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Jul 25, 2024

First evidence that black holes could be the source of dark energy, called ‘cosmological coupling’

Posted by in category: cosmology

The study found that black holes in old, inactive galaxies have grown significantly in mass over the last 9 billion years, suggesting they interact with the expanding universe.


If black hole mass development happened only through accretion or merging, the masses of these black holes would be anticipated to remain relatively constant. However, if black holes gain mass by interacting with the expanding cosmos, these passively developing elliptical galaxies might disclose this process.

The researchers discovered that the further back in time they examined, the smaller the black holes were in mass compared to their masses today. These changes were significant: black holes were 7 to 20 times bigger now than they were 9 billion years ago, leading the researchers to hypothesize cosmic coupling.

Continue reading “First evidence that black holes could be the source of dark energy, called ‘cosmological coupling’” »

Jul 25, 2024

How ‘The Overview Effect’ Can Make You Feel Alive Again—By A Psychologist

Posted by in category: space

Many astronauts who have viewed the earth from space recall experiencing the “overview effect.” This is a profound positive shift in perspective and involves experiencing a sense of awe and a new understanding of the interconnectedness of life on Earth.

Astronauts are often overwhelmed with emotion while taking in the beauty and vastness of our planet from their unique vantage point. They describe a deep sense of wonder and appreciation for the planet and the universe.

From space, astronauts can see Earth as a single, unified ecosystem without borders. This evokes an increased drive to protect our fragile ecosystem and inspires a recognition of the common humanity shared by all people.

Jul 25, 2024

Tesla confirms Robotaxi “unboxed” process, production in Giga Texas

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed a number of key details about the Robotaxi during the company’s Q2 2024 Update Letter and earnings call. These include the site of the Robotaxi’s production, as well as the manufacturing process that would be used on the vehicle.

It would not be an exaggeration to state that the Robotaxi unveiling on October 10, 2024 is poised to be Tesla’s most important event this year. And considering Elon Musk’s noticeable focus on Full Self Driving (FSD), it was no surprise when several questions during the Q2 2024 earnings call were focused on the Robotaxi.

As per Tesla’s Q2 2024 Update Letter, its plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, are still on track for the start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilize aspects of its next-generation and current platforms, and they could be produced on the same manufacturing lines as the company’s current vehicle line-up. As for the Robotaxi, however, Tesla was clear.

Jul 25, 2024

DNA expert confirms at least one type of the Nazca Mummies is part of the Genetic Tree of Life

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, genetics

The Nazca Mummies have to be amongst the most controversial topics in recent human history, they have been “debunked” multiple times since they were first discovered by Archeologist Thierry Jamin from Peru’s Inkarri institute. Given that this case needed more eyes from the international community, Thierry and Peruvian journalist Jois Mantilla agreed to associate themselves with Mexican journalist Jaime Maussan. What they wanted became a reality, but the movedidn’t come with not obstacles. Nearly seven years after the bodies were discovered from an undisclosed location in the Nazca region, there are still a majority of scientists and academia members who dismiss these bodies as fake. None of them have studied the specimens in person. So far, every scientist who comes close to these bodies and studies them has stated they are real bodies of once living beings.

Carbon 14 test results confirmed these specimens’ remains are from various times in the distant past, some are 1,000+ years old and others are between 1,500 and 2,000 years old. Despite the Carbon 14 test results, the x-rays, and other types of scans that show incredible evidence. There are still many from the mainstream scientific community who believe we won’t get to prove these bodies are real until we get resuls from an extensive DNA analysis that is taking place in lultiple places around the world. Because Jaime Maussan’s involvement did bring more eyes on these bodies, and multiple labs are already running tests on samples obtained directly from the two sources in Peru that have them.

Jul 25, 2024

Sustainable Million-Mile Battery Bet Pays Off For Mercedes-Benz

Posted by in categories: energy, finance, sustainability, transportation

“The technological focus is on significant increases in range through advances in energy density and the reduction of charging times,” Mercedes explained, noting that the partnership cements a reliable EV battery cell supply chain while providing financial support for Farasis to build a factory in Germany.

How Sustainable Is A Million-Mile EV Battery?

Continue reading “Sustainable Million-Mile Battery Bet Pays Off For Mercedes-Benz” »

Jul 25, 2024

What Houston universities gain from DARPA semiconductor award

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, chemistry, genetics

A new study by scientists at deCODE Genetics shows that sequence variants drive the correlation between DNA methylation and gene expression. The same variants are linked to various diseases and other human traits.

The research is published in the journal Nature Genetics under the title “The correlation between CpG methylation and is driven by sequence variants.”

Nanopore sequencing is a new technology developed by ONT (Oxford Nanopore Technology), that enables us to analyze DNA sequences in . With this technology, DNA molecules are drawn through tiny protein pores, and real-time measurements of electric current indicate which nucleotides in the DNA have passed through the pores. This allows the sequence of nucleotides in the DNA to be read, while also making it possible to detect chemical modifications of the nucleotides from these same measurements.

Jul 25, 2024

The Clinical, Philosophical, Evolutionary and Mathematical Machinery of Consciousness: An Analytic Dissection of the Field Theories and a Consilience of Ideas

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, evolution, information science, mathematics, neuroscience, quantum physics

The Cartesian model of mind-body dualism concurs with religious traditions. However, science has supplanted this idea with an energy-matter theory of consciousness, where matter is equivalent to the body and energy replaces the mind or soul. This equivalency is analogous to the concept of the interchange of mass and energy as expressed by Einstein’s famous equation [Formula: see text]. Immanuel Kant, in his Critique of Pure Reason, provided the intellectual and theoretical framework for a theory of mind or consciousness. Any theory of consciousness must include the fact that a conscious entity, as far as is known, is a wet biological medium (the brain), of stupendously high entropy. This organ or entity generates a field that must account for the “binding problem”, which we will define. This proposed field, the conscious electro-magnetic information (CEMI) field, also has physical properties, which we will outline. We will also demonstrate the seamless transition of the Kantian philosophy of the a priori conception of space and time, the organs of perception and conception, into the CEMI field of consciousness. We will explore the concept of the CEMI field and its neurophysiological correlates, and in particular, synchronous and coherent gamma oscillations of various neuronal ensembles, as in William J Freeman’s experiments in the early 1970s with olfactory perception in rabbits. The expansion of the temporo-parietal-occipital (TPO) cortex in hominid evolution epitomizes metaphorical and abstract thinking. This area of the cortex, with synchronous thalamo-cortical oscillations has the best fit for a minimal neural correlate of consciousness. Our field theory shifts consciousness from an abstract idea to a tangible energy with defined properties and a mathematical framework. Even further, it is not a coincidence that the cerebral cortex is very thin with respect to the diameter of the brain. This is in keeping with its fantastically high entropy, as we see in the event horizon of a black hole and the conformal field theory/anti-de Sitter (CFT/ADS) holographic model of the universe. We adumbrate the uniqueness of consciousness of an advanced biological system such as the human brain and draw insight from Avicenna’s gendanken, floating man thought experiment. The multi-system high volume afferentation of a biological wet system honed after millions of years of evolution, its high entropy, and the CEMI field variation inducing currents in motor output pathways are proposed to spark the seeds of consciousness. We will also review Karl Friston’s free energy principle, the concept of belief-update in a Bayesian inference framework, the minimization of the divergence of prior and posterior probability distributions, and the entropy of the brain. We will streamline these highly technical papers, which view consciousness as a minimization principle akin to Hilbert’s action in deriving Einstein’s field equation or Feynman’s sum of histories in quantum mechanics. Consciousness here is interpreted as flow of probability densities on a Riemmanian manifold, where the gradient of ascent on this manifold across contour lines determines the magnitude of perception or the degree of update of the belief-system in a Bayesian inference model. Finally, the science of consciousness has transcended metaphysics and its study is now rooted in the latest advances of neurophysiology, neuro-radiology under the aegis of mathematics.

Keywords: anatomy & physiology; brain anatomy; disorders of consciousness; philosophy.

Copyright © 2020, Kesserwani et al.

Jul 25, 2024

Big Wind Is The Meanest Firefighting Tank You Ever Saw

Posted by in category: policy

As the Iraqi army retreated at the end of the first Gulf War, they took the term “scorched Earth policy” quite literally. Kuwaiti oil wells were set alight en masse, creating towering infernos that blackened the sky.

Jul 25, 2024

Drones Are Already Delivering Pizza, If You Haven’t Noticed

Posted by in category: drones

Year 2023 face_with_colon_three


A few of us have had orders dropped on our lawns by drone already. Millions more will be within range of drone deliveries in 2023.

Jul 25, 2024

Scientists plan climate engineering experiment in ocean off Cape Cod

Posted by in categories: chemistry, climatology, engineering, sustainability

Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are seeking a federal permit to experiment in the waters off Cape Cod and see if tweaking the ocean’s chemistry could help slow climate change.

If the project moves forward, it will likely be the first ocean field test of this technology in the U.S. But the plan faces resistance from both environmentalists and the commercial fishing industry.

The scientists want to disperse 6,600 gallons of sodium hydroxide — a strong base — into the ocean about 10 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The process, called ocean alkalinity enhancement or OAE, should temporarily increase that patch of water’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the air. This first phase of the project, targeted for early fall, will test chemical changes to the seawater, diffusion of the chemical and effects on the ecosystem.

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