BLOWING IN THE WIND: PLUTONIUM AT FORMER NUCLEAR WEAPONS SITE
The contamination events went on for nearly 12 months, getting progressively worse before the project was halted in mid-December. Now, state health and environmental regulators, Energy Department officials and federal safety investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong and who is responsible. Source: latimes.com
A NEW STUDY SUGGESTS THERE COULD HAVE BEEN INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH BEFORE HUMANS
Published this month in the International Journal of Astrobiology, the work outlines what kind of signature a technologically adept species might leave behind. Schmidt and Frank use the projected footprint of the Anthropocene, the current era in which human activity is influencing planetary processes like climate and biodiversity, as a guide for what we might expect from other civilizations. Source: vice.com
U.S. BANS AMERICAN COMPANIES FROM SELLING TO CHINESE PHONE MAKER ZTE
The United States has banned American firms from selling parts and software to China’s ZTE Corp for seven years, potentially devastating for the telecoms equipment maker and exacerbating tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Source: reuters.com
THE BILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION: HOW DOES THE CLIPPER MISSION GET TO EUROPA?
It will not be cheap or easy to reach Europa, which lies within the complicated gravitational tangle of Jupiter and its dozens of moons, 600 million kilometers from Earth. But the payoff, scientists feel, is potentially incalculable. Beneath Europa’s ice, perhaps just a few kilometers down in some areas, lies the most vast ocean known to humans. With abundant energy emanating from the moon’s interior into the ocean, scientists speculate life might exist—probably just microbes, but why not something krill-like, too?
Read moreAUTONOMOUS BRAKING: ‘THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT SINCE THE SAFETY BELT’
Here is an extraordinary statistic: since the Volvo XC90 went on sale in the UK in 2002 it has sold over 50,000 vehicles, yet not a single person has been killed while driving it, or as a passenger. Source: bbc.com
PROBABILITY THEORY FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS
In this case study I attempt to untangle this pedagogical knot to illuminate the basic concepts and manipulations of probability theory and how they can be implemented in practice. Our ultimate goal is to demystify what we can calculate in probability theory and how we can perform those calculations in practice. We begin with an introduction to abstract set theory, continue to probability theory, and then move onto practical implementations without any interpretational distraction.
Read moreTHE ELUSIVE CALCULUS OF INSECTS’ ALTRUISM AND KIN SELECTION
How the ultra-cooperative behavior of ants, bees and other social insects could have evolved continues to challenge formal analysis. But a new theory that includes hedging bets against nature’s unpredictability may help to change the math and shift the debate. Source: quantamagazine.org
INTERACTIVE COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE – PART 1, SPIKING NEURONS
Neurons are cells — small bodies of mostly water, ions, amino acids and proteins with remarkable electrochemical properties. They are the primary functional units of the brain. Our mental experiences — our perceptions, memories, and thoughts — are the result of the ebb and flow of salts across neural bi-lipid membranes and the synaptic transmissions between neurons. Understanding neurons and neural computation can help illuminate how our rich mental experiences are constructed and represented, the underlying principles of our behavior and decision making, as well as provide biological inspiration for new ways to process information and for artificial intelligence.
Read moreRESEARCHERS FIND GENETIC CAUSE FOR ALZHEIMER’S, POSSIBLE METHOD TO REVERSE IT
Scientists at an independent biomedical research institution have reported a monumental breakthrough: The cause of the primary genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, and a possible cure for the disease. Source: upi.com
PEPTIDE-BASED BIOGENIC DENTAL PRODUCT MAY CURE CAVITIES
Researchers at the University of Washington have designed a convenient and natural product that uses proteins to rebuild tooth enamel and treat dental cavities. Source: washington.edu