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Here is your customized PHYSorg.com Newsletter for week 40:
New theories emerge to disprove OPERA faster-than-light neutrinos claim
(PhysOrg.com) -- It's been just two weeks since the Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus (OPERA) team released its announcement claiming that they have been measuring muon neutrinos moving faster than the speed of light, causing an uproar in the physics community. Since that time, many papers (perhaps as many as 30 to the preprint server arXiv alone) have been published seeking ways to discredit the findings. Thus far though, only two seem credible.
Astronomers find elusive planets in decade-old Hubble data
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a painstaking re-analysis of Hubble Space Telescope images from 1998, astronomers have found visual evidence for two extrasolar planets that went undetected back then.
First comet found with ocean-like water: New clues to creation of Earth's oceans
(PhysOrg.com) -- New evidence supports the theory that comets delivered a significant portion of Earth's oceans, which scientists believe formed about 8 million years after the planet itself.
Boston Dynamics unwraps military robot AlphaDog (w/ video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Boston Dynamics has taken the wraps off its newest prototype combat escort, AlphaDog, which was developed with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. Waltham, Massachusetts-based Boston Dynamics last week revealed the video that shows AlphaDog's capabilities for troop support. Those who have seen the video are calling the quadruped robot such names as Mule Poodle, Monster Mutt and BigDog-on-Steroids, but AlphaDog is its name. The robot is described further as the prototype for the formally named LS3. The latter stands for Legged Squad Support System.
How the brain makes memories: Rhythmically!
The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses -- the connections between neurons -- in response to stimuli.
An oracle for object-oriented programmers
In the last 40 years, the major innovation in software engineering has been the development of what are called object-oriented programming languages. “Objects” are, effectively, repositories for the computational details of a program, which let the programmer concentrate on the big picture. A complex computer program, with millions of lines of code, can be distilled into some fairly intuitive interactions between objects.
Challenge theoretical models, Crab pulsar beams most energetic gamma rays ever detected from a pulsar
A thousand years ago, a brilliant beacon of light blazed in the sky, shining brightly enough to be seen even in daytime for almost a month. Native American and Chinese observers recorded the eye-catching event. We now know that they witnessed an exploding star, which left behind a gaseous remnant known as the Crab Nebula.
Physicists localize 3-D matter waves for first time (w/ video)
University of Illinois physicists have experimentally demonstrated for the first time how three-dimensional conduction is affected by the defects that plague materials. Understanding these effects is important for many electronics applications.
Study shows humans still evolving
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides evidence of human evolution and rapid genetic changes suggesting that, contrary to modern claims, technological and cultural advancements have not halted the evolutionary process in humans.
Makani's flying windmills win Breakthrough award
(PhysOrg.com) -- Makani Power, of Alameda, California, creators of the high-altitude wind turbine, is one of this year’s winners of the Popular Mechanics seventh annual Breakthrough Awards. Naming Makani team members Corwin Hardham, Kenny Jensen, and Damon Vander Lind, the award honors these creators of a “sleek, 20-kilowatt Wing 7 prototype” that is “equal parts airplane, helicopter and robot.”
Arctic sea ice continues decline, hits 2nd-lowest level
(PhysOrg.com) -- Last month the extent of sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean declined to the second-lowest extent on record. Satellite data from NASA and the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado in Boulder showed that the summertime sea ice cover narrowly avoided a new record low.
High-purity hydrogen generated from a single device
(PhysOrg.com) -- There are many ways to generate hydrogen, such as water electrolysis and steam reforming of gas, but the hydrogen produced by these methods tends to be combined with other byproduct and residual gases. For this reason, a second step to purify the hydrogen is usually required after it is produced. Now in a new study, scientists have developed a method for generating hydrogen with a purity of more than 99% within a single membrane, eliminating the need for a separate purification step.
Sulfur in hollow nanofibers overcomes challenges of lithium-ion battery design
(PhysOrg.com) -- Stanford researchers have used nanotechnology to invent a better lithium ion battery cathode.
Last universal common ancestor more complex than previously thought
Scientists call it LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, but they don't know much about this great-grandparent of all living things. Many believe LUCA was little more than a crude assemblage of molecular parts, a chemical soup out of which evolution gradually constructed more complex forms. Some scientists still debate whether it was even a cell.
'Snakes' seen in human cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- Curious snake-like forms have been spotted in cells from many different species across the evolutionary tree. Now Oxford scientists have shown they exist in human cells as well.
Venus has an ozone layer too: probe finds
(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has discovered an ozone layer high in the atmosphere of Venus. Comparing its properties with those of the equivalent layers on Earth and Mars will help astronomers refine their searches for life on other planets.
Archaeologist argues world's oldest temples were not temples at all
Ancient structures uncovered in Turkey and thought to be the world's oldest temples may not have been strictly religious buildings after all, according to an article in the October issue of Current Anthropology. Archaeologist Ted Banning of the University of Toronto argues that the buildings found at Göbekli Tepe may have been houses for people, not the gods.
Graphene shows unusual thermoelectric response to light
Graphene, an exotic form of carbon consisting of sheets a single atom thick, exhibits a novel reaction to light, MIT researchers have found: Sparked by light’s energy, the material can produce electric current in unusual ways. The finding could lead to improvements in photodetectors and night-vision systems, and possibly to a new approach to generating electricity from sunlight.
Supercritical water could lead to biomass-to-fuel conversion on a large scale
(PhysOrg.com) -- Converting agricultural waste into vehicle fuel has so far been an enticing yet elusive endeavor, at least on the industrial scale. But recently the Georgia-based company Renmatix has taken steps toward this goal by opening a research and development center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The company will attempt to produce an efficient and cost-effective method for extracting the sugars from cellulosic biomass, which can consist of wood chips, switchgrass, and other non-edible parts of crops. The sugars can then be converted into motor fuels such as ethanol or feedstock chemicals.
Why climate models underestimate Arctic sea ice retreat?
In recent decades, Arctic sea ice has suffered a dramatic decline that exceeds climate model predictions. The unexpected rate of ice shrinkage has now been explained by researchers at CNRS, Université Joseph Fourier and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They argue that climate models underestimate the rate of ice thinning, which is actually about four times faster than calculations. This model bias is due to the poor representation of the sea ice southward drift out of the Arctic basin through the Fram Strait. When this mechanism was taken into account to correct the discrepancy between simulations and observations, results from the new model suggested that there will be no Arctic sea ice in summer by the end of the century. This work was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research on 29 September 2011.
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