Science News

In Science Vosoughi et al published a paper showing that fake news on social media spread faster and wider than real news. This difference was not driven by bots, but by actual users. The spread of false news is also driven by network structure, but rather simply by the fact that most users seem to favour fake news. These findings, together with decreasing trust to mainstream media (Gallup: from 1998-2016, %great deal of trust: 59-> 51 democrats; 53->30 independents; 52->14 republicans), especially in the younger segment, highlight that it may become more difficult for folks to decide on what is fact or fiction.

DataAlign has been designed with you in mind. You wouldn't require any technical skiil or IT degree to use it. Simply, upload your data and the technology will do the rest, enabling you to focus on what really matters; your business. Despite the physical drive getting cheaper, there is always a need to back up your data online to ensure data redundancy. Having the data backed up on a cheap online data backup server will help you not only protect data but also keep it cost efficient. Online Cloud Backup There is always a risk attached when you store your data on physical disks like computer’s drive or an external drive. It is recommended to use online data backup as…

Yes according to François Hammer Et Al. it is very possible that Andromeda (as we know it) formed over a billion years after our own solar system did. A French and Chinese collaboration of scientists made deep observations between 2008 and 2014 and came up with a numerical model. They fed the model into some of the most powerful computers in France and got back a simulation that produces a galaxy that is a dead ringer for Andromeda. Their hypothesis is that between 7 and 10 billion years ago a much larger galaxy collided with a smaller one. The merger finally settled into the configuration we know (and love) between 1.8 and 3 billion years ago. https://www.obs…

BBC article about a series of articles published today in Science about finds in Kenya spanning a million years of human development and evolution, including links to historic climate and other conditions changes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43401157

Scientists probing the reason why cancer is far less common in individuals with Huntington's disease have revealed that the gene responsible for the fatal brain condition produces a molecule that is deadly to cancer cells.https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320908.php

Researchers have produced a "human scale" demonstration of a new phase of matter called quadrupole topological insulators that was recently predicted using theoretical physics. These are the first experimental findings to validate this theory. The researchers report their findings in the journal Nature. The team's work with QTIs was born out of the decade-old understanding of the properties of a class of materials called topological insulators. "TIs are electrical insulators on the inside and conductors along their boundaries, and may hold great potential for helping build low-power, robust computers and devices, all defined at the atomic scale," said mechanical…

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field in Light and Sound Explanation: Have you heard about the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field? Either way, you've likely not heard about it like this -- please run your pointer over the featured image and listen! The Hubble Ultra-Deep Field(HUDF) was created in 2003-2004 with the Hubble Space Telescope staring for a long time toward near-empty space so that distant, faint galaxies would become visible. One of the most famous images in astronomy, the HUDF is featured here in a vibrant way -- with sonified distances. Pointing to a galaxy will play a note that indicates its approximate redshift. Because redsh…

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-08/worlds-largest-solar-and-wind-hydrogen-plant-proposed-for-sa/9526706 'World's largest' solar and wind hydrogen plant proposed for regional SA: A new solar and wind hydrogen plant, which has been dubbed the largest in the world, has been proposed for Crystal Brook in South Australia's Mid North. The Labor Government has committed $25 million in grants and loans to renewable energy company, Neoen, to finalise plans and — pending development approvals — commence construction of a Hydrogen Superhub. The French company also owns and operates the Hornsdale Wind Farm in Jamestown, SA, the site of the Tesla lithium-…

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/03/08/erie-pa-buried-under-13-feet-of-snowfall-breaks-all-time-record/ In latest news another climate record tumbles.

http://www.citigroup.com/citi/news/2015/150218a.htm If it has to have $100Bn poured in then it is really sustainable? It is a bit like filling the car with a full tank of petrol and then claiming it is running without fuel...until the fuel runs out. That $100Bn represents energy being added to the 'sustainable' system. Energy produced by fossil fuels. If the system is running by itself after 10 years AND is able to produce a big enough surplus to provide for its replacement AND pay back the capital it absorbed then it counts as sustainable. Otherwise I cannot see how it qualifies.

http://joannenova.com.au/2018/03/giant-spanish-bank-spends-e100-b-on-earths-weather-cos-they-are-nice-people/ So what does "spending $100bn" mean? It means consuming $100Bn worth of energy, most of which has come from fossil fuels. Spending money = Consuming energy.

Seen it here. https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/03/07/exclusive-an-ugly-chapter-that-didnt-make-the-bestseller-book-the-politically-incorrect-guide-to-climate-change/

https://phys.org/news/2018-03-chemical-sleuthing-unravels-path-life.html Chemical sleuthing unravels possible path to forming life's building blocks in space March 5, 2018, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Scientists have used lab experiments to retrace the chemical steps leading to the creation of complex hydrocarbons in space, showing pathways to forming 2-D carbon-based nanostructures in a mix of heated gases. The latest study, which featured experiments at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), could help explain the presence of pyrene, which is a chemical compound known as a polycyclic aromatic…

https://phys.org/news/2018-02-simulations-weather-patterns-india-due.html Simulations suggest changes in weather patterns coming to India due to global warming February 27, 2018 by Bob Yirka, Phys.org A team of researchers with the Center for Prototype Climate Modeling, New York University Abu Dhabi, and the University of California has created a computer simulation to predict changes in weather for India in the coming years as the planet warms due to global warming. In their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes the data and factors they applied to their models and outlines what the simulations r…

https://phys.org/news/2018-03-species-ravens-nevermore-evidence-speciation.html Two species of ravens nevermore? New research finds evidence of 'speciation reversal' For over a century, speciation—where one species splits into two—has been a central focus of evolutionary research. But a new study almost 20 years in the making suggests "speciation reversal"—where two distinct lineages hybridize and eventually merge into one—can also be extremely important. The paper, appearing March 2 in Nature Communications, provides some of the strongest evidence yet of the phenomenon, in two lineages of Common Ravens."The bottom line is [speciation reversal] is a natural evol…

Ipsos have carried out a survey of what people perceive about the world, versus how it is. In general, particularly when it comes to crime and terrorism, people think things are much worse than they are. The ideas about alcohol consumption by country are quite amusing: stereotypical and generally wrong (you will probably be surprised by the country with the highest alcohol consumption). https://perils.ipsos.com/slides/ And, perhaps not surprisingly, the countries where people are most confident about their answers are also the countries where they are most wrong.

Unprecedentedly wide and sharp dark matter map March 2, 2018, Subaru Telescope Figure 1: 2 dimensional dark matter map estimated by weak lensing technique. The dark matter is concentrated in dense clumps. We can identify massive dark matter halos (indicated by oranges circles). The area shown in this figure is approximately 30 square degrees (a total of 160 square degrees were observed this time). The distribution map without the orange circles is available here. Credit: NAOJ/University of Tokyo A research team of multiple institutes, including the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and University of Tokyo, released an unprecedentedly wide and …

A new type of virus has been found that could have a profound influence on ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2018-01-virus-ocean.html

What wonders lie beneath... https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/03/scientists-discover-ancient-mayan-city-hidden-under-guatemalan-jungle

Hello forum, If you are interested in a short paper on the Construction of "KAGRA: an Underground Gravitational Wave Observatory" in Japan. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.00148.pdf

Astronomers reveal secrets of most distant supernova ever detected February 20, 2018, University of Portsmouth Supernova. Credit: NASA An international team of astronomers, including Professor Bob Nichol from the University of Portsmouth, has confirmed the discovery of the most distant supernova ever detected – a huge cosmic explosion that took place 10.5 billion years ago, or three-quarters the age of the Universe itself. The exploding star, named DES16C2nm, was detected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES), an international collaboration to map several hundred million galaxies in order to find out more about dark energy – the mysterious force believed to …

A scientist takes a photo of a single atom using an ordinary camera: https://qz.com/1205279/photo-of-an-atom-a-scientist-captured-an-incredible-photograph/ (Didn't we have someone here recently claiming that atoms don't exist!) Five ways the heaviest element on the periodic table is really bizarre: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/5-ways-heaviest-element-periodic-table-really-bizarre Discrepancy in neutron lifetime measurements might hint at new physics (but probably not dark matter): https://www.quantamagazine.org/neutron-lifetime-puzzle-deepens-but-no-dark-matter-seen-20180213/ (I wonder is this might be relevant to the discrepancy in the amount of of lithi…

The BBC report on the long term orbital behaviour of Musk's Tesla, launched by the Falcon Heavy last week. Here is an extract: The Tesla car that Elon Musk launched into space is likely to stay there for tens of millions of years before crashing into the Earth or Venus. That's the conclusion of an analysis by Czech and Canadian researchers. They calculated that the roadster has a 6% chance of colliding with Earth and a 2.5% probability of hitting Venus over the next million years. But there's no cause for concern: if it eventually returns to Earth, most of the vehicle will burn up. The team's computer simulations suggest there is a very sli…

In a (now trashed) thread, Moontanman linked to an interesting story about the role of retroviruses in brain function and memory: That was a very poorly written article (in one sentence, I couldn't even work out what the "it" referred to). But it still looked like very interesting, so here is a better one (with references to the original papers): https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-00492-w

https://phys.org/news/2018-02-astrophysicists-planets-extragalactic-galaxies-microlensing.html Astrophysicists discover planets in extragalactic galaxies using microlensing February 2, 2018, University of Oklahoma The gravitational lens RX J1131-1231 galaxy with the lens galaxy at the center and four lensed background quasars. It is estimated that there are trillions of planets in the center elliptical galaxy in this image. Credit: University of Oklahoma A University of Oklahoma astrophysics team has discovered for the first time a population of planets beyond the Milky Way galaxy. Using microlensing—an astronomical phenomenon and the only known…