Physicists Find Evidence That The Universe Is A 'Giant Brain'

The idea of the universe as a 'giant brain' has been proposed by scientists - and science fiction writers - for decades.

But now physicists say there may be some evidence that it's actually true. In a sense.

The strange case of solar flares and radioactive elements

When researchers found an unusual linkage between solar flares and the inner life of radioactive elements on Earth, it touched off a scientific detective investigation that could end up protecting the lives of space-walking astronauts and maybe rewriting some of the assumptions of physics.

It's a mystery that presented itself unexpectedly: The radioactive decay of some elements sitting quietly in laboratories on Earth seemed to be influenced by activities inside the sun, 93 million miles away.

Dying Star Briefly Reborn

European Space Agency astronomers have found evidence for a dying sun-like star coming back to life - something they say may happen to our own sun in a few billion years.

Abell 30, located 5500 light-years from Earth, is a planetary - a concentric shell of stellar material cast into space by a dying star.

Scientist Shows What Happens To 'Soul' After Death (VIDEO)

In a video that recently aired on “Through the Wormhole” narrated by Morgan Freeman on the TV channel Science, Dr. Hameroff claims, "I believe that consciousness, or its immediate precursor proto-consciousness, has been in the universe all along, perhaps from the Big Bang." 

Understanding where consciousness comes from could solve mysteries such as what happens to the "soul" during near-death experiences, or when a person dies. 

New Research Suggests Humans Can Sense Future Events Without Any Known Clues

Wouldn't it be nice to predict future events, even if they are just ten seconds ahead? According to researchers at Northwestern University, we can do just that.

Researchers already know that our subconscious minds sometimes know more than our conscious minds. Physiological measures of subconscious arousal, for instance, tend to show up before conscious awareness that a deck of cards is stacked against us.

Massive Black Hole May Exist Near Earth

The strange behavior of stars in the Sword of Orion may be due to the presence of a black hole with a mass about 200 times larger than our sun.

Overview image of the Orion Nebula with the star cluster at its center. The possible black hole would reside somewhere between the four bright stars that mark the cluster's center. These stars form the famous Trapezium of the Orion Nebula Cluster. (NASA/ESA/Hubble Space Telescope)

Using computer modeling, an international team of astronomers studied these fast-moving stars that form the Orion Nebula Cluster.

Our Story in 90 seconds (VIDEO)

Fascinating video brings us a 90 seconds of tapestry of footage tracing the cosmic and biological origins of our species.

Scientists Believe They Have Come Close to Solving the 'Matrix' Theory

The question of whether we live in a real world or a simulated one has plagued philosophers for centuries - but now scientists believe they finally have found a way to test the theory.

Professor Silas Beane, a theoretical physicist at the University of Bonn in Germany said that his group of scientists have developed a way to test the 'simulation hypothesis'. 

Human Brain’s Right Side Hums during Wakeful Rest

Even when people are thinking nothing at all, their brains’ right side – for most people the less-dominant half -stays busiest, new findings have revealed.

Researchers found that during periods of wakeful rest, the right hemisphere of the brain chatters more to itself than the left hemisphere does.

Oceans could 'sound' like Dinosaur-Era Seas by 2100

 

The possibility of a shift in ocean soundscapes will influence technologies like sonar.

An artist's illustration of aquatic dinosaurs

Scuba divers in the year 2100 might hear what the dinosaurs did, new research suggests. 

Could Solar Geoengineering Prove Effective?

Geoengineering has been a hot topic over the past little while and into this mix has come a new study looking at the possibility of using solar geoengineering to counter the loss of Arctic sea ice by tailoring geoengineering by region and by need.

Sunset in the Arctic

Extraterrestrial War caused Dinosaur Extinction and Re-Birth

Have you ever noticed that the reasons for the extinction of the dinosaurs remains to be a bit “sketchy”. 

However, it seems that we, as humans, in general, have decided that whatever the reason, it is “in the past”, and “let’s move on”. But, suppose in this case “ignorance is not bliss”. 

Unknow Energy From Galactic Center Bombarding Earth (VIDEO)

Strange particles believed to be emanating from the elusive ‘dark matter’ at the center of the galaxy have been confirmed to be bombarding Earth.

Two physicists from the prestigious Department of Physics & Astronomy at University of California discovered more gamma-rays bombarding Earth than believed by astronomers. 

Unexpectedly large mass loss during the thermal pulse cycle of the red giant star R Sculptoris

The asymptotic-giant-branch star R Sculptoris is surrounded by a detached shell of dust and gas^{1, 2}. The shell originates from a thermal pulse during which the star underwent a brief period of increased mass loss^{3, 4}.

It has hitherto been impossible to constrain observationally the timescales and mass-loss properties during and after a thermal pulse—parameters that determine the lifetime of the asymptotic giant branch and the amount of elements returned by the star.

A magnetic switch for the control of cell death signalling in in vitro and in vivo systems

The regulation of cellular activities in a controlled manner is one of the most challenging issues in fields ranging from cell biology to biomedicine.

Nanoparticles have the potential of becoming useful tools for controlling cell signalling pathways in a space and time selective fashion.

Researchers Discover Bacteria That Produces Pure Gold (VIDEO)

The gold you see in the photo above was not found in a river or a mine. It was produced by a bacteria that, according to researchers at Michigan State University, can survive in extreme toxic environments and create 24-karat gold nuggets. Pure gold.
Maybe this critter can save us all from the global economic crisis?

Of course not—but at least it can make Kazem Kashefi—assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics—and Adam Brown—associate professor of electronic art and intermedia—a bit rich, if only for the show they have put together.

Kashefi and Brown are the ones who have created this compact laboratory that uses the bacteria Cupriavidus metallidurans to turn gold chlroride—a toxic chemical liquid you can find in nature—into 99.9% pure gold.

Hugh Everett's "Many Worlds" Theory (VIDEO)

Despite the apparent problems with quantum mechanics, there is one more option which solves both the measurement problem and the problem of instantaneous action at a distance without relying on extra dynamics or hidden variables to explain our observations. 

Marijuana And Cancer: Scientists Find Cannabis Compound Stops Metastasis In Aggressive Cancers

A pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco has found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer, potentially altering the fatality of the disease forever. 

"It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, but we are very excited," said Pierre Desprez, one of the scientists behind the discovery, to The Huffington Post. "We want to get started with trials as soon as possible."