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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for week 16:
A breakthrough on paper that's stronger than steel
(PhysOrg.com) -- University of Technology, Sydney scientists have reported remarkable results in developing a composite material based on graphite that is a thin as paper and ten times stronger than steel.
SpaceX aims to put man on Mars in 10-20 years
Private US company SpaceX hopes to put an astronaut on Mars within 10 to 20 years, the head of the firm said.
Primordial weirdness: Did the early universe have 1 dimension?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Did the early universe have just one spatial dimension? That's the mind-boggling concept at the heart of a theory that University at Buffalo physicist Dejan Stojkovic and colleagues proposed in 2010.
Antigravity could replace dark energy as cause of Universe's expansion
Since the late 20th century, astronomers have been aware of data that suggest the universe is not only expanding, but expanding at an accelerating rate. According to the currently accepted model, this accelerated expansion is due to dark energy, a mysterious repulsive force that makes up about 73% of the energy density of the universe. Now, a new study reveals an alternative theory: that the expansion of the universe is actually due to the relationship between matter and antimatter. According to this study, matter and antimatter gravitationally repel each other and create a kind of “antigravity” that could do away with the need for dark energy in the universe.
Laser sparks revolution in internal combustion engines
For more than 150 years, spark plugs have powered internal combustion engines. Automakers are now one step closer to being able to replace this long-standing technology with laser igniters, which will enable cleaner, more efficient, and more economical vehicles.
LED efficiency puzzle solved by theorists
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, say they've figured out the cause of a problem that's made light-emitting diodes (LEDs) impractical for general lighting purposes. Their work will help engineers develop a new generation of high-performance, energy-efficient lighting that could replace incandescent and fluorescent bulbs.
Primordial beryllium could reveal insights into the Big Bang
(PhysOrg.com) -- Some chemical elements appear much more abundantly in nature than others, which is partly due to how the elements originally formed. Scientists know that the light elements (hydrogen, deuterium, helium, and traces of lithium) were produced by fusion in the early Universe. Today, lithium, beryllium, and boron are constantly being produced in cosmic rays, while the heavier elements (up to iron) are formed by fusion in stars. Elements heavier than iron are formed by supernovae.
Zoom-up star photos poke holes in century-old astronomical theory
(PhysOrg.com) -- The hottest stars in the universe spin so fast that they get a bit squished at their poles and dimmer around their middle. The 90-year-old theory that predicts the extent of this "gravity darkening" phenomenon has major flaws, according to a new study led by University of Michigan astronomers.
Could black trees blossom in a world with two suns?
(PhysOrg.com) -- A sky with two suns is a favourite image for science fiction films, but how would a binary star system affect life evolving on an orbiting planet?
Google Earth maps show populations at risk near nuclear plants
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a novel use of existing technology and data, Nature News in conjunction with Columbia University, has created a Google Earth map that shows the different population sizes surrounding nuclear power plants; ostensibly, to demonstrate the danger threshold of other plants worldwide, compared to the ongoing nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan.
Say hello to cheaper hydrogen fuel cells: Scientists document utility of non-precious-metal catalysts
(PhysOrg.com) -- Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a way to avoid the use of expensive platinum in hydrogen fuel cells, the environmentally friendly devices that might replace current power sources in everything from personal data devices to automobiles.
New carbon allotrope could have a variety of applications
(PhysOrg.com) -- Carbon comes in many different forms, and now scientists have predicted another new form, or allotrope, of carbon. The new form of carbon, which they call T-carbon, has very intriguing physical properties that suggest that it could have a wide variety of applications.
Beams of electrons link Saturn with its moon Enceladus
(PhysOrg.com) -- Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have revealed that Enceladus, one of Saturn's diminutive moons, is linked to Saturn by powerful electrical currents - beams of electrons that flow back and forth between the planet and moon. The finding is part of a paper published in Nature today.
What's your gut type? People fall into 3 categories of gut microbiota
In the future, when you walk into a doctor's surgery or hospital, you could be asked not just about your allergies and blood group, but also about your gut type. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, and collaborators in the international MetaHIT consortium, have found that humans have 3 different gut types. The study, published today in Nature, also uncovers microbial genetic markers that are related to traits like age, gender and body-mass index. These bacterial genes could one day be used to help diagnose and predict outcomes for diseases like colo-rectal cancer, while information about a person's gut type could help inform treatment.
Israeli engineers build artificial device capable of detecting cancer in breath
(PhysOrg.com) -- Professor Hossam Haick of the Israel Institute of Technology, at Technion, and his team have built an artificial nose which is capable of detecting molecules in human breath that signal the presence of head and neck cancers in people. In a paper published in the British Journal of Cancer, Haick describes how he and his colleagues set to work on coming up with a device that could mimic the ability that dogs have demonstrated in detecting certain types of cancers.
Prenatal pesticide exposure tied to lower IQ in children
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study suggesting pesticides may be associated with the health and development of children, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health have found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides – widely used on food crops – is related to lower intelligence scores at age 7.
Antihelium-4: Physicists nab new record for heaviest antimatter
Members of the international STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider -- a particle accelerator used to recreate and study conditions of the early universe at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory -- have detected the antimatter partner of the helium nucleus: antihelium-4. This new particle, also known as the anti-alpha, is the heaviest antinucleus ever detected, topping a discovery announced by the same collaboration just last year.
Probing the laws of gravity: A gravity resonance method
Quantum mechanical methods can now be used to study gravity: At the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna), a measurement method was developed, which allows to test the fundamental theories of physics.
Researchers create super-small transistor, artificial atom powered by single electrons
A University of Pittsburgh-led team has created a single-electron transistor that provides a building block for new, more powerful computer memories, advanced electronic materials, and the basic components of quantum computers.
Scientists make quantum breakthrough
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that atoms can be guided in a laser beam and possess the same properties as light guided in an optical communications fiber.
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