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Researchers at the University of Utah Health have discovered that “time cells” in mice are crucial for learning tasks where timing is critical. These cells change their firing patterns as mice learn to distinguish between timed events, suggesting a role beyond just measuring time. This finding could help in the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s by highlighting the importance of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC), which is among the first brain regions affected by such diseases.

Researchers at the University of Utah Health found that “time cells” in mice adapt to learning timed tasks, a discovery that could aid early Alzheimer’s detection by monitoring changes in a key brain region.

Our perception of time is crucial to our interaction with and understanding of the world around us. Whether we’re engaging in a conversation or driving a car, we need to remember and gauge the duration of events—a complex but largely unconscious calculation running constantly beneath the surface of our thoughts.

As space travel becomes more common, it is important to consider the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human body. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M University are studying some of those impacts, specifically effects on the eye. The findings are published in the journal npj Microgravity.

The only problem with plastic profusion is that “recycling” it is at a “caveman’s” level!

In considering materials that could become the fabrics of the future, scientists have largely dismissed one widely available option: polyethylene.

The stuff of plastic wrap and grocery bags, polyethylene is thin and lightweight, and could keep you cooler than most textiles because it lets heat through rather than trapping it in. But polyethylene would also lock in water and sweat, as it’s unable to draw away and evaporate moisture. This antiwicking property has been a major deterrent to polyethylene’s adoption as a wearable textile.

Continue reading “Could we recycle plastic bags into fabrics of the future?” »

Matching the neutron stars’ cooling rates to their equation of state could help scientists figure out a quantum theory of gravity.

New research has revealed a new way to measure incredibly minute forces at the nanoscale in water, pushing the boundaries of what scientists know about the microscopic world.

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The event is so rare because of its large size – 375 meters (1230 feet) average diameter – as well as its proximity to the Earth.

“The 2029 flyby is an incredibly rare event,” ESA explained in an X post. “By comparing impact craters across the Solar System with the sizes and orbits of all known asteroids, scientists believe that an asteroid as large as Apophis only comes this close to Earth once every 5,000 to 10,000 years.

Our favorite mathematical constant, pi (π), describing the ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter, has taken on new meaning.

The new representation was borne out of the twists and turns of string theory, and two mathematicians’ attempts to better describe particle collisions.

“Our efforts, initially, were never to find a way to look at pi,” says Aninda Sinha of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) who co-authored the new work with fellow IISc mathematician Arnab Priya Saha.

“Portrait (He Knew)” was released in 1977 on the album Point Of Know Return. It was clearly about Albert Einstein although not a lot of people seemed to be aware of the fact. It was a great song for a video, and one of my favorite on this particular album, the other’s being “Nobody Home”, “Closet Chronicles”, and “Dust In The Wind”. Point of Know Return was HUGE in 1978! I remember listening to it over and over and over…loved the many instrumental breaks and solos. The video is just layers and layers of masked images and masked video. Tried for some really cool effects and found some pretty neat ones…’specially fond of that tree recoil effect from the atom bomb at that cool little note drag! Anyway, as usual…I hope you find something to enjoy. [Lyrics] He had a thousand ideas, you might have heard his name He lived alone with his vision Not looking for fortune or fame Never said too much to speak of He was off on another plane The words that he said were a mystery Nobody’s sure he was sane But he knew, he knew more than me or you No one could see his view, Oh where was he going to He was in search of an answer The nature of what we are He was trying to do it a new way He was bright as a star But nobody understood him “His numbers are not the way” He’s lost in the deepest enigma Which no one’s unraveled today But he knew, he knew more than me or you No one could see his view, Oh where was he going to And he tried, but before he could tell us he died When he left us the people cried, Oh where was he going to? He had a different idea A glimpse of the master plan He could see into the future A true visionary man But there’s something he never told us It died when he went away If only he could have been with us No telling what he might say But he knew, he knew more than me or you No one could see his view Oh, where was he going to But he knew, you could tell by the picture he drew It was totally something new, Oh where was he going to?

Using a dimensionality reduction approach, Fong et al. generated a clinical aging clock (PCAge) that delineates healthy and unhealthy aging trajectories. They provide a streamlined version (LinAge) that maintains predictive power, and they demonstrate how the clock can be tailored to available data using the CALERIE study.