Science X Newsletter Week 43

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 43:

	POLARBEAR detects curls in the universe's oldest light (Phys.org) —Cosmologists have made the most sensitive and precise measurements yet of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background.
	Oldest DNA ever found sheds light on humans' global trek Scientists said Wednesday they had unravelled the oldest DNA ever retrieved from a Homo sapiens bone, a feat that sheds light on modern humans' colonisation of the planet.
	Finally: A missing link between vitamin D and prostate cancer A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Prostate offers compelling evidence that inflammation may be the link between Vitamin D and prostate cancer. Specifically, the study shows that the gene GDF-15, known to be upregulated by Vitamin D, is notably absent in samples of human prostate cancer driven by inflammation.
	Seeking 'absolute zero', copper cube gets chillingly close (Update) An Italian lab has cooled a copper vessel with a volume of a cubic meter to within a tiny fraction of "absolute zero", setting a world record, the National Nuclear Physics Institute said Tuesday.
	Warming Earth heading for hottest year on record (Update) Earth is on pace to tie or even break the mark for the hottest year on record, U.S. meteorologists say.
	Climate change caused by ocean, not just atmosphere, study finds Most of the concerns about climate change have focused on the amount of greenhouse gases that have been released into the atmosphere.
	New rocket propellant and motor design offer high performance and safety Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists recently flight tested a new rocket design that includes a high-energy fuel and a motor design that also delivers a high degree of safety.
	When parallel worlds collide, quantum mechanics is born Parallel universes – worlds where the dinosaur-killing asteroid never hit, or where Australia was colonised by the Portuguese – are a staple of science fiction. But are they real?
	Mycologist promotes agarikon as a possibility to counter growing antibiotic resistance (Phys.org) —Mycologist Paul Stamets is espousing the health benefits of agarikon, a fungus that grows on trees in old growth forests in North America and Europe. He's written and published a blog piece in the Huffington Post, describing the known antibacterial and antiviral abilities of the fungus and suggesting we take better care of our old growth forests as a means of survival in an uncertain future.
	Organic molecules in Titan's atmosphere are intriguingly skewed (Phys.org) —While studying the atmosphere on Saturn's moon Titan, scientists discovered intriguing zones of organic molecules unexpectedly shifted away from its north and south poles. These misaligned features seem to defy conventional thinking about Titan's windy atmosphere, which should quickly smear out such off-axis concentrations.
	Researchers build reversible tractor beam that moves objects 100 times farther than other efforts (Phys.org) —A team of researchers working in Australia has built a tractor beam that bests the distance of other efforts a hundred fold—and it can both push and pull objects. In their paper published in the journal Nature Photonics, the team describes their tractor beam project, how it works and what purpose it might serve.
	Recently discovered microbe is key player in climate change As permafrost soils thaw under the influence of global warming, communities of soil microbes act as potent amplifiers of global climate change, an international study has shown.
	New microscope collects dynamic images of the molecules that animate life Over the last decade, powerful new microscopes have dramatically sharpened biologists' focus on the molecules that animate and propel life. Now, a new imaging platform developed by Eric Betzig and colleagues at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus offers another leap forward for light microscopy. The new technology collects high-resolution images rapidly and minimizes damage to cells, meaning it can image the three-dimensional activity of molecules, cells, and embryos in fine detail over longer periods than was previously possible.
	Super stable garnet ceramics may be ideal for high-energy lithium batteries Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have discovered exceptional properties in a garnet material that could enable development of higher-energy battery designs.
	Best of Last Week – First map of hidden universe, pursuit of compact fusion and new clues about the causes of depression (Phys.org) —It was an interesting week for physics as scientists built the first map of the hidden universe—astronomers led by a team with the Max Planck Institute in Germany created the first 3D map of the universe depicting things just three billion years after the Big Bang. Also, Lockheed Martin revealed new details about its pursuit of a compact fusion reactor concept, announcing they are on the fast track to developing what they describe as the ultimate power source and predicting they'll have a prototype in just five years. And a team of physicists from China and Singapore conducted quantum tests that strengthen support for EPR steering—it concerns particularly strong types of entanglement in which the two systems are not just correlated, but are correlated in a specific direction.
	Magnesium cuts diabetes risk Getting enough magnesium in the diet may reduce the risk of diabetes, especially for those who already show signs of heading that way.
	Lucky star escapes black hole with minor damage Astronomers have gotten the closest look yet at what happens when a black hole takes a bite out of a star—and the star lives to tell the tale.
	Scientists create possible precursor to life How did life originate? And can scientists create life? These questions not only occupy the minds of scientists interested in the origin of life, but also researchers working with technology of the future. If we can create artificial living systems, we may not only understand the origin of life - we can also revolutionize the future of technology.
	Puzzling new behaviour observed in high-temperature superconductors An international team of researchers from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University and the Paul Scherrer Institute (Villigen, Switzerland) has observed a new, unexpected kind of behaviour in copper-based high-temperature superconductors – materials that are capable of conducting electric current without any loss when cooled to low enough temperatures. Explaining the new phenomenon - a new, unexpected form of collective movement of the electrical charges in the material - poses a major challenge for the researchers. A success in explaining the phenomenon might be an important step toward understanding high-temperature superconductivity in general. The crucial experiments were conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute's Swiss Light Source. The results of this project have been published in the journal Nature Physics on 19 October 2014.
	Highly effective new anti-cancer drug shows few side effects in mice A new drug, known as OTS964, can eradicate aggressive human lung cancers transplanted into mice, according to a report in Science Translational Medicine. The drug, given as a pill or by injection, inhibits the action of a protein that is overproduced by several tumor types, including lung and breast, but is rarely expressed in healthy adult tissues. Without this protein, cancer cells fail to complete the cell-division process and die.

---

This email is a free service of Phys.org
You received this email because you subscribed to our list.
If you no longer want to receive this email use the link below to unsubscribe.
https://sciencex.com/profile/nwletter/
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com