Clipmarks | dopesick's clips

Getting Closer to String Theory

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:45:18 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: Without string theory, physicists need two theories to explain how the universe works. General relativity explains gravity, while the other three basic forces are explained by the “standard model.” Moreover, gravity has been very difficult to reconcile with quantum theory, a problem for which string theory offers a solution.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

A major problem with string theory is that it has never been confirmed experimentally, which is where Donner Professor of Science Cumrun Vafa and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) come in.

A Harvard theoretical physicist has discussed with scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland the possibility that they may discover a theorized "stau" particle, with a lifetime of a minute or so, that could provide the first experimental confirmation of string theory.

String theory, developed in the late 1960s and early ’70s, is a theoretical physicists’ multitool, explaining in one model all four of the universe’s main forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the two that operate inside atomic nuclei, the strong force and the weak force.

Tags: lhc, physics, quantum, science, string theory

New quantum algorithm helpes solving big problems.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:02:18 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: “Large-scale linear systems of equations exist in many fields, such as weather prediction, engineering, and computer vision”, says Harrow. “Quantum computers could supply serious improvements for these and many other problems. For example, a trillion-variable problem would take a classical computer at least a hundred trillion steps to solve, but using the new algorithm, a quantum computer could solve the problem in just a few hundred steps”.

The solution could also be applied to other complex processes such as image and video processing, genetic analyses and even Internet traffic control.

Sounds pretty good to me!

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

One of the most basic problems in maths is solving very large linear equations. There's nothing mysterious about them, they simply take time and the more variables there are, the longer it takes. Even a supercomputer would struggle to solve a system of equations that has a trillion variables.

Aram Harrow at the University of Bristol and colleagues from MIT in the United States have discovered a quantum algorithm that solves large problems much faster than conventional computers can.

To understand how the quantum algorithm works, think of a digital equaliser in a stereo CD player. The equaliser needs to amplify some components of the signal and attenuate others. Ordinary equalisers employ classical computer algorithms that treat each component of the sound one at a time.

By contrast, a quantum equaliser could employ a quantum algorithm that treats all components together at once (a trick called 'quantum parallelism'). The result is a huge reduction in the difficulty of signal processing.

Tags: algorithm, computers, mathematics, mit, quantum, science, technology

H1N1 Virus Can Be Killed by Acidic Ozone Water

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:47:53 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: This is great!
But with so many supposed alternative "cures" that we've seen around, it's a little hard to trust this new one. Sounds good though and it's always good to keep the hopes up, right?

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Scientists have found that acidic ozone water can effectively kill H1N1 viruses, with the advantages that it leaves no environmentally harmful residue and is inexpensive to prepare.

Scientists have found that acidic ozone water can deactivate H1N1 viruses very effectively, offering a promising disinfectant for the millions of people trying to avoid the disease. Acidic ozone water (AOW) is made from regular tap water mixed with a small amount of acid such as hydrochloric acid, along with an ozonized gas that can be produced in the lab. After deactivating the virus, the substance eventually decays into plain water, leaving no residue or harmful materials in the environment.

AOW also has the advantage that it may cost significantly less to prepare compared with chemical disinfectants.

Tags: acidic ozone, aow, cure, flu, h1n1, influenza, science

Physicists Calculate Number of Parallel Universes

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:18:23 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: Think it's crazy? Check this out, then:
To work these numbers out, Linde and Vanchurin looked back to the time shortly after the Big Bang, which they view as a quantum process that generated lots of quantum fluctuations. Then during the period of inflation, the universe grew rapidly and these quantum fluctuations were "frozen" into classical perturbations in distinct regions. Today, each of these regions could be a different universe, having its own distinct laws of low energy physics.

By analyzing the mechanism (called "slow roll inflation") that initially generated the quantum fluctuations, the scientists could estimate the number of resulting universes at 10^10^10^7 (a number which is dependent on the model they used). However, this number is limited by other factors, specifically by the limits of the human brain. Since the total amount of information that one individual can absorb in a lifetime is about 10^16 bits, which is equivalent to 10^10^16 configurations, this means tha

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

The strongest limit on the number of possible universes is the human ability to distinguish between different universes.

Over the past few decades, the idea that our universe could be one of many alternate universes within a giant multiverse has grown from a sci-fi fantasy into a legitimate theoretical possibility. Several theories of physics and astronomy have hypothesized the existence of a multiverse made of many parallel universes. One obvious question that arises, then, is exactly how many of these parallel universes might there be.

In a new study, Stanford physicists Andrei Linde and Vitaly Vanchurin have calculated the number of all possible universes, coming up with an answer of 10^10^16. If that number sounds large, the scientists explain that it would have been even more humongous, except that we observers are limited in our ability to distinguish more universes; otherwise, there could be as many as 10^10^10^7 universes.

Tags: parallel, physics, quantum, science, space, universe

Invisible hand in invisible matter. Dark matter might not exist.

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:09:08 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: Dr Famaey added, "If we account for our observations with a modified law of gravity, it makes perfect sense to replace the effective action of hypothetical dark matter with a force closely related to the distribution of visible matter."

The implications of the new research could change some of the most widely held scientific theories about the history and expansion of the universe.

Lead researcher Dr. Gianfranco Gentile at the University of Ghent concludes, "Understanding this puzzling conspiracy is probably the key to unlock the formation of galaxies and their structures."
What about NASA's direct proof on dark matter's existance? Broken study?

This is actually makes sense, but so far is a little hard to accept. Does anyone have any ideas about this?

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

An international team of astronomers have found an unexpected link between mysterious 'dark matter' and the visible stars and gas in galaxies that could revolutionise our current understanding of gravity.

Such a force might solve an even bigger mystery, known as 'dark energy', which is ruling the accelerated expansion of the Universe. A more radical solution is a revision of the laws of gravity first developed by Isaac Newton in 1687 and refined by Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity in 1916. Einstein never fully decided whether his equation should add an omnipresent constant source, now called dark energy.

the team believes that the interactions between dark and ordinary matter could be more important and more complex than previously thought, and even speculate that dark matter might not exist and that the anomalous motions of stars in galaxies are due to a modification of gravity on extragalactic scales.

Tags: dark matter, physics, science, space, universe, visible matter

Did you know?

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:24:23 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: This is a great video everyone should take some time to watch. We see daily many different advances on science, technology, internet... Everywhere, journals, blogs, radio, TV, here, on Clipmarks, reading some very interesting clips about many new creations, advances, innovations, new things that we just find awesome. But at the end of the day, putting everything together, do we ask ourselves what does all this means in a more general context?

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Wonderful, concise video that helps raise awareness of the issues of globalization in our newly connected world first raised in Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat. Karl Fisch remixed content from David Warlick, Thomas Friedman, Ian Jukes, Ray Kurzweil and others, added some music, and came up with the following presentation.

Tags: revolution, social media, statistics, technology, video, youtube

Infant pain, adult repercussions

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:29:49 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks:
Continuation:

To test this hypothesis, LaPrairie and Murphy gave adult animals that were injured at the time of birth a drug called naloxone. This drug blocks the actions of endogenous opioids. After animals received an injection of naloxone, they behaved just like an uninjured animal.

The scientists then focused on the periaqueductal gray region to see if inflammation at birth altered the natural opioid protein expression in this brain region. Using a variety of anatomical techniques, the investigators showed that animals that were injured at birth had endogenous opioid levels that were two times higher than normal.

While it's beneficial to decrease pain sensitivity in some cases, it's not good to be completely resilient to pain.
-------------------------------------------
Wow, I had now idea of that. The feeling of pain fascinates me. It's just so interesting how important it is and to think how it works... Sometimes we may not even pay attention to it, but many of

Clip Source: www.labspaces.net

Scientists at Georgia State University have uncovered the mechanisms of how pain in infancy alters how the brain processes pain in adulthood.

Research is now indicating that infants who spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) show altered pain sensitivity in adolescence. These results have profound implications and highlight the need for pre-emptive and post-operative pain medicine for newborn infants.

Using Sprague-Dawley rats, Jamie LaPrairie, a graduate student in associate professor Anne Murphy's laboratory, examined why the brief experience of pain at the time of birth permanently decreased pain sensitivity in adulthood.

Endogenous opioid peptides, such as beta-endorphin and enkephalin, function to inhibit pain.

Since these peptides are released following injury and act like morphine to dampen the experience of pain, LaPrairie and Murphy tested to see if the rats, who were injured at birth, had unusually high levels of endogenous opioids in adulthood.

Tags: brain, injury, neurology, pain, science

Hearing Voices – Underpinnings of Auditory Hallucinations

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:11:39 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: What exactly is going on in the brain during auditory hallucinations? And is the act of hearing voices inside one’s head always incontrovertible evidence of psychosis? In recent years, the use of MRIs, PET scans and other imaging technologies has given researchers some specific clues about these and other questions.
This is very interesting, so far there was nothing that confirmed that there are any kinds of brain tissue abnomalities in schizophrenic people, this research, done by a group of researchers at the University of Bergen, Norway can help in the development of new therapy techniques on people with auditory hallucinations.

They spotted an abnormal activity on a brain's area which is related to external speech (the right middle temporal gyrus), which can be the cause of language processing dysfunctions.
Most notably, the group of British researchers hypothesized that if such language dysfunction “has its origins in early brain development, it might be possible to dete

Clip Source: brainblogger.com

Auditory hallucinations are considered by many medical professionals to be the most frequent and reliable symptom of psychosis. More than 70 percent of diagnosed schizophrenics suffer from them at some point in the course of their disease.

The main question the scientists sought to answer was whether there are identifiable brain tissue abnormalities in schizophrenic patients who frequently hear voices. And there are. Confirming earlier studies, Hugdahl’s group found significantly reduced grey matter density in the left peri-Sylvian region, an area of the cerebral cortex that includes Broca’s Area, Wernicke’s Area, and other language-processing structures. Lesions to the so-called peri-Sylvian region of the left superior temporal gyrus can cause loss of language capabilities. The researchers found that “hallucinating patients had significantly reduced grey matter density in the left superior temporal gyrus, the medial prefrontal cortex in peri-ventricular areas, and in the thalamus.”

Tags: auditory, brain, hallucination, mind, neurology, schizophrenia, science, voices

Nanodiamonds Advance Anticancer Gene Therapy

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:50:11 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: Dr. Ho and his research team engineered surface-modified nanodiamond particles that successfully and efficiently delivered DNA into mammalian cells. The delivery efficiency was 70 times greater than that of a conventional standard for gene delivery.
That's just great!

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Gene therapy holds promise in the treatment of cancer as well as a large number of other diseases. However, developing a scalable system for delivering genes to cells both efficiently and safely has been challenging. Now, two teams of researchers have developed versatile nanotechnology-enabled platforms that could get therapeutic genes safely and efficiently into cancer cells.

In one study, a team of Northwestern University researchers has shown that nanodiamonds can serve as a novel gene delivery technology that combines key enhanced delivery efficiency along with outstanding biocompatibility, all in one drug delivery package. “Finding a more efficient and biocompatible method for gene delivery than is currently available is a major challenge in medicine,” said Dean Ho, Ph.D., who led the research. “By harnessing the innate advantages of nanodiamonds, we now have demonstrated their promise for gene therapy.”

Tags: anticancer, gene, nano, nanodiamonds, science, technology

Could we create quantum creatures in the lab?

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:48:03 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: By impinging on the virus, it forces it into a superposition of both its ground state and next vibrational energy state. Now the virus should be doing two different things at once " the equivalent of you simultaneously mowing the lawn and doing the shopping. "They have come up with a really neat experiment " inventive and I think feasible," says Peter Knight of Imperial College London.
You can read the full article for more details on the process. It's worth reading if you care enough or are just curious.

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

Quantum weirdness could soon invade the living world, if a scheme to give a flu virus a strange double life comes off.

In quantum theory, a single object can be doing two different things at once. This so-called "superposition" is a delicate state, destroyed by any contact with the outside world. The largest objects that have been superposed so far are molecules. It is hard to put a much larger object such as a cat or human into a superposition because air molecules and photons are always bouncing off it.

But it might be possible with a small life form, according to Oriol Romero-Isart of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching, Germany, and his colleagues. They hope to prove the concept with the flu virus, which exhibits some properties of life, because it can survive in a vacuum – solving the problem of pesky air molecules.

Water bears, similar to the one pictured here, can survive in a vacuum and might be made to behave like quantum objects

Tags: creation, creature, physics, quantum, science, technology

Unidentified Creature: Panama Teens Discover Alien-Like Animal

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:27:02 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: 1... 2... 3... Go! You can all throw your opinions now!

Ps: the video is in the HuffingtonPost website.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Four teenagers in Panama claim they encountered a creature that was photographed, dead on a rock.

It appears to have an animal-like head, but a strange body with skinny, human like arms. Some say it's an alien while others say it's an animal that's never been seen before.

The teens said, the creature was alive when they found it and it started coming after them, so they threw rocks and sticks at it, killing it.

Zoologists in Panama said they're not sure what it is, but it appears to be a dead fetus of some kind.

UPDATE: Darren Naish of ScienceBlogs.com says the creature is "very obviously" a sloth, though he has a difficult time explaining its hairless torso and head.

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

Tags: alien, creature, miscellaneous, panama

Early Risers Crash Faster Than People Who Stay Up Late

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:36:33 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: More important, these regions included the suprachiasmatic area, which is home to the body’s circadian clock. This area sends signals to boost alertness as the pressure to sleep mounts. Unlike night owls, early risers didn’t get this late-day lift. Peigneux says faster activation of sleep pressure appears to prevent early birds from fully benefiting from the circadian signal, as evening types do.
Wait wait, did he just say the night owls showed no difference in attention-related brain activity and instead, after 10 hours they had grown more alert? This is great! I always worried about that, now seems like I don't have to, anymore.

Clip Source: www.scientificamerican.com

Early birds may get the best worms—or at least the best garage sale deals—but they also tire out more quickly than night owls do. In a new study researchers Christina Schmidt and Philippe Peigneux, both at the University of Liège in Belgium, and their colleagues first asked 16 extreme early risers and 15 extreme night owls to spend a week following their natural sleep schedule. Then subjects spent two nights in a sleep lab, where they again followed their preferred sleep patterns and underwent cognitive testing twice daily while in a functional MRI scanner.

An hour and a half after waking, early birds and night owls were equally alert and showed no difference in attention-related brain activity. But after being awake for 10 and a half hours, night owls had grown more alert, performing better on a reaction-time task requiring sustained attention and showing increased activity in brain areas linked to attention.

Tags: neurology, science, sleep

Velcro on steroids

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:33:33 GMT

clipped by: dopesick

Clip Source: sciencenews.org

Made from steel, the newly patented fasteners can operate at temperatures as high as 800° Celsius and at tensile loads of up to 35 metric tons per square meter.

Velcro of steel

When pressed together, barbs on the upper tape of a new steel fastener will lock into tiny metal catches on the bottom strip. The fastener can withstand exposures to high temperatures and strong chemicals.

In the new Metaklett fasteners, rows of protruding, gently barbed points cover one surface of a perforated metal strap. A second strap houses rows of catches that stand poised to lock any barbed points in place. Pulling the paired straps apart releases the barbs. But just as with Velcro, the locked straps won’t loosen and slide with strong shear forces.

Josef Mair, a mechanical engineer who heads a team that helped develop the university’s working prototypes, says the connectors could be used in automotive systems — such as near exhaust pipes where extreme heat and corrosive gases might degrade other fasteners

Tags: fastener, science, steel, technology, velcro

Trapped girls raised alarm on Facebook

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:59:22 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: Now come on, it is a nice story and everything but as said, if they had access to facebook, why not just dial 000 for the Fire Service? Endangering their lives just for a story to tell their friends?

Clip Source: au.news.yahoo.com

The South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) says it is worrying that two girls lost last night in a stormwater drain raised the alert on a social networking site rather than ringing 000.

The 10 and 12-year-old girls updated a Facebook status to say they were lost in a drain on Honeypot Road at Hackham in Adelaide's south.

Glenn Benham from the MFS says it was fortunate a young male friend was online at the time and was able to call for help on their behalf.

"It is a worry for us because it causes a delay on us being able to rescue the girls," he said.

"If they were able to access Facebook from their mobile phones, they could have called 000, so the point being they could have called us directly and we could have got there quicker than relying on someone being online and replying to them and eventually having to call us via 000 anyway."

Tags: facebook, miscellaneous

Moonbell: Transforming Moon's topography into music

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:38:57 GMT

clipped by: dopesick
clipper's remarks: Freaking awesome!
Playing with the preferences can reproduce some sounds that pretty much ressembles the old cartoons or old video games. Pretty nice.

Clip Source: www.forevergeek.com

Yes, it’s a fairly bizarre concept — take data from Japan’s Kaguya explorer as it orbited the moon between 2007 and 2009 and then assign musical notes and instruments to that data.

Sadly, it’s a Java applet (sorry, I have a thing about avoiding Java unless it’s absolutely necessary) but it’s still definitely worth a look. You can tweak a number of parameters to get the sort of effect you want.

Tags: miscellaneous, moon, music, topography