Science X Newsletter Week 25

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 25:

	Dutch crops grown on 'Mars' soil found safe to eat Dutch scientists said Thursday crops of four vegetables and cereals grown on soil similar to that on Mars have been found safe to eat, amid plans for the first manned mission to the planet.
	High levels of education linked to heightened brain tumor risk A university degree is linked to a heightened risk of developing a brain tumour, suggests a large observational study, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
	China tops global supercomputer speed list for 7th year (Update) A Chinese supercomputer has topped a list of the world's fastest computers for the seventh straight year—and for the first time the winner uses only Chinese-designed processors instead of U.S. technology.
	'Electric wind' can strip Earth-like planets of oceans, atmospheres Venus has an "electric wind" strong enough to remove the components of water from its upper atmosphere, which may have played a significant role in stripping Earth's twin planet of its oceans, according to new results from ESA's (European Space Agency) Venus Express mission by NASA-funded researchers.
	Study finds Disney Princess culture magnifies stereotypes in young girls Parents tend to be careful about what media their children consume and often look to ratings to guide their movie choices. But one symbol might be more powerful than any rating or review—the Disney logo. Heralded by adults and kids alike, Disney Princess animated movies are the quintessential "kids' movies," positive and enjoyable for all.
	Particle zoo in a quantum computer: First experimental quantum simulation of particle physics phenomena Elementary particles are the fundamental buildings blocks of matter, and their properties are described by the Standard Model of particle physics. The discovery of the Higgs boson at the CERN in 2012 constitutes a further step towards the confirmation of the Standard Model.
	What did Earth's ancient magnetic field look like? New work from Carnegie's Peter Driscoll suggests Earth's ancient magnetic field was significantly different than the present day field, originating from several poles rather than the familiar two. It is published in Geophysical Research Letters.
	'Space tsunami' causes the third Van Allen Belt Earth's magnetosphere, the region of space dominated by Earth's magnetic field, protects our planet from the harsh battering of the solar wind. Like a protective shield, the magnetosphere absorbs and deflects plasma from the solar wind which originates from the Sun. When conditions are right, beautiful dancing auroral displays are generated. But when the solar wind is most violent, extreme space weather storms can create intense radiation in the Van Allen belts and drive electrical currents which can damage terrestrial electrical power grids. Earth could then be at risk for up to trillions of dollars of damage.
	Researchers assess power plants that convert all of their CO2 emissions into carbon nanotubes (Phys.org)—Last year, researchers at George Washington University proposed a method for transforming CO2 emissions into carbon nanotubes (CNTs). When applied to power plants, the technology could completely eliminate the power plants' CO2 emissions while simultaneously producing a valuable product that is used for a variety of applications, including batteries, consumer electronics, airplanes, and athletic equipment.
	New chip design makes parallel programs run many times faster and requires one-tenth the code Computer chips have stopped getting faster. For the past 10 years, chips' performance improvements have come from the addition of processing units known as cores.
	Nanoscientists develop the 'ultimate discovery tool' The discovery power of the gene chip is coming to nanotechnology. A Northwestern University research team is developing a tool to rapidly test millions and perhaps even billions or more different nanoparticles at one time to zero in on the best particle for a specific use.
	Unexpected findings reveal insight into how cancer spreads in the body Cancer cells appear to depend on an unusual survival mechanism to spread around the body, according to an early study led by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). The discovery could help with future development of novel treatments to prevent metastasis and secondary tumours.
	Algorithm ensures that random numbers are truly random (Phys.org)—Generating a sequence of random numbers may be more difficult than it sounds. Although the numbers may appear random, how do you know for sure that they don't actually follow some complex, underlying pattern? For this reason, finding a way to certify that a sequence of numbers is truly random is often more challenging than generating the sequence in the first place.
	Possibility of new particle discovery at LHC fading The physics community is apparently starting to lose its buzz over the possibility of the discovery of a new particle by researchers working at the CERN LHC facility near Geneva. As more data is studied, it appears more and more likely that the blip that was seen last December was simply an anomaly in the data.
	Structure-mapping engine enables computers to reason and learn like humans, including solving moral dilemmas Northwestern University's Ken Forbus is closing the gap between humans and machines.
	Doubled sensitivity could allow gravitational wave detectors to reach deeper into space Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Australian National University have developed new technology that aims to make the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) even more sensitive to faint ripples in space-time called gravitational waves.
	US Navy keeps electromagnetic cannon in its sights The US Navy is quietly pushing ahead with a radical new cannon that one day could transform how wars are fought, even though some Pentagon officials have voiced concerns over its cost and viability.
	New electron microscope method detects atomic-scale magnetism Scientists can now detect magnetic behavior at the atomic level with a new electron microscopy technique developed by a team from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Uppsala University, Sweden. The researchers took a counterintuitive approach by taking advantage of optical distortions that they typically try to eliminate.
	Researchers create organic nanowire synaptic transistors that emulate the working principles of biological synapses (Phys.org)—A team of researchers with the Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea has created organic nanowire synaptic transistors that emulate the working principles of biological synapses. As they describe in their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the artificial synapses they have created use much smaller amounts of power than other devices developed thus far and rival that of their biological counterparts.
	Scientists glimpse why life can't happen without water Scientists are getting closer to directly observing how and why water is essential to life as we know it.

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