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What Happens When You Shoot a Water Bear Out of a Gun?

tardigrade - deposit photos

Tardigrades, those adorable, chubby water bears, are notoriously hardy — they may even survive an apocalypse that wipes out humanity. But can these hardy water bears survive being shot from a gun? New research has found that yes, these hardy critters can make it out alive, but they also have a breaking point. The new study was inspired by uncertainty about the fate of tardigrades that were aboard Israel’s Beresheet probe when it crash-landed on the moon in 2019, according to Science magazine. Had the tardigrades, also called “water bears,” survived and contaminated Earth’s lifeless companion? After all, these teensy … Read more

Could We Build Jurassic Park?

Tyrannosaurus Rex - pixabay

Welcome to Jurassic Park. As we open the gates to this zoo of previously extinct creatures, how would you expect the dinosaurs behind them to look? For those who have read or watched “Jurassic Park,” the image of a dinosaur may have already been planted in your mind. Your perception might be plagued by the gruesome scenes of park rangers becoming easy meals, or the film’s iconic theme tune might resonate in your head as you envision herds of long-necked beasts parading across the land. With great species diversity, the thrill of this dinosaur park cannot be denied. But can … Read more

Are We Inching Closer to Quantum Internet?

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When the precursor to today’s internet carried its first message in 1969, clunky but functional classical computers had already been around for decades. Now, physicists are designing the embryonic threads of a whole new internet for moving and manipulating a radically different type of information: the quantum bit, or “qubit.” And this time, they aren’t waiting for the corresponding computers to exist first. Two teams have now demonstrated an ensemble of technologies essential to building the backbone of such a network — devices known as quantum repeaters. The researchers managed, for the first time, to use light particles to bind … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Dire

Dire wolf in the snow.

So, I learned something cool the other day. Which, to no one’s surprise, lead me down an even cooler rabbit hole of information. Facts and tidbits I’m stoked to have as I plot a pretty big (for me) series that involve extra-dimensional beings and evolution. In a war where magic and biological advantage is supreme, this is the stuff which awesome details are made of. Convergent evolution is a known thing in the word of biological science. Two, or more, species that look and act the same but are genetically different. What I didn’t know about was the massive reclassification … Read more

Scientists Can Now Insert Ideas Into Your Dreams

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MIT scientists have figured out how to manipulate your dreams by combining an app with a sleep-tracking device called Dormio. In their new study, the researchers were able to insert certain topics into a person’s dreams, with some pretty bizarre outcomes. To do so, the researchers at MIT Media Lab’s Fluid Interfaces — a group that develops wearable systems and interfaces to enhance cognitive skills — used a technique called targeted dream incubation (TDI). Prior studies have shown that during a rare dream state known lucid dreaming, in which a sleeper is aware that a dream is taking place, dreamers … Read more

Is Reality Real? new Paradox Throws It Into Question

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If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Perhaps not, some say. And if someone is there to hear it? If you think that means it obviously did make a sound, you might need to revise that opinion. We have found a new paradox in quantum mechanics — one of our two most fundamental scientific theories, together with Einstein’s theory of relativity — that throws doubt on some common-sense ideas about physical reality. Quantum mechanics vs. common sense Take a look at these three statements: When someone observes … Read more

Say Hello to the “Hacker Proof” Quantum Internet

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The advent of mass working from home has made many people more aware of the security risks of sending sensitive information via the internet. The best we can do at the moment is make it difficult to intercept and hack your messages — but we can’t make it impossible. What we need is a new type of internet: the quantum internet. In this version of the global network, data is secure, connections are private and your worries about information being intercepted are a thing of the past. My colleagues and I have just made a breakthrough, published in Science Advances, … Read more

Ready for a “Million Times Faster” Internet?

Internet - Deposit Photos

University researchers have developed and recorded the fastest internet data speed in the world from a single optical chip, holding the capacity to download 1,000 high-definition movies in a split second, according to new research revealed Friday. In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, the world’s internet infrastructure has experienced increased pressure, heightened by the pandemic isolation policies. The research team, led by Bill Corcoran of Monash, Arnan Mitchell of RMIT and David Moss of Swinburne was able to successfully achieve a data speed of 44.2 terabits per second from a single light source. Normally, demonstrations with these kinds of … Read more

STUDY: Blind People Can “See” Letters Drawn on their Brains With Electricity

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Scientists sent patterns of electricity coursing across people’s brains, coaxing their brains to see letters that weren’t there. The experiment worked in both sighted people and blind participants who had lost their sight in adulthood, according to the study, published today (May 14) in the journal Cell. Although this technology remains in its early days, implanted devices could potentially be used in the future to stimulate the brain and somewhat restore people’s vision. Known as visual prosthetics, the implants were placed on the visual cortex and then stimulated in a pattern to “trace” out shapes that the participants could then … Read more

Could Aliens Breathe Hydrogen or Helium? This Bacteria Says Yes

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Could aliens that breathe helium and hydrogen live on exoplanets throughout the cosmos? A new study of life on Earth suggests it’s possible. And if so, that would mean the hunt for life in the universe may need to look beyond oxygen-bathed planets to ones with seemingly inhospitable atmospheres. There is no question that an oxygen atmosphere is conducive to life — after all, it’s what we breathe on Earth. But oxygen isn’t common in the cosmos. It makes up about 0.1% of the mass of the universe. Far more common is hydrogen (92%) and helium (7%). The planet that … Read more