In a recent study, scientists used simulations to model the behavior of a closed, granular system comprising a chain of equal-sized spheres that touch one another and are sandwiched between two walls. Energy travels through this system as solitary waves, also known as non-dispersive energy bundles. When the system was disturbed by multiple energy perturbations, akin to someone tapping on each of the walls, the energy spread unevenly through the system.

When we think of DNA, we think of biology but the concept of DNA has become so culturally ingrained it is now colloquial - and the concept of a blueprint common to people may help revolutionize manufacturing.

A group at the Fraunhofer Institute have set out to decode "factory DNA".

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) has helped numerous couples have children who otherwise would not have been able to, but a British study of a non-invasive, drug-free alternative to IVF could save them (and the taxpayers who fund the NHS) a lot of money.

A new study (European Obstetrics&Gynaecology, 2011;6(2):92-4) shows that the DuoFertility monitor and service used for six months gives the same chance of pregnancy as a cycle of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for many infertile couples.

Can music lead to better CPR? Yes and no.  Any mnemonic hook that helps rescue personnel deliver a good number of chest compressions to heart attack victims is likely good but one song, "Disco Science" by Mirwais, does well yet can only achieve half the CPR goal.

If you are a fan of Guy Ritchie's film "Snatch" you have heard "Disco Science" but may not know that it has 100 beats per minute, around the optimal range for CPR. However, it does not help at all in  improving the depth of compression, which may mean it's time to give up on trying to find the best musical gimmick to aid in CPR and just teach it the old fashioned way.

What is nothingness? It's a philosophical question, to be sure, but in physics the ground state of the universe can't be described by the absence of all matter, contend some theoretical physicists. There must be a 'quantum vacuum'.

The first theoretical consideration of the spontaneous decay of the quantum vacuum, believed to be a complex state of constantly fluctuating quantum fields with physical properties, dates back to the year 1931, but understanding is still in its infancy.

But it could soon happen that experimentalists are able to witness the spontaneous decay of the vacuum into pairs of particles of matter and antimatter in super strong electric fields. 

Statistical tests and economic forecasting are something of a joke; Paul Krugman is fun because he rants about Republicans in the New York Times but no one would ever actually let him manage money.