Physicists Use Quantum Mechanics to Pull Energy out of Nothing

Researchers have shown that energy can be pulled out of empty space by taking advantage of random fluctuations in the quantum fields that fill the vacuum. Physicists exploited quantum entanglement to swap information about the fluctuations, gathered in one place, with energy hoovered up somewhere else. In one experiment, they used radio pulses to link two carbon atoms in a way that effectively teleported energy across microscopic distances for a few milliseconds. A separate experiment tested quantum energy teleportation using several of IBM's superconducting quantum computers.

How dinosaurs got big (and small)

Extinct theropod dinosaurs, which include iconic species such as Tyrannosaurus rex, used more than one evolutionary trick to become big: some had explosive growth spurts, whereas others grew slowly over time. Palæontologists had always assumed that dinosaurs developed like modern birds and mammals, in which larger species grow faster during their most rapid growth period. Now, researchers who analysed growth rings in the shin bones of 42 dinosaur species have discovered that this is true for only 31% of theropods — 28% showed prolonged growth similar to that of modern crocodiles. Of the species that became smaller than their ancestors, 21% did so by shortening their growth spurts and 19% by slowing their growth.

Europe’s earliest evidence of the use of bows and arrows

The first Homo sapiens to arrive in Europe might have hunted with bows and arrows, around 10,000 years earlier than was thought. In a 54,000-year-old-cave in southern France, alongside a H. sapiens tooth and tools, researchers found hundreds of stone points resembling arrowheads — the smallest of which were so tiny that they would have had enough force to kill an animal only if they were shot with a bow. The technology could have been unique to humans: Neanderthals might have inhabited the area at the same time, but there is no evidence that they also took up archery.

Blogger Comments:

Neanderthals were humans, and absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Quakes reveal secrets of Earth’s inner core

Measurements of earthquake reverberations have revealed that our planet’s inner core — a solid ball of iron nickel — has two distinct layers made mainly of differently structured iron crystals. The way these oscillations are distorted as they bounce back and forth through the centre of the planets allowed his team to figure out the core’s structure. The finding will help researchers to understand how the core formed millions of years ago and what role it might have had in shaping the magnetic field.

Snakes' hearing ability

Researchers have dispelled the myth that snakes are deaf to airborne sound and can ‘hear’ only ground vibrations. Snakes were placed in a soundproofed room, and sounds with different frequencies were played on speakers. Death adders (Acanthophis), taipans (Oxyuranus) and brown snakes (Pseudonaja) tended to back away from the source of the sound. Woma pythons (Aspidites), however, often approached the speakers — possibly because they’re large nocturnal snakes with few predators, unlike the others. The experiment suggests that snakes can indeed hear sounds in the frequency range and volume of a human voice.

‘Mirror neurons’ fire up during mouse battles

A type of brain cell that is crucial for triggering fights is also activated in mice when they watch other mice fight. Because these cells fire both when an animal observes a behaviour and when it performs that behaviour, some scientists have argued that they might be involved in complex social functions, such as empathy.

Blogger Comments:

"Mirror" neurons are not a 'type' of brain cell. They are the same as other neurons. The claim here is one of function, not form, and the claim of a "mirror" function of neurons rests on the mistaken notion that perceptual categorisation is merely sensory, rather than sensorimotor, as Edelman has theorised and demonstrated with robot simulations.

Microraptor might have hunted like hawks

A crow-sized, feathered dinosaur might have used its feet to snag prey, like modern hawks do. Scientists who compared the fossilised feet of several non-avian dinosaur species found that Microraptor’s protruding toe pads, covered with spiky scales, most resembled those of birds of prey. Other researchers say that toe pads alone aren’t enough to declare that the dinosaur was an aerial hunter. If Microraptor could really fly rather than glide, it would support the debated hypothesis that flight evolved not just in birds, but several times among dinosaurs.

Tree rings reveal drought that might have doomed the Hittites

Three years of severe drought could have contributed to the mysterious collapse of the ancient Anatolian empire of the Hittites 3,000 years ago. Tree rings from ancient juniper timber revealed that there was little rainfall in the area from 1198 to 1196 BC, which could have forced the Hittites to abandon their capital, perhaps dooming the civilisation. Some researchers agree with this assessment, but others think it misses the fact that 1190 BC was the beginning of a 200-year mega-drought that extended from Spain to India.

Sea life bounced back fast after the ‘mother of mass extinctions’

Marine life bounced back surprisingly quickly after the ‘mother of mass extinctions’ killed 81% of marine species 251.9 million years ago. More than 1,000 fossils uncovered in southern China show fish, ancient lobsters and prehistoric crab-like creatures existed just a million years after volcanic activity heated the atmosphere and acidified the oceans. It challenges the idea that complex ecosystems took millions of years to recover in a stepwise fashion, from self-sufficient organisms to apex predators.

Ancient stone tools suggest early hominins dined on hippo

Archæologists in Kenya have unearthed dozens of stone tools scattered around the butchered bones of ancient hippopotamus-like creatures. The site dates to between 2.6 and 3 million years ago, and pushes back the known start of large-animal butchering by early human relatives by at least 600,000 years. The tools are the earliest known example — by around 700,000 years — of Oldowan tools, which became widespread across Africa and Asia. The tools were found alongside the teeth of an ancient human relative from the genus Paranthropus, raising the possibility that Paranthropus, rather than a member of the modern-human genus Homo, used the tools.

How Scientists Are Using AI to Talk to Animals

Digital geographer Karen Bakker says that technology such as digital recording and artificial intelligence will give us the ability to hear and understand animal communication on its own terms.

Fish can recognise themselves in photos, further evidence they may be self-aware

The bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) seems to recognise its own face — an indication of self-awareness that has so far been found only in humans and a few other species. Each fish was shown composite images: its own head photoshopped onto another fish’s body, and its own body with another fish’s head. The fish were less aggressive towards their own faces, even on another fish’s body, suggesting that this fish forms a mental image of its countenance.

Quantum computing with atoms

In the race to build practical quantum computers, systems based on individual neutral atoms are moving toward the front of the pack. For years, quantum bits (qubits) made from either superconducting loops or trapped ions have been the frontrunners. Increased computing power came from cramming more and more qubits into devices. This has limits because each qubit needs a separate controlling unit, and it can be tricky to get the right qubits to interact at the right time. Now, neutral-atom qubits can be created in bundles of hundreds, held in place and manipulated by laser beams called optical tweezers. Once an underdog, the technology’s pace of improvement has surprised researchers.