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The Graph Of The Week: Hyper-Boosted Top Quarks

The Graph Of The Week: Hyper-Boosted Top Quarks

Mar 14 2015 | comment(s)

The top quark is the heaviest known elementary particle. It was discovered in 1995 by the CDF and DZERO experiments at the Fermilab Tevatron collider after a long hunt that had started almost two decades earlier: it took long because the top weighs as much as a whole silver atom, and producing this much matter in single particle-particle collisions is difficult: it requires collision energies that started to be available only in 1985, and the rarity of the production processes dictate collision rates that were delivered only in the early nineties.
Controlling Heat With Magnets: ELM Breakthrough In Fusion Research

Controlling Heat With Magnets: ELM Breakthrough In Fusion Research

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

General Atomics, which operates the DIII-D National Fusion Facility for the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have made a breakthrough in understanding how potentially damaging heat bursts inside a fusion reactor can be controlled. 

The experiments with the DIII-D Fusion Facility, a tokamak in San Diego, represent a key step in predicting how to control heat bursts in future fusion facilities. Researchers have found that tiny magnetic fields applied to the device can create two distinct kinds of response, rather than just one response as previously thought.
SUMO Can Keep Gene Expression In Check

SUMO Can Keep Gene Expression In Check

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

Living beings can keep gene expression in check, which might partly explain the uncontrolled gene expression found in many cancers, according to a new paper/

"Using yeast as a model organism, we studied the Tup1 protein, a negative regulator of gene expression," says Biology Professor Emanuel Rosonina. "This protein binds to some genes and blocks their expression, helping to ensure genes that shouldn't be turned on remain inactive." 
First successful teleportation of two quantum properties, simultaneously

First successful teleportation of two quantum properties, simultaneously

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)


Two photonic properties - spin and OAM1- have been teleported together for the first time ever. The breakthrough was achieved by Chaoyang Lu, Jian-Wei Pan and their team at University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei.

The team teleported the composite quantum states of a single photon encoded in both its spin and OAM1. For successful teleportation, three entangled pairs of photons were used.
The entangled pairs were created by the usual method of shining a strong UV pulsed laser on three non-linear crystals.

Applications:
Gold nanotubes to kill cancer cells

Gold nanotubes to kill cancer cells

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)


A research team from University of Leeds has figured out a way to kill cancer cells photothermally. They used Near-Infrared (NIR) to heat up gold nanotubes, and, a single-wavelength pulsed laser beam to rapidly increase the temperature near the nanotubes. This focussed, high-intensity heating kills the cancer cells.

A big advantage of the method is that NIR light has maximum penetration in the tissue without much harmful consequences. To minimize toxicity further, the gold nanotubes were coated with PSS - poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate).
The team is led by Steve Evans of the School of Physics and Astronomy.

Applications:
In Sickness And In Health: Mice And Mating

In Sickness And In Health: Mice And Mating

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

It is no surprise that female mice prefer healthy males, most humans are the same way, but a new study tested the belief that attractive males have better mating success than other males. 

Sarah Zala and Dustin Penn of the Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology at the Vetmeduni Vienna investigated whether females would also choose to mate with healthy over infected male if given a choice. In the laboratory and in large enclosures, the females were allowed to freely choose between two males, one healthy and another challenged with a mild infection, which they previously found to alter male odor. 

Blood Pressure And Heart Rate Rise After Energy Drinks

Blood Pressure And Heart Rate Rise After Energy Drinks

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

Healthy young adults who don't consume caffeine regularly experienced greater rise in resting blood pressure after consumption of a commercially available energy drink than those who had a placebo drink, according to a Mayo Clinic study.

The researchers alternately gave a can of a commercially available energy drink or a placebo drink to 25 healthy young adults, age 19 to 40, and assessed changes in heart rate and blood pressure.  Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded before and then 30 minutes after energy drink/placebo drink consumption, and were also compared between caffeine-naive participants (less than 160 mg of caffeine per day, a cup of coffee) and regular caffeine users (more than a cup of coffee equivalent of of caffeine per day). 
Feeling Sleepy? Might Be The Melatonin

Feeling Sleepy? Might Be The Melatonin

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

If you walk into your local drug store and ask for a supplement to help you sleep, you might be directed to a bottle labeled "melatonin." The hormone supplement's use as a sleep aid is supported by anecdotal evidence and even some reputable research studies. However, our bodies also make melatonin naturally, and until a recent Caltech study using zebrafish, no one knew how--or even if--this melatonin contributed to our natural sleep. The new work suggests that even in the absence of a supplement, naturally occurring melatonin may help us fall and stay asleep.

The study was published online in the March 5 issue of the journal Neuron.

Who Am I? Early Family Experiences, Self-esteem Linked To Existential Crises

Who Am I? Early Family Experiences, Self-esteem Linked To Existential Crises

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

Although children can emerge from cold and neglectful family environments as adults with high self-esteem, a new University at Buffalo psychology paper suggests they may still be at a relative disadvantage in life, with a foggier sense of identity. Yet obviously adults with low self-esteem who grew up in the same type of negative environment have relatively high self-clarity, so what gives?

Guanabenz Blood Pressure Drug Protects Against MS Symptoms In Animal Models

Guanabenz Blood Pressure Drug Protects Against MS Symptoms In Animal Models

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

Guanabenz is an FDA-approved drug for high blood pressure but a new study also finds that it prevents myelin loss and alleviates clinical symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) in animal models.

The drug appears to enhance an innate cellular mechanism that protects myelin-producing cells against inflammatory stress. Multiple sclerosis is characterized by an abnormal immune response that leads to inflammation in the brain and the destruction of myelin - a fatty sheath that protects and insulates nerve fibers. MS is thought to affect more than 2.3 million people worldwide and has no known cure.
Ganymede: Inferring An Underground Ocean On Jupiter's Largest Moon

Ganymede: Inferring An Underground Ocean On Jupiter's Largest Moon

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon, is thought to have once had more water than all the water on Earth's surface.

But why? 

Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system and the only moon with its own magnetic field. The magnetic field causes aurorae, which are ribbons of glowing, hot electrified gas, in regions circling the north and south poles of the moon. Because Ganymede is close to Jupiter, it is also embedded in Jupiter's magnetic field. When Jupiter's magnetic field changes, the aurorae on Ganymede also change, "rocking" back and forth so by watching the rocking motion of the two aurorae, scientists were able to determine that a large amount of saltwater exists beneath Ganymede's crust affecting its magnetic field.
Metastatic Melanoma: Anti-Nodal Antibodies Plus Dacarbazine Promising

Metastatic Melanoma: Anti-Nodal Antibodies Plus Dacarbazine Promising

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

Metastatic melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer deaths in the United States because once has spread - metastasized - life expectancy for patients is dramatically shortened.

Melanoma diagnosis and treatment has progressed a lot and the future looks even brighter but the current reference therapy for patients diagnosed with metastatic melanoma is Dacarbazine (DTIC), which is associated with relatively poor patient outcomes.
This Pi Day Is A Once In A Century Celebration

This Pi Day Is A Once In A Century Celebration

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/djwtwo/6835022968/

Pi Day – on March 14th – will be particularly memorable this year: the date can be written 3/14 by those who opt for the month then day format, which is Pi to two decimal places, 3.14.

If you include the year this year then that gives 3/14/15, which is Pi to four decimal places, 3.1415.

This happens only once a century, and the Museum of Mathematics in New York City, among others, is taking Pi Day 2015 one step further, by celebrating at 9:26 pm, adding three more digits to Pi, 3.1415926.

An NIH Director Once Funded A Rocket For A 10 Year Old

An NIH Director Once Funded A Rocket For A 10 Year Old

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)


We sometimes have to wonder about the decision-making of government agencies. Senator Tom Coburn produced an annual list of waste and duplication that included science and it made sense to address those flaws, unless you actually favor National Science Foundation money being used so someone could play Everquest instead of doing actual science. Likewise, energy researchers were not thrilled that the Department of Energy funded the Human Genome Project.

But sometimes it makes total sense. Case in point: Dr. Ernest M. Allen, Chief, Division of Research Grants at the NIH, who once agreed to fund a rocket. For a 10-year-old.
Carbon Nitride and Salmon Sperm

Carbon Nitride and Salmon Sperm

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)

Two things that have caught my attention recently.

The first concerns trapping solar energy.  One way to do this is to convert it directly into electricity with a solar panel, but one with much wider application would be to split water into oxygen and hydrogen, which can then be stored and transported.
3-D image of a virus plotted using X-ray Diffraction

3-D image of a virus plotted using X-ray Diffraction

Mar 13 2015 | comment(s)


An international team of physicists have been able to reconstruct the first ever 3-D image of individual virus particles by tweaking the X-ray diffraction technique of nanocrystallography1

Cleverly bypassing the tedious procedure of crystallizing individual particles, the researchers targeted the virus (Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus) with high-energy pulses (70 fs duration) from an X-ray free electron laser. The X-rays scattered from the virus bodies, creating a 2D diffraction pattern.
Using 200 such different patterns and a mathematical algorithm to solve the problem of particle orientation, a single 3D electron density image was produced.
4 Myths About Speech Problems In Children

4 Myths About Speech Problems In Children

Mar 12 2015 | comment(s)

There are common myths about speech problems in children that lead two-thirds of parents concerned about a possible speech impairment to ignore the problem. from www.shutterstock.com.au

Speech problems in early childhood are common.

Cancer Drug Epothilone Causes Damaged Nerve Cells In Spinal Cord Injuries To Regrow

Cancer Drug Epothilone Causes Damaged Nerve Cells In Spinal Cord Injuries To Regrow

Mar 12 2015 | comment(s)

Damage to the spinal cord is often permanent because injured nerve cells fail to regenerate due to scar tissue of their long nerve fibers.

Nerve cells are wire-like conductors that transmit and receive signals in the form of electrical impulses. This function can be impaired by accidents or disease. Whether or not the affected nerves can recover largely depends on their location: for instance nerve cells in the limbs, torso and nose can regenerate to some degree and regain some or all of their function. 
CRISPR/Cas9 Labeling System Makes A GPS For The Genome

CRISPR/Cas9 Labeling System Makes A GPS For The Genome

Mar 12 2015 | comment(s)

A new app for finding and mapping chromosomal loci uses multicolored versions of CRISPR/Cas9. The labeling system, developed by  the University of Massachusetts Medical School, could be a key to understanding the spatial and temporal regulation of gene expression by allowing researchers to measure the precise linear distance between two known points on different chromosomes or two locations on the same chromosome in live human cells. 
Opinions are why 'forensic science' is science

Opinions are why 'forensic science' is science

Mar 12 2015 | comment(s)

Sometimes science is the only witness to a crime.

Fortunately, the application of scientific evidence in criminal proceedings has grown in proportion to the availability of cutting-edge methods and technologies that can produce answers to critical questions related to guilt or innocence.

Scientific evidence, of course, is a good thing, provided that our courts do their due diligence to ensure that the testimony of expert witnesses and the observations, data, and interpretations upon which they are based are reasonably valid.