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New research suggests that large language models like GPT-4 could streamline the process of gene set enrichment, an approach what genes do and how they interact. Results bring science one step closer to automating one of the most widely used methods in genomics research.

Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for self-assembling electronic devices. The proof-of-concept work was used to create diodes and transistors, and paves the way for self-assembling more complex electronic devices without relying on existing computer chip manufacturing techniques.

Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for self-assembling electronic devices. The proof-of-concept work was used to create diodes and transistors, and paves the way for self-assembling more complex electronic devices without relying on existing computer chip manufacturing techniques.

A theoretical study suggests that small black holes born in the early universe may have left behind hollow planetoids and microscopic tunnels, and that we should start looking within rocks and old buildings for them. The research proposes thinking both big and small to confirm the existence of primordial black holes, suggesting that their signatures could range from very large -- hollow planetoids in space -- to minute -- microscopic tunnels in everyday materials found on Earth, like rocks, metal and glass.

A theoretical study suggests that small black holes born in the early universe may have left behind hollow planetoids and microscopic tunnels, and that we should start looking within rocks and old buildings for them. The research proposes thinking both big and small to confirm the existence of primordial black holes, suggesting that their signatures could range from very large -- hollow planetoids in space -- to minute -- microscopic tunnels in everyday materials found on Earth, like rocks, metal and glass.

Scientists have a new way to use data from high-energy particle smashups to peer inside protons. Their approach uses quantum information science to map out how particle tracks streaming from electron-proton collisions are influenced by quantum entanglement inside the proton. The results reveal that quarks and gluons, the fundamental building blocks that make up a proton's structure, are subject to so-called quantum entanglement.

Scientists have a new way to use data from high-energy particle smashups to peer inside protons. Their approach uses quantum information science to map out how particle tracks streaming from electron-proton collisions are influenced by quantum entanglement inside the proton. The results reveal that quarks and gluons, the fundamental building blocks that make up a proton's structure, are subject to so-called quantum entanglement.

An international team has tracked at BESSY II how heavy molecules -- in this case bromochloromethane -- disintegrate into smaller fragments when they absorb X-ray light. Using a newly developed analytical method, they were able to visualize the ultrafast dynamics of this process. In this process, the X-ray photons trigger a 'molecular catapult effect': light atomic groups are ejected first, similar to projectiles fired from a catapult, while the heavier atoms -- bromine and chlorine -- separate more slowly.

An international team has tracked at BESSY II how heavy molecules -- in this case bromochloromethane -- disintegrate into smaller fragments when they absorb X-ray light. Using a newly developed analytical method, they were able to visualize the ultrafast dynamics of this process. In this process, the X-ray photons trigger a 'molecular catapult effect': light atomic groups are ejected first, similar to projectiles fired from a catapult, while the heavier atoms -- bromine and chlorine -- separate more slowly.

Scientists have invented a liquid ink that doctors can print onto a patient's scalp to measure brain activity. The technology offers a promising alternative to the cumbersome process currently used for monitoring brainwaves and diagnosing neurological conditions. It also has the potential to enhance non-invasive brain-computer interface applications.

A team of astronomers has found that Venus has never been habitable, despite decades of speculation that our closest planetary neighbor was once much more like Earth than it is today.

Where do you see patterns in chaos? It has now been demonstrated in the incredibly tiny quantum realm. Researchers detail an experiment that confirms a theory first put forth 40 years ago stating that electrons confined in quantum space would move along common paths rather than producing a chaotic jumble of trajectories.

Researchers developed a fully integrated photonic processor that can perform all the key computations of a deep neural network on a photonic chip, using light. This advance could improve the speed and energy-efficiency of running intensive deep learning models for demanding applications like lidar, astronomical research, and navigation.

Researchers developed a fully integrated photonic processor that can perform all the key computations of a deep neural network on a photonic chip, using light. This advance could improve the speed and energy-efficiency of running intensive deep learning models for demanding applications like lidar, astronomical research, and navigation.

Users of the healthcare app Alan whose queries were answered by a medical AI reported high satisfaction levels, but one exchange included "potentially dangerous inaccuracies"

Researchers have created the smallest walking robot yet. Its mission: to be tiny enough to interact with waves of visible light and still move independently, so that it can maneuver to specific locations -- in a tissue sample, for instance -- to take images and measure forces at the scale of some of the body's smallest structures.

Researchers have created the smallest walking robot yet. Its mission: to be tiny enough to interact with waves of visible light and still move independently, so that it can maneuver to specific locations -- in a tissue sample, for instance -- to take images and measure forces at the scale of some of the body's smallest structures.

Even some fields that seem fully settled will occasionally have breakthrough ideas that have reverberated impacts on the rest of the fields of science and technology. Mechanics is one of those relatively settled fields – it is primarily understood at the macroscopic level, and relatively few new breakthroughs have occurred in it recently. Until a few years ago, when a group of Harvard engineers developed what they called a totimorphic structure, and a recent paper by researchers at ESA’s Advanced Concepts Team dives into detail about how they can be utilized to create megastructures, such as telescope mirrors and human habitats in space.

First, it’s worth understanding what a totimorphic structure is. It is a series of triangular structures with a beam, a lever, and two elastic bands acting as springs. Given the proper configuration, the elastic bands can hold the lever at a set position in what mechanics researchers call “neutral” – i.e., without any external force being applied.

One important aspect is that the lever can be held at any position, essentially making it an analog positioning system that doesn’t have any set points where it must necessarily rest. Another important aspect is that two or more can be combined in an hourglass-looking shape, allowing the structure to take on literally any form in either 2D or 3D space and be stable in that form.

There are plenty of novel ideas for huge telescopes, as Fraser discusses

That second part is the critical feature that the researchers at ESA were interested in. Such a flexible structure would be useful in several applications, including building domed habitats or creating a telescope with an adjustable focal length that doesn’t rely on complex actuators. So, they developed a method for simulating these structures and applying them to those two use cases.

Since these modular units are physical structures, they must still abide by some rules. The three rules of these structures are that the beam and lever both have fixed lengths and that the lever must be connected on one of its ends to the midpoint of the beam. It would be interesting to see how these structures could use different types of materials for the lever or beam that would potentially allow them to change, but that’s still on the to-do list for researchers somewhere.

With those requirements in mind, the researchers set up a series of Python scripts that solve optimization problems associated with both configurable structures. The optimized features are different for either the habitat or the mirror. Still, both use the fact that the totimorphic structure is “analog,”—meaning it can continuously and stably move from one state to another without having to “jump” between them.

Video describing the mechanics of totimorphic materials.
Credit – Rajamanickam Antonimuthu YouTube Channel

The results were promising, though they show that physically realizing this system would be difficult. They also point out that an AI would be well-placed to understand the properties of the structures created by combining loads of these modular units, similar to how it is possible for AI to fold proteins in innumerable ways without ever physically experiencing them.

A lot of work will still be done with this novel technology, though putting these systems to the test in an actual experimental environment is probably pretty close. If the ESA or another team can build a functional variable focal point mirror out of this new structure, that would be a breakthrough worthy of celebration.

Example of an hourglass-shaped “unit cell” and the positions it can be put into.
Credit – Dold et al.

Learn More:
Dold et al. – Continuous Design and Reprogramming of Totimorphic Structures for Space Applications
UT – What’s the Best Material for a Lunar Tower?
UT – Using Smart Materials To Deploy A Dark Age Explorer
UT – NASA is Testing out new Composite Materials for Building Lightweight Solar Sail Supports

Lead Image:
Depiction of the two use cases in the current study – habitat domes and variable focal length mirrors.
Credit – Dold et al.

The post A New Reconfigurable Structure Could Be Used to Make Space Habitats appeared first on Universe Today.

Plate tectonics seems to be crucial for life on Earth, but we’ve never confirmed that it happens on other worlds - that may be about to change

In our search for exoplanets, we’ve found that many of them fall into certain types or categories, such as Hot Jupiters, Super-Earths, and Ice Giants. While we don’t have any examples of the first two in our solar system, we do have two Ice Giants: Uranus and Neptune. They are mid-size gas planets formed in the cold outer regions of the solar system. Because of this, they are rich in water and other volatile compounds, and they are very different from large gas giants such as Jupiter. We still have a great deal to learn about these worlds, but what we’ve discovered so far has been surprising, such as the nature of their magnetic fields.

When the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past Uranus and Neptune in the 1980s, it found that neither world had a strong dipolar magnetic field like Earth’s. Instead, each had a weaker and more chaotic magnetic field, similar to that of Mars. This was surprising given what we understand about planet formation.

Models for the interior structures of the ice-giant planets Uranus and Neptune. Credit: Burkhard Militzer, UC Berkeley

In a planet’s youth, the interior becomes very hot due to gravitational compression. This would allow heavier material such as iron to sink to the core, while lighter material such as water would move toward the surface. For Earth, this created a nickel-iron core with a crust of silicates, water, and organics. The tremendous heat in the core would also allow for a convective region, where hot core material rises a bit before cooling and sinking, creating a circular flow of dense material. In Earth, this convective iron region generates our planet’s strong magnetic field. Since Uranus and Neptune likely have an Earth-sized metallic core, we would expect them to have a similar convection region generating a similar magnetic field. But that isn’t what we observe.

After the Voyager 2 discovery, it was thought that perhaps some mechanism prevented a convection region from forming. Perhaps the layers within a gas giant don’t mix, similar to the separation of oil and water. But the details remained unknown. Since we can’t create the tremendously high-density, high-pressure conditions of a gas giant’s core in the lab, we had no way to test various models. We also haven’t sent another probe to either planet, so we have no way to gather new data in situ.

Simulated phase transitions for ice giant interiors. Credit: Burkhard Militzer, UC Berkeley

One approach that could work to solve the mystery would be to use computer simulations. However, simulating the interactions of hundreds of molecules to calculate their bulk properties is extremely intensive. Too complex for computer systems of a decade ago. But a new study has simulated the bulk properties of more than 500 molecules, which is enough to calculate how an ice giant’s layers form.

The simulations show how water, methane, and ammonia in the middle region of Uranus and Neptune separate into two unmixable layers. This primarily occurs because hydrogen is squeezed out of the deep interior, which limits how mixing can occur. Without a convection zone in these layers, the planets cannot form a strong dipolar magnetic field. Uranus likely has a rocky core about the size of Mercury, while Neptune likely has a rocky core about the size of Mars.

Future lab experiments could confirm some of these bulk properties, and there is a proposed mission to Uranus that would gather data to confirm or disprove this model.

Reference: Militzer, Burkhard. “Phase separation of planetary ices explains nondipolar magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121.49 (2024): e2403981121.

The post What's Inside Uranus and Neptune? A New Way to Find Out appeared first on Universe Today.