As I discussed last week, recent discoveries have led to astonishing breakthroughs with far-reaching implications in the worlds of neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and astronomy. Researchers have reported on the intra-regional brain dynamics linked to individual-specific characteristics, revealing insights into how the brain functions differently among individuals. In another study, an AI model named AlphaProof has proven it can consistently output 100% accurate solutions to numerous higher-level math equations. This accomplishment represents a remarkable step forward in the nascent field of computational mathematics.
What their study found ultimately was that, for clinical depression, an eight-week course of a twice-weekly microdose of LSD could significantly lower clinical depression scores. Notably, this approach has few side effects. This trial represents the most promising current hope for those working age adults with treatment resistant depression. Needless to say, it exaggerates the therapeutic benefits of using illegal psychedelic substances.
The deep study into the solar system we’ve seen in the past few years. In a surprising new analysis with the LOFAR telescope network, researchers found it to be traveling nearly three times faster than current models would suggest. This surprise, both in speed and composition, has enormous consequences for our understanding of the universe’s structure and behavior. The cosmological implications of the solar system’s motion and observed anisotropy in the distribution of radio galaxies on large scales are still being understood. This anisotropy is 3.7 times stronger than the standard model had predicted.
Besides wrapping their minds around these technological advancements, researchers have taken a close look at the incredible sensitivity of the human hand. They discovered that humans possess a sense of “remote touch,” allowing them to detect hidden prey through mechanical cues transmitted through sand. This incredible sensitivity extends all the way down to the nanoscale. It is enough that it can let humans detect a difference in size—between an object the size of a house and one the size of a car—even if our fingertip were scaled up proportionally to the entire planet Earth.
More research has found genetic links between neurological conditions, such as migraines, strokes and epilepsy. These results underscore important associations with the risk of psychiatric illnesses including schizophrenia and depression. The study examined genetic data from more than a million people with psychiatric and neurological disorders. This evidence, for the first time, suggests that psychiatric and neurological disorders are genetically riskier than once understood. This connection of shared and disorder-specific genetic signals represents a significant achievement. It deepens our insight into the root causes of these diseases.
Despite the promises, technology and advancement have their propriety. When tested, a robot’s tactile sensor only got 40% precision, leading to thousands of false positives. Here’s why it’s so hard to make machines as sensitive as people.