Jonathan Williams
- UMD Astronomy
- https://www.astro.umd.edu/~jonvwill/
NSF Astronomical Sciences/Electromagnetic Spectrum Management · Astrophysicist · Engineer · Posts are my own.
Joined Dec 2017
More Multiverse Madness
"The 'multiverse' – the idea that our universe is only one of infinitely many – enjoys some credibility, at least in the weirder corners of theoretical physics. But there are good reasons to be skeptical, and I’m here to tell you all of them."
http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2018/01/more-multiverse-madness.html
Plastic waste associated with disease on coral reefs
"Coral reefs provide vital fisheries and coastal defense, and they urgently need protection from the damaging effects of plastic waste. Lamb et al. surveyed 159 coral reefs in the Asia-Pacific region. Billions of plastic items were entangled in the reefs. The more spikey the coral species, the more likely they were to snag plastic. Disease likelihood increased 20-fold once a coral was draped in plastic."
U.S. doctors plan to treat cancer patients using CRISPR
"The first human test in the U.S. involving the gene-editing tool CRISPR could begin at any time and will employ the DNA cutting technique in a bid to battle deadly cancers.
"Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania say they will use CRISPR to modify human immune cells so that they become expert cancer killers, according to plans posted this week to a directory of ongoing clinical trials."
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609999/us-doctors-plan-to-treat-cancer-patients-using-crispr/
#NSF 's Dr. Ashley Zauderer tells the Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee that spectrum management, and defense of scientific uses of the radio spectrum, are crucial activities for astrophysics and other disciplines.
New Antennas Will Take CubeSats to Mars and Beyond: By packing big antennas into tiny satellites, JPL engineers are making space science cheap
https://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/satellites/new-antennas-will-take-cubesats-to-mars-and-beyond
Internet rumors have long warned that artificial sweeteners cause cancer.
It looks like it might be just the opposite.
"Artificial Sweetener Could Offer Superior Cancer Treatments"
Prediction of titanic nitride proved unsinkable: Long sought-after form of cubic, semiconducting titanium nitride synthesized
"A team of experimental and computational scientists have synthesized a long sought-after form of titanium nitride, which has promising mechanical and optoelectronic properties."
Research funded by the National Science Foundation
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180125085108.htm
MIT Group May Have Solved The Liquid Sodium Battery Conundrum
"A battery that uses a liquid sodium electrode was first proposed in 1968. While revolutionary in theory, in practice it required a specialized membrane manufactured from ultra thin ceramic material to keep the components of the battery separated. Not only was the ceramic membrane expensive to manufacture, it was also exceedingly brittle, making it impractical for real world use."
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/26/mit-group-may-solved-liquid-sodium-battery-conundrum
The largest gap in Near-Earth-Objects awareness is for objects from 140m to 1km in size.
NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office received over 18 million observations of Near-Earth Objects, from 76 countries, in 2016.
Afterglow from Neutron-Star Merger Continues to Puzzle Astrophysicists
"The afterglow from the distant neutron-star merger detected last August has continued to brighten – much to the surprise of astrophysicists studying the aftermath of the massive collision that took place about 138 million light years away and sent gravitational waves rippling through the universe."
https://scitechdaily.com/afterglow-from-neutron-star-merger-continues-to-puzzle-astrophysicists/
"NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office: established in January 2016 to address and plan response to asteroid impact hazard."
-- NASA-‐LSST Near-‐Earth Object Collaborations, by NASA's LTC Lindley Johnson, Planetary Defense Officer
Presentation given at NSF's Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee
New Biosensor Can Monitor Glucose Levels From Contact Lenses
"Researchers report in the journal ACS Nano the development of an ultra-thin, flexible sensor that could be incorporated into contact lenses or on the backs of watches for real-time glucose tracking."
https://scitechdaily.com/new-biosensor-can-monitor-glucose-levels-from-contact-lenses/
Physicists Take First Step Towards Quantum Dot Based Spin Qubit Registers
"The worldwide race to create more, better and reliable quantum processors is progressing fast, as a team of TU Delft scientists led by Professor Vandersypen has realized yet again. In a neck-and-neck race with their competitors, they showed that quantum information of an electron spin can be transported to a photon, in a silicon quantum chip."
https://scitechdaily.com/physicists-take-first-step-towards-quantum-dot-based-spin-qubit-registers/
Oldest Stars in the Galaxy Provide Clues to Dark Matter
"Just how quickly is the dark matter near Earth zipping around? The speed of dark matter has far-reaching consequences for modern astrophysical research, but this fundamental property has eluded researchers for years."
https://scitechdaily.com/oldest-stars-in-the-galaxy-provide-clues-to-dark-matter/
In the meantime, here's a baby one-horned, or Indian, rhino loving taking a shower.
The Indian rhino is considered a great success story for conservation; after declining to a population of about 200 at the end of the 20th Century due to poaching, numbers are currently estimated at more than 3,500.
Tomorrow is #CoSoScience #Friday!
NSF Director: Federal Funds Are Key to Scientific Discovery
Physicists are planning to build lasers so powerful they could rip apart empty space
Does cloud seeding really work? An experiment above Idaho suggests humans can turbocharge snowfall
(Research funded by the National Science Foundation)
www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/does-cloud-seeding-really-work-experiment-above-idaho-suggests-humans-can-turbocharge
Jonathan Williams
- UMD Astronomy
- https://www.astro.umd.edu/~jonvwill/
NSF Astronomical Sciences/Electromagnetic Spectrum Management · Astrophysicist · Engineer · Posts are my own.
Joined Dec 2017