De Rerum Natura

A fascinating ‘new’ planet
NASA has recently discovered a very strange planet.  Its days are twice as long as its years.  It has a tail like a comet. It is hot enough to melt lead, yet capped by deposits of ice. And to top it all off … it appears to be pink.

Meteor strike in Russia hurts almost 1,000 (w/ Video)
A plunging meteor which exploded with a blinding flash above central Russia , set off a shockwave that shattered windows and hurt almost 1,000 people in an event unprecedented in modern times.

We are living in a bacterial world, and it’s impacting us more than previously thought
(Phys.org)—Throughout her career, the famous biologist Lynn Margulis (1938-2011) argued that the world of microorganisms has a much larger impact on the entire biosphere—the world of all living things—than scientists typically recognize. Now a team of scientists from universities around the world has collected and compiled the results of hundreds of studies, most from within the past decade, on animal-bacterial interactions, and have shown that Margulis was right. The combined results suggest that the evidence supporting Margulis’ view has reached a tipping point, demanding that scientists reexamine some of the fundamental features of life through the lens of the complex, codependent relationships among bacteria and other very different life forms.

After Higgs Boson, scientists prepare for next quantum leap
Seven months after its scientists made a landmark discovery that may explain the mysteries of mass, Europe’s top physics lab will take a break from smashing invisible particles to recharge for the next leap into the unknown.

Want zero carbon emissions? Go nuclear, economics professor says
(Phys.org)—Nuclear power often inspires fear and loathing, no more so than among environmentalists, who have long decried the potential dangers and the still-unsolved problem of what to do with nuclear waste. Consumers have their doubts as well. The memory of major accidents such as those at Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and, most recently, Fukushima Daiichi in Japan leaves many regular folks cringing at the prospect of relying on nuclear energy to light and heat their homes.

Sunlight stimulates release of climate-warming gas from melting Arctic permafrost, study says
Ancient carbon trapped in Arctic permafrost is extremely sensitive to sunlight and, if exposed to the surface when long-frozen soils melt and collapse, can release climate-warming carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere much faster than previously thought.

Chemistry trick kills climate controversy
Volcanoes are well known for cooling the climate. But just how much and when has been a bone of contention among historians, glaciologists and archeologists. Now a team of atmosphere chemists, from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Copenhagen, has come up with a way to say for sure which historic episodes of global cooling were caused by volcanic eruptions.

Researchers build self-repairing “systemic” computer
(Phys.org)—Computer scientists Christos Sakellariou and Peter Bentley working together at University College in London, have built a new kind of computer that runs instruction segments randomly, rather than sequentially, resulting in a computer than in theory, should never crash.

Wireless power transfer technology for high capacity transit
The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) have developed a wireless power transfer technology that can be applied to high capacity transportation systems such as railways, harbor freight, and airport transportation and logistics. The technology supplies 60 kHz and 180 kW of power remotely to transport vehicles at a stable, constant rate.

Dropouts weren’t prepared in first place, study finds
While some folks may look at university/college dropouts as simply lazy slackers, a Western study boils the bailout down to simple ability.

World solar power capacity exceeds 100 gigawatts
World solar power capacity passed the 100 gigawatt mark for the first time to 101 GW, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) said on Monday.

How to prevent earthquake damage: make buildings invisible
(Phys.org)—When an earthquake strikes, damage to buildings such as nuclear power stations can worsen the catastrophe. Researchers from France’s Institut Fresnel and the French division of Menard, a ground-improvement specialist company, have developed an invisibility cloak that could protect buildings during an earthquake by redirecting seismic waves around them.

Invisible tool enables new quantum experiments with atoms, molecules, clusters and other nanoparticles
Experiments on the quantum wave nature of atoms and molecules have enabled researchers to precisely measure tiny forces and displacements as well as to shed light onto the unexplored zone between the microscopic realm of quantum physics and our everyday world. Physicists around Philipp Haslinger and Markus Arndt at the University of Vienna have now succeeded in constructing a novel matter wave interferometer which enables new quantum studies with a broad class of particles, including atoms, molecules and nanoparticles. These lumps of matter are exposed to three pulsed laser light gratings which are invisible to the human eye, exist only for a billionth of a second and never simultaneously.

Computerized ‘Rosetta Stone’ reconstructs ancient languages
University of British Columbia and Berkeley researchers have used a sophisticated new computer system to quickly reconstruct protolanguages – the rudimentary ancient tongues from which modern languages evolved.

New look at human fossil suggests Eastern Europe was an important pathway in evolution
A fossilized bone fragment found buried deep in the soil of a Serbian cave is causing scientists to reconsider what happened during a critical period in human development, when the strands of modern humanity were still coming together.

Patented technique key to new solar power technology
(Phys.org)—A novel fabrication technique developed by UConn engineering professor Brian Willis could provide the breakthrough technology scientists have been looking for to vastly improve today’s solar energy systems.

Human hearing beats the Fourier uncertainty principle
(Phys.org)—For the first time, physicists have found that humans can discriminate a sound’s frequency (related to a note’s pitch) and timing (whether a note comes before or after another note) more than 10 times better than the limit imposed by the Fourier uncertainty principle. Not surprisingly, some of the subjects with the best listening precision were musicians, but even non-musicians could exceed the uncertainty limit. The results rule out the majority of auditory processing brain algorithms that have been proposed, since only a few models can match this impressive human performance.

13 light years away: Earth-like planets are right next door
Using publicly available data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have found that six percent of red dwarf stars have habitable, Earth-sized planets. Since red dwarfs are the most common stars in our galaxy, the closest Earth-like planet could be just 13 light-years away.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a squid
A species of oceanic squid can fly more than 30 metres (100 feet) through the air at speeds faster than Usain Bolt if it wants to escape predators, Japanese researchers said Friday.

New study furthers Einstein’s ‘theory of everything’
(Phys.org)—Sussex physicists have taken a  small step towards fulfilling Einstein’s dream of proving there is only one fundamental force in nature.

Genetically engineered virus kills liver cancer
A genetically-engineered virus tested in 30 terminally-ill liver cancer patients significantly prolonged their lives, killing tumours and inhibiting the growth of new ones, scientists reported on Sunday.

Does probability come from quantum physics?
(Phys.org)—Ever since Austrian scientist Erwin Schrodinger put his unfortunate cat in a box, his fellow physicists have been using something called quantum theory to explain and understand the nature of waves and particles.

Most precise dates yet suggest comet or asteroid impact was last straw for dinosaurs
While many assume that a comet or asteroid impact killed off the dinosaurs, the actual dates of the impact and extinction are imprecise enough that some have questioned the connection. UC Berkeley and Berkeley Geochronology Center scientists have now dated the extinction with unprecedented precision and concluded that the impact and extinction where synchronous. While global climate change probably brought dinosaurs and other creatures to the brink, the impact likely was the final blow.

First ‘directed’ SETI search comes up empty
(Phys.org)—Researchers working on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project have completed their first “directed” search of a part of space and report in a paper they’ve uploaded to the preprint server arXiv that they’ve found no signs of life emanating from another planet. The search focused on a patch of sky that included 86 stars over a period of three months in 2011.

First evidence discovered that water once dissolved the surface of Mars
(Phys.org)—Scientists at the University of Glasgow together with the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre and the Natural History Museum (London) have discovered the first evidence of water dissolving the surface of Mars.

A spiral galaxy with a secret
(Phys.org)—The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope – with a little help from an amateur astronomer – has produced one of the best views yet of nearby spiral galaxy Messier 106. Located a little over 20 million light-years away, practically a neighbour by cosmic standards, Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own.

New study suggests Neanderthals died out earlier, did not coexist with modern humans
Theories about when the last Neanderthals walked the Earth may have to be revised, according to a study that suggests they became extinct in their last refuge in Spain much earlier than previously thought.

Can dark energy be explained by symmetrons?
(Phys.org)—A field that permeates the universe and gives rise to a new force, or “fifth force,” between massive objects may be a candidate for dark energy and an explanation for why the expansion of the universe is accelerating. This field, called the symmetron field, is so named because it has a symmetry in regions of high density, while in regions of low density, such as a vacuum, the symmetry is broken and the field mediates the new force.

Expert psychologist suggests the era of genius scientists is over
(Phys.org)—Dean Keith Simonton, a psychology professor at the University of California, has published a comment piece in the journal Nature, where he argues that it’s unlikely mankind will ever produce another Einstein, Newton, Darwin, etc. This is because, he says, we’ve already discovered all the most basic ideas that describe how the natural world works. Any new work, will involve little more than adding to our knowledge base.

Researchers solve biological mystery and boost artificial intelligence
By simulating 25,000 generations of evolution within computers, Cornell University engineering and robotics researchers have discovered why biological networks tend to be organized as modules – a finding that will lead to a deeper understanding of the evolution of complexity.

Building a lunar base with 3D printing
(Phys.org)—Setting up a lunar base could be made much simpler by using a 3D printer to build it from local materials. Industrial partners including renowned architects Foster + Partners have joined with ESA to test the feasibility of 3D printing using lunar soil.

Physicists create new 3D microchip
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have created, for the first time, a new type of microchip which allows information to travel in three dimensions. Currently, microchips can only pass digital information in a very limited way - from either left to right or front to back. The research was published today, 31 January, in Nature.

Sirtuin protein discovery opens door to potential ‘molecular fountain of youth’
A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, represents a major advance in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind aging while providing new hope for the development of targeted treatments for age-related degenerative diseases.

Researchers unveil first artificial enzyme created by evolution in test tube
(Phys.org)—There’s a wobbly new biochemical structure in Burckhard Seelig’s lab at the University of Minnesota that may resemble what enzymes looked like billions of years ago, when life on earth began to evolve – long before they became ingredients for new and improved products, from detergents to foods and fuels.

Scientists propose creating Maxwell’s demon with two quantum dots
(Phys.org)—When you open your door on a cold winter day, the warm air from your home and the cold air from outside begin to mix and evolve toward thermal equilibrium, a state of complete entropy where the temperatures outside and inside are the same. This situation is a rough example of the second law of thermodynamics, which says that entropy in a closed system never decreases. If you could control the air flow in a way that uses a sufficiently small amount of energy, so that the entropy of the system actually decreases overall, you would have a hypothetical mechanism called Maxwell’s demon.

New method of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes
(Phys.org)—A new way of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes could revolutionise our understanding of how they form and help to shape galaxies.

Cats in US kill billions of birds, mammals, study finds
Domestic cats in the United States kill up to 3.7 billion birds and as many as 20.7 billion mice, voles and other small mammals each year, biologists estimated on Tuesday.

Two science projects win up to $1.3 billion each (Update 2)
Two European science projects—one to map the intricacies of the human brain, the other to explore the extraordinary carbon-based material graphene—won an EU technology contest Monday, getting up to €1 billion ($1.34 billion) each over the next decade.

Scientists link excess sugar to cancer
Sugars are needed to provide us with energy and in moderate amounts contribute to our well-being. Sustained high levels of sugars, as is found in diabetics, damages our cells and now is shown that can also increase our chance to get cancer: The dose makes the poison as Paracelsus said.

Quantum strategies fail to improve capacity of quantum optical communication channels
(Phys.org)—Quantum techniques have been demonstrated to offer improvements in areas such as computing, cryptography, and information processing, among others. But in a new study, researchers from IBM have proven that no quantum trick – no matter how complex or exotic – can improve the capacity of a type of quantum channel that serves as a building block of quantum optical communication systems. Although the result is somewhat surprising and a bit disappointing, it will help guide scientists to explore other ways to enhance channel capacity.

A new world record for solar cell efficiency
In a remarkable feat, scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have developed thin film solar cells on flexible polymer foils with a new record efficiency of 20.4 percent for converting sunlight into electricity. The cells are based on CIGS semiconducting material known for its potential to provide cost-effective solar electricity. The technology is currently awaiting scale-up for industrial applications.

Nearly perfect, ultrathin invisibility cloak could have wide practical applications
(Phys.org)—Researchers have created a dc invisibility cloak made of a metamaterial that not only shields an object almost perfectly, but at 1-cm thick is also the thinnest cloak ever constructed, reaching the ultimate limit of thinness for artificial materials. As the first invisibility cloak that combines both near-perfect performance and extreme thinness, it could open the doors to practical applications. In the past, invisibility cloaks have been too large to be used in many real-world applications.

‘Quadruple helix’ DNA discovered in human cells
In 1953, Cambridge researchers Watson and Crick published a paper describing the interweaving ‘double helix’ DNA structure - the chemical code for all life. Now, in the year of that scientific landmark’s 60th Anniversary, Cambridge researchers have published a paper proving that four-stranded ‘quadruple helix’ DNA structures - known as G-quadruplexes - also exist within the human genome. They form in regions of DNA that are rich in the building block guanine, usually abbreviated to ‘G’.

Russians announce retrieval of first clean ice sample from Lake Vostok
(Phys.org)—Researchers with Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute have announced that they have successfully retrieved a clean ice core sample from Lake Vostok in Antarctica. The sample, taken from a bore hole drilled over two miles through the ice to the lake underneath, is the result of years of effort. Researchers hope to find evidence in the ice of life on Earth as it existed as far back as 20 million years ago.

Japan to replace nuclear plant with world’s largest wind farm
(Phys.org)—Officials in Japan have announced plans for building the largest wind farm in the world, ten miles off the coast of Fukushima – site of the nuclear disaster that followed the earthquake and tsunami that struck the island nation in 2011. Projections call for developing a wind farm capable of producing 1 gigawatt of power.

Star Wars: What would hyperspace travel really look like?
The sight of the Millennium Falcon making the “jump to lightspeed” is one of the most iconic images from the Star Wars trilogy.

Space station to get $18 million balloon-like room (Update)
NASA is partnering with a commercial space company in a bid to replace the cumbersome “metal cans” that now serve as astronauts’ homes in space with inflatable bounce-house-like habitats that can be deployed on the cheap.

Black holes growing faster than expected
(Phys.org)—Astronomers from Swinburne University of Technology have discovered how supermassive black holes grow - and it’s not what was expected.

Australian study turns HIV against itself (Update)
An Australian scientist said Wednesday he had discovered a way to turn the HIV virus against itself in human cells in the laboratory, in an important advance in the quest for an AIDS cure.

EU releases all data on GM corn linked to cancer
The EU’s food safety agency challenged its doubters on Monday, making available all the scientific information used to clear a genetically modified corn which a French researcher had linked to cancer.

Google’s Ray Kurzweil revs up search focus with AI vision
(Phys.org)—The setting: An intimate gathering at Singularity University’s NASA campus in Silicon Valley. This is the place founded by Dr. Peter Diamandis and Dr. Ray Kurzweil, pursuing the idea of a new university that could “leverage the power of exponential technologies to solve humanity’s grand challenges.” Speaking in an interview is artificial intelligence expert and Google’s new Director of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil.

Comet ISON shaping up to be a spectacular display
(Phys.org)—Excitement is mounting for astronomers and star gazers the world over as word spreads that Comet ISON may go down in the history books as one of the flashiest ever. First discovered in September of last year by Russian astronomers, Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, Comet ISON (C/2012 S1) has been drawing attention ever since.

What’s causing Australia’s heat wave?
Australia has started 2013 with a record-breaking heat wave that has lasted more than two weeks across many parts of the country. Temperatures have regularly gone above 48°C, with the highest recorded maximum of 49.6°C at Moomba in South Australia. The extreme conditions have been associated with a delayed onset of the Australian monsoon, and slow moving weather systems over the continent.