Atomic bond types discernible in single-molecule images. 13 September 2012Last updated at 17:36 ET By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News The bonds at centre appear shorter than those at the edges, as more electrons are present in them A pioneering team from IBM in Zurich has published single-molecule images so detailed that the type of atomic bonds between their atoms can be discerned. The same team took the first-ever single-molecule image in 2009 and more recently published images of a molecule shaped like the Olympic rings.
The new work opens up the prospect of studying imperfections in the "wonder material" graphene or plotting where electrons go during chemical reactions. The images are published in Science. The team, which included French and Spanish collaborators, used a variant of a technique called atomic force microscopy, or AFM. AFM uses a tiny metal tip passed over a surface, whose even tinier deflections are measured as the tip is scanned to and fro over a sample. Children with older fathers and grandfathers 'live longer' 11 June 2012Last updated at 22:24 ET By Michelle Roberts Health editor, BBC News website Delaying fatherhood may offer survival advantages, say US scientists who have found children with older fathers and grandfathers appear to be "genetically programmed" to live longer. The genetic make-up of sperm changes as a man ages and develops DNA code that favours a longer life - a trait he then passes to his children.
The team found the link after analysing the DNA of 1,779 young adults. Their work appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Shoelace tips Experts have known for some time that lifespan is linked to the length of structures known as telomeres that sit at the end of the chromosomes that house our genetic code, DNA. Like the plastic tips on shoelaces, telomeres protect chromosomal ends from damage. However, scientists have discovered that in sperm, telomeres lengthen with age. Telomeres (in red) cap the ends of chromosomes Continue reading the main story “Start Quote. Can hot water freeze faster than cold water?
[Physics FAQ] - [Copyright] Written Nov, 1998 by Monwhea Jeng (Momo), Department of Physics, University of California Yes — a general explanation History of the Mpemba Effect More-detailed explanations References Yes — a general explanation Hot water can in fact freeze faster than cold water for a wide range of experimental conditions. The phenomenon that hot water may freeze faster than cold is often called the Mpemba effect. This seems impossible, right? What's wrong with this proof is that it implicitly assumes that the water is characterized solely by a single number — its average temperature. It is still not known exactly why this happens. Why hasn't modern science answered this seemingly simple question about cooling water? So with the limited number of experiments done, often under very different conditions, none of the proposed mechanisms can be confidently proclaimed as "the" mechanism. Finally, supercooling may be important to the effect.
History of the Mpemba Effect Evaporation. Boltzmann brain. A bust of Ludwig Boltzmann, for whom Boltzmann brains are named A Boltzmann brain is a hypothesized self aware entity which arises due to random fluctuations out of a state of chaos. The idea is named for the physicist Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906), who advanced an idea that the universe is observed to be in a highly improbable non-equilibrium state because only when such states randomly occur can brains exist to be aware of the universe. The Boltzmann brains concept is often stated as a physical paradox. (It has also been called the "Boltzmann babies paradox".[1]) The paradox states that if one considers the probability of our current situation as self-aware entities embedded in an organized environment, versus the probability of stand-alone self-aware entities existing in a featureless thermodynamic "soup", then the latter should be vastly more probable than the former if both scenarios are to be created out of random fluctuations.
Boltzmann brain paradox[edit] See also[edit] Notes[edit] Timeline of the far future. Marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows. The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies. They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines.
Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy. THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer. Free Classes. Awesome Instructors. Inspiring Community. Tech tycoons in asteroid mining venture | Science. A group of hi-tech tycoons including Google's Larry Page and Eric Schmidt have teamed up with explorer and film-maker James Cameron in a venture to mine nearby asteroids, hoping to turn science fiction into real profits.
The megamillion dollar plan is to use commercially built robotic ships to squeeze rocket fuel and valuable minerals such as platinum and gold out of the rocks that routinely whizz by Earth, with the aim of having a space-based fuel station up and running by 2020. The inaugural step, to be achieved in the next 18 to 24 months, would be to launch the first of a series of private telescopes that would search for rich asteroid targets. The entrepreneurs announcing the project in Seattle on Tuesday have a track record of making big money off ventures into space.
Company founders Eric Anderson and Peter Diamandis pioneered the idea of selling rides into space to tourists and, Diamandis's company offers "weightless" airplane flights. "A depot within a decade seems incredible. Virtualizing storage for scale, resiliency, and efficiency - Building Windows 8. In this post, we are going to dive into a feature in the Windows 8 Developer Preview.
Storage Spaces are going to dramatically improve how you manage large volumes of storage at home (and work). We’ve all tried the gamut of storage solutions—from JBOD arrays, to RAID boxes, or NAS boxes. Many of us have been using Windows Home Server Drive Extender and have been hoping for an approach architected more closely as part of NTFS and integrated with Windows more directly. In building the Windows 8 storage improvements, we set out to do just that and developed Storage Spaces.
Of course, the existing solutions you already use will continue to work fine in Windows 8, but we think you will appreciate this new feature and the flexible architecture. By my own admission, I am a digital packrat. Windows 8 provides a new capability called Storage Spaces enabling just that. Organization of physical disks into storage pools, which can be easily expanded by simply adding disks.
Pools and spaces - Rajeev. Flexible Remote Backup & Online Storage. Space firm about to make a big announcement. I take a stab at what it is. I’m overwhelmed with work right now prepping for a half dozen different things, but I had to make some comment on a press release I just got in the mail. Here’s the important bit [emphasis mine]: Join visionary Peter H. Diamandis, M.D.; leading commercial space entrepreneur Eric Anderson; former NASA Mars mission manager Chris Lewicki; and planetary scientist & veteran NASA astronaut Tom Jones, Ph.D. on Tuesday, April 24 at 10:30 a.m.
PDT in Seattle, or via webcast, as they unveil a new space venture with a mission to help ensure humanity’s prosperity.Supported by an impressive investor and advisor group, including Google’s Larry Page & Eric Schmidt, Ph.D.; film maker & explorer James Cameron; Chairman of Intentional Software Corporation and Microsoft’s former Chief Software Architect Charles Simonyi, Ph.D.; Founder of Sherpalo and Google Board of Directors founding member K.
Well now, what could that mean? What natural resources are there in space? Yes, you heard me. [UPDATE: Heh. Gizmag | New and Emerging Technology News. 'Universal' cancer vaccine developed. Neil deGrasse Tyson: "Adventures of an Astrophysicist" [1/11] DNA, Hot Pockets, & The Longest Word Ever: CrashCourse Biology #11.