SpaceX Starship Rocket launches in its 10th flight test from Starbase, Texas, Launch Complex 1
UPI/Alamy
The SpaceX Starship, recognized as the most powerful rocket globally, has successfully completed a suborbital test flight following three previous launches that ended in catastrophic explosions.
SpaceX aims to develop a highly reusable and formidable launch vehicle. After several years, the Starship program is set to take over the deployment of Starlink satellites and play a pivotal role in NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions. Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, has stated that Starship is crucial for his ambition to colonize Mars.
The company embraces a fail-fast approach, more typical of Silicon Valley than the traditional methods prevalent in the aerospace industry. Despite aiming for rapid iterations, recent failures have raised concerns among observers.
Previous test flights (7, 8, and 9) ended in disaster with the upper stage either exploding or failing to land safely. The preparations for the 10th flight faced challenges when the upper stage detonated while holding propellant during ground tests.
This failure drew criticisms and led to doubts about SpaceX’s ability to achieve rapid reusability. Nevertheless, the test flight on August 10 from Starbase, Texas, was mainly successful, despite two previous cancellations.
The upper stage reached orbit and successfully deployed eight mock Starlink satellites to evaluate engine performance in a vacuum. Although an unexpected explosion damaged the engine area, the spacecraft completed its objectives, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere and achieving a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. The positioned camera-equipped buoy provided engineers critical insights into the craft’s operations.
The booster stage detached and performed a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
While SpaceX did not provide specific comments, they stated on their website that all “primary objectives were met” during the mission.
Patrick Harkness, from the University of Glasgow, remarked that the launch was “an incredible achievement that allowed them to approach high volumes of space at low-cost altitudes.”
Despite advancements, questions linger regarding whether the spacecraft will be ready in time for NASA’s Artemis III lunar landing, planned for 2027. SpaceX remains committed to sending the spacecraft to Mars in 2026, amid ongoing challenges.
Rust-based battery systems housed within standard 12-meter shipping containers
Ore Energy
Iron-empty batteries that utilize a reversible rusting mechanism to store and release energy now stand as the first type linked to public power grids. Startup Ore Energy announced on July 30 that the battery developed by Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands is now grid-connected.
These batteries play a crucial role in maintaining a stable power supply by storing renewable energy generated from solar and wind sources, preventing immediate decreases in electricity availability during sudden changes in weather conditions.
“We need to effectively store the surplus of energy generated when the wind blows and the sun shines,” mentions John Joseph Mary from the Faraday Institute, a UK battery research facility. “Essentially, the battery stabilizes the energy output for grid usage.”
While most grid-connected batteries are lithium iron phosphate varieties produced in China, they tend to store only 4-6 hours of electricity and are quite costly, according to Mary. Conversely, the iron-empty batteries created by Ore Energy can store over 100 hours of electricity and are made from inexpensive, readily accessible materials.
“Iron is the most abundantly mined metal globally and is extremely affordable,” says Mary. “When combined with air, which is literally everywhere around us and essentially free, they are among the cheapest materials available.”
Battery systems utilize electricity to convert iron oxide (rust) back into metal iron for energy storage. The iron can discharge energy through a chemical reaction with oxygen from the air, reverting back to rust.
“During discharge, we transform the iron into an innovative kind of rust,” explains Aytac Yilmaz, CEO of Ore Energy. “When charging, we revert the rust to iron, repeating this process continuously while the battery breathes in and out atmospheric oxygen.”
The battery is housed in standard 12-meter shipping containers and holds multiple megawatt-hours of energy. One megawatt-hour can power an average US household for over a month.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts-based Form Energy is executing several iron battery projects across the US, set to be established in New England and the Midwest.
In addition to iron and air, these batteries utilize affordable, plentiful water-based electrolytes, significantly minimizing the risk of battery fires. “I hesitate to say this, but water is undeniably non-combustible,” remarks Mary.
Ultimately, the primary objective of this battery technology is to facilitate the transition of renewable energy resources to supplant fossil fuels within the electric grid.
“Energy companies are still heavily reliant on gas-fired power generation to ensure flexibility when solar and wind cannot provide enough energy,” states Bas Kil, Business Development Manager at Ore Energy. “However, a long-term solution will necessitate various types of flexibility, where these innovative batteries can significantly contribute.”
The surface of the moon as captured from orbit prior to the crash
ISPACE SMBC X Hakuto-R Venture Moon
On June 5th at 7:13 PM, a Japanese space endeavor aiming to be the third private lunar landing failed as ISPACE’s Resilience lander succumbed on the moon’s surface.
The lander began its descent from around 20 km above the moon, but ISPACE’s mission control quickly lost communication after the probe activated its main engine for final descent, receiving no further signals.
The company announced that the laser tool used to gauge the distance to the surface seemed to malfunction, leading to inadequate slowing of the lander and likely resulting in a collision.
“Given the absence of a successful lunar landing at this time, our top priority is to analyze the telemetry data collected so far and diligently investigate the cause,” stated ISPACE CEO Mr. Takeshi.
Had it succeeded, Resilience would have marked the second private moon landing of the year and the third overall, making it the first non-U.S. company to land on the moon after ISPACE’s prior attempt, the Hakuto-R mission, failed in 2023.
The Resilience Lander embarked on its lunar journey aboard a SpaceX rocket on January 15th, alongside Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander. While the Blue Ghost successfully landed on March 2, Resilience took a more circuitous route, moving into deeper space before returning on May 6 to enter lunar orbit. This complex trajectory was essential for targeting the challenging northern plain called Male Frigolis, which had not been surveyed by previous lunar missions.
Equipped with six experiments, the lander included a device for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, a module for algae-based food production, and a radiation monitor for deep space. Additionally, it housed a five-kilogram rover named Tenesial, designed to explore and capture images of the moon during the two weeks that Resilience was set to operate.
Technology Physicist – Israel Institute of Technology says it has observed a new form of quantum entanglement in the total angular momentum of photons, limited to nanoscale structures. Their work paves the way for on-chip quantum information processing, using the total angular momentum of photons as an encoding property of quantum information.
The transformations that occur in two photon nanometric systems are intertwined in total angular momentum. Image credits: Shalom Buberman, Shultzo3d.
So far, quantum intertwining has been demonstrated for a wide variety of particles and their various properties.
In the case of photons, particles of light, entangled particles may be present in the direction of movement, frequency, or the direction in which the electric field is pointing.
It may also be the characteristics that are difficult to imagine, such as angular momentum.
This property is divided into spins related to the rotation of photons in the electric field, and is related to orbitals related to the rotational motion of photons in the universe.
“It’s easy to imagine these two rotational properties as separate quantities. In fact, photons are coupled to a beam of light much wider than the wavelength,” Professor Geibaltal and colleagues said in a statement.
“However, when we try to put photons in structures smaller than the photonic wavelength (a field effort in nanophotonics), it is impossible to separate different rotational properties, and we see that photons are characterized by a single amount, total angular momentum.”
“So why do you want to put photons in such a small structure? There are two main reasons for this.”
“One thing is clear: it helps narrow down devices that use light to miniaturize their electronic circuits.”
“Another reason is even more important. This miniaturization increases the interaction between photons and materials that are travelling (or nearby), allowing for phenomena and use that are not possible with photons of “normal” dimensions. ”
In their new study, researchers found that it is possible to entangle photons in nanoscale systems that are one-third of the size of hair, but entanglement is not performed solely by total angular momentum, depending on the conventional properties of photons, such as spins and orbits.
They uncover the process that occurs from the stage in which photons are introduced into the nanoscale system until they leave the measurement system, and found that this transition enriches the space in which the photons can live.
A series of measurements mapped their states to confirm the correspondence between photon pairs that were intertwined with the same properties inherent to nanoscale systems and exhibited quantum entanglement.
“This is the first discovery of new quantum entanglement in over 20 years, and could lead to the development of new tools for the design of photon-based quantum communications and computing components, as well as important miniaturization,” the scientists concluded.
An Alabama woman lived with pig kidneys for a record-breaking 130 days before her body began rejecting them, leading to their removal and a return to dialysis, doctors announced Friday.
Following her removal surgery on April 4 at Nyu Langone Health, Towana Rooney steadily recovered and went back to her home in Gadsden, Alabama. Rooney expressed gratitude to the doctors for allowing her to take part in the study.
Rooney stated, “While the outcome was not what anyone would have hoped for, I have learned a great deal from having pig kidneys for 130 days. I believe this experience can benefit and inspire many others on their journey to overcome kidney disease.”
Scientists are working on genetically modifying pigs so that their organs are more similar to human organs, addressing the significant shortage of transplantable human organs. With over 100,000 people on the US transplant list, most in need of kidneys, and thousands waiting and dying, this advancement is crucial.
Prior to Rooney’s transplant, only four other Americans had received experimental xenotransplants using gene-edited pig organs – two hearts and two kidneys – all of which failed within two months. The recipients, who were severely ill before the surgery, did not survive.
Currently, researchers are attempting to transplant these pig organs into patients with less severe illnesses, like Rooney. A man from New Hampshire who received pig kidneys in January is doing well, and a comprehensive study of pig kidney transplants is scheduled for this summer. A Chinese researcher also reported successful renal xenotransplants recently.
Since 2016, Rooney has been on dialysis and was ineligible for conventional transplants due to her body’s predisposition to reject human kidneys. Turning to pig kidneys proved successful for her, allowing her to extend her life significantly. She referred to herself as a “superwoman” and lived longer than anyone with gene-edited pig organs before her body began rejecting them in early April.
Dr. Robert Montgomery, a pioneer of Nyu XenoTransplant and Rooney’s surgeon, stated that the rejection is being investigated. He emphasized that removing the pig kidneys was a safer option than continuing with high-risk rejection drugs.
Montgomery explained, “We took a safe approach. Rooney is not worse off post-XenoTransplant. In fact, she feels better as she had a four-month break from dialysis.”
Prior to the rejection, Rooney experienced infections associated with dialysis, while her immunosuppressive anti-rejection drugs were slightly reduced, allowing her immune system to revitalize after the transplant. These factors likely contributed to the rejection of the new kidneys.
Rejection is a common concern following organ transplants, which can result in the loss of new organs. Doctors must strike a delicate balance between suppressing the patient’s immune system, fighting infections, and maintaining the new organs.
This challenge is even greater with xenotransplants, where patients still require immunosuppressive medications despite modifications made to pig organs to prevent immediate rejection. Researchers are exploring different combinations of medications to find the most effective approach.
Montgomery believes Rooney’s experience will yield valuable insights for future clinical trials. Achieving successful xenotransplants would be a significant achievement with benefits for patients in need of organ transplants.
On the last day of March, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital began surgery that they hoped would lead to lasting changes in the way the kidneys are implanted in people.
The patient that morning was not a human. It was a pig and was anesthetized on the table. The pig had one kidney missing and needed an implant.
Kidneys usually need to be transplanted within 24-36 hours, but the kidneys that enter the pig were removed 10 days before and frozen earlier that morning.
No one ever transplanted frozen organs into large animals. There were a lot of things that didn’t work out.
“I think there’s about a 50% chance that it will work,” said Kolkout Wygun, a surgical professor and team leader, before the surgery. Dr. Uygun is on the Scientific Advisory Committee of Sylvatica Biotech Inc., a company that develops freezing methods for organ maintenance.
But the promise from the organs of freezing and storage is fantastic.
There is a severe and continuous shortage of kidneys for transplants – That’s all 92,000 People are on the waiting list. One reason is that the 24-36 hour window is very short, so limit the number of recipients that are good matches.
How good is it to have a bank of stored frozen organs, as organ transplants can be like an elective surgery?
At least, it was a decades-long dream of a transplant surgeon.
However, the medical researchers’ attempts to freeze organs were thwarted at every turn. In many cases, ice crystals formed organs and destroyed them. The material was also intended to stop the crystals from forming, the anti-freeze agent was toxic and killed cells. Or the frozen organs became very brittle and cracked.
after Nintendo’s exciting one-hour live stream, we gained more insight into the highly anticipated sequel to the Switch on Wednesday. But how does the Switch 2 perform? Following the online presentation, I had the opportunity to test the new console for approximately four hours at a press event held at the Grand Palais in Paris, in a white box exhibition hall adorned with Nintendo red accents and lined with high-end TV screens and Switch 2 consoles. Additionally, there was a 90-minute roundtable discussion with three key figures behind the console: the hardware design lead, the producer, and the director. Here is what I discovered.
game
Smooth ride… Mario Kart World for the Nintendo Switch 2. Photo: Nintendo
Mario Kart World In this version, titled Playable Cow Adash, the knockout tour mode is featured. This mode replaces the traditional three-lap circuit with a sprint across a vast world map. With 24 racers, it is twice as fast as its predecessor, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. As you progress, large checkpoints appear on the horizon, with four racers dropping out at each checkpoint. This continues until the final stretch, where the Final Four is revealed. I anticipate Mario Kart Royale will be a fierce competition. The gameplay is intense, exciting, and incredibly smooth, reinvigorating even the most seasoned Mario Kart players.
Additionally, there is a more traditional Mario Kart experience for those who prefer it. You will race through various compositions of the world map, from driving through Boo’s cinema to running through the Toad brand manufacturing factory. Changes from the previous game include new weapons, less agile skids, less claustrophobic tracks, and a stylish ease similar to Stephen Van Zandt.
Super Mario Party Jamboree
Strange… Super Mario Party Jamboree. Photo: Nintendo
Mario Party, a Nintendo party game franchise, offers a variety of board games and mini-games where players can compete against each other. The series allows Nintendo to showcase the quirky side of their hardware, with the camera functioning well in the mini-games I tried. One of the mini-games, called the Goombalancing Act, involves catching falling Goombas and stacking them on your head. The game utilizes the built-in camera and microphone, creating fun and interactive gameplay experiences.
Drag X Drive combines elements of Nintendo’s Rocket League and wheelchair basketball, providing players with a unique and engaging gaming experience. The game features different modes that require precision and accuracy, making it challenging yet enjoyable.
Hardware
Repetitive hops…Nintendo Switch 2. Photo: Nintendo
Switch 2 represents an incremental upgrade rather than a complete redesign. The focus is on practical improvements that enhance the overall user experience. It boasts a wider model with a larger screen, providing a more modern and refined feel while still maintaining durability and comfort in handheld mode. The Joy-Con controllers feature large buttons that feel sturdier and more comfortable, making the gameplay more enjoyable.
In terms of performance, Switch 2 excels with minimal loading times and smooth gameplay, showcasing its capabilities even with graphically intensive games like Cyberpunk and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Pro Controller offers enhanced joystick functionality, maintaining compatibility with previous generation controllers for added convenience.
verdict
Nintendo faces the challenge of following up on the success of the original Switch and expanding its user base amidst a changing gaming landscape. With the Switch 2, Nintendo aims to build on its established fan base while appealing to a broader audience. The new console’s impressive performance and innovative features position it as a strong contender in the competitive home console market, demonstrating Nintendo’s commitment to delivering top-notch gaming experiences.
Astronomers using Near-infrared camera (NIRCAM) NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope equipped and captured corona graphic images of the HR 8799 and 51 Eridani Planetary Systems. These observations revealed HR 8799 and four known gas giants around 51 Eridani. They also revealed that all HR 8799 planets are carbon dioxide-rich.
This Webb/Nircam image shows the multiplanet system HR 8799. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI/W. BALMER, JHU/L. PUEYO, STSCI/M. PERRIN, STSCI.
HR 8799 is a star from 30 million years ago, about 129 light years away from the Pegasus constellation.
Hosts large chip disks and four supergipers: HR 8799b, c, d, and e.
Unlike most exoplanet discoveries inferred from data analysis, these planets are seen directly via ground telescopes.
“We have shown that the atmosphere of these planets has quite a lot of heavy elements, such as carbon, oxygen and iron.
“Given what we know about the stars, it's likely that it indicates that they were formed through Core landing this is an exciting conclusion for the planet we can see firsthand. ”
The planets within HR 8799 are still hot from the formation of the turbulent, ejecting a large amount of infrared rays that provide valuable data about how scientists formed.
Giant planets can take shape in two ways. Like giants in the solar system, by slowly building heavy elements that attract gas, or the particles of gas rapidly merge into giant objects from a cooling disk of a young star made of the same kind of material as the stars.
The first process is called core accretion and the second is called disk instability.
Knowing which formation models are more common can provide clues to scientists distinguish the types of planets they have found in other systems.
“Our hope in this type of study is to understand our own solar system, life and ourselves, in comparison to other exoplanet systems.
“We want to take photos of other solar systems and see how they look similar or different from us.”
“From there we can feel how strange or normal our solar system is.”
This Webb/Nircam image shows the 51 Eridani system. Image credits: NASA/ESA/CSA/STSCI/W. BALMER, JHU/L. PUEYO, STSCI/M. PERRIN, STSCI.
51 Eridanus is located approximately 97 light years from Earth in the constellation of Eridanus.
51 If called ERI, C ERIDANI, or HD 29391, the star is only 20 million years old and by astronomy standards it is merely a toddler.
Host one giant planet, 51 Eridani B. It orbits the star at a distance of approximately 13 AU (astronomical units), equivalent to that of Saturn and Uranus in the solar system.
Images of HR 8799 and 51 rib ticks were made possible by Webb's Nircam Coronagraph.
This technique allowed astronomers to look for infrared rays emitted by planets at wavelengths absorbed by a particular gas.
They discovered that the four HR 8799 planets contain more heavy elements than previously thought.
“There is other evidence suggesting these four HR 8799 planets formed using this bottom-up approach,” says Dr. Laurent Puueyo, an astronomer at the Institute of Space Telescope Science.
“How common is this on planets we don't know yet?
“We knew that Webb could measure the colour of outer planets in a directly imaged system,” added Dr. Remi Somer of the Institute of Space Telescope Science.
“We waited for 10 years to ensure that the finely tuned operations of the telescope had access to the inner planet.”
“We now have results and we can do some interesting science.”
William O. Balmer et al. 2025. JWST-TST High Contrast: Living on the Wedge, or Nircam Bar Coronagraph reveals CO2 HR 8799 and 51 ERI extracts atmosphere. AJ 169, 209; doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ADB1C6
Qnodeos is an operating system that allows you to connect different types of quantum computers.
Studio Oostrum/Blijft Eigendom Van Fotograaf
Researchers created the first operating system for quantum networks, making it easier to link quantum computers to each other.
“By building only hardware, we make quantum networks useless.” Stephanie Wenner At Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She has been working on connecting quantum computers to a network for a long time. This allows for the exchange of information very safely and perform calculations in new ways, but this requires understanding of the technical nity-gritty of each device involved. Together with her colleagues, Wehner has now developed a way to run quantum networks more universally.
The operating systems the team has built are software that allows you to control devices within a quantum network regardless of the type of qubit or qubit that make them. Such control devices become more difficult due to the fact that networked quantum computers receive both quantum information from other quantum computers and traditional signals from classical computers that serve the interface.
To demonstrate that an operating system called Qnodeos can handle both, researchers tested it on two types of quantum computers and several different tasks. They used two quantum computers made from specially processed diamonds and another quantum computer made from electric charged atoms. Using these two types of quantum hardware, researchers ran a delegated quantum computing test program, similar to using laptops to perform calculations in the cloud. We also tested the ability of Qnodeos to handle multitasking by running two programs at once.
Joe Fitzsimmons At the Quantum Computing Startup Horizon Quantum, based in Singapore and Ireland, it states that this is a major advance in laying the foundations of the quantum internet. He says, “If you start to take the idea of seriously building a general-purpose quantum network, there's a lot to do,” and the new operating system will lead to a long list of things to develop next, such as routing protocols.
Wehner says that Qnodeos development is like creating coloring pages. They outline all the shapes and struggle to color them all. For example, the work raised the question of how to write a scheduling program for quantum networks. “This wasn't even on my radar before, but now I'm very excited,” she says.
SpaceX is set to launch the Starship Megarocket on its upcoming test flight on Monday, approximately six weeks after the top stage of the vehicle exploded over the Atlantic during its final test.
Following the incident on January 16th, SpaceX lost contact with Starship about eight minutes after the flight, leading to subsequent explosions that scattered debris and small fragments near Turks and Caicos. Local authorities confirmed no injuries occurred.
The US Federal Aviation Administration initiated an investigation after the accident and grounded the rocket during the probe. On Friday, the agency announced clearance for the spaceship to resume flights, although the investigation remains ongoing.
SpaceX’s own investigation identified the “attic” section as the source of the leak that caused propellant to escape, triggering a fire and shutting down most of the spacecraft’s engines in a controlled sequence.
Strips of the recent SpaceX launch dotted the sky on January 16th. Courtesy Todd Martin
Data transmission ceased over eight minutes into the test flight, resulting in the vehicle disintegrating three minutes later.
Subsequent to the incident, SpaceX implemented several hardware and operational modifications to Starship’s upper stage, without disclosing specific details of the upgrades.
The eighth test flight for Starship, originally planned for Friday, encountered brief delays without explanation.
The FAA green-lit the flight, amidst broader fiscal and personnel reductions targeting various federal agencies during the Trump administration’s tenure. Reuters reported that the Government Efficiency Bureau, spearheaded by SpaceX’s Elon Musk, engaged with the FAA, with SpaceX engineers assisting as specialized government personnel.
The existence of Doge personnel within the FAA’s commercial spaceflight division overseeing private companies like SpaceX remains undocumented, prompting some lawmakers and critics, including Senator Ed Markey, to voice reservations regarding potential conflicts of interest.
The planned Monday launch aims to deploy four mock Starlink satellites mid-flight, marking the first payload release by the vehicle.
Upon separation from the second stage, Starship’s first Hull King stage is slated to return to the launch pad, where SpaceX intends to “catch” it using extensive mechanical equipment at the rocket’s launch tower. This stage was successfully retrieved during the January flight, signaling partial testing success for the company.
The catch maneuver is pivotal in SpaceX’s ambition to establish Starship as a fully reusable rocket system.
If the launch proceeds as planned, the upper stage will soar for about an hour on Monday before splashing down in the Indian Ocean off Western Australia.
Standing at 400 feet tall, the spacecraft constitutes the most potent rocket ever developed, comprising a super-heavy first-stage booster and an upper-stage spaceship.
Envisioned to play a crucial role in NASA’s moon missions, SpaceX has been selected by the agency to ferry astronauts during the Artemis III mission scheduled for 2027. Musk hinted at potential application for future Mars missions utilizing the spacecraft.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — Blue Origin successfully launched a massive new rocket on its inaugural test flight on Thursday, sending a prototype satellite into orbit thousands of miles above Earth.
Named after the first American to orbit the Earth, the New Glenn rocket took off from Florida and lifted off from the same launch pad that was used for NASA’s Mariner and Pioneer spacecraft half a century ago.
Developed over many years with substantial funding from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the 98-meter-long rocket carried an experimental platform designed to transport the satellite and deploy it into a designated orbit.
With all seven main engines firing at liftoff, the rocket ascended through the early morning sky, exciting the crowds gathered along the nearby beach. Bezos was actively involved in the launch control, and employees of Blue Origin cheered as the spacecraft successfully reached orbit 13 minutes later, earning praise from SpaceX’s Elon Musk.
Although the first stage booster failed to land on the barge in the Atlantic Ocean, the company emphasized that a more significant milestone was achieved. Bezos had mentioned before the flight that attempting to land the booster on the first try was “a bit wild.”
“We did it!” exclaimed Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp about reaching orbit with a thumbs up. “Heading to splashdown and trying again on the landing.”
For this test mission, the satellite was designed to remain attached to the second stage while orbiting the Earth. The plan was to place the second stage in a stable orbit high above, following NASA guidelines to reduce space debris.
New Glenn is set to conduct more missions in the future, carrying spacecraft and eventually enabling astronauts to orbit the Earth and beyond, including to the moon.
Founded by Bezos 25 years ago, Blue Origin plans to launch a paid passenger service starting in 2021, aiming to explore the far reaches of the universe. Their suborbital flights from Texas will use a smaller rocket named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space. The towering New Glenn, honoring John Glenn, stands five times taller.
Blue Origin has invested over $1 billion in the New Glenn launch site, refurbishing Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s historic Complex 36. The launch site is located 9 miles (14 kilometers) from the company’s control center and rocket factory near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center entrance.
The company plans to conduct six to eight New Glenn flights during this year, with the next one scheduled for the coming spring.
Bezos declined to disclose his personal investment in the program during a recent interview, emphasizing that Blue Origin does not see itself in direct competition with Musk’s SpaceX, which has long been a leader in rocket launches.
“There’s enough room for multiple winners,” Bezos stated, highlighting that this marks “the dawn of a new era in space exploration, where we collaborate as an industry to decrease the cost of space exploration and increase access to space.”
New Glenn joins the ranks of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, Europe’s enhanced Ariane 6, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), and the Saturn V in enabling human spaceflight. It is the latest among several large new rockets launched in recent years, including SpaceX’s Starship.
Standing at approximately 400 feet (123 meters) tall, SpaceX’s Starship is the largest rocket to date. Musk mentioned a possible seventh test flight of the entire rocket from Texas later on Thursday, aiming to replicate the success of catching the returning booster with a giant mechanical arm in October.
NASA plans to utilize Starship for landing astronauts on the moon in the coming years as part of the Artemis program. Blue Origin’s lunar lander, named Blue Moon, will play a role in future moon missions as well.
As NASA transitions leadership, Administrator Bill Nelson has advocated for fostering competition in lunar landing capabilities, resembling the approach of contracting multiple companies for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. Nelson will be stepping down when the new administration takes office.
Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman has been nominated by the President to lead NASA, pending Senate confirmation. Isaacman, who has embarked on two privately funded SpaceX flights to orbit, will oversee the agency’s future endeavors in space exploration.
Initially planned to send twin spacecraft to Mars for NASA, New Glenn’s debut was postponed due to delays. Nonetheless, Blue Origin intends to continue testing the New Glenn rocket, with potential future missions in the pipeline. The two small spacecraft, dubbed Escapade, will orbit Mars to study its atmosphere and magnetic field.
SpaceX conducted the seventh test flight of its Starship rocket on Thursday but lost contact with the rocket’s upper stage as it continued into space.
The company’s webcast revealed that Starship ceased transmitting data about nine minutes after liftoff.
“We have certainly lost the ship,” stated Kate Tice, SpaceX’s senior manager of quality systems engineering.
According to SpaceX’s statement on X.com, the ship disintegrated during its ascent burn, and the company will analyze the flight test data to determine the cause.
Following the loss of contact, social media users shared photos and videos depicting a fireball near the Caribbean islands. The trajectory of Starship’s launch indicated that the fireball was likely debris from the rocket re-entering the atmosphere.
Starship took off from SpaceX’s commercial Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, around 5:30 p.m. ET, and the rocket’s “super heavy” booster successfully returned to the launch site. This marked the second successful booster catch during a flight, unlike the previous flight.
No crew members were on board the Starship flight, but Elon Musk intended to carry 10 “Starlink simulators” in the rocket’s payload bay to deploy satellite-like objects into space. This test is crucial for SpaceX to launch the next generation of larger and heavier Starlink satellites.
The Starlink simulator’s composition remains undisclosed, but it is likely a mass simulator commonly used in rocket development. Starship was scheduled to reach space, circle the Earth, and splash down in the Indian Ocean before losing contact.
SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of rocket technology with each Starship flight, aiming to assess features like thermal tiles and reentry trajectories.
Valued at $350 billion, Starship stands as the most powerful and tallest rocket to date, dominating the space industry with its numerous successful tests.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket system comprises the towering 403-foot Starship stacked atop the 232-foot superheavy booster, powered by the collective force of 33 Raptor engines generating 16.7 million pounds of thrust.
Starship utilizes liquid oxygen and liquid methane, requiring over 10 million pounds of propellant for launch. The current launch marked Ship 33, representing the enhanced “Block 2” version with significant upgrades.
This flight trial included a booster powered by a reused Raptor engine from its fifth test flight, contributing to SpaceX’s goal of creating a fully reusable system for cargo and crew missions beyond Earth.
Moreover, Starship plays a vital role in NASA’s plans for lunar exploration, with SpaceX awarded a contract as part of NASA’s Artemis program to utilize Starship as a manned lunar lander to return astronauts to the moon.
Blue Origin's reusable New Glenn rocket successfully launched and reached orbit, but engineers were unable to safely land the first stage rocket booster on Earth as they had hoped. There wasn't. Still, the company's first launch into orbit shows that Jeff Bezos' space company can challenge Elon Musk's SpaceX's current dominance in the commercial space launch business.
“We are extremely proud that New Glenn reached orbit on its first attempt,” said Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp. in a statement.
New Glenn, as tall as a 30-story building, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida around 2 a.m. local time (7 a.m. Japan time). The rocket has experienced numerous delays and setbacks, with its last launch being canceled due to unwanted ice forming in some of the rocket engine pipes.
About 13 minutes after liftoff, the rocket's second stage reached orbit. This has been Blue Origin's goal since its founding more than 20 years ago. It carried a test payload called the Blue Ring Pathfinder, which included communications equipment, power systems, and a flight computer.
Another goal of this mission was to land the rocket booster on a floating landing platform in the Atlantic Ocean so it could be reused on future missions to reduce overall costs. However, engineers stopped receiving data from the booster shortly after launch. “We knew it was an ambitious goal to land the booster on the first try. We learned a lot from today and plan to try again at our next launch this spring,” Limp said.
December 2024 Starship rocket preparing for seventh flight
space x
SpaceX's next Starship test flight will be its most ambitious yet, and for the first time will include a new “Block 2” version with a number of design updates.
What is a starship?
Starship is the most powerful rocket ever flown. SpaceX aims to develop the vehicle into a quickly reusable vehicle that can carry large payloads into orbit, land on Earth, and launch another mission within hours.
It's a bit confusing, but Starship is the name given to both the entire spaceship, which consists of a super heavy booster and the ship it launches, as well as a single ship once separated from the booster.
SpaceX is rapidly iterating on both Super Heavy and Starship, taking a Silicon Valley approach to design that considers regular testing and dramatic failures simply part of the process. However, this will be the first test of the so-called Block 2 Starship upper stage.
What's new in Starship Block 2?
the company says on the website Starship's electronics have been “completely redesigned” and now include more than 30 cameras. It also has 25% more propellant, is 3.1 meters taller, and has repositioned front flaps.
Also included for the first time is an early version of the pin needed to be captured and reused in ground towers. However, SpaceX currently only has one tower that is used to capture boosters, so there will be no attempt to capture Starships for reuse this time. A second tower is under construction.
What does a test flight involve?
SpaceX expects the upper stage to reach space, complete a partial orbit around Earth, safely re-enter the atmosphere, and fall in a controlled manner into the Indian Ocean. The Super Heavy's first stage must return to the launch site and be captured by the launch tower's mechazilla or “chopstick” arm. If successful, this will be the second capture.
The launch marks a milestone for SpaceX as it marks the first time Starship hardware will be reused. One of the Super Heavy's 33 Raptor engines was previously used on Starship's fifth test flight. This was the only test to date in which the booster was safely returned, so it was the company's first opportunity to reuse something.
Another first is Starship's deployment of 10 fake Starlink satellites. These mock satellites are comparable in size and weight to the company's upcoming third-generation Internet Beam hardware and will test Starship's ability to safely launch payloads into orbit. Previous Starship flights have never carried a payload. Toy bananas carried on Flight 6.
A number of other smaller tests will be performed during the seventh flight to provide engineers with valuable data. For example, one of the Starship's Raptor engines was scheduled to be reignited in space, and some heat-resistant tiles were removed as a test. Several types of new thermal tiles are also being tested, including those with active cooling capabilities.
According to several NOTAMs (Notifications to Airmen – Warning Pilots of Unusual or Potentially Hazardous Activities) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the launch slot given to the company is mid-January 10th. It starts at 4pm standard time (10pm UK time).
The launch period runs until January 16, giving the company some leeway in the event the launch is postponed due to technical issues or bad weather.
Like all Starship launches, Flight 7 will lift off from SpaceX's property in Boca Chica, Texas, and will be streamed live online.
What happened on previous Starship launches?
During the first test flight on April 20, 2023, three of the 33 engines in the booster stage failed to ignite. The rocket then lost control and self-destructed.
During the second test flight on November 18, 2023, the flight progressed further, gaining enough altitude to separate the booster and upper stage as planned. The booster stage ultimately exploded before reaching the ground, and the upper stage self-destructed before reaching space.
Test Flight 3 on March 14, 2024 was at least partially successful as the upper stage reached space again, but it did not return to Earth unscathed.
The next flight was on June 6, when the upper stage reached an altitude of more than 200 kilometers and flew at speeds of more than 27,000 kilometers per hour. Both the booster and upper stage completed a soft landing at sea.
In Test Flight 5, the superheavy booster dropped onto the launch pad and landed safely on SpaceX's launch tower, known as Mekazilla, supported by “chopsticks.”
During Test Flight 6, Starship reached an altitude of 228 kilometers and splashed down in the Indian Ocean. Super Heavy aborted its landing on the launch tower due to a communications failure and instead made a controlled water landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
On December 24, 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will soar just 6.1 million km (3.8 million miles) above the surface of our home planet and hurtle through the solar atmosphere at 692,000 km (430,000 miles) per hour. I did. This is the fastest speed the spacecraft has ever achieved. An object made by humans. A signal received two days later confirmed that the spacecraft had safely passed the encounter and was operating normally.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaches the Sun. Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Near the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe relies on a carbon foam shield to protect the probe from the extreme heat in the upper part of the Sun’s atmosphere, called the corona, which can exceed 500,000 degrees Celsius (1 million degrees Fahrenheit).
The shield is designed to reach temperatures of 1,427 degrees Celsius (2,600 degrees Fahrenheit) while keeping the instruments behind it shaded at a comfortable room temperature.
In the hot but low-density corona, the spacecraft’s shield is expected to warm up to 982 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Flying this close to the Sun is a historic moment in humanity’s first mission to the stars,” said Dr. Nikki Fox, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
“Studying the Sun up close will allow us to better understand its impact on the entire solar system, including the technologies we use every day on Earth and in space, and will also help us understand the workings of stars throughout the universe. We can learn about and help us explore habitable worlds beyond our home planet.
“Parker Solar Probe will venture into one of the most extreme environments in the universe,” said Dr. Noor Rawafi, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and project scientist for the Parker Solar Probe. It has exceeded all expectations.”
“This mission ushered in a new golden age of space exploration and brings us closer than ever to solving the sun’s deepest and most enduring mysteries.”
Parker Solar Probe’s record-breaking distance of 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) may seem far away, but on a cosmic scale it’s incredibly close. Image credit: NASA/APL.
“Being able to get a spacecraft this close to the sun is monumental,” said John Wurtzberger, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and Parker Solar Probe mission systems engineer. .
“This is a challenge the space science community has wanted to address since 1958, and we’ve spent decades advancing technology to make it possible.”
The Parker Solar Probe will fly through the solar corona to help scientists better understand how the region gets hot, track the origins of the solar wind, and discover how energetic particles We can make measurements that will help us discover how it accelerates to half the speed of light.
“This data is extremely important to the scientific community because it gives us new advantages,” said Dr. Kelly Kolek, a program scientist at NASA Headquarters.
“Parker Solar Probe revolutionizes our understanding of the Sun by providing first-hand knowledge of what is happening in the Sun’s atmosphere.”
So far, the rover is only transmitting that it is safe, but it will soon arrive at a location where it can downlink the data it collects on this latest solar pass.
“The data coming down from the spacecraft will provide fresh information about places we humans have never been before. This is an amazing accomplishment,” said Joe, director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division. Dr. Westlake said.
The spacecraft’s next planned solar approaches will take place on March 22, 2025 and June 19, 2025.
Researchers at Northwestern University have successfully achieved quantum state transfer over a 30.2 km fiber carrying 400 Gbps C-band classical traffic. The ability for quantum and conventional networks to operate within the same optical fiber will aid in the large-scale deployment of quantum network technology.
thomas others. Demonstrated quantum state teleportation over 30.2 km of fiber with conventional high-power 400 Gbps data traffic. By employing different methods to suppress SpRS noise, we have increased the classical power that can transmit many Tbps aggregate data rates while maintaining sufficient teleportation fidelity. Image credit: Thomas others., doi: 10.1364/OPTICA.540362.
The fiber optic infrastructure and telecommunications technologies that underpin the Internet have been widely adopted by researchers aiming to develop quantum networks capable of applications such as quantum-enhanced cryptography, sensing, and networked quantum computing.
However, the feasibility of quantum networking at scale remains uncertain, as much of the existing fiber infrastructure still carries traditional communications traffic, and new fiber is expensive to lease and install. It depends on its ability to propagate within the network. Uses the same fiber as high-power classical signals.
“In optical communications, all signals are converted to light,” said Prem Kumar, a professor at Northwestern University.
“Conventional signals in classical communications are typically made up of millions of particles of light, whereas quantum information uses a single photon.”
Professor Kumar and his colleagues have discovered a way to allow delicate photons to avoid crowded traffic.
“This is incredibly exciting because no one thought it was possible,” Professor Kumar said.
“Our research points the way to next-generation quantum and classical networks that share a unified fiber optic infrastructure.”
“Essentially, this opens the door to taking quantum communications to the next level.”
After studying in detail how light is scattered in fiber optic cables, researchers have discovered a less crowded wavelength of light at which to place photons.
Next, we added a special filter to reduce noise from normal internet traffic.
“We carefully studied how light scatters and placed photons at decision points where that scattering mechanism is minimized,” Professor Kumar said.
“We found that quantum communication can be performed without interference from simultaneously existing classical channels.”
To test the new method, the scientists installed a 20-mile-long fiber optic cable with photons at each end.
They then transmitted quantum information and regular internet traffic simultaneously.
Finally, we measured the quality of the quantum information at the receiving end by taking quantum measurements at intermediate points while running the teleportation protocol.
They discovered that quantum information was successfully transmitted even in the midst of busy Internet traffic.
Next, the authors plan to extend the experiment to even longer distances.
They also plan to use two pairs of entangled photons to demonstrate entanglement swapping, another important milestone leading to distributed quantum applications.
Finally, we are exploring the possibility of running experiments via underground optical cables in the real world rather than on spools in the lab.
“Quantum teleportation has the ability to securely provide quantum connectivity between geographically separated nodes,” Professor Kumar said.
“But many people have long thought that no one would build the specialized infrastructure to transmit particles of light.”
“If you choose the wavelength properly, you don't need to build new infrastructure. Classical and quantum communications can coexist.”
of the team paper Published in this month's magazine optica.
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Jordan M. Thomas others. 2024. Quantum teleportation coexists with classical communication using optical fibers. optica 11 (12): 1700-1707;doi: 10.1364/OPTICA.540362
This article is adapted from the original release by Northwestern University.
The orca who captured hearts worldwide in 2018 by refusing to let go of her deceased calf has now welcomed her second baby in the last four years.
The Whale Research Center has confirmed that their team has started monitoring the new baby girl on Monday, giving her the alphanumeric name “J61.” They are closely monitoring and observing the calf’s well-being.
The mother, known as Tahlequah with the designation number J35, is an experienced mother. The center is concerned about the health of both J61 and her mother during this critical period.
The early years are especially risky for newborn calves, with high mortality rates in the first year. The Center for Whale Research expressed their hope that J35 will be able to keep J61 safe through this challenging time.
Tahlequah made headlines globally in 2018 when she carried her deceased calf for 17 days, moving people around the world with her display of grief. Her actions prompted Washington State Governor Jay Inslee to establish the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force for conservation efforts.
J61 is Tahlequah’s third surviving calf, following J47 or “Notch” born in 2010 and J57 or “Phoenix” born in 2020. They belong to the J pod of killer whales, residing in the coastal waters between Washington state and Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
The J-Pod is one of three pods of Southern Resident killer whales, totaling about 73 orcas across the pods. Conservation groups are working to protect and restore the declining population of these majestic creatures.
Threats to killer whales include entanglement in fishing nets, food scarcity, human interference, and environmental pollution. The declining population highlights the urgent need for conservation efforts to protect these endangered animals.
Contaminants in the water pose a significant threat to orcas, with industrial chemicals accumulating in the food chain and affecting the health of the whales. Female southern whales and their offspring are particularly vulnerable to these pollutants.
NOAA’s 2022 pod health assessment raises concerns about the impact of contaminants on the Southern Resident killer whale population, emphasizing the need for immediate action to protect these magnificent creatures.
Scientists sequenced and analyzed the genomes of seven people who lived between 42,000 and 49,000 years ago in Ranis, Germany, and Zlatiks, Czech Republic. As a result, the Ranis and Zlati Kush were linked by distant kinship ties, and that they were part of the same small, isolated group, representing the deepest known split from lineages outside Africa. was shown. The Ranis genome contains a Neanderthal component derived from a single admixture event common to all non-Africans, which the authors date back 45,000 to 49,000 years ago. This means that all non-African ancestors sequenced so far existed in a common population during this time, and further The human remains suggest that they represent a distinct non-African population.
Illustration of the Zlati Kush, who belonged to the same group as the Ranis and had close relationships with two of them. Image credit: Tom Björklund / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Dr. Alev Schumer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolution said, “After modern humans left Africa, they met and interbred with Neanderthals, and as a result, approximately 2 to 3 percent of Neanderthal DNA is present in all areas outside Africa.'' It's in people's genomes.” Anthropology and its colleagues.
“However, little is known about the genetics of Europe's first settlers or the timing of interbreeding between Neanderthals and non-Africans.”
“An important site in Europe is Zlaty Kush in the Czech Republic, where the complete skull of a single individual who lived about 45,000 years ago was discovered and previously genetically analyzed.”
“However, due to the lack of archaeological context, we were unable to link this person to an archaeologically defined group.”
“Ilsenhöhle, located in Ranis, Germany, about 230 km from the nearby site Zlatiks, is known for a particular type of archeology, Rincombi-Ranissian-Jersmanovičian (LRJ), dating back about 45,000 years. ”
“It has long been debated whether the LRJ culture was created by Neanderthals or early modern humans.”
“Although most small bone fragments have been preserved at Ranis, previous research was able to analyze mitochondrial DNA from 13 of these remains, indicating that they belong to modern humans rather than Neanderthals. It turns out.”
“However, because mitochondrial sequences represent only a small portion of genetic information, their relationship to other modern humans has remained a mystery.”
In the new study, the authors analyzed the nuclear genomes of 13 specimens taken from Ranis and found that they represented at least six individuals.
Based on the size of the bones, it was determined that two of the children were infants, and that three were genetically male and three were female.
Interestingly, these individuals included mothers and daughters as well as more distant biological relatives.
The researchers also sequenced more DNA from the female skull found in Zlati Kush, producing a high-quality genome for this individual.
“To our surprise, we discovered that there is a fifth or sixth degree genetic relationship between the two people from Zlati Kush and Ranis,” Dr. Schumer said.
“This means that Zlati Kush is genetically part of an extended family of Ranis and likely created LRJ-type tools as well.”
Of the six Ranis bones, one bone is particularly well preserved, in fact, it is the best preserved modern human bone from the Pleistocene for DNA searches.
This allowed the research team to obtain a high-quality genome from this male individual, called Ranis13.
Together, the Ranis13 and Zlatý kůň genomes represent the oldest high-quality living human genome sequenced to date.
Analyzing genetic variation associated with phenotypic traits, scientists found that Ranis and Zlati Kush individuals carried mutations associated with dark skin and hair color, as well as brown eyes. I did. This reflects the recent African origins of this early European population.
By analyzing parts of the genomes of Ranis and Zlati Kush inherited from the same ancestor, the authors found that their populations consisted of at most a few hundred individuals and were spread over a larger area. We estimate that there is a possibility.
They found no evidence that this small early modern human population contributed to later European or other world populations.
The Zlati Kush/Ranis people coexisted with Neanderthals in Europe, raising the possibility that Neanderthals were among their recent ancestors after they migrated to Europe.
Previous studies of modern humans dating back more than 40,000 years have found evidence of recent admixture between modern humans and Neanderthals.
However, no such evidence for recent Neanderthal admixture was detected in the genomes of Zlati-Kush/Ranis individuals.
Illustration by Zlatý kůň/Ranis group. Image credit: Tom Björklund / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
“The fact that no such Neanderthal ancestry remains in Ranis and Zlati Kush, while modern human populations that may have later arrived in Europe inherited such Neanderthal ancestry. is an older Zlati Kush/Ranis lineage This could mean that they entered Europe by a different route or may not have overlapped with the areas inhabited by Neanderthals.''Also Max Planck. said Dr. Kay Pruefer of the Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
The Zlati Kush/Ranis population represents the earliest divergence from modern human groups that migrated from Africa and later dispersed across Eurasia.
Despite this early separation, the Neanderthal ancestry of Zlatikush and Ranis derives from the same ancient admixture event that can be detected in all peoples outside Africa today.
By analyzing the length of Neanderthal-contributed segments in the high-coverage Ranis13 genome and using direct radiocarbon dating of this individual, researchers found that this common Neanderthal admixture dates back to 45,000 years ago. It was estimated to be 49,000 years old.
Since all modern non-African populations share this Neanderthal ancestry with the Zlati Kush and Ranis, this means that approximately 45,000 to 49,000 years ago, non-African populations of consistent ancestry still existed. It means you must have done it.
Dr Johannes Kraus, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, said: “These results provide a deeper understanding of the early pioneers who settled in Europe.”
“They also suggest that the remains of modern humans more than 50,000 years old found outside Africa have interbred with Neanderthals and are part of the general non-African population now found in many parts of the world. This indicates that it may not have been the case.”
AP Sumer others. The genomes of the earliest modern humans constrain the timing of admixture with Neanderthals. naturepublished online on December 12, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-08420-x
This article is adapted from the original release by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Scientists recently performed a groundbreaking test on a baleen whale to assess its hearing abilities. This controversial step is bringing scientists closer to understanding how the largest and most intelligent creatures on Earth perceive the world.
In 2023, researchers captured two young minke whales off the coast of Norway, attached electrodes to their skin using suction cups, and measured their brain waves while playing tones at various frequencies. The young whales were both over 12 feet long and weighed around one ton each.
The findings of the research, published in Science on Thursday, surprised whale researchers by suggesting that whales have the ability to hear much higher frequencies than previously thought, exceeding the hearing capabilities of most mammals, including humans.
Dorian Hauser, the study’s lead author and director of conservation biology at the National Marine Mammal Foundation, described the discovery as “a little shocking.” He explained that whales have ultrasonic hearing, likely to detect killer whales, their primary predators, as they hunt prey using echolocation signals in a similar frequency range.
The startling revelation comes at a time of increasing concern over the impact of ocean noise from sources like naval sonar, oil and gas exploration, and shipping traffic, which can alter marine mammal behavior, cause hearing loss, and even lead to death. This new information may lead to revising regulations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and restricting certain activities.
Susan Parks, a biology professor at Syracuse University, stated, “High-frequency sound from ocean activities has not typically been considered a threat to baleen whales, but this may now need to be reevaluated,” as mentioned in the study.
The research concluded a longstanding disagreement in the whale research community. Previously, baleen whales were never captured for hearing tests due to safety concerns for both the whales and researchers, given their large size.
Certain scientists and activists opposed the four-year Minke Whale Hearing Project, fearing the whales could experience stress and even mortality during brief captivity. The project faced criticism, with organizations like Whale and Dolphin Conservation advocating against it in an open letter to the Norwegian government.
The hearing abilities of the largest whale species on Earth have long been a mystery due to the limitations of studying these massive creatures in captivity. However, through innovative methods like the Minke Whale Hearing Project, researchers are making strides in understanding how these animals experience the world through sound.
Brandon Southall, a scientist involved in developing standards for ocean sound exposure, believes that the research could influence future regulations to protect marine mammals from harmful underwater noise sources. He emphasized the importance of conducting such studies carefully and professionally to guide conservation efforts.
While the Minke Whale Hearing Project is currently on hold, researchers hope to continue the exploration of these fascinating creatures’ hearing abilities should further funding become available.
Martian “spiders” are small, dark, spider-shaped formations up to 1 km (0.6 miles) in diameter. The leading theory is that they form when spring sunlight hits a layer of carbon dioxide that builds up during the dark winter months. In a new experiment, a team of NASA scientists has recreated these formation processes for the first time, simulating Martian temperatures and air pressure.
Examples of “Keefer Zoo” features proposed to have formed by seasonal CO2 sublimation dynamics on Mars: (a) a “skinny” spider within layered deposits in Antarctica, (b) a dark spot on a layer of translucent CO2 slab ice covering a group of “fat” spiders in an “Inca city” on Mars, (c) a “fried egg” showing a ring of dark dust surrounded by a bright halo, (d) patterned ground within high Antarctic latitudes with dark directional fans and some bright white fans indicating wind direction, (e) a bright halo surrounding a Swiss cheese depression, (f) a “lacey topography”, a type of patterned ground suggested to be polygonal patterned ground that was later scraped and eroded by surface-flowing CO2 gas from the Keefer model. Image credit: HiRISE/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/University of Arizona.
Today, Mars is a dynamic planet with a rich variety of surface changes, despite its thin atmosphere and cold climate.
In winter, most of Mars' mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere accumulates on the surface as frost.
In spring, it sublimates and takes on forms never seen on Earth.
These include dark Dalmatian spots, directional alluvial fans, “fried eggs”, grooves which may have dark finger-like flows or light “halos” in spring, dendritic “spiders”, sand grooves in active dunes and growing dendritic valleys.
These features have been detected in the loose material around the Antarctic and in the inter-dune material towards the mid-Antarctic latitudes, although some smaller phenomena have also been detected in the Arctic.
Many of these features make up the so-called “Kiefer zoo,” or collection of surface expressions. Explained It was first published in 2003 and was proposed to be produced by the solid-state greenhouse effect.
“In the Kiefer model, sunlight penetrates a translucent ice sheet in spring, trapping thermal radiation and heating the topsoil beneath the ice, causing the impermeable sheet to sublime from beneath,” explained Dr. Lauren McKeown of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and her colleagues.
“Through this process, the spiders are thought to be caused by high-velocity gases scraping away topsoil beneath the ice sheet, littering the ice surface with fan and patchy variations that are then deposited by dust and gas plumes.”
The study authors were able to create a complete cycle of the Kiefer model in the lab and confirm the formation of several types of Kiefer zookeeper features.
“The greatest challenge in conducting the experiment was replicating the conditions found on the polar surface of Mars, namely the extremely low air pressure and temperatures of minus 185 degrees Celsius (minus 301 degrees Fahrenheit),” the researchers said.
“To do this, we used a liquid nitrogen-cooled test chamber, the Dirty Under Vacuum Simulation Chamber for Icy Environments (DUSTIE).”
“In our experiments, we cooled a Martian soil simulant in a container submerged in a bath of liquid nitrogen.”
“We placed it in the Dusty Chamber, where the air pressure was lowered to the same as in the southern hemisphere of Mars.”
“Carbon dioxide gas was then released into the chamber, where it condensed from the gas into ice over a period of three to five hours.”
“It took a lot of trial and error before we found the right conditions to make the ice thick and clear enough for the experiment to work.”
“Once we have ice with the right properties, we place a heater in the chamber underneath the simulant to heat it up and crack the ice.”
“We were thrilled when we finally saw plumes of carbon dioxide gas coming out of the powdered simulant.”
a paper The explanation for these experiments is Planetary Science Journal.
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Lauren E. McKeon others2024. Laboratory-scale investigation of the Kiefer Model of Mars. Planet Science Journal 5, 195;doi:10.3847/PSJ/ad67c8
Scientists in Japan have captured full-spectrum, two-dimensional (2D) auroral images using a newly developed Hyperspectral Camera for Auroral Imaging (HySCAI).
(a) All-sky camera and (b) HySCAI keograms, and (c) time evolution of the spatially averaged spectrum of auroral emission measured by HySCAI on October 20-21, 2023. Image courtesy of Yoshinuma others., doi: 10.1186/s40623-024-02039-y.
The aurora is a natural optical phenomenon caused by the interaction of precipitation particles with components of the upper atmosphere.
The majority of the observed spectrum consists of lines or bands of neutral and ionized nitrogen and oxygen atoms.
The aurora comes in a variety of distinctive colors, including green and red, but there are multiple theories about how the different auroras emit light, and understanding their colors requires breaking down the light.
To study the auroral radiation processes and colors in detail, comprehensive (temporal and spatial) spectral observations are required.
“We have observed light being emitted from plasma within the magnetic field of the Large Helical Device (LHD),” said Dr. Katsumi Ida of the National Institute for Fusion Science in Japan and his colleagues.
“Various systems have been developed to measure the spectrum of light emitted from plasmas, and the processes of energy transport and the emission of atoms and molecules have been studied.”
“By applying this technology and knowledge to auroral observations, we can contribute to our understanding of auroral luminescence and to research into the electron energy generation process that produces auroral luminescence.”
The newly developed camera, HySCAI, consists of an all-sky lens, a monitor camera, a galvanometer scanner, a grating spectrometer, and an electron-multiplying charge-coupled device.
“Aurora observations use optical filters to capture images of specific colors, but this has the drawback of limited wavelengths and low resolution,” the researchers said.
“On the other hand, hyperspectral cameras have the advantage of being able to obtain the spatial distribution of the spectrum with high wavelength resolution.”
“In 2018, we started a project to develop a high-sensitivity hyperspectral camera by combining an image sweeping optical system using a galvanometer mirror with the EMCCD camera and lens spectrometer used in the LHD.”
“It took five years of planning to develop a system with the sensitivity to measure auroras down to 1kR (1 kiloraylei).”
“The system was installed in May 2023 at the Swedish Space Corporation's Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna, Sweden, which is located directly below the auroral zone and where auroras can be observed frequently.”
“The system successfully captured hyperspectral images of the aurora, i.e. two-dimensional images resolved by wavelength.”
Team work Published in the journal Earth, planets, space.
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Masayuki Yoshinuma others2024: Development of a hyperspectral camera for photographing the aurora (HySCAI). Earth Planet Space 76, 96; doi: 10.1186/s40623-024-02039-y
NASA is working on developing the technology to send astronauts to Mars. Early 2030s The mock journey was the first of three planned journeys to the habitat as part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission.
Upon emerging from the habitat, the volunteers were welcomed by a cheering crowd.
“Hello. It’s really great to be able to say hello to you all,” CHAPEA Commander Haston said with a laugh.
The mission aimed to test how the group would handle the challenges humans would encounter on Mars. The crew faced environmental stress, communication delays, and limited resources. They consumed preserved foods as well as vegetables they cultivated during their quarantine.
Brockwell, who also serves as an aeronautical engineer, structural engineer, and public works manager at CHAPEA, noted that the mission provided valuable insights on sustainability.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to implement the concept that resources should be used at a sustainable rate and waste should be managed effectively,” he said.
The crew of the first CHAPEA mission arrived at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas on July 6 after completing a one-year mission. Josh Valcarcel / NASA / CHAPEA
“Without following these principles we cannot live, dream, create, or explore for long periods of time. But if we do follow them we can achieve and sustain amazing and inspiring things, like exploring other worlds,” Brockwell added.
Mars Dune Alpha is located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The habitat is A sandbox full of red sand There, participants will simulate a “Mars walk.” The habitat will have private rooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms. There will also be areas for medical, recreational, fitness, and work activities, according to NASA.
The Chang’e-6 probe is recovered in Xiziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia, China.
Xinhua/Shutterstock
China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft has returned to Earth, bringing back the first chunk of space rock from the far side of the moon.
The capsule separated from the orbital container at around 1:20 p.m. local time, 5,000 kilometers above the Atlantic Ocean, and landed in Xiziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China on June 25.
The sample, which should contain about 2 kilograms of lunar material, descended the final 10 kilometres by parachute, landing at 2:07pm and being retrieved by scientists from the China National Space Administration.
Landing on the far side of the moon is difficult because it always faces away from Earth and there is no direct communication line, and this area’s surface remained unexplored until a Chinese spacecraft landed there earlier this month.
The landing and recovery operations relied heavily on autonomous processes and robotic tools, but Chinese engineers were able to send messages to the spacecraft through the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, which was launched in March this year and is still orbiting the moon.
The samples include surface and two meters of material scooped up by Chang’e-6 drilling into its landing site in Apollo Crater, which is within the larger South Pole-Aitken Basin. Scientists hope that this material will help explain how and when these basins formed, and may enable understanding of the origins of other similar lunar craters.
The rocks may indicate the amount of water ice in the region, which could be a key resource for a manned mission that China hopes to send to the moon by 2030.
Before embarking on its crewed mission, China plans to send two more spacecraft, Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8, to the lunar south pole to gather information on a potential site for a base to be called the International Lunar Research Station. China is leading the mission in collaboration with Russian space agency Roscosmos.
Voyager 1 Due to technical issues, scientific observations are being carried out for the first time. Happened November 2023.
Voyager 1 launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 5, 1977, 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2. This artist's concept drawing depicts one of NASA's twin Voyager spacecraft. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Voyager 1 stopped transmitting readable science and engineering data to Earth on November 14, 2023, even though mission controllers were able to confirm that the spacecraft was still receiving commands and was otherwise operating normally.
In April 2024, they prompted Voyager 1 to begin transmitting engineering data containing information about the spacecraft's health and condition, partially resolving the problem.
On May 19, they carried out the second stage of the repair process and sent commands to the spacecraft to begin transmitting science data.
Two of the four scientific instruments immediately returned to normal operating mode.
The other two instruments required additional work, but all four are now returning usable science data.
The four instruments will study plasma waves, magnetic fields and particles.
This infographic highlights major milestones of NASA's Voyager missions, including visiting four outer planets and escaping the heliosphere, a protective bubble of magnetic fields and particles generated by the Sun. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The twin Voyager probes are NASA's longest-serving missions and the only spacecraft to have explored interstellar space.
Launched in 1977, both probes traveled to Jupiter and Saturn, with Voyager 1 traveling faster and reaching Jupiter and Saturn first.
Together, they have revealed a lot about the solar system's two largest planets and their moons.
Voyager 1 is more than 24 billion km (15 billion miles) from Earth, and Voyager 2 is more than 20 billion km (12 billion miles) from Earth.
The probe will celebrate its 47th anniversary of operation later this year.
“Voyager 1 and 2 are the only spacecraft to directly sample interstellar space, the region outside the heliosphere – the protective bubble of magnetic fields and solar wind created by the Sun,” NASA engineers said.
“Voyager 1 has resumed science, but additional minor operations are required to remove the effects of the problem.”
“Among other tasks, we will resynchronize the timing software in the spacecraft's three onboard computers to ensure commands are executed at the right time.”
“We will also be maintaining the digital tape recorder that records the plasma wave instrument data that is sent back to Earth twice a year.”
Two NASA astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft successfully docked at the International Space Station on Thursday, despite issues with the spacecraft's thrusters.
NASA confirmed that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams docked with the space station at 1:34 p.m. ET.
“It's good to be connected to the great city of the sky,” Wilmore told mission controllers on the ground.
The docking attempt, originally scheduled for 12:15 p.m. ET, was postponed due to problems with five thrusters on the Starliner.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station at 1:34 p.m. ET on June 6. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The hatch between the Starliner capsule and the space station was opened about two hours after docking.
Astronaut Williams was the first to enter the space station, greeted by the ISS crew members already on board.
Wilmore and Williams expressed their gratitude to the teams that worked to get them to the ISS and said they were ready to begin work in orbit.
Their arrival brings the International Space Station to full capacity.
Wilmore and Williams are expected to spend about a week on the ISS before potentially returning to Earth on June 14.
Flight controllers will continue to monitor the capsule's reaction control thrusters for further adjustments.
The Starliner capsule is capable of autonomous docking with the space station.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft prepares to dock with the International Space Station. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is more than 24 hours away from its first crewed test flight to the space station.
The test flight aims to demonstrate the capsule's ability to safely transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.
Starliner launched on June 5th from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Joe Raedl/Getty Images
Boeing has successfully launched its Starliner spacecraft with a crew for the first time on its third attempt, a landmark launch that gives NASA two commercial options for sending astronauts into space: Boeing and SpaceX.
Starliner was launched on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. June 5th, 10:52 AM (local time) After several years of delays, the manned launch has finally come to fruition. Initially, the manned launch was expected to take place by the end of 2017, but the plans fell behind schedule. The mission was finally scheduled to launch in May, but a valve failure forced NASA to abort the mission. The second launch on June 1 was scheduled for Discarded Due to computer problems.
But the third launch just a few days later was successful, with the capsule reaching orbit as planned. Carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, they made the 24-hour journey to the International Space Station, where they will stay for about a week to test various systems before returning to Earth aboard the same spacecraft.
The capsule was named Calypso. Reportedly Named after Jacques Cousteau's oceanographic ship, the mission's goal is to verify that Starliner is safe to transport crew to the ISS. If these tests are successful and the two astronauts return safely to Earth aboard Starliner, similar ships could begin annual crewed flights to the space station.
Each Starliner is designed to last up to 10 round trips, carrying up to seven people per flight, though a standard operational flight will likely only carry three or four astronauts.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Two contracts won Ten years ago, there were bids for a shuttle ship to transport crew to the International Space Station. One bid was for Boeing's Starliner, the other was SpaceX's Dragon capsule. Dragon outdid Starliner with its first crewed flight in 2020.
Starliner will be the sixth manned orbital spacecraft launched by the United States, following Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle and Dragon.
Scientists at Harvard University and elsewhere have used ancient DNA recovered from fossil bones on New Zealand’s South Island to identify the tiny bushmower.Anomalopteryx didiformisIt is one of nine species of flightless birds that once roamed the forested islands of New Zealand.
Moas fed on trees and shrubs in the forest understory. Image by Heinrich Harder.
There are currently nine recognized species of extinct New Zealand moas, which belong to the infraclass Aves. PaleognathomorphaThese include flightless ratites (ostriches, emus, cassowaries, kiwis, rheas, moas and elephant birds) and flying shorebirds and skylarks.
The extinction of all moa species is thought to have occurred shortly after Polynesian migration to New Zealand in the 13th century, and is the result of direct human exploitation combined with anthropogenic land-use change and impacts associated with invasive species.
“New Zealand’s extinct moa is our Taonga “It’s a species that has fascinated generations of New Zealand children,” said Dr Nick Lawrence, a palaeontologist at the University of Otago who was not involved in the study.
“Since the advent of ancient DNA, we’ve learned a lot more about the nine moa species that call Aotearoa home, but there are still many questions that remain unanswered.”
“Having the nuclear genome of the male little bush moa is the first step in exploring more deeply what makes moas so special. Even though it’s still in draft form, it’s about 85% complete.”
In the new study, Harvard researcher Scott Edwards and his colleagues assembled the complete mitochondrial and nuclear genomes of a male moa by sequencing ancient DNA and comparing it with the high-quality genome of the closely related emu.
They first calculated that the size of the moa nuclear genome was approximately 1.07 to 1.12 billion bases.
By analyzing the genetic diversity of the mitochondrial genome, the researchers estimated the bushmore’s long-term population to be approximately 237,000 individuals.
“Reconstructing the genome of a species like the tiny bushmore is difficult because there is only so much degraded ancient DNA to recover,” said Dr Gillian Gibb, a researcher at Massey University who was not involved in the study.
“In the case of moas, an additional challenge exists because the closest extant species with high-quality genomes to compare with diverged about 70 million years ago.”
“Despite these challenges, we have been able to recover a large portion of the genome, providing insight into moa evolution.”
The authors also investigated genes involved in the moa’s sensory biology and concluded that the bird probably has an extensive sense of smell and ultraviolet (UV) receptors in its eyes.
“This new study uses the genome to estimate the little bushmouse population at around 240,000 individuals, a number that is probably too high and the authors acknowledge it is a rough estimate,” Dr Lawrence said.
“Ecological estimates of moa are Motu “The (country) has a bird population of between 2 and 10 birds per square kilometre, with a total population of between 500,000 and 2.5 million birds.”
“The genome also shows that the little bush moa had a complex olfactory repertoire, which is consistent with what is seen in the moa skull.”
“Moas could also see in the ultraviolet spectrum, which may have helped them to find food, such as brightly colored truffle-like fungi, that they may have dispersed.”
“Moas, like other birds, are sensitive to bitter foods.”
“Moas are the only birds that have completely lost their wings,” added Prof Paul Schofield from the Canterbury Museum, who was not involved in the study.
“In this new paper, we also take a closer look at the big mystery of how this happened, concluding that it is not due to the loss of genes responsible for wing development, as previously suggested.”
“The paper also found that despite having an abnormal arrangement of the olfactory cortex in the brain, moas had normal avian olfactory abilities.”
of study Published in the journal Scientific advances.
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Scott V. Edwards others2024. Nuclear genome assembly of the extinct flightless bird, Little Bushmoore. Scientific advances 10(21); doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adj6823
Fusion reactions have overcome two important barriers to operating in the “sweet spot” needed for optimal power production: increasing plasma density and keeping a denser plasma confined. This milestone marks another stepping stone toward fusion power, although commercial reactors are likely still years away.
One of the main avenues being considered in efforts to achieve fusion power generation is the use of tokamak reactors. These have donut-shaped chambers in which plasma, hotter than the surface of the sun, is trapped by giant magnets.
It was thought that there was a point known as the Greenwald limit, beyond which the plasma could not become denser without escaping the influence of the magnets, potentially damaging the reactor. However, experiments have shown that the power of a tokamak reactor increases proportionally to the square of the fuel density, so increasing the density is important to increase the power.
now, Siye Din General Atomics in San Diego, California, and colleagues have shown that there is a way to increase plasma density and have shown that plasma density can be stabilized. DIII-D National Fusion Facility The tokamak reactor was operated for 2.2 seconds at an average density 20 percent above the Greenwald limit. This barrier has been crossed before with low stability and short duration, but this experiment was importantly also performed with a metric greater than 1, known as H98(y,2).
H98(y,2) states that it is a complex combination of measurements and values that indicate how well the plasma is confined in the magnet. gianluca sarri At Queen's University Belfast, a value of 1.0 or higher indicates normal plasma retention.
“He's starting to show some sort of stable behavior where he can consistently be in the sweet spot,” Sarri says. “This was done on a small machine. If we extrapolate these results to a larger machine…we would expect to find a situation where we can achieve gains and significant power production over a significant period of time.”
Sarri said the DIII-D experiment relied on a combination of approaches that are not new in themselves, but that their combination appears to have produced a promising approach. The researchers increased the power by increasing the density in the center of the donut-shaped plasma, while allowing the plasma to sink at the end closest to the containment vessel, avoid plasma leakage. They also injected deuterium gas into the plasma to calm the reaction in certain areas.
DIII-D's plasma chamber has an outer radius of just 1.6 meters, but it remains to be seen whether the same method will work for ITER, the next generation tokamak being built in France. ITER has a radius of 6.2 meters and is expected to be completed. It is planned to generate plasma by 2025 at the earliest.
“These plasmas are very complex,” Sarri says. “Small changes in circumstances lead to large changes in behavior. Experimentally, it was a trial-and-error kind of approach, trying out many different configurations and basically seeing which one worked best. It was all about It's about forcing the plasma to do something that is completely against its nature and that it doesn't actually want to do.”
Ding says the experiment bodes well for the future of fusion power generation. “Many reactor designs require high confinement and high density at the same time. Experimentally, this is the first time this has been achieved,” he says. “Next steps will be costly and research is currently moving in many directions. We hope this document will help focus efforts around the world.”
Sarri says this work is another step toward a practical fusion power plant, but no one should expect a commercial reactor to be completed within the next five or even 10 years.
Research led by Liangxue Lai from China’s Guangzhou Institute of Biomedical and Health Research has successfully extended the survival time of human stem cells in animal embryos. The team is focused on a five-year project to cultivate human organs for transplantation, bypassing the need for donor organs. To date, no scientist has been able to grow an organ within an animal embryo composed entirely of human cells.
Utilizing pig embryos due to their physiological and developmental similarities to humans, Lai’s team injected human stem cells into pig embryos. By deactivating specific genes in the pig embryos responsible for organ development, human stem cells could replace pig cells during organ growth.
The team also applied a small amount of the antibiotic doxycycline to the embryos, allowing them to control the activation of genes in the stem cells. This antibiotic helped activate genes that enhanced the survival and development of stem cells within the embryo, increasing the likelihood of organ formation.
The research aimed at growing kidneys, which are frequently transplanted organs and among the first to develop in human fetuses. The team implanted about 2,000 pig embryos into 13 surrogate pigs, resulting in kidney development within 20 days. After full growth, the embryos were analyzed for human stem cell content.
Despite efforts to minimize cell death, only a few embryos survived. Genetic testing confirmed the presence of human genetic sequences in the surviving embryos, indicating the potential for organ development from human stem cells within the pig embryos.
While the embryos showed signs of developing human kidneys, compatibility issues were identified, and human cells were found in other parts of the fetus’s body. The researchers concluded that the technique shows promise for growing human-compatible organs in the future.
Physicists from the CMS Collaboration at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have successfully measured the effective leptonic electroweak mixing angle. The results were presented at the annual general meeting. Rencontre de Morion Conference is the most accurate measurement ever made at the Hadron Collider and is in good agreement with predictions from the Standard Model of particle physics.
Installation of CMS beam pipe. Image credit: CERN/CMS Collaboration.
The Standard Model is the most accurate description of particles and their interactions to date.
Precise measurements of parameters, combined with precise theoretical calculations, provide incredible predictive power that allows us to identify phenomena even before we directly observe them.
In this way, the model has succeeded in constraining the masses of the W and Z particles, the top quark, and recently the Higgs boson.
Once these particles are discovered, these predictions serve as a consistency check on the model, allowing physicists to explore the limits of the theory’s validity.
At the same time, precise measurements of the properties of these particles provide a powerful tool for exploring new phenomena beyond the standard model, so-called “new physics.” This is because new phenomena appear as mismatches between different measured and calculated quantities.
The electroweak mixing angle is a key element of these consistency checks. This is a fundamental parameter of the Standard Model and determines how unified electroweak interactions give rise to electromagnetic and weak interactions through a process known as electroweak symmetry breaking.
At the same time, we mathematically connect the masses of the W and Z bosons that transmit weak interactions.
Therefore, measurements of W, Z, or mixed angles provide a good experimental cross-check of the model.
The two most accurate measurements of the weak mixing angle were made by experiments at CERN’s LEP collider and by the SLD experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).
These values have puzzled physicists for more than a decade because they don’t agree with each other.
The new results are in good agreement with standard model predictions and are a step towards resolving the discrepancy between standard model predictions and measurements of LEP and SLD.
“This result shows that precision physics can be performed at the Hadron Collider,” said Dr. Patricia McBride, spokesperson for the CMS Collaboration.
“The analysis had to deal with the challenging environment of LHC Run 2, with an average of 35 simultaneous proton-proton collisions.”
“This paves the way for even more precise physics, where more than five times as many proton pairs collide simultaneously at the high-luminosity LHC.”
Precise testing of Standard Model parameters is a legacy of electron-positron collider such as CERN’s LEP, which operated until 2000 in the tunnel that now houses the LHC.
Electron-positron collisions provide a clean environment ideal for such high-precision measurements.
Proton-proton collisions at the LHC are more challenging for this type of research, even though the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments have already yielded numerous new ultra-high-precision measurements.
This challenge is primarily due to the vast background from physical processes other than those studied, and the fact that protons, unlike electrons, are not subatomic particles.
With the new results, it seemed impossible to reach accuracy similar to that of the electron-positron collider, but now it has been achieved.
The measurements presented by CMS physicists use a sample of proton-proton collisions collected from 2016 to 2018 at a center of mass energy of 13 TeV and a total integrated luminosity of 137 fb.−1 or about 11 billion collisions.
“The mixing angle is obtained through analysis of the angular distribution in collisions in which pairs of electrons or muons are produced,” the researchers said.
“This is the most accurate measurement ever made at the Hadron Collider and improves on previous measurements by ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb.”
Sugarcane is the world's most harvested crop by tonnage and has shaped world history, trade, and geopolitics, now responsible for 80% of the world's sugar production. Traditional sugarcane breeding methods have been effective in producing varieties adapted to new environments and pathogens, but sugar yield improvements have recently plateaued. The cessation of yield increase may be due to limited genetic diversity within the breeding population, long breeding cycles, and the complexity of its genome. Now, an international research team has created a polyploid reference genome for R570, a typical modern sugarcane variety.
Saccharum officinarum. Image credit: Ton Rulkens / CC BY-SA 2.0 Certificate.
However, all modern varieties are derived from several interspecific crosses made by breeders a century ago between “sweet varieties” and “sweet varieties.” Saccharum officinarum And that 'wild' natural sugar.
Sugarcane hybridization has led to major advances in disease resistance and adaptation to stressful environmental conditions. However, early generation hybrids also had much lower sugar yields due to the greater contribution of the wild genome.
The complexity of the hybrid sugarcane genome and phylogeny is R570 varietyproduced by a breeder on Reunion Island in 1980.
“The sugarcane genome is very complex because it is large and contains more copies of chromosomes than a typical plant, a feature called polyploidy,” said researchers at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Bioengineering. said Dr. Jeremy Schmutz and colleagues.
“Sugar cane has about 10 billion base pairs, the building blocks of DNA. By comparison, the human genome has about 3 billion genes.”
“Many parts of sugarcane DNA are identical within and between different chromosomes, which makes it difficult to correctly reconstruct all the small segments of DNA while reconstructing the complete genetic blueprint. Masu.”
“We solved the puzzle by combining multiple gene sequencing technologies, including a newly developed method known as PacBio HiFi sequencing that can precisely sequence longer sections of DNA.”
“This was the most complex genome sequence we have ever completed,” Dr. Schmutz added.
“It shows how far we have come. This is something that seemed impossible 10 years ago. We are now reaching goals that we thought were impossible with plant genomics. We have been able to achieve this.”
CSIRO researcher Dr Karen Aitken said: “This groundbreaking result addresses the critical challenge of stagnant sugar yields by harnessing previously inaccessible genetic information from the sugarcane genome. ” he said.
“This is a major step forward for sugarcane research and will improve our understanding of complex traits such as yield, adaptation to diverse environmental conditions, and disease resistance.”
“We are working to understand how specific genes in plants are related to the quality of the biomass obtained downstream, which can then be turned into biofuels and bioproducts.” said Dr. Blake Simmons, a researcher at the Joint BioEnergy Institute.
“A deeper understanding of sugarcane genetics will help us better understand the plant genotypes required for the production of sugar and bagasse-derived intermediates needed for sustainable sugarcane conversion technologies at scales relevant to the bioeconomy.” and be in control.”
A team of physicists led by Dr. Yuan Lu of the Jean Lamour Institute at the University of Lorraine used electrical pulses to manipulate magnetic information into polarized signals. This discovery could revolutionize long-distance optical communications, including between Earth and Mars. This breakthrough involves the field of spintronics, which aims to manipulate the spin of electrons to store and process information.
Structure of SOT Spin LED: Control of emission intensity and charging current is the basis of information transfer and processing. In contrast, robust information storage and magnetic random access memory are implemented using carrier spins and their associated magnetizations in ferromagnets. The missing link between the respective fields of photonics, electronics, and spintronics is modulating the circular polarization of emitted light rather than its intensity through electrically controlled magnetization.Dynon other. demonstrated that this missing link is established in light-emitting diodes at room temperature in the absence of an applied magnetic field through the transfer of angular momentum between photons, electrons, and ferromagnets.Image credit: Dynon other., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07125-5.
Spintronics has been successfully used in magnetic computer hard drives, where information is represented by the direction of electron spin and its proxy, magnetization.
Ferromagnetic materials such as iron and cobalt have an unequal number of electrons, with their spins oriented either along or against the magnetization axis.
Electrons with spins aligned with the magnetization move smoothly in a ferromagnetic material, while electrons with spins in the opposite direction bounce. This represents binary information of 0’s and 1’s.
The resulting change in resistance is a key principle in spintronic devices, where magnetic states can be maintained indefinitely, which can be considered stored information.
Just as a refrigerator magnet requires no power to stick to a door, spintronic devices require much less power than traditional electronics.
But like pulling a fish out of water, when an electron is removed from a ferromagnetic material, the spin information is quickly lost and can no longer travel far.
This major limitation can be overcome by utilizing circularly polarized light, also known as helicity, as another spin carrier.
Just as humans used homing pigeons centuries ago to carry written communication farther and faster than on foot, the trick is to transfer the spin of an electron to a photo, a quantum of light. That’s probably true.
Such transfer is possible due to the presence of spin-orbit coupling, which causes spin information loss outside the ferromagnetic material.
The key missing link is to electrically modulate the magnetization and thereby change the helicity of the emitted light.
“The concept of spin LEDs was first proposed at the end of the last century,” Dr. Lu said.
“But to move into practical use, it must meet three important criteria: it must operate at room temperature, it does not require a magnetic field, and it must be able to be electrically controlled.”
“After more than 15 years of dedicated work in this field, our collaborative team has managed to overcome all obstacles.”
In their research, Dr. Lu and his colleagues succeeded in switching the magnetization of a spin injector using an electric pulse that uses spin-orbit torque.
The electron spin is rapidly converted into information contained in the helicity of the emitted photon, allowing seamless integration of magnetization dynamics and photonic technology.
This electrically controlled spin-to-photon conversion is currently realized with electroluminescence in light-emitting diodes.
In the future, through implementation in semiconductor laser diodes, so-called spin lasers, this highly efficient information encoding will pave the way for high-speed communication across interplanetary distances, since the polarization of light is preserved in spatial propagation. It is possible and could potentially make it possible. The fastest mode of communication between Earth and Mars.
It also has significant benefits for the development of a variety of advanced technologies on Earth, including photonic quantum communications and optical computing, neuromorphic computing for artificial intelligence, and ultra-fast and highly efficient optical transmitters for data centers and light-fidelity applications. will bring about.
“The realization of spin-orbit torque spin injectors is a decisive step in the development of ultrafast and energy-efficient spin lasers for next-generation optical communications and quantum technologies,” said Professor Nils Gerhardt of Ruhr University. ” he said.
team's work It was published in the magazine Nature.
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PA Dynon other. 2024. Optical helicity control by electromagnetic switching. Nature 627, 783-788; doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07125-5
Uber and Lyft have announced the suspension of their operations in the Minneapolis area in protest of a newly passed minimum wage ordinance by the City Council.
The ordinance, set to take effect on May 1, establishes a minimum wage of $1.40 per mile and 0.51 cents per minute for rideshare drivers, with a minimum wage of $5 per ride. Despite the mayor’s veto being overridden by the City Council, Uber and Lyft have threatened to leave the area in response.
If the companies proceed with their plans to halt operations on May 1, Minneapolis will stand as the only city in the U.S. without Uber or Lyft services.
Advocates for the bill highlight the low wages and high costs faced by rideshare drivers. They assert that wages have decreased, leading to support for the ordinance.
Eid Ali, a veteran rideshare driver and president of the Minnesota Uber Lyft Drivers Association, has been terminated. Uber and Lyft argue that the minimum wage is unsustainable for maintaining affordable fares for riders.
Ali expressed his disbelief in the actions of the multi-billion-dollar companies, emphasizing the need for fair compensation and a living wage for all workers.
Should Uber and Lyft exit the market, Ali believes that other entities are prepared to step in. He believes their fight is not solely about the minimum wage but also about its implications on the broader market.
Farhan Bader, another rideshare driver, highlighted the undervaluation of drivers’ roles in society and argued for fair compensation amid declining pay and increased working hours.
Efforts are underway by Minnesota lawmakers to introduce a bill preempting Minneapolis regulations to retain Uber and Lyft in the area.
Uber’s senior director of communications, Josh Gold, expressed disappointment in the City Council’s decision and emphasized the need for collaboration to ensure drivers receive fair wages while keeping rideshare affordable.
A Lyft spokesperson also voiced support for state-level preemption and raised concerns about the impact of the minimum wage ordinance on drivers’ income and the accessibility of ridesharing services.
Uber and Lyft’s clash with regulators over wages and working conditions reflects a broader trend seen in the industry both in the U.S. and globally.
SpaceX’s third and most ambitious Starship test flight appears to have been at least partially successful today, as it reached space, conducted fuel transfer tests, and traveled farther and faster than ever before. It looked like. However, the spacecraft failed to make its planned landing and appears to have either self-destructed or burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.
After launching from SpaceX’s property in Boca Chica, Texas, the first and second stages separate cleanly and the first stage (the booster that lifts the craft during the first part of its journey) descends to land at sea. started. SpaceX ultimately intends to recover and reuse both stages, but these early test flights are slated for a safer, easier water landing for both.
The first stage steered itself downhill, but seemed to struggle to slow its fall as intended and appeared to hit the sea at breakneck speed.
The second stage reached an altitude of approximately 230 kilometers and successfully opened and closed the payload door as a test. It was also possible to swap fuel from one tank to another, an experimental first step towards eventually refueling from one spacecraft to another. This is essential for long-range missions.
However, during reentry, the spacecraft reached such high temperatures that live video showed glowing plasma around the surface, and both video and telemetry data were lost.
The spacecraft would attempt to reignite the Raptor engines, something never before done in space, as it entered the atmosphere in a controlled manner at about 27,000 kilometers per hour. However, the relighting portion of this mission was omitted by the company, and the spacecraft was subsequently lost.
A view of SpaceX’s Starship taken nine minutes into the mission.
space x
US Federal Aviation Administration permission granted In preparation for the test flight on March 13th, the day before the scheduled launch date, tweeted SpaceX said it “met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements.”
starship It is the most powerful rocket ever made. The 121-meter-long ship consists of her two stages, a booster and a spacecraft, both of which are designed to be reusable, keeping costs down and allowing quick turnaround between flights. Masu.
Starship heated up during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere after a flight of approximately 47 minutes, leading to the loss of the spacecraft.
space x
Today’s announcement marks the company’s third Starship announcement. In the first test in April last year, the first and second stages exploded before they separated, and in the test in November, the upper second stage reached space, but, which self-destructed when it stopped transmitting data, following the explosion of the first stage. Immediately after separation.
The ultimate goal of this project is to land humans on the moon and later on Mars.
SpaceX's third and most ambitious Starship test flight appears to have been at least partially successful today, as it reached space, conducted fuel transfer tests, and traveled farther and faster than ever before. It looked like. However, the spacecraft failed to make its planned landing and appears to have either self-destructed or burned up in Earth's atmosphere.
After launching from SpaceX's property in Boca Chica, Texas, the first and second stages separate cleanly and the first stage (the booster that lifts the craft during the first part of its journey) descends to land at sea. started. SpaceX ultimately intends to recover and reuse both stages, but these early test flights are slated for a safer, easier water landing for both.
The first stage steered itself downhill, but seemed to struggle to slow its fall as intended and appeared to hit the sea at breakneck speed.
The second stage reached an altitude of approximately 230 kilometers and successfully opened and closed the payload door as a test. It was also possible to swap fuel from one tank to another, an experimental first step towards eventually refueling from one spacecraft to another. This is essential for long-range missions.
However, during reentry, the spacecraft reached such high temperatures that live video showed glowing plasma around the surface, and both video and telemetry data were lost.
The spacecraft would attempt to reignite the Raptor engines, something never before done in space, as it entered the atmosphere in a controlled manner at about 27,000 kilometers per hour. However, the relighting portion of this mission was omitted by the company, and the spacecraft was subsequently lost.
US Federal Aviation Administration permission granted In preparation for the test flight on March 13th, the day before the scheduled launch date, tweeted SpaceX said it “met all safety, environmental, policy and financial responsibility requirements.”
starship It is the most powerful rocket ever made. The 121-meter-long ship consists of her two stages, a booster and a spacecraft, both of which are designed to be reusable, keeping costs down and allowing quick turnaround between flights. Masu.
A view of SpaceX's Starship 9 minutes into its mission
space x
Today's announcement marks the company's third Starship announcement. In the first test in April last year, the first and second stages exploded before they separated, and in the test in November, the upper second stage reached space, but , which self-destructed when it stopped transmitting data, following the explosion of the first stage. Immediately after separation.
The ultimate goal of this project is to land humans on the moon and later on Mars.
In a groundbreaking achievement in the field of medicine, a 3D printed organ has been successfully transplanted into a patient for the first time in history. A South Korean patient is currently recovering with a new trachea partially made from someone else’s stem cells.
The pioneering 3D-printed trachea transplant took place at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in 2023, led by a team of scientists, doctors, and engineers. The recipient was a woman in her 50s who had lost part of her trachea following thyroid cancer surgery.
While 3D printed bones and food have shown some success, the transplantation of organs marks a new frontier in medical technology.
What is the 3D printed trachea made of?
The patient’s new trachea is composed of cartilage and mucosal lining, sourced from nasal stem cells and chondrocytes obtained from other patients. The bioink used also contains polycaprolactone (PCL) for structural support, different from the standard ink used in home printers.
Given its biodegradable nature, PCL has a limited lifespan of about 5 years. However, researchers hope that within this timeframe, the artificial organ will stimulate the patient’s body to regenerate its own windpipe.
According to the hospital, traditional treatments post-tracheal resection do not allow for restoration of the original organ and can be complex and risky. The introduction of 3D printed organs could transform the treatment of patients with thyroid cancer, congenital defects, and tracheal trauma.
Significantly, patients undergoing this procedure did not require immunosuppressants. At the six-month mark post-surgery, the patient’s trachea was healing well with the development of new blood vessels.
The research is currently undergoing peer review for publication in a scientific journal.
How do I 3D print a trachea?
The dimensions of the trachea must be customized for each patient based on their CT and MRI data. In this particular case, the trachea’s length needed to be under 5 cm (2 inches).
The printing process took less than two weeks, and the implantation occurred during a half-day surgery.
The successful collaboration behind this procedure involved the Catholic University of Korea, Gachon University, and T&R Biofab, the biomedical engineering company responsible for manufacturing the printer.
This achievement is the culmination of two decades of research, dating back to 2004 with preliminary laboratory studies on animals such as beagles. T&R Biofab’s specially designed printer enabled the creation of personalized, hollow, tubular organs with high precision technology.
Although the printer was tailored for Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, there is potential for future expansion beyond this specific institution.
Dr. Paulo Marinho, Head of Science Strategy at T&R Biofab, expressed optimism about the future of 3D bioprinting technology and its potential to address organ shortages for transplantation.
About our experts
Dr. Paulo Marinho, with a background in chemical engineering and postdoctoral experience in regenerative medicine, plays a crucial role at T&R Biofab in advancing the frontiers of 3D bioprinting.
Photo taken by the Odysseus spacecraft in lunar orbit
intuitive machine
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus lander has landed on the moon. This is the first time a private company has landed a spacecraft on the moon, a welcome success after a string of recent high-profile landing failures by other companies.
The Odysseus spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket on February 14 for the flight, called the IM-1 mission. It entered lunar orbit on February 21st and landed near the moon's south pole on February 22nd.
Live footage from air traffic controllers became tense as the scheduled landing time passed without any contact from the lander. Finally, minutes after Odysseus was scheduled to land, Tim Crane, mission director in Intuitive Machines' mission control room, said, “We're receiving a signal. It's faint, but it's definitely there.'' “I'm doing it.”
The signal indicated that the spacecraft had landed on the moon, but the state of the spacecraft is still unknown. However, the landing was successful. “We know this has been a pain, but we're on the surface,” said Stephen Altemus, CEO of Intuitive Machines. “Welcome to the moon”
Before this landing, three other companies attempted to send landers to the moon. SpaceIL's Beresheet spacecraft was launched in 2019, and ispace's Hakuto-R mission was launched in 2022, but both crash-landed and were destroyed.
Astrobotic's Peregrine lander didn't even get very far after launching in January. A fuel leak forced the operators to return to Earth to burn up in the atmosphere. The success of the IM-1 has brought Intuitive Machines into an elite club. To date, only the national space agencies of the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and Japan have successfully landed on the moon.
Now that we have landed safely, we can begin the second part of the IM-1 mission. Odysseus carried six NASA payloads and six commercial payloads to the Moon. Some of these already serve that purpose, such as landing aids and cameras to take pictures of the landing. Some people have succeeded simply by reaching the moon. Perhaps most notable is artist Jeff Koons' collection of his 125 small sculptures. Other instruments are also now beginning their missions, including instruments that will measure how the moon's surrounding environment affects its surface.
The IM-1 mission is part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, through which government contracts are awarded to private companies to build spaceflight capabilities through public-private partnerships. Three more moon landings are planned through CLPS in 2024, including an Intuitive Machines mission to harvest water ice from the moon's south pole.
night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis). Image credit: Arianna Urso / Western Australian Museum.
The night parrot is a relatively small, short-tailed parrot species endemic to Australia.
This species is also known as the porcupine parrot, nocturnal ground parakeet, midnight parrot, solitaire, spinifex parrot, and nocturnal parakeet. first explained It was published in 1861 by British ornithologist John Gould.
The night parrot is one of the most elusive and mysterious birds in the world, with no confirmed sightings from 1912 to 1979.
They were once widespread in the arid regions of Australia, but their numbers have declined due to environmental changes such as predation by cats and foxes.
It is now known only from localized areas in south-west Queensland and Western Australia.
“Dozens of scientific specimens were collected in the 19th century, with one specimen collected in 1912. A specimen was then discovered in south-west Queensland in 1990,” says the CSIRO Australian National Wildlife Collection. said Dr. Leo Joseph, Director.
“A live bird was reported from the same area in 2013, and a live parrot was finally captured and tagged in 2015.”
“This genome will allow us to explore the genetic basis of why parrots are nocturnal, a trait that is very rare in parrots,” he added.
“We investigate functions such as navigation, sense of smell, beak shape, and suboptimal night vision.”
“Researchers will also be able to perform statistical analysis of this individual's genome to estimate the historical population size of Australia's night parrot.”
“We can now compare this annotated genome with other closely related parrot species, revealing the reasons behind its rarity and limited distribution compared to many closely related species. You can.”
Dr Joseph and his colleagues sequenced the armyworm genome using tissue obtained from specimens found in the Pilbara region.
“Access to high-throughput sequencing technology through CSIRO's Applied Genomics Initiative is accelerating genomics research in Australia,” said Dr Gunjun Pandey, CSIRO Environment Directorate Night Parrot Genomics Project Leader.
“We can now generate very high-quality genomes from very small tissue samples, as small as an ant's head or a single mosquito.”
“This level of quality and detail was not possible even five years ago.”
“Genetic data can be used to maximize diversity in conservation programs, so species are resilient and have the best chance of long-term survival.”
The night parrot genome is an exciting scientific resource for understanding more about this bird, but protecting this species from cats, foxes, fire, and habitat loss is also important for its conservation.
“The night parrot genome will open up many opportunities for further research that will help protect this species,” Dr. Pandey said.
“This will allow scientists to develop a plan to save the night parrot, with the ultimate goal of sequencing and publishing the genome.”
Japan's Smart Lander for Lunar Exploration (SLIM) has landed on the moon. Although the spacecraft is not operating perfectly, the successful landing follows a series of recent failed moon landings by governments and private spaceflight companies, and remains encouraging for international efforts to explore the moon. . With this landing, Japan will become the fifth country to land on the moon, following the United States, Soviet Union, China, and India.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched SLIM in September 2023, and the spacecraft took a long orbit to the moon, circling the Earth several times to conserve fuel. It has been orbiting the moon since December, taking images of the surface and preparing for landing.
The January 19 touchdown marked the first use of a technology engineers dubbed “smart eye,” which allows SLIM to aim its landing spot with extreme precision. SLIM determined its position by comparing images from its onboard camera with data from other spacecraft orbiting the moon, then autonomously navigated to a landing site on the slopes of Sioli Crater. JAXA officials are continuing to analyze how well the targeting protocol worked.
Initial signals from SLIM suggest that the solar panels do not appear to be operational, so the spacecraft is operating on battery power for now. If spacecraft operators are unable to figure out what's wrong with the solar cells and get them working, SLIM's scientific capabilities could be hampered and its lifespan significantly shortened. According to JAXA officials, battery life is expected to be only a few hours. It's possible the spacecraft will regain solar power, but for now JAXA's priority is to return as much data as possible to Earth before its batteries run out.
As SLIM descended to the lunar surface, two small rovers, each carrying a small payload of scientific instruments, also descended. One of them is designed to bounce rather than roll on wheels, and the other is a tennis ball. He was designed by toy manufacturers to roll on the moon, with a sphere slightly smaller than a ball. The spacecraft appears to be functioning normally.
Spacecraft landing sites are potentially important. Previous observations suggest that material may have come from inside the moon during the impact that formed the crater. SLIM's scientific instruments can study these minerals to learn about the formation and evolution of the Moon. A successful landing and the scientific data collected will provide useful data for the many spacecraft scheduled to travel to the moon from around the world in the coming years.
Geometric problems involve proving facts about angles and lines in complex shapes
Google Deep Mind
Google DeepMind's AI can solve some International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) problems in geometry almost as well as the best human contestants.
“AlphaGeometry's results are surprising and breathtaking,” says IMO Chairman Gregor Driner. “It looks like AI will be winning his IMO gold medal much sooner than was thought a few months ago.”
IMO is one of the most difficult math competitions in the world for middle school students. Answering questions correctly requires mathematical creativity, something AI systems have long struggled with. For example, GPT-4, who has shown remarkable reasoning ability in other areas, gets his 0% score on IMO geometry problems, and even a specialized AI can answer them just as well as an average contestant. I'm having a hard time.
This is partly due to the difficulty of the problem, but also due to the lack of training data. This contest has been held annually since 1959, and each round consists of only six questions. However, some of the most successful AI systems require millions or even billions of data points. In particular, geometry problems, which account for one or two out of six questions and require proving facts about angles or lines in complex shapes, are particularly difficult to convert into a computer-friendly format.
Thanh Luong Google's DeepMind and his colleagues got around this problem by creating a tool that can generate hundreds of millions of machine-readable geometric proofs. Using this data he trained an AI called AlphaGeometry and when he tested it on 30 of his IMO geometry questions, the IMO gold medalist's estimated score based on his score in the contest was 25.9, whereas the AI answered 25 of them correctly.
“our [current] AI systems still struggle with capabilities such as deep reasoning. There you have to plan many steps in advance and understand the big picture. That's why mathematics is such an important benchmark and test set in our explorations. to artificial general intelligence,” Luong said at a press conference.
AlphaGeometry is made up of two parts, which Luong likens to different thinking systems in the brain. One system is fast and intuitive, the other is slower and more analytical. The first intuitive part is a language model called GPT-f, similar to the technology behind ChatGPT. It is trained on millions of generated proofs and suggests which theorems and arguments to try next for your problem. Once the next step is proposed, a slower but more careful “symbolic reasoning” engine uses logical and mathematical rules to fully construct the argument proposed by GPT-f. The two systems then work together and switch between each other until the problem is resolved.
While this method has been very successful in solving IMO geometry problems, Luong says the answers it constructs tend to be longer and less “pretty” than human proofs. However, it can also find things that humans overlook. For example, a better and more general solution was discovered for the question from his IMO in 2004 than the one listed in the official answer.
I think it's great that you can solve IMO geometry problems in this way. Yang Hui He However, IMO problems must be solvable using theorems taught at undergraduate level and below, so this system inherently limits the mathematics that can be used. Expanding the amount of mathematical knowledge that AlphaGeometry can access could improve the system and even help make new mathematical discoveries, he says.
It's also interesting to see how AlphaGeometry deals with situations where you don't know what you need to prove, since mathematical insight often comes from exploring theorems that have no fixed proof. Yes, he says. “If I don't know what an endpoint is, can I find it in all sets?” [mathematical] Are there any new and interesting theorems? ”
Last year, algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets Total prize money: $10 million For AI math models, the first publicly shared AI model to earn an IMO gold medal will receive a $5 million grand prize, with small progress awards for major milestones.
“Solving the IMO geometry problem is one of the planned advancement awards supported by the $10 million AIMO Challenge Fund,” said Alex Gerko of XTX Markets. “Even before we announce all the details of this Progress Award, we are excited to see the progress we are making towards this goal, including making our models and data openly available and , which involves solving real geometry problems during a live IMO contest.”
DeepMind declined to say whether it plans to use AlphaGeometry in live IMO contests or extend the system to solve other IMO problems that are not based on geometry. However, DeepMind previously entered a public protein folding prediction competition to test the AlphaFold system.
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