The surprising brain chemistry behind instant friendships

A new UC Berkeley study shows that the so-called love hormone, oxytocin, is also critical for the formation of friendships. Oxytocin is released in the brain during sex, childbirth, breastfeeding and social interactions and contributes to feelings of attachment, closeness and trust. Never mind that it’s also associated with aggression; the hormone is commonly referred…

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AI finds hidden safe zones inside a fusion reactor

A public-private partnership between Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory has led to a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach that is faster at finding what’s known as “magnetic shadows” in a fusion vessel: safe havens protected from the intense heat of…

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Perseids meteor shower lights up night skies

Shooting stars from the annual Perseids meteor shower have been lighting up night skies across the UK and around the world over the past few nights. The bright meteors are formed when dust particles fall from the Swift-Tuttle comet and burn up on entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers at Astro Dog, a small Scarborough-based astronomy…

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