Astronomers in the UK and Portugal have made a groundbreaking discovery, observing the first strong evidence for an exoplanet with an orbit perpendicular to that of the binary system it orbits. The exoplanet, which orbits a pair of brown dwarfs, is believed to be required to explain the changing orientation in the orbit of the…
Science on The Soothsayer / page 18
Scientists have turned to ancient Chinese poems to track the decline of the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise. By analyzing 724 poems from the Tang Dynasty to the present day, researchers found that the porpoise’s range has shrunk by 65% since the Tang Dynasty, with a sharp decrease occurring between the Qing Dynasty and today….
Researchers in Singapore and the US have independently developed two new types of photonic computer chips that match existing purely electronic chips in terms of raw performance. These chips, which can be integrated with conventional silicon electronics, could find use in energy-hungry technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The breakthroughs in photonic computing could lead…
Scientists have uncovered the physics behind the unique rosette shape of Swiss cheese, known as Tête de Moine. The discovery reveals that the friction between the cheese and a specially designed blade creates a length mismatch, resulting in the characteristic frilly shape. This shape affects the flavor of the cheese, allowing it to mix with…
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have made a significant breakthrough in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). They found that the same part of the brain used for speech decoding can also support computer cursor control for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This discovery has the potential to enable the creation of multi-modal BCIs that…
Researchers have discovered that in the variant of chess known as Chess960, players often rely on tried-and-true opening moves, even when an oddball move might yield greater success. This phenomenon, known as the “memory premium,” can be quantified and has implications for decision-making in situations where the rules are not well-defined. The study found that…
Researchers at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) have made a groundbreaking discovery in spintronics, developing a new method to control spin-polarized currents using electric fields. This innovation could bring spintronics closer to real-world applications, enabling the creation of more efficient, compact, and energy-efficient devices. Forecast for 6 months: Expect significant interest and…
Mathematicians have finally solved a 65-year-old problem in the field of topology, which deals with the properties of shapes that are preserved under continuous transformations. The problem, which involved determining the dimensions in which certain twisted shapes can exist, has been a long-standing puzzle in the mathematical community. Researchers at Fudan University and the University…
A groundbreaking theoretical framework proposes that gravity may arise from entropy, offering a fresh perspective on the deep connections between geometry, quantum mechanics, and statistical physics. Developed by Ginestra Bianconi, a mathematical physicist at Queen Mary University of London, this modified version of gravity provides new quantum information theory insights on the well-established link between…