This week in science: what your brain's doing when you zone out; the world's largest spider web; game over for simulation theory; and much more!
We Were Wrong About Fasting, Massive Review Finds
A comprehensive meta-analysis has shown that fasting doesn't reduce cognitive performance in adults – but does affects kids and teens.
"For most healthy adults, the findings offer reassurance: you can explore intermittent fasting or other fasting protocols without worrying that your mental sharpness will vanish," the researchers write.
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Tesla in Australia Struck by Mystery Object
Something struck the windshield of a moving Tesla in Australia, breaking and even partially melting the glass. Scientists suspect a meteorite.
The museum's first course of action is to examine the windscreen itself to see if any particles may have embedded in the glass. If the results are consistent with a space origin, the mineralogists will then go search for the meteorite itself.
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Zoning Out May Be Your Brain's Rinse Cycle, Study Finds
'Zoning out' while tired could be your brain's rinse cycle, catching up on maintenance that it usually does during sleep, a study found.
While zoning out occasionally happened after a full night's slumber, it was much more common after the participants had stayed awake all night. It's almost as if the brain is trying to catch up with a burst of microsleep, at the temporary cost of your mind's focus.
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Arachnid Megacity Discovered in Cave May Be World's Largest Spider Web
Scientists have found what may be the world's largest spider web in a cave in Greece, spanning 1,000 square feet, and home to over 100,000 spiders.
Spiders may not be everyone's idea of treasure, but scientifically, the cave is an utter marvel. It's a unique example of surface-dwelling spiders not only adapting to a chemoautotrophic cave ecosystem, but changing their social behavior to do so – and absolutely thriving.
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Physicists Just Ruled Out The Universe Being a Simulation
Physicists have ruled out the possibility of an algorithmic Theory of Everything – which also means our Universe cannot be a simulation.
"Drawing on mathematical theorems related to incompleteness and indefinability, we demonstrate that a fully consistent and complete description of reality cannot be achieved through computation alone," explains physicist Mir Faizal of the University of British Columbia.
"It requires non-algorithmic understanding, which by definition is beyond algorithmic computation and therefore cannot be simulated. Hence, this Universe cannot be a simulation."
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Memory Problems Are Surging in Adults Under 40, Large US Study Finds
A survey of more than 4.5 million people in the US found that cognitive disability is on the rise, especially among people under 40 years of age.
Overall, the proportion of US adults reporting serious cognitive difficulties rose from 5.3 percent to 7.4 percent between 2013 and 2023. For those under 40, the rate nearly doubled, jumping from 5.1 percent to 9.7 percent across the same period.
Read the full story here.