Science News

The BICEP2/Planck joint analysis is out. Evidence for "B-mode" polarized light in the Cosmic Microwave Background NOT confirmed. Too much interstellar dust in our galaxy - which can produce the same effect. Too bad. I don't know if there is a way around this dust problem with future instruments. (As I understand it, inflation -- the extreme expansion of the very early universe -- is theorized to produced gravitational waves. These in turn would produce a swirling B-mode polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background. This is what the BICEP2 telescope in the South Pole was looking for.) Link: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Planck/Planck_gravitati…

Scientific American blog says Earth is still getting hotter but not at the same rate. Per the article, the slowdown is caused by "the timing of two large ocean cycles, known as the Pacific multidecadal oscillation and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation." This slowdown is predicted to end in the next few decades. If true, this is good and bad news. Good news because it gives us more time to put carbon-free energy sources in place before the worst of global warming hits us. Bad news because it could be an excuse to slow carbon reduction actions and give deniers more fuel (no pun intended) to argue against global warming. Link: http://blogs.scientificamerican.co…

The author of the Science Daily article seemed to say this work might be important. Any comments? There are two articles that may be the source of this report. The Nexus graviton: A quantum of Dark Energy and Dark Matter Stuart Marongwe International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics Vol. 11, No. 06, 1450059 (2014) 1450059 The Schwarzschild solution to the Nexus graviton field Stuart Marongwe International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics Online Ready 1550042

Using a new technique scientists managed to photograph wave particle duality. http://actu.epfl.ch/news/the-first-ever-photograph-of-light-as-both-a-parti/ If anyone comes across the arxiv article for this I would enjoy studying it.

Full article The real issue is not that he received funding from corporations, but that he did not declare conflict of interest in his published articles. That being said, it should be noted that the researcher in question was a part-time employee and had to secure funding for his job himself. It is obvious that people in that position are most vulnerable to financial incentives from the private sector (if only to keep their job), which is one of the reason why tenure was implemented in the first place.

Head transplants now possible? Is the ultimate way to fight the aging of your body or a deranged bid to fight the inevitable? http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22530103.700-first-human-head-transplant-could-happen-in-two-years.html#.VO9oR3zF-uJ

(Phys.org) —Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today's electronics. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-06-all-solid-sulfur-based-battery-outperforms-lithium-ion.html#jCp

Hello! Mysterious clouds on the Mars can reach 250 km and remain 10 days visible http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Mystery_Mars_plume_baffles_scientists http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2955902/The-mysterious-giant-clouds-spotted-Mars-Scientists-left-baffled-150-mile-high-plumes-coming-red-planet.html Best Regards!

http://phys.org/news/2015-02-big-quantum-equation-universe.html Now just include the forgotten instrument between the ears and bang.

Amazing! http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150212141449.htm

Finding gravity waves, if that's what they really are, is cool but determining or interpreting their cause or meaning is another matter. Although Einstein predicted gravity waves so did many past and present aether models. As to these "waves" being produced by an Inflation epoch, I think is highly speculative since It would seem they could have had many other causes and explanations. This is good news for supporters of General Relativity and for those supporting other models and hypothesis that have predicted such waves.

There is an announcement happening right now regarding the latest set of results from BICEP2. It has already be hyped and those in the blogosphere are hoping for an earth-shattering announcement regarding gravitational waves. Here is Sean Carroll's take http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2014/03/16/gravitational-waves-in-the-cosmic-microwave-background/ Will keep the thread updated. Here is the original press release http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=42751 As you can see it is as understated as most press releases now days And here now is today's press release (I have pasted a fair chunk as the source site keeps crashing and…

Hello! Cosmic inflation: BICEP 'underestimated' dust problem http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29305985 It's half year old, but I don't see it being mentioned in some thread (at least searching for BICEP). "But what can be said now, adds Prof Coles, is that BICEP's March claim "was premature, to say the least"." Best Regards!

Steven Weinberg looks back at rise of scientific method "Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg is a legend of 20th century physics, one of the chief architects of the mathematical structure that describes nature’s particles and forces. It’s the confluence of predictions based on that math and the experimental observations confirming them that gives modern physics its preeminence as a way of knowing how the world works. Science wasn’t always like that. In ancient and medieval times, philosophical reasoning attempted to explain the heavens and the Earth, but the connection to experimental method was missing, Weinberg relates in To Explain the World. " https://www.sciencen…

Now detected the first suns after the Big Bang at 600,million years . Stars are 1 million times brighter than our Sun and 1000 more massive than our Sun Light and heat for first 380,000 years . Then at the recombination ( atoms formed) Darkness up to 600 million years after big bang . Then at this time the super massive stars formed. BBC News Thursday 5th Feb 2015 6 oclock evening News link :- http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0511d0t/bbc-news-at-six-05022015 See following simulation of one of these Stars shown in Bulletin. James Webb telescope now currently to follow the research up ,to give us more insights to this period, taking measure…

Hey, Peoples, guess what, WE ARE ALMOST AT PLUTO, so we will get some pictures! This is very exciting for me personally. I was starting second grade when they launched the space craft, and have been watching this project for a while , and am so happy it's almost in viewing distance. This will be a great break through for science. I've always imagined what it would look like on Pluto, and we will be able to see shortly Here it the link to the article I read: http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-pluto-new-horizons-20150125-story.html#page=2 Thanks for reading!

Building a clear shell around a small planet to hold in an atmosphere seems like a no brainer at first, lots of hydrocarbons in space to make a poly-carbonate shell small robots crawling around on the inside or outside to repair any holes.... "sunbathing on Mercury or jamming on Jupiter which do you prefer " Daedalus http://www.space.com/23063-terraforming-planets-shell-worlds.html?cmpid=545402

Hey, I wanted to share some videos from The University of Manchester with you all that talk about all the developments they're making in Graphene There are two really interesting ones about: composites and membranes might be worth a look if you're interested in Graphene

It does not say how much effect whales have on climate, but the following video explains that some whales feed deep in the ocean, surface and spread poop at the surface that contains Fe and N, which promotes plankton growth. Plankton absorbs CO2; thus, whales affect climate; fish feed on plankton, which means whales increase fish numbers. See: http://vimeo.com/112551821 It seems to me that OTEC (Ocean Thermal Electric Conversion) also pulls nutrients from deep in the ocean and promotes plankton growth. Although the economics of generating electricity with OTEC are poor, the added benefits of increased plankton, CO2 sequestration, increased fish population, and fre…

http://insights.globalspec.com/article/423/u-s-nuclear-power-plants-break-efficiency-records As resident curmudgeon of the forum I have a few complaints about the article. The gain is negligible and is in capacity factor or reliability rather than efficiency in the thermodynamic sense. The formula used to derive results > 100% is absent, as is the fact that these plants are all decades old and built overwhelmingly with yesterday's technology. And "carbon free", for those who care about such matters. Nevertheless, it is so rare for the nuclear industry to get any sort of good publicity, I thought it worthwhile to mention.

http://insights.globalspec.com/article/430/swiss-nuclear-power-plant-retrofit-for-hydrogen-control While I am certainly not opposed in any way to nuclear safety, I am puzzled by the responses of the Swiss to the Fukushima incident. To begin with, the proximate cause of the notorious meltdown was the drowning of the auxiliary cooling system's diesel engines by the tsunami. Fukushima was the only such installation affected by said tsunami, the others have been restored to service, and the historical record of tsunamis affecting Switzerland is nil, leading one to conclude that the threat of such Alpine tsunamis is remote.

The underground injection of CO2 is currently the aim of global warming policy-makers. But in our panicked desperation, let's not make things even worse by cracking the bedrock and salting the groundwater. “We have faults that are accumulating stress over thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, even in Iowa,” says Stanford University geophysicist Mark Zoback. “So when you inject water or gas or any fluid it can set some of them off. ... Stanford’s Zoback says the standard calculations that have convinced some that immense volumes of CO2 can be buried safely in the pore space of deep formations reflect “science that could be done by a fourth grader. They are leaving…

I have to admit, when I first heard about 3D printing I rolled my eyes. I'm a scientist, but even I couldn't see the practical value. Well, I'm starting to think I was wrong (isn't the first time, won't be the last). Check out this article on 3D Printers in manufacturing. I mean, GE is investing 50 million in it! Here's the article: 3D Printers Build on Manufacturing Success Anyway, check it out and tell me what you think. Is 3D printing a fad? I used to think so...but now I'm less sure.