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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 43:
Physics duo create tractor beam using dual Bessel beams
(Phys.org)�David Ruffner and David Grier of New York University have developed a technique for using Bessel beams to draw a particle toward a source. In their paper published in Physical Review Letters they describe how they used their technique to pull 30 micrometer sized silica spheres suspended in water, towards a laser source.
A whale with a distinctly human-like voice
For the first time, researchers have been able to show by acoustic analysis that whales�or at least one very special white whale�can imitate the voices of humans. That's a surprise, because whales typically produce sounds in a manner that is wholly different from humans, say researchers who report their findings in the October 23 issue of Current Biology.
Hunt for the platypus particle
All of the atoms in our bodies are made of electrons, protons and neutrons, and the protons and neutrons can be further broken down into quarks. Fundamentally, then, we are made of only two types of particles: electrons and quarks. But what do these labels mean? Why do we even say that electrons and quarks are different from each other?
Milky Way's black hole getting ready for snack
(Phys.org)�Get ready for a fascinating eating experience in the center of our galaxy.
Live cables explain enigmatic electric currents
Researchers at Aarhus University, Denmark, made a sensational discovery almost three years ago when they measured electric currents in the seabed. It was unclear as to what was conducting the current, but the researchers imagined the electric currents might run between different bacteria via a joint external wiring network.The researchers have now solved the mystery. It turns out that the whole process takes place inside bacteria that are one centimetre long. They make up a kind of live electric cable that no one had ever imagined existed. Each one of these 'cable bacteria' contains a bundle of insulated wires that conduct an electric current from one end to the other.
Power grid upgrades may cause blackouts, warns Braess's paradox
(Phys.org)�In order to meet increasing energy demands, power companies have the option of adding new power lines to the existing grid. But in a new study, researchers have found that, contrary to common intuition, adding certain new power lines may cause power outages across the grid due to desynchronization. This finding is an example of Braess's paradox, which was originally discovered in traffic networks to show that adding a road to a congested traffic network may counterintuitively increase overall driving time. This study is the first time that Braess's paradox has been found in oscillator networks.
IKEA commits to energy independence by 2020
(Phys.org)�Furniture giant IKEA has announced plans to produce as much energy as it consumes by the year 2020. To achieve that goal, the company will install solar panels on all its stores and warehouses, and invest in wind farms. The announcement comes as part of a three-pronged initiative the company is calling its "People and Planet Positive" campaign. The initiative will also focus on reducing the company's overall energy use, and growing enough trees to replace the wood used in its products.
A Viagra follow-up? Drug used to treat glaucoma actually grows human hair
If you're balding and want your hair to grow back, then here is some good news. A new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal shows how the FDA-approved glaucoma drug, bimatoprost, causes human hair to regrow. It's been commercially available as a way to lengthen eyelashes, but these data are the first to show that it can actually grow human hair from the scalp.
World's most advanced mirror for giant telescope completed
Scientists at the University of Arizona and in California have completed the most challenging large astronomical mirror ever made.
Researchers look beyond space and time to cope with quantum theory
Physicists have proposed an experiment that could force us to make a choice between extremes to describe the behaviour of the Universe.
Sweden wants Norway's trash (and lots of it)
(Phys.org)�Sweden is hungry for trash and has turned to Norway for an offer it would find hard to refuse, no pun intended. Sweden is asking its neighbor for trash. Sweden's success is Sweden's problem. Sweden is a model recycler. Thanks to a highly efficient waste management system in Sweden, the vast majority of this household waste can be recovered or reused. As a result, Sweden has run short of garbage. Since it does not produce enough burnable waste for its energy needs, Sweden is suffering a downside to being such an enviable model of recycling. The average in Europe of trash that ends up as waste is 38 percent. Sweden's is 1 percent.
Modern alchemy leaches gold from water
A small French start-up company is selling a technology with a hint of alchemy: turning water into gold.
Chile's ALMA probes for origins of universe
(AP)�Earth's largest radio telescope is growing more powerful by the day on this remote plateau high above Chile's Atacama desert, where visitors often feel like they're planting the first human footprints on the red crust of Mars.
Can your body sense future events without any external clue?
Wouldn't it be amazing if our bodies prepared us for future events that could be very important to us, even if there's no clue about what those events will be?
State-of-the-art beams from table-top accelerators: Part One: Focusing in on beam focus
(Phys.org)�The rapidly evolving technology of laser plasma accelerators (LPAs) � called "table-top accelerators" because their length can be measured in centimeters instead of kilometers � promises a new breed of machines, far less expensive and with far less impact on the land and the environment than today's conventional accelerators.
Canadian researchers discover fossils of first feathered dinosaurs from North America (w/ Video)
The ostrich-like dinosaurs in the original Jurassic Park movie were portrayed as a herd of scaly, fleet-footed animals being chased by a ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex. New research published in the prestigious journal Science reveals this depiction of these bird-mimic dinosaurs is not entirely accurate�the ornithomimids, as they are scientifically known, should have had feathers and wings.
Symmetry breaking during flapping generates lift
(Phys.org)�A small, translucent sea slug called Clione antarctica swims through the cold waters near the polar regions by flapping its wings. At the same time, tiny cilia that circle the sea slug's body in three bands may flap passively and assist in movement. In this mode, the cilia are inert � unable to move themselves � and scientists don't fully understand what role they play in the sea slug's locomotion. Now in a new study, scientists have found a clue to how passive flapping elements generate movement: through a process commonly found in many areas of science called symmetry breaking.
Penn State climate scientist files defamation suit
Penn State University scientist Michael Mann, whose work showed that Earth's temperatures have risen along with increased fossil fuel use, announced Tuesday he had filed a lawsuit against the conservative National Review and the Competitive Enterprise Institute for defamation, complaining that they falsely accused him of academic fraud and compared him to convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky.
Student engineers design, build, fly 3-D 'printed' airplane
(Phys.org)�When University of Virginia engineering students posted a YouTube video last spring of a plastic turbofan engine they had designed and built using 3-D printing technology, they didn't expect it to lead to anything except some page views.
Rapid changes in the Earth's core: The magnetic field and gravity from a satellite perspective
Annual to decadal changes in the earth's magnetic field in a region that stretches from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean have a close relationship with variations of gravity in this area. From this it can be concluded that outer core processes are reflected in gravity data. This is the result presented by a German-French group of geophysicists in the latest issue of PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences).
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