Science X Newsletter Week 18

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 18:

	Despite their small brains—ravens are just as clever as chimps A study led by researchers at Lund University in Sweden shows that ravens are as clever as chimpanzees, despite having much smaller brains, indicating that rather than the size of the brain, the neuronal density and the structure of the birds' brains play an important role in terms of their intelligence.
	Pop goes the weasel as Hadron Collider shuts down (Update) A weasel shut down the world's most powerful particle smasher when it wandered onto a 66,000-volt transformer and caused a short circuit, Europe's physics lab CERN said Saturday.
	Are we alone? Setting some limits to our uniqueness Are humans unique and alone in the vast universe? This question—summed up in the famous Drake equation—has for a half-century been one of the most intractable and uncertain in science.
	Scientists take next step towards observing quantum physics in real life Small objects like electrons and atoms behave according to quantum mechanics, with quantum effects like superposition, entanglement and teleportation. One of the most intriguing questions in modern science is if large objects – like a coffee cup - could also show this behavior. Scientists at the TU Delft have taken the next step towards observing quantum effects at everyday temperatures in large objects. They created a highly reflective membrane, visible to the naked eye, that can vibrate with hardly any energy loss at room temperature. The membrane is a promising candidate to research quantum mechanics in large objects.
	First performance in 1,000 years: 'Lost' songs from the Middle Ages are brought back to life An ancient song repertory has been heard for the first time in 1,000 years after being 'reconstructed' by a Cambridge researcher and a world-class performer of medieval music.
	Scientists solve immune system mystery for Type 1 diabetes Scientists have solved a decades-old medical mystery by finally identifying a previously unknown molecule which is attacked by the immune system in people with Type 1 diabetes.
	Scientists use skin cells to create human sperm Scientists in Spain on Wednesday they had created human sperm from skin cells, a medical feat which could eventually lead to a treatment for infertility.
	Nearby massive star explosion 30 million years ago equaled detonation of 100 million suns A giant star that exploded 30 million years ago in a galaxy near Earth had a radius prior to going supernova that was 200 times larger than our sun, according to astrophysicists at Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
	Einstein's theory of relativity faces satellite test Einstein's theory of general relativity is to be put to the test by a newly launched satellite in an experiment that could upend our understanding of physics.
	Research identifies compound that reverses symptoms of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's A five-year study by an international team led from the University of Leicester has found a way of 'reversing' symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's - using fruit flies as test subjects.
	Intelligent? Brainless slime can 'learn': study What is intelligence? The definitions vary, but all infer the use of grey matter, whether in a cat or a human, to learn from experience.
	Winds a quarter the speed of light spotted leaving mysterious binary systems Astronomers have observed two black holes in nearby galaxies devouring their companion stars at an extremely high rate, and spitting out matter at a quarter the speed of light.
	Superfast light source made from artificial atom All light sources work by absorbing energy – for example, from an electric current – and emit energy as light. But the energy can also be lost as heat and it is therefore important that the light sources emit the light as quickly as possible, before the energy is lost as heat. Superfast light sources can be used, for example, in laser lights, LED lights and in single-photon light sources for quantum technology. New research results from the Niels Bohr Institute show that light sources can be made much faster by using a principle that was predicted theoretically in 1954. The results are published in the scientific journal, Physical Review Letters.
	High-fat diet starves the brain A high-fat diet of three days in mice leads to a reduction in the amount of glucose that reaches the brain. This finding was reported by a Research Group led by Jens Brüning, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne. The mouse brain restored its sugar uptake after four weeks, albeit at the cost of the rest of the body.
	Infant attention span suffers when parents' eyes wander during playtime, study finds Caregivers whose eyes wander during playtime—due to distractions such as smartphones or other technology, for example—may raise children with shorter attention spans, according to a new study by psychologists at Indiana University.
	Study shows dinosaur families chose to exit Europe Researchers have used 'network theory' for the first time to visually depict the movement of dinosaurs around the world during the Mesozoic Era - including a curious exodus from Europe.
	Working nights is bad for the heart Working at night is unhealthy for the heart and increases the risk of sustaining coronary heart disease, meaning a disease of the coronary arteries. This is the result of a current, and one of the largest American cooperation studies under the management of Eva Schernhammer of the epidemiology division of MedUni Wien, which was published in the top journal JAMA today. First author is Celine Vetter of Harvard University in Boston.
	Hunting wolves near Denali, Yellowstone cuts wolf sightings in half Visitors to national parks are half as likely to see wolves in their natural habitat when wolf hunting is permitted just outside park boundaries.
	What lies beneath West Antarctica? Three recent publications by early career researchers at three different institutions across the country provide the first look into the biogeochemistry, geophysics and geology of Subglacial Lake Whillans, which lies 800 meters (2,600 feet) beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
	James Webb Space Telescope's golden mirror unveiled NASA engineers recently unveiled the giant golden mirror of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope as part of the integration and testing of the infrared telescope.

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