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UCLA physicists played prominent role in Nobel Prize-winning Higgs boson research

By Guest PostOctober 12, 2013Scienceatlas, belgium, Britain, CERN, cms experiment, compact muon solenoid, david cline, david saltzberg, electrons, forces of nature, francois englert, god particle, higgs boson particle, higgs boson research, jay hauser, Large Hadron Collider, lhc, nobel prize, peter higgs, photons, switzerland, ucla physicists

Two large collaborations of scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland made worldwide news in July 2012 when they announced independent observations of the elusive Higgs boson particle — a discovery hailed as one of the greatest scientific accomplishments of recent decades.

This so-called “God particle” was first postulated some 50 years ago as a crucial element of the modern theory of the forces of nature — it is, physicists say, what gives everything in the universe mass — and it had been the subject of worldwide searches ever since. (more…)

On the Road to Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing

By Guest PostOctober 11, 2013Sciencealexei fedorov, berkeley lab, bi2se3, bismuth strontium, calcium copper oxide, China, decoherence problem, Environment, eryin wang, fault tolerant, hao ding, high temperature superconductivity, majorana zero mode, mysterious quasiparticle, quantum computing, quantum data bit, qubit, shuyun zhou, supercomputer, topological surface state, tsinghua university, xi chen, xray photons

Collaboration at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source Induces High Temperature Superconductivity in a Toplogical Insulator

Reliable quantum computing would make it possible to solve certain types of extremely complex technological problems millions of times faster than today’s most powerful supercomputers. Other types of problems that quantum computing could tackle would not even be feasible with today’s fastest machines. The key word is “reliable.” If the enormous potential of quantum computing is to be fully realized, scientists must learn to create “fault-tolerant” quantum computers. A small but important step toward this goal has been achieved by an international collaboration of researchers from China’s Tsinghua University and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) working at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). (more…)

Poetry is like music to the mind, scientists prove

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2013Culture, Health, Scienceadam zeman, anatomical sense, art, brain imaging technology, favourite poetry, fmri technology, introspection, music to mind, poetry, prose, recollection, scientist, university of exeter

New brain imaging technology is helping researchers to bridge the gap between art and science by mapping the different ways in which the brain responds to poetry and prose.

Scientists at the University of Exeter used state-of-the-art functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, which allows them to visualise which parts of the brain are activated to process various activities.

No one had previously looked specifically at the differing responses in the brain to poetry and prose. (more…)

New Model Should Expedite Development of Temperature-Stable Nano-Alloys

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2013Sciencecarl koch, elevated temperature, hasan kotan, high temperature alloys, lightweight aluminum alloys, model, mostafa saber, nano alloys, nanoscale grain, nanoscale material, north Carolina, nuclear energy applications, ron scattergood, stabilizing agent, state university, temperature stable, theoretical model

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new theoretical model that will speed the development of new nanomaterial alloys that retain their advantageous properties at elevated temperatures.

Nanoscale materials are made up of tiny crystals, or grains, that are less than 100 nanometers in diameter. These materials are of interest to researchers, designers and manufacturers because two materials can have the same chemical composition but very different mechanical properties depending on their grain size. For example, materials with nanoscale grains can be harder and stronger than chemically identical materials with larger grains. (more…)

Moon: It’s the right time to return

By Guest PostOctober 7, 2013Sciencealberto saal, apollo 13, apollo lunar module, apollo mission, brown geologist, david r scott, exploration, genesis rock, geological exploration, geological hotspot, geology class, geology of moon, hadley apennine region, jim head, MIT, moon, NASA, planetary bodies, science engineering synergism

Last week, Apollo 15 commander David R. Scott, a visiting professor at Brown and one of 12 men to walk on the Moon, addressed Professor Jim Head’s introductory geology classes. He discussed the scientific returns of the Apollo missions and encouraged students to look to Apollo as a template for future human exploration of planetary bodies.

After the near-disaster of Apollo 13, NASA’s lunar exploration program stood at a crossroads. President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him to Earth had been achieved, and many wondered, given the dangers, if it might be time to scrap Apollo. (more…)

New Results from Daya Bay – Tracking the Disappearance of Ghostlike Neutrinos

By Guest PostOctober 7, 2013Scienceacrylic vessel, antineutrinos, Beijing, berkeley lab, beta beams, China, daya bay, daya bay collaboration, disappearance, electron, electron neutrinos, evolution of universe, ghostlike neutrinos, hong kong, jim siegrist, kam biu luk, kamland, ling ao, liquid holding, mass hierarchy, mass splitting, millions of quadrillions, minos, muon, neutrino energy, neutrino oscillations, south dakota, steve kettell, super beams, tau, universe

Daya Bay neutrino experiment releases high-precision measurement of subatomic shape shifting and new result on differences among neutrino masses

The international Daya Bay Collaboration has announced new results about the transformations of neutrinos – elusive, ghostlike particles that carry invaluable clues about the makeup of the early universe. The latest findings include the collaboration’s first data on how neutrino oscillation – in which neutrinos mix and change into other “flavors,” or types, as they travel – varies with neutrino energy, allowing the measurement of a key difference in neutrino masses known as mass splitting.

“Understanding the subtle details of neutrino oscillations and other properties of these shape-shifting particles may help resolve some of the deepest mysteries of our universe,” said Jim Siegrist, Associate Director of Science for High Energy Physics at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the primary funder of U.S. participation in Daya Bay. (more…)

New CU-Boulder-led study finds ‘microbial clock’ may help determine time of death

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2013Sciencebody farm, forensic tool, human corpses, microbial clock, time of death

An intriguing study led by the University of Colorado Boulder may provide a powerful new tool in the quiver of forensic scientists attempting to determine the time of death in cases involving human corpses: a microbial clock. (more…)

MU Researchers Identify Risk-Factors for Addictive Video-Game Use among Adults

By Guest PostOctober 6, 2013Scienceaddictive video game, adults, bruce bartholow, christopher engelhardt, diablo, fantasy worlds, farmville, games, joe hilgard, mmorpgs, play games, playing video game, problematic video game, risk factors, social interaction, university of missouri, use, world of warcraft

Escapism, social interaction and rewards fuel problematic gaming behaviors

COLUMBIA, Mo. – New research from the University of Missouri indicates escapism, social interaction and rewards fuel problematic video-game use among “very casual” to “hardcore” adult gamers. Understanding individual motives that contribute to unhealthy game play could help counselors identify and treat individuals addicted to video games.

“The biggest risk factor for pathological video game use seems to be playing games to escape from daily life,” said Joe Hilgard, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Individuals who play games to get away from their lives or to pretend to be other people seem to be those most at-risk for becoming part of a vicious cycle. These gamers avoid their problems by playing games, which in turn interferes with their lives because they’re so busy playing games.” (more…)

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