Science News
Applying physics to understanding the mystery of consciousness
Phys.org - 25 May 2020 15:20
An international study involving Monash physicists has cornered a new approach to measure consciousness, potentially changing our understanding complex neurological problems.
Coronavirus mutations do not appear to increase transmissibility
Neuroscience News - 25 May 2020 21:51
Researchers have identified 6,822 mutations of SARS-CoV-2 across a global dataset. 273 mutations have occurred repeatedly and independently. Of those, researchers investigated 31 mutations that have occurred at least ten...
Babies know when you imitate them, and like it
Neuroscience News - 25 May 2020 20:58
By the age of six months, infants can recognize when an adult imitates them and perceive the imitator as more friendly.
A child's brain activity reveals their memory ability
Neuroscience News - 25 May 2020 20:19
Activity in the frontoparietal network during memory tasks reflected the individual working memory capabilities of children, with an activity pattern unique to working memory.
Problems with alcohol? 29 gene variants may explain why
Neuroscience News - 25 May 2020 19:48
Researchers have identified 29 genetic variants linked to problematic alcohol use. Nineteen of the genes were previously unknown independent risk factors for alcohol use disorder.
The sun may have formed because a small galaxy passed by the Milky Way
New Scientist - 25 May 2020 18:00
A small galaxy called Sagittarius passed close to the Milky Way four times in the past 6 billion years, which may have caused periods of intense star formation
New soliton laser pulses deliver high energy in a trillionth of a second
Phys.org - 25 May 2020 17:00
Scientists have developed a new type of laser that can deliver high amounts of energy in very short bursts of time, with potential applications in eye and heart surgery or the engineering of delicate materials.
Behavioural science advisers express concern over Cummings crisis
New Scientist - 25 May 2020 16:51
Leading behavioural scientists have expressed concern that the Dominic Cummings scandal could encourage people to disregard the UK's coronavirus restrictions
Russian military satellite launch spawns space-junk fireball over Australia (video)
Live Science - 25 May 2020 16:06
Russia launched a military satellite to orbit on Friday (May 22), and the mission generated plenty of drama in the downward direction as well.
Researchers observe protons 'playing hopscotch' in a high-pressure form of ice
Phys.org - 25 May 2020 15:53
An international team of researchers from University College Dublin (UCD) and University of Saskatchewan, Canada, have observed 'proton-hopping' movement in a high-pressure form of ice (Ice VII lattices).
Energy-recovery linear accelerator proposed for next-generation physics research
Phys.org - 25 May 2020 14:39
As physicists developed plans for building an electron-ion collider (EIC)--a next-generation nuclear physics facility to be built at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory for nuclear physics rese...
Researchers demonstrate high-efficiency emission of dispersive wave in gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers
Phys.org - 25 May 2020 14:20
In the past decade, anti-resonant, hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCFs) have become excellent platforms for studying ultrafast nonlinear optics such as ultrashort pulse compression to the single-cycle regime, ef...
New Marsquake study could shatter theories on how Mars was born
Live Science - 25 May 2020 13:00
Tantalizing details about Mars' seismic activity have been revealed for the very first time.
Development of electrode material improving the efficiency of salinity gradient energy
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(National Research Council of Science & Technology) Dr. Jeong Nam-Jo of Korea Institute of Energy Research(KIER) Marine Energy Convergence and Integration Research Team developed synthesis technologies of electrode mater...
Title: Two-dimensional MXene as a novel electrode material for next-generation display
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(Seoul National University) Researchers in the US and Korea reported the first efficient flexible light-emitting diodes with a two-dimensional titanium carbide MXene as a flexible and transparent electrode. This MXene-ba...
Performing optical logic operations by a diffractive neural network
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(Light Publishing Center, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics And Physics, Chinese Academy) Optical logic operations, as the basis of optical computing, hold huge potentials to many applications such as cryptog...
Astronomers see 'cosmic ring of fire,' 11 billion years ago
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3D (ASTRO 3D)) Astronomers have captured an image of a super-rare type of galaxy -- described as a 'cosmic ring of fire' -- as it existed 11 billion years ago.
Saturable plasmonic metasurfaces for laser mode locking
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(Light Publishing Center, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics And Physics, Chinese Academy) Nonlinear plasmonics, an interdisciplinary subject combining nonlinear and sub-wavelength optics, is an emerging field...
Synthesis of prebiotic peptides gives clues to the origin of life on Earth
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(Kazan Federal University) Coordination Compounds Lab of Kazan Federal University started researching prebiotic peptide synthesis in 2013 with the use of the ASIA-330 flow chemistry system. Many lab projects are devoted ...
Understanding ceramic materials' 'mortar' may reveal ways to improve them
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(University of Wisconsin-Madison) New research shows that in the important ceramic material silicon carbide, carbon atoms collect at those grain boundaries when the material is exposed to radiation. The finding could hel...
Lossless conduction at the edges
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(University of Basel) Atomically thin layers of the semimetal tungsten ditelluride conduct electricity losslessly along narrow, one-dimensional channels at the crystal edges. The material is therefore a second-order topo...
Exotic properties of helium-methane compounds inside giant planets
EurekAlert! - 25 May 2020 06:00
(Science China Press) Both helium and methane are major components of icy giant planets, however, whether they can react with each other is still an open question. Recently, scientists based in China and UK investigated ...