Is Our Universe a Giant Neural Network?

Today’s stories include Life may already exist on the moon and Webb Telescope proves galaxies transformed the early universe.

The case for why our Universe may be a giant neural network--Neuroscientist and author Bobby Azarian explores the idea that the Universe is a self-organizing system that evolves and learns. reports Big Think. "The cosmos looks remarkably similar to the complete wiring diagram of the brain — and “non-local connections” could enable computation. Stephen Hawking saw a path to a new philosophy of physics based on a view of the Universe as a self-organizing entity."

What is the longest a star can live? explores Big Think. Sun-like stars live for around 10 billion years, but our Universe is only 13.8 billion years old. So what's the maximum lifetime for a star?

Life may already exist on the moon — and NASA's next mission could find it--Some hardy microbes might be able to survive on Earth's nearest neighbor, experts suggest, reports Live Science. "Microbial life could potentially survive in the harsh conditions near the lunar south pole, suggested Prabal Saxena, a planetary researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland."

Phosphorus in the Oceans of Icy Moons--A new NASA-supported study shows that the waters of icy ocean moons are likely to contain enough phosphorus (P) to support life as we know it. Phosphorus is one of six elements that are thought to be absolutely necessary for life as we know. The others include carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. Collectively, these six elements are often referred to as CHNOPS, reports NASA Astrobiology.

Astronomers unveil a new way to search for extraterrestrial intelligence--No one had thought to search for centralized, pulsing beacons. Until now, reports Popular Science. " Research recently published in the Astronomical Journal describes a pioneering method to look for radio beacons at the center of the Milky Way—a new idea for how extraterrestrials might send us signals."

Astronomers discover planetary system that resembles Tatooine from Star Wars, reports Eric Ralls for Earth.com --An international team of astronomers has announced the discovery of the second multiplanetary circumbinary system ever found. This system, which is not your everyday planetary system, features planets orbiting not one, but two stars at its core, in stark contrast to the single-star orbit we see in our own Solar System.

Webb Telescope proves galaxies transformed the early universe, reports NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center--"They are more chaotic than those in the nearby universe," explained Jorryt Matthee, also of ETH Zürich and the lead author of the team's second paper. "Webb shows they were actively forming stars and must have been shooting off many supernovae. They had quite an adventurous youth!"

Astronomers Discover Extremely Warped Supernova, reports CalTech. 

Curated by The Galaxy Report editorial Staff.