Sciguy's Interesting Science News

Makes You Think Twice...

2012-01-28T20:49:00.004-07:00

What if humans were twice as intelligent? - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com:

Would it be a blessing or a curse?
"Experiencing the world with a higher IQ might be more interesting for most people. They might enjoy reading more, might have a greater depth of appreciation for certain things and more insight into life," said Richard Haier, a neuroscientist and professor emeritus at the University of California at Irvine who studies intelligence.

"Intelligence is independent of personality and emotion, so you can have very intelligent people who are also just kind of crazy people," Haier said. "Even if everyone had an IQ of 200, you'd have exactly the same range of personalities as you have now, and because that's a determining factor in how good your society is, you won't necessarily have a better society."
But it comes with a warning: "The evil corporate villains would be smarter than ever, but so would the government officials who were writing and enforcing the safety regulations! Who would win? Who knows?" he wrote.

I think the good outweighs the bad. Think of how politics would be changed by a better educated constituency. What about the effect on science? Or crime. One good point made by Natalie Wolchover is that there will likely be a distinction between the haves and the have-nots.

Help Kepler Find A Planet!

2011-09-26T17:48:00.004-07:00

Similar to the old SETI interface, the Kepler project is using the general public to help them sort through huge amounts of data collected by NASA's Kepler mission. Just takes 5 minutes to do the tutorial and now even YOU can be a planet hunter! Check it out:

http://www.planethunters.org/

Image Credit: NASA

Sciguy's Interesting Science News Radio Program

2011-02-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

So, I will be on the radio today at 2pm AZ time talking about new science...listen live or download at your leisure: http://goo.gl/ajG5L

X Particle Explains Dark Matter and Antimatter

2011-02-19T16:25:00.001-07:00

Two of the fundamental mysteries of physics now has a new theory to explain them both. The "X-Particle" is a hypothetical particle that is thought to decay into matter and neutrons. Created by the big bang, the X-particle had a companion particle the Anti-X-particle, which decayed into anti-matter and neutrons. It is these particles which have decayed into the matter which we can see and the dark matter we cannot. This theory has proposed new concepts that could explain why dark matter is so prevalent in the universe.

X Particle Explains Dark Matter and Antimatter at the Same Time | Wired Science | Wired.com: "out dark matter is that it is mysterious stuff that makes up a quarter of the energy density of the unive"

Largest 3D Map Of The Night Sky Ever Assembled

2011-02-08T20:33:00.001-07:00

This is the largest 3D image of the cosmos that has ever been shown. With over a trillion pixels, it would require over 500,000 high definition TVs to show in it's entirety. According to David Shinga of New Scientist; "It is actually a collection of millions of images taken since 1998 with a 2.5-meter telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. The project, called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, is now in its third phase, called SDSS-III"

It's thought that this map will be helpful in understanding dark energy, which is believed to comprise 70% of our universe. It has also helped scientists to discover tiny "dwarf" galaxies that orbit the Milky Way.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19948-most-detailed-image-of-night-sky-unveiled.html

(Image: M. Blanton and SDSS-III)

Are We Inside a Black Hole?

2011-01-09T14:14:00.001-07:00

Does the fact that time moves forward mean our universe is inside a black hole? Interesting theory:

Was our universe born inside a black hole in another universe?

Paper: http://arxiv.org/abs/1007.0587

Credit: By Alasdair Wilkins

BBC News - Neutrino 'ghost particle' sized up by astronomers

2010-12-11T12:00:00.001-07:00

Neutrinos are particles that can travel through 1 light year of lead without interacting with any of the lead atoms. It is extremely small and light and is responsible for a small portion of dark matter. Professor Lahav believes neutrinos are a minor component of cold dark matter, the mysterious "stuff" which comprises some 25% of the Universe and more than 80% of matter in the Universe.

"The neutrino is squeezed into that slice [of the Universe] that is dark matter. But it probably accounts for less than one percent of that dark matter," he told BBC News.

The neutrino particle comes in three "flavours": muon, tau and electron. In a recent experiment, physicists caught a neutrino in the act of changing from one type to another.

BBC News - Neutrino 'ghost particle' sized up by astronomers

Hubble Ultra Deep Field 3D

2010-12-04T12:01:00.002-07:00

A beautiful video made from the Hubble peering into the blackest of black space.

Hubble Ultra Deep Field 3D

Ununquadium: Element 114

2010-11-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Named Ununquadium, the latest addition to the periodic table is an artificial radioactive element that is the heaviest know. The nucleus decays to lead and the element is known to stay stable for approximately 2.6 seconds before decaying.

Element 114 on the brink of recognition - physics-math - 24 June 2010 - New Scientist

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ununquadium

Photo from the Knight Science Journalism Tracker

BBC News - US experiment hints at 'multiple God particles'

2010-10-09T13:42:00.001-07:00

The Higgs Boson is the subatomic particle that physicists theorize as the particle responsible for attributing mass. However, it has yet to be detected. Summer results from Fermilab, the LHC's US rival, suggest physicists could be hunting five particles, not one. The idea of multiple Higgs-like bosons is supported by results gathered by the DZero experiment at the Tevatron particle accelerator

"The DZero results showed much more significant "asymmetry" of matter and anti-matter - beyond what could be explained by the Standard Model.

Bogdan Dobrescu, Adam Martin and Patrick J Fox from Fermilab say this large asymmetry effect can be accounted for by the existence of multiple Higgs bosons."

BBC News - US experiment hints at 'multiple God particles'

Images from CERN, AAAS

Understanding Clouds: How Much Do We Know?

2010-10-08T20:48:00.001-07:00

Clouds are more than just the muse of a poet. They play a major role in climate change yet there are still many unanswered questions. Clouds are known to be the result of "a complex interplay of fluid dynamics, turbulence, convection and mixing" that are not exactly scalable or easy to predict. Click the link below and hear a podcast on what we know and what we don't.

The Complex Physics of Clouds: Scientific American Podcast
Image by Barto

High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sugar May Be Bad But This Sweetener Is Far More Deadly

2010-09-18T13:07:00.001-07:00

A great article by Dr. Mercola about why consuming high levels of high fructose can have deadly effects. From Dr. Mercola:

"There are two reasons fructose is so damaging:

1. Your body metabolizes fructose in a much different way than glucose. The entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver.

2. People are consuming fructose in enormous quantities, which has made the negative effects much more profound."

Dr. Joseph Mercola: Sugar May Be Bad But This Sweetener Is Far More Deadly

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Zephyris

BBC News - First images from Nasa's Wise infrared sky probe

2010-09-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Have a look at some of the first images from Nasa's Wise infrared sky probe...beautiful.

BBC News - First images from Nasa's Wise infrared sky probe

Scientists Identify Gene Linked to Aging in Humans

2010-06-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

Scientists believe that they have identified the gene process that is linked to aging and the results are very interesting. For example, people age at different rates as programmed by DNA.

A structure called a telomeres, inside the gene seems to be the candlestick that is burnt by time. As cells divide and are continually replaced, the wick of the telomere will continue to shorten. Inheritance dictates how long the telomere is to begin life and the rate of shortening also seems to be influenced by inheritance.

Professor Tim Spector from King's College London and director of the TwinsUK study, who co-led this project, added: "Genetically susceptible people may age even faster when exposed to proven 'bad' environments for telomeres like smoking, obesity or lack of exercise - and end up several years biologically older or succumbing to more age-related diseases."

http://www.physorg.com/news184769662.html

Half Human and Half Virus; A New View

2010-06-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting on this, trying to make sense of it. Basically, we are the result of a DNA virus. Have a great weekend!

Seriously, some interesting facts about what you are:

1. Scientists expected 100,000 genes in the human DNA, we found 20,000
2. 34% of those 20,000 genes are considered "junk" because they copy themselves but serve no function.
3. Half of the human genome can be traced to a virus.
4. The virus genes have shown to be vital to the formation of specific organs in the human body.

In short, it is interesting to note that retroviruses that have symbiosis with our DNA may have helped to shape our evolution and development.

I, virus: Why you're only half human - life - 29 January 2010 - New Scientist

Doctors able to 'print' new organs for transplant patients

2010-06-06T16:58:00.000-07:00

This interesting new device is a 3D bio-printer that is capable of creating arteries and veins on a cellular level. Future iterations of the device can allow scientist to recreate organs that layers cellular building blocks to create usable organs.

Doctors to be able to 'print' new organs for transplant patients | Mail Online

Scientists Tap Volcano Power

2010-05-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Scientists have discovered how to tap the geothermal energy of the Earth. With 17,000 islands ranging from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of active volcanoes represent close to 40 percent of the world's geothermal energy potential.

One geothermal plant already exists in Kamojang, Java. Built in 1982 can convert volcanic heat into electricity at much lower costs and with less pollution than coal plants.

A significant ($12 Billion) amount is required to further the technology, but tapping geothermal energy is a viable option to fossil fuels.

Indonesia aims to tap volcano power

Image Photographer:	Clearly Ambiguous

Physicists Investigate Possibility of an 'Unhiggs'

2010-04-24T13:02:00.001-07:00

This figure represents a five-dimensional diagram relevant to how the Unhiggs affects certain parameters in particle physics models. Physicists are calculating the properties of the Unhiggs so that it will be recognized at the LHC, if it exists. Image credit: Falkowski and Pérez-Victoria.

The Unhiggs is the possibility that the Higgs-Boson doesn't exist. It is the alternate theory which is really a "supermass" of a collection of particles that are in superposition. So, measuring the mass of something involves defining the space in which that thing encompasses. If measuring the mass of an orange, you wouldn't measure anything outside of the orange.

However, in the quantum world, that orange can change to a watermelon, apple, peach or pumpkin during the time of the measurement. Therefore, the measurement you get is a combination of all those fruit affecting the measurement for the instant that they were there. This is similar to the Unhiggs theory which says that mass is formed as a combination of these superposition events.

Physicists Investigate Possibility of an 'Unhiggs'

New Milestone in Optic Technology Allows Better Data Transmissions

2010-02-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Scientists in Germany have discovered a technique to produce a pulse of light so short that it contains just a single oscillation of a light wave. Using optical-fibre-optic cables, Alfred Leitenstorfer's group at the University of Konstanz in Germany has found a way to boost data transmission significantly. By reducing the amount of light needed to represent a 1 or 0, binary transmissions can be sent with higher efficiency. This is a fascinating article that discusses a milestone in optical technology that will help in applications like advanced imaging, sensing and signal processing.

Single light wave flashes out from fibre laser - physics-math - 21 December 2009 - New Scientist

(Image: Kim Steele/Getty)

New Hypothesis says Moon may have formed in a nuclear explosion

2010-02-16T23:53:00.001-07:00

According to a new hypothesis, the moon's composition may have been caused by a nuclear explosion. The hypothesis states that the centrifugal forces during the Earth's creation could have had concentrated heavy elements such as thorium and uranium at the Earth core-mantle boundary. If the concentrations of these radioactive elements were high enough, this could have led to a nuclear chain reaction that ejected the material that later formed the Earth and the Moon as separate entities.

The Moon may have formed in a nuclear explosion

Photo by NASA

Seven Questions Unanswered by Modern Physics

2010-01-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

These are the seven questions that are unanswered by modern physics. The discussion was part of "Quantum to Cosmos", a 10-day physics extravaganza, which took place in Canada.

Seven questions that keep physicists up at night - space - 23 October 2009 - New Scientist

Photo Credit: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2007/joch7c2/Controversy.html

Nuclear Fusion Test Expected in 2010

2010-01-28T21:41:00.013-07:00

Two technologies have come together in order for an extraordinary test expected to take place at the end of 2010. The test will take place in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, located in Northern California. Testing is slightly delayed by the installation of concrete walls to fortify the laboratory and the addition of new instruments to collect data from the experiment.

The first of two technological advancements is called a hohlraum, which is a metal cylinder containing a fusion fuel pellet. The pellet is designed to compress it's core to the density required to produce nuclear fusion by using two isotopes of hydrogen known as deuterium and tritium. Under the intense pressure from the second advancement, the isotopes merge and emit energy that is significantly higher than the energy put into the system.

The second advancement is the most powerful laser ever created and heats the hohlraum to 3.3 million °C. At such a high temperature, the core begins to emit x-rays that cause the core to burst.

Giant laser reaches key milestone for fusion - physics-math - 28 January 2010 - New Scientist

(Illustration: Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory/Department of Energy)

Proof of Dark Matter?

2010-01-24T17:02:00.001-07:00

Monumental Scientific Discovery: It appears that proof for dark matter is building momentum. It occurs to me that many don't know the significance of such a discovery. Amongst other things, evidence of dark matter implies that the universe will end in a big chill where it essentially decays after vast oceans of time. In this scenario, stars run out of fuel, black holes emit all their energy as radiation and even protons begin to deteriorate, until all heat and energy fades away.

A List of 50 Things We Didn't Know Last Year

2010-01-13T22:29:00.001-07:00

Fantastic synopsis of the year in knowledge 2009. Some examples:

9. Babies pick up their parents' accents from the womb, and infants are born crying in their native dialect. Researchers found that French newborns cry in a rising French accent, and German babies cry with a characteristic falling inflection.

29. The human body emits a glow that is 1,000 times less than what our eyes can detect.

34. Nearly all animals emit the same stench when they die, and have done so for more than 400 million years.

38. A chemical component in broccoli can protect the lining of arteries from blockage that leads to angina, heart attack and stroke.

50. Watermelon is more efficient at rehydrating our bodies than drinking water. It contains 92 percent water and essential rehydration salts.

AT&T - 50 Things we know now that we didn't know this time last year

Eyes To The Moon: The Beginning Of The Race For Control

2010-01-13T22:09:00.000-07:00

Every major nation is looking at the moon to be first to establish colonization, mineral rights and the technology to stabilize such an endeavor. The plans are based on the anticipation of new technologies that may not be available for years to come.

Moon hole might be suitable for colony - CNN.com