Science X Newsletter Week 48

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 48:

	Limestone 'Venus' 23,000 years old dug up in France A limestone statuette of a shapely woman some 23,000 years old has been discovered in northern France in what archaeologists Thursday described as an "exceptional" find.
	Star Trek-like invisible shield found thousands of miles above Earth A team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered an invisible shield some 7,200 miles above Earth that blocks so-called "killer electrons," which whip around the planet at near-light speed and have been known to threaten astronauts, fry satellites and degrade space systems during intense solar storms.
	Ancient Egyptian codex finally deciphered (Phys.org) —A pair of Australian researchers, Malcolm Choat with Macquarie University and Iain Gardner with the University of Sydney, has after many decades of effort by others, succeeded in deciphering an ancient Egyptian codex. In meeting with members of the press, they revealed that the codex is actually a handbook of a practitioner of rituals and for that reason have published the converted text as "Egyptian Handbook of Ritual Power."
	40,000-year-old blood brings mammoth cloning closer Mammoth cloning is closer to becoming a reality following the discovery of blood in the best-preserved specimen ever found.
	Scientists could save thousands with student's DIY microscope Expensive tests for measuring everything from sperm motility to cancer diagnosis have just been made hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper by a PhD student from Brunel University London who hacked his own microscope.
	Engineers create 'superomniphobic' texture capable of repelling all liquids (Phys.org) —A pair of researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has created the first surface texture that can repel all liquids, no matter what material the surface is made of.
	Study shows graphene able to withstand a speeding bullet (Phys.org)—A team of researchers working at Rice University in the U.S. has demonstrated that graphene is better able to withstand the impact of a bullet than either steel or Kevlar. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes how they set up a miniature firing range in their laboratory and used it to test the strength of graphene sheets.
	Tabletop experiment could detect gravitational waves (Phys.org)—A coin-sized detector might observe gravitational waves before the giant Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), according to two Australian physicists.
	World's largest solar farm is up and running in California The world's largest solar plant is up and running in California, with the completion of Topaz, a 550 megawatt plant; the Topaz solar project completed its final 40-megawatt (AC) phase, reported Greentech Media, making history not only as the first 500-megawatt plus solar farm to come on-line in the U.S. but also as the largest solar plant on-line in the world. Reports are talking about a plant with 9 million solar panels installed across 9.5 square miles.
	Building a better battery Imagine an electric car with the range of a Tesla Model S - 265 miles - but at one-fifth the $70,000 price of the luxury sedan. Or a battery able to provide many times more energy than today's technology at significantly lower prices, meaning longer-lasting and less expensive power for cellphones, laptops and the home.
	Vegetable oil ingredient key to destroying gastric disease bacteria The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is strongly associated with gastric ulcers and cancer. To combat the infection, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Jacobs School of Engineering developed LipoLLA, a therapeutic nanoparticle that contains linolenic acid, a component in vegetable oils. In mice, LipoLLA was safe and more effective against H. pylori infection than standard antibiotic treatments.
	Antikythera mechanism: Researchers find clues to an ancient Greek riddle (Phys.org)—An ancient Greek astronomical puzzle now has another piece in place.
	Bridgmanite: World's most abundant mineral finally named A team of geologists in the U.S. has finally found an analyzable sample of the most abundant mineral in the world allowing them to give it a name: bridgmanite. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes how they were able to analyze a sample of the mineral in a meteorite. Thomas Sharp of Arizona State University offers an analysis of the research in the same journal issue.
	New largest number factored on a quantum device is 56,153 (Phys.org)—Researchers have set a new record for the quantum factorization of the largest number to date, 56,153, smashing the previous record of 143 that was set in 2012. They have shown that the exact same room-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment used to factor 143 can actually factor an entire class of numbers, although this was not known until now. Because this computation, which is based on a minimization algorithm involving 4 qubits, does not require prior knowledge of the answer, it outperforms all implementations of Shor's algorithm to date, which do require prior knowledge of the answer. Expanding on this method, the researchers also theoretically show how the same minimization algorithm can be used to factor even larger numbers, such as 291,311, with only 6 qubits.
	Engineers make sound loud enough to bend light on a computer chip During a thunderstorm, we all know that it is common to hear thunder after we see the lightning. That's because sound travels much slower (768 miles per hour) than light (670,000,000 miles per hour).
	Telescopes hint at neutrino beacon at the heart of the Milky Way (Phys.org) —Identifying the sources of high-energy neutrinos—ghostly but potentially information-rich particles believed to be generated by some of the most violent objects in the sky—is near the top of many an astrophysicist's bucket list.
	Is Phobos doomed? "All these worlds are yours except Europa, attempt no landing there."
	Venus Express spacecraft, low on fuel, does delicate dance above doom below It's been an interesting year for Venus Express. A few months ago, controllers deliberately dipped the spacecraft into the atmosphere of the planet—for science purposes, of course. The daring maneuver was approved because the spacecraft is near the end of its mission. It's nearly out of fuel and will fall into Venus—sometime. Likely in 2015. No one knows exactly when, however.
	Global warming cynics unmoved by extreme weather What will it take to convince skeptics of global warming that the phenomenon is real? Surely, many scientists believe, enough droughts, floods and heat waves will begin to change minds.
	Musk is testing x-wing style fins, spaceport drone ship (Phys.org) —Elon Musk over the weekend sent out a number of tweets about what's up at SpaceX in its rocket endeavors, talking about features that triggered a steady response stream of "Awesome," "Rad," and "Wow" reactions from Musk enthusiasts, eager to track the progress of the SpaceX reusable rocket program.

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