Category Archives: Singularity

The world of gaming has expanded beyond our computer screens, spilling into the wider world of entertainment. For The Drums Gaming Advertising Deep Dive, Kairos Groups Drew Townley looks at how gaming is outgrowing its old parameters and where its taking the world next.

Gaming has moved away from being a single market targeted at those who love video games. Its becoming a core foundation on which all entertainment is being built, enfolding musicians, artists, actors and everything else you can imagine.

The Witcher is a popular fantasy Netflix series that first aired in 2019. It quickly made its way into the top 10 most-viewed Netflix shows; season one alone racked up over 541m hours of views in its first 28 days. What a lot of people dont know, however, is that The Witcher is an adaption of a fantasy gaming series that is developed and published by CD Projekt.

This isnt the first time weve seen a film adaption of a well-loved gaming series. Casting back twenty years, we saw Angelina Jolie star in the Tomb Raider films, which were based on the popular adventure game franchise Tomb Raider.

Netflix isnt just making TV shows based on games; theyre also making games based on TV shows. In its strategy to become an entertainment provider, rather than just another streaming service, Netflix introduced Netflix Gaming in November 2021. One of the first games it launched was Stranger Things: 1984 a retro adventure game based in the time between seasons one and two of the hit Netflix series.

Not only is gaming influencing TV and film; more recently, it has started to impact the music industry. The way we consume music and live entertainment is changing as the digital world continues to evolve.

In 2020, American rapper Travis Scott hosted a nine-minute concert in Fortnite. It was an experience that would have been difficult to create in the real world at one point, Scott was the size of Godzilla.

The concert was a huge success, with 12.5 million people logging on to the game just to witness the music event, surpassing the record-breaking success of American music producer Marshmellos Fortnite concert (10 million attendees).

Could video game festivals and concerts pave the way for the future? They certainly dodge some issues around travel and accessibility, which is genius for a post-Covid world.

Its no surprise that gaming has integrated with music and film, considering that it has generated more revenue than both those markets combined.

Gaming is now the largest sector in the entertainment business, with a worth of $176bn in 2021 thats bigger than Hollywood. Its easy to see why everyone is keen to find a way into this market.

The landscape of the entertainment industry will continue to be influenced by gaming media. Why? Gaming breaks down that barrier between consumer and creator, allowing entertainment to become truly interactive.

No longer will film and music be single-faceted sources of entertainment. Now, theres a new layer where consumers can engage with the content they choose, which is so important in the ever-increasing age of interactivity.

As the possibilities continue to grow, the demands of consumers will too. Gone are the days when you simply watched a movie or listened to your favorite song. Now consumers want to play the storylines of their favorite TV show in a game and immerse themselves as the characters, or attend a music festival in a digital world where they can hear their favorite artists new songs without leaving their home.

One thing that is for certain: in that exciting future, gaming will be spearheading it all.

For more on all the different ways brands can advertise in gaming, from virtual billboards to product placements, social lenses and even games of their own, check out The Drums Gaming Advertising Deep Dive.

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Gaming's Singularity: How Games Media Is Taking Over The World - The Drum

BTS star V has learned to "accept both sides" of himself on new album 'Proof'.

The K-pop superstars are set to release a three disc anthology collection - including three original songs - next month, including 'Singularity' and '00:00 (Zero O'Clock)', which he chose with the former holding a special place for him.

In a clip shared on Big Hit Music's Twitter this week - which was translated from Korean into English subtitles - he said: "I tended to think of Kim Taehyung and the artist V as being separate and thought that I had to choose one or the other, as visually portrayed in the Singularity music video.

That was when I thought hard about who I was as a person and I felt a bit confused.

"Artist V performs on stage, and enjoys himself with ARMY. But Kim Taehyung spends ordinary days with family and friends.

The song - which is actually performed solo by V - appears on the band's 2018 album 'Love Yourself: Tear'.

Years later, V is in a position where he doesn't feel the need to keep both sides "separate".

He explained: "Now Im able to accept both sides of myself, but also keep them separate.

Ive lessened the burden of thinking so much, too, just like how the day resets at midnight. But I think all this time I spent pondering is the proof that made me into who I am today.

'Proof' is set to be released on June 10, with the third disc only available on CD as part of the full package.

'Singularity' will appear on the anthology collection's second disc, which features the group's deeper cuts from their records, rather than the huge hit singles included on the first disc.

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BTS star V has 'learned to accept both sides of herself' - Inside NoVA

With a vision centred around fuzzed-out jam sessions and downtuned riffage, the dynamic trio of Kent Stump (vox / guitar), Zack Busby (bass) and Michael Walter (drums) return for their seventh trip, once again making it sound like being in Wo Fat is the most fun being in a band can be.

Even at their base level existence, when tracks are in their infancy, when the groove is still at warp factor three and the build and pay off is but a twinkle in the collective eye, the exuberance shines through. This is a band who, despite playing within a ball park that doesnt have the widest boundaries, take joy in continuously smashing it right over the wall.

Making the full use of a CDs seventy-five minute run time, the seven tracks here see Stump produce his best, most focused, vocal performance to date, particularly on the opening fourteen minute sprawl of Orphans of the Singe, providing anchors for a band who thrive on extended groove sessions but who instinctively know when a dash of seasoning (a lead lick, a bass push, or a pulse on the drums) or change is needed. Overworlder is another great example, as a Metallica crunch and lurch kicks in with the stoner elegy nine-minutes deep, before leading us to a spacious riff-entwined coda.

The Unravelling keeps the Talli swagger, while The Snows of Banquo IV judders as if Clutch and Mastodon had fused and gotten lost together in a musical labyrinth and are pounding riffs at the walls to break them down to escape. Witching Chamber lumbers along a looping head-nodder and the Fat save biggest gargantua, the Tool-ian sprawling kraken of The Oracle to last. Every ounce of their collective musicianship and craft is pulled together in creating a final behemoth that builds from dirge and jangle to fuzzy spirals and a crashing percussive desert, that oversees evolution from a wah-dripped solo into contemplation and back again before finally bringing things home with slabbish fervour.

The success of The Singularity (Ripple) is based on keeping true to the core elements of the band, allowing each member to enjoy freedom within the bare skeleton structure of each song, while being at ease with their song-writing and each other, and knowing when to move things along.

Like a fine wine, baby

Buy the album here: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-singularity

8 / 10

STEVE TOVEY

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ALBUM REVIEW: Wo Fat - The Singularity - Ghost Cult MagazineGhost Cult Magazine - Ghost Cult Magazine

COMPUTING

IBMs Target: a 4,000-Qubit Processor by 2025Edd Gent | IEEE SpectrumThe first iteration of [IBMs 2020] road map topped out with the [1,121-qubit] Condor processor that is scheduled for release in 2023, but now the company has revealed plans for a 1,386-qubit processor, called Flamingo, to appear in 2024 and for a 4,158-qubit device called Kookaburra to make its debut in 2025.

DeepMinds New AI Can Perform Over 600 tasks, From Playing Games to Controlling RobotsKyle Wiggers | TechCrunchGato is what DeepMind describes as a general-purpose system, a system that can be taught to perform many different types of tasks. Researchers at DeepMind trained Gato to complete 604, to be exact, including captioning images, engaging in dialogue, stacking blocks with a real robot arm and playing Atari games.

These Nanobots Can Swim Around a Wound and Kill BacteriaMax G. Levy | WiredThe team loaded silica nanobots with experimental antibioticsincluding one derived from wasp venomto treat infected wounds on mice. The nanobots, which were dropped onto one end of an infected wound, traveled through the skin to treat the entire areathe first report of nanobots killing bacteria in animals.

Google Says Its New Image Search Features Are Like Ctrl+F for the World Around YouEmma Roth | The VergeWhen explaining the feature, Raghavan used the example of trying to find a nut-free chocolate bar in a supermarket. Youll be able to scan an entire shelf of chocolate bars and then see overlays that provide helpful insights, like reviews about each object. We think Raghavans description of the feature sums this up quite nicely: This is like having a supercharged Ctrl+F for the world around you.i

Clearview AI Settles Suit and Agrees to Limit Sales of Facial Recognition DatabaseRyan Mac and Kashmir Hill | The New York TimesUnder the settlement, which was filed with an Illinois state court, Clearview will not sell its database of what it said were more than 20 billion facial photos to most private individuals and businesses in the country. But the company can largely still sell that database to federal and state agencies.

ESPN+ Debuts McEnroe vs. McEnroe the First-Ever Tennis Match Between a Real Person and Their Virtual AvatarLauren Forristal | TechCrunchIn the match, the real McEnroe will face off against his ultimate opponenthis younger self. The team at Unit 9 spent a day with John in order to bring the vision to life via full-body scanning, motion capture, andUnreal Engine MetaHumantechnology (a cloud-based app that creates photorealistic digital humans). The avatar game system will be projected on a hologram particle screen and will be a simulation of gameplay with a system of ball launchers and ball return robots.

Paradise at the Crypto Arcade: Inside the Web3 RevolutionGilad Edelman | Wiredto a core of true believers, Web3 stands apart from the garish excesses and brazen misbehavior of the flashing-neon crypto casino. If cryptocurrency was originally about decentralizing money, Web3 is about decentralizingeverything. Its mission is almost achingly idealistic: to free humanity not only from Big Tech domination but also from exploitative capitalism itselfand to do it purely through code.

The Man Who Controls Computers With His MindFerris Jabr | New York Times Magazine16 years ago, Dennis DeGray was paralyzed in an accident. Now, implants in his brain allow him some semblance of control. Only a few dozen people on the planet have had neural interfaces embedded in their cortical tissue as part of long-term clinical research. DeGray is now one of the most experienced and dedicated among them. Since that initial trial, he has spent more than 1,800 hours spanning nearly 400 training sessions controlling various forms of technology with his mind.

How Starlink Scrambled to Keep Ukraine OnlineTom Simonite | WiredThe speedy, widespread rollout of Starlink in Ukraine has also been an unplanned experiment in the potential geopolitical power of next-gen satellite internet services. If SpaceX or similar providers are willing, high-speed internet from the sky could be a powerful way to provide connectivity to people or populations suffering the privations of war or authoritarian government.

Black Hole Image Reveals the Beast Inside the Milky Ways HeartJonathan OCallaghan | QuantaThe image immediately reveals new information about the Milky Ways monster. The major things we found out about Sag A* were: Is the black hole spinning? Yes, it is, said Sara Issaoun, an astrophysicist and member of the EHT team. And what is the orientation of the black hole with respect to us? Now we are fairly confident it is pointed more or less face on to us, with the poles pointing up and down, as though we were viewing it from a spot high above its equator.

AIs Threats to Jobs and Human Happiness Are RealEliza Strickland | IEEE SpectrumBut short-term job chaos will give way to long-term prosperity, says AI expert Kai-Fu Lee. IEEE Spectrum spoke to Lee about [his book AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future], focusing on the last few chapters that take on the big issues of job displacement, the need for new economic models, and the search for meaning and happiness in an age of abundance. Lee argues that technologists need to give serious thought to such societal impacts, instead of thinking only about the technology.

San Francisco Police Are Using Driverless Cars as Mobile Surveillance CamerasAaron Gordon | MotherboardWhile the companies themselves, such as Alphabets Waymo and General Motors Cruise, tout the potential transportation benefits their services may one day offer, they dont publicize another use case, one that is far less hypothetical: Mobile surveillance cameras for police departments. Autonomous vehicles are recording their surroundings continuously and have the potential to help with investigative leads, says a San Francisco Police department training document obtained by Motherboard via a public records request. Investigations has already done this several times.i

Image Credit: Tom Caillarec / Unsplash

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This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through May 14) - Singularity Hub

NEW YORK, May 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA), Dentsply Sirona, Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY), IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ), and Singularity Future Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGLY). Our investigations concern whether these companies have violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.

Cassava Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAVA)

On April 18, 2022,The New York Timespublished an article entitled Scientists Question Data Behind an Experimental Alzheimers Drug. The article addressed Cassavas experimental Alzheimers drug, simufilam, and reported that one of Cassavas advisers, Dr. H.Y. Wang, had five papers he authored retracted from the scientific journal PLoS One after an in-depth investigation revealed serious concerns about the integrity and the reliability of the results.

On this news, Cassavas stock price fell sharply during intraday trading on April 19, 2022.

For more information on the Cassava investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SAVA

Dentsply Sirona, Inc. (NASDAQ: XRAY)

On April 19, 2022, the Company issued a press release announcing the termination of Chief Executive Officer, Don Casey, effective immediately, and that Casey will also cease to serve as a member of the Companys Board.

Following this news, shares of Dentsply Sirona dropped sharply by $6.52 per share, over 13%, to close at $42.20 per share on April 19, 2022.

For more information on the Dentsply Sirona investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/XRAY

IonQ, Inc. (NYSE: IONQ)

On May 3, 2022, Scorpion Capital released a 183-page short report regarding IonQs management, operations, and business. The Scorpion Capital report stated that We conducted 25 research interviews including 7 former employees and executives; 11 leading quantum computing experts including seminal names in the field, some who have published papers with IonQs founders and are intimately familiar with its technology; and 5 of its key customers and partners. We believe our research represents the most in-depth due diligence to date on IonQ, leading us to conclude it is just another VC-backed SPAC scam.

Following this news, IonQs stock closed down 9.03%, to close at $7.15 per share on May 3, 2022.

For more information on the IonQ investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/IONQ

Singularity Future Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGLY)

On May 5, 2022, Hindenburg Research (Hindenburg) published a report entitled Singularity Future Technology: This Nasdaq-Listed Companys CEO Is a fugitive, on the Run for Allegedly Operating a Massive Ponzi Scheme. The Hindenburg report alleged, among other things, that singularitys CEO, Yang Jie, is a fugitive on the run from Chinese authorities for running an alleged $300 million Ponzi scheme that lured in over 20,000 victims and fled to the U.S. while at least 28 other individuals involved in the case were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 months to 15 years. The Hindenburg report further alleged that Singularitys massive [cryptocurrency] mining rig deal appears to be a brazen undisclosed related party deal and that [w]e see little evidence that Singularitys proprietary crypto mining rigs ever existed in the first place. The photos and descriptions of Singularitys miners match precisely with another brand called KOI Miner.

On this news, Singularitys stock price fell $1.95 per share, or 28.89%, to close at $4.80 per share on May 5, 2022.

For more information on the Singularity Future investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/SGLY

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit http://www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact Information:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.Brandon Walker, Esq. Melissa Fortunato, Esq.(212) 355-4648investigations@bespc.comwww.bespc.com

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Bragar Eagel & Squire, PC Is Investigating Cassava, Dentsply Sirona, IonQ, and Singularity Future and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm -...

In a few months, a daring clinical trial may fundamentally lower heart attack risk in the most vulnerable people. If all goes well, it will just take one shot.

Its no ordinary shot. The trial, led by Verve Therapeutics, a biotechnology company based in Massachusetts, will be one of the first to test genetic base editors directly inside the human body. A variant of the gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, base editors soared to stardom when first introduced for their efficiency at replacing single genetic letters without breaking delicate DNA strands. Because its safer than the classic version of CRISPR, the new tool ignited hope that it could be used for treating genetic diseases.

Verves CEO, Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, took note. A cardiologist at Harvard University, Kathiresan wondered if base editing could help solve one of the main killers of our time: heart attacks. It seemed the perfect test case. We know one major cause of heart attackshigh cholesterol levels, particularly a version called LDL-C (Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol). We also know several major genes that control its level. Andmost importantlywe know the DNA letter swap that can, in theory, drastically lower LDL-C and in turn throttle the risk of heart attacks.

Theres just one problem: we dont know how base editors will behave inside a living human body.

LDL-C is like a fatty piece of chewing gum with a smattering of protein mixed in. It normally swirls in the blood, and is eventually pulled inside cells in bubble-like ships and eaten up in an acid-filled compartment (yeah, cell biology is awesomely weird). Voilthe bloodstream has less fatty gunk.

For this to happen, LDL-C needs to dock onto the cell. The docking point is aptly named LDLR, with R for receptor. Like an efficient shipping yard, the cell controls how many docks are available depending on the level of the LDL-C. If there isnt enough cholesterol, the cell directs a handler, PCSK9, to destroy the docks.

But PCSK9 can get overzealous at times. Without a sufficient number of docks, LDL-C has nothing to grab onto and accumulates inside the bloodstream. Eventually it tacks onto blood vessel walls and builds up a nasty crust, narrowing the bloods supply infrastructure and increasing risk of a heart attack or stroke. The whole process gets thrown into high gear in familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), where DNA letter changes in PCSK9 ramp it up, in turn skyrocketing cholesteroloften to a life-threatening level.

PCSK9 has been in scientists crosshairs for decades. Statins are a popular choice, but they only target the symptomhigh cholesterolwithout tackling the underlying genetic issue. Several drugs, such as antibodies that inhibit its actions, were approved by the FDA in 2015. Another option to shut down gene expression is small interfering RNA, which went to market in 2021. Yet both treatments require frequent injectionssome at the doctors officemaking them a lifelong struggle. Theyre also not designed for the greater population of people with heart attack risk.

Instead of a lifetime investment, is there a way to go for one shot and done for heart disease?

In 2021, Kathiresan made a radical move: forget transient therapieslets target the source.

Tapping into CRISPR base editors, his team built on previous work in mice and showed that a single injection of a base editor, dubbed ABE8.8, can reduce both PCSK9 and LDL cholesterol levels in healthy macaque monkeys.

The therapy is a work of art. It contains two easily and cheaply synthesized components: an mRNA that makes the base editor inside the body, and a guide RNA (gRNA) to direct the base editor to the correct DNA spot. The components were then encased inside a lipid nanoparticleessentially, a fatty bubbleand injected into monkeys bloodstreams.

Unlike classic CRISPR treatments, which usually require a virus to hitchhike on, lipid nanoparticles are far safer in that they dont carry the risk of integrating into the genome. Theyre also readily taken up by the liver. As a major source of cholesterol metabolism, the liver is the perfect candidate for testing the gene editor and the delivery mechanism.

With just one infusion, the therapy had 63 percent frequency at editing the PCSK9 gene. After two weeks, the monkeys cholesterol levels fell by more than half. Its not just a blip, but an obviation: after eight months, the monkeys had just 10 percent of their former PCSK9 levels and consistently low cholesterol. Biopsies and blood tests also showed that the monkeys experienced few side effects.

The gene editor was also shockingly specific. In one screen, only one DNA site popped up for off-target editing. However, the site may be monkey-specific, and was never flagged as a problem in tests with human liver cells.

Its an exciting example of the tremendous therapeutic potential of CRISPR base editing, said Dr. Eva van Rooij at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands, who was not involved in the study, at the time. Of course, concerns regarding off-target mutations, immunogenicity, and organ targeting must be addressed. Even so, with the rapid progress in CRISPR-based systems, it seems just a matter of time before the advantages of precise genome editing outweigh the disadvantages in moving to clinical translation.

Directly editing genes inside the human body to prevent heart attacks may seem extreme. But the team has a reason for pursuing a one-and-done strategy.

The main type of liver cells have a relatively long life. This means a one-time administration of gene editing components to permanently inhibit PCSK9 function in the liver could therefore be effective for decades, improving quality of life and reducing healthcare costs, said van Rooij.

Verve isnt the only company eyeing a paradigm shift for heart disease. Another study at the same time, led by Dr. Gerald Schwank at the University of Zurich, took a similar CRISPR base editing approach and found a 26 percent reduction in PCSK9 levels a month later, which increased in efficacy after a second dose. One more study targeting PCSK9 took a different route with antisense oligonucleotides (ASO), a string of DNA letters that block a gene. Here, the treatment was ingested orally rather than injected, with rates of shutting off PCSK9.

For Verve, much is riding on the clinical trial, set to take place in New Zealand in mid-2022. If successful, itll be the first foray of using base editors directly inside the body, and a potentially permanent solution for managing heart attacks. To start, the trial will only recruit people with HeFH, the genetic disorder that causes extremely high levels of cholesterol. The first phase is mainly focused on safety, though improvementsif anymay also show up after analysis. Verve expects initial results around 2023. Meanwhile, the company is also asking the UK and US for the clinical trial green light.

The company has a struggle ahead. Though it was deemed safe in preclinical trials in mice and monkeys, the human immune system may still attack the delivery vehicle. The treatment may also face reluctance from patients as it directly edits the genome. Long-term treatment and side effects remain unknown. And finally, the cost of the treatmentestimated at $50,000 to $200,000would make it unattainable for some. Statins, for example, can be as low as $29 a month, but do require long-term treatment.

Verve is already eyeing the future. We will first focus on adults with life-threatening atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and will then expand to broader patient populations with disease, they said.

Meanwhile, legal and reimbursement gears need to swing into action. To Drs. Coen Paulusma and Piter Bosma at the University of Amsterdam, who previously commented on the monkey studies, To make these life-changing therapies available to patients in the near future is a task for regulators, health insurance companies, and governments. In view of the pace of these exciting technical developments, it will be challenging for them all to keep up.

Image Credit: Jolygon/Shutterstock.com

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A One-and-Done CRISPR Gene Therapy Will Aim to Prevent Heart Attacks - Singularity Hub

What do you need to make your garden grow? As well as plenty of sunshine alternating with gentle showers of rainand busy bees and butterflies to pollinate the plantsyou need good, rich soil to provide essential minerals. But imagine you had no rich soil, or showers of rain, or bees and butterflies. And the sunshine was either too harsh and direct or absentcausing freezing temperatures.

Could plants grow in such an environmentand, if so, which ones? This is the question that colonists on the moon (and Mars) would have to tackle if (or when) human exploration of our planetary neighbors goes ahead. Now a new study, published in Communications Biology, has started to provide answers.

The researchers behind the study cultivated the fast-growing plant Arabidopsis thaliana in samples of lunar regolith (soil) brought back from three different places on the moon by the Apollo astronauts.

This is not the first time that attempts have been made to grow plants in lunar regolith, but it is the first to demonstrate why they dont thrive.

The lunar regolith is very different from terrestrial soils. For a start, it doesnt contain organic matter (worms, bacteria, decaying plant matter) that is characteristic of soil on Earth. Neither does it have an inherent water content.

But it is composed of the same minerals as terrestrial soils, so assuming that the lack of water, sunlight, and air is ameliorated by cultivating plants inside a lunar habitat, then the regolith could have the potential to grow plants.

The research showed that this is indeed the case. Seeds of A. thaliana germinated at the same rate in Apollo material as they did in the terrestrial soil. But while the plants in the terrestrial soil went on to develop root stocks and put out leaves, the Apollo seedlings were stunted and had poor root growth.

The main thrust of the research was to examine plants at the genetic level. This allowed the scientists to recognize which specific environmental factors evoked the strongest genetic responses to stress. They found that most of the stress reaction in all the Apollo seedlings came from salts, metal, and oxygen that is highly reactive (the last two of which are not common in terrestrial soil) in the lunar samples.

Experimental results, with different wells for each soil. Image Credit: Paul et al., CC BY-SA

The three Apollo samples were affected to different extents, with the Apollo 11 samples being the slowest to grow. Given that the chemical and mineralogical composition of the three Apollo soils were fairly similar to each other, and to the terrestrial sample, the researchers suspected that nutrients werent the only force at play.

The terrestrial soil, called JSC-1A, was not a regular soil. It was a mixture of minerals prepared specifically to simulate the lunar surface, and contained no organic matter.

The starting material was basalt, just as in lunar regolith. The terrestrial version also contained natural volcanic glass as an analogue for the glassy agglutinatessmall mineral fragments mixed with melted glassthat are abundant in lunar regolith.

The scientists recognized the agglutinates as one of the potential reasons for lack of growth by the seedlings in the Apollo soil compared to the terrestrial soil, and also for the difference in growth patterns between the three lunar samples.

Agglutinates are a common feature of the lunar surface. Ironically, they are formed by a process referred to as lunar gardening. This is the way that the regolith changes, through bombardment of the moons surface by cosmic radiation, solar wind, and minuscule meteorites, also known as space weathering.

Because there is no atmosphere to slow down the tiny meteorites hitting the surface, they impact at high velocity, causing melting and then quenching (rapid cooling) at the impact site.

Gradually, small aggregates of minerals build up, held together by glass. They also contain tiny particles of iron metal (nanophase iron) formed by the space weathering process.

It is this iron that is the biggest difference between the glassy agglutinates in the Apollo samples and the natural volcanic glass in the terrestrial sample. This was also the most probable cause of the metal-associated stress recognized in the plants genetic profiles.

So the presence of agglutinates in the lunar substrates caused the Apollo seedlings to struggle compared with the seedlings grown in JSC-1A, particularly the Apollo 11 ones. The abundance of agglutinates in a lunar regolith sample depends on the length of time that the material has been exposed on the surface, which is referred to as the maturity of a lunar soil.

Very mature soils have been on the surface for a long time. They are found in places where regolith has not been disturbed by more recent impact events that created craters, whereas immature soils (from below the surface) occur around fresh craters and on steep crater slopes.

The three Apollo samples had different maturities, with the Apollo 11 material being the most mature. It contained the most nanophase iron and exhibited the highest metal-associated stress markers in its genetic profile.

The study concludes that the more mature regolith was a less effective substrate for growing seedlings than the less mature soil. This is an important conclusion, because it demonstrates that plants could be grown in lunar habitats using the regolith as a resource. But that the location of the habitat should be guided by the maturity of the soil.

And a last thought: it struck me that the findings could also apply to some of the impoverished regions of our world. I dont want to rehearse the old argument of Why spend all this money on space research when it could be better spent on schools and hospitals?. That would be the subject of a different article.

But are there technological developments that arise from this research that could be applicable on Earth? Could what has been learned about stress-related genetic changes be used to develop more drought-resistant crops? Or plants that could tolerate higher levels of metals?

It would be a great achievement if making plants grow on the moon was instrumental in helping gardens to grow greener on Earth.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image Credit: Kevin Gill / Flickr

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Moon Settlers: Scientists Say Plants Will Grow Best in Lunar 'Soil' From Fresh Impact Craters - Singularity Hub

Five years ago, a startup called Semtive Energy took the concept of a wind turbine, shrank it down to the size of a garden shrub, and started marketing it directly to households; much like rooftop solar panels, the mini turbine is intended to help homeowners rely less on the grid and produce their own clean energy.

Now another startup has taken a wind turbine, shrunk it down even more, and is marketing it to people who truly are off the gridthat is, hikers, campers, climbers, and others spending time in nature. Just under a year ago, Aurea Technologies launched a Kickstarter campaign for Shine, an ultra-compact lightweight wind turbine that offers unrivaled performance for outdoor enthusiasts who need to recharge electronic devices.

About the size of a 1-liter water bottle, Shine weighs 3 pounds, can be set up in under 2 minutes, and will provide power at wind speeds from 8 to 28 miles per hour. It looks a lot like a mini airship on a stick. Its maximum output is 40 watts, which isnt much; the turbine seems primarily intended to charge phones, and wouldnt be of much use for other purposes (though the Kickstarter page mentions laptops, cameras, drones, tablets, and lights).

The best use case is for people who are on long hikes or other outdoor adventures and want their phones on to take photos, use GPS, send texts, etc. Batter packs are the current backup power sources for these types of activities, which are smaller and lighter than the Shine turbine, but have a limited amount of juice. The mini turbine, on the other hand, can provide real-time power or store energy in its 12,000 mAh (milliamp-hours) lithium-ion battery. The battery can collect three phones worth of power in an hour when the turbine blades are rotating at full speed.

For a lot of outdoor adventurers, the extra three pounds of weight in their packs wont be worth this small amount of electricity. But its a worthwhile concepton-the-go power from a source that never runs outand will likely start to see more iterations in the near future. Products like this could also be used in a pinch if theres a blackout and you dont have power at home.

Aureas Kickstarter campaign raised CA$210,176 (the company is based in Nova Scotia, that would be $161,335 in US dollars at the current exchange rate) and sold out the units from its first production run. The early-bird price for a Shine unit was US$240, which has now gone up to $321. Aurea launched the turbine on Indiegogo earlier this month and have already raised $297,554 as of this writing. The turbines creators estimate its lifespan is about five years and are aiming to ship the first units in October.

Were offering wind power that fits in your backpack, said Cat Adalay, Aureas CEO and founder. Wind is the second-largest producer of clean energy in the world, yet most people dont have direct access to it. As a team of outdoor enthusiasts with backgrounds in science and engineering, we set out to create a wind power product that gives users the freedom to produce their own clean energy day or night, rain, cloud, or shine.

Its becoming more and more difficult to truly get off the grid; scenic and tucked-away spots that used to be known by few were Instagrammed into the spotlight and quickly became overrun with eager travelers (most of whom also put these places on Instagram); phone network coverage has expanded; and now you can even have renewable power out in the middle of nowhere (though this isnt a brand-new phenomenonsmall portable solar panels serve the same purpose, though at a lower power to weight ratio). Will disconnecting soon be a thing of the past?

Those who still want to try could simply leave their portable wind turbines at home.

Image Credit: Aurea Technologies

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This Portable Wind Turbine Is the Size of a Water Bottle and Charges Devices in Under an Hour - Singularity Hub

As a physicist working at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, one of the most frequent questions I am asked is When are you going to find something?. Resisting the temptation to sarcastically reply Aside from the Higgs boson, which won the Nobel Prize, and a whole slew of new composite particles?, I realize that the reason the question is posed so often is down to how we have portrayed progress in particle physics to the wider world.

We often talk about progress in terms of discovering new particles, and it often is. Studying a new, very heavy particle helps us view underlying physical processes, often without annoying background noise. That makes it easy to explain the value of the discovery to the public and politicians.

Recently, however, a series of precise measurements of already known, bog-standard particles and processes have threatened to shake up physics. And with the LHC getting ready to run at higher energy and intensity than ever before, it is time to start discussing the implications widely.

In truth, particle physics has always proceeded in two ways, of which new particles is one. The other is by making very precise measurements that test the predictions of theories and look for deviations from what is expected.

The early evidence for Einsteins theory of general relativity, for example, came from discovering small deviations in the apparent positions of stars and from the motion of Mercury in its orbit.

Particles obey a counter-intuitive but hugely successful theory called quantum mechanics. This theory shows that particles far too massive to be made directly in a lab collision can still influence what other particles do (through something called quantum fluctuations). Measurements of such effects are very complex, however, and much harder to explain to the public.

But recent results hinting at unexplained new physics beyond the standard model are of this second type. Detailed studies from the LHCb experiment found that a particle known as a beauty quark (quarks make up the protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus) decays (falls apart) into an electron much more often than into a muonthe electrons heavier, but otherwise identical, sibling. According to the standard model, this shouldnt happenhinting that new particles or even forces of nature may influence the process.

LHCb experiment. Image Credit: Cern

Intriguingly, though, measurements of similar processes involving top quarks from the ATLAS experiment at the LHC show this decay does happen at equal rates for electrons and muons.

Meanwhile, the Muon g-2 experiment at Fermilab in the US has recently made very precise studies of how muons wobble as their spin (a quantum property) interacts with surrounding magnetic fields. It found a small but significant deviation from some theoretical predictions, again suggesting that unknown forces or particles may be at work.

The latest surprising result is a measurement of the mass of a fundamental particle called the W boson, which carries the weak nuclear force that governs radioactive decay. After many years of data taking and analysis, the experiment, also at Fermilab, suggests it is significantly heavier than theory predicts, deviating by an amount that would not happen by chance in more than a million million experiments. Again, it may be that yet undiscovered particles are adding to its mass.

Interestingly, however, this also disagrees with some lower-precision measurements from the LHC (presented in this study and this one).

While we are not absolutely certain these effects require a novel explanation, the evidence seems to be growing that some new physics is needed.

Of course, there will be almost as many new mechanisms proposed to explain these observations as there are theorists. Many will look to various forms of supersymmetry. This is the idea that there are twice as many fundamental particles in the standard model than we thought, with each particle having a super partner. These may involve additional Higgs bosons (associated with the field that gives fundamental particles their mass).

Others will go beyond this, invoking less recently fashionable ideas such as technicolor, which would imply that there are additional forces of nature (in addition to gravity, electromagnetism and the weak and strong nuclear forces), and might mean that the Higgs boson is in fact a composite object made of other particles. Only experiments will reveal the truth of the matter, which is good news for experimentalists.

The experimental teams behind the new findings are all well respected and have worked on the problems for a long time. That said, it is no disrespect to them to note that these measurements are extremely difficult to make. Whats more, predictions of the standard model usually require calculations where approximations have to be made. This means different theorists can predict slightly different masses and rates of decay depending on the assumptions and level of approximation made. So, it may be that when we do more accurate calculations, some of the new findings will fit with the standard model.

Equally, it may be the researchers are using subtly different interpretations and so finding inconsistent results. Comparing two experimental results requires careful checking that the same level of approximation has been used in both cases.

These are both examples of sources of systematic uncertainty, and while all concerned do their best to quantify them, there can be unforeseen complications that under- or over-estimate them.

None of this makes the current results any less interesting or important. What the results illustrate is that there are multiple pathways to a deeper understanding of the new physics, and they all need to be explored.

With the restart of the LHC, there are still prospects of new particles being made through rarer processes or found hidden under backgrounds that we have yet to unearth.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image Credit: Reidar Hahn/wikipedia, CC BY-SA

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The Standard Model of Particle Physics May Be Broken - Singularity Hub

The actress histories with Johnny Depp and Elon Musk have collided in spectacular fashion

If you spent any time on the internet during this, the last week of April 2022, you could not escape two major, ongoing stories: The defamation trial in which Johnny Depp is seeking $50 million from ex-wife Amber Heard over an op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post in 2018, and billionaire Elon Musk striking a deal to buy his favorite social platform, Twitter, for $44 billion.

But the two events arent entirely distinct. In a strange twist that either portends the breakdown of our simulated reality or the moment when all culture collapses into an infinitely dense singularity i.e., a black hole Depp and Musk are linked through Heard, who dated the Tesla CEO in 2017 after splitting up with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. Moreover, she listed Musk as a prospective witness in the trial, though as he never sat for a deposition and cannot be compelled to testify in the Virginia court where the case is unfolding, its assumed that hell avoid any role in the proceedings. But that hasnt stopped TikTok, YouTube and Instagram analysts from delving into theories that Heard had an affair with Musk while married to Depp, and speculation that Musk could have been the sperm donor for Heards 1-year-old daughter. Then theres the rumor that Musk and Heard had a threesome with English model Cara Delevingne, not to mention testimony suggesting Musk might have assaulted Heard.

Oh, maybe Musk is buying Twitter to delete his DMs with her? Or planning to boot any users spreading this kind of stuff around? And some Depp stans are still convinced hes going to show up at the trial to defend Heard. Anythings possible when youre overinvested and paranoid!

Given the sheer volume and intensity of the reactions, you can understand why Heard announced an official break from social media ahead of the trial with Depp. Yet silence doesnt save her from being the common denominator in an absolute shitshow of financial, technological and sexual intrigue being covered in media around the globe and spun by countless influencers. Maybe getting famous isnt worth it? One minute youre part of a celebrity couple and joining the cast of Aquaman, the next youre fleeing the internet so you dont have to see anyone rhyming your last name with turd. Also, whatever happens next at your trial could affect the stock of the company that dominates the U.S. electric vehicle market.

Yeah, it rocks not being any of these people. Must be a nice break for Grimes as well. Lets all try to avoid initiating a love triangle with two insufferable rich dudes while behaving in an erratically volatile way ourselves. Not saying itll be easy, but you cant argue with the results.

Miles Klee is MELs resident tank-top dirtbag, shitposter and meme expert. Hes also the author of the novel Ivyland and a story collection, True False.

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The Week Amber Heard Became the Singularity - MEL Magazine