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Author: Sam H

  • Futuristic Cosmic Technology: GRADAR could map invisible universe

    Futuristic Cosmic Technology: GRADAR could map invisible universe

    Researchers claim that a proposed future instrument called “GRADAR” might use gravitational wave reflections to map the invisible universe in an article accepted to Physical Review Letters.

    These signals could help astronomers locate dark matter or faint, unusual stars and uncover information about their interiors.

    The very fabric of space and time is being shaken by gravity waves, which were first identified in 2015. Gravitational waves are used by astronomers to observe dramatic occurrences like the merger of two black holes, which is extremely challenging to observe with simply light. However, physicists are also aware of the illogical capacity of gravitational waves to change direction.

    Using Einstein’s theory as a guide, they calculated the strength of the signal that would come from waves dispersing within a star itself.

    This would make it possible for researchers to look for large space objects that would otherwise be impossible to locate, such as dark matter clumps or lone neutron stars on the far side of the observable universe.

    This discovery could also be used to map the universe in greater detail and trace the innards of stars.

    The latter gravitational wave signals, often called “gravitational glints,” had always been thought to be too faint to be seen. But due to Einstein and his theory of gravity, Cleveland, Ohio’s Case Western Reserve University physicists Craig Copi and Glenn Starkman made a breakthrough.

    Can the gravitational wave “radar” be a foundation for futuristic cosmic technology?

    Not intelligent yet, but gravitational wave “radar” could be developed into an intelligent system. In order to do so, physicists will have to develop a system that can detect small signals from astronomical objects distant from Earth. The signal coming from a small object, such as a neutron star, would be only about one trillionth the intensity of sunlight. To get enough information to observe detailed patterns, the signal needs to be more than 100 trillion times stronger.

    The Universe is made up of billions of atoms and galaxies. Dark matter, or invisible matter, makes up 68% of the Universe, but we can’t see it. It could be a kind of repulsive gravity that drives galaxies apart, or something unknown.

    And the Universe has also been expanding since its very creation. Quantum mechanics explains about a “hundred percent” of what happens on Earth, the Universe, and even bigger scale. In such, we need help from Artificial Intelligence(AI) to explore the universe further.

    For the purpose, scientists could develop the gravitational wave “radar” (GRADAR) as an AI. “GRADAR AIs” could be created with the help of Machine Learning(ML) techniques that are still maturing.

    The intelligent GRADAR would be like an intelligent calculator that collects data from a space probe (observing station). It will process, organize and transfer data to an intelligence that can make decisions and send it to ground controllers.

    Future use of the finding

    If scientists find dark matter, it would be a huge help to astrophysicists who are trying to understand how the Universe began. Dark matter was first hypothesized in the 1930s by two physicists named Fritz Zwicky and Jan Oort.

    In addition to this, Gravitational wave “radar” could be developed into an artificial intelligence. GRADAR AIs could be created with the help of Machine Learning(ML) techniques that are still maturing. It would be like an intelligent calculator that collects data from a space probe.

    Copi said, “It’s a very hard calculation”. But in the end, we’ve dealt with a lot of situations like this previously. Consider the Large Hadron Collider or even the entire gravitational wave detection narrative. Once upon a time, it was likewise believed to be an improbable scenario.

    It will be a significant step toward a more thorough knowledge of the Universe if this research is validated and confirmed. We can hopefully increase our understanding of the invisible Universe by further research and experiments.

    Now, detection of gravitational waves in the invisible universe has almost become possible. Scientists hope that GRADAR AIs or further futuristic cosmic technology would be developed in future. This artificial intelligence would be like a space probe or telescope. And, it would collect data from the universe and send it to an imaginary world!

    Our AI could be used for all kinds of purposes, including these studies that run on data gathered from space probes such as the Voyager and Cassini missions, among others.

  • Researchers say wobbly jets of binary star systems may affect chances of hosting life: But how?

    Researchers say wobbly jets of binary star systems may affect chances of hosting life: But how?

    Our planet is currently the only one known to host life as we know it. This’s why, while looking for extraterrestrial life, researchers have traditionally concentrated on planetary systems that are comparable to our own, almost ignoring the fact that the binary star systems with wobbly jets could have chances of hosting life.

    Now, according to new research published in the journal Nature on May 23, planetary systems form differently around binary stars than they do around single stars like the sun. And that these variances may have an impact on a binary star system’s ability to support life.

    Binary star systems and wobbly jets

    According to astronomers, binary stars make up nearly half of all sun-size stars. If the researchers’ theory is proven correct, it might double the number of systems that researchers are interested in investigating. Two stars orbiting a common core make up binary star systems. The pairs of stars in a binary system generally orbit each other with periods ranging from days to millennia; and they can be extremely near or very far away.

    Astronomers have discovered that binary star systems make up more than half of all sun-size stars, indicating that they’re rather frequent. Most of them don’t appear to have an impact on the formation of planets around their host star. However, some people do. Astronomers are still perplexed as to why some binary star systems appear to have more planets than others when it comes to hosting planets. Wobbly jets are gas and dust jets that emerge from the central stars in binary star systems. These jets can start near to the star. And then they grow outward over time, generating rings of material surrounding the two stars, according to astronomers. As a result, the star is surrounded by a “double-bubble” system.

    Disagreements about the finding

    However, there is still considerable disagreement over how frequent this type of organization is. Some astronomers think these systems are rare. It’s because it’s difficult to find a target binary star system from which to study them. A star system is said to host life when a planet in orbit around one of its stars has conditions that allow it to support life.  One way scientists can search for planets with these conditions is by looking for the ‘signature’ of gases like oxygen and methane within a star system’s atmosphere. To-date, scientists assumed that only the star systems like ours could host life. It was because of the way planets are thought to form around them.

    But, there’s also some debate about whether planets form around solo stars or binary systems, as well. Jes Kristian Jørgensen, the study lead author and professor of astrophysics and planetary science at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, said in a statement that the result was exciting, since the search for extraterrestrial life would be equipped with several new, extremely powerful instruments within the coming years. The professor further added, “This enhances the significance of understanding how planets are formed around different types of stars.

    New study and its results

    Such results may pinpoint places which would be especially interesting to probe for the existence of life. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescopes in Chile, the study was based on the observations of the young binary star system NGC 1333-IRAS2A. That system is around 1,000 light-years away and is surrounded by a disc of gas and dust that may one day form a planetary system. The scientists then developed simulations that allowed them to rewind and fast-forward the system’s life cycle. They noticed that the gas and dust did not move in a continuous pattern.

    The researchers added in a statement that the movement becomes quite strong at some points in time – normally for relatively short durations of 10 to 100 years per thousand years. “The binary star gets 10 to 100 times brighter until it returns to its normal form,” they noted. What the team theorized was that at certain points in the stars’ orbits around each other, their gravity pulls material from the gas and dust disk onto the surfaces of the stars. In turn, these bursts of infalling trigger wobbly jets shooting out from the disk.

    “The falling material will trigger a significant heating”, report said quoting to second author Rajika L. Kuruwita, a postdoctoral researcher at the Niels Bohr Institute, as saying. L. Kuruwita also added that those bursts would tear the gas and dust disk apart. While the disk would build up again, the bursts might still influence the structure of the later planetary system. According to the team of astronomers, solo stars like the sun probably would not have gone through a similar process. It likely means that planets form differently around solo stars than they do around binary stars.

    Astronomers’ future plan

    Likewise, researchers say they also plan to investigate the possible role of comets in planetary system formation; as comets carry organic molecules that could jump-start extraterrestrial life on an otherwise barren planet.

    The team of astronomers hopes to continue their observations with ALMA. And they’re looking forward to tapping into the next generation of telescopes. Such telescopes include the James Webb Space Telescope, Europe’s Extremely Large Telescope, and the Square Kilometer Array, all of which will begin operations within the next five years. “Combining the different sources will produce a lot of intriguing results,” Jrgensen added. If this theory is proven correct, it could reveal more knowledge about planet formation; and perhaps it will assist astronomers in identifying prime planet-forming areas. It could also disclose previously unknown possibilities for planetary systems. Thanks to further understanding of the composition and behavior of wobbly jets, astronomers could even propose new methods for creating planets within a laboratory setting.

    More importantly, this research may pave a new way to search for extraterrestrial lives on some other planets with different star and planetary systems.

  • Scientists Now Identify How the Brain Links Memories

    Scientists Now Identify How the Brain Links Memories

    Our brain usually stored memories into groups so that the recollection of one significant memory triggers the recall of others connected by time and they rarely record single memories. But, as we age our brains gradually lose this ability to link related memories.

    In such, UCLA researchers have recently discovered a key molecular mechanism behind memory linking. They’ve also identified a way to restore this brain function in middle-aged mice – and an FDA-approved drug that achieves the same thing.

    The findings, which are published in Nature, suggest a new method for strengthening human memory in middle age and a possible early intervention for dementia.

    Alcino Silva, an author of the research and a distinguished professor of neurobiology and psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA said that our memories are a huge part of who we are and the ability to link related experiences teaches how to stay safe and operate successfully in the world.

    According to the researchers, cells are studded with receptors. To enter a cell, a molecule must latch onto its matching receptor, which operates like a doorknob to provide access inside.

    The UCLA team said they focused on a gene called CCR5 that encodes the CCR5 receptor – the same one that HIV hitches a ride on to infect the brain cell and cause memory loss in AIDS patients.

    Silva’s lab demonstrated in earlier research that CCR5 expression reduced memory recall.

    In the ongoing study, Silva and his workmates discovered a central mechanism underlying mice’s ability to link their memories of two different cages. A tiny microscope opened a window into the mice’s brain. This enabled the scientists to observe neurons firing and creating new memories.

    The memory linking was interfered by boosting CCRS gene expression in the brains of middle-aged mice. The mice forgot the connection between the two cages.

    When the scientists deleted the CCR5 gene in the animals, the mice were able to link memories that normal mice could not.

    Silva had previously studied maraviroc (a drug). This drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2007 for the treatment of HIV infection. Silva’s lab discovered that maraviroc also suppressed CCR5 in the brains of mice.

    Silva said, “When we gave maraviroc to older mice, the drug duplicated the effect of genetically deleting CCR5 from their DNA.” The older mice were able to link memories again.

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    The finding suggests that maraviroc could be used off-label to help restore middle-aged memory loss, as well as undo the cognitive deficits caused by HIV infection.

    He also states, “Our next step will be to organize a clinical trial to test maraviroc’s influence on early memory loss with the goal of early intervention.” “Once we fully understand how memory declines, we possess the potential to slow down the process.”

    Which begs the question, why does the brain need a gene that interferes with its ability to link memories?

    Also Read:Is the soul more real than neurons and synapses?

  • Tissue engineering: A woman receives 3-D printed ear implant made from her own cells

    Tissue engineering: A woman receives 3-D printed ear implant made from her own cells

    In the field of tissue engineering, a milestone has been set when a 20 year old woman received a 3-D printed ear implant made from her own cells on Thursday. The woman was born with a small and misshapen right year. The New York Times reports that this transplant is the first known example of a 3-D printed implant made of living tissues.

    According to the report, the new ear was transplanted earlier in March. And it is shaped precisely like the patient’s other ear. Regenerative medicine company 3DBio Therapeutics said, NYT writes, “The new year will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue, giving it the look and feel of a natural ear”.

    Tissue engineering: What exactly is it?

    Tissue engineering is the use of cells or biomaterials to create artificial tissues and organs as needed. It is a new approach that combines biology and technology to create replacement tissues and organs, explain researchers.

    While traditional approaches use an individual’s own cells to grow new parts, this one goes a step further by using 3D printers to build those parts with the right shape. While several research groups have been working on printing blood vessels, only a few have tried to create ear-shaped tissue.

    Will the transplant be successful?

    Although the company has not revealed any technical details of the transplant yet, officials involved in the transplant said that the chances that the transplants could fail or bring unanticipated health complications do exist. However, the possibility of the new ear being rejected by the body is highly unlikely. It’s because the ear is made from the patients’ own tissues.

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    The report says: A 3-D printing is a manufacturing process that creates a solid, three-dimensional object from a digital model. It involves a computer-controlled printer that deposits material in thin layers creating the precise shape of the object. The pharmaceutical industry has been using the 3-D printing technology for several years now.

    Significance of the tissue engineering

    It’s said to be a milestone in tissue engineering. It’s because it’s the first ever tissue engineering that is done with a patient’s own cells. It also helps the researchers to better understand how living tissues work.

    The field of tissue engineering is rapidly growing. Researchers are creating tissues made from a patient’s own cells in order to create tissues compatible with their bodies.

    Medical experts say its use has so far been majorly confined to producing custom-fit prosthetic limbs. They are usually made of plastic and lightweight metals. But, the ear implant – made from a tiny glob of cells harvested from the woman’s misshapen ear – is said to be a game changer as per experts in the field. Scientists say that the success of this transplant would mean that 3-D printing could even produce far more complex vital organs, like livers, kidneys and pancreases.

    The transplantation of the 3-D printed ear will pave the way for a new era of reconstructive surgery; and tissue engineering that could revolutionize the future of medicine.