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Why Is Venus Hell and Earth an Eden? | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 8h

Back in the day, Earth’s ruinous volcanism almost sterilized the planet. Fortunately for living things, Earth gradually drew the excess carbon dioxide deep into its rocky bowels, and the planet cooled back down.

A team of scientists has investigated how Earth’s twin became so inhospitable, and whether the same will happen to our planet.

The Math of Climate Change Tipping Points | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 1d

Deforestation and climate change have pushed the Amazon rainforest toward a tipping point. If crossed, it will lose its ability to regenerate and turn into a savanna.

Tipping points in our climate predictions are both wildly dramatic and wildly uncertain. Can mathematicians make them useful?

Researchers Discover the Optimal Way To Optimize | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 1d

For nearly 80 years, an algorithm called the simplex method has been one of the most widely used tools for when a logistical decision needs to be made under complex constraints. A new update makes it faster than ever. www.quantamagazine.org/researchers-...

The leading approach to the simplex method, a widely used technique for balancing complex logistical constraints, can’t get any better.

The Quantum Mechanics of Greenhouse Gases | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 2d

Climate change stems from a quantum phenomenon. A greenhouse gas is a gaseous molecule whose quantized states precisely match the frequencies of Earth’s radiation.

Earth’s radiation can send some molecules spinning or vibrating, which is what makes them greenhouse gases. This infographic explains how relatively few heat-trapping molecules can have a planetary…

Origami Patterns Solve a Major Physics Riddle | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 2d

Somehow, the way paper folds and the way particles collide produce the same geometric shape.

The amplituhedron, a shape at the heart of particle physics, appears to be deeply connected to the mathematics of paper folding.

To Understand AI, Watch How It Evolves | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 3d

The silent c’s of the sea world, cnidarians and ctenophores, have DNA architecture that is more similar to humans than their single-celled ancestors. www.quantamagazine.org/loops-of-dna...

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 3d

Much of the AI you see and use is built on a large language model. How they work is still largely a mystery. “We don’t know what makes a language model tick. If we have these models everywhere, we should understand what they’re doing.”

Naomi Saphra thinks that most research into language models focuses too much on the finished product. She’s mining the history of their training for insights into why these systems work the way they…

How One AI Model Creates a Physical Intuition of Its Environment | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 4d

Researchers at Meta have developed an AI system that learns about the world via videos and demonstrates a notion of “surprise” when presented with information that goes against the knowledge it has gleaned.

The V-JEPA system uses ordinary videos to understand the physics of the real world.

Loops of DNA Equipped Ancient Life To Become Complex | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 4d

Connecting different “neighborhoods” of a genome has many benefits. For one, it can allow a gene to be regulated by multiple sources, increasing the possibility for more complexity.

New work shows that physical folding of the genome to control genes located far away may have been an early evolutionary development.

The Quantum Mechanics of Greenhouse Gases | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 4d

You’ve likely heard before that greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. The reason for this is quantum mechanical.

Earth’s radiation can send some molecules spinning or vibrating, which is what makes them greenhouse gases. This infographic explains how relatively few heat-trapping molecules can have a planetary…

Genes Have Harnessed Physics to Help Grow Living Things | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 4d

Biophysicists are realizing that there is an undervalued element at play in early development: Aside from genes, mechanical forces also steer the growth of embryos. @annademming.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/genes-have-h...

The same pulling force that causes “tears” in a glass of wine also shapes embryos. It’s another example of how genes exploit mechanical forces for growth and development.

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

Origami crease patterns such as those used to fold a paper crane reveal hidden secrets about the amplituhedron, a shape that physicists use to calculate particle collisions. www.quantamagazine.org/origami-patt...

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

How did ancient life become complex? Researchers Arnau Sebe Pedros (left) and Iana Kim Sebé-Pedrós recently determined that on the journey from primordial slime to humans, a critical step in complexity was the ability for the chromosome to loop and fold. www.quantamagazine.org/loops-of-dna...

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

Explore more of our coverage on sleep in our archive: quantamagazine.org/tag/sleep/

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sleep | Quanta Magazine

Why Do We Die Without Sleep? | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

While many mysteries surround sleep, it’s clear that it’s critical for maintaining a healthy brain and body. Not getting enough can lead to a suite of issues from diabetes to heart disease. quantamagazine.org/why-do-we-di...

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The reasons why sleep is so vital often hide in unexpected parts of the body, as host Steven Strogatz discovers in conversations with researchers Dragana Rogulja and Alex Keene.

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

Studies in flies and rodents have found that sleep deprivation causes toxic molecules to build up in the gut. This excess of “reactive oxygen species” damages essential molecules such as DNA and proteins by stealing their electrons. quantamagazine.org/why-sleep-de...

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The Mysterious Flow of Fluid in the Brain | Quanta Magazine

Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

The question of how the brain clears waste remains elusive. But one theory suggests that “brainwashing” — possibly via cerebrospinal fluid — occurs most strongly during sleep. It might be why we feel refreshed after a good night’s rest. quantamagazine.org/the-mysterio...

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Sleep Evolved Before Brains. Hydras Are Living Proof. | Quanta Magazine

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

We know that getting 💤's helps the brain form memories, but scientists are still trying to unpack how. Powerful bursts of brain activity, known as sharp wave ripples, tag certain experiences while we are resting to be stored as long-term memories while we sleep. quantamagazine.org/electric-rip...

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

Over the past two decades, researchers have begun to redefine sleep in other creatures. Even the simplest forms of animal life, such as the tiny, brainless, aquatic organism called the hydra, has been shown to sleep every few hours. quantamagazine.org/sleep-evolve...

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Studies of sleep are usually neurological. But some of nature’s simplest animals suggest that sleep evolved for metabolic reasons, long before brains even existed.

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

Armadillos sleep for most of the day. Dolphins and some birds can send half their brain to sleep while appearing awake. Elephants spend almost every hour awake, while little brown bats spend almost every hour asleep.

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

Somewhere between a quarter and a third of the human lifespan is spent in slumber.

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Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d

Although we do it every day, sleep largely remains a scientific mystery. What happens when we sleep — and what’s the point?

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