Science
- • 82%www.ucl.ac.uk Analysis: Nuclear war would be more devastating for Earth’s climate than cold war predictions
Professor Mark Maslin (UCL Geography) highlights in The Conversation research that used modern climate models to map the effects of a nuclear war, and which found the resulting nuclear winter would plunge the planet into a “nuclear little ice age” lasting thousands of years.
- www.nature.com Global food insecurity and famine from reduced crop, marine fishery and livestock production due to climate disruption from nuclear war soot injection - Nature Food
Calorie availability and extent of food shortages for each nation are estimated following regional or global nuclear war, including impacts on major crops, livestock and fishery production.
- • 100%worksinprogress.co Doom scrolling - Works in Progress
We may be close to rediscovering thousands of texts that had been lost for millennia. Their contents may reshape how we understand the Ancient World.
Highlights
>We may be close to rediscovering thousands of texts that had been lost for millennia. Their contents may reshape how we understand the Ancient World.
>We don’t have original copies of anything, not of the Iliad, or the Aeneid, or Herodotus, or the Bible. Instead of originals, we find ourselves dealing with copies. These were first written on scrolls but later in books – the Romans called books codexes – starting in the first century AD. Did I say copies? That’s actually not correct either. We don’t have first copies of anything. What we do have is copies of copies, most of which date hundreds of years after the original was penned. Even many of our copies are not complete copies.
>To most fully acclimate the reader to how tenuous this process is, this essay will focus on three different texts. The first will be a very well-known work that was never lost. Nevertheless, almost no one read it in earnest until the nineteenth century. I will then focus on a text that was lost to history, but that we were able to recover from the annals of time. Such examples are fortuitous. Our third example will be a text that we know existed, but of which we have no copies, and consider what important ramifications its discovery could hold. Finally, we’ll turn our attention again to the Villa of the Papyri and the gold mine of texts discovered there that new technologies are currently making available to classicists.
>However, many of the scrolls from the Villa of the Papyri remain not only unread, but also unopened. This is because the eruption of Vesuvius left the scrolls carbonized, making it nearly impossible to open them. Despite this obstacle, Dr. Brent Seales pioneered a new technology in 2015 that allowed him and his team to read a scroll without opening it. The technique, using X-ray tomography and computer vision, is known as virtual unwrapping, and it was first used on one of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, specifically the En-Gedi scroll, the earliest known copy of the Book of Leviticus (likely 210–390 CE). The X-rays allow scholars to create a virtual copy of the text that can then be read like any other ancient document by those with the proper language and paleography skills. Using Dr. Seales’s technique, scholars have been able to upload many of the texts online. A group of donors led by Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross have offered cash prizes to teams of classicists who can decipher the writings. The race to read the virtually unwrapped scrolls is known as the Vesuvius Challenge.
- • 100%www.quantamagazine.org The Physics of Cold Water May Have Jump-Started Complex Life | Quanta Magazine
When seawater gets cold, it gets viscous. This fact could explain how single-celled ocean creatures became multicellular when the planet was frozen during “Snowball Earth,” according to experiments.
Highlights
>When seawater gets cold, it gets viscous. This fact could explain how single-celled ocean creatures became multicellular when the planet was frozen during “Snowball Earth,” according to experiments.
>A series of papers from the lab of Carl Simpson proposes an answer linked to a fundamental physical fact: As seawater gets colder, it gets more viscous, and therefore more difficult for very small organisms to navigate. Imagine swimming through honey rather than water. If microscopic organisms struggled to get enough food to survive under these conditions, as Simpson’s modeling work has implied, they would be placed under pressure to change — perhaps by developing ways to hang on to each other, form larger groups, and move through the water with greater force. Maybe some of these changes contributed to the beginning of multicellular animal life.
>The experiment comes with a few caveats, and the paper has yet to be peer-reviewed; Simpson posted a preprint on biorxiv.org earlier this year. But it suggests that if Snowball Earth did act as a trigger for the evolution of complex life, it might be due to the physics of cold water.
>It is difficult to precisely date when animals arose, but an estimate from molecular clocks — which use mutation rates to estimate the passage of time — suggests that the last common ancestor of multicellular animals emerged during the era known as the Sturtian Snowball Earth, sometime between 717 million and 660 million years ago. Large, unmistakably multicellular animals appear in the fossil record tens of millions of years after the Earth melted following another, shorter Snowball Earth period around 635 million years ago.
>The paradox — a planet seemingly hostile to life giving evolution a major push — continued to perplex Simpson throughout his schooling and into his professional life. In 2018, as an assistant professor, he had an insight: As seawater gets colder, it grows thicker. It’s basic physics — the density and viscosity of water molecules rises as the temperature drops. Under the conditions of Snowball Earth, the ocean would have been twice or even four times as viscous as it was before the planet froze over.
>As large creatures, we don’t think much about the thickness of the fluids around us. It’s not a part of our daily lived experience, and we are so big that viscosity doesn’t impinge on us very much. The ability to move easily — relatively speaking — is something we take for granted. From the time Simpson first realized that such limits on movement could be a monumental obstacle to microscopic life, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Viscosity may have mattered quite a lot in the origins of complex life, whenever that was.
>“Putting this into our repertoire of thinking about why these things evolved — that is the value of the entire thing,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if it was Snowball Earth. It doesn’t matter if it happened before or after. Just the idea that it can happen, and happen quickly.”
- • 100%www.quantamagazine.org With ‘Digital Twins,’ The Doctor Will See You Now | Quanta Magazine
By creating digital twin of your circulatory system, Amanda Randles wants to bring unprecedented precision to medical forecasts.
Highlights
>Amanda Randles wants to copy your body. If the computer scientist had her way, she’d have enough data — and processing power — to effectively clone you on her computer, run the clock forward, and see what your coronary arteries or red blood cells might do in a week. Fully personalized medical simulations, or “digital twins,” are still beyond our abilities, but Randles has pioneered computer models of blood flow over long durations that are already helping doctors noninvasively diagnose and treat diseases.
>Her latest system takes 3D images of a patient’s blood vessels, then simulates and forecasts their expected fluid dynamics. Doctors who use the system can not only measure the usual stuff, like pulse and blood pressure, but also spy on the blood’s behavior inside the vessel. This lets them observe swirls in the bloodstream called vortices and the stresses felt by vessel walls — both of which are linked to heart disease. A decade ago, Randles’ team could simulate blood flow for only about 30 heartbeats, but today they can foresee over 700,000 heartbeats (about a week’s worth). And because their models are interactive, doctors can also predict what will happen if they take measures such as prescribing medicine or implanting a stent.
>It’s a lot of data. We’re running simulations with up to 580 million red blood cells. There’s interactions with the fluid and red blood cells, the cells with each other, the cells with the walls — you’re trying to capture all of that. For each model, one time point might be half a terabyte, and there are millions of time steps in each heartbeat. It’s really computationally intense.
- www.nature.com Asgard archaea defense systems and their roles in the origin of eukaryotic immunity - Nature Communications
Bacteria possess many types of antiviral immune systems, some of which are present also in eukaryotes. Here, Leão et al. explore the diversity and distribution of antiviral defense systems in archaea and their evolutionary relationships with bacterial and eukaryotic immune systems, supporting that A...
The United Nations Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB): Mobilizing science for a sustainable future
Rebuilding trust in science: Challenges and responsibilities in a polarized world
Broadening horizons: Local knowledge to strengthen foresight practices
Looting of the Sudan National Museum – more is at stake than priceless ancient treasures
- www.nature.com Accelerating histopathology workflows with generative AI-based virtually multiplexed tumour profiling - Nature Machine Intelligence
VirtualMultiplexer is a generative AI tool that produces realistic multiplexed immunohistochemistry images from tissue biopsies. The generated images could be used to improve clinical predictions, enhancing histopathology workflows and accelerating cancer research.
- • 90%interestingengineering.com China's LARID radar detects plasma bubbles over Giza pyramids
Chinese scientists used the powerful LARID radar in Hainan to detect plasma bubbles over the Egyptian pyramids and the Midway Islands, nearly 5,965 miles apart.
- • 55%interestingengineering.com Magical equation unites quantum physics, general relativity in a first
Scientists have finally figured out a way to connect the dots between the macroscopic and the microscopic worlds. Their magical equation might provide us answers to questions like why black holes don't collapse and how quantum gravity works.
Edit: The paper is total nonsense. Sorry for wasting people's time.
https://youtu.be/Yk_NjIPaZk4?si=dasxM2Py-s654djW
- https:// web.archive.org /web/20151224030742/http://saveoursoils.com/userfiles/downloads/1351255687-Changes%20in%20USDA%20food%20composition%20data%20for%2043%20garden%20crops,%201950-1999.pdf
- biologicalsciences.uchicago.edu How cells control gene expression by cleaning up their mistakes
New research from the University of Chicago shows that alternative splicing plays a much bigger role than expected in controlling gene expression.
- healthsciences.ku.dk Newly discovered gene may influence longevity
It turns out that a particular gene has a great influence on longevity, a new study from the University of Copenhagen concludes. This may pave the way for new treatment.
AI was born at a US summer camp 68 years ago. Here’s why that event still matters today
A review of the degrowth literature (561 studies) find that 'few studies use quantitative or qualitative data...' and those that do 'tend to include small samples or focus on non-representative cases'. Finally, 'large majority (almost 90%) are opinions rather than analysis'.
- • 98%www.livescience.com 'Closer than people think': Woolly mammoth 'de-extinction' is nearing reality — and we have no idea what happens next
Scientists are getting very close to bringing a few iconic species, like woolly mammoths and dodos, back from extinction. That may not be a good thing.
Call for proposals: Website support and maintenance
- • 100%nautil.us Crows Are Even Smarter Than We Thought
New evidence suggests the corvid family has surprising mental abilities.
- https:// www.garvan.org.au /news-resources/news/researchers-map-50-000-of-dna-s-mysterious-knots-in-the-human-genome
Innovative study of DNA’s hidden structures may open up new approaches for treatment and diagnosis of diseases, including cancer.
- research.gatech.edu Georgia Tech Neuroscientists Explore the Intersection of Music and Memory | Research
In two studies, Ph.D. student Yiren Ren's research explores music’s impact on learning, memory, and emotions. One reveals that familiar music can enhance concentration and learning, while the other demonstrates that music with a strong emotional tone can reshape the quality of existing memories. Her...
- • 81%www.plenglish.com Cuban science contributes to agri-food development
Camagüey, Cuba, Aug 27 (Prensa Latina) For Cuban agriculture, scientific work is essential for its development, and with this intention, research is encouraged at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in Camagüey.
- www.nature.com Continuous sterane and phytane δ13C record reveals a substantial pCO2 decline since the mid-Miocene - Nature Communications
Molecular fossils from marine phytoplankton reveal a substantial decline in CO2 values over the past 15 million years and may support higher climate sensitivity than previously reported.
- drexel.edu Looking for Clues About Your Real Age? Your Grandparents’ Education May Offer Some Insight.
Eating well, exercising and attending regular doctor appointments can support a long healthy life, but a new study identified one possible factor beyond our control: whether you had a grandparent who went to college. The study, from researchers at Drexel University and colleagues from the University...
- • 100%www.livescience.com Virus that causes COVID-19 uses a secret 'back door' to infect the brain
A mutation on the spike protein of the virus that causes COVID-19 could help it infect the brain by forcing it to use a cellular "back door."
- www.cuimc.columbia.edu Mitochondria Are Flinging Their DNA into Our Brain Cells
A new study finds that mitochondria in our brain cells frequently fling their DNA into the cells' nucleus, where the mitochondrial DNA integrates into chromosomes, possibly causing harm.
Nominations for the ISC Governing Board closing this week on Friday 30 August
- www.cnn.com Analysis: We consume up to a credit card’s worth of plastic *every* week | CNN
Here’s something that will haunt you: You likely consume the rough equivalent of a credit card’s worth of plastic every single week, according to a World Wildlife Fund study.
- • 100%www.nature.com Nonlinear dynamics of multi-omics profiles during human aging - Nature Aging
Understanding the molecular changes underlying aging is important for developing biomarkers and healthy aging interventions. In this study, the authors used comprehensive multi-omics data to reveal nonlinear molecular profiles across chronological ages, highlighting two substantial variations observ...
The study indicates that human aging happens in two accelerated bursts, at ages 44 and 60. Most molecules studied showed non-linear changes at these ages. These changes are associated with reduced ability to metabolize caffeine and alcohol, muscle injuries, fat accumulation, and increased susceptibility to cardiovascular disorders, kidney issues, and type 2 diabetes. The study suggests making lifestyle changes like drinking less alcohol and exercising more when nearing these ages.
- • 100%
Life from a Drop of Rain: New Research Suggests Rainwater Helped Form the First Protocell Walls
pme.uchicago.edu Life from a drop of rain: New research suggests rainwater helped form the first protocell wallsA Nobel-winning biologist, two engineering schools, and a vial of Houston rainwater cast new light on the origin of life on Earth
SCAR Open Science Conference in Chile: a catalyst for polar research
SCAR Open Science Conference in Chile: a catalyst for polar research
- news.wsu.edu Scientists discover new code governing gene activity
A newly discovered code within DNA — coined “spatial grammar” — holds a key to understanding how gene activity is encoded in the human genome.
- www.nature.com Patients recovering from COVID-19 who presented with anosmia during their acute episode have behavioral, functional, and structural brain alterations - Scientific Reports
Patients recovering from COVID-19 commonly exhibit cognitive and brain alterations, yet the specific neuropathological mechanisms and risk factors underlying these alterations remain elusive. Given the significant global incidence of COVID-19, identifying factors that can distinguish individuals at ...
