Good Connection Really Does Lead to Mind Meld

When two people experience a deep connection, they’re informally described as being on the same wavelength. There may be neurological truth to that.

Brain scans of a speaker and listener showed their neural activity synchronizing during storytelling. The stronger their reported connection, the closer the coupling.

The experiment was the first to use fMRI, which measures blood flow changes in the brain, on two people as they talked. Different brain regions have been linked to both speaking and listening, but “the ongoing interaction between the two systems during everyday communication remains largely unknown,” wrote Princeton University neuroscientists Greg Stephens and Uri Hasson in the July 27 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

They found that speaking and listening used common rather than separate neural subsystems inside each brain. Even more striking was an overlap between the brains of speaker and listener. When post-scan interviews found that stories had resonated, scans showed a complex interplay of neural call and response, as if language were a wire between test subjects’ brains.

The findings don’t explain why any two people “click,” as synchronization is a result of that connection, not its cause. And while the brain regions involved are linked to language, their precise functions are not clear. But even if the findings are general, they support what psychologists call the “theory of interactive linguistic alignment” — a fancy way of saying that talking brings people closer by making them share a common conceptual ground. …

via Good Connection Really Does Lead to Mind Meld | Wired Science | Wired.com.

Garden of Eden found in Africa

A STRIP of land on Africa’s southern coast became a last refuge for the band of early humans who survived an ice age that wiped out the species elsewhere, scientists maintain.

The land, referred to by researchers as “the garden of Eden,” may have been the only part of Africa to remain continuously habitable during the ice age that began about 195,000 years ago.

Scientists’ excavations showed how a combination of rich vegetation on land and nutrient-laden currents in the sea created a source of food that could sustain early humans through devastating climate changes.

“Shortly after Homo sapiens first evolved, the harsh climate conditions nearly extinguished our species,” said Professor Curtis Marean, of the Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University.

“Recent finds suggest the small population that gave rise to all humans alive today survived by exploiting a unique combination of resources along the southern coast of Africa.”

The idea that early humans were once reduced to a tiny remnant population arose from research showing that modern humans have far less genetic diversity than most other species.

Some scientists suggested the human population could have fallen to as low as a few hundred individuals during this period…

During his study, Prof Marean discovered that the isolated caves around an area known as Pinnacle Point, South Africa, 386 kilometres east of Cape Town, were rich in ancient human artifacts.

In a soon to be published paper, Prof Marean and his colleagues argued the caves contain archaeological remains going back at least 164,000 years – and possibly even further back. …

via Last few early humans survived in ‘Eden’, scientists say | News.com.au.

Potentially hazardous asteroid might collide with the Earth in 2182

“The total impact probability of asteroid ‘(101955) 1999 RQ36′ can be estimated in 0.00092 –approximately one-in-a-thousand chance-, but what is most surprising is that over half of this chance (0.00054) corresponds to 2182,” explains to SINC María Eugenia Sansaturio, co-author of the study and researcher of Universidad de Valladolid (UVA). The research also involved scientists from the University of Pisa (Italy), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (USA) and INAF-IASF-Rome (Italy).

Scientists have estimated and monitored the potential impacts for this asteroid through 2200 by means of two mathematical models (Monte Carlo Method and line of variations sampling). Thus, the so called Virtual Impactors (VIs) have been searched. VIs are sets of statistical uncertainty leading to collisions with the Earth on different dates of the XXII century. Two VIs appear in 2182 with more than half the chance of impact.

Asteroid ‘(101955) 1999 RQ36′ is part of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHA), which have the possibility of hitting the Earth due to the closeness of their orbits, and they may cause damages. This PHA was discovered in 1999 and has around 560 meters in diameter.

The Yarkovsky effect

In practice, its orbit is well determined thanks to 290 optical observations and 13 radar measurements, but there is a significant “orbital uncertainty” because, besides gravity, its path is influenced by the Yarkovsky effect. Such disturbance slightly modifies the orbits of the Solar System’s small objects because, when rotating, they radiate from one side the radiation they take from the sun through the other side.

The research, which has been published in Icarus journal, predicts what could happen in the upcoming years considering this effect. Up to 2060, divergence of the impacting orbits is moderate; between 2060 and 2080 it increases 4 orders of magnitude because the asteroid will approach the Earth in those years; then, it increases again on a slight basis until another approach in 2162, it then decreases, and 2182 is the most likely year for the collision.

“The consequence of this complex dynamic is not just the likelihood of a comparatively large impact, but also that a realistic deflection procedure (path deviation) could only be made before the impact in 2080, and more easily, before 2060,” stands out Sansaturio.

The scientist concludes: “If this object had been discovered after 2080, the deflection would require a technology that is not currently available. Therefore, this example suggests that impact monitoring, which up to date does not cover more than 80 or 100 years, may need to encompass more than one century. Thus, the efforts to deviate this type of objects could be conducted with moderate resources, from a technological and financial point of view.”

via Potentially hazardous asteroid might collide with the Earth in 2182.

Findings show promise for nuclear fusion test reactors

Researchers have discovered mechanisms critical to interactions between hot plasma and surfaces facing the plasma inside a thermonuclear fusion reactor, part of work aimed at developing coatings capable of withstanding the grueling conditions inside the reactors.

Fusion powers the stars and could lead to a limitless supply of clean energy. A fusion power plant would produce 10 times more energy than a conventional nuclear fission reactor, and because the deuterium fuel is contained in seawater, a fusion reactor’s fuel supply would be virtually inexhaustible.

Research at Purdue University focuses on the “plasma-material interface,” a crucial region where the inner lining of a fusion reactor comes into contact with the extreme heat of the plasma. Nuclear and materials engineers are harnessing nanotechnology to define tiny features in the coating in work aimed at creating new “plasma-facing” materials tolerant to radiation damage, said Jean Paul Allain, an assistant professor of nuclear engineering.

One lining being considered uses lithium, which is applied to the inner graphite wall of the reactor and diffuses into the graphite, creating an entirely new material called lithiated graphite. The lithiated graphite binds to deuterium atoms in fuel inside fusion reactors known as tokamaks. The machines house a magnetic field to confine a donut-shaped plasma of deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen.

During a fusion reaction, some of the deuterium atoms strike the inner walls of the reactor and are either “pumped,” causing them to bind with the lithiated graphite, or returned to the core and recycled back to the plasma. This process can be “tuned” by these liners to control how much deuterium fuel is retained.

“We now have an understanding of how the lithiated graphite controls the recycling of hydrogen,” Allain said. “This is the first time that anyone has looked systematically at the chemistry and physics of pumping by the lithiated graphite. We are learning, at the atomic level, exactly how it is pumped and what dictates the binding of deuterium in this lithiated graphite. So we now have improved insight on how to recondition the surfaces of the tokamak.” …

via Purdue Newsroom — Findings show promise for nuclear fusion test reactors.

More accurate than Heisenberg allows?

A quantum particle is hard to grasp, because one cannot determine all its properties precisely at the same time. Measurements of certain parameter pairs such as position and momentum remain inaccurate to a degree given by Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. This is important for the security of quantum cryptography, where information is transmitted in the form of quantum states such as the polarization of particles of light. A group of scientists from LMU and the ETH in Zurich, including Professor Matthias Christandl, has now shown that position and momentum can be predicted more precisely than Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle would lead one to expect, if the recipient makes use of a quantum memory that employs ions or atoms. The results show that the magnitude of the uncertainty depends on the degree of correlation (“entanglement”) between the quantum memory and the quantum particle. “The result not only enhances our understanding of quantum memories, it also provides us with a method for determining the degree of correlation between two quantum particles”, says Christandl. “Moreover, the effect we have observed could yield a means of testing the security of quantum cryptographic systems.” (Nature Physics online, July 25, 2010)

Unlike classical computers, quantum computers operate not with bits, but with quantum bits or qubits, quantum mechanical states of particles. The crucial feature of qubits is that they can exist in different states at once, not just 0 or 1, but also as a superposition of 0 and 1. The ability to exploit superposition states is what makes quantum computers potentially so powerful. “The goal of our research is to work out how quantum memories, i.e. memory systems for qubits, might be utilized in the future and how they affect the transmission of quantum bits”, explains Christandl, who left LMU Munich in June 2010 to take up a position in the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the ETH in Zurich. …

via More accurate than Heisenberg allows?.

In quantum computing, a qubit (pronounced /ˈkʲuːbɪt/) or quantum bit is a unit of quantum information —the quantum analogue of the classical bit —with additional dimensions associated to the quantum properties of a physical atom. The physical construction of a quantum computer is itself an arrangement of entangled atoms, and the qubit represents both the state memory and the state of entanglement in a system. A quantum computation is performed by initializing a system of qubits with a quantum algorithm —”initialization” here referring to some advanced physical process that puts the system into an entangled state.

The qubit is described by a state vector in a two-level quantum-mechanical system, which is formally equivalent to a two-dimensional vector space over the complex numbers. – wiki

Latest ‘green’ packing material? Mushrooms

A new packing material that grows itself is now appearing in shipped products across the country.

The composite of inedible agricultural waste and mushroom roots is called Mycobond™, and its manufacture requires just one eighth the energy and one tenth the carbon dioxide of traditional foam packing material.

And unlike most foam substitutes, when no longer useful, it makes great compost in the garden.

The technology was the brainchild of two former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute undergraduates, Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer, who founded Ecovative Design of Green Island, N.Y., to bring their idea into production.

“We don’t manufacture materials, we grow them,” says McIntyre. “We’re converting agricultural byproducts into a higher-value product.”

Because the feedstock is based on renewable resources, he adds, the material has an economic benefit as well: it is not prone to the price fluctuations common to synthetic materials derived from such sources as petroleum. “All of our raw materials are inherently renewable and they are literally waste streams,” says McIntyre. “It’s an open system based on biological materials.”

With support from NSF, McIntyre and Bayer are developing a new, less energy-intensive method to sterilize their agricultural-waste starter material–a necessary step for enabling the mushroom fibers, called mycelia, to grow. McIntyre and Bayer are replacing a steam-heat process with a treatment made from cinnamon-bark oil, thyme oil, oregano oil and lemongrass oil.

The sterilization process, which kills any spores that could compete with Ecovative’s mushrooms, is almost as effective as the autoclaving process used to disinfect medical instruments and will allow the Mycobond™ products to grow in the open air, instead of their current clean-room environment.

“The biological disinfection process simply emulates nature,” says McIntyre, “in that it uses compounds that plants have evolved over centuries to inhibit microbial growth. The unintended result is that our production floor smells like a pizza shop.”

Much of the manufacturing process is nearly energy-free, with the mycelia growing around and digesting agricultural starter material–such as cotton seed or wood fiber–in an environment that is both room-temperature and dark. Because the growth occurs within a molded plastic structure (which the producers customize for each application), no energy is required for shaping the products.

Once fully formed, each piece is heat-treated to stop the growth process and delivered to the customer–though with the new, easier, disinfection treatment, Bayer and McIntyre are hoping the entire process can be packaged as a kit, allowing shipping facilities, and even homeowners, to grow their own Mycobond™ materials.

Based on a preliminary assessment McIntyre and Bayer conducted under their Phase I NSF SBIR award, the improvements to the sterilization phase will reduce the energy of the entire manufacturing process to one fortieth of that required to create polymer foam. …

via Latest ‘green’ packing material? Mushrooms.

Manhattan Eatery’s $69 Hot Dog Is World’s Most Expensive

A Manhattan eatery’s $69 wiener was declared the world’s most expensive hot dog, the New York Daily News reported Saturday.

Restaurant Serendipity 3, which also holds the record for the world’s most expensive ice-cream sundae ($1,000) and the largest hot chocolate (four gallons, 15 liters), set its latest record Friday — National Hot Dog Day.

Trudy Tant, 49, of South Carolina helped cement the record, forking out $69 for the foot-long designer dog.

Guinness World Records official Kimberly Patrick declared the record after watching Tant pay for the frankfurter, which came slathered in truffle oil, truffle butter, duck foie gras, Dijon mustard, Vidalia onions and ketchup on a salted pretzel bed.

“It was great. Great flavor,” Tant said, who was approached to be part of the record attempt after wandering past the restaurant Friday.

via Manhattan Eatery’s $69 Hot Dog Is World’s Most Expensive.

Woman admits being an alien to a cop. ‘Your laws don’t apply to me’,

A SELF-PROCLAIMED Geelong witch told a traffic cop she was not subject to earthly laws as she was “a being from another world”.

“Your laws and penalties don’t apply to me. I’m not accepting them, I’m sorry, I must go, thank you,” Eilish De Avalon said, driving off with the officer’s arm caught in her driver’s side door.

Photo Gallery: Moorabool Street incident

The alien defence was played out in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday when De Avalon, who had also told police she “had a universal name that is not recognised here”, pleaded guilty to recklessly causing serious injury, dangerous driving and driving while suspended, using a mobile phone while driving and failing to stop on police request on February 23.

“De Avalon was a suspended driver and that is why she took off,” Leading Senior Constable Geoff Lamb said.

The court heard that the policeman had feared for his life when De Avalon drove off with his right arm pinned in her car window.

Senior Constable Geoff Lamb said De Avalon ignored repeated calls to stop and instead accelerated, reaching up to 60km/h as she dragged Leading Senior Constable Andrew Logan 190m along busy Moorabool St.

De Avalon had only stopped after being forced to slow in traffic and the officer grabbed the keys from her ignition.

De Avalon, 40, a marriage celebrant, of Victory Way, Highton, had initially been stopped after she was seen using a mobile phone while driving about 10.40am.

via ‘Your laws don’t apply to me’ Weird News – The Mercury – The Voice of Tasmania.

‘Hikikomori’ bedroom hermits should be regarded as national crisis

There are approximately 230,000 people who almost constantly shut themselves in their rooms except to go to nearby convenience stores, according to a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office. The number increases to about 700,000 if those who only go out to do something hobby-related are included.

Moreover, there are an estimated 1.55 million potential so-called ‘hikikomori’ who have felt like shutting themselves in their own rooms. Most of them are young people.

As the population of young people declines due to falling birthrates, the statistics have raised questions about the future of Japan.

Hikikomori are defined as those who shut themselves in their homes for at least six months but are not involved in child care or housework even though they are not sick.

Problems involving shut-ins have been pointed out over the past 15 years, but only experts and nonprofit organizations have worked on the issue, with little public support. The government has been late in responding to the situation and taken only stopgap measures. Numerous cases have ended in tragic incidents, and the situation was worsened as a result of treatment and education that lacked solid scientific foundations.

The problem had previously been regarded as an extension of truancy, but the results of the latest survey have shown that 44 percent of the hikikomori began to shut themselves in their rooms because of problems involving work or job-hunting, and 46 percent are in their 30s. Men account for nearly 70 percent of all shut-ins. They are aging while their parents are also growing old.

The government has worked out a vision for children and youths in an effort to help reintegrate hikikomori into society, but just talking about their philosophy and conducting public relations and awareness-raising campaigns are far from sufficient. Even though some people think the shut-ins merely lack self-reliance and independence, there are deep-rooted and grave problems behind the phenomenon — such as child abuse, insufficient child care as a result of poverty, schoolyard bullying, corporal punishment and insecure employment as a result of an increase in the number of temporary and part-time workers.

It has been widely known that mental and sexual abuse leaves the victims with long-standing mental trauma. Some other surveys demonstrate that many of the withdrawals suffer from a developmental disorder. Many of them have suffered mental distress as a result of the public’s prejudice and lack of understanding. …

via ‘Hikikomori’ bedroom hermits should be regarded as national crisis – The Mainichi Daily News.

Briton given permission to look for legendary treasure of Lima

Mike Munroe believes he has pinpointed the site where the hoard – rumoured to be worth £100 million – is buried.

He is convinced he can succeed where the likes of film star Errol Flynn and British racing driver Sir Malcolm Campbell have failed.

Mr Munroe has spent more than a decade pawing over battered maps and documents to pinpoint the exact site of the legendary hoard.

Now the 54-year-old, from Melton Mowbray, Leics, is putting the finishing touches to an expedition to unearth the treasure of gold, silver and jewellery which was hidden 190 years ago off the coast of Costa Rica.

The treasure was shipped out of the Peruvian capital of Lima during the last days of Spanish control in 1823.

An original inventory showed 113 gold religious statues, including a life size gold statue of the Virgin Mary, 200 chests of jewels, 273 swords with jewelled hilts, 1,000 diamonds, solid gold crowns,150 chalices and hundreds of gold and silver bars.

The Spanish loaded the treasure onto the ship Mary Dear, under the command of Captain William Thompson who set sail for Mexico, then still under Spanish control.

But Thompson turned pirate and killed the dignatories aboard, including a bishop. He then sailed to Cocos Island, 350 miles off Costa Rica, where he buried the loot.

Numerous expeditions have failed to uncover it, but Mr Munroe believes he knows the whereabouts. …

“Since the 1930s, there have been at least 26 expeditions, but nobody has based a search on the soil and sand locations. I have the exact location of the treasure, which is backed up by descriptions of it being buried.

“I will use a special metal detecting mat, like a nylon mesh, which gives a three dimensional scan of the ground.

“If we locate an anomaly under the ground we use a little probe bar to see what it is.”

“We have got to work in liaison with the Costa Rican government.” ..

via Briton given permission to look for legendary treasure of Lima – Telegraph.