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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 46:
New coating technique finds application in next-generation lithium battery anodes
(Phys.org)�When Ovadia Lev, Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Health at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and his research team developed a new coating technology a few years ago, they thought it was an interesting outcome of their research in hydrogen peroxide solutions. However, they weren't sure what to do with it until they met a team of researchers looking for a simple way to synthesize new lithium-ion battery anode materials, such as graphene-tin oxide composites.
Astronomers find 'homeless' planet wandering through space
(Phys.org)�A planet that is not orbiting a star, effectively making it homeless, has been discovered by a team of University of Montreal (UdeM) researchers working with European colleagues and data provided by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT). "Although theorists had established the existence of this type of very cold and young planet, one had never been observed until today," said �tienne Artigau, an astrophysicist at UdeM. The absence of a shining star in the vicinity of this planet enabled the team to study its atmosphere in great detail. This information will in turn enable astronomers to better understand exoplanets that do orbit stars.
Study suggests humans are slowly but surely losing intellectual and emotional abilities
Human intelligence and behavior require optimal functioning of a large number of genes, which requires enormous evolutionary pressures to maintain. A provocative hypothesis published in a recent set of Science and Society pieces published in the Cell Press journal Trends in Genetics suggests that we are losing our intellectual and emotional capabilities because the intricate web of genes endowing us with our brain power is particularly susceptible to mutations and that these mutations are not being selected against in our modern society.
Confining supersymmetry: LHCb presents evidence of rare B decay
Today, at the Hadron Collider Physics Symposium in Kyoto, the LHCb collaboration has presented the evidence of a very rare B decay, the rarest ever seen. The result further shrinks the region in which scientists can still look for supersymmetry.
Wax-filled nanotech yarn behaves like powerful, super-strong muscle (w/ video)
New artificial muscles made from nanotech yarns and infused with paraffin wax can lift more than 100,000 times their own weight and generate 85 times more mechanical power during contraction than the same size natural muscle, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas and their international team from Australia, China, South Korea, Canada and Brazil.
Mathematician makes breakthrough in understanding of turbulence
(Phys.org)�A mathematician at the University of Glasgow is helping to find an answer to one of the last unsolved problems in classical mechanics.
Researchers find way to boost WiFi performance 400-700 percent
As many WiFi users know, WiFi performance is often poor in areas where there are a lot of users, such as airports or coffee shops. But researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new software program, called WiFox, which can be incorporated into existing networks and expedites data traffic in large audience WiFi environments � improving data throughput by up to 700 percent.
Is dark energy static or dynamic?
(Phys.org)�While hypothesized dark energy can explain observations of the universe expanding at an accelerating rate, the specific properties of dark energy are still an enigma. Scientists think that dark energy could take one of two forms: a static cosmological constant that is homogenous over time and space, or a dynamical entity whose energy density changes in time and space. By examining data from a variety of experiments, scientists in a new study have developed a model that provides tantalizing hints that dark energy may be dynamic.
Doctors communicate with man assumed to be in vegetative state using fMRI
(Medical Xpress)�Doctors in Canada claim they have opened a communication channel, using fMRI, with a man assumed to be in a vegetative state for over twelve years. By asking the patient to envision two different types of mental exercises and assigning a value of yes or no respectively to each, while undergoing a brain scan, they believe car accident patient Scott Routley has informed them that he is not experiencing any pain.
Archaeologists identify spear tips used in hunting a half-million years ago
A University of Toronto-led team of anthropologists has found evidence that human ancestors used stone-tipped weapons for hunting 500,000 years ago � 200,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Antenna-on-a-chip rips the light fantastic
(Phys.org)�A device that looks like a tiny washboard may clean the clocks of current commercial products used to manipulate infrared light.
New metamaterial lens focuses radio waves: Device could improve satellite and molecular imaging
In many respects, metamaterials are supernatural. These manmade materials, with their intricately designed structures, bend electromagnetic waves in ways that are impossible for materials found in nature. Scientists are investigating metamaterials for their potential to engineer invisibility cloaks�materials that refract light to hide an object in plain sight�and "super lenses," which focus light beyond the range of optical microscopes to image objects at nanoscale detail.
Surprising competition found in high-temperature superconductors
(Phys.org)�A team led by SLAC and Stanford scientists has made an important discovery toward understanding how a large group of complex copper oxide materials lose their electrical resistance at remarkably high temperatures.
Meditation produces enduring changes in emotional processing in the brain, study shows
A new study has found that participating in an 8-week meditation training program can have measurable effects on how the brain functions even when someone is not actively meditating. In their report in the November issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston University (BU), and several other research centers also found differences in those effects based on the specific type of meditation practiced.
Computer memory could increase fivefold from advances in self-assembling polymers
The storage capacity of hard disk drives could increase by a factor of five thanks to processes developed by chemists and engineers at The University of Texas at Austin.
Paper-and-scissors technique rocks the nano world
Sometimes simplicity is best. Two Northwestern University researchers have discovered a remarkably easy way to make nanofluidic devices: using paper and scissors. And they can cut a device into any shape and size they want, adding to the method's versatility.
New nanoparticle halts multiple sclerosis, now being tested in Type 1 diabetes and asthma
In a breakthrough for nanotechnology and multiple sclerosis, a biodegradable nanoparticle turns out to be the perfect vehicle to stealthily deliver an antigen that tricks the immune system into stopping its attack on myelin and halt a model of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in mice, according to new Northwestern Medicine research.
Candidate for most distant object in the Universe yet observed
(Phys.org)�By combining the power of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and one of nature's zoom lenses, astronomers have found what is probably the most distant galaxy yet seen in the Universe. The object offers a peek back into a time when the Universe was only 3 percent of its present age of 13.7 billion years.
Uncommon features of Einstein's brain might explain his remarkable cognitive abilities
Portions of Albert Einstein's brain have been found to be unlike those of most people and could be related to his extraordinary cognitive abilities, according to a new study led by Florida State University evolutionary anthropologist Dean Falk.
Nanometer-scale diamond tips improve nano-manufacturing
(Phys.org)�One of the most promising innovations of nanotechnology has been the ability to perform rapid nanofabrication using nanometer-scale tips. The fabrication speed can be dramatically increased by using heat. High speed and high temperature have been known to degrade the tip� until now.
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