Science X Newsletter Week 45

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Here is your customized Science X Newsletter for week 45:

	New theory of gravity might explain dark matter A new theory of gravity might explain the curious motions of stars in galaxies. Emergent gravity, as the new theory is called, predicts the exact same deviation of motions that is usually explained by invoking dark matter. Prof. Erik Verlinde, renowned expert in string theory at the University of Amsterdam and the Delta Institute for Theoretical Physics, published a new research paper today in which he expands his groundbreaking views on the nature of gravity.
Even physicists are 'afraid' of mathematics Physicists avoid highly mathematical work despite being trained in advanced mathematics, new research suggests.
	Semiconductor-free microelectronics are now possible, thanks to metamaterials Engineers at the University of California San Diego have fabricated the first semiconductor-free, optically-controlled microelectronic device. Using metamaterials, engineers were able to build a microscale device that shows a 1,000 percent increase in conductivity when activated by low voltage and a low power laser.
	Close to absolute zero, electrons exhibit their quantum nature What would happen if an electric current no longer flowed, but trickled instead? This was the question investigated by researchers working with Christian Ast at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research. Their investigation involved cooling their scanning tunnelling microscope down to a fifteen thousandth of a degree above absolute zero. At these extremely low temperatures, the electrons reveal their quantum nature. The electric current is therefore a granular medium, consisting of individual particles. The electrons trickle through a conductor like grains of sand in an hourglass, a phenomenon that can be explained with the aid of quantum electrodynamics.
	Computers made of genetic material? Researchers conduct electricity using DNA-based nanowires Tinier than the AIDS virus—that is currently the circumference of the smallest transistors. The industry has shrunk the central elements of their computer chips to fourteen nanometers in the last sixty years. Conventional methods, however, are hitting physical boundaries. Researchers around the world are looking for alternatives. One method could be the self-organization of complex components from molecules and atoms. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and Paderborn University have now made an important advance: the physicists conducted a current through gold-plated nanowires, which independently assembled themselves from single DNA strands. Their results have been published in the scientific journal Langmuir.
	Researchers discover new method to dissipate heat in electronic devices Controlling the flow of heat through semiconductor materials is an important challenge in developing smaller and faster computer chips, high-performance solar panels, and better lasers and biomedical devices.
	Big data shows people's collective behavior follows strong periodic patterns New research has revealed that by using big data to analyse massive data sets of modern and historical news, social media and Wikipedia page views, periodic patterns in the collective behaviour of the population can be observed that could otherwise go unnoticed.
	Major advance in solar cells made from cheap, easy-to-use perovskite Solar cells made from an inexpensive and increasingly popular material called perovskite can more efficiently turn sunlight into electricity using a new technique to sandwich two types of perovskite into a single photovoltaic cell.
	Scientists restore leg movement in paralyzed primates using wireless neural interface An international team of scientists has used a wireless "brain-spinal interface" to bypass spinal cord injuries in a pair of rhesus macaques, restoring intentional walking movement to a temporarily paralyzed leg. The researchers, who describe their work in the journal Nature, say this is the first time a neural prosthetic has been used to restore walking movement directly to the legs of nonhuman primates.
	How the 18th-century steam engine helped physicists make a quantum breakthrough The hissing sound you hear in the background when you turn up the volume of your music player is called "noise". Most of this hiss is due to the thermal motion of electrons in the music-player circuitry. Just like molecules in a hot gas, electrons in the circuitry are constantly jiggling about in a random fashion, and this motion this gives rise to an unwanted noise signal.
	Study shows people who aren't moved by music have less functional connectivity between some brain regions (Medical Xpress)—A team of researchers from Spain and Canada has found evidence that suggests people who are not emotionally moved by music have less connectivity between the regions in the brain responsible for processing sounds and those involved in managing emotions. They have published their results in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
	Long ago humans and Neanderthals Interbred: What happened to Neanderthal genes? The Neanderthals disappeared about 30,000 years ago, but little pieces of them live on in the form of DNA sequences scattered through the modern human genome. A new study by geneticists at the University of California, Davis, shows why these traces of our closest relatives are slowly being removed by natural selection.
	Graphene balloons show their colors Researchers from the Graphene Flagship have found a new potential application for graphene: mechanical pixels. By applying a pressure difference across graphene membranes, the perceived color of the graphene can be shifted continuously from red to blue. This effect could be exploited for use as colored pixels in e-readers and other low-powered screens. The research was a collaborative effort from researchers at TU Delft, Netherlands, and Graphenea, Spain, and the study has recently been published in the journal Nano Letters.
	Researchers investigate how neurons sample probability distributions For observations based on sensory data, the human brain must constantly verify which "version" of reality underlies the perception. The answer is gleaned from probability distributions that are stored in the nerve cell network itself. The neurons are able to detect patterns that reflect acquired knowledge. Applying mathematical methods, physicists from Heidelberg University and researchers from Graz University of Technology have proven this phenomenon in their investigations. The current research results, published in the journal Physical Review E, are of major significance in developing new types of computer systems.
	Solar physicists unlock easier way to observe peculiar particles that reveal the inner workings of the sun In 2009, applied physicist Peter Sturrock was visiting the National Solar Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, when the deputy director of the observatory told him he should read a controversial article about radioactive decay. Although the subject was outside Sturrock's field, it inspired a thought so intriguing that the next day he phoned the author of the study, Purdue University physicist Ephraim Fischbach, to suggest a collaboration.
	Newly discovered genetic code controls bacterial survival during infections The genetic code that allows cells to store the information necessary for life is well-known. Four nucleotides, abbreviated A, C, G, and T, spell out DNA sequences that code for all of the proteins cells need.
	Carbon-hungry plants impede growth rate of atmospheric CO2 New findings suggest the rate at which CO2 is accumulating in the atmosphere has plateaued in recent years because Earth's vegetation is grabbing more carbon from the air than in previous decades.
	Black hole jets can influence star formation in galaxies by dispersing and heating interstellar gas A new study conducted by a group of astrophysicists led by Dr K. Dasyra suggests that black hole jets can affect the star formation in galaxies by both dispersing and heating large amounts of gas over large areas. The result is based on observations of the nearby galaxy IC5063, collected with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
	Researchers question if banning of 'killer robots' actually will stop robots from killing A University at Buffalo research team has published a paper that implies that the rush to ban and demonize autonomous weapons or "killer robots" may be a temporary solution, but the actual problem is that society is entering into a situation where systems like these have and will become possible.
	Pain-initiating function of glial cells identified for the first time The sensation of pain occurs when neural pathways conduct excitation generated by tissue damage to the spinal cord, where the nociceptive information is extensively pre-processed. From there, the information is transmitted to the human brain, where the sensation of "pain" is finally created. This is the general belief. However, researchers from the Division of Neurophysiology at MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research have now discovered that pain is not just a matter of nerves but that non-neuronal cells, the glial cells, are also involved in clinically relevant pain models and their activation is sufficient to amplify pain. The study has now been published in the leading journal Science.

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