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The First Spectroscopic Measurement of an Anti-Atom

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2012Scienceafrd, alpha collaboration, anti atoms trapped, antielectrons, antihydrogen, antihydrogen atom, antimatter, astronomy, atomic spectrum, berkeley lab, CERN, charge conjugation, cosmic rays, cpt, electric interaction, electron, emission line, geneva, hydrogen, hydrogen atom, hyperfine splitting, joel fajans, jonathan wurtele, magnetic, magnetic fields, magnetic trap, microwaves, parity, positrons, proton nucleus, quantum state, resonant frequency, simone straka, spectroscopic measurements, spin, symmetrical state, time reversal, trapped hydrogen, universe

*Berkeley Lab scientists helped build and operate the ALPHA antimatter trap at CERN, which has now probed the internal structure of the antihydrogen atom for the first time, taking the first step toward possible new insights into the difference between matter and antimatter*

The ALPHA collaboration at CERN in Geneva has scored another coup on the antimatter front by performing the first-ever spectroscopic measurements of the internal state of the antihydrogen atom. Their results are reported in a forthcoming issue of Nature and are now online.

Ordinary hydrogen atoms are the most plentiful in the universe, and also the simplest – so simple, in fact, that some of the most fundamental physical constants have been discovered by measuring the tiny energy shifts resulting from the magnetic and electric interactions of hydrogen’s proton nucleus with its single orbiting electron. (more…)

New Method For Estimating Parameters May Boost Biological Models

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2012Sciencebiological models, biological systems modeling, optimization algorithms, oscillatory biological systems, parameter estimation methods

Modeling biological systems can provide key insights for scientists and medical researchers, but periodic cycles that repeat themselves – so-called oscillatory systems – pose some key challenges. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new method for estimating the parameters used in such models – which may advance modeling in research areas ranging from cancer to fertility. (more…)

NASA Mars Orbiter Catches Twister in Action

By Guest PostMarch 11, 2012Scienceamazonis planitia, dust devil, earth, hirise, mars, mars reconnaissance orbiter, martian year, NASA, sun rays, tornado, university of arizona, whirlwind

An afternoon whirlwind on Mars lofts a twisting column of dust more than half a mile (800 meters) high in an image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

HiRISE captured the image on Feb. 16, 2012, while the orbiter passed over the Amazonis Planitia region of northern Mars. In the area observed, paths of many previous whirlwinds, or dust devils, are visible as streaks on the dusty surface. (more…)

Scientists Discover Land-Ocean Connections off Moloka’i

By Guest PostMarch 10, 2012Scienceamphipods, ashley rowden, bottom fish, canyon, canyon effect, coastal macroalgae, concentration, craig smith, depleted oxygen, earth worms, eel, eric vetter, fabio de leo, family macrouridae, halosaurs, hawaii pacific university, hawaiian archipelago, isopods, jeff drazen, macro invertebrate, mollusks, molokai, noaa, north shore, omz, organic matter, oxygen minimum zone, polychaete worms, rattail fishes, salt lake city, sediment, shark, sixgill shark, soest, submarine canyon, synaphobranchids, tanaids, tiny crustaceans, utah

*Tree trunks, leaves, and kukui nuts indirectly feed bottom fish in submarine canyons off Moloka’i*

Scientists from UH Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) recently discovered that land-based plant material and coastal macroalgae indirectly support the increased abundances of bottom fish in submarine canyons, like those off the north shore of Moloka’i. Less than a few miles from the shore, these underwater canyons connect to deep river valleys that cut across the landscape of north Moloka’i. The high elevation and forested landscapes along Moloka’i’s north shore provide plant material, including decomposing tree trunks, leaves and tons of kukui nuts, which enter the ocean via river valleys and “pile up” on submarine canyon floors. (more…)

Iridescent, Feathered Dinosaur Offers Fresh Evidence That Feathers Evolved to Attract Mates

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2012Scienceaerodynamic functions, anchiornis, archaeopteryx, austin, catapults, color, dinosaurs, evolution of feathers, feather pattern, feathers, fossil, four winged dinosaur, julia clarke, living birds, mark norell, mate attracting, matt shawkey, mick ellison, microraptor, modern birds, peking university, pigment, quanguo li, rui pei, thermoregulation, university of akron, university of texas, velociraptor

AUSTIN, Texas — A team of American and Chinese researchers has revealed the detailed feather pattern and color of Microraptor, a pigeon-sized, four-winged dinosaur that lived about 120 million years ago. A new specimen shows the dinosaur had a glossy iridescent sheen and that its tail was narrow and adorned with a pair of streamer feathers, suggesting the importance of display in the early evolution of feathers, as presented in the March 9 edition of the journal Science.

The research was conducted by scientists at the Beijing Museum of Natural History, Peking University, The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Akron, and the American Museum of Natural History. (more…)

Gravitational Lens Reveals Details of Distant, Ancient Galaxy

By Guest PostMarch 9, 2012Sciencedistant galaxy, gravitational field, gravitational lens, gravitational lensing, gravitational telescope

Thanks to the presence of a natural “zoom lens” in space, University of Chicago scientists working with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a uniquely close-up look at the brightest gravitationally magnified galaxy yet discovered. (more…)

Researchers Capture First-Ever Images of Atoms Moving in a Molecule

By Guest PostMarch 8, 2012Scienceatomic scale, diffraction pattern, electron signal, molecular motion, vibrating atom

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Using a new ultrafast camera, researchers have recorded the first real-time image of two atoms vibrating in a molecule. (more…)

Responding to the Radiation Threat

By Guest PostMarch 7, 2012Environment, Scienceactinides, actinium, berkeley lab, biomimetic approach, cancerous, cold war, curium, dahlia an, decontamination, dirty bomb, dtpa, eleanor blakely, event, fukushima daiichi, glenn seaborg, health threats, hopo, hydroxypyridonate ligands, iron, japanese official, kathleen bjornstad, ken raymond, lawrencium, mass contamination, models, multidentate hydroxypyridonate ligands, natural chelators, new york times, nobel laureate, nuclear power plant, nuclear reactor accident, patricia durbin, periodic table, plutonium, radiation exposure, radioactive chemical elements, radioactivity, rebecca abergel, terrorist attack, tokyo metropolitan area, triple meltdown, university of california, uranium

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Developing Promising Treatment for Safely Decontaminating Humans Exposed to Radioactive Actinides*

The New York Times recently reported that in the darkest moments of the triple meltdown last year of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japanese officials considered the evacuation of the nearly 36 million residents of the Tokyo metropolitan area. The consideration of so drastic an action reflects the harsh fact that in the aftermath of a major radiation exposure event, such as a nuclear reactor accident or a “dirty bomb” terrorist attack, treatments for mass contamination are antiquated and very limited. The only chemical agent now available for decontamination – a compound known as DTPA – is a Cold War relic that must be administered intravenously and only partially removes some of the deadly actinides – the radioactive chemical elements spanning from actinium to lawrencium on the periodic table – that pose the greatest health threats. (more…)

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