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Recent Additions: New and Updated Entries in the Past 60 Days
Displaying entries 31 through 45 of 93 found.


Ecosmos: A Revolutionary Fertile, Habitable, Solar-Bioplanet, Incubator Lifescape

Animate Cosmos > Fractal > autocat

Scheurer, Christoph and Karsten Reuter. Role of the human-in-the-loop in emerging self-driving laboratories for heterogeneous catalysis. Nature Catalysis.. January 29, 2025. We cite this entry by Max Planck Institute researchers as an example of current realizations that such AI machinations cannot be turned loose to run on their own. Constant informed management is now becoming seen as an Imperative necessity in every generative application.

Self-driving laboratories (SDLs) represent a convergence of machine learning with laboratory automation which operate in active learning situations as algorithms plan experiments that are carried out by automated (robotic) modules. Here we argue against humans totally out of the loop. We instead conclude that crucial advances will come from fast proxy experiments, existing apparatus with real persons making continuous decision-making. (Excerpt)

Animate Cosmos > exoearths

Bohl, Abigail, et al. Probing the Limits of Habitability: A Catalog of Rocky Exoplanets in the Habitable Zone. arXiv:2501.14054. Cornell University astrophysicists including Lisa Kaltenegger propose and scope out an initial catalog to begin our planned galactic neighborhood cavnas.

Several ground and space based searches have increased the known exoplanets to nearly 6000. While most are highly unlike our Earth, a rocky world in a stellar Habitable Zone (HZ) can provide locales for life in the cosmos. However, a tabulation that observers can use to investigate does not yet exist. In regard, we identify 67 rocky worlds in an empirical HZ and 38 in a narrower 3D-model HZ. This first population will help shape search strategies with the JWST, the Extremely Large Telescope, and Habitable Worlds Observatory. (Abstract)

Animate Cosmos > exoearths

Fisher, Theresa, et al.. Network and Kinetics-based Biosignatures: Implications for the Putative Habitable World Observatory Design. arXiv:2501.04737. Seven University of Arizona, NASA Ames, ASU, UC Riverside and Carnegie Institution for Science astroscholars contend that factoring in the presence of nonlinear spatial and dynamic phenomena as an indication of animate vitalities could augment looking for physical gases and microbial rudiments.

Seven University of Arizona, NASA Ames, ASU, UC Riverside and Carnegie Institution for Science astroscholars contend that factoring in the presence of nonlinear spatial and dynamic phenomena as an indication of animate vitalities could augment looking for physical gases and microbial rudiments.

Animate Cosmos > exoearths

Howe, Alex, et al. Architecture Classification for Extrasolar Planetary Systems.. arXiv:2501.08191. As exoplanets become steadily detected, Catholic University of America, NASA Goddard and University of Wisconsin including Fred Adams realize that a high population level has been reached whereby an array of typical overall formations can begin to be catalogued.


This paper presents a classification method for whole planetary systems. With nearly 6000 exoplanets confirmed, including more than 300 multiplanet systems with three or more planets, the current observational sample has reached the point where it is possible to classify these populations into categories. Examples are "peas-in-a-pod systems" with small planets and "warm Jupiter systems" with a mix of large and small planets, as well as "closely-spaced systems" and "gapped systems." (Excerpt)

Planetary systems can display a wide range of different architectures. Over the past two decades, the number of observed multiplanet systems has grown to ∼1000, with more than 300 containing three or more planets. Although more data and more systems would be desirable, the database has reached a point where it becomes useful to provide a classification scheme for observed planetary systems. The goal of this paper is to identify meaningful classes of systems and provide a working version of such a classification scheme, based on the data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive. (1)

Animate Cosmos > exoearths

Kuzucan, Asena, et al. The Role of Atmospheric Composition in Defining the Habitable Zone Limits and Supporting E. coli Growth.. arXiv:2501.05297. Seven University of Geneva and University Grenoble Alpes propose that observations ought to be attuned to detect the actual presence of this prokaryote bacteria as a better indicator of resident, evolutionary animation.

Studying exoplanet atmospheres is essential for assessing their potential to host liquid water and to support life. Each atmosphere influences the likelihood of surface liquid water a relative the habitable zone (HZ). In this study, we first estimated the surface conditions of planets near the HZ's inner edge under various atmospheric compositions and then investigated microbial survival. This novel combination of climate modeling and biological experiments indicates that atmospheric composition significantly affects bacterial growth patterns. (Excerpt)

Animate Cosmos > exoearths

Livesey, Joseph and Juliette Becker. Secular Perturbations from Exterior Giants Influence Gap Complexity in Peas-in-a-Pod Exoplanetary Systems. arXiv:2412.18661. As solar systems become amenable to study as whole integral units, in regard University of Wisconsin astronomers evaluate how small inner and large outer orbital movements dynamically influence the spacings between them. Over million and billion year eons, stellar orrerys are found to constantly rearrange themselves, which also can then radically effect habitability conditions.

It has been found that systems of tightly packed inner planets with giant exterior companions tend to have less regular orbital spacings than those without such globes. We investigate whether this increase in gap complexity can be explained by the disturbing potential of the outer companions. Amplification of mutual orbital inclinations may lead to the inner system attaining non-mutually transiting geometries that result in a higher gap complexity. We find that these interactions can significantly contribute to this dichotomy in tightly packed multiple-planet systems. (Excerpt)

Planets typically have similar masses to those of their neighbors, and pairs of exoplanets tend to have similar orbital separations to the pairs next to them. This trend of regular spacings and similar masses was identified by (Lauren) Weiss et al. (2018), who named it a “peas in a pod” version. This array is prevalent among transiting exoplanetary systems and has been proposed as the favored outcome of planet formation as well as a natural consequence of dynamical evolution. (1)

Animate Cosmos > exoearths

Shibata, Sho and Andre Izidoro. Formation of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes from rings of planetesimals.. arXiv:2501.03345. Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University astroscientists describe the presence of what is now seen as common interactivity between these disparate candidates.

The solar system planetary architecture has been proposed to be consistent with the terrestrial and giant planets forming from material rings. Here, we show that super-Earths and mini-Neptunes may share a similar formation pathway. In our simulations, super-Earths accrete from rocky material rings in the inner disk. Mini-Neptunes originate from rings beyond the water snowline via pebble accretion. Our results predict that planets at ~1 au in systems with close-in super-Earths and mini-Neptunes are water-rich. (Excerpt)

Animate Cosmos > exoearths

Teixeira, Joana, et al. Where in the Milky Way Do Exoplanets Preferentially Form?.. arXiv:2501.11660.. We note this entry by University of Porto and University of Padova astronomers as an example of the sophisticated extent and degree that our Earthuman astropocene survey as it becomes able to view whole galaxies in our ecosmichood canvas.

Exoplanets are detected around stars of different ages and times within the Galaxy. Our aim is to infer the Galactic birth radii of stars and their planets by projecting them back to their original positions based on an estimated metallicity [Fe/H]. We find that stars hosting planets have higher [Fe/H] and are younger. We show that the formation efficiency of planets decreases with the galactocentric distance, which relationship is stronger for high-mass planets than for low-mass planets. We conclude that the location of exoplanets follows the Galactic chemical evolution. (Excerpt)

Our analysis serves as an initial step toward understanding the galactic aspects of planet formation. With the upcoming PLATO mission, we anticipate a significant increase in both the sample size and, more importantly, the accuracy of age determinations. These advancements will pave the way for a deeper understanding of the connection between stellar populations and planetary systems across the Galaxy. (9)

Animate Cosmos > Self-Selection

Adams, Arthur, et al. Habitability in 4-D: Predicting the Climates of Earth Analogs across Rotation and Orbital Configurations.. arXiv:2412.19357. Amongst later 2024 solar system studies, University of Virginia, UC Riverside, NASA Goddard, University of Michigan and Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute astroscientists report the presence of overall formations that depend on the relative location and proximate effects of smaller, close-in planets and large outer members. They go on to survey how these dynamic stellar orrerys can influence planetary atmospheric weather conditions along with surface geologic and chemical factors which then impose habitability constraints.

Earth-like analogs in a circumstellar habitable zone (HZ) may have different climate outcomes depending on their spin-orbit parameters, altering their habitability for life. We present a suite of general circulation models (GCMs) for planets with the same surface conditions and annual insolation as Earth, but with a range of rotation periods, obliquities, and longitudes which influences the fraction of land above freezing and with precipitation. (Excerpt)

As we learn more about the possible continental arrangements on Earth-similar worlds, we will be able to apply these statistical techniques to refine our understanding of the landscapes of habitability for terrestrial worlds. While the emulator is not perfect in reproducing the habitabilities of the test cases, it shows that the methodology is a plausible approach. Future steps include deeper dives into the spatial and time variability of habitability, and exploring the role that Earth’s continental motions have had on the global climate. (24)

Animate Cosmos > Self-Selection

Lammer, Helmut, et al. Eta-Earth Revisited I: A Formula for Estimating the Maximum Number of Earth-like Habitats. arXiv:2412.05005.. At years end, Space Research Institute, Graz, Austria astrophysicists post two extraordinary papers with both a technical expanse and a exceptional conclusion, which we review separately. This first entry discusses the wide array of stochastic galactic, stellar and exoplanet varieties and relative environs that may, or may not, be conducive to microbial, animal and intelligent beingness.

In this hypothesis article, we discuss the requirements of planetary environments where aerobe organisms can grow and survive, atmospheric limits of biological life, and O2, N2, and CO2 toxicity. By assuming that extraterrestrial entities adhere to similar aspects, we define Earth-like Habitats (ηEH) as rocky exoplanets in the Habitable Zone of Complex Life that can host N2-O2 atmospheres. We derive a new formula that can estimate the occurrence rate of such Earth-like Habitats in the Galaxy. (Excerpts)

Since specific conditions are required for the origin and evolution of aerobic lifeforms, we derived a formula to estimate the number of potential Earth-like Habitats in the Galaxy, in which we substituted Eta-Earth, η⊕, with the occurrence rate of Earth-like Habitats, ηEH. We also discussed crucial factors related to planetary accretion, primordial hydrogen-dominated atmospheres and geophysical processes for carbon-silicate and nitrogen-cycles. (38)

Animate Cosmos > Self-Selection

Livio, Mario and Jack Szostak. Is Earth Exceptional?: The Quest for Cosmic Life.. New York: Basic Books, 2024. A unique pairing of a literate physicist and a chemistry laureate share and combine their latest understandings of extraterrestrial and prebiotic occasions of habitable occasions of minimal living, sensory systems. Since their extensive, referenced survey extends through 2023, although the evidence augurs for an especial significance, an answer conclusion remains in abeyance. But as Szostak’s describes his 21st century biochemical studies, into 2024 and now 2025 it seems that an ordained course from universe to us is indeed unfolding on its own..

Mario Livio is an astrophysicist who worked with the Hubble Space Telescope. He is also author of seven books, including The Golden Ratio. Jack Szostak is a professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago, where he leads the Center for the Origin of Life. He shared a 2009 Nobel Prize for his research.

Animate Cosmos > Self-Selection

Scherf, Manuel, et al. Eta-Earth Revisited II: Deriving a Maximum Number of Earth-like Habitats in the Galactic Disk. arXiv:2412.05002. This second paper by the Graz, Austria astrophysicists describes novel 2024 realizations about apparent solar system and galactic spacescapes with regard to the statistical likelihood of ever arriving at Earth-like analogs. As a result, these latest comprehensive studies arrive at a strongest finding to date that our precisely precious home bioworld may very well be unique in the near and far universe.

In our Eta-Earth I paper, we defined Earth-like Habitats (EH) as rocky planets in the habitable zone of complex life (HZCL) on which N2-O2 atmospheres can exist. Here, we implement models for star formation rate, initial mass function, and galactic mass distribution. Our results illustrate that neither can every star host EHs, nor that each rocky HZCL planet evolves to host complex animal-like life. The Copernican Principle therefore cannot be applied to infer that such life is common in the Galaxy. (Excerpt)

In such a stricter sense, the Copernican Principle cannot be applied and the Earth is indeed special and, therefore it is a fallacy to assume that (complex) life is common in the Universe. (59) One could argue for some kind of Anthropic-Copernican Principle that says certain unique conditions have to be met for life as we know it to evolve. However, this combination of conditions will be rare on a galactic scale. It might not be a coincidence that we live somewhere in the middle of the Galaxy on an Earth-mass planet that orbits within the HZCL of an anomalous G-type star, has surface water, subaerial land, and a large moon. (59)

Our results have profound implications, as the likely rarity of Earth-like Habitats further implies complex aerobic, and intelligent life to be rarer still. We also point out that our study is agnostic about life originating on hypothetical habitats other than EHs. Any more exotic habitats (subsurface ocean worlds) could significantly outnumber planets with Earth-like atmospheres, at least in principle. Finally, we argue that the past Copernican Principle of Mediocrity cannot be valid in the sense of the Earth. (61)

Ecosmomics: Independent Complex Network Systems, Computational Programs, Genetic Ecode Scripts

Cosmic Code

Gros, Claudius. Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems. Switzerland: Springer, 2024. This volume is the latest text edition by the Goethe University, Frankfurt systems physicist (search). It contains many updates and new sections across a wide range of pertinent subjects as the Contents next conveys.

Table of Contents Network Theory.- Bifurcations and Chaos in Dynamical Systems.- Dissipation, Noise and Adaptive Systems.- Self Organization.- Information Theory of Complex Systems.- Self-Organized Criticality.- Random Boolean Networks.- Darwinian Evolution, Hypercycles and Game Theory.- Synchronization Phenomena.- Complexity of Machine Learning.- Solutions.

Cosmic Code

Hayes, Thomas, et al. Simulating 500 million years of evolution with a language model. Science. January 16, 2025. Twenty-four coauthors at EvolutionaryScale, NYC, Arc Institute, Palo Alto and UC Berkeley post a 70 page paper which is an extensive statement of this unified synthesis of genomic code-scripts, protein (AlphaFold) linguistics and written language content to date. An array of companion works have appeared such as Sequence modeling and design from molecular to genome scale with Evo in Science (November 15, 2024), Rapid in silico directed evolution by a protein language model with EVOLVEpro in Science (November 21, 2024) and The Poetry Fan Who Taught an LLM to Read and Write DNA by Ingrid Wickelgren in Quanta (February 5, 2025, herein). Altogether a deep and wide frontier is just opening by virtue of collaborative translations of a common natural textuality that graces and informs from a biological ecomos to our Earthuman selves.

More than three billion years of evolution have produced an image of biology encoded into the space of natural proteins. Here we show that language models trained at scale on evolutionary data can create novel proteins with beneficial properties. We present ESM3, a multimodal generative language model that reasons over the sequence, structure, and function of proteins. Among the generations that we synthesized, we found a bright fluorescent protein at a far distance from known prior versions, which is equivalent to simulating five hundred million years of evolution. (Abstract)

The proteins that exist today have developed over billions of years of natural evolution, passing through a vast evolutionary sieve. In parallel experiments conducted over geological time, nature creates random mutations and applies selection, filtering proteins by their myriad sequences, structures, and functions. Gene sequencing surveys of Earth’s natural diversity illuminate patterns of variation across life. A consensus is developing that there is a fundamental language of protein biology that can be understood using language models. (1)

We have found that language models can reach a design space of proteins distant from that explored by natural evolution and generate proteins that would take evolution hundreds of millions of years to discover. Protein language models do not explicitly work within the physical constraints of evolution, but instead can construct a model of the multiple paths evolution could have followed. (10) Simulations are computational representations of reality. In that sense, a language model which can predict possible outcomes of evolution can be said to be a simulator of it. ESM3 is an emergent simulator that has been learned by solving a token prediction task on data generated by evolution. (11)

evolutionaryscale.ai is a developer of biology artificial intelligence models intended to design therapies. The company predicts protein structures by integrating biological data from deoxyribonucleic acid sequences, gene expression and epigenetic states, enabling researchers to apply large language models to design ribonucleic acid-based drug therapies.

Arc Institute Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Arc is a nonprofit research partnership with Stanford University, UCSF, and UC Berkeley. Arc gives scientists multi-year funding for the development of experimental, computational technological capabilities. Arc’s mission is to accelerate scientific progress, understand the causes of disease, and narrow the gap between discoveries and public benefits.

Cosmic Code

Sayama, Hiroki. Swarm systems as a platform for open-ended evolutionary dynamics. Philosophical Transactions A. January, 2025. The SUNY Binghamton director of the Center of Complex Systems (search) continues his contributions with an extensive proposal for going forward into an empowered, informed, creative futurity.

Artificial swarm systems have been extensively studied and used in computer science, robotics, engineering and other technological fields as a platform for distributed systems to achieve pre-defined objectives. In addition, heterogeneous versions can serve asl platforms for open-ended evolutionary dynamics that keep exploring diverse possibilities and generating novel outputs. In this article, I discuss my Swarm Chemistry to illustrate these beneficial characteristics including multi-scale structures and behaviours, robust self-organization, self-repair and ecological interactions of emergent patterns.

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