Friday, January 21, 2022

In a Numerical Coincidence, Some See Evidence for String Theory

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QUANTUM GRAVITY | ALL TOPICS

 

In a Numerical Coincidence, 
Some See Evidence for String Theory

By NATALIE WOLCHOVER

In a quest to map out a quantum theory of gravity, researchers have used logical rules to calculate how much Einstein's theory must change. The result matches string theory perfectly.

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NEUROSCIENCE

 

Neural Noise Shows the Uncertainty of Our Memories

By VERONIQUE GREENWOOD

The electrical chatter of our working memories reflects our uncertainty about their contents.

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Related: 
Brain's 'Background Noise' May
Hold Clues to Persistent Mysteries

by Elizabeth Landau (2021)

ASTROPHYSICS

 

Any Single Galaxy Reveals the Composition of an Entire Universe

By CHARLIE WOOD

A digital discovery raises the odds that the real cosmos may be hiding a link between the large and the small.

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Related: 
How Artificial Intelligence
Is Changing Science

by Dan Falk (2019)

COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY

 

Computer Scientists Eliminate Pesky Quantum Computations

By NICK THIEME

For years, intermediate measurements made it hard to quantify the complexity of quantum algorithms. New work establishes that those measurements aren't necessary after all.

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QUANTA SCIENCE PODCAST

 

Researchers Defeat Randomness to Create Ideal Code

Podcast hosted by SUSAN VALOT;
Story by MORDECHAI RORVIG

By constructing a multidimensional graph, researchers have finally created a method for coding a transmission that can immediately identify any corruption.

Listen to the podcast

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Around the Web

No Knowledge, No Problems
Computer scientist Amit Sahai explains "zero-knowledge proofs" — a way to prove something without revealing any additional information — at five levels of difficulty for WIRED. Sahai has used this concept to hide the inner workings of computer programs from would-be hackers. In a 2014 article for Quanta, Erica Klarreich wrote about Sahai's pioneering work in "program obfuscation."

Intentional Icarus
The Parker probe recently entered the sun's corona, giving us the closest-ever view of our star, Marina Koren writes for The Atlantic. Much about the sun remains a mystery despite its proximity to us. In 2019 Natalie Wolchover wrote for Quanta about scientists' attempts to understand the gamma rays emanating from our star.
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