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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 8 hours ago

Physicists Just Achieved 'Perfect Randomness' For The First Time Ever

One of the hardest things to do in physics is to generate true, provably unpredictable randomness. That's because it's impossible to determine randomness based on the output alone. Dice may have nicks and flaws that influence how they roll. Computer random-number generators are usually driven by algorithms. Even coin flips are governed by physical forces that, in theory, could be predicted. The difficulty lies not in generating numbers that appear random, but in showing that no one could have possibly predicted the outcome – that the system isn't secretly affected by subtle hidden rules or biases. Now, a team of physicists at ETH Zurich in Switzerland has overcome that challenge by leveraging one of the strangest phenomena in quantum mechanics: entanglement. The resulting sequence of zeros and ones is now really perfectly random, and they can even certify that!

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10521-8

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 8 hours ago

Early diet may shape how the teenage brain develops
Early-life diet, particularly during infancy, is linked to cognitive outcomes in adolescence, with poorer early nutrition associated with lower intelligence later on. Evidence for the impact of adolescent diet on brain development is mixed, highlighting the need for better-designed studies. The timing of dietary exposure, population characteristics, and intervention specifics influence observed effects.

Hayley A Young et al, Diet and the Developing Brain: A Systematic Review of Nutritional Influences on Adolescent Cognitive and Academic Outcomes, Advances in Nutrition (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.advnut.2026.100648

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 8 hours ago

How culture, stress, and social life may shape gut health
Gut health is shaped by complex interactions among biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors, including stress, social relationships, economic status, and cultural norms. Chronic stress and adverse social conditions can disrupt the gut–brain axis, alter gut microbiota, and intensify gastrointestinal symptoms. Holistic, personalized approaches that address both biological and psychosocial aspects are increasingly emphasized for effective management.

Reuben K. Wong et al, Sociocultural Aspects of the Pathophysiology, Clinical Presentation, and Management of Disorders of Gut–Brain Interaction, Gastroenterology (2026). DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2026.02.006

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 9 hours ago

The authors concluded that giving anti-snake training to pregnant females makes their daughters, but apparently not their sons, more cautious around snakes.

Does this mean that at least females whose mothers had been trained survive better in the wild? The authors did not find any boost on survival after release. But they caution against concluding too quickly that no beneficial effects exist, given the small sample size and that all mice underwent exposure to snakes before release.

And how might the learned caution towards snakes have been transmitted from trained mothers to their female offspring?

"One possibility is prenatal programming, where stress hormones associated with predator training during pregnancy influenced offspring development before birth. Another is that the mothers behaved differently after the pups were born, which could likewise shape the latter's behaviour. It is also possible that pups detected lingering odour cues from the antipredator training in their mother.
Researchers don't yet know why female offspring responded differently than males, but sex-specific responses to stress and predator cues have been observed in other species. Maternal predator training may have amplified those innate differences.

Sex-specific Effects of Maternal Predator Exposure on Offspring Antipredator Behavior in an Endangered Mammal, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2026). DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2026.1783876

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 9 hours ago

Moms' learned fear of snakes gets inherited by offspring in a critically endangered mouse, biologists discover

Conservationists often raise the young of endangered species in captivity before releasing them into suitable habitats as adults. The benefits are obvious: survival to adulthood is typically high, as captive animals are safe from predators and food scarcity. Unfortunately, a lack of exposure to enemies in early life may become a drawback later, if the released individuals have never learned to recognize and avoid their predators.
One way to fix this is "antipredator training," where young animals are confronted with fake or real predators and taught to associate these with an unpleasant stimulus. However, this method is labor-intensive and depends on the realism of the training and the ability and most sensitive period for learning of the captive species. But now, researchers may have found a more efficient alternative: train the mothers instead.

Predator training of pregnant Pacific pocket mouse females resulted in their female offspring exhibiting increased vigilance toward snakes, while no such effect was observed in male offspring. No significant improvement in post-release survival was detected, possibly due to limited sample size and pre-release exposure. Maternal effects may be mediated by prenatal programming, postnatal behaviour, or odour cues.

Female offspring of predator-trained mothers were more vigilant during predator encounters, suggesting that maternal experiences may shape offspring behavior in ways that could be useful for conservation breeding and reintroduction programs.
Researchers conducted a randomized controlled experiment with two arms on 22 pregnant females in the second half of gestation. Each trial was filmed and lasted 20 minutes. Half of the females were assigned to the predator-exposed treatment, in which they were placed in a testing arena with food.

After acclimatization, a live kingsnake (a native predator of small mammals) was introduced behind a wire mesh across the arena. Pocket mice were sprayed with water whenever they approached the snake.

The mice received scores for behavior, location, and orientation relative to the snake. The remaining pregnant females were assigned to the control, where the snake was replaced with a rope of similar length. Control females were never sprayed.

Once pups had been born (87 in total) and reached 30 days of age, the scientists tested their behaviour towards a snake following the same protocol. A subset of 44 offspring were then released into suitable habitat within coastal southern California, while their post-release survival was assessed through live trapping towards the end of the summer active season.
The results showed that in the snake's presence, daughters of predator-trained mothers displayed more vigilance behaviours like scanning, freezing, and rearing up to monitor their surroundings and assess potential threats. However, no such difference was found between sons of predator-trained mothers and sons of control mothers.
Part 1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 9 hours ago

UN report warns AI could soon use 3% of world's electricity and more water than we need to drink

By 2030, AI could consume 3% of global electricity, emit carbon equivalent to the UK, and use more water for cooling than the annual global drinking water requirement. Efficiency improvements may not reduce total resource use due to increased demand, following the Jevons paradox. The report emphasizes the need for responsible AI governance, environmental disclosures, and integration of sustainability into AI development and policy.

original article.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 10 hours ago

Even years after stroke, spinal cord stimulation could improve arm function

Researchers report the final outcomes of a pioneering pilot clinical trial using electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to improve arm and hand mobility in people with chronic stroke in Nature Medicine.
The study, which was primarily focused on investigating safety and preliminary efficacy, showed that seven participants with profound muscle weakness due to stroke experienced an average 32% increase in arm strength, along with improvement in overall arm mobility and reduction in muscle spasticity.

Importantly, the intervention required fewer than nine hours of movement-based training over four weeks and did not cause discomfort or serious adverse events.

The stimulation works mostly as an assistive technology—when it's on, people can move better. By stimulating the spinal cord, we can immediately allow residual connections between the brain and the spinal cord to work more efficiently, enabling better movement.
Stimulation sends targeted electrical signals to sensory nerve fibers in the spinal cord to enhance communication between the brain and weakened muscles. The same class of device has been used for decades to treat chronic pain, but this is the first time it has been used to restore arm function after stroke.
Researchers observed two distinct types of benefit. Over the four-week study period, all seven research participants experienced immediate improvements in strength when stimulation was turned on, regardless of how severe their impairment was at baseline. Additionally, spasticity—abnormal muscle stiffness caused by stroke-damaged nerve pathways—was reduced in all seven participants.
This approach is designed to rapidly help people move their arms better, even years after a stroke.

Spinal cord stimulation for upper limb motor function in people with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis: a feasibility trial, Nature Medicine (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04435-1

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 11 hours ago

Charred Bronze Age teeth unlock age at death despite cremation

Over 3,000 years ago, the people of Bronze Age Poland burned their dead and placed their ashes in urns, often destroying the intimate records of their lives preserved in their bones. Now, researchers have shown that some of these records can still be read, hidden in the charred roots of their teeth.
The new study, published in Scientific Reports, has shown that microscopic growth lines in teeth may offer a promising alternative to traditional methods, which are often too scrambled or destroyed to provide an age-at-death. Additionally, the researchers made a surprise discovery, finding that growth lines may also provide insights into a person's diet, environment, or some other part of daily life.

"Cremated human remains are often considered extremely difficult to study because fire changes the structure of bones and teeth so dramatically. Scientists now accepted this challenge.
As the tooth root grows, it leaves behind alternating dark and light lines that researchers can use to estimate age at death.
To test whether these lines persisted in ancient cremated remains, the team examined 62 tooth roots from across Poland's Lusatian Urnfield culture, which existed during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age, roughly 3,300 to 2,500 years ago.

The name 'Urnfield' comes from the widespread practice of cremating the dead and burying their ashes in ceramic urns gathered in large cemeteries, sometimes containing hundreds or even thousands of graves.
For the Lusatian Urnfield culture, cremation was not just common, it was near universal. This makes intact bodies extremely rare, forcing researchers to rely on the broken and burned cremated bones, which often leave unanswered questions.
The researchers sliced the teeth into paper-thin sections for microscopic examination. They then had two researchers count the lines and compare them to surviving alternative age estimates. Not only did the tooth-based estimates align with traditional methods, but they also pinpointed the age to a much narrower timeframe.

Intriguingly, the researchers also noticed the line thickness varied. While previous researchers had suggested this may be the result of differences between males and females, the study authors found the width was likely related to geographic region.

It is possible these differences are related to different environments, diets, or other aspects of daily life that may have affected the teeth. However, the researchers are careful to note that the findings are preliminary.

Agata Hałuszko et al, Methodological validation and inter-site analysis in Late Bronze and Early Iron Age cremations using tooth cementum annulation counts, Scientific Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-51841-z

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

The results of the team's experiments suggest that when people watch short videos, they do not remember the information presented to them as well as they would when watching longer videos. In addition, the researchers found that while their study participants were watching short videos, brain regions involved in attention, episodic memory (i.e., memory of events or facts) and cognitive control (i.e., the control of mental functions) were less synchronized.

In contrast, they recorded a greater synchrony between brain regions linked to a focus on external stimuli. Collectively, these observations suggest that the disjointed and rapidly changing quality of short videos interferes with the deep processing of information, making it harder for viewers to memorize contained information or acquire new knowledge.
Together, these findings suggest that the fragmented and rapidly switching nature of typical social media short videos enhances bottom-up attentional capture at the expense of top-down cognitive processes critical for deep learning and long-term memory consolidation," wrote the authors. "This study provides converging neurobehavioral evidence suggesting that SVs viewing in social media contexts is associated with reduced neural synchronization and poorer memory performance."

Meiting Wei et al, Learning via short videos impairs memory accuracy and reduces brain synchrony, Communications Psychology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44271-026-00476-x

Part 2

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa 12 hours ago

Short videos may hinder learning by fragmenting attention and memory, study finds

Recent technological advances and the introduction of new digital media platforms have dramatically changed how people learn and source information about topics that interest them. Some recent studies have found that while browsing online or scrolling down social media platforms, users tend to spend under one minute on average on individual videos.

Short videos that summarize concepts have thus become increasingly popular among online content creators. More recently, they have also made their way into some educational settings, yet the extent to which they can support learning and help students memorize information remains unclear.

Researchers recently set out to assess the potential of short videos and longer videos as learning resources. Their findings, published in Communications Psychology, suggest that short videos are significantly less effective learning tools than longer videos, as people tend to rapidly forget the information presented in them.

The rapid rise of short videos, particularly social media-style formats characterized by rapid switching and fragmented content, has led to their increasing integration into learning environments, wrote the researchers in their paper, but  their efficacy and neurocognitive impact remain contentious.

The researchers carried out three separate experiments involving over 150 college students. 

The videos that participants watched were either 10 minutes long or spanned between 30 seconds and two and a half minutes. In addition, some participants were explicitly asked to memorize the content of the video, while others were not.

"Across three experiments, memory performance and forgetting rate were assessed under both incidental and intentional encoding conditions, and inter-subject correlation (ISC) analysis was employed to investigate neural response patterns during short video viewing," wrote the authors. "Behaviourally, participants learning with short videos showed significantly lower immediate memory accuracy across encoding conditions and exhibited a higher rate of forgetting when explicitly instructed to remember."

Notably, the study participants watched videos inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner, a machine that maps activity in the brain by tracking changes in blood flow. The research team later analyzed the fMRI scans they collected and tried to uncover neural activity patterns associated with viewing short and long videos.

"At the neural level, ISC analyses revealed that short videos elicited reduced neural synchrony in key brain regions supporting visuospatial attention, episodic memory, and cognitive control, including the superior parietal lobule, precuneus, and middle occipital gyrus," wrote the researchers. "In contrast, short videos evoked higher synchrony in temporal and frontal regions associated with bottom-up attentional processing. Furthermore, functional connectivity analyses indicated that SVs weakened coupling between visual, attentional, and cognitive control networks."

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