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Oct 3, 2019

We Just Got The First Glimpse of The Mysterious Cosmic Web That Binds The Universe

Posted by in categories: cosmology, particle physics

After counting all the normal, luminous matter in the obvious places of the universe – galaxies, clusters of galaxies and the intergalactic medium – about half of it is still missing. So not only is 85 percent of the matter in the universe made up of an unknown, invisible substance dubbed “dark matter”, we can’t even find all the small amount of normal matter that should be there.

This is known as the “missing baryons” problem. Baryons are particles that emit or absorb light, like protons, neutrons or electrons, which make up the matter we see around us. The baryons unaccounted for are thought to be hidden in filamentary structures permeating the entire universe, also known as “the cosmic web”.

Continue reading “We Just Got The First Glimpse of The Mysterious Cosmic Web That Binds The Universe” »

Oct 3, 2019

A cyborg magician implanted 26 microchips and magnets in her body

Posted by in categories: computing, cyborgs, media & arts

L AS VEGAS — At a biohacker conference convened here the other day, panelists took to the stage, settled into their chairs, and launched into their slide decks. Not Anastasia Synn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn-v5XUl35c#t=1h41m20s

With Frank Sinatra crooning “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” over the loudspeakers, Synn pulled out a giant needle and twisted it deeper and deeper into her left forearm as the music played on. It was only after finishing her routine, capped off by loud applause from the crowd of biohackers, that Synn sat down for a fireside chat about her work as a “cyborg magician.”

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Oct 3, 2019

Secret Life of a Full-Time Cyborg

Posted by in categories: computing, cyborgs, wearables

Steve Mann invented a precursor to Google Glass in the 1990s—which he now uses almost 24/7. But “the father of wearable computing” has an ominous warning about where technology is taking us next.

Oct 3, 2019

Synopsis: Nuclear Spectroscopy Reveals New Shapes of Excited Nuclei

Posted by in category: nuclear energy

Cadmium nuclei take on multiple shapes at low excitation energies, a discovery that overturns a long-accepted tenet of nuclear structure.

Atomic nuclei take on excited states when they vibrate, rotate, or when their constituent nucleons exchange one nuclear shell for another. In nuclei with nearly filled nuclear shells, it has long been thought that low-energy excitations were due exclusively to different patterns of vibration around a spherical shape: only in rare, high-energy excitations were these nuclei expected to assume more exotic shapes. Now, Paul Garrett, of the University of Guelph in Canada, and colleagues have found that the lowest-energy excited states of cadmium-110 and cadmium-112—once considered textbook examples of spherical vibration—are instead due to the rotation of various nonspherical shapes. The result is also the best evidence to date that a stable nucleus like cadmium can assume multiple shapes—all previously studied nuclei with coexisting shapes have been radioactive.

Oct 3, 2019

A stirring new SpaceX animation of Starship launching shows how the rocket company plans to turn Texas into Earth’s interplanetary transport hub

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, space travel

Following Elon Musk’s presentation about SpaceX’s Starship rocket, the company posted a 2-minute video showing how it’d refill the system in orbit.

Oct 3, 2019

NASA just shared a fascinating soundtrack of a Mars quake

Posted by in category: space

NASA’s InSight lander has picked up on some interesting rumblings on Mars, and the space agency shared them Tuesday in a blog post.

The spacecraft is equipped with an incredibly sensitive seismometer called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), which is designed to listen for marsquakes. By examining how seismic waves move through the planet’s interior, scientists hope to learn more about Mars’ deep inner structure.

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Oct 3, 2019

Asteroid fears: NASA’s last-ditch system in place for Earth impact ONE week away exposed

Posted by in category: space

A SCIENTIST revealed how NASA has a last-ditch system in place in the event a huge space rock is “due to impact Earth in one to three weeks” during a planet-saving warning.

Oct 3, 2019

In the Pancreas, Common Fungi May Drive Cancer

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

A new study found that certain fungi can settle in the pancreas, where they spur the growth of tumors.

Oct 3, 2019

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon arrive at Cape Canaveral ahead of key test for crew flight

Posted by in category: space travel

SpaceX’s facility at Cape Canaveral just received a crucial new delivery: a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule that it will be using for an upcoming in-flight abort test. This test, which will demonstrate the spacecraft and launch system’s ability to abort the launch mid-flight in case of any emergencies, is an important and necessary step before SpaceX can fly Crew Dragon with any actual people on board.

This test will replicate a “worst-case scenario” of sorts, by staging a crew capsule separation at the point of “Max Q,” which is the part of the launch where the rocket is exposed to the most severe atmospheric forces prior to making it to space. At this point during the abort test, the Crew Dragon will show that it can detach from the Falcon 9 rocket and propel itself away to a safe distance in order to protect the astronauts on board.

Oct 3, 2019

First-Ever Image of the ‘Cosmic Web’ Reveals the Gassy Highway That Connects the Universe

Posted by in categories: space, transportation

A groundbreaking new image provides direct evidence of a ‘cosmic web’ of gas that links every galaxy in the universe.