"Subsurface Microbes Alive Millions of Years May Exist on Mars" “It just keeps looking better for conditions of habitability on Mars,” said Brent Christner, associate professor of biological sciences at LSU. “This is relevant in an astrobiological sense because if these DNA repair mechanisms operate in Earth’s cryosphere, extraterrestrial microbes might be using this survival mechanism to persist on other icy worlds in the solar system. We are very excited about these results.” Christner said that new reserach make it reasonable to speculate that if life ever evolved on Mars and microbes are still frozen somewhere in the subsurface, those microbes might still be viable if given the right conditions. Most microbial researchers grow their cells in petri-dishes to study how they respond to stress and damaging conditions.
"Transition from Inorganic to Organic Life was Based on Information, Not Chemistry" In a nutshell, the authors shift attention from the "hardware" – the chemical basis of life – to the "software" – its information content.
To use a computer analogy, chemistry explains the material substance of the machine, but it won't function without a program and data. Davies and Walker suggest that the crucial distinction between non-life and life is the way that living organisms manage the information flowing through the system. "When we describe biological processes we typically use informational narratives – cells send out signals, developmental programs are run, coded instructions are read, genomic data are transmitted between generations and so forth," Walker said. "Act as a Giant Mixer for the Galaxy" The image above is an artist's impression of what the Milky Way might look like viewed from above.
The small blue dot is where we are on Earth (not to scale). Clothes. Gimball: A crash-happy flying robot. Gimball bumps into and ricochets off of obstacles, rather than avoiding them.
This 34 centimeter in diameter spherical flying robot buzzes around the most unpredictable, chaotic environments, without the need for fragile detection sensors. This resiliency to injury, inspired by insects, is what sets it apart from other flying robots. Gimball is protected by a spherical, elastic cage which enables it to absorb and rebound from shocks. It keeps its balance using a gyroscopic stabilization system. New paradigm for solar cell construction demonstrated. For solar panels, wringing every drop of energy from as many photons as possible is imperative.
This goal has sent chemistry, materials science and electronic engineering researchers on a quest to boost the energy-absorption efficiency of photovoltaic devices, but existing techniques are now running up against limits set by the laws of physics. Now, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University have experimentally demonstrated a new paradigm for solar cell construction which may ultimately make them less expensive, easier to manufacture and more efficient at harvesting energy from the sun. The study was led by professor Andrew M. "Contain Atomic Matter Emitting at 66% the Speed of Light" The Visible-light Hubble image above shows the jet emitted by the 3-billion-solar-mass black hole at the heart of galaxy M87.
An international team of astronomers has just answered a long standing question about these enigmatic jets. "Biological Intelligence is a fleeting Phase in the Evolution of the Universe" (Holiday Weekend Feature) "I think it very likely – in fact inevitable – that biological intelligence is only a transitory phenomenon, a fleeting phase in the evolution of the universe," Davies writes in The Eerie Silence.
"If we ever encounter extraterrestrial intelligence, I believe it is overwhelmingly likely to be post-biological in nature. " Self-driving Cars and Autonomous Robots: Where to Now? (Op-Ed) This article was originally published at The Conversation.
The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. There isn’t a radio-control handset in sight as a nimble robot briskly weaves itself in and out of the confined tunnels of an underground mine. Powerful tool for genetic engineering. Viruses cannot only cause illnesses in humans, they also infect bacteria.
Those protect themselves with a kind of 'immune system' which -- simply put -- consists of specific sequences in the genetic material of the bacteria and a suitable enzyme. It detects foreign DNA, which may originate from a virus, cuts it up and thus makes the invaders harmless. Black silicon slices and dices bacteria. The spiky surface of black silicon shred certain types of bacteria, offering the potential of new antibacterial surfaces Image Gallery (2 images) Originally discovered by accident in the 1980s, black silicon is silicon with a surface that has been modified to feature nanoscale spike structures which give the material very low reflectivity.
Researchers have now found that these spikes can also destroy a wide range of bacteria, potentially paving the way for a new generation of antibacterial surfaces. Surface structures similar to black silicon can be found in nature. China Launches 1st Moon Rover Mission to Search Out Natural Resources. China's President Xi Jinping has said he wants China to establish itself as a space superpower.
The mission has inspired widespread pride in China's growing technological prowess, with a goal of sending a human to the moon some time after 2020. Chinese state-run television broadcast footage of the rocket’s perfect launch and ascent into space, where the Chang’e-3 craft set off toward the moon. If the lunar mission is successful, China will become the third country, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to soft-land on the moon.
Beijing stresses that its space program is for peaceful purposes. Common bias known as 'endowment effect' not present in hunter-gatherer societies. Centuries of economic theory have been based on one simple premise: when given a choice between two items, people make the rational decision and select the one they value more. But as with many simple premises, this one has a flaw in that it is demonstrably untrue. The fields of psychology and behavioral economics have experimentally identified a laundry list of common biases that cause people to act against their own apparent interests. One of these biases -- the mere fact of possessing something raises its value to its owner -- is known as the "endowment effect. " A new interdisciplinary study from the University of Pennsylvania has delved into whether this bias is truly universal, and whether it might have been present in humanity's evolutionary past.
The study was led by Coren Apicella, an assistant professor in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Psychology, and Eduardo Azevedo, an assistant professor in Wharton's Department of Business Economics and Public Policy.
Superconductivity switched on by magnetic field. Superconductivity and magnetic fields are normally seen as rivals -- very strong magnetic fields normally destroy the superconducting state. Physicists at the Paul Scherrer Institute have now demonstrated that a novel superconducting state is only created in the material CeCoIn5 when there are strong external magnetic fields. This state can then be manipulated by modifying the field direction. The material is already superconducting in weaker fields, too. In strong fields, however, an additional second superconducting state is created which means that there are two different superconducting states at the same time in the same material. 1st Cosmic Evidence of Neutrinos at Antarctica Observatory. The existence of such neutrinos and the process that leads to their creation in the proximity of supernovas, black holes, pulsars, active galaxies, or other extreme extra-galactic phenomena have been discussed in many scientific papers.
The IceCube Observatory was specifically developed to examine the frequency and type of high-energy neutrinos as well as to gain an understanding of their origins. "Tiny Primordial Black Holes are a Viable Candidate for Dark Matter" Scientists are still debating whether dark matter, which provides the elusive missing mass needed to keep galaxies from flying apart, is made of microscopic particles or macroscopic bodies. On the “macro” side, dark matter could consist of relatively small black holes that formed in the early Universe. If true, astronomers might detect one of these so-called primordial black holes as gravitational lenses of background stars. The cuurent thinking is that dark matter consists of a new type of particle -a WIMP- that interacts weakly with all the known forces of the universe except gravity, meaning that dark matter is invisible with its presence only detectable via the gravitational pull it exerts.
For four years, Griest and his colleagues monitored roughly 150,000 Kepler stars at a distance of about 3200 light years. New Evidence that the Universe has No Center. Unknown Forces Causing Milky Way to "Flutter Like a Huge Flag in the Wind" Cosmic Superstrings Might Sing in Gravity Waves. Unknown Forces Causing Milky Way to "Flutter Like a Huge Flag in the Wind" Two Key Ingredients for Habitable Planets Found for 1st Time Beyond Our Solar System. Astronomers have found the shattered remains of an asteroid that contained huge amounts of water orbiting an exhausted star, or white dwarf (image above).
Ceres (dwarf planet) From Earth, the apparent magnitude of Ceres ranges from 6.7 to 9.3, and hence even at its brightest it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye except under extremely dark skies. 6a00d8341bf7f753ef019b03d18845970d-pi (JPEG Image, 571 × 411 pixels) "Contain Atomic Matter Emitting at 66% the Speed of Light" Drug to Reduce Risk of Space Radiation Cancers? Mice fed an experimental anti-inflammatory drug three days before exposure to space-like radiation developed half as many carcinomas as mice that did not get the compound, a finding that has implications for astronauts on long-duration missions, as well as people on Earth receiving radiation treatments for therapeutic reasons, new research shows. The compound, which is derived from plant moss, belongs to a family of drugs called synthetic triterpenoids, which in addition to easing inflammation appear have powerful antioxidant properties.
ANALYSIS: NEWSFLASH: Mars is Toxic Synthetic triterpenoids already are in clinical trials and appear to be useful in treating kidney disease, diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, pulmonary diseases, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and various cancers. "Subsurface Microbes Alive Millions of Years May Exist on Mars" World's Smallest Ear Can Hear Germs. A pin dropping is pretty quiet.
But what about a bacterium? Hearing anything smaller than a certain size would ordinarily be tough to do. Halley's Comet May Be Linked to Famine 1,500 Years Ago. SAN FRANCISCO — The ancients had ample reason to view comets as harbingers of doom, it would appear. Seeing Coldest Blobs in the Universe in New Light. "Mars Once had Long Flowing Rivers that Emptied into Lakes and Shallow Seas" A New Theory Embraces the Cosmic through Geological, Chemical, and Biological Stages.
"Act as a Giant Mixer for the Galaxy" One weird theory could make anti-gravity and faster-than-light travel possible. Cool shit. Star at Edge of Milky Way Closest to Composition of Big Bang Ever Discovered. Logiciels. Small size enhances charge transfer in quantum dots. A nano-sized sponge made of electrons. Thin, active invisibility cloak demonstrated for first time. New paradigm for solar cell construction demonstrated.
Taking a new look at carbon nanotubes. Spinning atoms in light crystals. Nano Panels Beam Heat Into Space. Cosmic Flows of the Local Universe (VIDEO) Possibility of cloning quantum information from the past. Laser light at useful wavelengths from semiconductor nanowires. You can't get entangled without a wormhole: Physicist finds entanglement instantly gives rise to a wormhole. "Biological Intelligence is a fleeting Phase in the Evolution of the Universe" (Holiday Weekend Feature) 'Spinning trap' developed to measure electron roundness. Giant Plasma Spirals Found on the Sun. Researchers create nonlinear light-generating zero-index metamaterial. "Strange, Alien Form of Matter Found at Core" Astronomers find exoplanet floating through interstellar space.
Garmin D2 pilot watch promises an avionics center for your wrist. Titian "Venus of Urbino" (1538) Futuristic copper foam batteries get more bang for the buck. Futuristic copper foam batteries get more bang for the buck. The reins of Casimir: Engineered nanostructures could offer way to control quantum effect. Habitable Alien Planets: "Distance from Star Determines Liquid-Water Biosphere" Swarming robot cleaner concept wins Design Lab 2013. Volvo to replace body parts with energized carbon fiber panels. A Mirror of Mars' Life? "Ancient Earth Water Discovered Cut Off from Sun Dating Back 2.7 Billion Years" Carbyne: The new world's strongest material? Just two weeks in orbit causes changes in eyes. SkyRunner car goes off-road and off-ground.
Black silicon slices and dices bacteria. Persuading light to mix it up with matter. Why plants usually live longer than animals. The Biology Project: Biochemistry. Wood-framed Sandwichbike ready to hit the streets. New Wave Energy wants to put power plants in the sky.