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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 04:
Star Trek's 'tractor' beam created in miniature by researchers
(Phys.org)�A team of scientists from Scotland and the Czech Republic has created a real-life "tractor" beam, as featured in the Star Trek movies, which for the first time allows a beam of light to attract objects.
Revolutionary theory of dark matter
The universe abounds with dark matter. Nobody knows what it consists of. University of Oslo physicists have now launched a very hard mathematical explanation that could solve the mystery once and for all.
Graphene-based transistor seen as candidate for post-CMOS technology
(Phys.org)�A new graphene-based transistor in which electrons travel both over a barrier and under it (by tunneling) has exhibited one of the highest performances of graphene-based transistors to date. The combination of the two types of transport enables the transistor to achieve a large difference between its on and off states, giving it a high on/off ratio, which has so far been difficult to achieve in graphene-based transistors. With this advantage, in addition to its ability to operate on transparent and flexible substrates, the new transistor could play a role in post-CMOS devices that are expected to be able to compute at much faster speeds than today's devices.
Web inventor says governments stifling net freedom (Update)
The inventor of the World Wide Web warned Friday that government control is limiting the possibilities of the Internet, as dozens of countries and businesses signed a cybersecurity deal at the Davos forum.
Faking waves: How the NRA and pro-gun Americans abuse Australian crime�stats
The Sandy Hook massacre and President Obama's response to it has refocused attention on impact of regulation on American gun crime. Crime statistics before and after the implementation of gun laws provide a quantifiable measure of their impact. As a consequence, Australia's gun laws and their impact have become part of the American gun debate.
8th century gamma ray burst irradiated the Earth, study finds
(Phys.org)�A nearby short duration gamma-ray burst may be the cause of an intense blast of high-energy radiation that hit the Earth in the 8th century, according to new research led by astronomers Valeri Hambaryan and Ralph Neuh?user. The two scientists, based at the Astrophysics Institute of the University of Jena in Germany, publish their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Nanosilicon rapidly splits water without light, heat, or electricity
(Phys.org)�Although scientists know that when silicon mixes with water, hydrogen is produced through oxidation, no one expected how quickly silicon nanoparticles might perform this task. As a new study has revealed, 10-nm silicon nanoparticles can generate hydrogen 150 times faster than 100-nm silicon nanoparticles, and 1,000 times faster than bulk silicon. The discovery could pave the way toward rapid "just add water" hydrogen generation technologies for portable devices without the need for light, heat, or electricity.
Expert warning: Resistance to antibiotics to be apocalyptic
(Medical Xpress)�The chief medical officer for Britain's Department of Health has issued a warning that resistance to bacteria is a more urgent threat to humanity than global warming, with bacteria becoming resistant to current antibiotics at an alarming rate, and there are almost no new antibiotics in the pipeline.
You don't exist in an infinite number of places, say scientists
(Phys.org)�If you've read about how modern cosmology may imply that, in an infinite universe, the existence of planets and the life forms that live on them must be repeated an infinite number of times, you may have been just a little bit skeptical. So are a couple scientists from Spain, who have posted a paper at arXiv.org criticizing the concept of the infinite repetition of histories in space, an idea closely related to the concepts of "alternate histories," "parallel universes," and the "many worlds interpretation," among others.
Peugeot unveils petrol hybrid using compressed air
French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen unveiled Tuesday a petrol hybrid engine that stores energy using compressed air which it hopes will be a game-changing technology to improve energy efficiency.
Physicists confirm surprisingly small proton radius
International team of physicists confirms surprisingly small proton radius with laser spectroscopy of exotic hydrogen. The initial results puzzled the world three years ago: the size of the proton (to be precise, its charge radius), measured in exotic hydrogen, in which the electron orbiting the nucleus is replaced by a negatively charged muon, yielded a value significantly smaller than the one from previous investigations of regular hydrogen or electron-proton-scattering. A new measurement by the same team confirms the value of the electric charge radius and makes it possible for the first time to determine the magnetic radius of the proton via laser spectroscopy of muonic hydrogen.
Just add water: How scientists are using silicon to produce hydrogen on demand
(Phys.org)�Super-small particles of silicon react with water to produce hydrogen almost instantaneously, according to University at Buffalo researchers.
Ancient DNA reveals humans living 40,000 years ago in Beijing area related to present-day Asians, Native Americans
An international team of researchers including Svante P��bo and Qiaomei Fu of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial DNA that had been extracted from the leg of an early modern human from Tianyuan Cave near Beijing, China. Analyses of this individual's DNA showed that the Tianyuan human shared a common origin with the ancestors of many present-day Asians and Native Americans. In addition, the researchers found that the proportion of Neanderthal and Denisovan-DNA in this early modern human is not higher than in people living in this region nowadays.
Researchers make DNA storage a reality
Researchers at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have created a way to store data in the form of DNA � a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method, published today in the journal Nature, makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of high-definition video in about a cup of DNA.
IBM: Our new gel can kill superbugs
Researchers from computer firm IBM say they have invented a new non-toxic gel that can kill deadly drug-resistant bacteria by cutting through the sludge that shelters them and attacking the germ's cell membrane.
Chameleon pulsar baffles astronomers
A pulsar that is able, without warning, to dramatically change the way in which it shines has been identified by an international team of astronomers.
Exotic new chemical compound could be useful in batteries, semiconductors, electronic memory devices
Northwestern University graduate student Jonathan Barnes had a hunch for creating an exotic new chemical compound, and his idea that the force of love is stronger than hate proved correct. He and his colleagues are the first to permanently interlock two identical tetracationic rings that normally are repelled by each other. Many experts had said it couldn't be done.
A hidden genetic code: Researchers identify key differences in seemingly synonymous parts of the structure
Harvard scientists say they've solved a mystery that's nearly as old as science's understanding of the genetic code.
US company aims to 'harvest' asteroids
A US company said Tuesday it plans to send a fleet of spacecraft into the solar system to mine asteroids for metals and other materials in the hopes of furthering exploration of the final frontier.
Deep ice cores show past Greenland warm period may be 'road map' for continued warming of planet
A new study by an international team of scientists analyzing ice cores from the Greenland ice sheet going back in time more than 100,000 years indicates the last interglacial period may be a good analog for where the planet is headed in terms of increasing greenhouse gases and rising temperatures.
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