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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 42:
Earth-sized planet found just outside solar system
(Phys.org)�European astronomers have discovered a planet with about the mass of the Earth orbiting a star in the Alpha Centauri system�the nearest to Earth. It is also the lightest exoplanet ever discovered around a star like the Sun. The planet was detected using the HARPS instrument on the 3.6-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. The results will appear online in the journal Nature on 17 October 2012.
Accelerators can search for signs of Planck-scale gravity
(Phys.org)�Although quantum theory can explain three of the four forces in nature, scientists currently rely on general relativity to explain the fourth force, gravity. However, no one is quite sure of how gravity works at very short distances, in particular the shortest distance of all: the Planck length, or 10-35 m. So far, the smallest distance accessible in experiments is about 10-19 m at the LHC.
Tropical collapse caused by lethal heat: Extreme temperatures blamed for 'dead zone'
Scientists have discovered why the 'broken world' following the worst extinction of all time lasted so long � it was simply too hot to survive.
Air Fuel Synthesis shows petrol from air has future
(Phys.org)�Petrol from air at first glance from this week's headlines, claiming scientists have turned fresh air into petrol, looked as if this was yet another over the top claim about a killer solution to solve the environmental crisis and specter of global warming. Still, engineers in the UK believe a small UK company may be on to something real, a synthetic replacement for fossil fuel. A small company in the north of England, Air Fuel Synthesis (AFS), has developed air capture technology to create synthetic petrol. The company has been running a demonstration plant in Stockton-on-Tees where it has produced five liters of petrol since August, manufacturing gasoline from carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Surprising trend in galaxy evolution (w/ Video)
(Phys.org)�A comprehensive study of hundreds of galaxies observed by the Keck telescopes in Hawaii and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revealed an unexpected pattern of change that extends back 8 billion years, or more than half the age of the universe.
New study proves Moon was created in massive planetary collision
(Phys.org)�It's a big claim, but Washington University in St. Louis planetary scientist Fr�d�ric Moynier says his group has discovered evidence that the Moon was born in a flaming blaze of glory when a body the size of Mars collided with the early Earth.
Skydiver's feat could influence spacesuit design
Now that the dust has settled in the New Mexico desert where supersonic skydiver "Fearless Felix" Baumgartner landed safely on his feet, researchers are exhilarated over the possibility his feat could someday help save the lives of pilots and space travelers in a disaster.
Dark matter filament studied in 3-D for the first time
(Phys.org)�Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have studied a giant filament of dark matter in 3D for the first time. Extending 60 million light-years from one of the most massive galaxy clusters known, the filament is part of the cosmic web that constitutes the large-scale structure of the Universe, and is a leftover of the very first moments after the Big Bang. If the high mass measured for the filament is representative of the rest of the Universe, then these structures may contain more than half of all the mass in the Universe.
Study: Tropical cyclones are occurring more frequently than before
Are there more tropical cyclones now than in the past? � or is it just something we believe because we now hear more about them through media coverage and are better able detect them with satellites? New research from the Niels Bohr Institute clearly shows that there is an increasing tendency for cyclones when the climate is warmer, as it has been in recent years. The results are published in the scientific journal PNAS.
'Time-capsule' Japanese lake sediment will improve radiocarbon dating
A new series of radiocarbon measurements from Japan's Lake Suigetsu will give scientists a more accurate benchmark for dating materials, especially for older objects, according to a research team that included Oxford University's Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit.
Breakthrough nano-technology solar cell achieves 18.2% efficiency, eliminates need for anti-reflection layer
(Phys.org)�Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have produced solar cells using nanotechnology techniques at an efficiency � 18.2%�that is competitive. The breakthrough should be a major step toward helping lower the cost of solar energy.
New techniques stretch carbon nanotubes, make stronger composites
(Phys.org)�Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new techniques for stretching carbon nanotubes (CNT) and using them to create carbon composites that can be used as stronger, lighter materials in everything from airplanes to bicycles.
16 million-year-old amber specimen reveals unknown animal behaviors
Stunning images, including video footage, from a CT scan of amber have revealed the first evidence of any creature using an adult mayfly for transport.
Mars soil sample delivered for analysis inside rover
(Phys.org)�NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has ingested its first solid sample into an analytical instrument inside the rover, a capability at the core of the two-year mission.
Claim of supersolid helium disproved by original researcher
(Phys.org)�Moses Chan, co-author of a paper published in 2004 describing work that resulted in claims of the discovery of supersolid helium, has now co-authored another paper, published in Physical Review Letters, describing flaws in his original research. He and new colleague Duk Kim redesigned the original experiment: this time, they found no evidence of a supersolid.
Israeli inventor has backers for cardboard bicycle
(Phys.org)�Don't tell Izhar Gafni that a bicycle can't be made of cardboard. An Israeli engineer working in industrial design, he was always fascinated by the potential that comes from the interplay of technologies applied to materials. Gafni was too curious about turning materials into new uses and he could not take no for an answer. What's more, bicycles, he said, went beyond "hobby." With him, it was "in my soul." That might explain his three years of efforts in coming up with a fully functioning bicycle made of cardboard, which has been accorded ample research and development to reach final stages and readiness to show the world.
Automated meter reading systems make life easy for intruders
(Phys.org)�Intruders of the break-in and snooping variety have their work cut out for them by just picking up wireless signals that are broadcast by utility meters, say researchers from the University of South Carolina at Columbia, IEEE and Rutgers. As with many other technological advances that bring new pathways for criminals, advances in meters have created concerns about intrusions. Millions of analogue meters to measure water, gas and electricity consumption have been replaced by automated meter reading (AMR) in the U.S. The newer method enables devices to broadcast readings by radio every 30 seconds for utility company employees to read as they walk or drive around with a receiver.
Researchers discover a giant virus in an amoeba that contains a provirophage
(Phys.org)�A team of researchers working out of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in France has discovered a new giant virus living in an amoeba found in an eye patient's contact lens fluid. And as they describe in their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they also found a new kind of virophage inside the virus which itself was harboring a previously unknown class of genetic parasite they've named transpovirons.
Radioactive decay of titanium powers supernova remnant
(Phys.org)�The first direct detection of radioactive titanium associated with supernova remnant 1987A has been made by ESA's Integral space observatory. The radioactive decay has likely been powering the glowing remnant around the exploded star for the last 20 years.
Keck observations bring weather of Uranus into sharp focus
(Phys.org)�In 1986, when Voyager swept past Uranus, the probe's portraits of the planet were "notoriously bland," disappointing scientists, yielding few new details of the planet and its atmosphere, and giving it a reputation as a bore of the solar system.
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