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"Northern Lights from space, origin of Stonehenge's stones, new device helps paralyzed people speak again."

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Russ Roberts (https://hawaiisciencejournal.blogspot.com).

 

August 15, 2024: The origin of Stonehenge's stones, a new device helps paralyzed people speak again, and drop everything to see the Northern Lights from space. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

TOP STORIES

Shanna Baker/Getty Images

Stonehenge Secrets At the heart of Britain’s most iconic Neolithic monument lies a slab of sandstone called the “Altar Stone.” And a new geological analysis suggests that the Altar Stone comes not from England, but from northeastern Scotland, in a geologic region called the Orcadian Basin. That’s some 500 miles away from Stonehenge, and much farther afield than the sources of the other rocks in the monument. The researchers studied the ages of three different types of minerals in the Altar Stone and compared the profiles with geology across the British Isles. Why this is interesting: The researchers aren’t sure who moved the massive stone such a long distance, how they did so, or what compelled them to do so. But the finding shows that not only were people and small artifacts moving throughout the region thousands of years ago, but that the area was quite interconnected. What the experts say: “We’ve got the geology story now, so I’m really looking forward to hearing what other colleagues make of the archaeological story,” says Heather Sebire, an archaeologist not involved in the new research who is curator for Stonehenge at English Heritage, which manages the site. --Meghan Bartels, senior news writer

Thought-to-Speech A new brain implant translates words in the brain into speech for people who have been paralyzed by accidents, strokes or conditions such as ALS. The device predicts the wrong word less than 3 percent of the time, an error rate on par with nondisabled speakers reading a paragraph aloud. And the device remains functional for hours of use. How it works: The new brain-computer interface (BCI) device connects 256 electrodes directly with brain tissue and reads the signals of individual neurons responsible for articulating word sounds, or phonemes. A synthetic voice is programmed to mimic the patient’s own voice. The algorithm is programmed with a vocabulary of approximately 125,000 words–twice that of the typical college student.  What the experts say: The new BCI is “one important step forward toward making this a clinical reality,” says Edward Chang, a neurosurgeon at the University of California, San Francisco, who is a pioneer in the field of speech neuroprostheses but was not involved in the new work. It’s a goal that seemed like science fiction five to 10 years ago, he adds.

WATCH THIS

Northern Lights From Space A heavy solar storm blasted Earth last weekend, creating glowing auroras that were seen as far south as Texas and Mississippi. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick onboard the International Space Station captured a time-lapse video of the aurora. Click here to watch the full video, which also shows off the moon and sunrise.

TODAY'S NEWS

• Regulations enacted in 2020 to curb sulfur emissions from cargo ships inadvertently contributed to global warming--without sulfur emissions, fewer clouds were able to form to shade the planet. | 3 min read

• SpaceX plans to launch the first crewed mission to explore Earth's polar regions later this year. | 2 min read

• A Google traffic light pilot program in Seattle that uses AI to reduce wait times and increase traffic flow shows positive early results. | 6 min read

• Saturn’s "Death Star" moon Mimas might harbor liquid water beneath its icy shell. | 7 min read

Mimas over the rings of Saturn, taken by the Cassini spacecraft. NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

More News

EXPERT PERSPECTIVES

• Patents for neurotechnologies--devices that interact directly with the brain--have soared in the last 20 years, and they are becoming more powerful. This has led to concerns about mental privacy and human autonomy, writes Laura Y. Cabrera, assistant professor of neuroethics at Michigan State University. But the risks of these new devices are "similar to those for more familiar data-collection technologies, such as everyday online surveillance: the kind most people experience through internet browsers and advertising, or wearable devices," she writes. | 4 min read

More Opinion

Archaeologists don't yet know precisely why Stonehenge was created. Geologists believe that it was constructed in several phases over more than a thousand years. The structure is aligned with the sun on both the summer and winter solstices. It may have been used as a sacred burial ground for ancient people. What strikes me is how much we have learned with science, including the ages and origins of the many stones used in its construction. Science is powerful, and influences how we understand our history as much as it leads us to the future.

Email me anytime: newsletters@sciam.com. Thanks for reading!

—Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

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