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There are some dreams that almost everyone seems to have: turning up for an exam having completely forgotten to study for it‚ or being chased by some bad-intentioned assailant‚ to name just a couple. However‚ one of the most enigmatic‚ yet surprisingly common‚ nightmares involves losing one’s teeth‚ although science may have an explanation for this frustrating fantasy.Back in 2018‚ researchers in Israel recruited 210 undergraduate students to take part in a dream analysis study. Participants completed questionnaires designed to assess the themes of their nocturnal hallucinations as well as their levels of psychological distress and sleep quality.Importantly‚ the researchers also quizzed participants about dental irritation‚ seeking answers as to whether they ever grind their teeth during their sleep‚ or experience tension or tenderness in their teeth‚ gums‚ or jaw upon waking. In doing so‚ the study authors sought to determine whether “teeth dreams” typically occur as a manifestation of psychological distress or simply represent an intrusion of one’s real dental irritation into one’s dreams.“Teeth dreams (TD)‚ i.e.‚ dreams of teeth falling out or rotting‚ are one of the most common and universal typical dream themes‚” wrote the researchers‚ before going on to explain that around 40 percent of people experience a TD at least once‚ with 8.2 percent undergoing this nightly ordeal on a regular basis. “TD are so prevalent that they have even received portrayals in popular media‚ such as the Walt Disney movie Inside Out‚ in which they were depicted as a manifestation of distress‚” they continue.The biggest problem with this is that TD don’t conform to the so-called “continuity hypothesis”‚ which states that our dreams should in some way reflect our waking experiences. “In other words‚ it is difficult to explain why so many people dream‚ sometimes regularly‚ of the experience of teeth falling out‚ breaking‚ or rotting‚ experiences which are not particularly common in waking life for adults‚” wrote the study authors.This apparent inconsistency has sparked numerous interpretations down the years‚ beginning with the Ancient Greek dream reader Artemidorus‚ who related the loss of teeth in dreams to the payment of financial debts. Later‚ a Jewish text known as the Talmud defined TD as a prophecy for the impending death of a family member‚ while psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud connected such dreams with sexual themes such as masturbation and castration.However‚ after sinking their teeth into their data‚ the study authors found a connection between TD and dental irritation upon waking‚ suggesting that these dreams may indeed be a manifestation of physical sensations. Teeth grinding was not directly associated with dreaming about losing one’s chompers‚ although this may reflect the fact that many people are unaware that they grate their jaws in their sleep.Surprisingly‚ the researchers also found that “TD were not associated with psychological distress at all‚ nor were there any correlations with specific psychological symptom subscales.” In other words‚ dreaming of falling teeth may be completely unrelated to mental or emotional concerns‚ reflecting nothing more than an actual bodily sensation.A real kick in the teeth for the likes of Artemidorus and co.The 2018 study is published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.[H/T: PsyPost]

Picture yourself at an amusement park‚ hitting one of those boxing arcade machines. Think of the energy of that punch. Now imagine giving that energy to a single particle‚ which traveled across space from the local void and slammed into our planet’s atmosphere‚ showering the Telescope Array detector in secondary particles.The particle was called Amaterasu‚ after the Japanese goddess of the Sun. It is an Ultra-high-energy cosmic ray (UHECRs)‚ a subatomic particle with electric charge that was accelerated to incredible energies. Only one particle has been known to have a higher energy since we started to study these events‚ the Oh-My-God particle detected in 1991. “When I first discovered this ultra-high-energy cosmic ray‚ I thought there must have been a mistake‚ as it showed an energy level unprecedented in the last three decades‚” co-author Professor Toshihiro Fujii‚ from the Osaka Metropolitan University‚ said in a statement.Amaterasu hit the atmosphere producing a rain of particles spotted by the detector.Image Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University/L-INSIGHT‚ Kyoto University/Ryuunosuke TakeshigeUsually‚ it is difficult to make comparisons between the energy of the particles in our particle accelerators and things we have direct experience with. Amaterasu and Oh-My-God make it very easy. They have 100 million times the energy of protons in the large hadron collider. Amaterasu had an energy of 244 Exaelectronvolts; Oh-my-god had an energy of 320 Exaelectronvolts. That’s equivalent to the aforementioned punch‚ dropping a brick onto your toe from waist height‚ or of a baseball in flight.The incredible energy means that it roughly came in a straight line to Earth – nothing to deflect it – and this is a problem‚ because at the other end‚ there is literally nothing.“The particles are so high energy‚ they shouldn’t be affected by galactic and extra-galactic magnetic fields. You should be able to point to where they come from in the sky‚” co-author John Matthews‚ Telescope Array co-spokesperson at the University of Utah‚ said in a statement.“But in the case of the Oh-My-God particle and this new particle‚ you trace its trajectory to its source and there’s nothing high energy enough to have produced it. That’s the mystery of this – what the heck is going on?”Amaterasu comes from the Local Void‚ a region of space that might extend for about 200 million light-years and whose center is at least 75 million light-years from Earth. As the name suggests‚ it is a mostly empty region‚ with far fewer galaxies than the rest of the local universe.But something must have produced the Oh-My-God and the Amaterasu particles. The two were detected using different observation techniques. Amaterasu thanks to the Telescope Array located in the Utah desert. These particles are rare but they are definitely real.“These events seem like they're coming from completely different places in the sky. It’s not like there's one mysterious source‚” added John Belz‚ professor at the University of Utah and co-author of the study. “It could be defects in the structure of spacetime‚ colliding cosmic strings. I mean‚ I’m just spit-balling crazy ideas that people are coming up with because there's not a conventional explanation.”We have seen some astronomers start taking bets on the possible sources (if someone has the odds on magnetars‚ let us know). The Telescope Array is being expanded and researchers are hopeful that they’ll discover more of these extreme particles and maybe their origin too.A paper describing the discovery is published in the journal Science.  

A mystery that has dogged materials science for 200 years has finally been solved. A mineral found in many ancient rock formations had stubbornly resisted the efforts of scientists to grow it in the lab‚ even though they could recreate the conditions they thought formed it in nature. Now‚ a team has cracked the problem‚ figuring out how to speedily grow dolomite crystals for the very first time.Dolomite is a mineral so important‚ there’s a whole mountain range named after it. As well as these peaks in the Italian Alps‚ dolomite is abundant in the White Cliffs of Dover‚ the hoodoos of Utah‚ and other rocks dating back more than 100 million years. It actually accounts for almost 30 percent of minerals of its type – carbonates – in the Earth’s crust‚ but it’s notably absent in rocks that formed more recently.Despite trying to carefully recreate its natural growing conditions‚ scientists have failed for two centuries to produce dolomite crystals in the lab. To solve the mystery‚ they had to get back to basics.“If we understand how dolomite grows in nature‚ we might learn new strategies to promote the crystal growth of modern technological materials‚” said corresponding author Wenhao Sun of the University of Michigan in a statement.Professor Wenhao Sun shows off dolomite rocks from his personal collection.Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski‚ Lead Multimedia Storyteller‚ Michigan EngineeringDolomite crystals are formed over eons of geological time by the buildup of alternating layers of calcium and magnesium. Sounds simple enough‚ if time-consuming‚ but there’s a snag. When there’s water around‚ calcium and magnesium atoms can attach at random to the growth edge of the crystal‚ often in the wrong place. These defects prevent the alternating layers from forming correctly‚ which is why it takes so long – 10 million years – to create just one ordered layer of dolomite rock.Since Sun and the team very much did not have 10 million years to wait‚ they turned to powerful software to simulate all the possible interactions going on between atoms in a growing dolomite crystal.“Each atomic step would normally take over 5‚000 CPU hours on a supercomputer. Now‚ we can do the same calculation in 2 milliseconds on a desktop‚” said first author Joonsoo Kim.The team landed on a theory. Perhaps dolomite would grow faster if it were put through cycles where‚ periodically‚ there was a lower concentration of calcium and magnesium around. Most crystals will grow well in a supersaturated solution – that is‚ where their atomic components are present at very high levels. For dolomite‚ though‚ this just leads to more defects and slows everything down.To test the theory‚ the team consulted with collaborators at Hokkaido University‚ and an ingenious experiment was devised using a transmission electron microscope.“Electron microscopes usually use electron beams just to image samples‚” explained Yuki Kimura‚ a professor of materials science at Hokkaido University. “However‚ the beam can also split water‚ which makes acid that can cause crystals to dissolve. Usually this is bad for imaging‚ but in this case‚ dissolution is exactly what we wanted.”A tiny crystal of dolomite in a solution of calcium and magnesium was exposed to the electron beam‚ which was pulsed 4‚000 times over a period of two hours‚ to start to dissolve the crystal. When the beam is switched off‚ the surrounding solution quickly corrects itself to a more saturated state.Only a tiny amount – about 2-billionths of a liter – of this calcium and magnesium solution was added to the sample holder for transmission electron microscope (pictured in background).Image credit: Wenhao Sun‚ Dow Early Career Professor of Materials Science and Engineering‚ University of MichiganIt worked like a charm. After this treatment‚ the team was elated to observe that the crystal grew by approximately 100 nanometers. That may not sound like a lot‚ but it represents 300 newly formed layers of dolomite. The most that had ever been achieved in a lab before was five.The findings also track with what is observed in nature. There are only a few locations where dolomite forms today‚ but they’re all places with cycles of flooding followed by drier conditions.Solving the dolomite problem is a big milestone. “This discovery opens the door to investigating the geochemical process that influenced massive dolomite formation in the natural world‚” wrote Juan Manuel García-Ruiz‚ who was not directly involved in the work‚ in a Perspective accompanying the study.Not only that‚ learning how to grow defect-free crystals quickly could have important applications for the manufacture of many vital components of products like semiconductors‚ solar panels‚ and batteries.“In the past‚ crystal growers who wanted to make materials without defects would try to grow them really slowly‚” said Sun. “Our theory shows that you can grow defect-free materials quickly‚ if you periodically dissolve the defects away during growth.”The study is published in Science. 

If you want Black Friday to be really dark‚ you can support abortion on demand by buying a new record called Noise for Now: Volume 1. The special vinyl-only limited edition Record Store Day Black Friday exclusive will feature tracks from Maya Hawke‚ Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell‚ Bully‚ Wet Leg‚ My Morning Jacket‚ Fleet Foxes‚ Cat Power and more. The LP will be available on clear vinyl with a "Liberate Abortion" print by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth. A press release explained:  NOISE FOR NOW enables artists and entertainers to connect with and financially support grassroots organizations that work in the field of Reproductive Justice including abortion access. In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe V Wade and eviscerating federal protections for abortion‚ the work of NOISE FOR NOW has become ever more critical. 100% of the net proceeds will support independent abortion clinics via Keep Our Clinics and logistical support organization The Brigid Alliance. These songs were originally found on the 2022 digital-only benefit compilation‚ Good Music To Ensure Safe Abortion Access To All‚ which was available for only 24 hours via Bandcamp.... NOISE FOR NOW has worked with over 450 artists and entertainers to raise over $1‚250‚000 for almost 50 organizations working in the field of Reproductive Justice across the country. The press release included quotes from the artists included‚ like Tegan and Sara‚ sisters who are lesbians: “The choice to decide what happens to our bodies is under attack and access to crucial services are being decimated and criminalized. Reproductive justice and access to safe abortion is a human rights issue and we are proud to support the organizations and individuals fighting for fundamental services and care against all odds.” Alicia Bognanno‚ who performs under the name "Bully" -- appropriate for violence toward babies -- added this quote: “What's best for you and your body should not be determined by a panel of strangers motivated by the rat race over what is genuinely best for us as individual‚ complex human beings."  The band My Morning Jacket tried to sound moderate in their statement: "Every human being deserves the right to make individual choices when it comes to their bodies and reproductive health… We believe we should be able to ‘agree to disagree’ with respect and have open dialogue‚ but that no government or organization should EVER be allowed to force a person to make a decision about their own body." But Tune-Yards and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down could only channel post-Roe fury: “CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS F--KING SH-T?!"

Christmas is coming‚ and with it the obligation to send Christmas cards. It’s an obligation that is increasingly easy to shirk. These days‚ even to send a proper email can seem a profligate expenditure of our precious time and energy. As for a message handwritten on actual paper and dispatched through the U.S Postal Service — do you take us for some kind of idle nobleman? We might be chagrined to realize that this tradition some of us (this writer included) find so onerous was itself invented as a labor-saving convenience. It was the brainchild of English inventor and civil servant Sir Henry Cole‚ who found himself overwhelmed by the unanswered mail that tended to pile up during the holidays. In 1843 he commissioned his artist friend John Callcott Horsley to create a simple holiday greeting he could send to each correspondent without undue effort. He then had this card printed (an image of which you can see above) and offered to the public for sale. It was a commercial flop‚ but the tradition of Christmas cards obviously eventually caught on. If you’d like to create your own personalized photo cards‚ Shutterfly offers easy-to-use templates‚ dependable‚ fast delivery‚ and frequent discounts. For something a bit more luxe‚ try Shutterfly subsidiary Tiny Prints. Like Shutterfly‚ the California-based company prints its cards in the USA. Another good option is Paper Culture. Yes‚ they do go on about “sustainability‚” but the designs are nice‚ and what’s the harm of planting some trees? Minted is a bit too invested in DEI for us to recommend wholeheartedly‚ but we applaud the company's work with independent designers across the country‚ particularly those in Minted’s fairly robust “religious” section. Simple boxed Christmas cards can also help you emphasize the reason for the season. Storied American paper company Crane has been in operation since 1770. In addition to tasteful designs featuring Santa Claus and reindeer‚ the company offers a beautiful card engraved with an image of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. For less expensive but still high-quality religious Christmas cards‚ consider the employee-owned‚ 74-year-old Leanin’ Tree or Indiana-based Warner Press. Rounding out our list is Printery House‚ run by some hardworking Benedictine monks in the very small town of Conception‚ Missouri.

We Can Work It Out on 3-CDs includes recordings from Peter and Gordon‚ the Supremes‚ the Mamas &; the Papas‚ the Ventures‚ and the Fifth Dimension The post The Beatles 1962-1966 Covers Album Arrives appeared first on Best Classic Bands.