Science X Newsletter Week 04

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 04:

	Metallic hydrogen, once theory, becomes reality Nearly a century after it was theorized, Harvard scientists have succeeded in creating the rarest - and potentially one of the most valuable - materials on the planet.
	Physicists unveil new form of matter—time crystals Normal crystals, likes diamond, are an atomic lattice that repeats in space, but physicists recently suggested making materials that repeat in time. Last year, UC Berkeley's Norman Yao sketched out the phases surrounding a time crystal and what to measure in order to confirm that this new material is actually a stable phase of matter. This stimulated two teams to build a time crystal, the first examples of a non-equilibrium form of matter.
	Nicotine normalizes brain activity deficits that are key to schizophrenia A steady stream of nicotine normalizes genetically-induced impairments in brain activity associated with schizophrenia, according to new research involving the University of Colorado Boulder. The finding sheds light on what causes the disease and why those who have it tend to smoke heavily.
	Fossils of giant pterosaurs found in Transylvania (Phys.org)—A pair of researchers in the U.K. has identified fossils found in the Transylvania area in Romania as those of a pterosaur they have named Hatzegopteryx—a giant, muscle-bound flying reptile that could eat prey as large as a small horse. In their paper published in the journal Peer, Mark Witton with Portsmouth University and Darren Naish, with the University of Southampton describe the fossils and what they believe the creature looked like when it was alive.
	Scientists find brain hormone that triggers fat burning Biologists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a brain hormone that appears to trigger fat burning in the gut. Their findings in animal models could have implications for future pharmaceutical development.
	Physicists patent detonation technique to mass-produce graphene Forget chemicals, catalysts and expensive machinery—a Kansas State University team of physicists has discovered a way to mass-produce graphene with three ingredients: hydrocarbon gas, oxygen and a spark plug.
	Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with siblings Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with their brothers or sisters, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Children also appear to get on even better with their animal companions than with siblings.
	Archaeologists uncover new clues to Maya collapse Using the largest set of radiocarbon dates ever obtained from a single Maya site, archaeologists have developed a high-precision chronology that sheds new light on patterns leading up to the two major collapses of the ancient civilization.
	Ancient, scary and alien-looking specimen forms a rarity in the insect world—a new order Researchers at Oregon State University have discovered a 100-million-year-old insect preserved in amber with a triangular head, almost-alien and "E.T.-like" appearance and features so unusual that it has been placed in its own scientific "order" - an incredibly rare event.
	For this metal, electricity flows, but not the heat There's a known rule-breaker among materials, and a new discovery by an international team of scientists adds more evidence to back up the metal's nonconformist reputation. According to a new study led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and at the University of California, Berkeley, electrons in vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity without conducting heat.
	Scientists find advanced geometry no secret to prehistoric architects in US Southwest Imagine you are about to plan and construct a building that involves several complicated geometrical shapes, but you aren't allowed to write down any numbers or notes as you do it. For most of us, this would be impossible.
	Corn turning French hamsters into deranged cannibals: research A diet of corn is turning wild hamsters in northeastern France into deranged cannibals that devour their offspring, alarmed researchers have reported.
	Engineers develop 'smart glasses' that automatically focus on what wearer sees The days of wearing bifocals or constantly swapping out reading glasses might soon come to an end.
	Your Android device's Pattern Lock can be cracked within five attempts The popular Pattern Lock system used to secure millions of Android phones can be cracked within just five attempts – and more complicated patterns are the easiest to crack, security experts reveal.
	Scientists create first stable semisynthetic organism Life's genetic code has only ever contained four natural bases. These bases pair up to form two "base pairs"—the rungs of the DNA ladder—and they have simply been rearranged to create bacteria and butterflies, penguins and people. Four bases make up all life as we know it.
	This is LSD attached to a brain cell serotonin receptor (Update) A tiny tab of acid on the tongue. A daylong trip through hallucinations and assorted other psychedelic experiences For the first time, researchers at the UNC School of Medicine have discovered precisely what the drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) looks like in its active state when attached to a human serotonin receptor of a brain cell, and their first-ever crystal structure revealed a major clue for why the psychoactive effects of LSD last so long.
	Astronomers measure universe expansion, get hints of 'new physics' (Update) Astronomers have just made a new measurement of the Hubble Constant, the rate at which the universe is expanding, and it doesn't quite line up with a different estimate of the same number. That discrepancy could hint at "new physics" beyond the standard model of cosmology, according to the team, which includes physicists from the University of California, Davis, that made the observation.
	80-million-year-old dinosaur collagen confirmed Utilizing the most rigorous testing methods to date, researchers from North Carolina State University have isolated additional collagen peptides from an 80-million-year-old Brachylophosaurus. The work lends further support to the idea that organic molecules can persist in specimens tens of millions of years longer than originally believed and has implications for our ability to study the fossil record on the molecular level.
	Physicists show that real-time error correction in quantum communications is possible Nature Physics today, Monday, 23 January 2017, published online the research by a team led by physicists from the School of Physics at Wits University. In their paper titled: Characterising quantum channels with non-separable states of classical light the researchers demonstrate the startling result that sometimes Nature cannot tell the difference between particular types of laser beams and quantum entangled photons.
	Psychological 'vaccine' could help immunize public against 'fake news' on climate change In medicine, vaccinating against a virus involves exposing a body to a weakened version of the threat, enough to build a tolerance.

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