Science X Newsletter Week 26

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 26:

	Is the universe ringing like a crystal glass? Many know the phrase "the big bang theory." There's even a top television comedy series with that as its title. According to scientists, the universe began with the "big bang" and expanded to the size it is today. Yet, the gravity of all of this matter, stars, gas, galaxies, and mysterious dark matter, tries to pull the universe back together, slowing down the expansion.
	Smart insulin patch could replace painful injections for diabetes Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created the first "smart insulin patch" that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.
	World's first full-color, flexible, skin-like display developed Imagine a soldier who can change the color and pattern of his camouflage uniform from woodland green to desert tan at will. Or an office worker who could do the same with his necktie. Is someone at the wedding reception wearing the same dress as you? No problem - switch yours to a different color in the blink of an eye.
	Monster black hole wakes up after 26 years Over the past week, ESA's Integral satellite has been observing an exceptional outburst of high-energy light produced by a black hole that is devouring material from its stellar companion.
	Parkinson's disease may begin in the gut The chronic neurodegenerative Parkinson's disease affects an increasing number of people. However, scientists still do not know why some people develop Parkinson's disease. Now researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital have taken an important step towards a better understanding of the disease.
	Engineers break power and distance barriers for fiber optic communication Electrical engineers have broken key barriers that limit the distance information can travel in fiber optic cables and still be accurately deciphered by a receiver. Photonics researchers at the University of California, San Diego have increased the maximum power—and therefore distance—at which optical signals can be sent through optical fibers. This advance has the potential to increase the data transmission rates for the fiber optic cables that serve as the backbone of the internet, cable, wireless and landline networks. The research is published in the June 26 issue of the journal Science.
	Physicists find quantum coherence and quantum entanglement are two sides of the same coin (Phys.org)—Quantum coherence and quantum entanglement are two landmark features of quantum physics, and now physicists have demonstrated that the two phenomena are "operationally equivalent"—that is, equivalent for all practical purposes, though still conceptually distinct. This finding allows physicists to apply decades of research on entanglement to the more fundamental but less-well-researched concept of coherence, offering the possibility of advancing a wide range of quantum technologies.
	Researchers successfully transform liquid deuterium into a metal (Phys.org)—A team of researchers working at Sandia National Labs working with another team from the University of Rostock in Germany, has succeeded in squeezing liquid deuterium into becoming what appeared to be a metal. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their new technique which has brought researchers closer to the ultimate goal of creating solid metallic hydrogen.
	Synapses last as long as the memories they store, neuroscientist finds Our memories are as fleeting as the brain structures that store them, or so the theory goes. When the connections – called synapses – between neurons break, the memories they hold are thought to evaporate along with them.
	In social networks, group boundaries promote the spread of ideas, study finds Social networks affect every aspect of our lives, from the jobs we get and the technologies we adopt to the partners we choose and the healthiness of our lifestyles. But where do they come from?
	Fuel-free nanomotor is powered by ultrasound and magnetic fields (Phys.org)—Nanoscale motors, like their macroscale counterparts, can be built to run on a variety of chemical fuels, such as hydrogen peroxide and others. But unlike macroscale motors, some nanomotors can also run without fuel, instead being powered by either magnetic or acoustic fields. In a new paper, researchers for the first time have demonstrated a nanomotor that can run on both magnetic and acoustic fields, making it the first magneto-acoustic hybrid fuel-free nanomotor.
	NASA explains why June 30 will get extra second The day will officially be a bit longer than usual on Tuesday, June 30, 2015, because an extra second, or "leap" second, will be added.
	NASA simulation suggests black holes may make ideal dark matter labs A new NASA computer simulation shows that dark matter particles colliding in the extreme gravity of a black hole can produce strong, potentially observable gamma-ray light. Detecting this emission would provide astronomers with a new tool for understanding both black holes and the nature of dark matter, an elusive substance accounting for most of the mass of the universe that neither reflects, absorbs nor emits light.
	Expanding the DNA alphabet: 'Extra' DNA base found to be stable in mammals Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Babraham Institute have found that a naturally occurring modified DNA base appears to be stably incorporated in the DNA of many mammalian tissues, possibly representing an expansion of the functional DNA alphabet.
	Powering desalination with the sun When graduate student Natasha Wright began her PhD program in mechanical engineering, she had no idea how to remove salt from groundwater to make it more palatable, nor had she ever been to India, where this is an ongoing need.
	New manufacturing approach slices lithium-ion battery cost in half An advanced manufacturing approach for lithium-ion batteries, developed by researchers at MIT and at a spinoff company called 24M, promises to significantly slash the cost of the most widely used type of rechargeable batteries while also improving their performance and making them easier to recycle.
	Microscale 'transformer' robots are joining forces to break through blocked arteries Swarms of microscopic, magnetic, robotic beads could be scrubbing in next to the world's top vascular surgeons—all taking aim at blocked arteries. These microrobots, which look and move like corkscrew-shaped bacteria, are being developed by mechanical engineers at Drexel University as a part of a surgical toolkit being assembled by the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in South Korea.
	Blade supercar has bi-fuel engine, signifies 3D-print platform Divergent Microfactories made a name for itself this week with a twin announcement of its supercar prototype and the business platform underlying the car. It's all about 3D printing and the claims are impressive.
	Genetic analysis of 40,000-year-old jawbone reveals early modern humans interbred with Neandertals In 2002, archaeologists discovered the jawbone of a human who lived in Europe about 40,000 years ago. Geneticists have now analyzed ancient DNA from that jawbone and learned that it belonged to a modern human whose recent ancestors included Neanderthals.
	Iron: A biological element? Think of an object made of iron: An I-beam, a car frame, a nail. Now imagine that half of the iron in that object owes its existence to bacteria living two and a half billion years ago.

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