From raspberry notes to rum and nail polish ones. Some call it a ‘space party,’ while others say ‘it stinks.’
Doctoral researcher in Astrobiology and professional perfumer, Marina Barcenilla, creates the scents of space based on astrochemistry and reports by astronauts.
Interesting Engineering (IE) report on the range of smells available including which represent the entire journey around Earth’s orbit to the center of the Milky Way. By tapping into the intimate relationship between olfaction (the sense of smell) and memory, the project aims to break communication barriers between science and the public.
For spooky october, here is an exploration of the future of biological 3D printing, it’s implications on alien life, and how fantasy could become reality.
How likely is it that we live in a simulation? Are virtual worlds real?
In this first episode of the 2nd Series we delve into the fascinating topic of virtual reality simulations and the extraordinary possibility that our universe is itself a simulation. For thousands of years some mystical traditions have maintained that the physical world and our separated ‘selves’ are an illusion, and now, only with the development of our own computer simulations and virtual worlds have scientists and philosophers begun to assess the statistical probabilities that our shared reality could in fact be some kind of representation rather than a physical place. As we become more open to these possibilities, other difficult questions start to come into focus. How can we create a common language to talk about matter and energy, that bridges the simulated and simulating worlds. Who could have created such a simulation? Could it be an artificial intelligence rather than a biological or conscious being? Do we have ethical obligations to the virtual beings we interact with in our virtual worlds and to what extent are those beings and worlds ‘real’? The list is long and mind bending.
Since the 1990s, scientists have cataloged thousands of planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets. Some of these are massive and gaseous, while others are tiny and rocky like our home world. But a recent analysis suggests that some of these exoplanets might be more dense and have more water than previously thought, which has big implications for alien life.
What if we told you that you exist in another universe that you are unaware of? While this may sound frightening, it is not impossible to find a perfect copy of yourself or a loved one living in a completely different universe due to the theory of multiple or parallel universes. However, while some scientists dismiss the theory as fiction, more evidence for the existence of these alternate universes is emerging. What are parallel universes and how do they affect you? All of this and more as we delve into how scientists have finally discovered proof for the existence of parallel universes. Have you ever wondered if there are other forms of life out there in the universe? Humans have been preoccupied with their questions since time immemorial, but of course, questions like these are why we are humans. Scientists, on the other hand, do much more than ask about other forms of life because some of them have theorized that there may be another universe out there right alongside ours. Some believe that there may be an endless number of similar universes, which they refer to as parallel universes. This premise appears to be lifted directly from science fiction novels and movies, and there have definitely been many of them over the years to pique the interest of readers and viewers everywhere. Hugh Everett III, a Princeton university student at the time, proposed the controversial idea of parallel universes or realms that appear exactly like and are connected to our own in 1954. These parallel universes diverge from ours, while our universe diverges from others. This daring theory has many practical implications because it implies that in parallel universes, world wars may have different outcomes. For example, species such as dinosaurs may have lived in particular parallel universes or are still living there, and humans themselves may have become extinct in certain parallel universes.
Since the 1990s, scientists have cataloged thousands of planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets. Some of these are massive and gaseous, while others are tiny and rocky like our home world. But a recent analysis suggests that some of these exoplanets might be more dense and have more water than previously thought, which has big implications for alien life.
There are four main types of exoplanets: Neptunian, gas giant, super-Earth and terrestrial. It’s not easy spotting these planets directly, let alone figuring out what they’re made of. One of the most tried-and-true methods of exoplanet hunting is called transit photometry, which is basically pointing a telescope at a star and measuring the light when a planet swings past. A dip in brightness indicates a planet is there.
In the Milky Way galaxy alone, there are over 300 million potentially habitable exoplanets.
This indicates that 300 million planets are likely to have the necessary conditions for life—and sophisticated life—to evolve on their surfaces. Are we the only ones in the universe?
How vast is the universe in which we live? Given our existing technology and measurement of the universe, we are unable to acquire this answer. We can make educated guesses, but we are still a long way from investigating the universe.
There must be some intelligent life out there or else it’s a terrible waste of real-estate.
The question “where is everyone?” is the crux of the Fermi Paradox. If life on Earth is not particularly special and unique, where are all the alien civilizations? Many explanations have been proposed to explain why we seem to be alone in the vast universe. None have been 100 percent convincing, and people continue to puzzle over a solution.
Russian physicist Alexander Berezin, from the National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET), has another idea. He calls it the “First in, last out” solution of the Fermi Paradox. He suggests that once a civilization reaches the capabilities of spreading across the stars, it will inevitably wipe out all other civilizations.
