Science X Newsletter Week 34

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 34:

	Trio create artificial magnetic wormhole (Phys.org)—A trio of physicists with the Autonomous University of Barcelona has built what they claim is the first artificial magnetic wormhole. In their paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, Jordi Prat-Camps, Carles Navau and Alvaro Sanchez describe how they built the device and why they believe it might prove useful in building a more user-friendly MRI machine.
	Healthy mood spreads through social contact, depression doesn't New research has revealed that having mentally healthy friends can help someone recover from depression or even remain mentally healthy in the first place.
	Paleobotanists identify what could be the mythical 'first flower' Indiana University paleobotanist David Dilcher and colleagues in Europe have identified a 125 million- to 130 million-year-old freshwater plant as one of earliest flowering plants on Earth.
	New temperature record: Hydrogen sulfide becomes superconductive under high pressure at minus 70 degrees Celsius Up until now, no material has been able to conduct current with no resistance at such high temperatures: Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz observed that hydrogen sulfide becomes superconductive at minus 70 degree Celsius—when the substance is placed under a pressure of 1.5 million bar. This corresponds to half of the pressure of the earth's core. With their high pressure experiments the researchers in Mainz have thus not only set a new record for superconductivity—their findings have also highlighted a potential new way to transport current at room temperature with no loss.
	Scientists explore the origins of energy in chemical reactions using experimental quantum chemistry (Phys.org)—One thing that all chemical reactions have in common—whether they are the reactions that take place inside a battery, the metabolic reactions inside a living organism, or the combustion reactions that cause an explosion—is that they all involve some kind of change in energy. On a large scale, the changes in energy of a reaction can usually be measured in various ways for practical purposes, but attempting to understand the fundamental origins of this energy at smaller and smaller scales becomes more complicated, especially as chemistry enters the quantum realm.
	Scientists discover atomic-resolution details of brain signaling Scientists have revealed never-before-seen details of how our brain sends rapid-fire messages between its cells. They mapped the 3-D atomic structure of a two-part protein complex that controls the release of signaling chemicals, called neurotransmitters, from brain cells. Understanding how cells release those signals in less than one-thousandth of a second could help launch a new wave of research on drugs for treating brain disorders.
	The pronoun 'I' is becoming obsolete Don't look now, but the pronoun "I" is becoming obsolete.
	New theory—If we want to detect dark matter we might need a different approach Physicists suggest a new way to look for dark matter: They believe that dark matter particles annihilate into so-called dark radiation when they collide. If true, then we should be able to detect the signals from this radiation.
	Scientists discover link between childhood IQ and bipolar disorder New research published today in the British Journal of Psychiatry suggests that serious disorders of mood such as bipolar disorder may be the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.
	Scientists find evidence of prehistoric massacre in Europe Scientists say they have found rare evidence of a prehistoric massacre in Europe after discovering a 7,000-year-old mass grave with skeletal remains from some of the continent's first farmers bearing terrible wounds.
	Scientists grow high-quality graphene from tea tree extract (Phys.org)—Graphene has been grown from materials as diverse as plastic, cockroaches, Girl Scout cookies, and dog feces, and can theoretically be grown from any carbon source. However, scientists are still looking for a graphene precursor and growth method that is sustainable, scalable, and economically feasible, since these are all requirements for realizing widespread commercialization of graphene-based devices.
	New technology may illuminate mystery moon caves It's widely believed that the moon features networks of caves created when violent lava flows tore under the surface from ancient volcanoes. Some craters may actually be "skylights" where cave ceilings have crumbled.
	SpaceLiner: Europe-Australia, 90 minutes, Europe-US, one hour In aviation circles, the talk of the future involves phrases like "space planes" and "hypersonic atmospheric flight vehicles." A group presently in the spotlight is from Germany; they are carrying a roadmap for low-cost space access which involves calling upon the air passenger market for fast-travel flights.
	Chestnut leaves yield extract that disarms deadly staph bacteria Leaves of the European chestnut tree contain ingredients with the power to disarm dangerous staph bacteria without boosting its drug resistance, scientists have found.
	It's a titi! New monkey species found in Peru For nearly a century the carcass of a small, reddish-brown monkey from South America gathered dust in a windowless backroom of the American Natural History Museum in New York City.
	New technology can expand LED lighting, cutting energy use and greenhouse gas emissions Highly efficient, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could slash the world's electricity consumption. They are already sold in stores, but more widespread adoption of the technology has been hindered by high costs due to limited availability of raw materials and difficulties in achieving acceptable light quality. But researchers will report today that they have overcome these obstacles and have developed a less expensive, more sustainable white LED.
	Snaring a dark energy 'chameleon': Is dark energy hiding from us? Matter may be screening it from our view If dark energy is hiding in our midst in the form of hypothetical particles called "chameleons," Holger Müller and his team at the University of California, Berkeley, plan to flush them out.
	Scientists fabricate hexagonal silicon, potentially leading to light-emitting semiconductors (Phys.org)—Virtually all semiconductors used in today's electronic devices are made of silicon having a cubic crystal structure, as silicon naturally crystallizes in the cubic form. In a new study, researchers have fabricated silicon in a hexagonal crystal structure, which is expected to exhibit novel optical, electrical, superconducting, and mechanical properties compared with cubic silicon.
	Tiny gears increase light-to-work conversion efficiency by five orders of magnitude (w/ video) (Phys.org)—Scientists have demonstrated that pinwheel-shaped microgears floating on a liquid surface can rotate at speeds of up to 300 r.p.m. when illuminated by an ordinary LED. This light-driven motion, which arises because the light creates a tiny temperature difference and, subsequently, a surface tension difference in the surrounding fluid, is about five orders of magnitude more efficient than other mechanisms that convert light into work. As the effect is not size-dependent, the scientists expect that the system could be scaled to both the macroscale and the nanoscale.
	A brain-computer interface for controlling an exoskeleton Scientists working at Korea University, Korea, and TU Berlin, Germany have developed a brain-computer control interface for a lower limb exoskeleton by decoding specific signals from within the user's brain.

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