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Apr 10, 2021
The Near-Magical Mystery of Quasiparticles
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in categories: computing, physics
Using intuition, educated guesswork and computer simulations, condensed matter physicists have become better at figuring out which quasiparticles are theoretically possible. Meanwhile in the lab, as physicists push novel materials to new extremes, the quasiparticle zoo has grown quickly and become more and more exotic. “It really is a towering intellectual achievement,” said Natelson.
Recent discoveries include pi-tons, immovable fractons and warped wrinklons. “We now think about quasiparticles with properties that we never really dreamt of before,” said Steve Simon, a theoretical condensed matter physicist at the University of Oxford.
Here are a few of the most curious and potentially useful quasiparticles.
Apr 10, 2021
Long-Missing Midsize Black Hole Flashes Into View
Posted by Saúl Morales Rodriguéz in category: cosmology
Black holes seemed to come only in sizes small and XXL. A new search strategy has uncovered a black hole of “intermediate” mass, raising hopes of more to come.
Apr 10, 2021
How to stop a pandemic before it starts, illustrated
Posted by Poopeh Morakkabati in category: biotech/medical
U.S. policymakers have spent trillions of dollars to mitigate the effects of Covid-19. But the answer to preventing the next pandemic altogether lies elsewhere.
Apr 10, 2021
These trees bleed metal — and could help power the future
Posted by Shane Hinshaw in categories: food, futurism
These plants suck metals from the soil at amazing rates. Scientists hope farming the plants could provide an environmentally-friendly alternative to mining.
Apr 10, 2021
‘Neutrobots’ deliver cancer drugs to the brain
Posted by Future Timeline in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience
Researchers in China have designed a new bio-hybrid microbot, able to cross the blood-brain barrier and deliver drugs directly to brain tumours.
Apr 10, 2021
US spies peer into the future — and it doesn’t look good
Posted by Shane Hinshaw in category: futurism
Their predictions include growing uncertainty and instability, and more polarisation and populism.
Apr 10, 2021
Breakthrough discovery of misbehaving muon challenges known laws of the physical universe
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: innovation, particle physics
The New York Times Apr 09, 2021 17:29:04 IST
Evidence is mounting that a tiny subatomic particle seems to be disobeying the known laws of physics, scientists announced Wednesday, a finding that would open a vast and tantalizing hole in our understanding of the universe. The result, physicists say, suggests that there are forms of matter and energy vital to the nature and evolution of the cosmos that are not yet known to science.
“This is our Mars rover landing moment,” said Chris Polly, a physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, who has been working toward this finding for most of his career.
Apr 10, 2021
‘Exciting’ breakthrough at Large Hadron Collider may be key to unlocking mysteries of universe
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: innovation, particle physics
Physicists have seen signs that a mystery force is interacting with other particles in a manner never witnessed before. It may explain some of the deepest physics puzzles.
Apr 10, 2021
Dr. Suzan Murray, D.V.M., Smithsonian / SCBI — Wildlife Care And Combating Emerging Zoonotic Disease
Posted by Ira S. Pastor in categories: biological, biotech/medical, health
Wildlife Care And Combating Emerging Zoonotic Diseases — Dr. Suzan Murray, D.V.M., D.A.C.Z.M. Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Program Director, Global Health Program.
Dr. Suzan Murray, D.V.M., D.A.C.Z.M. is a board-certified zoo veterinarian at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and serves as both the Program Director of the Global Health Program and as SCBI’s chief wildlife veterinary medical officer.