Science X Newsletter Week 08

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Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for week 08:

	Scientists discover new subatomic particle Physicists have discovered a new elementary particle—the latest member to be added to the exotic species known as tetraquarks.
	NASA releases strange 'music' heard by 1969 astronauts NASA has made public a recording of strange "music" that astronauts reported hearing in 1969 while on the far side of the Moon, out of radio contact with the Earth.
	Proven one-step process to convert CO2 and water directly into liquid hydrocarbon fuel A team of University of Texas at Arlington chemists and engineers have proven that concentrated light, heat and high pressures can drive the one-step conversion of carbon dioxide and water directly into useable liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
	Evidence of early medieval Muslim graves found in France Archaeological and genetic analysis may indicate that three skeletons buried in medieval graves in France may have been Muslim, according to a study published February 24, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Yves Gleize from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) and University of Bordeaux, France, Fanny Mendisco from University of Bordeaux, France, and colleagues.
	Engineers achieve Wi-Fi at 10,000 times lower power The upside of Wi-Fi is that it's everywhere - invisibly connecting laptops to printers, allowing smartphones to make calls or stream movies without cell service, and letting online gamers battle it out.
	Black holes banish matter into cosmic voids We live in a universe dominated by unseen matter, and on the largest scales, galaxies and everything they contain are concentrated into filaments that stretch around the edge of enormous voids. Thought to be almost empty until now, a group of astronomers based in Austria, Germany and the United States now believe these dark holes could contain as much as 20% of the mass of the cosmos and that galaxies make up only 1/500th of the volume of the universe. The team, led by Dr Markus Haider of the Institute of Astro- and Particle Physics at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, publish their results in a new paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
	Graphene slides smoothly across gold Graphene, a modified form of carbon, offers versatile potential for use in coating machine components and in the field of electronic switches. An international team of researchers led by physicists at the University of Basel have been studying the lubricity of this material on the nanometer scale. Since it produces almost no friction at all, it could drastically reduce energy loss in machines when used as a coating, as the researchers report in the journal Science.
	California gas well blowout caused nation's largest methane release, study finds The Aliso Canyon natural gas well blowout released more than 100,000 tons of the powerful greenhouse gas methane before the well was finally plugged Feb. 11, according to the first study of the event, to be published Feb. 26 in the journal Science. The results confirm that it was the largest methane leak in U.S. history.
	Search narrows for Planet Nine US astronomers announced last month they may have found a ninth planet beyond Neptune, but conceded they had no idea where on an estimated 10,000-20,000-year orbit it might be.
	New fast radio burst discovery finds 'missing matter' in the universe An international team of scientists using a combination of radio and optical telescopes has for the first time managed to identify the location of a fast radio burst, allowing them to confirm the current cosmological model of the distribution of matter in the universe.
	Scientists achieve perfect efficiency for water-splitting half-reaction (Phys.org)—Splitting water is a two-step process, and in a new study, researchers have performed one of these steps (reduction) with 100% efficiency. The results shatter the previous record of 60% for hydrogen production with visible light, and emphasize that future research should focus on the other step (oxidation) in order to realize practical overall water splitting. The main application of splitting water into its components of oxygen and hydrogen is that the hydrogen can then be used to deliver energy to fuel cells for powering vehicles and electronic devices.
	Researchers uncover potential target for treating autoimmune disease Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have identified a molecule that appears to be a cause of autoimmune diseases such as lupus. Elevated levels of the molecule allow self-reactive immune cells to escape into the blood stream and attack the body's own tissues.
New catalyst makes hydrogen peroxide accessible to developing world Hydrogen peroxide is one of the most common and versatile of household products. In dilute form, it can disinfect wounds and bleach hair, whiten teeth and remove stains from clothing, clean contact lenses and kill mold and algae.
	Here's how what you buy affects the environment The world's workshop—China—surpassed the United States as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases on Earth in 2007. But if you consider that nearly all of the products that China produces, from iPhones to tee-shirts, are exported to the rest of the world, the picture looks very different.
	Surprising mathematical law tested on Project Gutenberg texts Zipf's law in its simplest form, as formulated in the thirties by American linguist George Kingsley Zipf, states surprisingly that the most frequently occurring word in a text appears twice as often as the next most frequent word, three times more than the third most frequent one, four times more than the fourth most frequent one, and so on.
	New research unveils graphene 'moth eyes' to power future smart technologies New ultra-thin, patterned graphene sheets will be essential in designing future technologies such as 'smart wallpaper' and internet-of-things applicationsAdvanced Technology Institute uses moth-inspired ultrathin graphene sheets to capture light for use in energy production and to power smart sensorsGraphene is traditionally an excellent electronic material, but is inefficient for optical applications, absorbs only 2.3% of the light incident on it. A new technique enhances light absorption by 90%.
	A mathematical advance in describing waves One of the great joys in mathematics is the ability to use it to describe phenomena seen in the physical world, says University at Buffalo mathematician Gino Biondini.
	High levels of intense exercise may be unhealthy for the heart There is growing evidence that high levels of intense exercise may be cardiotoxic and promote permanent structural changes in the heart, which can, in some individuals, predispose them to experience arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythm). A review published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology explores current controversies and makes the case for investing in large prospective research studies into the effect of intense exercise on heart structure and function.
	Mexico documents big rebound in monarch butterflies Monarch butterflies have made a big comeback in their wintering grounds in Mexico, after suffering serious declines, experts said Friday.
	NASA's IBEX observations pin down interstellar magnetic field Immediately after its 2008 launch, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, spotted a curiosity in a thin slice of space: More particles streamed in through a long, skinny swath in the sky than anywhere else. The origin of the so-called IBEX ribbon was unknown - but its very existence opened doors to observing what lies outside our solar system, the way drops of rain on a window tell you more about the weather outside.

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