🤖 Tech & Computer Science

Brazil bans X: all the latest news

A Brazilian judge has banned X (formerly Twitter), escalating a conflict between Elon Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. On August 30th, de Moraes ordered Brazil's communications agency to limit access to the platform within 24 hours. The conflict began in April when Musk reactivated accounts that were ordered to be blocked. Musk later closed X’s offices in Brazil, refusing to comply with the justice’s demands to appoint a new legal representative, leading to the platform's suspension.

Networks and identity drive the spatial diffusion of linguistic innovation in urban and rural areas

Cultural innovation, like language, spreads regionally due to two factors: identity signaling and network effects. This study demonstrates that both network and identity complement each other in the adoption of new language. An agent-based model was developed and validated using Twitter data. The study found that networks drive innovation in urban areas, while identity is more influential in rural areas. To spread innovation between urban and rural areas, both factors are necessary. The findings suggest that models need to incorporate both network and identity to accurately predict cultural adoption.

⚛️ Physics and Chemistry

Metasurface makes thermal sources emit laser-like light

Researchers at the City University of New York (CUNY) have developed a metasurface that enables incandescent light bulbs and other thermal radiation sources to emit coherent, polarized, and directed light, similar to laser beams. This metasurface, created by Andrea Alù and colleagues, uses a structured thin film with tailored perturbations to control thermal emissions, marking a significant step forward in thermal radiation control. Previously, metasurfaces required lasers to achieve similar effects, but this innovation could simplify optical devices by eliminating the need for bulky lasers.

Chemists create gel to prevent leaks and boost lithium-ion battery life

Chemists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) have developed a new gel that could make lithium-ion batteries safer and more powerful by preventing the leakage of flammable electrolyte fluid. Initial lab tests also show that the gel improves battery performance and lifespan. The research, led by Professor Wolfgang Binder, was published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Low-energy electrons in cosmic ice spring surprise by generating prebiotic molecules

Research from Wellesley College, presented at the American Chemical Society meeting, suggests that electrons may play a more crucial role than photons in forming prebiotic molecules in space. The study, led by undergraduate Kennedy Barnes, used simulations to recreate interstellar conditions, showing that low-energy electrons might be more effective than photons in catalyzing the reactions that potentially contributed to the origin of life. This finding challenges previous assumptions that both electrons and photons equally drive these reactions.

🧬 Biology & Medicine

A really big shark got gobbled up by another, massive shark in 1st known case of its kind

In a first-of-its-kind event, a large porbeagle shark near Bermuda was eaten by an even bigger shark, which also swallowed its tracking device. Porbeagle sharks, known for their predatory prowess, can grow up to 12 feet long and inhabit the Northern Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere oceans. Despite being formidable predators, this incident highlights that porbeagles can also fall prey to larger sharks. The event was documented in a study published on September 3 in Frontiers in Marine Science.

Time-Restricted Eating Fails for Weight Loss and Glucose Homeostasis

A small randomized trial found that time-restricted eating (TRE) did not lead to weight loss or improved glucose control compared to a usual eating pattern (UEP) when caloric intake was kept constant. The 12-week study involved 41 adults with obesity and prediabetes or diet-controlled diabetes, comparing a TRE regimen with a UEP. The findings suggest that any weight loss effects from TRE in previous studies may be due to reduced caloric intake rather than the timing of meals. The study was published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Plant-based fats outperform dairy fats in reducing heart disease and diabetes risks

A research briefing in Nature Medicine highlights links between dietary fat quality and cardiometabolic risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the evidence for replacing saturated fats with mono- and polyunsaturated fats to be of low to moderate certainty. While current guidelines recommend reducing saturated fat intake, this remains debated due to limitations in intervention trials and observational studies, such as shorter study durations and reliance on indirect measures like cholesterol rather than clinical outcomes.

🔭 Space & Astronomy

Star-packed Triangulum Galaxy shines in new Hubble Telescope image

A new Hubble Space Telescope image shows the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), a spiral galaxy about 3 million light-years away, known for its intense star formation. Measuring 60,000 light-years across, it's the third-largest galaxy in the Local Group after Andromeda and the Milky Way. M33's star formation rate is 10 times higher than Andromeda's, despite its organized spiral arms indicating minimal interaction with other galaxies.

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