National University, who was not involved in the study,

                          “The inner core doesn’t come to a full stop,” he said. [It actually likely happens about every 70 years.] The study’s finding, he said, “means that the inner core is now more in sync with the rest of the planet than a decade ago when it was spinning a bit faster.”

                          “Nothing cataclysmic is happening,” he added.

                          Song and Yang argue that, based on their calculations, a small imbalance in the electromagnetic and gravitational forces could slow and even reverse the inner core’s rotation. They believe this is part of a seven-decade cycle, and that the turning point prior to the one they detected in their data around 2009/2010 occurred in the early 1970s.

                          WORTH A WATCH, Prof. Kaku explains:




                          Build that Wall!

                          Galactic Anomaly: The Milky Way Is Too Big for Its “Cosmological Wall”

                          Is the Milky Way special, or, at least, is it in a special place in the Universe? An international team of astronomers has found that the answer to that question is yes, in a way not previously appreciated. A new study shows that the Milky Way is too big for its “cosmological wall,” something yet to be seen in other galaxies. The new research is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

                          A cosmological wall is a flattened arrangement of galaxies found surrounding other galaxies, characterized by particularly empty regions called ‘voids’ on either side of it. These voids seem to squash the galaxies together into a pancake-like shape to make the flattened arrangement. This wall environment, in this case, called the Local Sheet, influences how The Milky Way and nearby galaxies rotate around their axes, in a more organized way than if we were in a random place in the Universe, without a wall. Typically, galaxies tend to be significantly smaller than this so-called wall. The Milky Way is found to be surprisingly massive in comparison to its cosmological wall, a rare cosmic occurrence.



                          ...
                          The article does contain one section that a Zen Buddhist might dispute ..

                          “So, the Milky Way is, in a way, special,” said research lead Miguel Aragón. “The Earth is very obviously special, the only home of life that we know. But it’s not the center of the Universe, or even the Solar System. And the Sun is just an ordinary star among billions in the Milky Way. Even our galaxy seemed to be just another spiral galaxy among billions of others in the observable Universe.”

                          ... “You might have to travel a half a billion light years from the Milky Way, past many, many galaxies, to find another cosmological wall with a galaxy like ours,” Aragón said. He adds, “That’s a couple of hundred times farther away than the nearest large galaxy around us, Andromeda.”

                          “You do have to be careful, though, choosing properties that qualify as ‘special,’” Dr. Mark Neyrinck, another member of the team, said. “If we added a ridiculously restrictive condition on a galaxy, such as that it must contain the paper we wrote about this, we would certainly be the only galaxy in the observable Universe like that. But we think this ‘too big for its wall’ property is physically meaningful and observationally relevant enough to call out as really being special.”
                          A Zen fellow would point out that EVERY point of the universe is "a" center, and the whole universe together is "the" center ...



                          ... and that "ordinary vs. special" smack of subjective emotional value judgements that have little place in science (e.g., one might say that there are many suns of similar size and structure, but that does not mean that they are not each "special" or "ordinary" for being their unique self). In fact, in Buddhism, every inch of the universe is the center and is special for being that inch.

                          Gassho, J

                          stlah
                          ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

                          Comment

                          • Jundo
                            Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                            • Apr 2006
                            • 40317

                            As if we didn't have enough galaxies already! ...

                            Astronomers Suggest More Galaxies Were Formed in the Early Universe Than Previously Thought

                            A team of astronomers, headed by Haojing Yan at the University of Missouri, have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Early Release Observations and discovered 87 galaxies that could be the earliest known galaxies in the universe.

                            The discovery brings the astronomers closer to determining the appearance of galaxies in the universe, estimated to be 200-400 million years after the Big Bang, according to Yan, lead author and associate professor of physics and astronomy at MU.

                            “Finding such a large number of galaxies in the early parts of the universe suggests that we might need to revise our previous understanding of galaxy formation,” Yan said. “Our finding gives us the first indication that a lot of galaxies could have been formed in the universe much earlier than previously thought.”

                            https://scitechdaily.com/astronomers...ously-thought/
                            A wondrous example of the body's balanced dance ... everything in its place ...

                            Researchers Provide New Insight Into the Carefully Choreographed Dance of Nerve and Vascular Cells

                            Nerve cells require vast amounts of energy and oxygen which they receive through the bloodstream. This results in nerve tissue being densely intertwined with numerous blood vessels. However, what prevents neurons and vascular cells from interfering with each other during growth? Researchers from the Universities of Heidelberg and Bonn, in collaboration with international partners, have uncovered a mechanism that ensures this coordination. The findings have recently been published in the journal Neuron.

                            ... During embryonic development, a large number of vessels sprout in the brain and spinal cord, but also in the retina of the eye. Additionally, masses of neurons are formed there, which network with each other and with structures such as muscles and organs. Both processes have to be considerate of each other so as not to get in each other’s way. “We have identified a new mechanism that ensures this,” explains Prof. Dr. Carmen Ruiz de Almodóvar, member of the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 and the Transdisciplinary Research Area Life & Health at the University of Bonn. ...

                            ... “The appearance of blood vessels in the spinal cord begins in the animals about 8.5 days after fertilization,” she says. “Between days 10.5 and 12.5, however, blood vessels do not grow in all directions. This is despite the fact that large amounts of growth-promoting molecules are present in their environment during this time. Instead, during this time, numerous nerve cells – the motor neurons – migrate from their place of origin in the spinal cord to their final position. There, they then form extensions called axons that lead from the spine to the various targeting muscles.” This means that the motor neurons self-organize and grow at the time that blood vessels do not grow toward them. Only then after, do the vessels begin to sprout again. “The whole thing resembles a carefully choreographed dance,” explains José Ricardo Vieira. The doctoral student in Ruiz de Almodóvar’s research group did much of the work in the study. “In the course of this, each partner takes care not to get in the other’s way.”

                            But how is this dance coordinated? Apparently, by the motor neurons shouting a “stop, now it’s my turn” message to the vascular cells. To do this, they use a protein that they release into their environment – semaphorin 3C (Sema3C). It diffuses to the vascular cells and docks there at a receptor called PlexinD1 – in a sense, this is the ear for which the molecular message is intended. ...

                            https://scitechdaily.com/researchers...ascular-cells/
                            ... and if you want one more example of the body's balanced dance ...

                            New Findings Explain Long-Standing, Baffling Cell Mystery


                            Scientists from Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich have uncovered the mechanism by which proteins form small liquid droplets that act as a smart adhesive in cells. These droplets attach to the ends of microtubules, which helps position the cell’s nucleus correctly during division. The research, published in Nature Cell Biology, explain the long-standing mystery of how moving protein structures in cells are joined together.

                            The connections between moving parts in machines are crucial for their proper functioning. Whether they are rigid or flexible, such as the connection between shafts in a motor or joints in the body, the material properties ensure that mechanical forces are transmitted correctly. This is especially true in cells, where interactions between moving subcellular structures are essential for many biological processes. However, the way in which nature achieves this coupling has long baffled scientists.

                            Now researchers, investigating a coupling crucial for yeast cell division, have revealed that to do this, proteins collaborate such that they condense into a liquid droplet. ... By forming a liquid droplet, the proteins achieve the perfect material properties to ensure biological function. This discovery is just the beginning of a new understanding of the role smart liquids play in the cell ...

                            https://scitechdaily.com/new-finding...-cell-mystery/
                            And when that balance is lost ...

                            A Completely New Way To Kill Cancer: Artificial DNA


                            University of Tokyo researchers have made a breakthrough in the fight against cancer with the use of artificial DNA. In laboratory tests, the method effectively targeted and destroyed human cervical and breast cancer cells, as well as malignant melanoma cells from mice. The team designed a pair of chemically synthesized DNA, shaped like hairpins, specifically to kill cancer cells. When injected into cancer cells, the DNA pairs attached to microRNA (miRNA) molecules that are overproduced in certain cancers.

                            The DNA pairs, upon attaching to the miRNA, unraveled and combined, forming longer chains of DNA that activated an immune response. This response not only eliminated the cancer cells but also prevented the continuation of cancerous growth. This innovative approach stands apart from traditional cancer drug treatments and is hoped to usher in a new era in drug development.

                            https://scitechdaily.com/a-completel...rtificial-dna/
                            Gassho, J

                            stlah
                            ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

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                            • Jundo
                              Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                              • Apr 2006
                              • 40317

                              Jurassic Squawk ... the (almost, kinda) Dodo may yet return!

                              Scientists plot the resurrection of a bird that’s been extinct since the 17th century

                              No other animal is as inexorably linked with extinction as the dodo, an odd-looking flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean until the late 17th century.

                              The arrival of sailors brought with them invasive species like rats and practices like hunting. They doomed the dodo, which showed no fear of humans, to extinction in the space of just a few decades.

                              Now, a team of scientists wants to bring back the dodo in a bold initiative that will incorporate advances in ancient DNA sequencing, gene editing technology and synthetic biology. They hope the project will open up new techniques for bird conservation.

                              “We’re clearly in the middle of an extinction crisis. And it’s our responsibility to bring stories and to bring excitement to people in way that motivates them to think about the extinction crisis that’s going on right now,” said Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

                              Shapiro is the lead paleogeneticist at Colossal Biosciences, a biotechnology and genetic engineering start-up founded by tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm and Harvard Medical School geneticist George Church, which is working on equally ambitious projects to bring back the woolly mammoth and the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger.

                              Shapiro said that she had already completed a key first step in the project — fully sequencing the dodo’s genome from ancient DNA — based on genetic material extracted from dodo remains in Denmark.

                              The next step was to compare the genetic information with the dodo’s closest bird relatives in the pigeon family — the living Nicobar pigeon, and the extinct Rodrigues solitaire, a giant flightless pigeon that once lived on an island close to Mauritius. It’s a process which would allow them to narrow down which mutations in the genome “make a dodo a dodo,” Shapiro said.
                              HOWEVER!!

                              However, the subsequent work that’s needed to resurrect the animal — programming cells from a living relative of the dodo with the lost bird’s DNA — will be significantly more challenging. Shapiro said she hopes to adapt an existing technique used involving primordial germ cells, the embryonic precursors of sperm and eggs, that has already been used to create a chicken fathered by a duck.

                              The approach involves removing primordial gems cells from an egg, cultivating them in the lab and editing the cells with the desired genetic traits before injecting them back to an egg at the same developmental stage, she explained.

                              Even if the team is successful in this high-stakes endeavor, they won’t be making a carbon copy of the dodo that lived four centuries ago, but an altered, hybrid form.

                              No other animal is as inexorably linked with extinction as the dodo, an odd-looking flightless bird that lived on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean until the late 17th century.



                              Those ships would be the downfall of the not-so-dumb dodo
                              Gassho, J

                              stlah
                              ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

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                              • Jundo
                                Treeleaf Founder and Priest
                                • Apr 2006
                                • 40317

                                And I thought that my brain is getting old!

                                A 319-million-year-old brain has been discovered. It could be the oldest of its kind

                                A scan of the skull of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish has led to the discovery of the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain, shining a new light on the early evolution of bony fish.

                                The fossil of the skull belonging to the extinct Coccocephalus wildi was found in a coal mine in England more than a century ago, according to researchers of the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. ... [Then] came a surprise. The CT image showed an “unidentified blob,” a University of Michigan press release said.

                                The distinct, 3D object had a clearly defined structure with features found in vertebrate brains: It was bilaterally symmetrical, contained hollow spaces similar in appearance to ventricles and had extending filaments that resembled cranial nerves. ...

                                C. wildi was an early ray-finned fish – possessing a backbone and fins supported by bony rods called “rays” – that is thought to have been 6 to 8 inches long ...

                                ... the configuration of a part of its forebrain called the “telencephalon” [] closely resembling that of other vertebrates, such as amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals, according to the study authors. ... C. wildi’s brain was “exceptionally” well preserved. While there are invertebrate brains up to 500 million years old that have been found, they are all flattened, said Giles, who added that this vertebrate brain is “the oldest three-dimensional fossil brain of anything we know.”

                                A scan of the skull of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish has led to the discovery of the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain, shining a new light on the early evolution of bony fish.



                                An artist's interpretation of the 319-million-year-old, extinct, ray-finned Coccocephalus wildi, which is thought to have been 6 to 8 inches long and a carnivore.

                                And speaking of fish brains, keeping on track ... when we cannot be "goalless" and "just here" ... ...

                                A multiregional hindbrain circuit enables animals to regain their pathing after deviating from it.

                                A zebrafish heads toward its target, but strong currents push it off course. Undeterred, the small fish returns to its starting point, resolute in completing its journey.

                                How do animals know where they are in their environment, and how does this determine their subsequent choices? Researchers at Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus discovered that the hindbrain – an evolutionarily conserved or “ancient” region in the back of the brain – helps animals compute their location and use that information to figure out where they need to go next. ...

                                The researchers expected to see activation in the forebrain – where the hippocampus, which contains a “cognitive map” of an animal’s environment, is located. To their surprise, they saw activation in several regions of the medulla, where information about the animal’s location was being transmitted from a newly identified circuit via a hindbrain structure called the inferior olive to the motor circuits in the cerebellum that enable the fish to move. When these pathways were blocked, the fish was unable to navigate back to its original location.These findings suggest that areas of the brainstem remember a zebrafish’s original location and generate an error signal based on its current and past locations. This information is relayed to the cerebellum, allowing the fish to swim back to its starting point. This research reveals a new function for the inferior olive and the cerebellum, which were known to be involved in actions like reaching and locomotion, but not this type of navigation.

                                It is still unclear whether these same networks are involved in similar behavior in other animals. But the researchers hope labs studying mammals will now start looking at the hindbrain for homologous circuits for navigation. ...




                                This video shows whole-brain recordings of the larval zebrafish taken while it was in the virtual reality environment.
                                ... which leads us to make maps ... including maps of our great "ocean" of the universe ...

                                Cosmic Breakthrough: Accurate New Map of All the Matter in the Universe Released

                                A group of scientists, including several with the University of Chicago and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, have released one of the most precise measurements ever made of how matter is distributed across the universe today.

                                ... Among other findings, the analysis indicates that matter is not as “clumpy” as we would expect based on our current best model of the universe, which adds to a body of evidence that there may be something missing from our existing standard model of the universe.

                                In this study, scientists combined data from two very different telescope surveys: The Dark Energy Survey, which surveyed the sky over six years from a mountaintop in Chile, and the South Pole Telescope, which looks for the faint traces of radiation that are still traveling across the sky from the first few moments of the universe.

                                ... the analysis looked at a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. As light travels across the universe, it can be slightly bent as it passes objects with lots of gravity, like galaxies. This method catches both regular matter and dark matter—the mysterious form of matter that we have only detected due to its effects on regular matter—because both regular and dark matter exert gravity.

                                ... The majority of the results fit perfectly with the currently accepted best theory of the universe. But there are also signs of a crack—one that has been suggested in the past by other analyses, too. “It seems like there are slightly less fluctuations in the current universe, than we would predict assuming our standard cosmological model anchored to the early universe,” ... If other studies continue to find the same results, scientists say, it may mean there is something missing from our existing model of the universe, but the results are not yet to the statistical level that scientists consider to be ironclad. That will take further study.




                                By overlaying maps of the sky from the Dark Energy Survey telescope (at left) and the South Pole Telescope (at right), the team could assemble a map of how the matter is distributed

                                Gassho, J

                                stlah
                                Last edited by Jundo; 02-03-2023, 12:52 AM.
                                ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

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