Here are today’s most important updates from the realm of Science and Space.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems can form their own societies with unique linguistic norms and conventions, similar to human communities, when left alone to interact, a study published in Science Advances has shown. Scientists recently conducted the research to understand how large language models (LLMs) that power AI tools interact with each other. Over time, the AI agents developed shared conventions and biases without explicit coordination. The AI agents mimicked the habit of humans who also tend to conform to similar norms. Researchers added that it was possible for a small group of AI agents to push a larger group towards a particular convention -- a trait often observed in human groups.
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association reveals that men are over twice as likely to die from takotsubo cardiomyopathy, commonly known as "broken heart syndrome", compared to women. The researchers found that the mortality rate among men was significantly higher at 11.2%, compared to 5.5% in women. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a temporary heart condition often triggered by intense emotional or physical stress, leading to symptoms that mimic a heart attack, such as chest pain and shortness of breath. Despite its reversibility in many cases, the condition can result in severe complications, including congestive heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and stroke. Experts suggest that the higher fatality rate in men may be due to differences in stress response and lower levels of social support, which can impact recovery.
In a first-of-its-kind discovery, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has confirmed frozen water is scattered in systems around other stars. Researchers confirmed the presence of crystalline water ice in a dusty debris disk that orbits a Sun-like star 155 light-years away using detailed data known as spectra from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb unambiguously detected not just water ice, but crystalline water ice, which is also found in locations like Saturn’s rings and icy bodies in our solar system’s Kuiper Belt. The frozen water has been discovered around star HD 181327, which is significantly younger than our Sun. The star is slightly more massive than the Sun, and it’s hotter, which led to the formation of a slightly larger system around it.
As volcanic magma ascends through the Earth’s crust, it releases carbon dioxide and other gases which rise to the surface. Trees that take up the carbon dioxide become greener and more lush. These changes are visible in images from NASA satellites such as Landsat 8, along with airborne instruments flown as part of the Airborne Validation Unified Experiment: Land to Ocean (AVUELO). Now, scientists are relying on these proxies to indicate when a nearby volcano is becoming more active and might erupt. Meanwhile, ten percent of the world’s population lives in areas susceptible to volcanic hazards. People who live or work within a few miles of an eruption face dangers that include ejected rock, dust, and surges of hot, toxic gases. Further away, people and property are susceptible to mudslides, ashfalls, and tsunamis that can follow volcanic blasts.
