🪸 Iceberg breakaway in Antarctic reveals 70 new species, an accident reveals quantum wings, and we don't lose childhood memories

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The newest Lexicon episode is out! How is untreated hearing loss linked to cognitive decline? Join Brent Lucas, CEO of Envoy Medical, as he explores the future of fully implanted hearing devices, Apple's move into the hearing aid market, and the hidden impact of hearing loss on mental health.

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The newest Lexicon episode is out! Are we treating colds and flu the wrong way? Dr. Nazlie Latefi breaks down how conventional medications only mask symptoms—while targeting inflammation at its source could change everything. Plus, we explore how the body’s first line of defense fights infections before they take hold.

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Iceberg alert: a massive breakaway in Antarctica exposes 70 new species.

The event on January 13 revealed a seabed that had been hidden for decades, offering researchers the opportunity to explore uncharted deep-sea ecosystems.

Scientists doubted much life could thrive in such an extreme environment due to the thick ice cover. However, a massive collection of species new to science baffled researchers who confirmed that it would take months to perform detailed lab analysis

Thanks to this discovery, scientists have been working to unravel the mystery of how life thrives beneath thick Antarctic ice. Dive deeper into this Must-Read.

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MUST-READ

🪸Massive iceberg breakaway exposes undiscovered creatures beneath Antarctic waters

On January 13, an iceberg broke away from the Antarctic, revealing hundreds of-year-old giant sea spiders, octopuses, ice fish, corals, and sponges. Given the plentiful diversity they discovered, it might help researchers understand how deep-sea life may change on a warming planet.

Over the course of a month, researchers used a remotely operated vehicle to capture photos, record video, and collect specimens previously known to humankind from Antarctica’s deepest depths.  

But how did this life flourish if no photosynthetic organisms drifted down to sustain these seafloor creatures? Researchers believe ocean currents, glacial meltwater, or other unknown factors may provide the nourishment needed to sustain deep-sea life.

🦋 The butterfly effect: A misaligned experiment accidentally unfolds quantum wings

While aiming to study superconductivity, researchers at Princeton University instead observed a fractal energy pattern that had only been predicted on paper for nearly fifty years.

Known as Hofstadter’s butterfly, this intricate design emerges from the behavior of electrons in specific conditions. But that pattern hadn’t been observed in an actual material until now.

The recent developments in materials science allowed scientists to stack and twist extremely thin layers of carbon atoms known as graphene into structures. The immediate applications aren’t clear, but the happy accident has opened new possibilities for understanding quantum materials.

🧠 We don’t lose our childhood memories, scientists say they’re just out of reach

For decades, scientists believed infants couldn’t create lasting memories because of underdeveloped brain structures, particularly the hippocampus, which governs episodic memories.

A recent study showed that babies can encode specific memories, so they exist but get buried, not erased. They become difficult to retrieve as they age, but they do show memory. However, the recall isn’t as straightforward as an adult’s.

The findings deepen our understanding of how early memories are stored and why we may lose conscious access to them later in life. Perhaps our first memories simply need the right key to unlock them.

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