Hacker News with Generative AI: Scientific Discovery

Were our blue oceans once green? (nagoya-u.ac.jp)
Scientists find evidence that our oceans used to be green, suggesting that this may be a sign of primitive life, including that on alien worlds.

Oceanography, Paleontology, Astrobiology, Scientific Discovery

4 points by geox 4 days ago | 0 comments

Scientists uncover key mechanism in evolution: Whole-genome duplication drives (sciencedaily.com)
Sometimes, the most significant scientific discoveries happen by accident.

Evolution, Genetics, Biology, Scientific Discovery

73 points by docmechanic 5 days ago | 24 comments

Symmetry between up and down quarks is more broken than expected (phys.org)
In late 2023, Wojciech Brylinski was analyzing data from the NA61/SHINE collaboration at CERN for his thesis when he noticed an unexpected anomaly—a strikingly large imbalance between charged and neutral kaons in argon–scandium collisions.

Physics, Particle Physics, CERN, Scientific Discovery

87 points by terminalbraid 5 days ago | 28 comments

Giant, fungus-like organism may be a completely unknown branch of life (livescience.com)

Biology, Life Science, Fungi, Scientific Discovery

310 points by wglb 6 days ago | 128 comments

Unknown microorganisms used marble and limestone as a habitat (sciencedaily.com)
In the desert areas of Namibia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, research work has revealed unusual structures that are probably due to the activity of an unknown microbiological life form.

Microbiology, Geology, Desert Environments, Scientific Discovery

17 points by docmechanic 13 days ago | 1 comments

Direct testing of natural twister ribozymes from over a thousand organisms (academic.oup.com)
To address this gap, we developed Cleavage High-Throughput Assay (CHiTA), a high-throughput pipeline utilizing massively parallel oligonucleotide synthesis and next-generation sequencing to test putative ribozymes en masse in a scarless fashion.

Biology, Genetics, Research, Scientific Discovery, High-Throughput Screening

16 points by PaulHoule 126 days ago | 3 comments

Kolmogorov-Arnold networks may make neural networks more understandable (quantamagazine.org)
By tapping into a decades-old mathematical principle, researchers are hoping that Kolmogorov-Arnold networks will facilitate scientific discovery.

Neural Networks, Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Scientific Discovery

282 points by isaacfrond 203 days ago | 78 comments

Results (Don't) Speak for Themselves: A Case for Documentation (population.fyi)
In 1847, Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis made a groundbreaking discovery: handwashing could dramatically reduce maternal mortality rates. By implementing a simple chlorine solution wash between morgue visits and deliveries, he slashed death rates from 18% to 1% in his Vienna hospital ward. Yet, his findings were largely ignored by the medical establishment of the time, and countless women were condemned to death because of it.

Healthcare, Medical History, Scientific Discovery

37 points by RetiredRichard 205 days ago | 10 comments

String Theorists Accidentally Find a New Formula for Pi (scientificamerican.com)

Mathematics, Physics, Scientific Discovery

8 points by alexahn 212 days ago | 0 comments

String Theorists Accidentally Find a New Formula for Pi – Scientific American (scientificamerican.com)

Mathematics, Physics, Scientific Discovery

7 points by rbanffy 215 days ago | 3 comments

Physicists introduce method of mechanical detection of individual nuclear decays (phys.org)

Physics, Nuclear Science, Scientific Discovery

4 points by wglb 249 days ago | 0 comments

The physics of cold water may have jump-started complex life (quantamagazine.org)