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 "Geometry gives quantum particles memory."

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

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November 12, 2024: Astronaut Jonny Kim's next mission, how the 10,000-step goal came to be, and quantum memory is based in mathematics. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

TODAY'S NEWS

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• An unexpected geometric side to quantum mechanics gives quantum particles a kind of memory. | 6 min read

• Methane leaks are everywhere. A fee created to push oil and gas companies to plug methane leaks could be axed by the incoming Trump administration, hampering efforts to curb the potent greenhouse gas. | 4 min read

• Black men are about 70 percent more likely than white men to develop prostate cancer in their lifetime and twice as likely to die from the disease. They should start screenings earlier, experts say. | 13 min listen

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NASA astronaut Jonny Kim speaks to members of the media at the Kennedy Space Center November 13, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

One in a Billion

After serving in more than 100 combat operations as a Navy SEAL in Iraq, Jonny Kim graduated from Harvard Medical School and then trained as an ER doctor before joining the astronaut corp. Next March Kim will launch alongside Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky on his first-ever spaceflight, an eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS) as a flight engineer for the crew of Expedition 72/73. The science: The astronauts on the ISS are trained in multiple skills and work on many ongoing experiments underway on the station. Low orbit experiments on ISS include testing new materials to withstand harsh interstellar radiation and tissue growth for regenerative medicine. “The ones that examine the human body pique my interest most because of my interest in physiology but also because their answers affect our futures as space explorers,” Kim says. The drive: “My original inspiration for becoming a SEAL was to be a warrior, and I’ve since changed my definition of what that means,” he says. “To me, a warrior is someone in pursuit of continued excellence in their craft, whether it happens to be in the military or in business or in medicine.”

Step Hype

The concept of taking 10,000 steps a day to maintain health is rooted not in science but in a marketing gimmick. In the 1960s a company in Japan invented an early pedometer. Because the Japanese character for “10,000” looks like a person walking, the company called its device the 10,000-step meter. Yes, that many steps is a good goal, but the original recommendation is not based on any science. Sorry to all the Fitbit fans and Apple ring-closers out there.  The science: Experts still base their recommendations on exercise time (at least 150 minutes per week of brisk walking), not steps. Steps can be a convenient tracking method for movement, and according to the latest research, people of different ages need different step goals: Those under 60 do benefit from 8,000 to 10,000 steps, but people older than 60 likely experience positive effects from fewer steps–between 6,000 and 8,000 steps.  What the experts say: "Tailor your steps according to what you are trying to achieve and according to who you are," says I-Min Lee, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. And total steps matters more than speed, so leisurely strolls count.

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EXPERT PERSPECTIVES

• Why are astronomical images so important? Not only do they give humans pause to contemplate our minuscule place in the vastness of the universe, but "astronomers can also use such images to measure a galaxy’s fundamental properties, such as its size, and even more subtle things like its spin or the types and distribution of its stars," writes Fabio Pacucci, an astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. Astronomers use mathematical models to interpret the invisible data behind the most stunning astronomical photographs. "Just as a clock is effective in measuring time because of the intricacies of its clockwork," he says, "the full beauty of a space photo rests upon complex mathematics. The numbers that these images hide have a charm all their own."  | 5 min read

Kaleidoscopic colors and shapes are only a fraction of the beauty found in this James Webb Space Telescope image of the Pillars of Creation, a star-forming region in the Eagle Nebula some 6,500 to 7,000 light-years from Earth.  NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

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Back in September Scientific American spoke to NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick during the first-ever interview from the scenic cupola on the International Space Station. Dominick is an engineer and a pilot, but he's also an avid photographer. Watch the full conversation for all his tips and insider knowledge of space photography (and incredible views of Earth!). Astronauts really do represent some of the best of humanity.

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