Hydrogen has high energy density and burns cleanly into water, which makes it a promising renewable resource. A new study published in the journal Science uses seawater electrolysis to produce sustainable hydrogen. Electrolysis involves passing an electric current through water, splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. However, the process requires a lot of energy, making it expensive for large-scale production. In addition, seawater electrolysis can produce dangerous chlorine gas. Nevertheless, the study suggests that renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, cou ..read more

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can develop into any type of tissue in the body. As a result, they have the potential to be used in a variety of medical treatments, including regenerative medicine, in which damaged or diseased tissue is replaced with healthy cells. In a groundbreaking discovery in stem cell research, scientists, for the first time, successfully derived both male and female stem cells from the same donor. The ability to derive both male and female stem cells from the same donor could have significant implications for personalized medicine, in which treatments ..read more

  My latest manuscript, "Can Dimensional Anisotropy Satisfy Mach's Principle?" examines the cosmic structure. In dimensional anisotropy, the dimensions of space depend on the object's location or orientation. Mach's principle states that the universe's mass-energy distribution determines local inertia. In other words, the motion of distant stars must influence the local state or movement. General relativity fails to satisfy this requirement because mass is unaffected by the gravitational field. Can dimensional isotropy follow Mach's Principle? Let's create a compact wave function ..read more

Naked mole rats are small, subterranean rodents native to parts of East Africa. Unlike most mammals that experience a decline in physical and cognitive function as they age, naked mole rats remain healthy and active throughout their unusually long lifespan, exceeding 30 years. Consequently, these animals have garnered significant attention in the scientific community due to their unique ability to defy aging. One key factor contributing to the naked mole rats' longevity is their low metabolism. Naked mole rats have a slower metabolic rate than other rodents, which means they burn energy mo ..read more

  My 2018 post, Cognitive Manipulation by parasites, discusses the behavioral effects of parasite infection. It also speculates a possible role of Toxoplasma gondii infection in human psychology. A recent article in Nature, a premier scientific journal, provides a clear link between parasite infection to risk-taking and dominance.  Sexual reproduction of Toxoplasma gondii occurs in a cat's body. As a result, the infected rodents lose their fear of cats, which allows the reproductory cycle to complete. However, warm-blooded mammals can catch the parasite by eating an infected anim ..read more

Spiking neural networks have a complex, biologically-inspired design yet haven't been practical for widespread use because it's challenging to train them. Nevertheless, spiking neural networks are more energy-efficient, providing a considerable impetus for transitioning to more spiking network technology over the next decade.  Many AIs can only master one set of well-defined tasks – they can't acquire additional knowledge later without losing everything they previously learned. However, interspersing focused training periods with sleep-like periods prevents forgetting. Sleep in th ..read more

  DishBrain is a culture of 800,000 brain cells cultured in a lab. Although the culture is too primitive to be conscious, these so-called "mini-brains" can carry out goal-directed tasks. They can take in information from an external source, process it, and respond to it in real-time.   In the experiment, scientists placed mouse cells (derived from embryonic brains) and human cells taken from stem cells on top of an electrode array that was hooked up to Pong, an arcade game. Electrical pulses sent to the neurons indicated the position of the ball in the game. The array t ..read more

  Cognitive neuroscientists have demonstrated that stimulating the brains of adults aged over 65 with weak electrical currents repeatedly over several days led to memory improvements that persisted for up to a month. They used transcranial alternating current stimulation, a non-invasive method involving electrodes placed on the surface of the scalp. Zapping the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex — a region near the front of the brain — with high-frequency electrical currents improved long-term memory. Stimulating the inferior parietal lobe, which is further back in the brain, with low-fre ..read more

  In biological research, a clock for aging has been sought for a long time. Chronological age refers to the actual amount of time a person has been alive. Chronological age is the number of years a person has been alive. In contrast, biological age refers to relative aging, or life expectation, based on lifestyle factors and the predisposition to certain diseases. In the nineteen eighties, researchers thought that telomeres might be the cell's clock's mechanism because telomeres, DNA-protein complexes at the ends of chromosomes, shorten each time a cell divides. Fur ..read more

  A new study examined the cognitive burden of mentally taxing assignments. The study examines the metabolic changes in the brain during exhaustion, thereby linking mental fatigue with neurometabolism. Participants working long hours on challenging projects had higher levels of glutamate in the brain's prefrontal cortex by the end of the day than those with more manageable tasks. Glutamate is an essential signaling molecule in the brain, but its accumulation can disrupt brain function. At the end of the workday, exhausted people are likelier to opt for short-term, easy solutions tha ..read more