National Geographic's 2011 Explorer of the Year dives into a perilous
submerged cave system known as the Blue Holes of the Bahamas in search
of clues to evolution and climate change.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monster 'Super-Jupiter' Discovered
Sharing an interesting article from Discovery News.
Analysis by: Ian O'Neill
Article Source: News.Discovery.com
Neil deGrasse Tyson may have helped DC Comics in the search for Superman's homeworld Krypton, but one can't help but wonder what kind of superhero would live on a newly discovered "super-Jupiter" orbiting the star Kappa Andromedae.
As announced by scientists using the High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next Generation Adaptive Optics (HiCIAO) and the Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (IRCS) mounted on the Japanese Subaru Telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, this newly discovered exoplanet is likely a little exotic. Weighing-in at a whopping 13 Jupiter masses, there is some ambiguity as to whether it's a massive planet or a small, failed star -- although spectroscopic analysis of the light it generates suggests it is composed of similar gases as other gas giant exoplanets orbiting other stars.
Failed stars, commonly known as brown dwarfs, are the runts of the stellar litter. They may be big, but they're not big enough to sustain nuclear fusion in their cores. A star can't shine without fusion, so these celestial oddballs are often considered to be the "bridge" between planets and stars.
But that's not to say that brown dwarfs don't shine their own special kind of light.
During formation, heat is trapped inside the body of brown dwarfs and released as infrared radiation. Larger brown dwarfs may even generate heat from low levels of deuterium fusion in their cores. Therefore, infrared-sensitive instruments like Subaru's IRCS are needed to directly image them.
Kappa Andromedae -- located in the constellation of Andromeda, some 170 light-years away -- is also an interesting star. It is 2.5 times the mass of our sun and is very bright and young. Astronomers estimate Kappa Andromedae at only 30 million years old (the sun is geriatric in comparison -- 5 billion years old). This means that Kappa Andromedae b (as the exoplanet is called) is also very young.
Some theories suggest that stars that are young and massive, like Kappa Andromedae, are unlikely to produce planets from their protoplanetary disks (the disks of dusty material that form around young stars). But the very existence of Kappa Andromedae b in an orbit a little larger than the solar system's Neptune makes this the largest planetary body in orbit around such a massive star to be directly imaged.
Whether the world is big enough to be considered to be a massive exoplanet or brown dwarf, it appears that it was spawned from the protoplanetary disk of Kappa Andromedae, making exoplanetary formation theories even more complex as they are fascinating.
As per the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) press release:
As for which superhero might live on Kappa Andromedae, he or she would need to have a high heat tolerance, would have to live in a plasma-like state and enjoy being crushed under intense gravity. But they would also be a little confused as to whether their homeworld is a massive planet, or dinky star. I, for one, would rather live on Krypton.
Analysis by: Ian O'Neill
Article Source: News.Discovery.com
Neil deGrasse Tyson may have helped DC Comics in the search for Superman's homeworld Krypton, but one can't help but wonder what kind of superhero would live on a newly discovered "super-Jupiter" orbiting the star Kappa Andromedae.
As announced by scientists using the High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next Generation Adaptive Optics (HiCIAO) and the Infrared Camera and Spectrograph (IRCS) mounted on the Japanese Subaru Telescope atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, this newly discovered exoplanet is likely a little exotic. Weighing-in at a whopping 13 Jupiter masses, there is some ambiguity as to whether it's a massive planet or a small, failed star -- although spectroscopic analysis of the light it generates suggests it is composed of similar gases as other gas giant exoplanets orbiting other stars.
Failed stars, commonly known as brown dwarfs, are the runts of the stellar litter. They may be big, but they're not big enough to sustain nuclear fusion in their cores. A star can't shine without fusion, so these celestial oddballs are often considered to be the "bridge" between planets and stars.
But that's not to say that brown dwarfs don't shine their own special kind of light.
During formation, heat is trapped inside the body of brown dwarfs and released as infrared radiation. Larger brown dwarfs may even generate heat from low levels of deuterium fusion in their cores. Therefore, infrared-sensitive instruments like Subaru's IRCS are needed to directly image them.
Kappa Andromedae -- located in the constellation of Andromeda, some 170 light-years away -- is also an interesting star. It is 2.5 times the mass of our sun and is very bright and young. Astronomers estimate Kappa Andromedae at only 30 million years old (the sun is geriatric in comparison -- 5 billion years old). This means that Kappa Andromedae b (as the exoplanet is called) is also very young.
Some theories suggest that stars that are young and massive, like Kappa Andromedae, are unlikely to produce planets from their protoplanetary disks (the disks of dusty material that form around young stars). But the very existence of Kappa Andromedae b in an orbit a little larger than the solar system's Neptune makes this the largest planetary body in orbit around such a massive star to be directly imaged.
Whether the world is big enough to be considered to be a massive exoplanet or brown dwarf, it appears that it was spawned from the protoplanetary disk of Kappa Andromedae, making exoplanetary formation theories even more complex as they are fascinating.
As per the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) press release:
In recent years some observers and theoreticians have argued that large stars like Kappa Andromedae are likely to have large planets, perhaps conforming to a simple scaled-up model of our own solar system. Other experts suggest that there are limits to extrapolating from our own solar system; if a star is too massive, its powerful radiation may disrupt the "normal" planet formation process that would otherwise occur in the disk surrounding a star, its circumstellar disk. The discovery of the super-Jupiter around Kappa Andromedae demonstrates that stars as large as 2.5 solar masses are still fully capable of producing planets within their circumstellar disks.
As for which superhero might live on Kappa Andromedae, he or she would need to have a high heat tolerance, would have to live in a plasma-like state and enjoy being crushed under intense gravity. But they would also be a little confused as to whether their homeworld is a massive planet, or dinky star. I, for one, would rather live on Krypton.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Why Living Cells Are The Future Of Data Processing
Re-posting a blog published by Popular Science magazine:
Not all computers are made of silicon. By definition, a computer is anything that processes data, performs calculations, or uses so-called logic gates to turn inputs (for example, 1s and 0s in binary code) into outputs. And now, a small international community of scientists is working to expand the realm of computers to include cells, animals, and other living organisms. Some of their experiments are highly theoretical; others represent the first steps toward usable biological computers. All are attempts to make life perform work now done by chips and circuit boards.
Last year, for example, a computer scientist at the University of the West of England named Andy Adamatzky and a team of Japanese researchers built logic gates that ran on soldier crabs. First they constructed mazes that replicated the shape of the wires in a computer’s logic gates.
Then they chased two swarms of crabs (inputs) from one end of the gate to the other. When the swarms collided, they combined to form a new swarm (output), which often headed in the direction of the sum of their vectors, demonstrating that a living, somewhat random system can produce useful order.
If crabs are good at clustering together, a single-celled organism that resides in rotting trees—Physarum polycephalum, or slime mold—is surprisingly adept at making maps. Adamatzky and Selim Akl, a computer scientist at Queens University in Ontario, have spent the past few years using slime mold to map networks.
In one experiment, they took a map of Canada, dropped oat flakes (slime-mold food) on the nation’s major cities, and placed the mold on Toronto. It oozed forth to form the most efficient paths to the cities, creating networks of “roads” that almost perfectly mimicked the actual Canadian highway system.
Last April, biocomputers got even more impressive. Swiss bioengineers announced that they had programmed human cells to do binary addition or subtraction, which is how a computer does arithmetic. They genetically engineered the cells with an elaborate circuit of genes that turn one another on or off. The cells can process two inputs added to their dish (the molecules erythromycin and phloretin) and display an answer by producing red or green fluorescent proteins.
What’s the point of all of this? Adamatzky says that slime mold’s mapping abilities could design roads, wireless networks, and information-processing circuits better than today’s computers. Combining slime mold with electronics could also yield benefits. Adamatzky is already making a computer chip that marries the speed of electrical communication with the learning capabilities of slime mold.
The hybrid technology would process information less like a computer and more like a brain, learning and growing through experiences and trial and error, making it possible to solve problems in both neuroscience and computer science. “We envisage that the Physarum-based computing research will lead to a revolution in the bioelectronics and computer industry,” he says.
His colleague Akl says one advantage of biocomputers may be that they can function in places that conventional electronics can’t. “Think about computing in harsh environments like the bottom of the ocean, the human body, or on another planet where our computers may not survive,” he says. Life forms could thrive in settings where silicon chips might melt, freeze, or disintegrate.
But the biggest benefits could be in medicine, because cells are adept at interacting with other cells. Martin Fussenegger, a bioengineer at ETH Zurich and the lead researcher on the cell-calculator project, says cells could be programmed into “smart cell implants” that sense health problems in the human body and administer tailored therapies.
For example, a patient with a high risk of breast cancer could receive an implant that would recognize cancer-indicating molecules and produce proteins to kill the cells making them. “A diseased cell is a program with a bug,” Akl says. “Computer scientists are good at finding bugs and fixing them. I leave the rest to your imagination.”
Biocomputers make maps, run logic gates, perform binary calculations and more.
Intelligent Life Slime mold grows toward
patches of food with the efficiency of a
network engineer. Courtesy Andrew Adamatzky
Not all computers are made of silicon. By definition, a computer is anything that processes data, performs calculations, or uses so-called logic gates to turn inputs (for example, 1s and 0s in binary code) into outputs. And now, a small international community of scientists is working to expand the realm of computers to include cells, animals, and other living organisms. Some of their experiments are highly theoretical; others represent the first steps toward usable biological computers. All are attempts to make life perform work now done by chips and circuit boards.
Last year, for example, a computer scientist at the University of the West of England named Andy Adamatzky and a team of Japanese researchers built logic gates that ran on soldier crabs. First they constructed mazes that replicated the shape of the wires in a computer’s logic gates.
Then they chased two swarms of crabs (inputs) from one end of the gate to the other. When the swarms collided, they combined to form a new swarm (output), which often headed in the direction of the sum of their vectors, demonstrating that a living, somewhat random system can produce useful order.
If crabs are good at clustering together, a single-celled organism that resides in rotting trees—Physarum polycephalum, or slime mold—is surprisingly adept at making maps. Adamatzky and Selim Akl, a computer scientist at Queens University in Ontario, have spent the past few years using slime mold to map networks.
In one experiment, they took a map of Canada, dropped oat flakes (slime-mold food) on the nation’s major cities, and placed the mold on Toronto. It oozed forth to form the most efficient paths to the cities, creating networks of “roads” that almost perfectly mimicked the actual Canadian highway system.
Last April, biocomputers got even more impressive. Swiss bioengineers announced that they had programmed human cells to do binary addition or subtraction, which is how a computer does arithmetic. They genetically engineered the cells with an elaborate circuit of genes that turn one another on or off. The cells can process two inputs added to their dish (the molecules erythromycin and phloretin) and display an answer by producing red or green fluorescent proteins.
Power In Numbers: Soldier crabs live in flat lagoons
and often move as a swarm, a trait that scientists
have used to perform calculations.
Courtesy Benn K.K. Chan.
Biodiversity Research Center. Academia Sinica
What’s the point of all of this? Adamatzky says that slime mold’s mapping abilities could design roads, wireless networks, and information-processing circuits better than today’s computers. Combining slime mold with electronics could also yield benefits. Adamatzky is already making a computer chip that marries the speed of electrical communication with the learning capabilities of slime mold.
The hybrid technology would process information less like a computer and more like a brain, learning and growing through experiences and trial and error, making it possible to solve problems in both neuroscience and computer science. “We envisage that the Physarum-based computing research will lead to a revolution in the bioelectronics and computer industry,” he says.
His colleague Akl says one advantage of biocomputers may be that they can function in places that conventional electronics can’t. “Think about computing in harsh environments like the bottom of the ocean, the human body, or on another planet where our computers may not survive,” he says. Life forms could thrive in settings where silicon chips might melt, freeze, or disintegrate.
But the biggest benefits could be in medicine, because cells are adept at interacting with other cells. Martin Fussenegger, a bioengineer at ETH Zurich and the lead researcher on the cell-calculator project, says cells could be programmed into “smart cell implants” that sense health problems in the human body and administer tailored therapies.
For example, a patient with a high risk of breast cancer could receive an implant that would recognize cancer-indicating molecules and produce proteins to kill the cells making them. “A diseased cell is a program with a bug,” Akl says. “Computer scientists are good at finding bugs and fixing them. I leave the rest to your imagination.”
New Skin? A Plastic That Heals Itself, Conducts Electricity, and is Sensitive To Touch
Re-posting a blog published by Discover Magazine:
Skin is a material with astonishing capabilities: the flexible,
waterproof layer constantly regenerates itself, heals itself after
scratches and cuts, and, through its nerves, conducts electricity,
relaying the sense of touch to the brain. Engineers have long been
trying to come up with a synthetic polymer that does all those things,
and does them under standard conditions rather than the carefully
calibrated set-up of a lab. Now engineers have created a polymer with a
combination of skin’s most elusive attributes that no polymer had
achieved before: This new material, reported in Nature Nanotechnology, can conduct electricity and, when it is sliced open with a razor, can heal itself at room temperature.
The material can come back together thanks to the hydrogen bonds, which break and reform easily and reversibly, connecting its molecules. Due to the addition of nickel particles, it can also conduct electricity. The researchers found that after the material was cut open, it regained 90 percent of its electrical conductivity within 15 seconds. What’s more, the material’s electrical resistance changes in response to pressure—giving this synthetic skin what is, essentially, a sense of touch. The material may eventually be used to make touch-sensitive prosthetic limbs. Meanwhile, the resilient, conductive material should aid in the development of better on-skin electronic devices, such as wearable heart-rate monitors.
The material can come back together thanks to the hydrogen bonds, which break and reform easily and reversibly, connecting its molecules. Due to the addition of nickel particles, it can also conduct electricity. The researchers found that after the material was cut open, it regained 90 percent of its electrical conductivity within 15 seconds. What’s more, the material’s electrical resistance changes in response to pressure—giving this synthetic skin what is, essentially, a sense of touch. The material may eventually be used to make touch-sensitive prosthetic limbs. Meanwhile, the resilient, conductive material should aid in the development of better on-skin electronic devices, such as wearable heart-rate monitors.
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