Page 10885
Jan 6, 2016
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array may have found Super-Earth in our solar system
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: space
Now this is something you don’t hear every day.
Or week.
Or year.
Jan 6, 2016
Alien Life May Be Hiding in These Brilliant Star Clusters
Posted by Sean Brazell in category: alien life
We shall see. We shall see. wink
For three decades, humans have searched for signs of intelligent life beyond Earth, and yet we’ve only sampled a tiny drop of our vast cosmic ocean. If we’re ever to find a radio-hot, spacefaring civilization, we need to know where to point our telescopes.
But the answer may be simpler than we thought. According to a new study, there are roughly 150 brilliant patches of space that deserve our attention.
Continue reading “Alien Life May Be Hiding in These Brilliant Star Clusters” »
Jan 6, 2016
Gene Editing Treats Disease In A Living Animal For The First Time
Posted by Roy in categories: biotech/medical, futurism
In a landmark study, researchers have used gene editing system CRISPR-Cas9 to treat a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in mice
Proof of concept for future human treatment
Continue reading “Gene Editing Treats Disease In A Living Animal For The First Time” »
Jan 6, 2016
NASA’s New VASIMR Plasma Engine Could Reach Mars in 39 days
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: energy, space travel
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TiZuG9K_xso
NASA recently provided $10 million in funding to Ad Astra Rocket Company of Texas for further development of its Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR), an electromagnetic thruster capable of propelling a spaceship to Mars in just 39 days. NASA’s funding was part of the “12 Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnership.” Ad Astra’s rocket will travel ten times faster than today’s chemical rockets while using one-tenth the amount of fuel.
The VASIMR system would cut the trip to Mars by months according to Franklin Chang Diaz, a former MIT student, NASA astronaut, and now CEO of Ad Astra.
Continue reading “NASA’s New VASIMR Plasma Engine Could Reach Mars in 39 days” »
Jan 6, 2016
Hackers caused a blackout for the first time, researchers say
Posted by Amnon H. Eden in categories: cybercrime/malcode, energy
A milestone in the history of cybersecurity?
Cyberattacks on the power grid just became a much more real threat, according to researchers.
Jan 6, 2016
Kepler Has Uncovered a Trove of New Planets in Our Cosmic Backyard
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: space
If you thought the Kepler spacecraft’s glory days were over, think again. Today at the 227th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, astronomers announced a whopping 234 new exoplanet candidates discovered by Kepler in 2014. The best part? All of them are just tens of light years away.
The deluge of planetary candidates are distributed among 208 star systems, which means we have the honor of welcoming many new multi-planet systems to our cosmic neighborhood. While these candidates aren’t confirmed yet, there’s a good chance most of them will be, according to Andrew Vanderburg of the Harvard Center for Astrophysics, who presented the findings today. All 234 were found during the first year of the K2 mission, which is scanning stars across the plane of our solar system, moving from one field of view to the next.
Add these K2 planets to the 4,600+ candidate worlds (1,918 confirmed planets) discovered during Kepler’s original mission, and it’s fair to say this little telescope has become one hell of a planet hunter.
Jan 6, 2016
802.11ah WiFi will penetrate walls more easily and use less power
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in categories: energy, internet
Walls and floors can seriously limit the range of your wireless network, but the WiFi Alliance thinks they’ve come up with a fix. Their new 802.11ah standard aims to deliver superior penetration and power savings to boot.
How will 802.11ah do that? By operating in the unlicensed 900MHz spectrum. Today’s WiFi gear operates at either 2.4GHz or 5GHz. Their higher frequencies make it harder for the signals to maintain their strength as they pass through obstructions. That’s one reason Google wants you to pretty up your OnHub router: so that you stick it somewhere out in the open where walls won’t get in the way.
Way down at 900MHz, though, things like walls, floors, and doors won’t be as much of a problem. According to the WiFi Alliance, 802.11ah will also achieve nearly double the range of current standards. There’s another bonus, too. Because the signal doesn’t degrade as much when it passes through objects, devices don’t consume as much power while sending and receiving data.
Jan 6, 2016
Groundbreaking Ceramic Resin Developed
Posted by Klaus Baldauf in categories: 3D printing, materials
3D printed ceramics are still something of a rarity, compared to other materials. The material has several limitations; it’s generally printed by sintering powder materials that result in porous, relatively weak end products with low heat resistance. This greatly limits the size and shape of objects that can be printed; 3D printed ceramic objects have thus far been pretty much limited to relatively small decorative items or tableware. But that’s all about to change, thanks to a new material developed by research and development company HRL Laboratories, LLC.
HRL, which is owned by Boeing and General Motors, has developed a ceramic resin that can be printed through stereolithography. The company actually calls it a “pre-ceramic” resin that prints like a typical plastic resin, and is then fired in a high temperature kiln, which turns it into a dense ceramic. The resulting objects are about ten times stronger than other 3D printed ceramics, have virtually no porosity, and can withstand temperatures higher than 1700°C.
