Today in Science: How brain waves can sync up

Daily science inspo August 1, 2023: Brain waves can sync up between people, human art came from the stars and salamanders that steal genes. Read it all below. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor TOP STORIES Mind Meld The experience of "being on the same wavelength" as another person is real, and it is visible in the activity of the brain. When people think, feel and act in response to others, patterns of activity in their brains align. Neuroscientists call this interbrain synchrony. The extent of the synchrony–how many of the same neurons in the two brains are firing at the same time–may indicate the strength of the relationship. Why this is so cool: Researchers suspect this phenomenon is beneficial: it helps us interact and may have facilitated the evolution of sociality. New findings might also illuminate why we don't always "click" with someone or why social isolation is so harmful to physical and mental health. What the experts say:  "When we're talking to each other, we kind of create a single überbrain that isn't reducible to the sum of its parts," says Thalia Wheatley, a neuroscientist at Dartmouth. "Like oxygen and hydrogen combine to make water, it creates something special that isn't reducible to oxygen and hydrogen independently." Art from the Stars Just about every element we find on Earth came from stars, supernovae and other astrophysical phenomena. The carbon in our cells, silicon in rocks and oxygen we breathe were forged in stars that blew up and shot their innards into space. Even the pigments used in humanity's most famous works of art are star-stuff.  Charcoal from Carbon: Most of the universe's carbon is synthesized in the cosmic furnace of stars through the fusion of helium nuclei. Made from that carbon, charcoal has been used in art for millennia beginning with ancient cave paintings. Cobalt:  Vivid blue in oil paint was made in thermonuclear supernovae and core-collapse supernovae that forge cobalt from the burning of silicon. Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Édouard Manet are among the many Impressionists who have used this color in their work.  Cadmium: The heavier element that yields vibrant yellow pigment is produced in environments full of neutrons or made quickly by the violent merger of neutron stars. What the experts say: "We live in an interconnected and beautiful world, full of rare and precious elements," writes Sanjana Curtis, a nuclear astrophysicist who studies the origin of elements at the University of Chicago. Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect) by Claude Monet. Credit: Art Institute of Chicago (CC0) TODAY'S NEWS • Hot material can swirl in and around the hearts of massive stars, affecting how much they twinkle. | 4 min read • Using large-scale genome analysis, researchers identified 481 genome regions, or loci, that are directly linked to humans' dietary patterns and food preferences. | 8 min read • After losing contact with the Voyager 2 spacecraft, NASA has now detected a "heartbeat" signal that they hope will help reestablish a connection. | 3 min read • The U.S. is looking to Mongolia, wedged between China and Russia, for minerals crucial for building machinery for industrial solar and wind farms, and millions of electric vehicles. | 7 min read • Nobel-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains how artificial intelligence could worsen inequality, and how we can prevent that. | 8 min read More News WATCH NOW Gene Thieves Unisexual salamanders in the genus Ambystoma appear to be the only creatures in the world that reproduce in the way they do. Females lay eggs that can pick up the genetic material from males of other species in the same pond and incorporate it as extra chromosomes in their genetic makeup. They can have anywhere from two to five full sets of chromosomes from up to five different species. Watch the full video here. EXPERT PERSPECTIVES • Rewarding detections of fraud in scientific research and publishing, rather than punishing whistleblowers, would partially help the research community avoid the estimated 5,000 paper retractions a year--a mere fraction of retractions that should happen but don't, write Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus, the founders of Retraction Watch, a blog that reports on the retraction of scientific papers. | 5 min read More Opinion In an episode of the original television series "Cosmos," Carl Sagan says, "we are made of star-stuff." It's one of my favorite quotes of his and is true of each of us, as well as of the charcoal on the walls of ancient caves and even the keys on my keyboard. If you've never watched the full series, it is full of poignant gems like this.  Reach out any time with feedback or suggestions: newsletters@sciam.com. Until tomorrow. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004   Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American here   Unsubscribe Email Preferences