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Categories: Offbeat: Computers and Math, Offbeat: Space
Published Hundred-year storms? That's how long they last on Saturn
(via sciencedaily.com) Megastorms regularly appear on Saturn, marring the relatively bland surface before disappearing. But radio observations show that the storms have long-lasting effects deeper in the atmosphere, in particular in the distribution of ammonia. Using NRAO's Very Large Array, astronomers see such impacts from storms that happened hundreds of years ago. The findings will help explain the differences between storms on the gas giants Saturn and Jupiter.
Published Possible seasonal climate patterns on early Mars
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source New observations of mud cracks made by the Curiosity Rover show that high-frequency, wet-dry cycling occurred in early Martian surface environments, indicating that the red planet may have once seen seasonal weather patterns or even flash floods.
Published Physicists demonstrate how sound can be transmitted through vacuum
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A classic movie was once promoted with the punchline: 'In space, no one can hear you scream'. Physicists have now demonstrated, to the contrary, that in certain situations sound can be transmitted strongly across a vacuum region!
Published Chemical contamination on International Space Station is out of this world
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Concentrations of potentially harmful chemical compounds in dust collected from air filtration systems on the International Space Station (ISS) exceed those found in floor dust from many American homes, a new study reveals.
Published The 'unknome': A database of human genes we know almost nothing about
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers hope that a new, publicly available database they have created will shrink, not grow, over time. That's because it is a compendium of the thousands of understudied proteins encoded by genes in the human genome, whose existence is known but whose functions are mostly not.
Published Quantum material exhibits 'non-local' behavior that mimics brain function
(via sciencedaily.com) New research shows that electrical stimuli passed between neighboring electrodes can also affect non-neighboring electrodes. Known as non-locality, this discovery is a crucial milestone toward creating brain-like computers with minimal energy requirements.
Published Self-supervised AI learns physics to reconstruct microscopic images from holograms
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have unveiled an artificial intelligence-based model for computational imaging and microscopy without training with experimental objects or real data. The team introduced a self-supervised AI model nicknamed GedankenNet that learns from physics laws and thought experiments. Informed only by the laws of physics that universally govern the propagation of electromagnetic waves in space, the researchers taught their AI model to reconstruct microscopic images using only random artificial holograms -- synthesized solely from 'imagination' without relying on any real-world experiments, actual sample resemblances or real data.
Published Gravitational arcs in 'El Gordo' galaxy cluster
(via sciencedaily.com) A new image of the galaxy cluster known as 'El Gordo' is revealing distant and dusty objects never seen before, and providing a bounty of fresh science. The infrared image displays a variety of unusual, distorted background galaxies that were only hinted at in previous Hubble Space Telescope images.
Published Thermal imaging innovation allows AI to see through pitch darkness like broad daylight
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers have developed HADAR, or heat-assisted detection and ranging.
Published Sun 'umbrella' tethered to asteroid might help mitigate climate change
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Earth is rapidly warming and scientists are developing a variety of approaches to reduce the effects of climate change. An astronomer has proposed a novel approach -- a solar shield to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth, combined with a tethered, captured asteroid as a counterweight. Engineering studies using this approach could start now to create a workable design that could mitigate climate change within decades.
Published Scientists create novel approach to control energy waves in 4D
(via sciencedaily.com) Everyday life involves the three dimensions or 3D -- along an X, Y and Z axis, or up and down, left and right, and forward and back. But, in recent years scientists have explored a 'fourth dimension' (4D), or synthetic dimension, as an extension of our current physical reality.
Published That's funny -- but AI models don't get the joke
(via sciencedaily.com) Using hundreds of entries from the New Yorker magazine's Cartoon Caption Contest as a testbed, researchers challenged AI models and humans with three tasks: matching a joke to a cartoon; identifying a winning caption; and explaining why a winning caption is funny.
Published GPT-3 can reason about as well as a college student, psychologists report
(via sciencedaily.com) The artificial intelligence language model GPT-3 performed as well as college students in solving certain logic problems like those that appear on standardized tests. The researchers who conducted the experiment write that the results prompt the question of whether the technology is mimicking human reasoning or using a new type of cognitive process. Solving that question would require access to the software that underpins GPT-3 and other AI software.
Published 3D display could soon bring touch to the digital world
(via sciencedaily.com) Engineers have designed a new, shape-shifting display that can fit on a card table and allows users to draw 3D designs and more.
Published Way cool: 'freeze ray' technology
(via sciencedaily.com) An unusual discovery is now being developed as an on-demand cooling solution for high-flying military electronics.
Published Researchers successfully train a machine learning model in outer space for the first time
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have trained a machine learning model in outer space, on board a satellite. This achievement could revolutionize the capabilities of remote-sensing satellites by enabling real-time monitoring and decision making for a range of applications.
Published Astronomers shed new light on formation of mysterious fast radio bursts
(via sciencedaily.com) International team reports on a radio pulsar phase of a Galactic magnetar that emitted a fast radio burst in 2020; observations suggest unique origins for 'bursts' and 'pulses,' which adds to FRB formation theory.
Published Researchers develop low-cost sensor to enhance robots' sense of touch
(via sciencedaily.com) Researchers have developed an L3 F-TOUCH sensor to enhance tactile capabilities in robots, allowing it to 'feel' objects and adjust its grip accordingly.
Published Listen to a star 'twinkle'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Many people know that stars appear to twinkle because our atmosphere bends starlight as it travels to Earth. But stars also have an innate 'twinkle' -- caused by rippling waves of gas on their surfaces -- that is imperceptible to current Earth-bound telescopes. In a new study, researchers developed the first 3D simulations of energy rippling from a massive star's core to its outer surface. Using these new models, the researchers determined, for the first time, how much stars should innately twinkle.
Published Using cosmic weather to study which worlds could support life
(via sciencedaily.com) As the next generation of giant, high-powered observatories begin to come online, a new study suggests that their instruments may offer scientists an unparalleled opportunity to discern what weather may be like on far-away exoplanets.