Dear Reader ,
Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for week 39:
Scientists find potentially habitable planet near Earth
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of planet hunters led by astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet (three times the mass of Earth) orbiting a nearby star at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone," where liquid water could exist on the planet's surface. If confirmed, this would be the most Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered and the first strong case for a potentially habitable one.
Solar cells thinner than wavelengths of light hold huge power potential
(PhysOrg.com) -- Ultra-thin solar cells can absorb sunlight more efficiently than the thicker, more expensive-to-make silicon cells used today, because light behaves differently at scales around a nanometer, say Stanford engineers. They calculate that by properly configuring the thicknesses of several thin layers of films, an organic polymer thin film could absorb as much as 10 times more energy from sunlight than was thought possible.
Scientists develop new way to decipher hidden messages in symbols
(PhysOrg.com) -- Almost all information, in a sense, can be represented by symbols. In order to extract this embedded information, the symbols and the rules governing their sequence formation need to be deciphered. There are many examples of information residing in symbols, although the most familiar is probably written language. In addition to the sequences of letters that make up words, and sequences of words that make up sentences, there are lexical and grammatical rules that govern how letters and words can be combined, respectively, so that not all sequences of letters and words are possible. In a recent study, a group of scientists from Italy has developed a generic method to extract information from any type of symbolic sequential data, even when a "dictionary" of symbol sequences is not known beforehand.
Scientists isolate, hold, photograph individual Rubidium 85 atom
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a major physics breakthrough, University of Otago scientists have developed a technique to consistently isolate and capture a fast-moving neutral atom - and have also seen and photographed this atom for the first time.
Physicists may have observed Hawking radiation for the first time
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1974, Stephen Hawking predicted that black holes emit thermal radiation due to quantum effects, which causes the black holes to lose mass and perhaps ultimately vanish. But despite numerous attempts to observe Hawking radiation, astronomers have so far detected no sign of it. Now, however, a team of scientists from Italy claims to have observed something that looks very much like Hawking radiation from an event hole horizon they created in the lab.
Scientists move objects across meter-scale distances using only light (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- For more than 40 years, scientists have been using the radiation pressure of light to move and manipulate small objects in space. But until now, the movements have always been restricted to very small scales, typically across distances of a few hundred micrometers, and mostly in liquids. In a new study, scientists have demonstrated a technique that achieves giant optical manipulation in air using a new kind of optical trap that can move 100-micrometer-sized objects across meter-scale distances with an accuracy of about 10 micrometers.
PC BIOS soon to be replaced by UEFI
(PhysOrg.com) -- The 25 year old PC BIOS will soon be replaced by UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface) that will enable PC's to boot up in a matter of seconds. In 2011 we will start seeing UEFI dominate new PC's, according to BBC News.
NASA team obtains the 'unobtainium' for next space observatory
Imagine building a car chassis without a blueprint or even a list of recommended construction materials. In a sense, that's precisely what a team of engineers at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., did when they designed a one-of-a-kind structure that is one of 9 key new technology systems of the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM). Just as a chassis supports the engine and other components in a car, the ISIM will hold four highly sensitive instruments, electronics, and other shared instrument systems flying on the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's next flagship observatory.
Crystal cantilever lifts objects 600 times its own weight (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- For a long time, scientists have been trying to transform the collective movements of tiny molecules into useful mechanical work. With this goal in mind, a team of researchers from Japan has developed a crystal cantilever that exhibits reversible bending upon alternate irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light. They've demonstrated that the crystal cantilever can lift metal balls that weigh up to 600 times more than the cantilever itself. In this process, the crystal's photogenerated molecular-scale shape change generates a very large amount of stress - more than 100 times larger than the stress produced by biological muscles - to induce the macroscale movement.
Single electron reader opens path for quantum computing
Researchers from University of New South Wales (Australia), University of Melbourne (Australia), and Aalto University (Finland) have succeeded in demonstrating a high-fidelity detection scheme for the magnetic state of a single electron, that is, the spin. The research results have just been published in Nature.
Scientists genetically engineer silkworms to produce artificial spider silk (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- A research and development effort by the University of Notre Dame, the University of Wyoming, and Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. has succeeded in producing transgenic silkworms capable of spinning artificial spider silks.
Time likely to end within 5 billion years, physicists calculate
(PhysOrg.com) -- As far as astrophysicists can tell, the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, and will likely continue to do so indefinitely. But now some physicists are saying that this theory, called eternal inflation, and its implication that time is endless pose a problem for scientists calculating the probability of any event occurring. In a recent paper, they calculate that time is likely to end within the next 5 billion years due to some type of catastrophe that no one alive at the time will witness.
The real 'Iron Man' exoskeleton does the work of two to three soldiers (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new version of what some refer to as the "Iron Man" suit was unveiled Monday by Raytheon at the company's research facility in Salt Lake City.
A step closer to Big Bang conditions? More study is needed to confirm the latest LHC findings
Since December, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been smashing particles together at record-setting energy levels. Physicists hope that those high-energy collisions could replicate the conditions seen immediately after the Big Bang, shedding light on how our universe came to be. Now, data from collisions that took place in July suggests that the LHC may have have taken a step toward that goal.
A future energy giant? India's thorium-based nuclear plans
As part of an ambitious three-stage plan to fulfil its nuclear vision and desire for energy security, India could find itself a leading global exporter of an alternative nuclear technology that is more efficient than today's uranium-plutonium fuel cycle.
Sodium plays key role in tissue regeneration
Sodium gets a bad rap for contributing to hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Now biologists at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences have discovered that sodium also plays a key role in initiating a regenerative response after severe injury. The Tufts scientists have found a way to regenerate injured spinal cord and muscle by using small molecule drugs to trigger an influx of sodium ions into injured cells.
ET machines sought by astronomer
If we ever do receive a message from outer space, we'll want to know what kind of aliens sent it. SETI researcher Seth Shostak says we shouldn't expect them to be anything like us - in fact, they might not be biological at all, but instead, extraterrestrial machines.
Fundamental algorithm gets first improvement in 10 years
The maximum-flow problem, or max flow, is one of the most basic problems in computer science: First solved during preparations for the Berlin airlift, it's a component of many logistical problems and a staple of introductory courses on algorithms. For decades it was a prominent research subject, with new algorithms that solved it more and more efficiently coming out once or twice a year. But as the problem became better understood, the pace of innovation slowed. Now, however, MIT researchers, together with colleagues at Yale and the University of Southern California, have demonstrated the first improvement of the max-flow algorithm in 10 years.
Researchers achieve major breakthrough in cell reprogramming
(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers has made so significant a leap forward in reprogramming human adult cells that HSCI co-director Doug Melton, who did not participate in the work, said the Institute will immediately begin using the new method to make patient and disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells, know as iPS cells.
New method for generating human stem cells is remarkably efficient
The ability to efficiently generate patient-specific stem cells from differentiated cells and then reliably direct them to form specialized cells (like neurons or muscle) has tremendous therapeutic potential for replacing diseased or damaged tissues. However, despite some successes, there have been significant limitations associated with existing methods used to generate human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
This email is a free service of PhysOrg.com
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.
http://www.physorg.com/profile/nwletter/
You are subscribed as jmabs1@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment