A 4.6 billion-year-old “recorder” was hidden in asteroid dust: what it said changes what we knew

We think of memory as something linked to memories that fade or transform over time. But there is another form of memory that is much more precise and stubborn, one that does not depend on people or technology and still preserves information with extraordinary fidelity. Some rocks are capable of recording the magnetic environment in which they were formed. That is what happens with the dust of a very particular asteroid: small particles that have preserved a magnetic signal for billions of years that today allows us to reconstruct what the solar system was like in its early stages. That “record” is not a metaphor. It comes from particles collected on the asteroid Ryugu and brought to Earth in 2020 by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission. As Eurekalert points outa team led by Masahiko Sato has analyzed their magnetic behavior and has found signals that suggest that these particles retained information from the environment in which they were formed. This opens the door to reconstructing what the magnetic fields present in the protoplanetary diskthat is, the “nursery” where the planets were formed. {“videoId”:”x86bfqj”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”JAMES WEBB: A TIME MACHINE and a SPACE TELESCOPE”, “tag”:””, “duration”:”504″} A trace that cannot be erased. The key is how some minerals react to the magnetic field when they form. Its internal structures, formed by small magnetic domains, are oriented following that field and remain “locked” when the material solidifies. That process leaves a lasting mark that scientists can measure today with highly sensitive instruments. This phenomenon, known as natural remanent magnetization, turns these particles into physical witnesses of the past. The challenge. The first analyzes of these samples offered very different conclusions: some studies suggested that they preserved a stable magnetic signal from the early solar system, while others argued that they had formed in a region with practically no magnetic field. There were also those who suggested that the signals detected could be due to contamination during analysis on Earth. Part of the problem was based on these works, which were based on a very limited number of particles, just seven, which made it difficult to obtain solid conclusions. New samples. To resolve these discrepancies, The team significantly expanded the number of particles analyzedgoing from seven to 28, which allowed us to work with a much more solid statistical base. After applying demagnetization techniques to eliminate possible modern signals, the results showed a clearer pattern: 23 of the 28 particles retained a stable magnetic signal. Of these particles, eight showed two stable components and one presented spatially inhomogeneous magnetization directions, something difficult to explain if the signal had been introduced later on Earth. In Xataka We have a serious problem in our plans to colonize Mars: the astronauts’ blood is mutating Why is it important. The detected signals suggest that these materials originated in an early phase of the solar system, approximately between 3 and 7 million years after its formation. They also point to water alteration processes in the asteroid’s parent body. So we can say with great confidence that Ryugu is not just a pile of rocks: it is a valuable archive of the early solar system that has allowed us to better understand the magnetic environment of those times. Images | JAXA In Xataka | NASA is on its heels, so it has made a decision: advance its return to the Moon to 2030 (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news A 4.6 billion-year-old “recorder” was hidden in asteroid dust: what it said changes what we knew was originally published in Xataka by Javier Marquez .

the wearable AI recorder that’s not for everyone, but it’s perfect for some

When I tried the Plaud Note ProI came to a conclusion that I did not expect: I was one of the very few gadgets of AI that justified being a device and not simply an application. The question I ask myself now, weeks after having the NotePin S on me, is whether its spiritual successor can say the same. The answer is not so clean. The NotePin S arrives as the wearable version of that same proposal. Same brain, different packaging. Instead of a card that lives glued to the iPhone by MagSafe, here you go a small 17 gram oval that you can pin to your lapel, hang around your neck, wear on your wrist or pin with a magnetic pin. Plaud presented it at this year’s CES with the promise that capturing what you say would never require taking out your phone again. When you first hold it in your hand, the thought is almost identical to the one I had with the Note Pro: how well finished this is. Solid materials, premium feel, that type of product that does not boast of being expensive but suggests it. The finish of the Plaud NotePin S. Image: Xataka. The box is also unusually neat for a startup: magnetic clip, pin, necklace cord, bracelet and charging base included from the beginning, something that with the original NotePin required a separate purchase. All this comes with the Plaud NotePin S box. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. The most relevant change compared to the previous model is small and huge at the same time: they have replaced the pressing gesture with a physical button. The original NotePin had a problem for some users, who were encountering recordings that had never started because the touch gesture had not responded well. The S solves this with a long press to record, a press to stop, and a short press during recording to mark a highlight (one of its best features). Simple. Works. I’ve spent a few weeks wearing it in different formats: The clip on the lapel is the most natural in face-to-face meetings. It is the image that crowns this article. The magnetic pin, the most elegant. The cord-necklace, the most comfortable for everyday use outside of formal contexts. The bracelet, on the other hand, is the option that convinces me the least: the material feels below the level of the rest of the kit, and in a world where almost everyone already wears a watch, adding another element on the wrist is not very practical. With the cord to hang it around your neck. Image: Xataka. With the bracelet adapter to wear it on the wrist, with a form factor similar to that of typical activity bracelets. Image: Xataka. Here in a slightly more inclined view… Image: Xataka. …and here on the side so that the thickness can be distinguished. Image: Xataka. What does work consistently is recording. The microphone picks up well up to about three meters, which is enough for most meetings. The transcription, processed in the app using models from OpenAI, Google or Anthropic of your choice, is accurate in Spanish without the type of errors that would cause you to lose confidence in the system. Automatic summaries, especially when you have marked highlights During the conversation, they are the most useful final product: what previously required rereading the entire transcript now appears organized and immediately actionable. There is a novelty in the ecosystem that deserves special attention: along with the hardware, Plaud has launched a desktop application for Mac and PC that records Zoom, Google Meet or Teams meetings in the background without adding any bot to the call. It is an important distinction because similar alternatives appear as visible participants in the meeting, which makes many interlocutors uncomfortable. Example of a recording made with the Plaud NotePin S seen in the Plaud interface. In the screenshot you can see the summary, much more extensive and structured than we could expect. More than a summary, it is a complete and detailed outline. Image: Xataka. A sample of some of the templates with which we can tell Plaud “how” to generate a transcription and the subsequent treatise. Very useful. Image: Xataka. And another example of a summary, in this case we can see how he makes the quotes in the language of the recording, English; but it offers us the entire summary in our native language, Spanish. Image: Xataka. The Plaud app does not appear anywhere, it records natively and is free for those who already have the hardware. For those of us who use the physical device and also usually have meetings by video call, the integration of both sources in the same hub It’s really comfortable. What is uncomfortable is the question that appears here. With the Note Pro, the hardware justification was clear: it freed you from your phone, it had four high-quality MEMS microphones, and the 30-hour battery let you record everything without worrying. The NotePin S has only a fraction of that claimed battery, and its three-meter effective capture radius puts a real limit on it in large rooms. Although in a high school classroom, where I recorded the image above, it responded perfectly. In everyday contexts, both are sufficient. In the most demanding contexts where the Note Pro especially shined, the NotePin S falters in comparison. What the NotePin S offers that the Note Pro can’t is that you can wear it, not just carry it around. And there is the basic question that must be answered before buying it: do I really need to wear my recorder, or is it enough for me to have it in my pocket or on the table? By separating its magnetic coupling, the charging connector is revealed. Image: Xataka. And so it is attached to the USB-C charging accessory. Image: Xataka. Here, separated from the clip that allows it to be put on the lapel. Image: Xataka. For a journalist doing interviews on the move, the … Read more

the wearable AI recorder that’s not for everyone, but it’s perfect for some

When I tried the Plaud Note ProI came to a conclusion that I did not expect: I was one of the very few gadgets of AI that justified being a device and not simply an application. The question I ask myself now, weeks after having the NotePin S on me, is whether its spiritual successor can say the same. The answer is not so clean. The NotePin S arrives as the wearable version of that same proposal. Same brain, different packaging. Instead of a card that lives glued to the iPhone by MagSafe, here you go a small 17 gram oval that you can pin to your lapel, hang around your neck, wear on your wrist or pin with a magnetic pin. Plaud presented it at this year’s CES with the promise that capturing what you say would never require taking out your phone again. When you first hold it in your hand, the thought is almost identical to the one I had with the Note Pro: how well finished this is. Solid materials, premium feel, that type of product that does not boast of being expensive but suggests it. The finish of the Plaud NotePin S. Image: Xataka. The box is also unusually neat for a startup: magnetic clip, pin, necklace cord, bracelet and charging base included from the beginning, something that with the original NotePin required a separate purchase. All this comes with the Plaud NotePin S box. Image: Xataka. Image: Xataka. The most relevant change compared to the previous model is small and huge at the same time: they have replaced the pressing gesture with a physical button. The original NotePin had a problem for some users, who were encountering recordings that had never started because the touch gesture had not responded well. The S solves this with a long press to record, a press to stop, and a short press during recording to mark a highlight (one of its best features). Simple. Works. I’ve spent a few weeks wearing it in different formats: The clip on the lapel is the most natural in face-to-face meetings. It is the image that crowns this article. The magnetic pin, the most elegant. The cord-necklace, the most comfortable for everyday use outside of formal contexts. The bracelet, on the other hand, is the option that convinces me the least: the material feels below the level of the rest of the kit, and in a world where almost everyone already wears a watch, adding another element on the wrist is not very practical. With the cord to hang it around your neck. Image: Xataka. With the bracelet adapter to wear it on the wrist, with a form factor similar to that of typical activity bracelets. Image: Xataka. Here in a slightly more inclined view… Image: Xataka. …and here on the side so that the thickness can be distinguished. Image: Xataka. What does work consistently is recording. The microphone picks up well up to about three meters, which is enough for most meetings. The transcription, processed in the app using models from OpenAI, Google or Anthropic of your choice, is accurate in Spanish without the type of errors that would cause you to lose confidence in the system. Automatic summaries, especially when you have marked highlights During the conversation, they are the most useful final product: what previously required rereading the entire transcript now appears organized and immediately actionable. There is a novelty in the ecosystem that deserves special attention: along with the hardware, Plaud has launched a desktop application for Mac and PC that records Zoom, Google Meet or Teams meetings in the background without adding any bot to the call. It is an important distinction because similar alternatives appear as visible participants in the meeting, which makes many interlocutors uncomfortable. Example of a recording made with the Plaud NotePin S seen in the Plaud interface. In the screenshot you can see the summary, much more extensive and structured than we could expect. More than a summary, it is a complete and detailed outline. Image: Xataka. A sample of some of the templates with which we can tell Plaud “how” to generate a transcription and the subsequent treatise. Very useful. Image: Xataka. And another example of a summary, in this case we can see how he makes the quotes in the language of the recording, English; but it offers us the entire summary in our native language, Spanish. Image: Xataka. The Plaud app does not appear anywhere, it records natively and is free for those who already have the hardware. For those of us who use the physical device and also usually have meetings by video call, the integration of both sources in the same hub It’s really comfortable. What is uncomfortable is the question that appears here. With the Note Pro, the hardware justification was clear: it freed you from your phone, it had four high-quality MEMS microphones, and the 30-hour battery let you record everything without worrying. The NotePin S has only a fraction of that claimed battery, and its three-meter effective capture radius puts a real limit on it in large rooms. Although in a high school classroom, where I recorded the image above, it responded perfectly. In everyday contexts, both are sufficient. In the most demanding contexts where the Note Pro especially shined, the NotePin S falters in comparison. What the NotePin S offers that the Note Pro can’t is that you can wear it, not just carry it around. And there is the basic question that must be answered before buying it: do I really need to wear my recorder, or is it enough for me to have it in my pocket or on the table? By separating its magnetic coupling, the charging connector is revealed. Image: Xataka. And so it is attached to the USB-C charging accessory. Image: Xataka. Here, separated from the clip that allows it to be put on the lapel. Image: Xataka. For a journalist doing interviews on the move, the … Read more

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