Monday, April 3, 2017

Science X Newsletter Week 13

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 13:

Cats found to like humans more than thought

(Phys.org)—A trio of researchers with Oregon State University and Monmouth University has conducted experiments with cats, and has found that they appear to like humans more than expected. In their paper published in the journal Behavioral Processes, Kristyn Vitale Shreve, Lindsay Mehrkam and Monique Udell describe their experiments and their plans for conducting additional experiments to better understand cat motivations.

Scientists discover mechanism that causes cancer cells to self-destruct

Many cancer patients struggle with the adverse effects of chemotherapy, still the most prescribed cancer treatment. For patients with pancreatic cancer and other aggressive cancers, the forecast is more grim: there is no known effective therapy.

New research into light particles challenges understanding of quantum theory

Scientists have discovered a new mechanism involved in the creation of paired light particles, which could have significant impact on the study of quantum physics.

Brain study shows how slow breathing induces tranquility

Stanford scientists have identified a small group of neurons that communicates goings-on in the brain's respiratory control center to the structure responsible for generating arousal throughout the brain.

Explaining the accelerating expansion of the universe without dark energy

Enigmatic 'dark energy', thought to make up 68% of the universe, may not exist at all, according to a Hungarian-American team. The researchers believe that standard models of the universe fail to take account of its changing structure, but that once this is done the need for dark energy disappears. The team publish their results in a paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

'Unparalleled' number of dinosaur tracks found in Australia

An "unprecedented" 21 different types of dinosaur tracks have been found on a stretch of Australia's remote coastline, scientists said Monday, dubbing it the nation's Jurassic Park.

A badger can bury a cow by itself: Study observes previously unknown caching behavior

While studying scavenger behavior in Utah's Great Basin Desert, University of Utah biologists observed an American badger do something that no other scientists had documented before: bury an entire calf carcass by itself.

Eating peanuts may lead to supple arteries and healthy hearts

Eating peanuts with a meal may help protect against cardiovascular diseases which can lead to heart attacks and stroke, according to an international team of researchers.

Researchers create artificial materials atom-by-atom

Researchers at Aalto University have manufactured artificial materials with engineered electronic properties. By moving individual atoms under their microscope, the scientists were able to create atomic lattices with a predetermined electrical response. The possibility to precisely arrange the atoms on a sample bring 'designer quantum materials' one step closer to reality. By arranging atoms in a lattice, it becomes possible to engineer the electronic properties of the material through the atomic structure.

New multiple sclerosis drug, backed by 40 years of research, could halt disease

A newly approved drug that is the first to reflect the current scientific understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS) – is holding new hope for the hundreds of thousands Americans living with the disease.

Quantum computers may have higher 'speed limits' than thought

How fast will a quantum computer be able to calculate? While fully functional versions of these long-sought technological marvels have yet to be built, one theorist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has shown that, if they can be realized, there may be fewer limits to their speed than previously put forth.

Expect more deadly heat from climate change, study says

Deaths related to extreme heat are expected to keep rising, even if most nations can contain global warming at agreed-upon levels, a new study reports.

Physics can predict wealth inequality

The 2016 election year highlighted the growing problem of wealth inequality and finding ways to help the people who are falling behind. This human urge of compassion isn't new, but the big question that remains to be addressed is why inequality is so difficult to erase.

Ancient palace complex discovered in Mexican Valley of Oaxaca

(Phys.org)—A pair of archaeologists with the American Museum of Natural History has unearthed a palatial compound in El Palenque's plaza in the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Elsa Redmond and Charles Spencer describe their work, what they have uncovered and how their findings fit with the emergence of organized states in Mesoamerica.

The beginning of the end of order: Experiments prove Mermin-Wagner fluctuations

Classical physics states that a crystal consists of perfectly ordered particles from a continuous symmetrical atomic structure. The Mermin-Wagner theorem from 1966 broke with this view: it states that in one-dimensional and two-dimensional atomic structures (for example in an atomic chain or membrane) there cannot be perfect ordering of particles over long ranges.

New insight into superfluids reveals a storm at the surface

The discovery of a 'storm' layer created when superfluid helium flows across a rough surface has turned a century of understanding about one of the most important discoveries in quantum physics on its head.

Physicists settle controversy over identical particle entanglement

(Phys.org)—In a new study, physicists have shown a way to establish real entanglement between two identical particles—a topic that has been disputed until now. The results provide a better understanding of the fundamental nature of entanglement between identical particles and have potential applications in quantum information processing.

Stars born in winds from supermassive black holes

Observations using ESO's Very Large Telescope have revealed stars forming within powerful outflows of material blasted out from supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies. These are the first confirmed observations of stars forming in this kind of extreme environment. The discovery has many consequences for understanding galaxy properties and evolution. The results are published in the journal Nature.

MIT professor creates reality TV series of his daily life

(Phys.org)—"What if the Kardashians were physicists?" asks César Hidalgo, an associate professor at MIT and director of the Collective Learning group at the MIT Media Lab.

Mental shortcuts, not emotion, may guide irrational decisions

If you participate in a study in my lab, the Huettel Lab at Duke, you may be asked to play an economic game.


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