Brain size mystery solved as humans outpace evolutionary trend

Rate of relative evolution of brain mass. Credit: Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). DOI file: 10.1038/s41559-024-02451-3 The largest animals don’t have proportionally larger brains, and humans are an exception to this trend, according to a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution has revealed. Researchers from the University of Reading and the University of Durham … Read more

A new approach to realizing quantum mechanical compression

Scheme of nonclassical mechanical states of a resonator-qubit combination. A transmon qubit capacitively couples to acoustic mechanical modes of a separate sapphire slab, one of which is shown as a series of blue and red antinodes. Nonclassical mechanical states emerge from this interaction. Three vignettes reproduce Wigner functions of i) a squeezed vibrational state, ii) … Read more

NASA astronauts unexpectedly spend July 4 at the International Space Station

Source: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spent an unexpected Fourth of July aboard the International Space Station, but it was hardly a patriotic display of technical prowess. The two NASA astronauts arrived at the space station on June 6 for what was supposed to be an eight-day mission. But their return … Read more

Change Your Password TODAY! 10 Billion Passwords Leaked, Experts Warn of ‘Cascade’ of Identity Fraud

All products are independently selected by our experts. To help us provide free unbiased advice, we earn an affiliate commission if you buy anything. Click here to find out more One of the largest databases ever of leaked passwordshas surfaced online, security researchers have warned. The massive haul of stolen credentials — some 9,948,575,739 unique … Read more

Crew of NASA’s simulated Mars habitat surfaces on Earth after a year

The crew of a NASA mission to Mars left the spacecraft after a year-long journey, never leaving Earth. The four volunteer crew members spent more than 12 months in NASA’s first simulated Mars environment at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. They left the artificial alien environment around 5 p.m. Saturday. Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, … Read more

Crew of NASA’s simulated Mars habitat surfaces on Earth after a year

by Brian PD Hannon In this image taken from NASA video, Kelly Haston, a crew member of the first CHAPEA mission, speaks before other members, from left, Ross Brockwell, Nathan Jones and Anca Selariu, Saturday, July 6, 2024, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The crew of a NASA mission to Mars emerged … Read more

Crew of NASA’s simulated Mars habitat surfaces on Earth after a year

Four volunteer crew members who spent more than 12 months in NASA’s first simulated Mars environment at the Johnson Space Center in Houston have emerged from the artificial alien environment By means of BRIAN PD HANNON Associated Press July 7, 2024, 6:55 AM ET • 3 min read The crew of a NASA mission to … Read more

5 Predictions in New Book by Google Futurist Who Foresaw the iPhone

A technology expert with a track record of predicting major changes in the industry has made some striking new predictions in a new book. Google’s Ray Kurzweil predicted the iPhone era and that a computer would beat someone at chess in 1998. In his new book, The Singularity is Nearer, Kurzweil predicts that humans will … Read more

Alaska’s top-heavy glaciers approach irreversible tipping point

Credit: CC0 Public Domain The melting of one of North America’s largest ice fields has accelerated and could soon reach an irreversible tipping point. That’s the conclusion of new research colleagues and I who have published on the Juneau Ice Field, which straddles the Alaska-Canada border near Alaska’s capital, Juneau. In the summer of 2022, … Read more

Exploring the possibility of probing fundamental space-time symmetries via gravitational wave memory

Model selection between the original BMS symmetries (dashed lines) and the extended BMS symmetries (solid lines) with Einstein Telescope (ET) and Cosmic Explorer (CE). Evidence for the simulated symmetry group (log Bayes factor) is shown against observation time. Credit: Physical assessment letters (2024). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.241401 As predicted by general relativity, the passage of gravitational waves … Read more