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Everything related to the human brain and neuroscience has always been an area in which specialists have said that there is much to discover, learn and investigate. In fact, the generation of memory in human beings, memories, and the different diseases that are clustered around the CPU of the body have always been constantly evolving.

Now, Dr. Tomas Ryan of Trinity College Dublin, a neuroscientist who has explored the issues of brain learning by tracking the cells involved in this process, has found new findings suggesting that memory formation depends on the connections between groups of engram cells, neurons thought to capture and store distinct experiences.

In this new research, the experts indicate that each experience leaves a pattern of neuronal activation that can be activated later, which would mean the creation of a memory. To reach this conclusion, the neuroscientists tracked two sets of engram cells, each linked to a different memory.

Lightweight lithium metal is a heavy-hitting critical mineral, serving as the key ingredient in the rechargeable batteries that power phones, laptops, electric vehicles and more. As ubiquitous as lithium is in modern technology, extracting the metal is complex and expensive. A new method, developed by researchers at Penn State and recently granted patent rights, enables high-efficiency lithium extraction—in minutes, not hours—using low temperatures and simple water-based leaching.

“Lithium powers the technologies that define our modern lives—from smartphones to electric vehicles—and has applications in grid energy storage, ceramics, glass, lubricants, and even medical and nuclear technologies,” said Mohammad Rezaee, the Centennial Career Development Professor in Mining Engineering at Penn State, who led the team that published their approach in Chemical Engineering Journal.

“But its extraction must also be environmentally responsible. Our research shows that we can extract lithium, and other , more efficiently while drastically reducing energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste that’s difficult to manage or dispose of.”

To those unfamiliar with quantum mechanics, the achievement might seem minor. Yet in the world of quantum research, this moment is transformative. With the ability to create quantum entanglement between two light sources, a host of commercial technologies could soon become reality.

Control over multiple quantum light sources forms the bedrock of quantum networks. Entanglement —where two light sources are linked, no matter the distance—remains a pillar of quantum physics. Without it, building fast quantum computers and developing next-generation encryption would stay out of reach.

The findings, recently published in Science, spotlight just how far the field has come. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute underscored the breakthrough’s major impact on the future of quantum technologies.

“My findings in this study fit with the thought that the Universe might work like a giant computer, or our reality is a simulated construct,” Dr. Vopson said.

“Just like computers try to save space and run more efficiently, the Universe might be doing the same.”

“It’s a new way to think about gravity — not just as a pull, but as something that happens when the Universe is trying to stay organized.”

The system was trained to decode words and turn them into speech in increments of 80 milliseconds (0.08 seconds). For comparison, people speak about three words per second, or around 130 words per minute. The system then delivered audible words using the woman’s voice, which was captured from a recording made before the stroke.

The system was able to decode the full vocabulary set at a rate of 47.5 words per minute. It could decode a simpler set of 50 words even more rapidly, at 90.9 words per minute. That’s much faster than an earlier device the researchers had developed, which decoded about 15 words per minute with a 50-word vocabulary. The new device had a more than 99% success rate in decoding and synthesizing speech in less than 80 milliseconds. It took less than a quarter of a second to translate speech-related brain activity into audible speech.

The researchers found that the system wasn’t limited to trained words or sentences. It could make out novel words and decode new sentences to produce fluent speech. The device could also produce speech indefinitely without interruption.

Researchers at EPFL have made a breakthrough by storing and manipulating digital data using charge-free spin waves, moving toward greener, faster computing. Their latest discovery reveals that hematite, a common iron oxide, behaves in a way never before seen in magnetic materials, supporting two

If we were living in a computer simulation, would we be able to tell we were living in a computer simulation? It’s a question that’s difficult to answer, but physicist Melvin Vopson of the University of Portsmouth in the UK believes that he may have found a clue.

According to his latest study, gravity could be a product of computational processes within the Universe, a by-product of the Universe’s attempt to keep information and matter neatly organized in space and time.

“My findings in this study fit with the thought that the Universe might work like a giant computer, or our reality is a simulated construct,” Vopson says.

🚀 THE FUTURE OF SCI-FI: UPLIFTING OR JUST UPLOADING? 🚀
Welcome back, gang! Egotastic FunTime is blasting into another galactic rant—this time asking the big question:
Has sci-fi lost its soul? 🌌

From Star Trek’s hopeful utopias to today’s server-farmed dystopias, we’re cracking open the hard drive of the future and asking if we’re still dreaming… or just buffering forever. 🤖✨

Why is modern sci-fi obsessed with uploading instead of uplifting?

Is humanity evolving or just ghosting itself with tech?

Where did the wonder go—and can we get it back?

Grab your neural nodes and sarcastic side-eyes, because we’re deep-diving into the state of sci-fi, tech anxiety, and how imagination might just save us yet.