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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for week 02:
Scientists gear up to take a picture of a black hole
On Wednesday, Jan. 18, astronomers, physicists and scientists from related fields will convene in Tucson, Ariz. from across the world to discuss an endeavor that only a few years ago would have been regarded as nothing less than outrageous. The conference is organized by Dimitrios Psaltis, an associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, and Daniel Marrone, an assistant professor of astronomy at Steward Observatory.
Seeing quantum mechanics with the naked eye
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cambridge team have built a semiconductor chip that converts electrons into a quantum state that emits light but is large enough to see by eye. Because their quantum superfluid is simply set up by shining laser beams on the device, it can lead to practical ultrasensitive detectors. Their research is published today, 08 January in Nature Physics.
One step closer to controlling nuclear fusion
Using a heating system, physicists have succeeded for the first time in preventing the development of instabilities in an efficient alternative way relevant to a future nuclear fusion reactor. It’s an important step forward in the effort to build the future ITER reactor.
Quasicrystal is extraterrestrial in origin
A rare and exotic mineral, so unusual that it was thought impossible to exist, came to Earth on a meteorite, according to an international team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists. The discovery provides evidence for the extraterrestrial origins of the world's only known sample of a naturally occurring quasicrystal.
A breakthrough in superlens development: Cheap, simple lens to let us see a single virus
A superlens would let you see a virus in a drop of blood and open the door to better and cheaper electronics. It might, says Durdu Guney, make ultra-high-resolution microscopes as commonplace as cameras in our cell phones.
How dogs can walk on ice without freezing their paws
Scientists in Japan have solved a long-standing veterinary mystery: how dogs can stand and walk for so long on snow and ice without apparent discomfort, and without freezing their paws.
A wealth of habitable planets in the Milky Way
An international team has used the technique of gravitational microlensing to measure how common planets are in the Milky Way.
Simpler times: Did an earlier genetic molecule predate DNA and RNA?
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the chemistry of the living world, a pair of nucleic acids—DNA and RNA—reign supreme. As carrier molecules of the genetic code, they provide all organisms with a mechanism for faithfully reproducing themselves as well as generating the myriad proteins vital to living systems.
The world's smallest magnetic data storage unit
Scientists from IBM and the German Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) have built the world's smallest magnetic data storage unit. It uses just twelve atoms per bit, the basic unit of information, and squeezes a whole byte (8 bit) into as few as 96 atoms. A modern hard drive, for comparison, still needs more than half a billion atoms per byte. The team present their work in the weekly journal Science this Friday (13 January 2012). CFEL is a joint venture of the research centre Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY in Hamburg, the Max-Planck-Society (MPG) and the University of Hamburg. "With CFEL the partners have established an innovative institution on the DESY campus, delivering top-level research across a broad spectrum of disciplines," says DESY research director Edgar Weckert.
Electron's negativity cut in half by supercomputer
While physicists at the Large Hadron Collider smash together thousands of protons and other particles to see what matter is made of, they're never going to hurl electrons at each other. No matter how high the energy, the little negative particles won't break apart. But that doesn't mean they are indestructible.
Next-generation light bulb shines at CES
A California startup out to change the world shined at the Consumer Electronics Show on Thursday with a light bulb blending beauty and efficiency with love for the Earth.
Fermi telescope explores new energy extremes
(PhysOrg.com) -- After more than three years in space, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is extending its view of the high-energy sky into a largely unexplored electromagnetic range. Today, the Fermi team announced its first census of energy sources in this new realm.
Astronomers map the universe's dark matter at unprecedented scale
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, astronomers have mapped dark matter on the largest scale ever observed. The results, presented by Dr Catherine Heymans of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and Associate Professor Ludovic Van Waerbeke of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, are being presented today to the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas. Their findings reveal a Universe comprised of an intricate cosmic web of dark matter and galaxies that spans more than one billion light years.
Stockholm techies use water to charge mobile phones
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Swedish company headquartered in Stockholm has figured out how to power smartphones using a system that includes some water, a tray, a little round container, and an eyeglass case styled cover. The company, myFC, is introducing its PowerTrekk system to Americans at the CES show in Vegas. PowerTrekk describes its charger as a pocket size, lightweight gizmo for users “who spend time away from the electricity grid.” Translation: If you are hiking over the weekend with no Starbucks or friend’s flat in sight, your phone can still get charged.
Evolution is written all over your face
Why are the faces of primates so dramatically different from one another?
Researchers discover particle which could 'cool the planet'
In a breakthrough paper published in Science, researchers from The University of Manchester, The University of Bristol and Sandia National Laboratories report the potentially revolutionary effects of Criegee biradicals.
100 year Starship Project has a new leader
You may have heard by now about the 100 Year Starship project, a new research initiative to develop the technology required to send a manned mission to another star. The project is jointly sponsored by NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). It will take that long just to make such a trip feasible, hence the name. So we’re a long ways off from naming any crew members or a starship captain, but the project itself does have a new leader, a former astronaut.
Clearest picture yet of dark matter points the way to better understanding of dark energy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two teams of physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermilab and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have independently made the largest direct measurements of the invisible scaffolding of the universe, building maps of dark matter using new methods that, in turn, will remove key hurdles for understanding dark energy with ground-based telescopes.
Oil is more toxic than previously thought, study finds
Bad news for the Gulf of Mexico: a study released in late December sheds new light on the toxicity of oil in aquatic environments, and shows that environmental impact studies currently in use may be inadequate. The report was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Honeybee deaths linked to seed insecticide exposure
Honeybee populations have been in serious decline for years, and Purdue University scientists may have identified one of the factors that cause bee deaths around agricultural fields.
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