New insights from the Tonga eruption; Codons recoded; AI language processing; Chromosome tectonics

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS | ALL TOPICS   Deep Learning Poised to 'Blow Up' Famed Fluid Equations By JORDANA CEPELEWICZ For centuries, mathematicians have tried to prove that Euler's fluid equations can produce nonsensical answers. A new approach to machine learning has researchers betting that "blowup" is near. Read the article GEOPHYSICS   Scientists Unravel How the Tonga Volcano Caused Global Tsunamis By ROBIN GEORGE ANDREWS The Tonga eruption in January was "basically like Krakatoa 2." This time, geophysicists could explain the tiny tsunamis that cropped up all over the planet, solving a 139-year-old mystery about Tonga's predecessor. Read the article Related:  Why Earth's Cracked Crust May Be Essential for Life by Rebecca Boyle (2018) SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY   Life With Longer Genetic Codes Seems Possible — but Less Likely By YASEMIN SAPLAKOGLU Life's genetic code is based on sequences of nucleotide bases read as three-letter "words." A new study suggests that a code based on four-letter words is biophysically possible but poses challenges. Read the blog Related:  Is a Bigger Genetic Code Better? Get Ready to Find Out by Jordana Cepelewicz (2018) NEURAL NETWORKS   Researchers Gain New Understanding From Simple AI By MORDECHAI RORVIG Language processing programs are notoriously hard to interpret, but smaller versions can provide important insights into how they work. Read the blog Related:  Will Transformers Take Over Artificial Intelligence? by Stephen Ornes QUANTA SCIENCE PODCAST   Secrets of Early Animal Evolution Revealed by Chromosome 'Tectonics' Podcast hosted by SUSAN VALOT; Story by VIVIANE CALLIER Large blocks of genes conserved through hundreds of millions of years of evolution hint at how the first animal chromosomes came to be. Listen to the podcast Read the article Around the Web Don't Give Me That Face Selective breeding may be responsible for your pet's puppy-dog eyes. Domesticated dogs have more mimetic facial muscles than wild dogs, allowing them to emote more clearly, Elana Spivack reports for Inverse. Facial expressiveness is one of the many signatures of canine domestication. Other signs are now appearing in some dingo populations that live close to humans, Carrie Arnold wrote for Quanta in 2018. This Could Be Ground, Breaking A new deep-learning algorithm that helps scientists sort meaningful signals from seismic noise is improving the detection of earthquakes in urban areas, Rhiannon Williams reports for MIT Technology Review. AI can help not only with earthquake detection but also prediction. In 2019 Ashley Smart reported for Quanta on an algorithm that helped scientists predict when "slow slip" quakes would occur. A recent mathematical model also helps predict how damaging a quake will be. As Robin George Andrews reported for Quanta in 2020, large rocks bouncing like pinballs inside a fault make destructive high-frequency seismic waves. Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2022 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation