discuss Science & Technology news & discussion

[CraigD]

Post and discuss interesting articles & videos about science and technology.

You don't need to be an expert - just interested in the wonders of modern science, technology, and the history of these fields.

Please keep it rational, and post articles from reputable sources.
Try not to editorialise headlines and keep the copy to just a paragraph with a link to the original source. When quoting excerpts from articles, I think the best method is to italicise the copy, and include a link to the source.

Have some fun with your comments and discussions... just keep the sources legitimate.

Other threads:
The Break Room has a number of other popular threads, so there is no need to post material here that is better suited to these other threads:

- Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news
- Conspiracy Thread Free For All
- The *religious* discussion thread

Please enjoy!

 

[koolishman]

Nasa's giant new SLS Moon rocket makes its debut​

The vehicle, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), was taken to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to conduct a dummy countdown.

If that goes well, the rocket will be declared ready for a mission in which it will send an uncrewed test capsule around the Moon.

This could happen in the next couple of months.

 

[koolishman]

Hot poles: Antarctica, Arctic 70 and 50 degrees above normal​

Weather stations in Antarctica shattered records Friday as the region neared autumn. The two-mile high (3,234 meters) Concordia station was at 10 degrees (-12.2 degrees Celsius),which is about 70 degrees warmer than average, while the even higher Vostok station hit a shade above 0 degrees (-17.7 degrees Celsius), beating its all-time record by about 27 degrees (15 degrees Celsius), according to a tweet from extreme weather record tracker Maximiliano Herrera.

 

[CraigD]

Nasa's giant new SLS Moon rocket makes its debut​

Show attachment 212299


The vehicle, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), was taken to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to conduct a dummy countdown.

If that goes well, the rocket will be declared ready for a mission in which it will send an uncrewed test capsule around the Moon.

This could happen in the next couple of months.

She is a beauty!

More pictures from NASA's rollout of the enormous SLS (Artemis I):
https://images.nasa.gov/album/Artemis_I_Rollout_for_Wet_Dress_Rehearsal

 

[J Sokol]

Could Ukraine war help end west’s reliance on hydrocarbons?​

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have a profound impact on the world’s race to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, climate experts have warned – but it may not all be negative.

Vladimir Putin’s attempts to wield his dominance over European energy supplies as a weapon to limit interference in his war appear in danger of backfiring. Europe is embarking on a clean energy push that could reduce Russian gas imports by more than two-thirds, while the UK will set out an energy security strategy within days that will emphasise renewable power. In the US – as well as pumping more fossil fuels – president Joe Biden is renewing efforts to pass his mauled green investment package.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...e-war-help-end-wests-reliance-on-hydrocarbons

 

[koolishman]

UNLV Researchers Discover New Form of Ice​

A team of scientists working in UNLV’s Nevada Extreme Conditions Lab pioneered a new method for measuring the properties of water under high pressure. The water sample was first squeezed between the tips of two opposite-facing diamonds—freezing into several jumbled ice crystals. The ice was then subjected to a laser-heating technique that temporarily melted it before it quickly re-formed into a powder-like collection of tiny crystals.

By incrementally raising the pressure, and periodically blasting it with the laser beam, the team observed the water ice make the transition from a known cubic phase, Ice-VII, to the newly discovered intermediate, and tetragonal phase, Ice-VIIt, before settling into another known phase, Ice-X.

While it’s unlikely we’ll find this new phase of ice anywhere on the surface of Earth, it is likely a common ingredient within the mantle of Earth as well as in large moons and water-rich planets outside of our solar system.

 

[CraigD]

Black Summer bushfire smoke altered ozone-depleting chemicals in atmosphere, study finds​

As they circled the globe, massive plumes of smoke from the devastating Black Summer fires kickstarted changes in the atmosphere that may have caused a drop in ozone levels, a new study suggests.

A team of researchers, led by Peter Bernath of the University of Waterloo, found smoke from the 2019-2020 fires caused extreme changes in a number of ozone-depleting gases at mid-latitude locations.

...The Black Summer fires produced huge weather systems known as pyrocumulonimbus clouds, which pumped record-breaking amounts of smoke and aerosols directly into the stratosphere between 10 and 30 kilometres above Earth.

Full article: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science...ummer-bushfires-ozone-layer-altered/100908234

 

[CraigD]

Astronomers Could Detect Gravitational Waves by Tracking the Moon's Orbit Around the Earth​

... As these gravitational waves pass through the Earth-Moon system, they should shift the orbit of the Moon very slightly. This effect would be most dramatic at a frequency equal to the Moon’s orbital period, which is about 28 days. Right in the microhertz frequency range.

The catch is you’d need to be able to track the Moon’s position with extreme precision. But we can already do that. Thanks to the Apollo missions, we have reflectors placed on the Moon, and by shining lasers at them, we can measure the Moon’s position to within a centimeter. The team proposes making a series of measurements over time to specifically search for shifts from gravitational waves...

Full article: https://www.universetoday.com/15506...by-tracking-the-moons-orbit-around-the-earth/

 

[CraigD]

Heatwaves at both of Earth’s poles alarm climate scientists​

Temperatures in Antarctica reached record levels at the weekend, an astonishing 40C above normal in places.

At the same time, weather stations near the north pole also showed signs of melting, with some temperatures 30C above normal, hitting levels normally attained far later in the year.

At this time of year, the Antarctic should be rapidly cooling after its summer, and the Arctic only slowly emerging from its winter, as days lengthen. For both poles to show such heating at once is unprecedented.

Read on:
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-both-of-earth-poles-alarm-climate-scientists

 

[CraigD]

Plum job: UK public asked to track fruit trees for climate study​

People asked to record flowering cherry and plum trees near them to see whether patterns are changing.

The British public have been asked to track flowering fruit trees to help determine whether climate change is changing blooming patterns, in one of the largest studies of its kind.

The University of Reading and Oracle for Research have developed a fruit recording website where citizen scientists can easily post their findings. People will initially be asked to record the flowering cherry and plum trees near them, with apple trees soon to follow.

Scientists fear that climate change may be causing trees to flower earlier than when insect pollinators are most active. Pollinators such as bees, hoverflies, wasps and moths have evolved symbiotically with the plants they pollinate. Now that plants are thought to be flowering earlier because of warmer weather, the yearly emergence of these insects may be too late.

Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ic-track-fruit-trees-climate-study-fruitwatch

 

[koolishman]

How Migrating Birds Use Quantum Effects to Navigate​

 

[koolishman]

Cancer-sniffing ants prove as accurate as dogs in detecting disease​

A fascinating new study suggests trained ants could be an effective way to detect cancer in humans. The researchers demonstrated a certain species of ant can be quickly trained to detect cancerous cells with an accuracy equal to that seen in dogs.

The preliminary tests focused on two types of breast cancer cells, both with differing VOC profiles. In as little as three training trials, the researchers were able to effectively teach the ants to differentiate between cancerous cells and non-cancerous cells with an accuracy similar to that seen in recent studies using dogs.

“Ants are thus equivalent to dogs – the most studied bio-detectors – in terms of detection abilities,” the researchers write. “In some respects, ants surpass dogs because they need an extremely shorter training time (30 min compared to 6–12 months for a dog) and a reduced cost of training and maintenance (honey and frozen insects twice a week). Our simple conditioning protocol can be implemented by everyone, after a training time of about 3-day.”

Referencing prior ant training studies the researchers hypothesize individual ants could be used to detect cancerous cells up to nine times before their conditioned responses begin to lapse. This makes ants a more efficient and cost-effective detection tool compared to any other animal or organism used for similar purposes.

Microscopic worms on a chip could be trained to sniff out cancer​

Nematodes, also known as roundworms, are attracted to a compound released by lung cancer cells. When put into a small device, the nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans) wriggle towards cancerous cells in preference to non-cancerous ones, early-stage work shows.

The approach has promise for being turned into a diagnostic test for lung cancer that could potentially use urine or saliva samples from people, says Nari Jang at Myongji University in South Korea.

Other researchers are trying to train dogs to detect cancer, but nematodes also have a good sense of smell, which is important for them to sniff out their food, usually bacteria or fungi. Previous research has shown they are attracted to urine from people with various kinds of cancer.

 

[koolishman]

On March 11, the Webb team completed the stage of alignment known as “fine phasing” – and at this key stage in the commissioning of Webb’s Optical Telescope Element, every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations. The team found no critical issues and no measurable contamination or blockages to Webb’s optical path. The observatory is able to successfully gather light from distant objects and deliver it to its instruments without issue.

 

[koolishman]

There are more than 5,000 worlds beyond our solar system, NASA confirms​

There are now more than 5,000 confirmed planets beyond our solar system, according to NASA.

The latest addition of 65 exoplanets to the NASA Exoplanet Archive contributed to the scientific milestone marked on Monday. This archive is the home to exoplanet discoveries from peer-reviewed scientific papers that have been confirmed using multiple methods of detecting the planets.

"It's not just a number," said Jessie Christiansen, science lead for the archive and a research scientist with the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, in a statement. "Each one of them is a new world, a brand-new planet. I get excited about every one because we don't know anything about them."

 

[koolishman]

Repetition can make even the most bizarre claims seem more true

In the first phase of the experiment, these participants were presented with eight of a possible 16 statements rated as very implausible by participants from a previous study. These included outlandish claims such as “Elephants weigh less than ants” and “Smoking is good for your lungs”, as well as perhaps more plausible claims (at least for an American sample) such as “Rugby is the sport associated with Wimbledon.”

Participants were asked to rate how interesting they found the eight presented statements, and were advised that they may be asked to rate the same statement multiple times. These statements were presented randomly, and repeated five times each, resulting in 40 trials overall.


Immediately after this, participants were randomly shown all 16 statements — eight of which they had seen repeatedly in the previous phase, and eight of which were new. They were asked to rate how true they felt each statement was, on a scale from −50 (“definitely false”) to +50 (“definitely true”).


Analyses of responses showed that repeating the implausible statements influenced participants’ truth ratings. While all ratings of truthfulness were still well into negative territory, statements that had been shown repeatedly were overall perceived to be less false than newly presented statements. Statements that were arguably less extreme (but still highly implausible), such as “A monsoon is caused by an earthquake”, were most subject to TBR effects.

 

[CraigD]

Repetition can make even the most bizarre claims seem more true

In the first phase of the experiment, these participants were presented with eight of a possible 16 statements rated as very implausible by participants from a previous study. These included outlandish claims such as “Elephants weigh less than ants” and “Smoking is good for your lungs”, as well as perhaps more plausible claims (at least for an American sample) such as “Rugby is the sport associated with Wimbledon.”


Show attachment 212617




Participants were asked to rate how interesting they found the eight presented statements, and were advised that they may be asked to rate the same statement multiple times. These statements were presented randomly, and repeated five times each, resulting in 40 trials overall.


Immediately after this, participants were randomly shown all 16 statements — eight of which they had seen repeatedly in the previous phase, and eight of which were new. They were asked to rate how true they felt each statement was, on a scale from −50 (“definitely false”) to +50 (“definitely true”).


Analyses of responses showed that repeating the implausible statements influenced participants’ truth ratings. While all ratings of truthfulness were still well into negative territory, statements that had been shown repeatedly were overall perceived to be less false than newly presented statements. Statements that were arguably less extreme (but still highly implausible), such as “A monsoon is caused by an earthquake”, were most subject to TBR effects.

Interesting article!

Unfortunately, studies like this one about TBR only reinforce that spam propaganda is effective in some circles, which further spurs on the protagonists.

Propagandists will virtue signal that they work in the interests of love or compassion - or a similar oft repeated positive feel-good statements across multiple social accounts - while propagating the same keyword phrases ad verbum/ ad nauseum along with their own warped ideologies.

It's easy to spot when you are saturated with it.

 

[CraigD]

NASA Provides Update to Astronaut Moon Lander Plans Under Artemis​

As NASA makes strides to return humans to the lunar surface under Artemis, the agency announced plans Wednesday to create additional opportunities for commercial companies to develop an astronaut Moon lander.

Under this new approach, NASA is asking American companies to propose lander concepts capable of ferrying astronauts between lunar orbit and the lunar surface for missions beyond Artemis III, which will land the first astronauts on the Moon in more than 50 years.

Built and operated according to NASA’s long-term requirements at the Moon, new landers will have the capability to dock to a lunar orbiting space station known as Gateway, increase crew capacity, and transport more science and technology to the surface.

Read on...

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-provides-update-to-astronaut-moon-lander-plans-under-artemis

 

[CraigD]

Bacteria-shredding insect wings inspire new antibacterial packaging​

Inspired by the bacteria-killing wings of insects like cicadas, scientists have developed a natural antibacterial texture for use on food packaging to improve shelf life and reduce waste. The lab-made nanotexture from an Australian-Japanese team of scientists kills up to 70% of bacteria and retains its effectiveness when transferred to plastic.

Read the article: https://phys.org/news/2022-03-bacteria-shredding-insect-wings-antibacterial-packaging.html

 

[CraigD]

Could massive gravitons be viable dark matter candidates?​

Today, many research teams worldwide are trying to detect dark matter, an invisible substance that is believed to account for most of the matter in the universe. As does not reflect or emit light, its presence has been indirectly revealed via its gravitational interactions with visible matter.

So far, the most promising dark matter candidates are axions, neutrinos, and weakly interacting massive particles. Recently, however, some physicists also started investigating the possibility that another type of hypothetical particles, massive gravitons, could be viable dark matter candidates.

Theory suggests that massive gravitons were produced during collisions between ordinary particles in the hot and dense environment of the early Universe, in the few instants following the Big Bang. While theories predict their existence, these particles have so far never been directly detected.

Read on:
https://phys.org/news/2022-03-massive-gravitons-viable-dark-candidates.html

 

[CraigD]

Comet Leonard has broken into pieces as it rounds the sun: report​

After shining in telescopes and camera views through 2021, the comet is no more.

The brightest comet of 2021 has disintegrated, according to EarthSky.

An icy wanderer known as Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) fell apart during its perihelion, or closest approach to the sun, the report said. Perihelion was projected for Jan. 3, roughly a year after the comet's discovery.

https://www.space.com/comet-leonard-broke-up-pieces

 

[CraigD]

Stimulating the sense of touch with chemistry​

Our eyes may be windows on the world, but our fingertips put us in touch with it. To recreate this tactile sense, current technology relies on tiny motors and electricity. However, the bumps and buzzes they generate are not that good at mimicking the real thing. Today, scientists report evidence that our skin can perceive subtle differences in chemistry—findings they hope could provide the basis for a new way to control touch and better integrate it into applications, such as virtual reality.

Read tjhe article:
https://phys.org/news/2022-03-chemistry.html

 

[koolishman]

Microplastics found in human blood for first time​

The discovery shows the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs

Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time, with scientists finding the tiny particles in almost 80% of the people tested.

The scientists analysed blood samples from 22 anonymous donors, all healthy adults and found plastic particles in 17. Half the samples contained PET plastic, which is commonly used in drinks bottles, while a third contained polystyrene, used for packaging food and other products. A quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene, from which plastic carrier bags are made.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12403-022-00470-8

 

[koolishman]

A team of ETH researchers led by Athina Anastasaki have succeeded in breaking down plastic into its molecular building blocks and in recovering over 90 percent of them. A first step towards genuine plastic recycling.

The materials scientist has been able to take a first important step in this direction: A study by her group has just been published in the Journal of the American Chemical Societycall_made. In it, Anastasaki and her colleagues show that they can break down certain polymers into their basic building blocks – monomers – and recycle them for use in materials for further applications.

The polymers broken down are polymethacrylates (e.g. Plexi Glass) that were produced using a specific polymerisation technique called reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerisation – otherwise known as RAFT. This relatively new method, which is now also attracting the interest of industry, produces polymer chains of uniform length.

 

[CraigD]

Quantum physics sets a speed limit to electronics​

How fast can electronics be? When computer chips work with ever shorter signals and time intervals, at some point they come up against physical limits. The quantum-mechanical processes that enable the generation of electric current in a semiconductor material take a certain amount of time. This puts a limit to the speed of signal generation and signal transmission.

TU Wien (Vienna), TU Graz and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Garching have now been able to explore these limits: The speed can definitely not be increased beyond one petahertz (one million gigahertz), even if the material is excited in an optimal way with laser pulses. This result has now been published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Read the full article: https://phys.org/news/2022-03-quantum-physics-limit-electronics.html

 

[CraigD]

Ice shelf collapses in previously stable East Antarctica​

An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change, concerned scientists said Friday.

The collapse, captured by satellite images, marked the first time in human history that the frigid region had an ice shelf collapse. It happened at the beginning of a freakish warm spell last week when temperatures soared more than 70 degrees (40 Celsius) warmer than normal in some spots of East Antarctica. Satellite photos show the area had been shrinking rapidly the last couple of years, and now scientists wonder if they have been overestimating East Antarctica's stability and resistance to global warming that has been melting ice rapidly on the smaller western side and the vulnerable peninsula.

Read on:
https://phys.org/news/2022-03-ice-shelf-collapses-previously-stable.html

 

[J Sokol]

Energy efficiency guru Amory Lovins: ‘It’s the largest, cheapest, safest, cleanest way to address the crisis’​

Temperatures dropped far below freezing this week in Snowmass, Colorado. But Amory Lovins, who lives high up in the mountains at 7,200ft above sea level, did not even turn on the heating.

That’s because he has no heating to turn on. His home, a great adobe and glass mountainside eyrie that he designed in the 1980s, collects solar energy and is so well insulated that he grows and harvests bananas and many other tropical fruits there without burning gas, oil or wood.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ncy-interview-cheapest-safest-cleanest-crisis