Tag Archives: solve

Unlocking Solutions: How Dream Hacking Can Help You Solve Complex Problems While You Sleep

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One of the study participants fell asleep during the experiment.

Mia Lux

Your brain can be gently nudged to tackle complex problems in your sleep, enhancing your ability to solve them upon waking.

Neuroscientists and psychologists are increasingly employing techniques involving sound, touch, movement, and particularly olfactory stimuli to influence dreams. This innovative approach demonstrates potential for applications like helping smokers quit, treating chronic nightmares, and even enhancing creativity.

Now, Karen Koncoly and her team at Northwestern University in Illinois have revealed that this technique may also aid in problem-solving. The researchers enlisted 20 self-identified lucid dreamers—individuals aware that they are dreaming and able to control their narratives—and tasked them with solving puzzles in two sessions within a sleep lab. Each puzzle was associated with unique soundtracks, featuring soothing elements like birdsong and steel drums.

The researchers meticulously monitored participants’ brain and eye movements to pinpoint when they transitioned into the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of sleep, which is known for its vivid and imaginative dreams. Upon entering this phase, a selection of unresolved puzzles was paired with the corresponding soundtracks. Participants were prompted to demonstrate lucidity by executing at least two rapid eye movements from left to right, indicating they were aware of the sound cues while striving to solve the puzzles in their dreams.

The following morning, participants reported that those who listened to the soundtracks during sleep found the puzzle features prominently featured in their dreams, significantly boosting their chances of solving them. Approximately 40% of participants who dreamed about puzzles managed to solve them, while only 17% who didn’t dream of the puzzles could achieve the same.

While the exact reasons behind these findings remain unclear, it’s suggested that pairing sound stimuli with learning tasks while awake may activate the memory of the puzzle when hearing the same sound during sleep, through a process known as targeted memory reactivation. This appears to activate the hippocampus—an essential brain region for memory—prompting what may resemble a spontaneous reactivation of memories that facilitates learning.

Although dreams can manifest at any stage of sleep, Konkoly indicates that targeting REM sleep may enhance problem-solving capabilities. “REM dreams are highly associative and atypical, blending new and prior memories with imaginative thought,” she states. “During this stage, your brain is quite active, potentially allowing for unrestricted access to various sections of your mind.”

Researcher Karen Concoly prepares a participant for the study by fitting a cap to their head that records brain activity.

Karen Konkoly

Tony Cunningham and researchers at Harvard University affirm that this study indicates “individuals may consciously focus on unresolved issues while dreaming.”

However, some experts caution that dream engineering could interfere with the critical functions of sleep, such as clearing toxins from the brain. There are concerns about the potential for companies to exploit these findings by placing ads within personal devices, which Cunningham particularly highlights. “Our senses are already bombarded during waking hours by advertisements, emails, and work stress; sleep remains one of the few times of respite,” he notes.

Koncoly plans to explore why certain individuals exhibit varying responses to sound stimuli on different days. “During this study, I stayed up all night monitoring brainwaves and providing cues during REM sleep. Sometimes participants would signal a response, and other times, they wouldn’t. Occasionally, they would wake and incorporate relevant puzzles into their dreams, while at other times, they simply processed the sound without any further reaction. Why do identical stimuli manifest differently in the same state of consciousness?”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Challenge Your Mind: Solve These 7 Christmas Puzzles in 10 Minutes – Only for Geniuses!

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1. Snow Problem

Raymond gazed out his window and admired the snow-covered garden, where a perfect layer of 5 centimeters blanketed everything except the path. The snow was already beginning to melt.

The rectangular garden measures 16 meters on its longest side and 10.5 meters on the shorter side. The path is a narrow rectangle, 0.5 meters wide, leading from the street to the entrance.

Raymond started some rough calculations. We built a snowman made of three spheres, where the volume ratio of base, thorax, and head is 3:2:1.

His calculations use a simplified method which takes 4 times the cube of the radius for the sphere’s volume and overlooks snow compaction.

Based on this method, can you determine the radius of the snowman’s base sphere?

Scroll down for the answer!

2. Insulation Calculation

Sven Svendsen is almost ready for his North Pole expedition. An essential part of his preparation involves gaining weight for warmth.

Beginning today, he will start with his normal daily intake of 2,540 calories and will increase his calorie consumption by 100 calories each day over the next 20 days.

Sven plans to gain weight solely by consuming Wazoo multi-nutrient bars, each containing 140 calories.

How many days can he stick to this plan, only eating Wazoo bars?

Scroll down for the answer!

I dance without legs, ripple without wind, light up the polar night – what am I? Answer: Northern Lights – Photo Credit: Getty

3. Advent Attempt

In December, a daily contest challenges players to guess a number between 1 and 10,000. A single lucky number will win a prize, remaining unchanged throughout the month. Incorrect guesses allow players to try again the next day.

In one household, Steve guesses daily, while his daughter Lottie has an advent calendar with 24 doors but doesn’t understand numbers yet. She can only open one door each day.

After Steve guesses three numbers and Lottie opens her three doors on December 3rd, who is more likely to have chosen correctly: Lottie with her doors or Steve with his numbers?

Scroll down for the answer!

4. PIN Puzzle

Janice, in a rush for Christmas shopping, was asked for her four-digit credit card PIN but struggles with memory.

Fortunately, she excels at solving mathematical problems and remembers the correct method to determine her PIN. She decisively calculates all unique three-digit numbers that sum to eight and contain no zeros.

These three digits together equal her four-digit PIN. Can you figure it out too?

Scroll down for the answer!

5. Word Play

  1. Rearrange the letters to form three scientific instruments: TER TEL ABE OMEAST OPE BAR ESC ROL
  2. Decode the names of three scientists: Zulksus, Chumnyeol, Ichimunichi
  3. Rearrange the letters to create three geometric shapes: GLE TRA REC IUM OID PEZ TAN IPS ELL

Scroll down for the answer!

Until the moment I’m torn apart, I’ll be guessed and never seen – what am I? Answer: Present – Photo Credit: Getty

6. Mysterious Gift

Zack forgot to label his Christmas presents. He recalls that silver gifts are not for his mother, and his father’s gifts are either gold or red.

The blue present is for his sister or brother. If his mother’s gift is red, then his sister receives the gold, and if his mother’s gift is gold, then his sister receives the blue gift. Who gets which present?

Scroll down for the answer!

7. Test the Metal

A chemist, physicist, and biologist were asked to complete a survey on their favorite metals. It turns out neither Ben nor the chemist likes tin, and biologists aren’t Kim, nor do they prefer iron. Gold is the favorite metal for both Mary and Kim. Can you uncover each scientist’s favorite metal?

Scroll down for the answer!

Answers

Snow Problem

Solved: 1 meter

Explanation: The garden’s area measures 168m² (10.5m x 16m). The path, being 0.5m wide and 16m long, occupies 8m². Thus, the snow-covered garden area is 160m². At a depth of 5 cm, the snow volume equals 160 x 0.05 = 8m³.

To find the snowman’s base volume, half of the snow (4m³) is used. The formula for a sphere’s volume leads to the equation 4r³ = 4m³, resulting in a base radius of 1 meter with a diameter of 2 meters.

Insulation Calculation

Solved: 3 days

Explanation: Begin by determining a target calorie value that divides evenly by 140. 2,940 is one such number (140 x 21). You can increase this by adding or decreasing 100 calories weekly. Thus, 2,240, 2,940, 3,640, and 4,340 are attainable calorie goals. By starting at 2,540 calories and incrementing daily over 20 days, you can reach 4,540 calories. The viable calorie values therefore yield three days of consuming only Wazoo bars.

Advent Attempt

Solved: It is more likely that Lottie opened the correct three doors in any order.

Explanation: Lottie opened three out of 24 doors on day one, two out of 23 on day two, and one out of 22 on day three. The probability of her correctly opening the doors multiplies, giving 6/12,144. Conversely, the chances of Steve guessing the lucky number are only 3/10,000. Therefore, Lottie has better odds of success.

PIN Puzzle

Solved: Janice’s PIN is 3552.

Explanation: To find a three-digit number, valid combinations must not include digits greater than 5. Acceptable pairs like (5,2,1) and (4,3,1) yield 6 permutations each. The sum of all configurations is calculated to determine her PIN as 3552.

Word Play

  1. Telescope, Barometer, Astrolabe
  2. Faraday, Pasteur, Einstein (using letter shifting techniques)
  3. Ellipsoid, Rectangle, Trapezoid

Mysterious Gift

Solved: His mother receives the gold gift, his father gets the red, his sister has the blue, and his brother receives the silver.

Test the Metal

Solved: Ben—Physicist—Iron; Mary—Biologist—Tin; Kim—Chemist—Gold.

Read more:

  • Top 10 Coldest Places on Earth

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

What is Cloud Seeding and Could It Solve Iran’s Drought Crisis?

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Riverbed near Latian Dam, one of Tehran’s main water sources, Iran

BAHRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Iran faces an extreme drought, prompting the president to suggest a possible evacuation of Tehran. To mitigate the situation, cloud-seeding aircraft will start operations on November 15, set to persist through the rainy season until May. However, experts caution that this method is complex and unlikely to significantly alleviate the water crisis on its own.

How critical is the drought in Iran?

Iran’s rainfall is down by 85 percent, with Tehran registering only 1 mm this year. Local reservoirs are reported to be in a dire condition, with 32 dams barely holding 5 percent of their capacity. Satellite imagery shows some areas completely parched.

Residents of Tehran have cut their water usage by approximately 10 percent, yet this reduction falls short. Water pressure has diminished overnight, and officials are preparing to fine households and businesses that exceed their water limits. The president indicated that if rains do not increase by December, 14 million people in Tehran might need to relocate.

What are the causes of drought?

Experts attribute the drought, which has persisted for five years, to climate change. This autumn is the driest Iran has seen in 50 years, with temperatures reaching above 15°C (59°F) in Tehran, a city usually experiencing snowfall in November.

However, mismanagement is largely to blame. Kave Madani, a former environmental ministry official, labels Iran a “water bankrupt.” The government has expanded agriculture in arid regions excessively, stressing water resources. A staggering number of illegal wells—around half a million—have been drilled by desperate farmers, draining groundwater supplies.

What exactly is cloud seeding?

Cloud seeding originated in the 1940s with scientists like Bernard Vonnegut, brother of author Kurt Vonnegut. The process involves dispersing particles that encourage water droplets in clouds to precipitate as rain. While some studies have experimented with salt, the focus has generally been on spraying silver iodide into upper-level mixed-phase clouds. When supercooled liquid droplets encounter this crystalline material, they crystallize into ice that ultimately falls as rain or snow.

Determining the amount of precipitation caused by cloud seeding can be challenging, especially in the absence of cloud formation.

“The natural variability of clouds is significant, making it tough to quantify their impacts,” says Andrea Frosman from the University of Clermont-Auvergne, France. “Externally, clouds appear, but not all of them bring rain.”

A 2014 experiment conducted in Wyoming indicated that cloud seeding could enhance precipitation by 5 to 15 percent.

Is there hope for resolving the drought?

Previously, Iran blamed Israel and the United Arab Emirates for “stealing” rain via cloud seeding, but it’s now taking matters into its own hands. It plans to deploy cargo planes, drones, and a “ground generator”, which is essentially a smoker’s oven, commonly located in mountainous regions.

On November 15, clouds formed over the watershed surrounding Lake Urmia, which has been barren for over two decades, now reduced to a salt flat littered with decaying boats. Initial reports suggest that areas west of the lake received up to 2.7 centimeters of rain the following morning, as indicated by a precipitation map from the University of California, Irvine.

Success in cloud seeding depends on the presence of moisture-rich clouds, which might be sparse in arid Iran, where large bodies of water are limited.

“Cloud seeding becomes particularly challenging during droughts, owing to the extremely dry atmosphere that may not support moisture-laden clouds,” notes Karen Howard, a scientist with the U.S. General Accounting Office.

Yet, in recent days, numerous rain clouds have poured into Iran from the Black Sea, causing localized flooding in regions such as Iram and Kurdistan on November 16.

Cloud seeding might help “extract a few additional droplets” from these weather systems, according to Armin Sorooshian at the University of Arizona. “While it won’t create flooding or completely solve the drought issue, it may provide a minor benefit.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Can We Solve One of the World’s Most Critical Climate Challenges?

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Carbon Capture and Storage Cement Plant in Padeswood, Wales

Padeswood CCS

Commercial carbon capture systems for cement facilities are currently being rolled out, signaling a potential turn towards net-zero emissions for one of the most challenging sectors in the industry.

As reported by German company Heidelberg Materials, the inaugural carbon capture cement plant has been operational in Norway since June, with the first “carbon cement” products slated for delivery to the UK and other European countries next month.

In tandem, construction of carbon capture infrastructure at the Padeswood cement plant in North Wales is set to commence shortly, following a subsidy agreement revealed this week between the UK government and Heidelberg representatives. Several similar facilities are also in the pipeline for Sweden, Germany, and Poland.

This advancement represents a critical leap forward in the cement industry’s quest to cut emissions, a long-recognized hurdle in decarbonization efforts. “That’s significant progress,” states Paul Fennell of Imperial College London, referring to the projects in Norway and the UK.

Cement contributes to roughly 8% of global carbon emissions, according to Chatham House, a think tank. Much of this carbon dioxide is emitted by the chemical processes that create clinkers, the primary component of Portland cement, the most widely used construction material. “Regular Portland cement production inherently generates substantial CO2 due to essential chemical reactions,” Fennell explains.

Capturing CO2 generated from these processes is regarded as the only viable option for significantly decarbonizing cement production. Yet, this method is costly, with estimates ranging from 50-200 euros needed to capture, transport, and permanently store large amounts of carbon from European cement operations, as outlined in an analysis by the Bank of Netherlands here.

The Brebik plant in Heidelberg, Norway, benefits from government subsidies. Its carbon capture infrastructure accounts for 50% of the cement facility’s overall emissions. It operates by removing CO2 from the exhaust of cement plants using an ammonia-based solvent known as amines. The extracted CO2 is then released from the solvent, liquefied, and stored beneath the seabed in Norway.

The Padeswood Plant employs similar amine technology, but when the carbon capture and storage systems become operational in 2029, it is projected to eliminate around 95% of the plant’s emissions, according to the UK CEO of Heidelberg Materials, Simon Willis. This translates to approximately 800,000 tons of CO2 annually. The Padeswood facility is anticipated to sequester more CO2 than the Brevik plant, but that is largely due to the lack of additional energy supplies required to achieve the 95% reduction at Brevik.

Construction is expected to start in the coming weeks, with the UK government agreeing to subsidize the operational costs of the technology—although details of this funding agreement remain undisclosed. “The fundamental premise is that the government is providing us with funds to assist in establishing and operating carbon capture facilities,” Willis states.

According to Leon Black from the University of Leeds, UK, government financial backing is crucial for constructing the initial fleet of cement plants focused on carbon capture and storage. “Carbon capture and storage would not be feasible without governmental aid,” he asserts.

However, emerging technologies hold the promise of enhanced energy efficiency, and costs are anticipated to decrease over time. In Germany, for instance, Heidelberg is collaborating with a consortium exploring Oxifuer technology, which involves recirculating exhaust gases back to the burner, increasing the CO2 concentration in exhaust gases to around 70%, thereby making the carbon capture process more efficient.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Charming Detective Games: Fun, Non-Violent Mysteries to Solve

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At 18 years old, the newest generation is on a quest for discovery. Starting university presents a whirlwind of minor mishaps and significant challenges. Between sleepless nights and missed classes, forgetting where your research group meets, or misplacing your books, a considerable amount of time is spent searching for lost items.

These small enigmas often translate into nearly problems, forming charming little detective games that Mary, the protagonist, navigates as she embraces her new student life each day. Designed by Indonesian creator Melisa, who chose to be known by her first name, the inspiration was drawn from her passion for detective narratives and a wish to steer clear of violence in the genre.

“Since childhood, I’ve devoted myself to reading detective comic books, novels, and manga, alongside playing detective games. I have a fondness for horror as well. Initially, I thought blending detective games with horror aesthetics would create something intriguing—a delightful sense of warmth from unraveling the mysteries of everyday life.”




It’s relevant…it’s hardly a problem. Photo: Posh Cat Studio

In essence, there are no serious crimes. Often, Mary is simply on the lookout for a favorite earring, a familiar face in a crowd, or her playful cat. Each scene plays out like a hidden object puzzle where players search for clues—photos, notes, schedules, and more—before piecing together the story. Who shattered your cherished mug? Investigate its contents and consider what your housemate enjoys drinking along with whether you were present at the right moment to identify the culprit. This is undoubtedly the most relatable crime ever tackled in a video game.

The light-hearted, low-stakes atmosphere is accentuated through gentle cartoons and artistic styles inspired by anime such as Doramon, Marco-chan, and Kobo-chan. Much like certain domestic games like Unpacking, with elements of local storytelling, it emphasizes friendships and family through straightforward narratives. Melisa initiated this project as a quick prototype for the Twitch Game Jam, but it ultimately evolved over two years with the establishment of her studio, Posh Cat, alongside two additional team members. It became a labor of love. “I created it because I longed for a more comforting detective game,” she shares. “Expect something even cozier after 2025!”

Most issues occurred on my PC on September 9th

Source: www.theguardian.com

Addressing Social Media Toxicity: Algorithms Alone Won’t Solve the Problem

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Can I address the issue of social media?

MoiraM/Alamy

The impact of social media polarization transcends mere algorithms. Research conducted with AI-generated users reveals that this stems from fundamental aspects of the platform’s operation. It indicates that genuine solutions will require a re-evaluation of online communication frameworks.

Petter Törnberg from the University of Amsterdam and his team created 500 AI chatbots reflecting a diverse range of political opinions in the United States, based on the National Election Survey. Utilizing the GPT-4o Mini Large Languages Model, these bots were programmed to engage with one another on simplified social networks without commercial influences or algorithms.

Throughout five rounds of experiments, each consisting of 10,000 actions, the AI agents predominantly interacted with like-minded individuals. Those with more extreme views garnered greater followership and reposts, increasing visibility for users attracted to more partisan content.

In prior research, Törnberg and his colleagues explored whether different algorithmic approaches in simulated social networks could mitigate political polarization. However, the new findings appear to challenge earlier conclusions.

“We expected this polarization to be largely driven by algorithms,” Törnberg states. “[We thought] the platform is geared towards maximizing engagement and inciting outrage, thus producing these outcomes.”

Instead, they found that the algorithm itself isn’t the primary culprit. “We created the simplest platform imaginable, and yet we saw these results immediately,” he explains. “This suggests that there are deeply ingrained behaviors linked to following, reposting, and engagement that are at play.”

To see if these ingrained behaviors could be moderated or counteracted, the researchers tested six potential interventions. These included time series display only, diminishing the visibility of viral content, concealing opposing viewpoints, amplifying sympathetic and rational content, hiding follower and repost counts, and obscuring profile bios.

Most interventions yielded minimal effects. Cross-partisan engagement shifted only by about 6% or less, while the prominence of top accounts changed by 2-6%, but some modifications, like concealing bios, worsened polarization. While some changes that reduced user inequality made extreme posts more attractive, alterations aimed at softening partisanship inadvertently drew more attention to a small group of elite users.

“Most activities on social media devolve into toxic interactions. The root issues with social media stem from its foundational design, which can accentuate negative human behavior,” states Jess Maddox of the University of Georgia.

Törnberg recognizes that while this experiment simplifies various dynamics, it provides insights into what social platforms can do to curb polarization. “Fundamental changes may be necessary,” he cautions. “Tweaking algorithms and adjusting parameters might not be sufficient; we may need to fundamentally rethink interaction structures and how these platforms shape our political landscapes.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Is your phone causing distractions? Keeping it out of reach may not solve the problem

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Smartphones can be distracted from other tasks

Phelings Media/Shutterstock

Can you scroll through at work and take a little care about your smartphone? One solution is to keep your phone out of reach, but unfortunately this doesn’t seem to work.

“People flip the phone over and hide it under the notebook. Sometimes you see a slightly fatal “throwing it over my shoulder” thing.” Maxi Heitmayer At the London School of Economics and Political Science in London. He previously studied phone use and found that people interact with their devices About every 5 minutes.

To see if this distraction could be avoided, Heitmayer and his colleagues recorded 22 college students and office workers, ages 22 to 31. One day, participants kept their phones within reach of their phones. Soon they kept their phones on a second desk, 1.5 metres away. In other words, I had to stand up to check it out.

Researchers found that volunteers spent an average of 23 minutes doing leisure activities over the phone on their first day, but 16 minutes, when the devices were even further apart. However, they were no longer working on the second day. Instead, participants spent more time running their activities slowly on their laptops, mainly on social media. “We use less mobile phones, but the whole thing that’s scrolling on social media is scrolling longer than we intended to move to a laptop,” says Heitmayer.

“This shows that distractions are not itself the device, but the underlying activity. daantje derks At Rotterdam, the University of Erasmus, Netherlands.

However, she points out that large-scale studies tracking people in a normal working environment are needed to verify these initial results. “This is an experimental lab study. People usually have others around and their lives are much more dynamic than this setup.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

I’ve Given Up Trying to Solve the Mystery of Your “Baby Amnesia”

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Many adults do not remember being a baby, with the earliest memories typically beginning around the age of four. The scientific community has long attributed this phenomenon, known as “infant amnesia,” to the ongoing development of the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory.

However, recent research from Yale University challenges this theory, suggesting that babies do form memories that are stored in the hippocampus, raising questions about why these memories are not accessible later in life.

“This study has significant implications for understanding infant amnesia,” said Professor Nick Turk Brown, the senior author of the study. “It suggests that the issue may lie in accessing stored memories rather than the inability to form memories initially.”

The study involved scanning the brains of babies aged between four months and two years and testing their ability to remember images. The results indicated that babies do retain memories, particularly in the hippocampus.

https://c02.purpledshub.com/uploads/sites/41/2025/03/Compressed-Baby-Amnesia-Video.m4v
A brief overview of the memory tasks conducted during a brain scan on babies, demonstrating the background, encoding trials, and test trials.

Exploring Different Types of Memory

The study specifically investigated episodic memory, which involves recalling specific events like conversations or outings. This type of memory is distinct from semantic memory, which involves learning over time, such as language acquisition.

Prior research had shown that both types of memory are stored in the adult hippocampus, challenging previous beliefs about its functionality in early childhood.

“We now know that the infant hippocampus is engaged in statistical learning as early as three months,” explained Turk Brown. This research aimed to determine whether this also applies to episodic memory.

Scanning Baby Brains in Motion

Conducting functional MRI scans on babies has been challenging due to their limited ability to remain still during the procedure. However, innovative methods have been developed to overcome these obstacles and study how baby memories are formed.

“Being able to conduct MRI experiments on infants is a significant achievement in unraveling the mysteries of early memories and cognition,” Turk Brown expressed.

Nick Turk-Browne (left) preparing child participants and parents for an infant MRI study at Yale University’s Brain Imaging Center. Credits: 160/90

Unraveling the Mystery of Early Memories

Researchers are now focused on understanding where early memories go and how long they last in the brain. By studying how memories are stored and accessed, scientists hope to shed light on the process of memory formation in infancy.

“There is a possibility that memories from early childhood can persist into adulthood if properly cued,” speculated Turk Brown. He emphasized the role of sensory cues like smells in triggering forgotten memories.

“By finding effective ways to trigger early memories, we may be able to unlock the mysteries of infant amnesia and uncover the full potential of the developing brain,” Turk Brown concluded.

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Meet Our Expert:

Professor Nick Turk Brown is a cognitive psychologist at Yale University and the director of Yale’s Wootsy Institute. With a background in Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Turk Brown has dedicated his career to understanding memory and cognition in both children and adults.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Collaboration of Scientists to Solve the Mystery of the World’s Rarest Whale

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The rarest whale in the world, known as the Spade whale, has only been seen seven times. Very little is known about this mysterious species. A group of scientists and cultural experts from New Zealand recently gathered around the nearly perfectly preserved Spade whale to unravel its decades-old mystery.

“Words cannot articulate how extraordinary this is,” exclaimed Anton van Heerden, a senior marine science adviser at the New Zealand Conservation Service, who named the whale to distinguish it from others. He added, “For me personally, it’s unbelievable.”

Van Helden has been studying beaked whales for 35 years, and Monday marked his first time participating in a dissection of the whale. This is also the first time in history that this creature, found dead on a New Zealand coast in July, has been carefully examined.

No one has ever witnessed a Spade whale alive at sea.

A rare whale washed ashore on New Zealand’s South Island in July.
New Zealand Department of Conservation/AFP – Getty Images File

Researchers at the Agricultural Research Center near Dunedin are studying the 5-meter (16-foot) male whale in hopes of uncovering more information over the next week.

Van Heerden mentioned the possibility of a parasite unknown to science living inside the whale, as well as the mystery surrounding how this species communicates and eats.

Only six other Spade whales have been found, all buried before DNA testing could confirm their identities.

New Zealand has been a hotspot for whale strandings, with the first Spade whale bones discovered in 1872. DNA sequencing confirmed the species in 2002, but its extinction was unclear until two whales washed up dead in 2010.

During the dissection, the researchers worked respectfully alongside the indigenous Maori people, who consider whales as precious treasures. Traditional beliefs and practices were observed throughout the process.

After the dissection, the whale’s jawbone and teeth will be stored by the Maori tribe and replicated using 3D printing technology.

Spade-toothed whales are believed to inhabit the South Pacific Ocean, one of the deepest oceanic regions, making them even more enigmatic.

Anatomist Joy Lydenberg from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York expressed interest in understanding the life of these whales rather than just their cause of death, hoping to find insights applicable to humans.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

How can we solve the planet’s plastic pollution crisis?

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plastic waste in indonesia

PA Image/Alamy

The world currently generates more than 50 million tonnes of “mismanaged” plastic waste each year, and some researchers predict that this flood of plastic pollution will double by mid-century. But he also said that if countries could agree to adopt four key policies during this period. This number could be reduced by 90 per cent if this week's global plastics deal is negotiated.

Plastic pollution ultimately chokes land and sea ecosystems. “This affects every level of the food chain, from phytoplankton cells to humans,” he says. Sarah-Jeanne Royer at the University of California, San Diego. Plastics also account for about 5% of greenhouse gas emissions.

That's why most of the world's countries are meeting this week in Busan, South Korea, to hammer out the final details of a global treaty to end plastic pollution. By 2022, 175 countries have already agreed to adopt a legally binding treaty For the past two years, we have been debating what exactly we should require, with particular disagreements over setting limits on production of new plastics.

To make the discussion more clear, douglas mcquarley The researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, used an artificial intelligence model trained on economic data to test how the policies they were considering would affect global plastic pollution. “I wasn't sure that [eliminating plastic pollution] It was actually possible,” McCauley said. “But it turns out we can get pretty close.”

They predict that under current conditions, plastic pollution is expected to almost double by 2050, reaching between 100 million and 139 million tonnes. However, all four policy combinations are still on the bill. Current draft treatywas sufficient to reduce this by over 90%.

The most influential of these was the mandate that plastic products contain at least 40% recycled material. This rule alone will cut plastic pollution in half by mid-century. Mr McCauley said this effect was significant because it would reduce demand for newly made or “virgin” plastics, while also stimulating demand for recycled materials. “Suddenly, there was a huge global recycling market.”

But recycling alone wasn't enough. “If our goal is to eliminate plastic pollution, we need to address it throughout its lifecycle,” he says. Further reductions would have required limiting virgin plastic production to 2020 levels. According to the model, this production cap would have reduced plastic pollution by about 60 million tons per year by mid-century. This change also had the biggest impact on greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production, as the extraction of fossil fuels and conversion into virgin plastics involves processes with large emissions.

A third policy would spend $50 billion on waste management, roughly equal to the production cap, especially if these funds go to low-income countries with poor infrastructure and where plastic pollution is most severe. reduced pollution. “When we start talking about global finance, [the amount of money needed] It’s not that big,” McCauley said. “Building a sanitary landfill is different from building a port.”

Plastic waste is increasing, and while some is recycled or destroyed, the majority is “mismanaged” and piles up as plastic pollution.

A. Samuel Pottinger et al.

Finally, a small tax on plastic packaging has reduced pollution by tens of millions of tons. The researchers based this estimate on case studies of how people reduced their plastic use in response to similar taxes. 5 cents fee Regarding disposable plastic bags in Washington DC. Funds raised through such taxes could also be used to pay for other changes, such as building waste management infrastructure or improving recycling systems.

Royer, who was not involved in the study, said he thinks all of these policies will help. Reducing the use of single-use plastics, such as shopping bags and plastic forks, through taxes or bans could also make a difference, she says. “If you look at plastic pollution in general, 40% of the plastic produced is single-use.”

However, she points out that local rules alone will never solve the problem. California, for example, banned some single-use plastic bags a decade ago and this year banned all such bags. But most of the plastic pollution that washes up on our shores comes from outside the state, with California's plastic waste typically washing ashore from Asia across the Pacific or being left behind by fishing. “There are no borders,” Royer says.

This is where the World Treaty comes into play. Researchers explore how different policies around the world can reduce three things: the amount of poorly managed plastic waste, the production of new plastics, and plastic-related greenhouse gas emissions. I showed you. By combining the four key policies seen in the graph below, all three measures reduced, specifically mismanaged waste, by 91%.

Researchers estimated the impact of different policies to reduce plastic

Source: www.newscientist.com

Can artificial intelligence and new technologies solve the issues in our broken democracies?

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Many of us entered this so-called super-election year with a sense of foreboding. So far, not much has happened to allay these fears. Russia’s war against Ukraine has exacerbated the perception that democracy is under threat in Europe and beyond. In the United States, presidential candidate Donald Trump self-proclaimed dictatorial tendencies facing two assassination attempts. And more broadly, people seem to be losing faith in politics. A 2024 report from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance states that “most citizens in diverse countries around the world have no confidence in the performance of their political institutions.”

By many objective measures, democracy is not functioning as it should. The systems we call democracies tend to favor the wealthy. Political violence is on the rise, legislative gridlock is severe, and elections are becoming less free and fair around the world. Nearly 30 years have passed since pundits proclaimed the triumph of Western liberal democracy, but their predictions seem further away than ever from coming true. what happened?

According to Rex Paulson At the Mohammed VI Institute of Technology in Rabat, Morocco, we have lost sight of what democracy is. “We have created a terrible confusion between the system known as a republic, which relies on elections, political parties, and a permanent ruling class, and the system known as democracy, where the people directly participate in decisions and change power. The good news, he says, is that the original dream of government by the people and for the people can be revived. That’s what he and other researchers are trying to do…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Some skeptics warn that EVs will strain the power grid, but they could actually help to solve the problem

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Electric cars scares some people of the dark: their batteries produce much less carbon dioxide but require more power to run, prompting ominous warnings that Britain and other wealthy countries could plunge their citizens into darkness if they ban new petrol and diesel sales.

In recent months, UK net-zero skeptic newspapers have warned that a shift to EVs “risks overwhelming the grid and causing catastrophic blackouts” if intermittent solar and wind don't provide the needed power. Another article argued that “we don't need an enemy force to plunge us all into darkness – just some electricity customers doing their normal thing on a normal winter's night.”

But many who work in the electric vehicle industry believe these fears may be unfounded, arguing that the transition to electric vehicles is an exciting, potentially lucrative opportunity to build a smarter, greener energy system.


In the UK, polluting coal-fired power plants have been largely replaced by wind farms and solar panels. These renewable energies do not emit carbon dioxide, but they suffer from intermittency problems and cannot provide enough power on cloudy days or at night when there is no wind. Add in the prospect that all new cars will be electric by 2035 and it is not an exaggerated question how the power grid will keep supply and demand in balance.

Shifting demand

The transition to electric vehicles will undoubtedly require more electricity generation as electric vehicles, rather than land-based fossil fuels, become the primary source of energy for transportation, but smart technology can be used to shift demand away from peak times, such as 5pm in winter, when demand for electricity risks outstripping supply.

This isn't just a pipe dream: home charger company MyEnergy calculates that if balancing services were enabled across all installed compatible chargers, it could “provide over 1GW of demand-shifting flexibility to the grid, more than 98% of the UK's major fossil fuel power stations.”

Octopus Energy, which has quickly grown to become the UK's largest electricity supplier, says its Go electricity tariff manages the charging of the batteries of 150,000 electric vehicles. Charging them all at once would require 1GW of power, but smart chargers hold off charging until off-peak hours at night, shifting demand away from peaks. Electricity is also cheaper during off-peak hours, with clear benefits for consumers: Octopus says its customers save an average of about £600 a year.




In the UK, polluting coal-fired power stations have largely been replaced by wind farms and solar panels, which suffer from “intermittency issues”. Photo: Martin Meissner/AP

One gigawatt is the equivalent of a medium-sized power station, enough to power 600,000 homes. Electric vehicles on UK roads are already on the rise in the UK. Peak electricity demand in winter is 61.1GWAccording to the National Grid, delaying charging for just a few hours can help reduce energy consumption.

Jack Fielder, chief strategy officer at MyEnergy, said: “If every EV charger could provide a grid balancing service and every driver took part in a grid balancing program, we could collectively eliminate periods of strain on the grid.”

It could also be useful when power supply exceeds demand, such as on warm, windy nights, said Chris Pateman-Jones, chief executive of charging company Connected Curve.

“Instead of wasting renewable energy, I see EVs as a giant sponge,” he says. For consumers, there will be little change: Connected Curve data shows that most cars are already charged by midnight, leaving them idle for hours before they're needed.

Powered by car battery

It's not just the timing of when electrons flow into car batteries that will help the National Grid Electricity Supply Operator (NGESO), the company responsible for balancing the U.K. power grid: It calls demand shifting a “low-regret action that will help reduce the impact on peak demand and reduce renewable curtailment,” but it also wants electrons to flow in the other direction.

Vehicle-to-grid technology is an attractive prospect: instead of building power plants, hydroelectric storage, or stationary battery fleets, the idea is to harness the energy stored in car batteries. Cars could become portable power packs, providing backup for homes in the event of a blackout, and even allowing drivers to earn money by selling power back to the grid.

NGESO is Annual estimate It predicts what the UK electricity system will look like in 2035 and 2050. It sees a growing role for cars feeding power back into the grid, and in the most optimistic scenario, capacity could reach 39GW (equivalent to one-tenth of the vastly expanded generating capacity).

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Source: www.theguardian.com

Moon freeze may solve Stonehenge mystery in rare event

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Stonehenge, an ancient prehistoric temple in southern England, remains a fascinating mystery. Construction began around 5,000 years ago, but the purpose of this enigmatic site remains unknown as its builders left no written records.

Analysis has shown that the massive stones of Stonehenge were transported from distant quarries, some weighing over 20 tonnes.

The alignment of Stonehenge with the sun during the solstices is well-documented, but its potential connection with the moon has intrigued experts. Scholars are exploring whether Stonehenge was not only designed to align with the sun but also with the moon, a remarkable achievement for a society predating the invention of the wheel.

On June 21, 2024, experts are investigating the relationship between Stonehenge and the lunar cycles as a rare lunar standstill event unfolds.

Professor Michael Parker Pearson, a renowned expert in British prehistory, speculates that Stonehenge’s builders may have aimed to unify people, ancestors, land, and the cosmos by linking the movements of the sun and moon.

The lunar standstill, occurring once every 18.6 years, results in the moon reaching its most extreme northern and southern positions in the night sky. This phenomenon, unlike the annual solstices tied to the sun, creates a unique celestial display.

While Stonehenge’s alignment with the solstices is well-known, its relationship with the lunar cycles remains less understood. Research indicates that burials at Stonehenge predate the arrival of the large stones, and possible alignments suggest a connection with the lunar standstill phenomenon.

An ongoing study by experts from Oxford, Leicester, and Bournemouth universities aims to delve into the significance of the moon in Stonehenge’s construction, potentially reshaping our understanding of this ancient monument.

Experts like Professor Parker Pearson, Professor Ruggles, and Dr. Chadburn are at the forefront of unraveling the mysteries of Stonehenge and its celestial connections.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Were you able to solve it? Thinking like an engineer in mathematics

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Today, we have two questions about fascinating objects that we will share with you along with their answers.

1. Pythagoras’ Cup

Pythagoras, a Greek mathematician and mystic, created a cup with interesting properties:

1) When filled to a certain point, it acts like a regular cup.

2) If you pour above that level, the liquid drains out through a hole in the bottom of the cup.

Can you illustrate how this cup works?

The cup has a simple internal mechanism with no moving parts. It’s a clever metaphor for moderation in life – overflow even slightly, and you lose it all.

Solution:




Cross-section of a Pythagorean cup filled with water. At B, the liquid in the cup can be drunk, but at C, the liquid flows down due to the siphon effect. Illustration: Nevit Dilmen

The cup has a central chamber that fills from the bottom, and when it overflows, a siphon is formed to empty the water. This mechanism is similar to flushing toilets and fabric softener trays in washing machines.

2. A Backwards Old Car

Design a simple mechanism for a toy car with four wheels that moves forward when a string is pulled backward.

Solution:

To achieve this, you need a pulley system as shown in the video. A string is wrapped around a shaft, and when it unwinds, it moves a belt connected to the wheel axle.

We hope you enjoyed today’s puzzles, and we’ll be back in 2 weeks!

Since 2015, we’ve been sharing puzzles every other Monday. If you have any suggestions, feel free to email us!

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bumblebees Learn from Each Other to Solve Complicated Puzzles

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Bumblebees may be capable of advanced social learning

David Woodfall/naturepl.com

Bumblebees can teach each other how to solve puzzles that are too difficult for them to solve alone. This finding suggests that these insects may use advanced social learning that has previously been demonstrated only in humans.

Previous research by alice bridges Queen Mary University of London has proposed that bumblebees could teach each other how to open lever puzzles to obtain sweet treats. And they preferred solutions they learned from their peers to solutions they had come up with on their own, as if the techniques were a cultural trend.

Now, Bridges challenged the bees to a more difficult puzzle box that required them to operate a blue lever and then a red lever in order. Even after 12 to 14 days of trying, the bees from three different colonies couldn’t figure it out on their own.

The researchers then taught nine bumblebees the key. But the training was so difficult that the animals initially refused to participate until the humans provided additional sweet rewards along the way, Bridges said. Once reintroduced to the colony, the skilled bee passed on its new knowledge to five other bees who had never seen the puzzle box before.

“suddenly, [naive bees] We were able to learn everything from trained demonstrators,” Bridges said. “When I could barely train, [the demonstrators] To do that. “

Until now, there was little evidence that non-human animals are capable of cumulative culture (defined as the ability to learn skills from other animals that cannot be acquired through a lifetime of independent trial and error). This feat allowed humans to create complex knowledge systems like modern medicine.

These findings “raise serious questions about this idea of human exceptionalism,” they wrote. alex thornton At the University of Exeter, UK his explanation on paper.

But we shouldn’t praise the cumulative culture of bees just yet. Elisa Bandini At the University of Zurich. She is not convinced that the experiment shows a behavior so complex that individual bees cannot develop it on their own. If the untaught bees had received additional rewards in the same way as the trained bees, they might have solved the puzzle on their own.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Researchers solve the enigma of the brown giant panda

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The brown and white giant panda is a mutant with a unique coat color found only in the world. Qinling Mountains Chinese.

Kizai is the only brown panda living in captivity. Image credit: Ailie HM / CC BY-SA 4.0 Certificate.

“Variation in fur color has considerable adaptive and cultural value in mammals,” said study lead author Dengfeng Guan, Ph.D., from the Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and colleagues.

“This property is directly determined by the ratio of eumelanin to pheomelanin and the density and distribution of melanosomes within the hair.”

“These factors are under complex control by hundreds of genes that influence different aspects of melanogenesis, including melanocyte proliferation and migration, melanin synthesis, and melanosome biogenesis and translocation.”

Giant panda (Airuropoda melanoruca) is one of the most charismatic flagship breeds, distinguished by its striking black and white coat.

However, the discovery brown panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca qinlingensis) This photograph, taken in the Qinling Mountains of China's Shaanxi province, challenges the conventional wisdom that color photographs of pandas are never possible.

Recognized as a subspecies of the giant panda, this brown panda is extremely rare and is definitely designated as a national treasure.

Since the first brown panda was discovered in 1985, 11 records have been reported by official news or private communications, seven of which have been confirmed by photographs or physical objects. Three cases were from Buping County, two from Yang County, one from Taibai County, and one from Taibai County. Zhou Zhi.

All brown pandas are found only in the Qinling Mountains, indicating that they are endemic to this region.

“The first recorded brown panda, a female named Dan Dan, was rescued from Foping Nature Reserve to Xi'an Zoo in 1985,” the biologists explained.

“She then mated with the black panda Wang Wang and gave birth to a male black panda named Qing Qing in captivity.”

“Dan Dan passed away in 2000 and Chin Chin also died in 2006, leaving no descendants.”

“In 2009, Qi Zhai, a male brown panda cub, was rescued from Fo Ping Nature Reserve and is currently the only brown panda living in captivity.”

Dr. Guan and co-authors established two family trios related to the brown panda Qi Zai and sequenced their genomes.

They analyzed ecological and genetic data obtained from a long-term study of wild giant pandas in Fo Ping Nature Reserve.

Additionally, we investigated the cellular mechanisms underlying brown fur color based on microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses.

They are candidate mutations, viz. base 2 The gene is thought to be the most likely genetic basis for brown pandas.

They verified this deletion through sequencing an additional cohort of 192 black pandas and CRISPR-Cas9 knockout mice.

Their findings will not only provide insight into the genetic basis of coat color variation in brown pandas and wild animals, but will also guide the scientific breeding of rare brown pandas.

“The extremely small number of brown pandas and the nature of the frameshift deletion mutation suggest that this mutation may be a neutral or weakly deleterious mutation,” the authors said.

“Remarkably, the two brown pandas (Qi Zai and Dan Dan) are showing normal growth and reproduction; base 2 The knockout mice were viable, fertile, and had no obvious physical abnormalities, indicating that this mutation had no apparent negative impact on the physical fitness of these mice. ”

“However, other physiological effects of this mutation on brown pandas remain unclear. base 2 It is known to be involved in the Alzheimer's disease pathway. ”

“Given the small population size of Qinling giant pandas, weak deleterious mutations may be corrected by genetic drift effects.”

“Further studies on brown pandas and knockout mouse models will therefore provide valuable insight into the functional consequences of this mutation.”

“For a rare coat color mutant of the giant panda that has great scientific and ornamental value, our findings will provide guidance for the scientific breeding of brown pandas.”

of study Published online this week Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Dengfeng Guan other. 2024. Color photography: homozygous 25 bp deletion base 2 Giant pandas can have brown and white coats. PNAS 121 (11): e2317430121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2317430121

Source: www.sci.news

Astronomers solve the enigma of enigmatic radio circles

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The odd radio sphere (ORC), a type of extragalactic astronomical source discovered in 2019, is actually a shell formed by galactic winds spilling from massive supernovae, according to a new study.

ASKAP radio continuum image (contours) of ORC 1 superimposed on the DES tricolor composite image. Two galaxies of interest: 'C' is near the center of ORC 1, and 'S' coincides with the southern radio peak. Image credit: Norris otherarXiv: 2006.14805.

The first three ORCs were discovered during the Cosmic Evolution Map pilot survey using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope.

A fourth ORC, called ORC4, was discovered in archival data taken with the Giant Meterwave radio telescope, and additional ORCs were discovered in subsequent ASKAP and MeerKAT data.

These sources are huge, hundreds of kiloparsecs across, with one kiloparsec equal to 3,260 light-years.

Multiple theories have been proposed to explain its origin, including planetary nebulae and black hole mergers, but it was not possible to distinguish between the theories based on radio data alone.

Intrigued, Professor Alison Coyle of the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues thought that the radio rings could have originated from the later stages of the starburst galaxies they were studying.

Until then, ORCs had only been observed by radio emission, and no optical data were available.

Astronomers observed ORC 4 using the Integrating Field Spectrometer at W.M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and found that it contained a huge amount of high-brightness, much more than is seen in the average galaxy. A heated compressed gas was revealed.

With more questions than answers, the team set to work doing some detective work.

Using optical and infrared imaging data, they determined that the stars in the ORC 4 galaxy are about 6 billion years old.

“This galaxy experienced an explosion of star formation that ended about a billion years ago,” Professor Coyle said.

The authors also ran a series of numerical computer simulations to recreate the size and properties of the massive radio ring containing large amounts of shocked cold gas in the central galaxy.

Simulations show that the outflowing galactic winds will continue to blow for 200 million years before stopping.

When the winds stopped, forward shocks continued to push hot gas out of the galaxy, forming a radio ring, while reverse shocks caused cooler gas to fall into the galaxy.

The simulation ran for 750 million years. This is within ORC 4's estimated stellar age of 1 billion years.

“For this to work, you need a high mass egress rate, which means you're releasing a lot of material very quickly,” Professor Coyle says.

“And the surrounding gas just outside the galaxy has to be low density, otherwise the shock stalls. Those are the two key factors.”

“We found that the galaxies we have studied have high rates of mass outflow. Although rare, they do exist. This points to ORC originating from some type of outflow galactic wind. I really think so.”

Outflow winds not only help astronomers understand ORCs, but ORCs also help astronomers understand outflow winds.

“ORC provides a way to 'see' the wind through radio data and spectroscopy,” Professor Coyle said.

“This will help us determine how common extreme outflow winds from galaxies are and what the life cycle of winds is like.”

“These can also help us learn more about galaxy evolution. Do all giant galaxies go through an ORC phase?”

“Do spiral galaxies become elliptical when they stop forming stars? I think there's a lot we can learn about and from the ORC.”

of study It was published in the magazine Nature.

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AL coil other. Ionized gas extends beyond 40 kpc within odd radio host galaxies. Nature, published on January 8, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06752-8

Source: www.sci.news