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Particle Accelerator That Can Fit on a Tabletop Opens New Chapter for Science Research

By Guest PostJune 21, 2013Scienceaustin, charged particles, conventional accelerator, electrons, Environment, factor, gev, gev electron beam, gigaelectronvolts, laser plasma accelerator, laser pulse, mike downer, motorboat, multi gigaelectronvolt, particle accelerator, physicist, physicists, puff of gas, science research, space charge fields, tabletop, Technology, texas petawatt laser, toshiki tajima, university of texas, xray source

AUSTIN, Texas — Physicists at The University of Texas at Austin have built a tabletop particle accelerator that can generate energies and speeds previously reached only by major facilities that are hundreds of meters long and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build.

“We have accelerated about half a billion electrons to 2 gigaelectronvolts over a distance of about 1 inch,” said Mike Downer, professor of physics in the College of Natural Sciences. “Until now that degree of energy and focus has required a conventional accelerator that stretches more than the length of two football fields. It’s a downsizing of a factor of approximately 10,000.” (more…)

Life underground

By Guest PostJune 14, 2013Environmentactive bacteria, beneath, bioinformatician, carbon, deep biosphere, ecosystem, Environment, fungi, genetic material, heavy pressure, jennifer biddle, life underground, messenger rna, metatranscriptome, microbes, microscopic organisms, million year old, mrna, nucleus containing cells, nutrient sources, ocean, ocean drilling program, oxygen, seafloor, sediment, teresa messmore, university of delaware, virginia edgcomb, volcano, whoi, william orsi

Active microbes discovered far beneath seafloor in ancient ocean sediment

Microbes are living more than 500 feet beneath the seafloor in 5 million-year-old sediment, according to new findings by researchers at the University of Delaware and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Genetic material in mud from the bottom of the ocean — called the deep biosphere —revealed an ecosystem of active bacteria, fungi and other microscopic organisms at depths deeper than a skyscraper is high. The findings were published in Nature on June 12. (more…)

Tactics of new Middle East virus suggest treating by altering lung cells’ response to infection

By Guest PostJune 7, 2013Healthacute, antiviral reaction, China, DNA, Environment, flu virus, h7n9 influenza virus, host, human coronavirus, human coronavirus emc, immune response, killing the virus, laurence josset, lisa e gralinski, lung cell gene, lung cells, mbio, michael g katze, middle east virus, pathogen interactions, respiratory syndrome virus, response to infection, rna, sars, sudhakar agnihothram, tactics, university of washington, vineet d menachery, virologist

A new virus that causes severe breathing distress and kidney failure elicits a distinctive airway cell response to allow it to multiply. Scientists studying the Human Coronavirus-Erasmus Medical Center, which first appeared April 2012 in the Middle East, have discovered helpful details about its stronghold tactics.

Their findings predict that certain currently available compounds might treat the infection. These could act not by killing the virus directly but by keeping lung cells from being forced to create a hospitable environment for the virus to reproduce. The researchers caution that their lab and computer predictions would need to be tested to see if the drugs work clinically. (more…)

UCLA study shows warming in central China greater than most climate models indicated

By Guest PostJune 1, 2013Environmentaradhna tripati, atmospheric fronts, atmospheric phenomena, Beijing, calcium carbonate, carbon dioxide, central, central china, climate models, clumped isotope thermometry, Environment, greenhouse gases, ipsl model, jet stream, last ice age, loess, loess plateau, Mississippi, model, nebraska, numerous factors, past climate change, precipitation patterns, robert eagle, soil carbonates, space sciences, sustainability, temperature, ucla researchers, water cycling, wind blown dust

Temperatures in central China are 10 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit hotter today than they were 20,000 years ago, during the last ice age, UCLA researchers report — an increase two to four times greater than many scientists previously thought.

The findings, published on May 14, 2013, in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help researchers develop more accurate models of past climate change and better predict such changes in the future. (more…)

Building the intelligent car of the future

By Guest PostMay 7, 2013Technologyauto pc, automotive industry, babe ruth, california, carmakers, clarion, data, david kelley, david walker, death valley, duke ellington, Environment, environmental conditions, future, intelligent car, jay loney, john hendricks, melissa quintanilha, Microsoft, microsoft tbox, model, northern sweden, pranish kumar, promised land, Technology, windows embedded automotive, windows update

Microsoft: Working with automotive industry to design an updateable car that’s easier to use and responds to the driver’s needs.

Microsoft’s Pranish Kumar and his team work to develop reliable in-car experiences, not by sitting at a desk but by working behind the wheel of a fleet of test vehicles. (more…)

Monitoring concrete

By Guest PostMay 4, 2013Sciencealkali silica reaction, asr, asr affected concrete, asr damage, chemical, concrete, construction material, cracking, deldot, DNA, dry environments, Environment, environmental engineering, environmental stressors, harsh environment, internal chemical reactions, julie maresca, kinds of microbes, microbiology, monitoring concrete, non destructive methodology, nutrient requirements, ph, physical stresses, potassium, project, salt concentrations, silica minerals, sodium, temperature fluctuations, thomas schumacher, university of delaware

UD professors study microbes as potential biomarkers for damaged concrete

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. However, many concrete roadways and bridges crack due to internal chemical reactions, temperature fluctuations or external chemical and physical stresses.

One internal chemical reaction is the Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) that destroys the concrete from within. (more…)

Yale Researchers Identify Salt as a Trigger of Autoimmune Diseases

By Guest PostMarch 14, 2013Healthautoimmune diseases, autoimmune encephalomyelitis, aviv regev, david hafler, destructive immune system, dietary salt, disease, dominik mueller, Environment, function, gene, Germany, hallmark of autoimmunity, high salt content, hypertension, immune cell, low fat diet, low salt, molecular circuitry, ms, multiple sclerosis, mystery, Nature, pathogenic th17 cells, prime suspect, sub-saharan africa, t helper 17, th17 cell, vijay kuchroo

For the past few decades, health officials have been reporting increases in the incidence of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Now researchers at Yale Medical School, Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute have identified a prime suspect in the mystery — dietary salt.

In the March 6 issue of the journal Nature, Yale researchers showed that salt can induce and worsen pathogenic immune system responses in mice and that the response is regulated by genes already implicated in a variety of autoimmune diseases. (more…)

Human Cognition Depends Upon Slow-Firing Neurons

By Guest PostFebruary 26, 2013Sciencealzheimer's disease, amy arnsten, any sensory stimulation, brain circuits, clear thinking, cognitive deficits, dementia, disease, Environment, firing of neurons, glutamate signaling regulate, good mental health, hallmark, human cognition, john krystal, mathematical models, medicine, mental sketch pad, min wang, molecular basis, nao j gamo, neuronal firing, new york university, nmda nr2b receptors, prefrontal cortex, receptors, schizophrenia, street drug, types of nmda, xiao jing wang, yale neurobiologist, yale school, yang yang

Good mental health and clear thinking depend upon our ability to store and manipulate thoughts on a sort of “mental sketch pad.” In a new study, Yale School of Medicine researchers describe the molecular basis of this ability — the hallmark of human cognition — and describe how a breakdown of the system contributes to diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

“Insults to these highly evolved cortical circuits impair the ability to create and maintain our mental representations of the world, which is the basis of higher cognition,” said Amy Arnsten, professor of neurobiology and senior author of the paper published in the Feb. 20 issue of the journal Neuron. (more…)

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