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Study validates general relativity on cosmic scale, existence of dark matterStudy validates general relativity on cosmic scale, existence of dark matter

An analysis of more than 70,000 galaxies by physicists in the U.S. and Switzerland demonstrates that the universe—at least up to a distance of 3.5 billion light years from Earth—plays by the rules set out 95 years ago by Albert Einstein in his General Theory of Relativity.

Evidence: Snowball Earth was iced to the equator

Evidence: Snowball Earth was iced to the equator

Ancient tropical rocks that now reside in the remote northern reaches of Canada tell the tale: about 716.5 million years ago the Earth lay bound in a layer of ice that limited life to eukaryotes. Strangely, this glaciation—history’s most extensive at 5 million years, say researchers at NSF and Harvard—occurred at about the same time that animals appear in the fossil record.

Physicist's idea puts women in control at CERN

Physicist's idea puts women in control at CERN

Today, at the world’s largest supercollider, all of the control rooms will be staffed by women. A brainstorm of Indiana Univ.'s Pauline Gagnon, the event is part of a larger observation of International Women’s Day and a celebration of the accomplishments of women in the highly technical field of high-energy physics.

Electrochemical imaging tech finds TNT in fingerprints

Electrochemical imaging tech finds TNT in fingerprints

Scientists at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State have hit on a new, versatile method to significantly improve the detection of trace chemicals. The technique—electrochemical imaging microscopy—was able to detect and identify TNT particles weighing less than a billionth of gram on the ridges and canals of a fingerprint.

World’s largest clean room gets a “Webb” cam

World’s largest clean room gets a “Webb” cam

At 1.3 million cubic feet, the Goddard Space Flight Center’s High Bay Clean Room, where the components of the James Webb Space Telescope are now being assembled, circulates a staggering one million cubic feet of air per minutes, ensuring no more than 10,000 particles larger than 0.5 microns. Progress on the telescope can now be viewed by webcam.

Berkeley scientists find way to get physical in cancer fight

Berkeley scientists find way to get physical in cancer fight

Conventional biological wisdom holds that living cells interact with their environment through an elaborate network of chemical signals, which is most therapies rely on drugs that block chemical signals. Scientists can now show, however, for the first time, that direct physical force can also change the way cellular proteins conduct chemical activity.

OLED concept uses graphene as transparent conductor

Researchers at Stanford University have successfully developed a brand new concept of organic lighting-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with a few nanometers of graphene as transparent conductor. This paves th...

U. of I. pianist honors Chopin through recordings, concerts

Known as the poet of the piano for his romantic, melancholic compositions and his revolutionary, nuanced playing style, Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin continues to entice pianists and woo audiences more than 160 years after his death.

Older investors a springboard for dividends, study says

Debate has simmered for a half-century over why firms pay out cash dividends, siphoning money away from business-building investments and often creating an added tax burden for the shareholders who collect them.

Genealogical tourism redefining leisure travel market

For the work-weary, the word vacation may conjure images of leisurely, carefree days at the beach sipping umbrella drinks. But according to published research by a University of Illinois expert in tourism and recreation, genealogical tourism is one of the fastest growing markets in vacation travel...

Inside view of White House online is not what it seems

The Obama White Houses new-media photo archive is just the latest wrinkle in an old practice of image management and political communication, says Cara Finnegan, who studies the political and persuasive uses of photography, and who has been studying the White House Flickr site.

Potential impact of jobs bill hazy at best, economist says

Whether a proposed jobs bill might carve into U.S. unemployment still languishing near double digits is anybodys guess, a University of Illinois economist says.

C-terminal mutants of apolipoprotein L-I efficiently kill both Trypanosoma brucei brucei and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense.

Apolipoprotein L-I (apoL1) is a human-specific serum protein that kills Trypanosoma brucei through ionic pore formation in endosomal membranes of the parasite. The T. brucei subspecies rhodesiense and gambiense resist this lytic activity and can infect humans, causing sleeping...

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Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

I typically attend the annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy each year in pursuit of specific coverage. This year, I sought out candidates for coverage in a vacuum technology article, and pulled together some instruments for a spectroscopy guide. But as busy as that kept me, it wasn’t all mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps on the show floor.  

A clean energy America…is it coming or not?

A clean energy America…is it coming or not?

Almost a year ago, the buzz during the downturn was that the economic stimulus will help boost jobs in a sort of national improvement program reminiscent of the 1930s. Our coal would be phased out. Our grids would get smart. Our cars would get hybridized.

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New JEOL TEM quickly breaks into picoscale territory

 Just three weeks after its installation at the Univ. of Texas San Antonio campus, the latest transmission electron microscope from JEOL delivered data on silicon samples that resolved down to 78 picometers, a level that enables atom-by-atom chemical mapping.

Rapidly deployable shelter to improve disaster response, battlefield support

Today, developers of a new federal disaster response technology demonstrated how the Rapid Deployment Shelter System (RDSS) will shape the future of emergency preparedness and disaster relief. The compact, highly portable rigid wall shelter is easily transportable to domestic and global disaster sites, and may be deployed by one person in less than two minutes with the push of a button.

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Airflow in subways could spread contaminants

As part of a Homeland Security study on the spread of airborne contaminants released in subway systems, Berkeley Lab researchers are measuring the flow of gas throughout tunnels and cars. Subways created significant airflow as they move through tunnels, which could raise risk in the event of a terrorist attack or spill.

Physicists make new discovery in quantum mechanics

Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have made an important advance in quantum mechanics using a superconducting electrical circuit. The researchers showed that they could detect the quantum correlations in the results of measurements of entangled quantum bits, using a superconducting electrical circuit. The correlations are stronger than can be obtained using classical (non-quantum mechanical) physics, and according to the physicists, this illustrates that the oddities of quantum mechanics clearly extend to macroscopic systems.

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