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With artificial photosynthesis, humankind could utilize solar energy to bind carbon dioxide and produce hydrogen. Chemists have taken this one step further: They have synthesized a stack of dyes that comes very close to the photosynthetic apparatus of plants. It absorbs light energy, uses it to separate charge carriers and transfers them quickly and efficiently in the stack.

Researchers have experimentally recreated another fundamental theoretical model from quantum physics, which goes back to the Nobel Prize laureate Werner Heisenberg. The basis for the successful experiment is made of tiny carbon molecules known as nanographenes. This synthetic bottom-up approach enables versatile experimental research into quantum technologies, which could one day help drive breakthroughs in the field.

Researchers have experimentally recreated another fundamental theoretical model from quantum physics, which goes back to the Nobel Prize laureate Werner Heisenberg. The basis for the successful experiment is made of tiny carbon molecules known as nanographenes. This synthetic bottom-up approach enables versatile experimental research into quantum technologies, which could one day help drive breakthroughs in the field.

Iridium-doped iron-cobalt (Fe-Co-Ir) alloys, previously identified through machine learning, have been shown to have enhanced magnetic properties, surpassing even the widely used pure Fe-Co alloy. However, the origin of this enhanced magnetization is poorly understood. Now, scientists employed an innovative method using high-throughput X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements, demonstrating the critical role of Ir-doping. The findings will serve as a foundation for designing new high-performance magnetic materials.

Astronomers have discovered two exoplanets around TOI-1453, a star about 250 light years away. These two exoplanets, a super-Earth and a sub-Neptune, are common in the galaxy, yet are absent from our system. This discovery paves the way for future atmospheric studies to better understand these types of planets.

Digital voice recordings contain valuable information that can indicate an individual's cognitive health, offering a non-invasive and efficient method for assessment. Research has demonstrated that digital voice measures can detect early signs of cognitive decline by analyzing features such as speech rate, articulation, pitch variation and pauses, which may signal cognitive impairment when deviating from normative patterns. However, voice data introduces privacy challenges due to the personally identifiable information embedded in recordings, such as gender, accent and emotional state, as well as more subtle speech characteristics that can uniquely identify individuals. These risks are amplified when voice data is processed by automated systems, raising concerns about re-identification and potential misuse of data.

Digital voice recordings contain valuable information that can indicate an individual's cognitive health, offering a non-invasive and efficient method for assessment. Research has demonstrated that digital voice measures can detect early signs of cognitive decline by analyzing features such as speech rate, articulation, pitch variation and pauses, which may signal cognitive impairment when deviating from normative patterns. However, voice data introduces privacy challenges due to the personally identifiable information embedded in recordings, such as gender, accent and emotional state, as well as more subtle speech characteristics that can uniquely identify individuals. These risks are amplified when voice data is processed by automated systems, raising concerns about re-identification and potential misuse of data.

A failed launch left a batch of Starlink satellites in the wrong orbit last year, and it appears that a fragment of one fell to Earth and hit a farm in Canada. Thankfully, no one was injured

Solar Power Satellite (SPS) advocates have been dreaming of using space resources to build massive constructions for decades. In-space Resource Utilization (ISRU) advocates would love to oblige them, but so far, there hasn't yet been enough development on either front to create a testable system. A research team from a company called MetaSat and the University of Glasgow hope to change that with a new plan called META-LUNA, which utilizes lunar resources to build (and recycle) a fleet of their specially designed SPS.

New Scientist's revelation that a UK minister is asking ChatGPT for advice raises the question of what role these new AI tools should play in government – and whether we should really think of them as intelligent

It can be difficult to recall exactly when a specific event happened, and now it seems our memory can be tricked into pushing occurrences back in time, making us think they happened earlier than in reality

One potentially positive outcome from the COVID pandemic is that it was a wakeup call – if there was any doubt previously about the fact that we all live in one giant interconnected world, it should not have survived the recent pandemic. This is particularly true when it comes to infectious disease. A bug that breaks out on the other side of the world can make its way to your country, your home, and cause havoc. It’s also not just about the spread of infectious organisms, but the breeding of these organisms.

One source of infectious agents is zoonotic spillover, where viruses, for example, can jump from an animal reservoir to a human. So the policies in place in any country to reduce the chance of this happening affect the world. The same is true of policies for laboratories studying potentially infectious agents.

It’s also important to remember that infectious agents are not static – they evolve. They can evolve even within a single host as they replicate, and they can evolve as they jump from person to person and replicate some more. The more bugs are allows to replicate, the greater the probability that new mutations will allow them to become more infectious, or more deadly, or more resistant to treatment. Resistance to treatment is especially critical, and is more likely to happen in people who are partially treated. Give someone an antibiotic to kill 99.9% of the bacteria that’s infecting them, but stop before the infection is completely wiped out, and then the surviving bacteria can resume replication. Those surviving bacteria are likely to be the most resistant bugs to the antibiotic. Bacteria can also swap antibiotic resistant genes, and build up increasing resistance.

In short, controlling infectious agents is a world-wide problem, and it requires a world-wide response. Not only is this a humanitarian effort, it is in our own best self-interest. The rest of the world is a breeding ground for bugs that will come to our shores. This is why we really need an organization, funded by the most wealthy nations, to help establish, fund, and enforce good policies when it comes to identifying, treating, and preventing infectious illness. This includes vaccination programs, sanitation, disease outbreak monitoring, drug treatment programs, and supportive care programs (like nutrition). We would also benefit from programs that target specific hotspots of infectious disease in poor countries that do not have the resources to adequately deal with them, like HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, and tuberculosis in Bangladesh.

Even though this would be the morally right thing to do (enough of a justification, in my opinion), and is in our own self-interest from an infectious disease perceptive, we could even further leverage this aid to enhance our political soft power. These life-saving drugs are brought to you by the good people of the USA. No one would begrudge us a little political self-promotion while we are donating billions of dollars to help save poor sick kids, or stamp out outbreaks of deadly disease in impoverished countries. This also would not have to break the budget. For something around 1% of our total budget we could do an incredible amount of good in the world, protect ourselves, and enhance our prestige and political soft power.

So why aren’t we doing this? Well, actually, we are (as I am sure most readers know). The US is the largest single funder of the World Health Organization (WHO), about 15% of its budget. One of the missions of the WHO is to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks around the world. In 1961 the US established the USAID, which united all our various foreign aid programs into one agency under the direction of the Secretary of State. Through USAID we have been battling disease and malnutrition around the world, defending the rights of women and marginalized groups, and helping to vaccinate and educate the poor. This is coordinated through the State Department specifically to make sure this aid aligns with US interests and enhances US soft power.

I am not going to say that I agree with every position of the WHO. They are a large political organization having to balance the interests of many nations and perspectives. I have criticized some of their specific choices in the past, such as their support for “traditional” healing methods that are not effective or science-based. I am also sure there is a lot to criticize in the USAID program, in terms of waste or perhaps the political goal or effect of specific programs. Politics is messy. It is also the right of any administration to align the operation of an agency like USAID, again under the control of the Secretary of State, with their particular partisan ideology. That’s fine, that’s why we have elections.

But most of what they do (both the WHO and USAID) is essential, and non-partisan. Donating to programs supplying free anti-tuberculosis drugs in Bangladesh is not exactly a controversial or burning partisan issue.

And yet, Trump has announced that the US is withdrawing from the WHO. This is a reckless and harmful act. This is a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If we have issues with the WHO, we can use our substantial influence, as its single largest funder, to lobby for changes. Now we have no influence, and just made the world more vulnerable to infectious illness.

Trump and Musk have also pulled the rug out from USAID, for reasons that are still unclear. Musk seems to think that USAID is all worms and no apple, but this is transparent nonsense. The rhetoric on the right is focusing on DEI programs funded by USAID (amounting to an insignificant sliver of what the agency does), but is ignoring or downplaying all of the incredibly useful programs, like fighting infectious disease, education, and nutrition programs.

Another part of the rhetoric, which is why many of his supporters back the move, is that the US should not be spending money in other countries while we have problems here at home. This ignores reality – fully 50% of the US budget is for welfare, including social security, medicare, medicaid, and all other welfare programs. Around 1% (it varies year-to-year) goes to USAID. It is not as if we cannot afford welfare programs in the US because of our foreign aid. It’s just a ridiculous and narrow-minded point. If you want a more robust safety net, then that is what you should vote for and lobby your representatives for, at the state and federal level. But foreign aid is not the problem.

Further, foreign aid should be thought of as an investment, not an expense. Again – that is part of the point of having it under the direction of the State Department. USAID can help to prevent conflicts, that would be even more costly to the US. They can reduce the risk of deadly infectious diseases coming to our shores. Do you want to compare the total cost of COVID to the US economy to the cost of USAID?  This is obviously a difficult number to come by, but by one estimate COVID-19 cost the US economy $14 trillion. That is enough to fund USAID at 2023 levels for 350 years. So if USAID prevents one COVID-like pandemic every century or so, it is more than worth it. More likely, however, it will reduce the deadliness of common infectious illnesses, like HIV and tuberculosis.

Even if you can make a case to reduce our aid to help the world’s poor, doing so in a sudden and chaotic fashion, without warning, is beyond reckless. Stopping drug programs is a great way to breed resistance. Food and drugs are sitting in storage and cannot be dispersed because funding has been cut off. It’s hard to defend this as a way to reduce waste. The harm that will be created is hard to calculate. It’s also a great way to evaporate 60 years of American soft power in a matter of weeks.

I am open to any cogent and logical argument to defend these actions. I have not seen or heard one, despite looking. Feel free to make your case in the comments if you think this was anything but heartless, ignorant, and reckless.

The post Cutting to the Bone first appeared on NeuroLogica Blog.

In a survey of AI researchers, most say current AI models are unlikely to lead to artificial general intelligence with human-level capabilities, even as companies invest billions of dollars in this goal

These brilliant images show how researchers in Switzerland are using weather-modification techniques to understand how ice crystals form in clouds, an important and poorly understood factor in climate and weather models

An analysis of changes to global ecosystems has revealed that almost nowhere is untouched by the influence of humanity, with more than 50 per cent of the planet's land mass experiencing "novel" conditions

Building the full value of pi has been a project thousands of years in the making, but just how much of this infinite number do we actually need, asks our maths columnist Jacob Aron

I only feel comfortable suggesting an RCT of routine vaccines because I am confident it wouldn't get off the ground.

The post RFK Jr: Recruit Dr. Vinay Prasad to Run an RCT of the Routine Vaccine Schedule first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

JWST Cycle 4 Spotlight, Part 1: Exoplanets and Habitability

A distant trio of worlds may shed light on planetary formation in the early solar system. Sometimes, good things come in threes. If astronomers are correct, a system in the distant Kuiper Belt may not be two but three worlds, offering an insight into formation in the early solar system. The study comes out of researchers at Brigham Young University and the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Shifting your focus could help you overcome the trickery of optical illusions