Science News Thread (for articles that don't relate to ongoing discussions)

[DDE]

Space weather

https://thespacereview.com/article/4369/1

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

2 hours ago, DDE said:

Space weather

https://thespacereview.com/article/4369/1

$50 million failure

Wowsers. 

 

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

This is cool - Martian crater in 8k glory. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mars-crater-8k-footage_n_626104bce4b09c32edf8920f

 

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

 

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Yep 

[tater]

 

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

I've long referred to campfires (mostly to my children) as "Caveman TV" 

Turns out - I'm right! 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/21/europe/prehistoric-art-fire-light-moving-images-scn/index.html

(With a little help from carving and etching) 

[kerbiloid]

14 minutes ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/21/europe/prehistoric-art-fire-light-moving-images-scn/index.html

Afair, the Scythians are known to use their tents as both sauna and cinema. 

***

But the Ancient Romans were aware of this secret, too.

We have a documentary.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by kerbiloid

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

I'm gonna walk here, around in a circle!

[Gargamel]

Large hadron collider: A revamp that could revolutionise physics https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61149387

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

1 hour ago, Gargamel said:

Large hadron collider: A revamp that could revolutionise physics https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61149387

Nice!

Quote

"It is going to be two to three times better, in terms of the ability for our experiment to detect, collect and analyse data," she tells me. "The whole experimental chain has been upgraded."

 

[steve9728]

Secure Quantum Communications Over 100 Kilometres Breaks Records For Accuracy And Distance

A group of scientists has achieved quantum communication over a distance of 100 km

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-022-00769-w

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

6 hours ago, steve9728 said:

Secure Quantum Communications Over 100 Kilometres Breaks Records For Accuracy And Distance

A group of scientists has achieved quantum communication over a distance of 100 km

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41377-022-00769-w

I'm not quite following the article - is the delay in delivering the signal messing up the ability to communicate effectively in quantum computers? 

(what is the significance of 100km?) 

Edited April 23, 2022 by JoeSchmuckatelli

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Found this fascinating: you may too... It's about forgetting.  And why it's important.

The forgotten part of memory (nature.com)

 

 

...

I found some really interesting tidbits that make sense (now that I've read it).  Specifically how the brain's ability to forget - but retain the gist - of an event or experience helps us to generalize new/novel experiences and react to them better.  They don't explicitly say this - but what they're describing is intuition... and the implication is that brains that are good at forgetting specific details are likely better at intuiting a beneficial response from a new situation than someone with a photogenic memory.

Speaking of which; who among us hasn't wished for better recall?  But they write: 

Quote

People with a condition known as highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) remember their lives in such incredible detail that they can describe the outfit that they were wearing on any particular day. But despite their exceptional ability to recall such information, these individuals tend not to be particularly accomplished and seem to have an increased tendency for obsessiveness

...which doesn't make having a photographic memory seem all that great. 

Quote

 

Memory, first and foremost, is there to serve an adaptive purpose. It endows us with knowledge about the world, and then updates that knowledge.” Forgetting enables us as individuals, and as a species, to move forwards.

“Evolution has achieved a graceful balance between the virtues of remembering and the virtues of forgetting,” Anderson says. “It’s dedicated to both permanence and resilience, but also to getting rid of things that get in the way.”

 

Now - look at the next post

Edited April 23, 2022 by JoeSchmuckatelli

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

I stumbled upon the above article while searching for an explanation for a recent phenomena; specifically, why a particular scene from a book I haven't read in 30 years came back to me so clearly.  (FWIW - the rest of the book did not, but the relevant scene, did.)

For those who haven't followed along, in the "For Questions" thread, we had a conversation running that touched on aging and immortality.  (You can start here, and read on for the next page of posts if interested in the specifics)... but during the course of the conversation @magnemoe wrote something that caused me to recall the scene, albeit imperfectly.  @FleshJeb recognized the scene I described and both of them guessed the correct book, by Niven.  (Meanwhile I was chasing rabbits with Saberhagen).

All that got me to wondering - why is it that something so inconsequential as a scene from a sci-fi book published when I was 7, and I read in high-school came back so clearly?

This may be the answer:

Quote

 

Even as you read this page, changes in your thoughts and mental activity are causing your mental context to change.

As a consequence, each memory is associated with different states of context. However, some context states will be similar to each other – perhaps because they share the same location, or mood, or have some other factor in common.

This similarity between contexts is important when it comes to retrieving memories. Your brain’s memory search process is rather like a Google search, in that you’re more likely to find what you’re looking for if your search terms closely match the source content. During memory search, your current mental context is your set of search terms. In any given situation, your brain is rapidly rifling through your memories for ones that most closely resemble your current state of context.

 

Here's why memories come flooding back when you visit places from your past (theconversation.com)

So... the tie-in between the two articles:  My brain read, enjoyed and recorded the scene from the book years ago... and then, because I did not need it 'forgot it'.  Except the fact is that 'forgetting' is not the same thing as 'erasing'.  As soon as the context of my immediate need was there - the conversation about anti-aging technologies - my brain located the old memory and brought it up with a fair bit of precision.  Specifically, I remembered this thirty-some-odd-years-ago-read-passage with enough clarity to describe it in a way that two other people who'd read the book could not only recognize the scene... but also name the book!

That's pretty cool!

[steve9728]

2 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

I'm not quite following the article - is the delay in delivering the signal messing up the ability to communicate effectively in quantum computers? 

(what is the significance of 100km?) 

Read another article before about a prototype quantum computer developed by another research institute. And it was said that the computing speed of this things is tens of thousands (or 1 followed by dozens of 0) times faster than ordinary supercomputers. Honestly don't know something about the quantum and I don't think you and I and most of the people would be able and necessary to use that thing hahaha

the original news was:

"...The new system increases the maximum tolerable loss from 5.1 dB to 18.4 dB at 50 MHz laser pulse frequency, and achieves a maximum communication distance of 100 km in commercial low-loss single-mode fibre, surpassing the previous maximum distance of 18 km.

The new system's communication rate has also been improved, reaching 22.4 kilobit rates at a distance of 30 kilometres of fibre.

However, Long Guilu also said that the new system has big room for improvement in laser pulse frequency, and the corresponding communication distance and rate are expected to be further improved to meet the application needs of some scenarios.

The research results show that point-to-point direct quantum communication between cities is feasible using existing mature technical means."

Anyway, quite impressive for me

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

8 minutes ago, steve9728 said:

research results show that point-to-point direct quantum communication between cities is feasible using existing mature technical means."

Okay - that is impressive.

I still don't understand the technical limitations they're trying to overcome (quantum... anything... 

...well, you know)

[steve9728]

14 minutes ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

Okay - that is impressive.

I still don't understand the technical limitations they're trying to overcome (quantum... anything... 

...well, you know)

"The numbers mason, what do they mean!" 

[StrandedonEarth]

12 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

[snip]

That's pretty cool!

I didn't read the articles you linked (yet) but I do recall an article I recently read that forgetting things actually can mean more intelligent, as the brain is better at forgetting/ignoring information considered unnecessary (your significant other may have different opinions on what constitues 'unnecessary' information). But I digress...

I've concluded that unlocking those buried memories is a matter of triggering the proper neurons. I often find myself using a different word than I mean to (or pressing the wrong button/key when I wanted to press another) which probably means I'm getting old. But I think the mechanism is basically the same. Memories are unlocked when triggering the right neuron, or group of neurons, aka associative memory. Similarly, these mild aphasias I experience (I call it an aphasia; but nothing like the full-blown aphasia  Bruce Willis is suffering from. (pause to consult Dr. Google: A little research calls this paraphasia, on a clickbaity site I won't link)) I consider to be a result of the brain addressing a neuron where that memory/word is stored but that particular neuron has died or is no longer functioning properly, so the memory/word "next door" is triggered.

I really need to get tested for the earliest warning signs of Alzheimer's, which my mom and grandpa both suffered, and is known to start decades before becoming a full-blown issue...

[kerbiloid]

My personal experience in humanology tells that the CPU+RAM <= const.

Either a human keeps a lot in memory but has a weak CPU, or his RAM is limited, but CPU is fast.
(Usually both are poor).

The best way the info is stored, imho, is when the human's RAM has a quickload function and can dump current knowledge into the astral cloud, but quickly reload it back on demand, replacing the current one.

Also, it's important when things form a bound system of facts, when other facts just get generated from the bounds, making the quickload quick.

Anyway, first we should know when amouse trained to solve labyrinth puzzles, forgets it after the brain partial vivisection,

P.S.
Not sure about lawyers, as it stays unknown, do they actually remember their spells, or just generate it in real time and form the reality.

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

1 hour ago, StrandedonEarth said:

didn't read the articles you linked

Grin - I think you will find them on point with what you wrote (in the first half). 

Sympathy for the dementia running in the fam.  We lost my mother in law too early due to that - and the lingering (but objectively rapid) decline was hard on everyone. 

FWIW - I keep stumbling across articles about them making strides in this field.  Many are very recent and promising - but not yet part of the standard treatment protocol. 

So much we still do not know about either the brain or the mind 

1 hour ago, kerbiloid said:

CPU+RAM

Also: Grin - I've made this analogy several times. 

 

My problem is that most of what should be on the SSD is in fact stored in several locations in the cloud and I'm still using dial up to access. 

Most notably when someone I know walks into the room where I am talking with several people.  The person's name is in an encrypted file on a service that I've forgotten the password to and need to re- authenticate my credentials to access. 

(Usually granted on the ride home when I don't need it anymore and the damage is already done!) 

Edited April 23, 2022 by JoeSchmuckatelli

[kerbiloid]

1 hour ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

The person's name is in an encrypted file on a service that I've forgotten the password to and need to re- authenticate my credentials to access. 

That's an advantage of being rich and famous. Almost all people have the same name: "Hey, you!"

[StrandedonEarth]

2 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

Grin - I think you will find them on point with what you wrote (in the first half). 

My problem is that most of what should be on the SSD is in fact stored in several locations in the cloud and I'm still using dial up to access. 

Okay, I read the articles now, and yeah, seems familiar / similar.

Going with the computer analogy, it's fortunate that the most important data seems to be stored in redundant locations, similar to a data center or RAID array. 

Also, it's a common experience to go into a room to get something and then forget what you went in there for. I read something on this long ago that also used the computer analogy: When you change rooms, your working memory (RAM) dumps the mental map (and the pertinent information of what you want to get) of the room you were in and loads the mental map of the room you enter, not including your errand. Armed with that info, if I run into that problem I just go back into the previous room to reload the info that was erroneously dumped. I find it actually works quite well, instead of standing there trying to puzzle out "what did I come in here for...?"

I think this also explains why going when someplace new it looked kind of strange, but not on subsequent visits. I suppose that could be because since it is familiar, your brain isn't trying to absorb so many details, sorting the important details from the trivial ones. At least that was how things seemed to me when I was young...

Quote

dial up to access.

LOL

Edited April 23, 2022 by StrandedonEarth

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

Meet Hector. 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/02/weather/weather-thunderstorm-hector-australia/index.html

Storm forms every day at 3pm. 

 

 

[StrandedonEarth]

On 4/22/2022 at 6:03 AM, Gargamel said:

Large hadron collider: A revamp that could revolutionise physics https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61149387