Monday, March 25, 2013

Phys.Org Newsletter Week 12

Dear Reader ,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 12:

Planck's most detailed map ever reveals an almost perfect Universe
(Phys.org) �Acquired by ESA's Planck space telescope, the most detailed map ever created of the cosmic microwave background � the relic radiation from the Big Bang � was released today revealing the existence of features that challenge the foundations of our current understanding of the Universe.

Electrons are not enough: Cuprate superconductors defy convention
(Phys.org) �To engineers, it's a tale as old as time: Electrical current is carried through materials by flowing electrons. But physicists at the University of Illinois and the University of Pennsylvania found that for copper-containing superconductors, known as cuprates, electrons are not enough to carry the current.

The Higgs boson looks just like Marc Sher said it would. Now what?
It turns out that the Higgs boson looks exactly like Marc Sher always said it would, and now he's a little bummed.

Depression stems from miscommunication between brain cells, study shows
A new study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine suggests that depression results from a disturbance in the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. The study indicates a major shift in our understanding of how depression is caused and how it should be treated. Instead of focusing on the levels of hormone-like chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, the scientists found that the transmission of excitatory signals between cells becomes abnormal in depression. The research, by senior author Scott M. Thompson, Ph.D., Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Physiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, was published online in the March 17 issue of Nature Neuroscience.

A revolutionary 'nuclear battery' a step closer
(Phys.org) �Experts in nuclear physics at the University of Surrey have helped develop research towards a 'nuclear battery', which could revolutionize the concept of portable power by packing in up to a million times more energy compared to a conventional battery.

Observations of early universe hint at a giant excess of anti-neutrinos
(Phys.org) �Scientists have a great deal of evidence to support the fact that the universe contains much more baryonic matter than baryonic anti-matter, a phenomenon known as baryon asymmetry. Baryons, which are defined as being made of three quarks, include protons and neutrons and make up the bulk of the atomic matter that we're familiar with in everyday life. But much less is known about the possibility of a lepton asymmetry, in which there are unequal amounts of leptons and anti-leptons in the universe. The best known examples of leptons are electrons and neutrinos. Neutrinos in particular are much harder to detect than baryons because they're much lighter, and so much less energetic.

Evidence of magnetic superatoms could open doors to new spin electronics
(Phys.org) �Scientists have found evidence for the existence of magnetic superatoms�small, compact clusters of atoms whose electrons occupy a set of orbitals around the entire cluster rather than around the individual atoms. If scientists can synthesize superatoms with magnetic properties, then one day they may use them to create new spin-dependent electronics.

Materials scientists make solar energy chip 100 times more efficient
(Phys.org) �Scientists working at the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES) have improved an innovative solar-energy device to be about 100 times more efficient than its previous design in converting the sun's light and heat into electricity.

Fantastic flash memory combines graphene and molybdenite
Swiss scientists have combined two materials with advantageous electronic properties�graphene and molybdenite�into a flash memory prototype that is very promising in terms of performance, size, flexibility and energy consumption.

Research claims: Voyager 1 left solar system, sudden changes in cosmic rays indicate
Thirty-five years after its launch, Voyager 1 appears to have travelled beyond the influence of the Sun and exited the heliosphere, according to a new study appearing online today.

German researchers publish full Neanderthal genome
(Phys.org) �The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Leipzig, Germany, hascompleted the genome sequence of a Neandertal and makes the entire sequence available to the scientific community today.

Tenfold increase in hurricane frequency this century, research predicts
By examining the frequency of extreme storm surges in the past, previous research has shown that there was an increasing tendency for storm hurricane surges when the climate was warmer. But how much worse will it get as temperatures rise in the future? How many extreme storm surges like that from Hurricane Katrina, which hit the U.S. coast in 2005, will there be as a result of global warming? New research from the Niels Bohr Institute show that there will be a tenfold increase in frequency if the climate becomes two degrees Celcius warmer.

Long-term evolution is 'surprisingly predictable,' experiment shows
(Phys.org) �A protein-folding simulation shows that the debated theory of long-term evolution is not only possible, but that the outcomes are predictable. The Stanford experiment provides a framework for testing evolutionary outcomes in living organisms.

Laser-like photons signal major step towards quantum 'Internet'
The realisation of quantum networks is one of the major challenges of modern physics. Now, new research shows how high-quality photons can be generated from 'solid-state' chips, bringing us closer to the quantum 'internet'.

Black hole-star pair orbiting at dizzying speed (w/ video)
(Phys.org) �ESA's XMM-Newton space telescope has helped to identify a star and a black hole that orbit each other at the dizzying rate of once every 2.4 hours, smashing the previous record by nearly an hour.

Cooled integrated circuit amplifies with lowest noise so far
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have demonstrated an integrated amplifier with the lowest noise performance so far. The amplifier offers new possibilities for detecting the faintest electromagnetic radiation, for example from distant galaxies.

Researchers build fully mechanical phonon laser
(Phys.org) �Researchers working at Japan's NTT Basic Research Laboratories have successfully built an all mechanical phonon laser. In their paper published in Physical Review Letters, the team describes how they built a phonon laser without using any optical parts by basing it on a traditional optical laser design.

Scientists claim new glasses-free 3D for cellphone (w/ video)
Fancy watching a movie on your mobile phone, where figures leap out from the screen in 3D, rather as Princess Leia did in that scene from "Star Wars"? That's the claim made by US researchers, who on Wednesday reported they had made a display which gives a three-dimensional image that can be viewed without special glasses and is intended for cellphones, tablets and watches.

Another link between CO2 and mass extinctions of species
(Phys.org) �It's has been know that massive increases in emission of CO2 from volcanoes, associated with the opening of the Atlantic Ocean in the end-Triassic Period, set off a shift in state of the climate which caused global mass extinction of species, eliminating about 34% of genera. The extinction created ecological niches which allowed the rise of dinosaurs during the Triassic, about 250-200 million years ago.

Scientist develops a multi-purpose wonder material to tackle environmental challenges
A new wonder material that can generate hydrogen, produce clean water and even create energy.


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