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Science has an AI problem: This group says they can fix it

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 12:30pm
A team of 19 prominent researchers has published guidelines for the responsible use of machine learning in science. They say it could avert a crisis that's smoldering in every field.
Categories: Science

Physicists build new device that is foundation for quantum computing

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 12:30pm
Scientists have adapted a device called a microwave circulator for use in quantum computers, allowing them for the first time to precisely tune the exact degree of nonreciprocity between a qubit, the fundamental unit of quantum computing, and a microwave-resonant cavity. The ability to precisely tune the degree of nonreciprocity is an important tool to have in quantum information processing. In doing so, the team derived a general and widely applicable theory that simplifies and expands upon older understandings of nonreciprocity so that future work on similar topics can take advantage of the team's model, even when using different components and platforms.
Categories: Science

Researchers unlock potential of 2D magnetic devices for future computing

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 12:30pm
A research team has created an innovative method to control tiny magnetic states within ultrathin, two-dimensional van der Waals magnets -- a process akin to how flipping a light switch controls a bulb.
Categories: Science

Researchers unlock potential of 2D magnetic devices for future computing

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 12:30pm
A research team has created an innovative method to control tiny magnetic states within ultrathin, two-dimensional van der Waals magnets -- a process akin to how flipping a light switch controls a bulb.
Categories: Science

New computer algorithm supercharges climate models and could lead to better predictions of future climate change

Computers and Math from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 12:29pm
A study describes a new computer algorithm which can be applied to Earth System Models to drastically reduce the time needed to prepare these in order to make accurate predictions of future climate change. During tests on models used in IPCC simulations, the algorithm was on average 10 times faster at spinning up the model than currently-used approaches, reducing the time taken to achieve equilibrium from many months to under a week.
Categories: Science

European summers will be hotter than predicted because of cleaner air

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 12:00pm
By ignoring declining air pollution, regional climate models have greatly underestimated how hot Europe's summers and heatwaves will become
Categories: Science

Protestors allegedly deface Linnaeus statue

Why Evolution is True Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:45am

From the Chicago Maroon:

The statue of Carl von Linné, located on the Midway, has been spray painted with several phrases, including “death 2 amerikkka” and “death 2 academy.” The Midway is part of the Chicago Park District and the statue is not on University property.

– Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, News Reporter

Now we can’t be sure that the protestors encamped here defaced this statue, but I haven’t seen it defaced in the 38 years I’ve been here.  And the correlation with The Encampment, as well as the message, is striking.  Defacing it makes no statement except “I am ignorant and hateful.”

If you don’t know who Linnaeus was (also called Carl von Linné after he became a nobleman), you can read about him here.  He was a Swedish botanist and formulated the system of Latin binomials to identify organisms. (I visited his house, which still stands, when I lectured at Uppsala, but don’t have time to post the pictures.) He was amazingly productive, widely admired, and is known as “the Father of Modern Taxonomy.” Why some chowderhead would deface his statue defies me.

Here’s the lovely statue from the front, which I always admire when I walk by it on the Midway. It was created by Frithiof Kjellberg in 1891, installed the same year, and then relocated in 1976.  And what a great thought to memorialize a famous biologist whom almost nobody has heard of!

Photographed by Joe Lothan, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Categories: Science

Here's an easier way to improve the drainage of heavy clay soil

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
Digging sand or grit into clay soils is a drainage fix that has been around for years, but James Wong turns to nature to find a less backbreaking solution
Categories: Science

The "science of weird shit" and making sense of the paranormal

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
Chris French, who runs the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, explores what lies behind claims of ghosts, aliens and reincarnation in his new book
Categories: Science

These stunning close-up photos offer a window onto the world of bees

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
From an orchid bee to a violet carpenter bee, these images show the insects in amazing detail
Categories: Science

The shift to LED lighting is stopping us from seeing our night skies

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
From an energy perspective, the move away from sodium vapour lamps to LEDs is great, but the news isn't so good when it comes to light pollution. The way we illuminate the world needs to be part of our green agenda, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Categories: Science

How to make $138,000 from shredded banknotes – if you're in Hong Kong

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
Feedback is intrigued by the possibilities of a new paper theorising that computer vision could be used to reconstruct shredded banknotes contained in a paperweight souvenir
Categories: Science

The unexpected effects of nostalgia on our health and at work

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
Nostalgia isn’t only about a rose-tinted view of the past. This emotion can also be put to use in surprising places, says Agnes Arnold-Forster
Categories: Science

Johann Hari's compelling but flawed look at the new weight-loss drugs

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
Drugs like Ozempic may help fight obesity. Johann Hari’s first-person account of taking the new medicines is a fascinating exploration of their impact
Categories: Science

Kill the sun! How wild thought experiments drive scientific discovery

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
My colleagues call me a supervillain for trying to destroy the cosmos, but this kind of imaginative thinking isn't so far from what scientists do, says space reporter Leah Crane
Categories: Science

India's next leader will have the chance to lead the world on climate

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:00am
The future prime minister of this increasingly powerful nation should be prepared to play a key role in global climate policy
Categories: Science

A 'cosmic glitch' in gravity

Space and time from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 9:58am
Researchers have discovered a potential 'cosmic glitch' in the universe's gravity, explaining its strange behavior on a cosmic scale.
Categories: Science

Marriage of synthetic biology and 3D printing produces programmable living materials

Matter and energy from Science Daily Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 9:58am
Scientists are harnessing cells to make new types of materials that can grow, repair themselves and even respond to their environment. These solid 'engineered living materials' are made by embedding cells in an inanimate matrix that's formed in a desired shape. Now, researchers have 3D printed a bioink containing plant cells that were then genetically modified, producing programmable materials. Applications could someday include biomanufacturing and sustainable construction.
Categories: Science

Why warm drinks taste more alcoholic than cold ones

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 9:00am
Chemists have found a link between the taste of a beverage and the shapes formed by its water and ethanol molecules, which explains why spirits like whisky taste more alcoholic at warmer temperatures
Categories: Science

Father's gut microbiome may affect infant health

New Scientist Feed - Wed, 05/01/2024 - 9:00am
Disrupted gut microbiomes in male mice increase their offspring’s risk of low birth weight, stunted growth and premature death
Categories: Science

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