Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Cosmic wrestling match      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Our universe is around 13.8 billion years old. Over the vastness of this time, the tiniest of initial asymmetries have grown into the large-scale structures we can see through our telescopes in the night sky: galaxies like our own Milky Way, clusters of galaxies, and even larger aggregations of matter or filaments of gas and dust. How quickly this growth takes place depends, at least in today's universe, on a sort of wrestling match between natural forces: Can dark matter, which holds everything together through its gravity and attracts additional matter, hold its own against dark energy, which pushes the universe ever further apart?

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Vivid portrait of interacting galaxies marks Webb's second anniversary      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two for two! A duo of interacting galaxies commemorates the second science anniversary of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which takes constant observations, including images and highly detailed data known as spectra. Its operations have led to a 'parade' of discoveries by astronomers around the world.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Published

AI found to boost individual creativity -- at the expense of less varied content      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study finds that AI enhances creativity by boosting the novelty of story ideas as well as the 'usefulness' of stories -- their ability to engage the target audience and potential for publication. However, AI was not judged to enhance the work produced by more creative writers and the study also warns that while AI may enhance individual creativity it may also result in a loss of collective novelty, as AI-assisted stories were found to contain more similarities to each other and were less varied and diverse.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

How the 'heart and lungs' of a galaxy extend its life      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Galaxies avoid an early death because they have a 'heart and lungs' which effectively regulate their 'breathing' and prevent them growing out of control, a new study suggests. If they didn't, the universe would have aged much faster than it has and all we would see today is huge 'zombie' galaxies teeming with dead and dying stars. That's according to a new study that investigates one of the great mysteries of the Universe -- why galaxies are not as large as astronomers would expect.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Learning dance moves could help humanoid robots work better with humans      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have trained a humanoid robot to perform a variety of expressive movements, from simple dance routines to gestures like waving, high-fiving and hugging, all while maintaining a steady gait on diverse terrains. This work marks a step towards building robots that perform more complex and human-like motions.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General
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How risk-averse are humans when interacting with robots?      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

How do people like to interact with robots when navigating a crowded environment? And what algorithms should roboticists use to program robots to interact with humans? These are the questions that a team of mechanical engineers and computer scientists sought to answer in a recent study.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Dark matter in dwarf galaxy tracked using stellar motions      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The qualities and behavior of dark matter, the invisible 'glue' of the universe, continue to be shrouded in mystery. Though galaxies are mostly made of dark matter, understanding how it is distributed within a galaxy offers clues to what this substance is, and how it's relevant to a galaxy's evolution.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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AI Chatbots have shown they have an 'empathy gap' that children are likely to miss      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have frequently shown signs of an 'empathy gap' that puts young users at risk of distress or harm, raising the urgent need for 'child-safe AI', according to a new study. The research urges developers and policy actors to prioritize AI design that take greater account of children's needs. It provides evidence that children are particularly susceptible to treating chatbots as lifelike, quasi-human confidantes, and that their interactions with the technology can go awry when it fails to respond to their unique needs and vulnerabilities. The study links that gap in understanding to recent reports of cases in which interactions with AI led to potentially dangerous situations for young users.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Mars likely had cold and icy past, new study finds      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The question of whether Mars ever supported life has captivated the imagination of scientists and the public for decades. Central to the discovery is gaining insight into the past climate of Earth's neighbor: was the planet warm and wet, with seas and rivers much like those found on our own planet? Or was it frigid and icy, and therefore potentially less prone to supporting life as we know it? A new study finds evidence to support the latter by identifying similarities between soils found on Mars and those of Canada's Newfoundland, a cold subarctic climate.

Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineering: Robotics Research Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
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A new twist on artificial 'muscles' for safer, softer robots      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a new soft, flexible device that makes robots move by expanding and contracting -- just like a human muscle. To demonstrate their new device, called an actuator, the researchers used it to create a cylindrical, worm-like soft robot and an artificial bicep. In experiments, the cylindrical soft robot navigated the tight, hairpin curves of a narrow pipe-like environment, and the bicep was able to lift a 500-gram weight 5,000 times in a row without failing.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

The origins of dark comets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets, mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system that likely contain or previously contained ice and could have been one route for delivering water to Earth, according to a new study.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Strong evidence for intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Most known black holes are either extremely massive, like the supermassive black holes that lie at the cores of large galaxies, or relatively lightweight, with a mass of under 100 times that of the Sun. Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) are scarce, however, and are considered rare 'missing links' in black hole evolution.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Found with Webb: A potentially habitable icy world      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A international team of astronomers has made an exciting discovery about the temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b: it could be a promising 'super-Earth' covered in ice or water.

Biology: Microbiology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General
Published

New way for beneficial microbes to survive extreme conditions and space exploration      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Investigators sought to help figure out how to send materials like probiotics into space and to better treat a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) and metabolic diseases. The team's formulations allow microbial therapeutics, including those used to treat gastrointestinal diseases and improve crop production, to maintain their potency and function over time despite extreme temperatures.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Stench of a gas giant? Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs, and that's a good thing      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An exoplanet infamous for its deadly weather has been hiding another bizarre feature -- it reeks of rotten eggs, according to a new study of data from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

Fresh wind blows from historical supernova      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A mysterious remnant from a rare type of supernova recorded in 1181 has been explained for the first time. Two white dwarf stars collided, creating a temporary 'guest star,' now labeled supernova (SN) 1181, which was recorded in historical documents in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. However, after the star dimmed, its location and structure remained a mystery until a team pinpointed its location in 2021. Now, through computer modeling and observational analysis, researchers have recreated the structure of the remnant white dwarf, a rare occurrence, explaining its double shock formation. They also discovered that high-speed stellar winds may have started blowing from its surface within just the past 20-30 years. This finding improves our understanding of the diversity of supernova explosions, and highlights the benefits of interdisciplinary research, combining history with modern astronomy to enable new discoveries about our galaxy.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Moon 'swirls' could be magnetized by unseen magmas      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Mysterious, light-colored swirls on Moon's surface could be rocks magnetized by magma activity underground, laboratory experiments confirm.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Computer Science: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Computer Science: General Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

A genetic algorithm for phononic crystals      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers tested phononic nanomaterials designed with an automated genetic algorithm that responded to light pulses with controlled vibrations. This work may help in the development of next-generation sensors and computer devices.

Offbeat: General Offbeat: Space Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics Space: General
Published

Neutrons on classically inexplicable paths      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says -- or are there simpler explanations? New neutron measurements prove: It doesn't work without the strange properties of quantum theory.

Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geochemistry Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Organic material from Mars reveals the likely origin of life's building blocks      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Two samples from Mars together deliver clear evidence of the origin of Martian organic material. The study presents solid evidence for a prediction made over a decade ago that could be key to understanding how organic molecules, the foundation of life, were first formed here on Earth.