Lifeboat Foundation

As humans, we have the ability to recall detailed information, even from years in the past, indicating a powerful memory system. Newly encoded explicit memories initially depend on the hippocampus^1,2,3,4. Memory reactivation, mediated by a hippocampo-cortical dialog, leads to a gradual maturation of neocortical engrams over time^5,6,7,8,9. After this systems consolidation process, the neocortex can store information for decades.

It is well established that consolidation relies on non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep^{10,11,12,13,14,15}. This brain state gives rise to characteristic patterns in the electroencephalogram, including slow waves (∼ 0.5–4 Hz), sleep spindles (∼ 10–16 Hz) and hippocampal ripple oscillations (∼ 80–120 Hz in humans)^16,17,18. During slow wave activity (SWA), neocortical neurons exhibit synchronous membrane potential changes, referred to as UP and DOWN states^19,20,21,22. UP states are periods of increased neural activity, giving rise to depolarization of neurons^23,24. Conversely, DOWN states are silent periods, associated with hyperpolarization^25,26. In the human neocortex, prominent SWA occurs in supragranular layers 2 & 3^21,27. Several studies have demonstrated that precise temporal coupling of spindles and ripples to SWA promotes engram reactivation^{28,29,30,31,32,33,34} and determines success of memory consolidation^{18,35,36,37,38}. Consequently, brain stimulation methods that boost SWA or enhance coupling have a positive effect on memory performance in rodents and humans^{39,40,41,42,43,44}. These observations suggest that SWA and the underlying membrane potential UP and DOWN states initiate mechanisms that augment memory functions. However, in the human brain such mechanisms remain elusive.

One possibility is that UP and DOWN states modulate excitatory synapses in the neocortex to increase synaptic strength during SWA-coupled neural activity. While action potentials (AP) are necessary to initiate transmission in the mammalian neocortex, it has been demonstrated in laboratory animals that presynaptic signals below the AP-threshold (i.e., subthreshold signals) have a modulatory effect on synaptic strength^{45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54}. For instance, at synapses between neocortical pyramidal neurons in ferrets⁴⁶ and rats⁴⁷ a 1-second-long subthreshold depolarization preceding an AP leads to an increase in synaptic amplitude. Through such mechanisms, UP and DOWN states could tune local synaptic networks to promote long-term synaptic plasticity, which is believed to be fundamental for memory consolidation^2,55.

Built to full scale, it mimics our anatomy in an incredibly precise way. But it is not yet fully functional.

A muscuskeletal designed for the home.

Semi-Dirac fermions, which are massless in one 2D direction but possess mass in the other, have so far eluded detection in solids. New experiments reveal their defining feature in the nodal-line metal ZrSiS.

Objective: Intermittent energy restriction (IER) is an effective weight loss strategy. However, little is known about the dynamic effects of IER on the brain-gut-microbiome axis.

Methods: In this study, a total of 25 obese individuals successfully lost weight after a 2-month IER intervention. FMRI was used to determine the activity of brain regions. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to identify differentially abundant gut microbes and pathways in from fecal samples.

Results: Our results showed that IER longitudinally reduced the activity of obese-related brain regions at different timepoints, including the inferior frontal orbital gyrus in the cognitive control circuit, the putamen in the emotion and learning circuit, and the anterior cingulate cortex in the sensory circuit. IER longitudinally reduced E. coli abundance across multiple timepoints while elevating the abundance of obesity-related Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Parabacteroides distasonis, and Bacterokles uniformis. Correlation analysis revealed longitudinally correlations between gut bacteria abundance alterations and brain activity changes.

After forty years, the creator of scar theory has observed the phenomenon in real time.

Quantum scarring is a phenomenon in which traveling electrons end up following the same repeating path.

Scars of Chaos: Visualizing Mysteries in Graphene Dots probabilities cluster along the paths of unstable orbits from their classical counterparts. These scars, while predicted, have remained elusive to direct observation—until now.
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Using an innovative combination of graphene dot fabrication and advanced wavefunction mapping via scanning tunneling microscopy, researchers captured stunning images of scars. Within stadium-shaped GQDs, they observed striking lemniscate (∞-shaped) and streak-like probability patterns. These features recur at equal energy intervals, aligning with theoretical predictions for relativistic scars—a fascinating blend of mechanics and relativity.

Continue reading “‪#‎quantum‬ — Explore” »

A review of chemical exposures across 38 countries finds common plastic products are linked to millions of cases of heart disease and thousands of strokes.

By Grace Wade

This could change technology forever.

Microscopic worms that live their lives in the highly radioactive environment of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ) appear to do so completely free of radiation damage.

Nematodes collected from the area have shown no sign of damage to their genomes, contrary to what might be expected for organisms living in such a dangerous place.

Continue reading “Worms at Chernobyl Appear Mysteriously Unscathed by Radiation” »

A pair of geologists with the U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, has created a model that shows Earth’s subsurface may hold up to 5.6 × 10⁶ million metric tons of natural hydrogen. In their study, published in the journal Science Advances, Geoffrey Ellis and Sarah Gelman added factors to a geological model to produce estimates regarding the likely amount of hydrogen in parts of the Earth.

Prior research has shown that hydrogen can be produced artificially by applying electricity to water molecules to break them apart, leaving oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen is also produced naturally, via chemical reactions between rocks when they come into contact with one another. But until relatively recently, it was thought that very little hydrogen was made this way.

When geologists found huge natural reservoirs of hydrogen gas in Albania and West Africa, that thinking changed. Now, researchers believe that there are huge stores of hydrogen below our feet—the question remains, however, how to find it.