Science! (9 Viewers)

[Optimus Prime]

Scientists believe they have solved the mystery of why the inner solar system spins much more slowly than the laws of physics suggest it should.

The inner ring of the solar system contains thin layers of gas and dust known as accretion disks, which spiral around young stars heading slowly inwards…..

Scientists work out why the inner solar system seemed to break the laws of physics

The mystery had been puzzling astronomers for over a century

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Sailorsaint]

Scientists have discovered why Jupiter does not have rings like its neighbouring gas giant Saturn.

Saturn’s rings are largely made of ice, some of which may have come from comets that are also made of ice.

“It’s long bothered me why Jupiter doesn’t have even more amazing rings that would put Saturn’s to shame,” said University of California, Riverside astrophysicist Stephen Kane.

“If Jupiter did have them, they’d appear even brighter to us, because the planet is so much closer than Saturn.”

The reason for Jupiter’s absent rings is relatively simple: its enormous moons prevent them from forming. The planet does in fact have smaller rings – as do Neptune and Uranus – but are not as substantial as Saturn’s and therefore are difficult to see with traditional stargazing equipment……

Astronomers solve the mystery of Jupiter’s missing rings

Jupiter should have enormous rings like Saturn, but its four major moons are stopping them from forming

www.independent.co.uk

Maybe JWST can give us a better view of them, that would be cool.

 

[Eeyore]

There is no clear evidence that depression is caused by low serotonin levels, research suggests.

The new review, which analysed existing studies, suggests the condition is not likely caused by a chemical imbalance, and calls into question what antidepressants do.

Researchers say their findings are important as studies show that as many as 85-90% of the public believes that depression is caused by low serotonin or a chemical imbalance.

Most antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and were originally said to work by correcting abnormally low serotonin levels.

There is no other accepted way by which antidepressants affect the symptoms of depression.

Lead author Joanna Moncrieff, a professor of psychiatry at UCL is a consultant psychiatrist at North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT).

She said: ‘It is always difficult to prove a negative, but I think we can safely say that after a vast amount of research conducted over several decades, there is no convincing evidence that depression is caused by serotonin abnormalities, particularly by lower levels or reduced activity of serotonin.

‘The popularity of the “chemical imbalance” theory of depression has coincided with a huge increase in the use of antidepressants.

‘Prescriptions for antidepressants have risen dramatically since the 1990s, with one in six adults in England and 2% of teenagers now being prescribed an antidepressant in a given year.’..........

MSN

www.msn.com

It's caused by people

 

[Optimus Prime]

Scientists have made a quantum computer that breaks free from the binary system.

Computers as we know them today rely on binary information: they operate in ones and zeroes, storing more complex information in “bits” that either off or on. That seemingly simple system is at the heart of every computer we use.

Quantum computers have taken on that same system. They use qubits, which replicate the bits of a classical computer but using quantum technology.

But they are built with more than just those ones and zeroes. Quantum computers are not necessarily restricted to binary, and scientists hope that breaking them are from that system can add extra complexity without using more quantum particles.

Now scientists say they have succeeded in building a quantum computer that works in that way. It can do calculations not with qubits but instead with qudits – quantum digits that could allow for vastly more computing power.

Most quantum computers have the access to more quantum states than are actually used when they are doing computation. In the new study, scientists used a computer at the University of Innsbruck that stores information in trapped calcium atoms that can exist in eight different states, for instance – but of which generally only two are used……

Scientists create quantum computer that breaks free of binary system

Scientists have made a quantum computer that breaks free from the binary system.

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Optimus Prime]

Scientists have created a new phase of matter, in which time has two dimensions.

The creation of an “extra” dimension in time could change the way we think about matter as well as helping build quantum computers that could themselves change the world, according to the researchers who found it.

And the perplexing quality was discovered in an almost equally astonishing way: by shining lasers, flashing in a pattern of pulses inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, at atoms inside of a quantum computer…..

Scientific experiment creates ‘two dimensional’ time

Scientists have created a new phase of matter, in which time has two dimensions.

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Optimus Prime]

Scientists have found an unusual and repetitive signal coming from a distant galaxy.

The blast of radio energy is flashing, in a pattern that has been likened to a heartbeat.

Scientists say it is a fast radio burst, or the still-mysterious and powerful blasts of energy that come from deep in space, and which scientists still do not understand. But it is strange among those blasts: it is nowhere near as fast, lasting for up to three seconds rather than the milliseconds of usual FRBs.


The signal is flashing in a “periodic” pattern of a kind that is rarely found in the universe. The bursts of energy repeat every 0.2 seconds.

Daniele Michilli, a postdoc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, said: “There are not many things in the universe that emit strictly periodic signals.

“Examples that we know of in our own galaxy are radio pulsars and magnetars, which rotate and produce a beamed emission similar to a lighthouse.

“And we think this new signal could be a magnetar or pulsar on steroids.”

Called FRB 20191221A, the signal is currently the longest-lasting FRB, with the clearest periodic pattern, detected to date……

A ‘heartbeat’ signal is coming from a distant galaxy

Such periodic flashing is very unusual in the universe, scientists say

www.independent.co.uk

 

[bonnjer]

Diabetes: Experimental drug may help restore insulin production

Researchers found that insulin-producing cells in diabetes patients can be restored by using a drug previously investigated for treating patients with lymphomas and multiple myeloma.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Anyone a napper?

I usually have to be sick or really really tired to sleep during the day

And I’m not one of those people who can close their eyes for two minutes are fast asleep

=======================
CNN) - People who often nap have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke, a large new study has found.

"This may be because, although taking a nap itself is not harmful, many people who take naps may do so because of poor sleep at night.

Poor sleep at night is associated with poorer health, and naps are not enough to make up for that," said clinical psychologist Michael Grandner in a statement.

Grandner directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was not involved in the study.

Study participants who typically napped during the day were 12% more likely to develop high blood pressure over time and were 24% more likely to have a stroke compared with people who never napped.

If the person was younger than age 60, napping most days raised the risk of developing high blood pressure by 20% compared with people who never or rarely nap, according to the study published Monday in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal. The AHA recently added sleep duration as one of its eight essential metrics to optimal heart and brain health……

Napping regularly linked to high blood pressure and stroke, study finds | CNN

People who often nap have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke, a large new study found. That might be because of underlying sleep disorders that are harming their regular sleep, experts say.

www.cnn.com

 

[DaveXA]

Anyone a napper?

I usually have to be sick or really really tired to sleep during the day

And I’m not one of those people who can close their eyes for two minutes are fast asleep

=======================
CNN) - People who often nap have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke, a large new study has found.

"This may be because, although taking a nap itself is not harmful, many people who take naps may do so because of poor sleep at night.

Poor sleep at night is associated with poorer health, and naps are not enough to make up for that," said clinical psychologist Michael Grandner in a statement.

Grandner directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was not involved in the study.

Study participants who typically napped during the day were 12% more likely to develop high blood pressure over time and were 24% more likely to have a stroke compared with people who never napped.

If the person was younger than age 60, napping most days raised the risk of developing high blood pressure by 20% compared with people who never or rarely nap, according to the study published Monday in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal. The AHA recently added sleep duration as one of its eight essential metrics to optimal heart and brain health……

Napping regularly linked to high blood pressure and stroke, study finds | CNN

People who often nap have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure and having a stroke, a large new study found. That might be because of underlying sleep disorders that are harming their regular sleep, experts say.

www.cnn.com

Yeah, the only time I ever nap is when I'm stupid tired from a lack of sleep. That might happen once a month, if that.

 

[bonnjer]

Researchers discover way to predict earthquakes with 80% accuracy​

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-712972

 

[Sailorsaint]

Researchers discover way to predict earthquakes with 80% accuracy​

https://www.jpost.com/science/article-712972

Wow! If you could predict quakes 48 hours in advance, that would save countless lives. Of course, you would still get a few, "I'll ride it out" people, but most that could, would leave.

 

[faceman]

Wow! If you could predict quakes 48 hours in advance, that would save countless lives. Of course, you would still get a few, "I'll ride it out" people, but most that could, would leave.

I remember watching the 89 world series when that quake hit SF. I've always said I'll take a hurricane any day. We can see them coming .

 

[Sailorsaint]

I figured this fits here as well as anywhere. Russia says they are going to leave the ISS and build their own space station after 2024. Riiiight, you can't build guided missiles but you're going to build and equip a new space station.....

Russia says it will quit the International Space Station after 2024 | CNN

Russia says it is planning to pull out of the International Space Station and end its decades-long partnership with NASA at the orbiting outpost, according to the newly appointed head of Russia's space agency.

www.cnn.com

 

[bonnjer]

Artificial Intelligence Discovers Alternative Physics

A new Columbia University AI program observed physical phenomena and uncovered relevant variables—a necessary precursor to any physics theory. But the variables it discovered were unexpected. Energy, Mass, Velocity. These three variables make up Einstein’s iconic equation E=MC2. But how did Alber

scitechdaily.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

A group of scientists has concluded that ancient Europeans drank milk for millennia despite the digestive problems it may have caused, casting doubt on theories on how humans evolved to tolerate it.

Scientists have long speculated that an enzyme needed to avoid any gastrointestinal discomfort developed rapidly in populations where domesticating dairy animals was prevalent.


People who could tolerate milk, that theory goes, gained a new source of calories and protein and passed on their genes to more healthy offspring than those without the genetic trait — known as lactase persistence — that allows them to digest the sugar in milk into adulthood.

But a new study has offered a radically different theory, arguing that side effects such as gas, bloating and intestinal cramps weren’t enough on their own to move the evolutionary needle on the genetic mutation.

“Prehistoric people in Europe may have started consuming milk from domesticated animals thousands of years before they evolved the gene to digest it,” the study’s authors said.

The study, published in the journal Nature, was produced in collaboration with more than 100 scientists across a range of fields including genetics, archaeology and epidemiology. The scientists mapped out estimated milk consumption in Europe from approximately 9,000 years ago to 500 years ago.

By analyzing animal fat residues in pottery from hundreds of archaeological sites, alongside DNA samples harvested from ancient skeletons, the researchers concluded that lactase persistence was not common until around 1,000 B.C., nearly 4,000 years after it was first detected.......

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/07/28/lactose-intolerant-europe-study-milk/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F377eb83%2F62e2b0c7cfe8a216010acd91%2F59813061ae7e8a6816fb1940%2F48%2F72%2F62e2b0c7cfe8a216010acd91&wp_cu=f59d95843d1b8569d5feb9225743f8ec%7C42E730F6C5F01223E0530100007F1ADF