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The Dordogne region of southern France is home to some of the oldest known artworks in the world. Across the walls and ceilings of over 200 caves in the region are an array of colourful paintings created by our ancient ancestors. But despite their significant age‚ it is not completely clear just how old they are. Now researchers have a way to date these spectacular Paleolithic creations with greater precision. The reason why these cave specimens have defied attempts to determine their exact age is related to the materials used to create them. In most instances‚ the cave paintings have been colored with iron- or manganese-oxide-based materials‚ which means it is not possible to conduct radiocarbon dating analysis. As such‚ archaeologists and anthropologists have previously estimated that the cave art was created during the Magdalenian Period‚ around 12‚000 to 17‚000 years ago. However‚ new research conducted by scientists with the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France has reported the first discovery of black carbon-based art in the Font-de-Gaume (pronounced “Goorm”) cave. This material offers opportunities to conduct radiocarbon dating and to reevaluate the existing art in this region. The charcoal-based drawings were first discovered in February 2020 in what is referred to as the cave’s main galleries. This cave site is informally known as “Bison Cave” as it is home to 80 depictions of bison‚ as well as other animals such as deer‚ horses‚ and mammoths. Pretty much two-thirds of the art located in Font-de-Gaume relates to animals‚ while the remaining third is represented by tectiforms – a design found in Paleolithic art that is thought to depict a form of dwelling. Outline of one of the bison cave paintings from the Galerie des Fresques at Font-de-Gaume.Image credit: Henry Fairfield Osborn via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)The bison depicted in this cave sometimes consist of two or more shades that range from black to brown to red to yellow. Others were created with more defined black and red materials‚ or only black. Back in 1902‚ samples of colored matter were taken from some of these ancient images by Henri Moissan‚ who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1906. Moissan determined that components of the material included iron and manganese oxide. However‚ the Font-De-Gaume cave is now a UNESCO World Heritage site‚ so subsequent samples are only rarely permitted. How to test without touchingIn order to get a more accurate picture of… the pictures’ dates‚ researchers have used non-invasive analytical techniques. In particular‚ they have used both visible-light and infrared photography‚ superimposition of the visible-light and infrared images‚ portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF)‚ and portable micro-Raman spectroscopy to generate information.These techniques showed that there are carbon-based drawings under others that were made from iron and manganese oxide.The team superimposed visible-light and infrared images taken from the same vantage point to create false color infrared photographs (FCIR)‚ which allowed them to differentiate between the materials used to make the art. They then used micro-Raman spectroscopy to detect the carbon compounds within the images‚ and to detect specific mineralogical phases of the iron and manganese oxide-based pigments. This method allowed the team to identify images specifically created with charcoal-black-based compounds‚ while pXRF let the researchers differentiate among the manganese oxide compounds used in the black figures. A step in an exciting directionAlthough the researchers have not yet subjected the art to radiocarbon dating analysis‚ their work suggests the different color materials may represent different phases of creation‚ especially when compared to other examples in the Dordogne. In particular‚ the black pigments used at the Font-de-Gaume cave are similar to those used at the nearby Rouffignac cave site. The next steps will be to assess these pigments for their exact date of creation‚ which will open new avenues for comparative research within the Dordogne and elsewhere. The study is published in Scientific Reports. 

For something we’re all just toting around without a second thought‚ the human brain has some very impressive capabilities. So impressive‚ in fact‚ that even the most sophisticated computers cannot yet replicate all its functions. But that could be about to change. Scientists at Western Sydney University just unveiled their new supercomputer DeepSouth‚ the first that will be capable of simulating a full-scale human brain.When it’s operational‚ DeepSouth will be capable of performing a staggering 228 trillion synaptic operations per second. This is comparable to the level of activity across all the many interconnected neurons within the brain‚ and it’s all thanks to its innovative neuromorphic design.“Progress in our understanding of how brains compute using neurons is hampered by our inability to simulate brain like networks at scale‚” said Professor André van Schaik‚ director of the International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems (ICNS) at Western Sydney‚ in a statement. “Simulating spiking neural networks on standard computers using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and multicore Central Processing Units (CPUs) is just too slow and power intensive. Our system will change that.”The brain is a highly energy-efficient system‚ and scientists have so far struggled to replicate this efficiency in a synthetic computer. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Frontier supercomputer‚ considered by many to be the fastest computer in the world at present‚ requires 22.7 megawatts to run‚ as Domenico Vicinanza‚ Associate Professor of Intelligent Systems and Data Science at Anglia Ruskin University‚ explained for The Conversation.The human brain‚ by contrast‚ can operate at the same speed – a billion-billion calculations per second‚ also known as an exaflop – with just 20 watts.DeepSouth will therefore allow researchers to explore computing in a less power-hungry way.A concept image of DeepSouth.Image credit: ICNS/Western Sydney UniversityThe neuromorphic design is also fundamentally distinct from that of traditional electronic computers‚ which has remained basically unchanged for many decades. Up to now‚ computers have been characterized by separate processing and memory units – data is stored in one place‚ and manipulated in another.While we may still have much to learn about how memory works in the human brain‚ we’re pretty sure that it doesn’t work quite like this‚ so scientists are looking to the computers inside our heads for inspiration as they design the machines of the future.DeepSouth’s neuromorphic circuitry is based on networks of simple processors that can all work in parallel. It mimics the way different neurons in the brain‚ connected via synapses‚ can fire simultaneously. The system will be scalable and easily reprogrammable from the front end using the popular Python programming language‚ meaning that researchers will be able to make use of the technology without an intimate understanding of the hardware itself.But exactly what kinds of applications could we be talking about?“This platform will progress our understanding of the brain and develop brain-scale computing applications in diverse fields including sensing‚ biomedical‚ robotics‚ space‚ and large-scale AI applications‚” Professor van Schaik explained‚ going on to list advanced smart devices‚ agricultural sensors‚ and more efficient artificial intelligence (AI) platforms as just some of the possibilities.Speaking to New Scientist‚ Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University‚ who is not directly involved in the DeepSouth project‚ also suggested how the supercomputer could benefit research like his own – after three decades of research in the fields of mobile robotics and legged locomotion‚ he has latterly made great strides in the world of neuroprostheses and brain-computer interfaces.“If you are trying to understand the brain this will be the hardware to do it on‚” he said.DeepSouth – whose name is a nod to its location in Sydney‚ Australia as well as a homage to two doyens of the supercomputing world‚ IBM’s Deep Blue and TrueNorth – will hopefully go online in April 2024. Until then‚ we’ll have to wait to find out just what science will be able to achieve by packing all the power of a human brain into a supercomputer.

Digging a hole straight through the Earth is an extremely popular thought experiment. It can teach people about so many properties of our planet as well as some pretty cool physics. However‚ the process of digging such a hole is impossible‚ and not just because the interior of our world goes through molten and liquid layers before meeting the solid inner core. Even on a planet or moon that is solid throughout‚ the pressure experienced by a deeper layer would be impossible to cut through.But we are armed with our sophisticated thought technology‚ and we have dug our hole. Our beautiful hole of roughly 12‚756 kilometers (7‚926 miles) is ready. I am about to cut the ribbon to inaugurate the completion of the work when you run past me and jump in shouting “Cannonball!” A solitary tear runs down my cheek. You have just jumped to your death.Some like it hotOur hole through the Earth is a death trap‚ for many reasons. The first thing that would kill you is the temperature. If you have ever been down a mine‚ you might have noticed that it gets hot. The deepest humans have ever drilled is the Kola Superdeep Borehole‚ which reached just over 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) or about 0.1 percent of the length of our imaginary hole.The reason why they stopped drilling was the temperature. Just 12 kilometers down‚ the bottom of the hole reached a temperature of 180°C (356°F). The scientists working on the project did not expect such a value‚ it was much higher than the models had estimated.If it is any consolation‚ it won’t take long. The journey through a hole across our planet is estimated to take 38 minutes and 11 seconds. You would be roasted much sooner than you get to the other side.Under pressureSaddened by your loss‚ I turned on my time reversal machine (another patented invention in Thought Space) to before you jumped. I explain what happened in that other timeline‚ and ask you to wear a heat protection suit but not to interrupt my ceremony. As I go to cut the ribbon once again‚ you barge in and jump. Despite the protection of the suit‚ I know you are going to die once again.This time‚ the killer is pressure. You will be crushed by the massive increase in pressure. At sea level‚ you are experiencing about a few tens of kilometers of air above you. In the hole‚ you’d get thousands of kilometers. The air will become so pressurized and compressed that it will experience phase transitions‚ likely becoming a superfluid. And you will become part of that concoction.Death rattleOnce again‚ the time reversal is put to work. I explain the situation‚ and you point out that if the pressure gets so high‚ we probably have evacuated all the air from the surface of the planet‚ killing most life forms‚ including all 8 billion of us on the surface. Cross with you for pointing this out‚ I go back in time again to the design phase and make sure the hole is under vacuum.You are now slowly lowering yourself into the airlock. And dive‚ safe from temperature and pressure. And then you die. Ok‚ this one is on me. The design has the hole going from outside your house to the other side of the world‚ and you are bringing with you the rotational acceleration you had when you left‚ due to the spin of the Earth. But as you move inside the Earth‚ this makes you drift into the walls. At high speed. So you will be banging on the walls‚ faster and faster‚ like a ragdoll. That's got to hurt. We had a good runThe solution to that is having the hole through the axis of rotation of the Earth. Having relocated it there‚ you can now jump safely from the North Pole‚ arriving in the South Pole 38 minutes and 11 seconds later. You might still die because no vacuum is perfect‚ so a bit of air might slow you down in the middle and make you lose the momentum you need to attach yourself to the opposite airlock. This could be fixed with a strong push from the beginning.Well‚ that depends on whether I have forgiven you for pointing out the dark‚ apocalyptic nature of my thought experiment. 

You’ve got to love a scientific paper that includes the line‚ “The Sun is formidable and destroying it is generally considered to be a difficult problem.” Rather than a primer for a Bond villain‚ the study in question instead explores the possibility the Sun could be hiding a black hole inside‚ and whether doing so would have destroyed the Sun by now.Now and then‚ scientists acknowledge science fiction writers as the originators of ideas subsequently shown to have scientific merit. Inspiration from music‚ even major hits of the 90s‚ is rarer. Yet it was Soundgarden’s song Black Hole Sun that inspired Dr Earl Bellinger of the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics to start thinking about whether such things could exist.Stellar black holes are created by the collapse of stars with masses of more than 25 times the Sun in supernova explosions. It would have been easy enough for Bellinger to simply add a word to the title and conclude that “Black hole‚ (former) Sun” was scientifically correct. Instead‚ he enlisted eight colleagues in the quest to discover if it was possible for an apparently ordinary star to have a black hole inside it.Surprisingly‚ they think the answer is yes.Black holes famously have such strong gravity even light cannot escape them‚ so it might seem illogical to think that objects whose most obvious characteristic is that they shine could be overcoming that force to light the universe. However‚ quasars are brighter still‚ and they are powered by supermassive black holes at their cores.Indeed‚ even Stephen Hawking suggested there might be a primordial black hole at the center of the Sun. The idea never took off‚ but Bellinger and colleagues have explored how stars would evolve if it were true.The background to the study is the idea that in the first second after the Big Bang many smallish black holes were formed‚ with masses similar to the Moon or smaller. The smallest black holes would evaporate‚ but those the size of a large asteroid would still be in existence‚ drifting around the universe‚ a thought that is absolutely not terrifying in any way.Potentially these primordial black holes might be abundant enough that they could explain at least some of the missing dark matter in the universe. Most of the holes would be drifting between the stars‚ camouflaged enough we have yet to identify one‚ but if one ventured into the gas cloud in which a star is forming it might end up in the star’s core.The project was to work out what would happen if this were real‚ and if so whether the effects would be something we could detect.Black holes less massive than the asteroid Psyche‚ the study concluded‚ would have no externally noticeable effects. Although they would consume surrounding areas of the star‚ the affected area would be so small that an outside observer could never distinguish stars with and without such black holes‚However‚ at the larger end of the mass range the authors deem credible‚ things would be different. Slowly the black hole would consume the star from the inside like some sort of terrible parasite‚ shutting down the fusion reactions that produce the star’s energy. This would cause the star to dim when counterparts of similar age and mass would be growing (slightly) brighter. If the Sun had a Black Hole whose mass had now reached a millionth of that of the Sun’s (about three times the mass of Mars)‚ it would lose about half its brightness over a period of 100 million years. Then‚ however‚ the star would brighten‚ as black hole accretion replaced nuclear fusion as its main source of energy. The star would puff up to become a red giant prematurely‚ and would show some differences that would reveal its true nature.For one thing‚ it would have more helium at the surface than other red giants‚ and would never get quite as large – in the Sun’s case expanding only to the orbit of Mercury‚ not almost to that of Earth.The class of stars known as red stragglers (brighter than subgiants but with colors also as red as red giants) are candidates for stars of this nature‚ the authors propose. If so‚ they should vibrate differently from stars without an internal secret‚ something future projects could study. Eventually‚ such a star will become consumed‚ ending up as a naked black hole with a mass larger than what it started with‚ but somewhat smaller than those left behind by supernova explosions.The exact details depend on the masses of both the initial black hole and the star around it‚ and the quantity of heavier elements (metals to stellar astronomers) in the star. The paper considers various scenarios‚ but there are far too many possibilities to cover them all.Besides checking stars for the distinguishing features the authors predict‚ we could determine the likelihood of such black hole stars existing by looking for evidence of primordial black holes elsewhere. Four of the black hole mergers we have detected so far involved one component that was low mass enough it might be from the early universe‚ but none are clear clear-cut cases.We’ve also seen many low-mass microlensing events from objects of the appropriate mass‚ but there is currently no way to distinguish most from free-floating planets.The study is published open access in The Astrophysical Journal.[H/T: Science]

At 10:17 pm UTC last night‚ a major eruption shook Iceland. The event has been expected for a while‚ but that makes it no less spectacular. It started with a series of strong quakes‚ and about an hour later lava fountains appeared from cracks in the ground. The fissure is currently about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) long‚ with the lava flowing at a rate of around 100 to 200 cubic meters per second.Since late October‚ the Reykjanes peninsula of southwest Iceland has experienced intense geological activity. Quakes were the prelude to an eruption and in preparation for it‚ the fishing town of Grindavik was evacuated‚ leaving the 4‚000 inhabitants in temporary accommodation. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa‚ a well-known attraction‚ was also closed for safety reasons.The fissure is located a few kilometers from both locations but experts do not think there are any risks to either at the moment. The town of Grindavik has experienced damage with streets cracking as the build-up of magma took place under the Reykjanes peninsula.   The Fagradalsfjall system lies parallel to the fractures and it had not seen a volcanic eruption for 6‚000 years before the first one in 2021. Since then‚ there have been three eruptions in the Reykjanes Peninsula. The area is no longer dormant. Based on the volume of magma that has been estimated to lie underneath the region‚ experts are concerned that this eruption will be bigger than the last three combined. They are monitoring the situation closely. A meeting of scientists was scheduled for this morning‚ but the eruption seems to be less intense now.“The intensity of the volcanic eruption‚ which started about four hours ago‚ is decreasing. This is evident from seismic and GPS measurements. The fact that the activity is decreasing already is not an indication of how long the eruption will last‚ but rather that the eruption is reaching a state of equilibrium‚” said the Icelandic Met Office about 3 am local time on December 19. IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Currently‚ the area is not accessible to the public unlike the previous three eruptions in the area‚ which quickly became tourist attractions. Still‚ the light of the eruption can be seen at a distance‚ even from the capital of Iceland‚ Reykjavik‚ 42 kilometers (26 miles) north of the eruption.While the eruption is intense‚ it doesn’t appear it will affect air travel like the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull back in 2010. Iceland's foreign minister‚ Bjarni Benediktsson‚ said on Twitter‚ that "there are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland‚ and international flight corridors remain open."            IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.You can see the eruption live on many public webcams‚ which are streaming the eruption‚ such as this or this.

Something peculiar is going on a long way beneath our feet. The rotation of the Earth's inner core is not aligned with the rotation of the mantle‚ creating a wobble that affects the motion of the poles and even the length of the days that our planet experiences.The variations are small – so they are not to blame for how quickly the weekend goes away – but they create measurable effects. Effects that would be hard to explain without some misalignment and motion of the inner core.The inner core is the very center of our planet‚ a ball of mostly iron and nickel 2‚440 kilometers (1‚520 miles) across. Around it‚ there is the outer core made of molten liquid metal‚ 2‚260 kilometers (1‚400 miles) thick. The outer core is the main source of the planet’s magnetic field and sits beneath the thick mantle. The new work suggests that the rotation axis of the inner core is 0.17 degrees off compared to the rotation of the mantle. The team states that the value is much smaller than the previous assumption of 10 degrees used in some geodynamical models. Interestingly the tilt is currently pointing west‚ suggesting that the northwestern hemisphere of the inner core might be slightly more dense than the rest. The tilt between the mantle and the core is static; it is not changing over time. The polar motion and the length-of-day fluctuations were the key data that set the researchers on the hunt for the weird behavior between the core and the mantle. A day is roughly 24 hours‚ but there are small variations here and there depending on a variety of factors. The atmosphere‚ the tides‚ the motion of the continents‚ and the melting of glaciers are some of the effects that can generate variations. Since the late 1980s‚ researchers have suspected that a coupling between the inner core and the mantle could be responsible for a periodic variation on the order of 10 years. This study puts the wobble at 8.5 years‚ plus or minus 75 days. It was the discovery of a signal in the polar motion back in 2018‚ combined with the day-length fluctuations‚ that led the researchers to conclude that they were being caused by the same process‚ a small misalignment. The wobble and the misalignment also imply that the outer core and inner core do not just differ in state‚ one solid and one liquid; there is also a difference in density between the two. The study is published in Nature Communications.