tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49771500718627341022024-02-19T10:37:00.259+08:00Quantum Day 21st Century Science, Technology, and Medical NewsJon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comBlogger1248125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-85493436376747298412020-09-13T15:31:00.001+08:002020-09-13T15:31:11.299+08:00 A Brand New Day<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br/><div align="justify"><br/><br/>
Wow! It has been a long time since I posted anything.
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Anyway, this site will be undergoing a big change. It still will be STEM based, don't worry. Those astronomy news from <a href="https://www.eso.org/public/">The European Southern Observatory</a> won't be going anywhere as well as the other science and medical tidbits. This is more about adapating to the changing times.
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Hope some of you guys are still there and will support me!
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Thanks and cheers!
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Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-11814592300417695712017-07-05T06:00:00.000+08:002017-07-05T06:00:00.153+08:00Magnificent View of Spiral Galaxy Messier 77<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xUzhizHOmuFTdLKULaeBtwn1_sBXvrffTy5SxkLf9RziNKRvoi1JW3dXC7qI0B9OtY1FN_CFLcSg6XTb9hkHuKa_l6BouqBZI0AJp5SnR_tscXUkwR5SrKB4Xtx5l2LBwLdf2W-vPDNc/s1600/Messier+77+Pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7xUzhizHOmuFTdLKULaeBtwn1_sBXvrffTy5SxkLf9RziNKRvoi1JW3dXC7qI0B9OtY1FN_CFLcSg6XTb9hkHuKa_l6BouqBZI0AJp5SnR_tscXUkwR5SrKB4Xtx5l2LBwLdf2W-vPDNc/s640/Messier+77+Pic.jpg" width="640" height="640" data-original-width="1280" data-original-height="1279" /></a></div>The Spiral galaxy Messier 77, 47 million light-years away and found in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster) is captured in its full glory by the European Southern Observatory.<br />
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ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a magnificent face-on view of the barred spiral galaxy Messier 77. The image does justice to the galaxy’s beauty, showcasing its glittering arms criss-crossed with dust lanes — but it fails to betray Messier 77’s turbulent nature.<br />
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This picturesque spiral galaxy appears to be tranquil, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Messier 77 (also known as NGC 1068) is one of the closest active galaxies, which are some of the most energetic and spectacular objects in the Universe. Their nuclei are often bright enough to outshine the whole of the rest of the galaxy. Active galaxies are among the brightest objects in the Universe and emit light at most, if not all, wavelengths, from gamma rays and X-rays all the way to microwaves and radiowaves. Messier 77 is further classified as a Type II Seyfert galaxy, characterised by being particularly bright at infrared wavelengths.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>This impressive luminosity is caused by intense radiation blasting out from a central engine — the accretion disc surrounding a supermassive black hole. Material that falls towards the black hole is compressed and heated up to incredible temperatures, causing it to radiate a tremendous amount of energy. This accretion disc is thought to be enshrouded by thick doughnut-shaped structure of gas and dust, called a “torus”. Observations of Messier 77 back in 2003 were the first to resolve such a structure using the powerful VLT Interferometer (eso0319).<br />
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This image of Messier 77 was taken in four different wavelength bands represented by blue, red, violet and pink (hydrogen-alpha) colours. Each wavelength brings out a different quality: for example, the pinkish hydrogen-alpha highlights the hotter and younger stars forming in the spiral arms, while in red are the fine, thread-like filamentary structures in the gas surrounding Messier 77 [1]. A foreground Milky Way star is also seen beside the galaxy centre, displaying tell-tale diffraction spikes. Additionally, many more distant galaxies are visible; sitting at the outskirts of the spiral arms, they appear tiny and delicate compared to the colossal active galaxy .<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gs4O9d3jCRc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Located 47 million light-years away in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster), Messier 77 is one of the most remote galaxies of the Messier catalogue. Initially, Messier believed that the highly luminous object he saw through his telescope was a cluster of stars, but as technology progressed its true status as a galaxy was realised. At approximately 100 000 light-years across, Messier 77 is also one of largest galaxies in the Messier catalogue — so massive that its gravity causes other nearby galaxies to twist and become warped (eso1707) [2].<br />
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This image was obtained using the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument mounted on Unit Telescope 1 (Antu) of the VLT, located at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. It hails from ESO’s Cosmic Gems programme, an outreach initiative that produces images of interesting, intriguing or visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes for the purposes of education and outreach.<br />
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Notes<br />
[1] Similar red filaments are also found in NGC 1275. They are cool, despite being surrounded by a very hot gas at around 50 million degrees Celsius. The filaments are suspended in a magnetic field which maintains their structure and demonstrates how energy from the central black hole is transferred to the surrounding gas.<br />
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[2] NGC 1055 is located about 60 million light-years away. It is an edge-on galaxy, in contrast to Messier 77. This Astronomy Picture of the Day portrays both of them together, in a field of view about the size of the Moon (APOD).<br />
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More information<br />
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/"><br />
European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/paranal/">Photos of the VLT</a><br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&instrument=3&instrument=4">Other images taken with FORS</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/02/hidden-objects-along-center-of-milky.html">Hidden Objects Along Center of Milky Way Detected Through Infrared</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/cometary-globule-cg4-known-as-gods-hand.html">Cometary Globule CG4 (God's Hand) Imaged by VLT</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/next-generation-transit-survey-ngts-to.html">Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) To Hunt and Study Exoplanets</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/ongoing-assasin-project-has-detected-89.html">Ongoing Assassin Project Has Detected 89 Supernovas To Date</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/two-new-habitable-planets-found-by-nasa.html">Two New Habitable Planets Found By NASA Kepler Mission</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/twenty-years-later-hubble-telescope-re.html">Twenty Years Later: Hubble Telescope Recaptures Pillars of Creation in HD</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/10/probing-spiderweb-galaxy-cluster-mrc.html">Probing the Spiderweb Galaxy Cluster (MRC 1138-262) Yields Surprising Data</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-27856279357788800582017-06-27T03:00:00.000+08:002017-06-27T03:00:22.882+08:00Computer Model Recreates Realistic Touch Sensation<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZ2S6bn4eGCBg1SMgrVv6j4OFutNVjM-h_MFXBk7D35L16iumtHh1zhcQZ4xdODn7ehXMQDkEH8koyiqm0C-5dPsTFctNupe5PkIBpUC0UxgPLerRTN9kfSNseaRiYBiSoYqjATgwZON8/s1600/hand+touch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZ2S6bn4eGCBg1SMgrVv6j4OFutNVjM-h_MFXBk7D35L16iumtHh1zhcQZ4xdODn7ehXMQDkEH8koyiqm0C-5dPsTFctNupe5PkIBpUC0UxgPLerRTN9kfSNseaRiYBiSoYqjATgwZON8/s320/hand+touch.jpeg" width="320" height="213" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1067" /></a></div>Neuroscientists from the University of Chicago have developed a computer model that can simulate the response of nerves in the hand to any pattern of touch stimulation on the skin. The tool reconstructs the response of more than 12,500 nerve fibers with millisecond precision, taking into account the mechanics of the skin as it presses up against and moves across objects.<br />
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The software will allow scientists to see how entire populations of nerve fibers respond when we interact with objects. This model will allow scientists to better understand how the nerve responds to touch, and can be used to build realistic sensations into bionic hands for amputees.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
"Almost everything we know about how the nerve responds to stimulation on the skin of the hand is built into this model," said Sliman Bensmaia, PhD, associate professor of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago, and principal investigator for the new research. "Finally, you can see how all these nerve fibers work together to give rise to touch."<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Details of the model were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, led by postdoctoral scholars Hannes Saal and Benoit Delhaye, along with Brandon Rayhaun, a former undergraduate in the lab, builds upon years of research by Bensmaia's team on how the nervous system and brain perceive the sense of touch.<br />
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Previously, researchers had to conduct costly and time-consuming experiments with animals or human subjects to see how the nervous system responds to a given touch stimulus. Even then, they could only record responses from one neuron at a time. But the sensation of touch comes from thousands of nerve fibers responding in concert as the hand touches, holds, and manipulates objects. The responses of individual nerve fibers aren't enough to convey stimulus information by themselves. Rather, information about objects we grasp is distributed over large groups of touch-sensitive nerves working together.<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yJISIaI_ubI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
</div>For instance, when you hold a cell phone in your hand, some of the nerve response is driven by skin receptors located where the edges of the phone press into your fingertips. But skin deformations also radiate away from this area, down the fingers, and throughout the rest of the hand, activating many other receptors in the process. The simulation reveals how interacting with an object creates these unique, detailed patterns of nerve activity.<br />
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In addition to its impact on the basic understanding of how these sensations work, the model is also a foundation for restoring touch in bionic hands for amputees. To achieve realistic feelings of touch, neural engineers try to reproduce the natural patterns of nerve activity generated when we manipulate objects. The computer model provides engineers with the nerve output generated by a given stimulus, which can then be recreated in a prosthetic by electrically stimulating the nerve through an interface implanted in the body.<br />
<br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Bensmaia and his team validated the output of the model against data from a wide variety of experiments conducted by other research teams, and show that it matches their output with millisecond precision. The software will be available as a free download, so other engineers can begin using it in their own work.<br />
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"Using a model to reproduce a biological system precisely is challenging, and we have been working on this simulation for a very long time. But the final product, I think, is worth it," Bensmaia said. "It's a tool that will yield insights that were previously unattainable."<br />
<br />
About the University of Chicago Medicine<br />
<br />
The University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences is one of the nation's leading academic medical institutions. It comprises the Pritzker School of Medicine, a top 10 medical school in the nation; the University of Chicago Biomedical Sciences Division; and the University of Chicago Medical Center, which recently opened the Center for Care and Discovery, a $700 million specialty medical facility. Twelve Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine have been affiliated with the University of Chicago Medicine.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/new-process-developed-to-image-how.html">New Process Developed To Image How The Brain Forms Memories</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/02/brain-response-time-not-dependent-on.html">Brain Response Time Not Dependent on Number of Neurons in Neural Network</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/03/new-3d-model-gives-insight-on-how.html">New 3D Model Gives Insight On How Supernovas are Formed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/08/gps-data-reveals-how-sheepdogs-herd.html">GPS Data Reveal How Sheepdogs Herd Sheep</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/04/misleading-effects-of-backtest.html">Misleading Effects of Backtest Overfitting in Investment Strategy</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/scientists-develop-solar-cell-polymer.html">Scientists Develop Solar Cell Polymer With Double Charge Production</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-63937143965165986242016-01-27T19:00:00.000+08:002016-01-27T19:00:00.687+08:00Clean Dwarf Galaxy Help Chart Universe<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Dwarf Galaxy IC 1613" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNvWdEdlrviPYj1APbQQF7RzbWFQBnbZQ4M7mvhZpf3PkV0-t4asSq3U-8GLn-Zw6VEu-1P9PaWRlQBrYIG-Kmsckr-wWT42IWZA0KRTsTg-TUQmcOkQHfPew_SWaY6f07ZsWy6fobiS2/s640/Dwarf+Galaxy+IC+1613.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The image above is of IC 1613, a dwarf galaxy that is found in the Cetus constellation. <br />
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IC 1613 is unique in that unlike other galaxies, this dwarf galaxy contains very little cosmic dust which allows a clearer exploration of what is inside it. Cosmic dust is made of various heavier elements, such as carbon and iron, as well as larger, grainier molecules. Not only does dust block out light, making dust-shrouded objects harder to see, it also preferentially scatters bluer light. As a result, cosmic dust makes objects appear redder when seen through telescopes than they are in reality. Astronomers can factor out this reddening when studying objects. Still, the less reddening, the more precise an observation is likely to be.<br />
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IC 1613 also contains two types of stars, Cepheid variables and RR Lyrae variables. These type of stars rhythmically pulsate, growing characteristically bigger and brighter at fixed intervals and are used to measure galactic distances.<br />
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Galaxies come in different sizes. Our galaxy, The Milky Way, is a regular sized galaxy which contains 200 to 400 billion stars. There are smaller galaxies like the dwarf galaxy which only has several billion stars inside it. Dwarf galaxies like IC 1613, are small and have been observed to be pulled toward and merge with nearby spiral galaxies.<br />
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The OmegaCam was used to capture the image above. The OmegaCAM is a 32-CCD, 256-million-pixel camera mounted on the 2.6-metre VLT Survey Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>A Clean Galaxy</b><br />
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Many galaxies are chock-full of dust, while others have occasional dark streaks of opaque cosmic soot swirling in amongst their gas and stars. However, the subject of this new image, snapped with the OmegaCAM camera on ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope in Chile, is unusual — the small galaxy, named IC 1613, is a veritable clean freak! IC 1613 contains very little cosmic dust, allowing astronomers to explore its contents with great clarity. This is not just a matter of appearances; the galaxy’s cleanliness is vital to our understanding of the Universe around us.<br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>IC 1613 is a dwarf galaxy in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). This VST image shows the galaxy’s unconventional beauty, all scattered stars and bright pink gas, in great detail.<br />
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German astronomer Max Wolf discovered IC 1613’s faint glow in 1906. In 1928, his compatriot Walter Baade used the more powerful 2.5-metre telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California to successfully make out its individual stars. From these observations, astronomers figured out that the galaxy must be quite close to the Milky Way, as it is only possible to resolve single pinprick-like stars in the very nearest galaxies to us.<br />
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Astronomers have since confirmed that IC 1613 is indeed a member of the Local Group, a collection of more than 50 galaxies that includes our home galaxy, the Milky Way. IC 1613 itself lies just over 2.3 million light-years away from us. It is relatively well-studied due to its proximity; astronomers have found it to be an irregular dwarf that lacks many of the features, such as a starry disc, found in some other diminutive galaxies.<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1CVrAYFUIbg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>However, what IC 1613 lacks in form, it makes up for in tidiness. We know IC 1613’s distance to a remarkably high precision, partly due to the unusually low levels of dust lying both within the galaxy and along the line of sight from the Milky Way — something that enables much clearer observations.<br />
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The second reason we know the distance to IC 1613 so precisely is that the galaxy hosts a number of notable stars of two types: Cepheid variables and RR Lyrae variables. Both types of star rhythmically pulsate, growing characteristically bigger and brighter at fixed intervals.<br />
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As we know from our daily lives on Earth, shining objects such as light bulbs or candle flames appear dimmer the further they are away from us. Astronomers can use this simple piece of logic to figure out exactly how far away things are in the Universe— so long as they know how bright they really are, referred to as their intrinsic brightness.<br />
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Cepheid and RR Lyrae variables have the special property that their period of brightening and dimming is linked directly to their intrinsic brightness. So, by measuring how quickly they fluctuate astronomers can work out their intrinsic brightness. They can then compare these values to their apparent measured brightness and work out how far away they must be to appear as dim as they do.<br />
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Stars of known intrinsic brightness can act like standard candles, as astronomers say, much like how a candle with a specific brightness would act as a good gauge of distance intervals based on the observed brightness of its flame’s flicker.<br />
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Using standard candles — such as the variable stars within IC 1613 and the less-common Type Ia supernova explosions, which can seen across far greater cosmic distances — astronomers have pieced together a cosmic distance ladder, reaching deeper and deeper into space.<br />
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Decades ago, IC 1613 helped astronomers work out how to utilise variable stars to chart the Universe’s grand expanse. Not bad for a little, shapeless galaxy. </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RR_Lyrae_variable">RR Lyrae variable</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cepheid_variable">Cepheid variable</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/09/image-of-sculptor-dwarf-galaxy-captured.html">Image of Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy Captured By ESO</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/12/eso-studying-mysterious-dwarf-galaxy.html">ESO Studying Mysterious Dwarf Galaxy Formed After Cosmic Collision</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/hubbles-advanced-camera-for-surveys-acs.html">Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Takes Detailed Images of Dwarf Galaxy NGC 2366 And Its Bright Nebula</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/extremely-rare-gravitational-lensed.html">Extremely Rare Gravitational Lensed Dwarf Galaxy Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/05/galaxy-sized-cloud-of-hydrogen-gas.html">Galaxy Sized Cloud of Hydrogen Gas Discovered in Supposedly Empty Region of Space</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/08/unique-pairing-of-star-forming-regions.html">Unique Pairing of Star Forming Regions in Large Magellanic Cloud Imaged</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/04/starburst-galaxies-affect-farther-into.html">Starburst Galaxies Effect Far Into The Universe Than Initially Believed</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-51223694927017146582016-01-26T08:00:00.000+08:002016-01-26T08:16:44.504+08:00Migratory Birds In Decline Due To Human Impact<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="wood warbler" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbhktm0XEUX2m91fPthsweocAxhQrU6q3OrxapWDhtk4GZxHQzVX7Ejirnr0oHM0m8hp-JgwOn9Lh_gcOB-YYQIgeC2ZKjn4qkV_ioNi-5uwGY9WTWe1lAuhUt6pAsmrXYpGWQdaFJUhO/s640/migratory+bird+wood+warbler.JPG" /></a></div>According to research from the University of East Anglia (UEA), migratory birds such as the wood warbler pictured above are in decline because of human impacts such as climate change and the loss of habitat. Those that are 'set in their ways' could be more vulnerable to environmental impacts than other migratory birds that have a more diverse range of winter locations to go to during their non breeding season.<br />
<br />
New research published today reveals why some species are more vulnerable than others.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Declining Bird Population</b><br />
<br />
It shows that species that migrate to a more diverse range of winter locations during their non-breeding season - such as White Storks, Marsh Harriers and Reed Warblers - are less likely to suffer population decline.<br />
<br />
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>However species that tend to 'funnel' into smaller areas during the winter - such as Turtle Doves and Wood Warblers - have been more vulnerable to declining numbers, caused by human impacts.<br />
<br />
Lead researcher Dr James Gilroy from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences said: "Birds are well-known for their remarkable long-distance migrations, often involving extreme feats of navigation and endurance. Unfortunately, many migratory birds are in decline, and there is an urgent need to understand what determines their vulnerability to human impacts.<br />
<br />
"We wanted to know whether 'migratory diversity' - the variability of migratory behaviour within species - plays a role in determining their population trends."<br />
<br />
The research team studied the migration patterns of 340 bird species in relation to their status across Europe over the last two decades (1990-2012).<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/151900214" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/151900214">BIRD MIGRATION - Why is it changing?</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/wildstep">WILDSTEP Productions</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Dr Gilroy said: "We found that the species which scatter across wider areas in the non-breeding season have been more resilient, whereas those that converge along narrower routes, and hence occupy smaller wintering areas, have been more likely to decline.<br />
<br />
"This suggests that these species may be particularly vulnerable to impacts like habitat loss and hunting in their non-breeding ranges. Species that spread across wider wintering areas, by contrast, might have a greater chance of reaching safe habitats in at least some parts of their range."<br />
<br />
The research team also found that species classed as 'partial migrants' - meaning that their populations include both migratory individuals and others that remain in the breeding area all year round - were less likely to decline than fully migratory species, or even those that are fully resident.<br />
<br />
Dr Gilroy said: "Many species adopt this mixed migratory strategy, including familiar species like Blackbirds and Robins. It looks like it could make them more resilient to human impacts - even in comparison to species that don't migrate at all. Many fully resident species like Lesser-spotted Woodpeckers and Willow Tits have been showing worrying declines in recent years.<br />
<br />
"Partially migratory species also showed a greater capacity to shift their spring arrival dates forwards in recent decades, relative to fully migratory species. This trend towards earlier spring arrival might help species adapt to climate change, by allowing them to commence breeding earlier in the year as spring temperatures rise."<br />
<br />
Co-author Dr Aldina Franco, also from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "The fact that migratory birds are declining globally has been troubling both scientific and conservation communities.<br />
<br />
"We hope that this research will help relevant authorities identify ways to protect the long-distance migratory species that occupy small wintering areas. These are more likely to suffer population declines and need specific conservation efforts. Species with low migratory dispersion for example would benefit from a focus on conservation within their winter locations."<br />
<br />
This research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is part of a project to investigate the causes and consequences of partial migration on birds.<br />
<br />
'Migratory diversity predicts population declines in birds' is published in the journal Ecology Letters on January 26, 2016. </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia (UEA)</a><br />
<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1461-0248">Ecology Letters</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nerc.ac.uk/">Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/03/human-colonization-in-pacific-resulted.html">Human Colonization in the Pacific Resulted in the Extinction of 1300 Bird Species</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/prehistoric-shark-exhibited-migratory.html">Prehistoric Shark Exhibited Migratory Spawning Behavior Similar to Salmon</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/studying-actual-size-of-undersea-giants.html">Studying the Actual Size of Undersea Giants</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/07/studying-climate-variability-by.html">Studying Climate Variability By Reconstructing 2500 Years Of Volcanic Activity</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/03/fossil-of-giant-camel-that-lived-during.html">Fossil of Giant Camel That Lived During the Pliocene Period Found In Canada's High Arctic</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/05/dinosaurs-survived-by-shrinking.html">Dinosaurs Survived By Shrinking</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/02/crazy-ant-displaces-fire-ants-as.html">Crazy Ants Displace Fire Ants As Dominant Invasive Species</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/02/studying-current-21st-century-patterns.html">Studying Current 21st Century Patterns of a Spreading Pandemic</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-37003427847355505972015-12-17T23:00:00.000+08:002015-12-17T23:00:18.658+08:00Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of A Lightsaber In Space<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="lightsaber in space" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJCb5m3ixWjGeYf5T86OmZCu_HWK8-TWYBegIo5W9DaIgcsLsh_3lfHlPR63UQrxPtYmYyEiHLjTU1lajsYCPb7GeaQK6gh9O3RWY2R06SpB1cBSK4frdYeMvbYw10DSoPzhiI4Za1tQL/s640/Herbig+Haro+Lightsaber.tif" /></a></div><br />
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image that resembles a lightsaber.<br />
<br />
This cosmic object that seems to copy the iconic weapon of a Jedi can be found in the Orion B Molecular Complex in the constellation Orion, 1350 light years away. This object is a result of jets of gas and dust that are spewn out by a newly formed star. These lightsaber like objects are called Herbig-Haro Objects.<br />
<br />
This particular object in the image is HH24.<br />
<br />
Herbig-Haro Objects are young stars that occasionally blast off hot gas and other material into space. It is a result of stars ejecting materials that collides with nearby clouds of gas and dusty at very high speeds. Herbig–Haro objects are generally found in star-forming regions. Several are often seen around a single star and is aligned along its rotational axis.<br />
<br />
Herbig-Haro objects are named after George Herbig and Guillermo Haro who first studied them in detail. The two astronomers (independent of each other) were studying star formations when they came upon these objects. They both recognized that these were a by-product of the star formation process.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>The Hubble Space Telescope Awakens The Force</b><br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Perfectly timed for the release of "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens", the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a cosmic double-bladed lightsabre. In the centre of the image, partially obscured by a dark Jedi-like cloak of dust, an adolescent star shoots twin jets out into space, demonstrating the fearsome forces of the Universe<br />
<br />
This celestial lightsabre lies not in a galaxy far, far away, but within our home galaxy, the Milky Way. More precisely, it resides within a turbulent patch of space known as the Orion B molecular cloud complex, which is located just over 1350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter).<br />
<br />
Video: Herbig Haro 24: The Force Is Strong With This One<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3gQJxAeNSIo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Bearing a striking resemblance to Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsabre in Star Wars Episode One, the spectacular twin jets of material slicing across this incredible image are spewing out from a newly formed star that is obscured from view, cloaked by swirling dust and gas.<br />
<br />
When stars form within giant, gaseous clouds, some of the surrounding material collapses down to form a rotating, flattened disc encircling the nascent stars, which are known as protostars. This disc is where a potential planetary system might form. However, at this early stage, the star is mostly concerned with feeding its Jabba-like appetite. Gas from the disc rains down onto the protostar and, once nourished, the star awakens and jets of energised gas from its poles whirl out in opposite directions.<br />
<br />
The Force is strong with these twin jets; their effect on their environment demonstrates the true power of the Dark Side with a blast stronger than one from a fully armed and operational Death Star battle station. As they stream away from one another at high speeds, supersonic shock fronts develop along the jets and heat the surrounding gas to thousands of degrees.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, as the jets collide with the surrounding gas and dust and clear vast spaces, they create curved shock waves. These shockwaves are the hallmarks of Herbig-Haro (HH) objects — tangled, knotted clumps of nebulosity. The prominent Herbig-Haro object shown in this image is HH 24.<br />
<br />
Just to the right of the cloaked star, a couple of bright points of light can be seen. These are young stars peeking through and showing off their own faint lightsabres. One hidden, cloaked source, only detectable in the radio part of the spectrum, has blasted a tunnel through the dark cloud in the upper left of the image with a wider outflow resembling “force lightning”.<br />
<br />
All these jets make HH 24 the densest concentration of HH jets known in such a small region. Half of the HH jets have been spotted in this region in visible light, and about the same number in the infrared. Hubble’s observations for this image were performed in infrared light, which enabled the telescope to pierce through the gas and dust cocooning the newly-forming stars and capture a clear view of the HH objects that astronomers are looking for.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nasa.gov/">National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency (ESA)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/hubble-space-telescope-image-of-herbig.html">Hubble Space Telescope Image of Herbig-Haro 110</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/08/astronomers-observe-unknown-jet-stream.html">Astronomers Observe Unknown Jet stream From Herbig Haro 46/47</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/01/star-forming-molecular-cloud-lupus-3.html">Star Forming Molecular Cloud Lupus 3 Captured In Amazing Detail</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/07/exoplanet-hd-189733b-determined-to-be.html">Exoplanet HD 189733b Determined to be Color Blue Like the Earth</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/04/the-atacama-large-millimetersubmillimet.html">The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Pinpoints More Than A Hundred Star Forming Galaxies</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/02/lobster-nebula-ngc-6357-imaged-in.html">Lobster Nebula NGC 6357 Imaged In Infrared By VISTA Telescope</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/hubble-telescope-reveals-galaxy-ngc-922.html">Hubble Telescope Reveals Galaxy NGC 922 Collided With Smaller Galaxy 330 Million Years Ago</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/09/eso-wide-field-imager-sets-its-sights.html">ESO Wide Field Imager Sets Its Sights On The Seagull Nebula IC-2177</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/09/european-southern-observatory-releases.html">European Southern Observatory Releases New Image of Pencil Nebula</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-46901274229788308802015-12-09T19:00:00.000+08:002015-12-09T19:00:02.789+08:00ESO Studying Mysterious Dwarf Galaxy Formed After Cosmic Collision<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="NGC 5291 and dwarf galaxy NGC 5291N" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBCcwnb2YUeifRHLL3SRp8CSN48XfWwH9w1yEYY81N_emZytDlcHgCq8pDcIn8svcRNIQtxysu9YOqDS7_7o-7XHZ-2awiaezKBDtkWQ2cjfXx-J-zPQaFzJckWxlN6zqdIq88-SM3IGdP/s640/NGC+5291+Annotated.tif" /></a></div><br />
The European Southern Observatory used its Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory to take detailed images of NGC 5291. NGC 5291 is located in the constellation of Centaurus. NGC 5291 is an elliptical galaxy that collided with another galaxy over 360 million years ago. <br />
<br />
As a result of the collision, a dwarf galaxy was also formed; NGC 5291N. Astronomers have particular interest with this dwarf galaxy because according to their data, NGC 5291N mysteriously contains no old stars. <br />
<br />
Centered in the image above is NGC 5291. Also seen is the Seashell Galaxy (MCG-05-33-005), a comma-shaped galaxy which appears to leech off NGC 5291’s luminous core. On the right side of the image is NGC 5291N. The dwarf galaxy was observed using MUSE's integral field spectrography. <br />
<br />
The MUSE observations revealed unexpected oxygen and hydrogen emission lines in the outskirts of NGC 5291N.<br />
<br />
A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy containing less stars than a regular galaxy. It is usually composed of up to several billion stars. A regular galaxy like the Milky Way has 200 to 400 billion stars. Since these dwarf galaxies are small, they have been observed to be pulled toward and merge with nearby spiral galaxies. The Milky Way is believed to be a result of a build up of several dwarf galaxies.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Studying The Results Of A Cosmic Collision</b><br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>The spectacular aftermath of a 360 million year old cosmic collision is revealed in great detail in new images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory. Among the debris is a rare and mysterious young dwarf galaxy. This galaxy is providing astronomers with an excellent opportunity to learn more about similar galaxies that are expected to be common in the early Universe, but are normally too faint and distant to be observed by current telescopes.<br />
<br />
NGC 5291, the hazy, golden oval dominating the centre of this image, is an elliptical galaxy located nearly 200 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus (The Centaur). Over 360 million years ago, NGC 5291 was involved in a dramatic and violent collision as another galaxy travelling at immense speeds barrelled into its core. The cosmic crash ejected huge streams of gas into nearby space, which later coalesced into a ring formation around NGC 5291.<br />
<br />
Video: NGC 5291 in the Constellation Centaurus<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vr4mlYNZ0DE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Over time, material in this ring gathered and collapsed into dozens of star-forming regions and several dwarf galaxies, revealed as pale blue and white regions scattered around NGC 5291 in this new image from the FORS instrument, mounted on the VLT. The most massive and luminous clump of material, to the right of NGC 5291, is one of these dwarf galaxies and is known as NGC 5291N.<br />
<br />
The Milky Way, like all large galaxies, is believed to have formed through the build-up of smaller dwarf galaxies in the early years of the Universe. These small galaxies, if they have survived on their own up to the present day, now normally contain many extremely old stars.<br />
<br />
Yet NGC 5291N appears to contain no old stars. Detailed observations with the MUSE spectrograph also found that the outer parts of the galaxy had properties typically associated with the formation of new stars, but what was observed is not predicted by current theoretical models. Astronomers suspect that these unusual aspects may be the result of massive collisions of gas in the region.<br />
<br />
NGC 5291N doesn’t look like a typical dwarf galaxy, but instead it shares a striking number of similarities with the clumpy structures present within many of the star-forming galaxies in the distant Universe. This makes it a unique system in our local Universe and an important laboratory for the study of early gas-rich galaxies, which are normally much too distant to be observed in detail by current telescopes.<br />
<br />
This unusual system has previously been observed by a wide range of ground-based facilities, including ESO’s 3.6-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory. However, the capabilities of MUSE, FORS and the Very Large Telescope have only now allowed some of the history and properties of NGC 5291N to be determined.<br />
<br />
Future observations, including those by ESO’s European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), may allow astronomers to further unravel this dwarf galaxy’s remaining mysteries.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1547/eso1547a.pdf">Ionization processes in a local analogue of distant clumpy galaxies: VLT MUSE IFU spectroscopy and FORS deep images of the TDG NGC 5291N</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/09/image-of-sculptor-dwarf-galaxy-captured.html">Image of Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy Captured By ESO</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/hubbles-advanced-camera-for-surveys-acs.html">Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Takes Detailed Images of Dwarf Galaxy NGC 2366 And Its Bright Nebula</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/extremely-rare-gravitational-lensed.html">Extremely Rare Gravitational Lensed Dwarf Galaxy Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/05/galaxy-sized-cloud-of-hydrogen-gas.html">Galaxy Sized Cloud of Hydrogen Gas Discovered in Supposedly Empty Region of Space</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/08/unique-pairing-of-star-forming-regions.html">Unique Pairing of Star Forming Regions in Large Magellanic Cloud Imaged</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/04/starburst-galaxies-affect-farther-into.html">Starburst Galaxies Effect Far Into The Universe Than Initially Believed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/01/hubble-space-telescope-captures-image.html">Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of LHC 120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-58751510807388424902015-12-04T00:00:00.000+08:002015-12-04T07:25:27.365+08:00Six Popular Foods That Are High In Sodium: An American Heart Association Infographic<div id="div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0"><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="salty foods" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi64aI0XHodzRxPPlBn34QYXEWtQGWz3AUvA2PyeQ4ycRpOvAvG4zTGxptZ-w7pYsMbaDtz7QhA5SkjYQ-dZhgGvm6EnzTdBIOvu7B0B6WN96eI1oYtDl8m2wy9G5_Xyk5ih0oxR756HHVK/s640/AHA+Salty+Six+infographic+-+FINAL.jpg" /></a></div>The infographic from the American Heart Association highlights the six popular foods that have high levels of sodium. These are bread and rolls, cold cuts, cured meat, pizza, poultry, soup, and sandwiches.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/">American Heart Association</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/04/white-potatoes-linked-to-high-levels-of.html">White Potatoes Linked To High Levels Of Potassium And Low Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/avocado-in-daily-diet-lowers-bad.html">Avocado In Daily Diet Lowers Bad Cholesterol Levels</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/04/potato-consumption-declining.html">Potato Consumption Declining</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/01/space-food-101-spirulina.html">Space Food 101 - Spirulina</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/01/study-on-effects-of-deep-space-travel.html">Study On Effects of Deep Space Travel Reveals Sodium Rhythm Cycle of the Human Body</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-48489085341240688742015-12-03T00:00:00.000+08:002015-12-03T09:24:38.425+08:00Studying Matter In The Universe<div id="div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0"><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="filaments in the universe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAnmdbeUt9X5dGdJjo7DR_heqt8jV1HDqGD41yU5HjhyphenhyphenAnZxBZcWBcYUbO6qixR8GgShDbkD41D4onuQN_5aRsituiP9i_oajJ8J8Kyn9Ccs52vm5gx_zp3vNECE6ouIHclvUhiaVZ3RJ/s640/universe+filaments.jpg" /></a></div>Filaments in outer space are called supercluster complexes or great walls. Galaxy filaments are the largest cosmic structures in the universe with lengths extending from 50 to 80 megaparsecs h-1.<br />
<br />
These filaments are thread-like structures that form boundaries between large voids in the universe. Astronomers theorize that moments after the Big Bang, a bulk of the matter in the universe condensed into a web of tangled filaments connected to each other at the locations of massive galaxy clusters.<br />
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Matter known as ordinary, which makes up everything we know, corresponds to only 5% of the Universe. Approximately half of this percentage still eluded detection. Numerical simulations made it possible to predict that the rest of this ordinary matter should be located in the large-scale structures that form the 'cosmic web' at temperatures between 100,000 and 10 million degrees. A team led by a researcher from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, observed this phenomenon directly. The research shows that the majority of the missing ordinary matter is found in the form of a very hot gas associated with intergalactic filaments. The article reporting this discovery is published in the journal Nature.<br />
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The image above is a digital simulation of the large-scale distribution of matter, with filaments and knots.<br />
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</script><script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Galaxies are formed when ordinary matter collapses then cools down. In order to understand the origin of this formation, it was vital to discover in what form and where the ordinary matter that we do not perceive -- known as the 'missing baryons' -- is found. To do this, the astrophysicists from UNIGE and the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) took an interest in Abell 2744, a massive cluster of galaxies with a complex distribution of dark and luminous matter at its center. They observed this cluster with the XMM space telescope, which is capable of detecting the signature of very hot gas due to its sensitivity to X-rays.<br />
<br />
Video: Abell 2744<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FOhT_kps2GM?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id="div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0" style="display: block; float: right; margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;"><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div><b>Hot gas at the core of the filaments</b><br />
<br />
Large-scale galaxy surveys have shown that the distribution of ordinary matter in the Universe is not homogeneous. Instead, under the action of gravity, matter is concentrated into filamentary structures, forming a network of knots and links called the 'cosmic web'. The regions experiencing the highest gravitational force collapse and form the knots of the network, such as Abell 2744. Comparable to neural networks, these knots then connect to one another through filaments, wherein the researchers identified the presence of gas, and consequently, the missing baryons. The astrophysicists pointed XMM in the direction of the areas where they suspected to find the presence of filaments, and therefore, the presence of 10-million degree hot gas structures. For the first time, they were able to measure the temperature and density of these objects, and found that they corresponded to the predictions of the numerical models. For this reason, we now have a grasp of the form taken by the missing ordinary matter.<br />
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<b>Will the amount of ordinary matter in the universe soon be known?</b><br />
<br />
This research is a very significant validation of the models of galaxy formation in the Universe. "Now we must verify that the discovery of Abell 2744's missing baryons is applicable to the entire universe. This will consist in studying these filamentary regions in detail, and measuring their temperature distribution and the various atoms that compose them, in order to understand how many heavy elements there are in the universe," says Dominique Eckert, led scientist. In fact, if the researchers manage to measure the atoms in these filaments, they will be able to estimate the number of heavy nuclei formed by stars since the beginning of the universe. In order to deepen this research, the European Space Agency (ESA) is in the process of developing a new space telescope. Switzerland and the researchers from UNIGE are especially involved in this project. The telescope, named Athena, should be operational in the mid-2020s. </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.unige.ch/">Université de Genève</a><br />
<a href="https://www.epfl.ch/">Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/index.html">Nature</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/massive-galactic-filament-of-dark.html">Massive Galactic Filament of Dark Matter Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope In 3D</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/04/dark-matter-interactions-observed-in.html">Dark Matter Interactions Observed in Galaxy Collision at Abell 3827</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/07/kilo-degree-survey-kids-to-study-dark.html">Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) To Study Dark Matter</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/08/distant-galaxy-collision-imaged-through.html">Distant Galaxy Collision Imaged Through Gravitational Lensing</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/the-james-webb-space-telescope.html">The James Webb Space Telescope Successor To The Hubble Space Telescope</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/new-space-instrument-k-band-multi.html">New Space Instrument, K-band Multi-Object Spectrograph (KMOS), Can Observe 24 Objects In Space At The Same Time</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/05/galaxy-sized-cloud-of-hydrogen-gas.html">Galaxy Sized Cloud of Hydrogen Gas Discovered in Supposedly Empty Region of Space</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/extremely-rare-gravitational-lensed.html">Extremely Rare Gravitational Lensed Dwarf Galaxy Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-11315637000682133032015-09-22T21:00:00.000+08:002015-09-22T21:00:02.415+08:00National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Achieves Record Quantum Teleportation Distance<div id="div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0"><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="coherent beam of light" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsppR6-D8sc2oHVQHdfGtzAHcniVM7lWawuUrC8X0r2Fj0wDGat3g1iwFm899oKqoKfhVVaIlKmH-mRInh-x-D9NZyIiWPbpDLcrT1stb4hyphenhyphenS3d1gbi7yk-JNStCB2YhkhxxVY9QyJBrY/s400/photon+laser+beam.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have "teleported" or transferred quantum information carried in light particles over 100 kilometers (km) of optical fiber, four times farther than the previous record.<br />
<br />
The experiment confirmed that quantum communication is feasible over long distances in fiber. Other research groups have teleported quantum information over longer distances in free space, but the ability to do so over conventional fiber-optic lines offers more flexibility for network design. The experiment used photons to transfer the information.<br />
<br />
A photon is a single particle of light. It is an elementary particle that exhibits both particle and wave properties; wave–particle duality. The study of photons usually falls under but not limited to quantum mechanics.<br />
<br />
Photons have many real world applications. Solar energy cells use photons to convert sunlight to energy. Some systems like the Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) use it to generate images. The mass of photons was one of the factors that lead researchers at CERN in the Large Hadron Collider to help discover the Higgs Particle. Even in science fiction, the photon torpedo or photon gun is part of a spaceship's arsenal.<br />
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</script><script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>Not to be confused with Star Trek's fictional "beaming up" of people, quantum teleportation involves the transfer, or remote reconstruction, of information encoded in quantum states of matter or light. Teleportation is useful in both quantum communications and quantum computing, which offer prospects for novel capabilities such as unbreakable encryption and advanced code-breaking, respectively. The basic method for quantum teleportation was first proposed more than 20 years ago and has been performed by a number of research groups, including one at NIST using atoms in 2004.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="quantum teleportation" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgrO4bZiIXxMcNL0dsr7p8d_cspcxhFPL_baDafIboxzcuV4o6tIFAxLEBW5c9DajpmkQIu9LDiVQaivppff5dc_rqjTa3fEv6rQ7D86wlKjRl_cNk8K1SxWTezNFxeYXL5DdL0V_jYlm/s1600/quantum+teleportation.jpg" /></a></div>The new record, described in Optica,* involved the transfer of quantum information contained in one photon--its specific time slot in a sequence-- to another photon transmitted over 102 km of spooled fiber in a NIST laboratory in Colorado.<br />
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The lead author, Hiroki Takesue, was a NIST guest researcher from NTT Corp. in Japan. The achievement was made possible by advanced single-photon detectors designed and made at NIST.<br />
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"Only about 1 percent of photons make it all the way through 100 km of fiber," NIST's Marty Stevens says. "We never could have done this experiment without these new detectors, which can measure this incredibly weak signal."<br />
<br />
<div id="div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0" style="display: block; float: left; margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;"><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0'); });</script></div>Until now, so much quantum data was lost in fiber that transmission rates and distances were low. The new NTT/NIST teleportation technique could be used to make devices called quantum repeaters that could resend data periodically in order to extend network reach, perhaps enough to eventually build a "quantum internet." Previously, researchers thought quantum repeaters might need to rely on atoms or other matter, instead of light, a difficult engineering challenge that would also slow down transmission.<br />
<br />
Various quantum states can be used to carry information; the NTT/NIST experiment used quantum states that indicate when in a sequence of time slots a single photon arrives. The teleportation method is novel in that four of NIST's photon detectors were positioned to filter out specific quantum states. (See graphic for an overview of how the teleportation process works.) The detectors rely on superconducting nanowires made of molybdenum silicide.** They can record more than 80 percent of arriving photons, revealing whether they are in the same or different time slots each just 1 nanosecond long. The experiments were performed at wavelengths commonly used in telecommunications.<br />
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Because the experiment filtered out and focused on a limited combination of quantum states, teleportation could be successful in only 25 percent of the transmissions at best. Thanks to the efficient detectors, researchers successfully teleported the desired quantum state in 83 percent of the maximum possible successful transmissions, on average. All experimental runs with different starting properties exceeded the mathematically significant 66.7 percent threshold for proving the quantum nature of the teleportation process.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nist.gov/">National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)</a><br />
<a href="https://www.osapublishing.org/optica/home.cfm">Optica</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nist.gov/pml/div686/detector-063011.cfm">Key Ingredient: Change in Material Boosts Prospects of Ultrafast Single-photon Detector</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/01/photon-detector-reads-in-four-states.html">Photon Detector Reads In Four States With An Error Rate Four Times Lower Than Previous Devices</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/entangled-photon-emitter-that-fits-in.html">Entangled Photon Emitter That Fits in Computer Chip Developed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/02/graphene-shows-potential-to-be.html">Graphene Shows Potential To Be Efficient Photovoltaic Material In Light Detection and Energy Harvest</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/11/quantum-photonic-chip-using-quantum.html">Photonic Chip Using Quantum Nonlocality To Explain Wave Particle Duality</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/01/swept-confocally-aligned-planar.html">Swept Confocally Aligned Planar Excitation (SCAPE) Microscopy Provides High Speed 3D Images</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/09/lasers-used-to-levitate-diamond.html">Lasers Used to Levitate Diamond</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-75826001784502629132015-09-16T18:00:00.000+08:002015-09-16T18:00:04.192+08:00Image of Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy Captured By ESO<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdz7Nhf14dVr_kt3BOQj37h78Cn5Y-nPgoI3EXJKgYMBA_evfFSbCNxdYLKG2TpOX8VARMqme4bFSil3ElBxtBkgqGtE1h0lCXstDEBq49JAEJFZmTnsXBG5rZMxNLnrIOzqSCRd-tsRjO/s640/Sculptor+Dwarf+Galaxy.jpg" /></a></div>The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy, pictured in this new image from the Wide Field Imager camera, installed on the 2.2-metre MPG/ESO telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, is a close neighbour of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Despite their close proximity, both galaxies have very distinct histories and characters. This galaxy is much smaller and older than the Milky Way, making it a valuable subject for studying both star and galaxy formation in the early Universe. However, due to its faintness, studying this object is no easy task.<br />
<br />
The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy — also known as the Sculptor Dwarf Elliptical or the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal — is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy, and is one of the fourteen known satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. This is not to be confused with the similarly named and much brighter Sculptor Galaxy which is located in the same constellation of Sculptor.<br />
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A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy composed of up to several billion stars. A regular galaxy like the Milky Way has 200 to 400 billion stars. Since these dwarf galaxies are small, they have been observed to be pulled toward and merge with nearby spiral galaxies.<br />
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>These galactic hitchhikers are located close by in the Milky Way’s extensive halo, a spherical region extending far beyond our galaxy’s spiral arms. As indicated by its name, this galaxy is located in the southern constellation of Sculptor and lies about 280 000 light-years away from Earth. Despite its proximity, the galaxy was only discovered in 1937, as its stars are faint and spread thinly across the sky.<br />
<br />
Although difficult to pick out, the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy was among the first faint dwarf galaxies found orbiting the Milky Way. The tiny galaxy’s shape intrigued astronomers at the time of its discovery, but nowadays dwarf spheroidal galaxies play a more important role in allowing astronomers to dig deeply into the Universe’s past.<br />
<br />
Video: The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1P3yJ3hgR9Q?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>The Milky Way, like all large galaxies, is thought to have formed from the build-up of smaller galaxies during the early days of the Universe. If some of these small galaxies still remain today, they should now contain many extremely old stars. The Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy fits the bill as a primordial galaxy, thanks to a large number of ancient stars, visible in this image.<br />
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Astronomers can determine the age of stars in the galaxy because their light carries the signatures of only a small quantity of heavy chemical elements. These heavy elements accumulate in galaxies with successive generations of stars. A low level of heavy elements thus indicates that the average age of the stars in the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy is high.<br />
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This quantity of old stars makes the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy a prime target for studying the earliest periods of star formation. In a recent study, astronomers combined all the data available for the galaxy to create the most accurate star formation history ever determined for a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. This analysis revealed two distinct groups of stars in the galaxy. The first, predominant group is the older population, which is lacking in heavier elements. The second, smaller population, in contrast, is rich with heavy elements. Like young people crowding into city centres, this youthful stellar population is concentrated toward the galaxy’s core.<br />
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The stars within dwarf galaxies like the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy can exhibit complex star formation histories. But as most of these dwarf galaxies’ stars have been isolated from each other and have not interacted for billions of years, each collection of stars has charted its own evolutionary course. Studying the similarities in dwarf galaxies’ histories, and explaining the occasional outliers, will help to explain the development of all galaxies, from the most unassuming dwarf to the grandest spirals. There is indeed much for astronomers to learn from the Milky Way’s shy neighbours. </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/hubbles-advanced-camera-for-surveys-acs.html">Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Takes Detailed Images of Dwarf Galaxy NGC 2366 And Its Bright Nebula</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/extremely-rare-gravitational-lensed.html">Extremely Rare Gravitational Lensed Dwarf Galaxy Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/05/galaxy-sized-cloud-of-hydrogen-gas.html">Galaxy Sized Cloud of Hydrogen Gas Discovered in Supposedly Empty Region of Space</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/08/unique-pairing-of-star-forming-regions.html">Unique Pairing of Star Forming Regions in Large Magellanic Cloud Imaged</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/04/starburst-galaxies-affect-farther-into.html">Starburst Galaxies Effect Far Into The Universe Than Initially Believed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/01/hubble-space-telescope-captures-image.html">Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of LHC 120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud</a><br />
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</script>Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-495312854871149172015-09-15T23:00:00.000+08:002015-09-15T23:00:00.346+08:00Sound Waves To Control Brain Cells Through Sonogenetics Discovered<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="sonogenetics" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvGOUxhG0-koSu8rlDL7qbk-GWR29WiRFacYMECRNOtFkqfY4vUWlMI3ZiNzUUTNnXk0WDg6KXI73fnvyXEDgpAocVM2fxf0IHKLe8F4BD4gbNrF1tVzW9zM7QBwe1GOfjCOhZOdo0IHcj/s400/sonogenetics.jpg" /></a></div>Salk scientists have developed a new way to selectively activate brain, heart, muscle and other cells using ultrasonic waves. The new technique, dubbed sonogenetics, has some similarities to the burgeoning use of light to activate cells in order to better understand the brain.<br />
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This new method--which uses the same type of waves used in medical sonograms--may have advantages over the light-based approach--known as optogenetics--particularly when it comes to adapting the technology to human therapeutics. It was described September 15, 2015 in the journal Nature Communications.<br />
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"Light-based techniques are great for some uses and I think we're going to continue to see developments on that front," says Sreekanth Chalasani, an assistant professor in Salk's Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory and senior author of the study. "But this is a new, additional tool to manipulate neurons and other cells in the body."<br />
<br />
In optogenetics, researchers add light-sensitive channel proteins to neurons they wish to study. By shining a focused laser on the cells, they can selectively open these channels, either activating or silencing the target neurons. But using an optogenetics approach on cells deep in the brain is difficult: typically, researchers have to perform surgery to implant a fiber optic cable that can reach the cells. Plus, light is scattered by the brain and by other tissues in the body.<br />
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Chalasani and his group decided to see if they could develop an approach that instead relied on ultrasound waves for the activation. "In contrast to light, low-frequency ultrasound can travel through the body without any scattering," he says. "This could be a big advantage when you want to stimulate a region deep in the brain without affecting other regions," adds Stuart Ibsen, a postdoctoral fellow in the Chalasani lab and first author of the new work.<br />
<br />
Chalasani and his colleagues first showed that, in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, microbubbles of gas outside of the worm were necessary to amplify the low-intensity ultrasound waves. "The microbubbles grow and shrink in tune with the ultrasound pressure waves," Ibsen says. "These oscillations can then propagate noninvasively into the worm."<br />
<br />
Video: Sonogenetics<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qJ1qkzooBzw?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Next, they found a membrane ion channel, TRP-4, which can respond to these waves. When mechanical deformations from the ultrasound hitting gas bubbles propagate into the worm, they cause TRP-4 channels to open up and activate the cell. Armed with that knowledge, the team tried adding the TRP-4 channel to neurons that don't normally have it. With this approach, they successfully activated neurons that don't usually react to ultrasound.<br />
<br />
So far, sonogenetics has only been applied to C. elegans neurons. But TRP-4 could be added to any calcium-sensitive cell type in any organism including humans, Chalasani says. Then, microbubbles could be injected into the bloodstream, and distributed throughout the body--an approach already used in some human imaging techniques. Ultrasound could then noninvasively reach any tissue of interest, including the brain, be amplified by the microbubbles, and activate the cells of interest through TRP-4. And many cells in the human body, he points out, can respond to the influxes of calcium caused by TRP-4.<br />
<br />
"The real prize will be to see whether this could work in a mammalian brain," Chalasani says. His group has already begun testing the approach in mice. "When we make the leap into therapies for humans, I think we have a better shot with noninvasive sonogenetics approaches than with optogenetics."<br />
<br />
Both optogenetics and sonogenetics approaches, he adds, hold promise in basic research by letting scientists study the effect of cell activation. And they also may be useful in therapeutics through the activation of cells affected by disease. However, for either technique to be used in humans, researchers first need to develop safe ways to deliver the light or ultrasound-sensitive channels to target cells. </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.salk.edu/">Salk Institute</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/index.html">Nature Communications</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/increased-brain-perception-and-boosted.html">Increased Brain Perception and Boosted Senses Through Low-intensity Transcranial-focused Ultrasound</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/08/transcranial-magnetic-stimulation-found.html">Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Found To Improve Memory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/scientists-discover-molecule.html">Scientists Discover Molecule Responsible For Converting Soundwaves To Brain Signals For Hearing</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/02/brain-process-in-encoding-sound-key-in.html">Brain Process In Encoding Sound Key In Study of Dyslexia</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/increased-brain-perception-and-boosted.html">Motor Skills Interactions Affect How Brain Hemispheres Process Different Kinds of Sounds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/08/children-with-music-training-have.html">Children With Music Training Have Improved Brain Functions As Adults</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/01/neurobiologists-transform-projection.html">Neurobiologists Transform Projection Neuron To Motor Neuron Inside Brain Through Direct Lineage Reprogramming</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/04/many-treatments-available-to-help.html">Many Treatments Available To Help Prevent Migraine Unused</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/06/molecular-imaging-making-headway-into.html">Molecular Imaging Making Headway Into Developments In Disease Treatment and Research</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-65834271260120799082015-09-15T17:00:00.000+08:002015-09-15T17:00:02.981+08:00Hydrogen From Sunlight Through Photoelectrochemical Cell Developed With Record 14% Efficiency<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="photoelectrochemical device" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1a2cIu-F5hu-yjZdReJV2QJkdip7E9rFXJjB0Ma7RJ6JirQvLmWw330TJEIVMeAPtKyJauXM1W9SH6stxYXnDRiGRUjkiVkIoL4cF4_H8evX4KQYCRJXUel-mEg506cZjsl2AppoENbi3/s400/photoelectrochemical+device.jpg" /></a></div>Solar energy is abundantly available globally, but unfortunately not constantly and not everywhere. One especially interesting solution for storing this energy is artificial photosynthesis. This is what every leaf can do, namely converting sunlight to chemical energy. That can take place with artificial systems based on semiconductors as well. These use the electrical power that sunlight creates in individual semiconductor components to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen possesses very high energy density, can be employed in many ways and could replace fossil fuels. In addition, no carbon dioxide harmful to the climate is released from hydrogen during combustion, instead only water. Until now, manufacturing of solar hydrogen at the industrial level has failed due to the costs, however. This is because the efficiency of artificial photosynthesis, i.e. the energy content of the hydrogen compared to that of sunlight, has simply been too low to produce hydrogen from the sun economically.<br />
<br />
Photovoltaics (PV) is a method of generating electricity by converting solar radiation (sunlight) into direct current electricity by using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. These semiconductors are also called solar panels and are composed of a group of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material. Materials presently used for photovoltaics include monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide/sulfide. Due to the growing demand for renewable energy sources, the manufacturing of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has advanced considerably in recent years.<br />
<br />
Combining the two processes a photoelectrochemical cell can be produced that will harness sunlight to generate chemical fuel, specifically by splitting water to generate hydrogen.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
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<br />
Scientific facilities worldwide have therefore been researching for many years how to break the existing record for artificial photosynthesis of 12.4 %, which has been held for 17 years by NREL in the USA.<br />
<br />
<b>Core component: Tandem Solar Cell</b><br />
<br />
Now a team from TU Ilmenau, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), the California Institute of Technology as well as the Fraunhofer ISE has considerably exceeded this record value. Lead author Matthias May, active at TU Ilmenau and the HZB Institute for Solar Fuels, processed and surveyed about one hundred samples in his excellent doctoral dissertation to achieve this. The fundamental components are tandem solar cells of what are known as III-V semiconductors. Using a now patented photo-electrochemical process, May could modify certain surfaces of these semiconductor systems in such a way that they functioned better in water splitting.<br />
<br />
Video: Solar Hydrogen<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8kJqsDh8cs0?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div><b>Stability improved</b><br />
<br />
"We have electronically and chemically passivated in situ the aluminium-indium-phosphide layers in particular and thereby efficiently coupled to the catalyst layer for hydrogen generation. In this way, we were able to control the composition of the surface at sub-nanometre scales", explains May. There was enormous improvement in long-term stability as well. At the beginning, the samples only survived a few seconds before their power output collapsed. Following about a year of optimising, they remain stable for over 40 hours. Further steps toward a long-term stability goal of 1000 hours are already underway.<br />
<br />
<b>Next goals visible</b><br />
<br />
"Forecasts indicate that the generation of hydrogen from sunlight using high-efficiency semiconductors could be economically competitive to fossil energy sources at efficiency levels of 15 % or more. This corresponds to a hydrogen price of about four US dollars per kilogramme", says Prof. Thomas Hannappel, from the photovoltaics group at TU Ilmenau, who was academic advisor for the work. Prof. Hans-Joachim Lewerenz from the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis at the California Institute of Technology, who worked closely with May, said:"We are nearly there. If we are successful now in reducing the charge carrier losses at the interfaces somewhat more, we might be able to chemically store more than even 17 % of the incident solar energy in the form of hydrogen using this semiconductor system". </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/">Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/index.html">Nature Communications</a><br />
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms9286">Efficient direct solar-to-hydrogen conversion by in situ interface transformation of a tandem structure</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/03/creating-hydrogen-fuel-using-solar.html">Creating Hydrogen Fuel Using Solar Energy Through Artificial Photosynthesis</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/04/algae-based-hydrogen-biofuel-being.html">Algae Based Hydrogen Biofuel Being Studied As A Possibility For Renewable Energy</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/silicon-based-photovoltaic-solar-cell.html">Silicon Based Photovoltaic (Solar Cell) Fiber Leads To Electricity Generating Fabrics</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/solar-panel-decals-which-can-be-peeled.html">Solar Panel Decals Which Can Be Peeled And Applied To Any Surface</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/03/nanowire-based-solar-cell-increases.html">Nanowire Based Solar Cell Increases Shockley-Queisser Efficiency Limit</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/09/from-fuel-cell-to-fuel-tank-studying.html">From Fuel Cell to Fuel Tank - Studying How To Maximize Efficiency of Hydrogen as an Alternative Fuel</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/03/cern-news-solar-thermal-panels-made.html">CERN News: Solar Thermal Panels Made With CERN Technology</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/new-low-cost-and-effective-dye.html">New Low Cost And Effective Dye Sensitized Solar Cells Being Developed For Cheap Readily Available Solar Energy</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/mit-solar-thermophotovoltaic-system.html">MIT Solar Thermophotovoltaic System Increase Solar Cell Efficiency Up To 80%</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/12/diamond-anvil-produces-hydrogen.html">Diamond Anvil Produces Hydrogen Overnight</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/01/new-developments-in-solar-cells.html">New Developments in Solar Cells Increases Efficiency</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-56904824318970855552015-09-10T01:00:00.000+08:002015-09-10T01:00:01.128+08:00Spheroid Stem Cell Treatment for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Shows Promise<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Spheroid Stem Cell Treatment for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQyasi5n4wt6Fh0HK-lz7DBEUv7rgR8oDgdJOgd4hhv-0HuVUOtN3Ga_-VQMa3uy1AlKTA0VTTQsTYuFplHsT6wtZcPs5DDvyAJ2LMOEv-N30CMgdGJfgQ_7O8AH7k3oo9WUURNwliS0K/s320/spheroid+stem+cell.jpg" /></a></div>In a small pilot study, researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a rapid, simple way to generate large numbers of lung stem cells for use in disease treatment. This method of harvesting and growing a patient's own lung stem cells shows promise in mice for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and could one day provide human IPF sufferers with an effective, less invasive method of treatment for their disease.<br />
<br />
The idea of using the body's own cells to fight diseases is not new, but current methods of isolating stem cells from bone marrow, fat tissue or cord blood are time consuming, costly and often wasteful. "In current stem cell harvesting, just the process of sorting the stem cells can damage them, wasting not only the cells, but also time and money," says Ke Cheng, lead researcher on the project. "We wanted to see if we could take healthy stem cells from an organ while they were still in a supportive environment, recreate and enhance that environment outside the body to encourage stem cell reproduction, then reintroduce those cells into a damaged organ to treat disease." Cheng is an associate professor of regenerative medicine at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine and the UNC-Chapel Hill/NC State joint department of biomedical engineering.<br />
<br />
The image above are lung stem cells (colored red and green) residing in a cultured lung spheroid.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>As the abstract of the report states, the World Health Organization (WHO) has ranked lung diseases one of the top five causes of mortality worldwide. This recent advancement in stem cell therapy shows a promising strategy for lung regeneration. Previous animal and clinical studies have been focused on the use of mesenchymal stem cells (from other parts of the body) for lung regenerative therapies. The report shows a rapid and robust method to generate therapeutic resident lung progenitors from adult lung tissues. Outgrowth cells from healthy lung tissue explants are self-aggregated into three-dimensional lung spheroids in a suspension culture. <br />
<br />
Video: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aCJJz8le5Tk?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Without antigenic sorting, lung spheroids recapitulate stem cell niche and contain a natural mixture of lung stem cells and supporting cells. In vitro, lung spheroid cells can be expanded to a large quantity and can form alveoli-like structures and acquire mature lung epithelial phenotypes. In severe combined immunodeficiency mice with bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, intravenous injection of human lung spheroid cells inhibits apoptosis, fibrosis, and infiltration, but promote angiogenesis. In a syngeneic rat model of pulmonary fibrosis, lung spheroid cells outperforms adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in reducing fibrotic thickening and infiltration. Previously the spheroid model has only been used to study lung cancer cells. The data suggest lung spheroids and lung spheroid cells from healthy lung tissues as great sources of regenerative lung cells for therapeutic lung regeneration.<br />
<br />
Instead of attempting to isolate and sort individual lung stem cells or genetically convert other types of cells into lung stem cells, Cheng used a multicellular spheroid method to harvest and grow them. A spheroid is a three-dimensional cellular structure that has typically been used to culture cancer cells or embryonic stem cells for experimentation and research. The cells of interest - in Cheng's research, lung stem cells - are at the center of the spheroid, and they are surrounded by layers of supporting cells.<br />
<br />
"We're the first lab to show that the spheroid environment can be used to enrich adult lung stem cells. In the spheroid, we recreate the stem cells' natural microenvironment, the "niche," where they can communicate with each other just as they would inside your body," says Cheng. "There is no use of exogenous or transgenic materials - the stem cells are 100 percent the donor's own genetic material, a perfect match to the patient and the organ being treated."<br />
<br />
In a small animal trial, Cheng and his graduate students tested the spheroid-produced human lung stem cells on mice with IPF, a fatal disease that thickens and scars healthy lung tissue, creating inflammation and replacing the lining of the lung cells with fibroids. "This was a proof of concept trial. The mice that received the stem cell transplant showed decreases in inflammation and fibrosis - their lungs almost matched those of the control group, who did not have IPF at all," says Cheng. "And the beauty of the process is that the cell therapy can be delivered intravenously.<br />
<br />
"Picture the lung as a garden and the stem cells as seeds. In an IPF environment, with inflammation, the soil is bad, but the seeds are still there," adds Cheng. "We take the seeds out and give them a protected place to grow. Then when we put them back into the lung, they can grow into mature lung cells to replace the damaged lung tissues in IPF. They can also wake the other seeds up, telling them to help fight the inflammation and 'improving' the soil."<br />
<br />
Cheng's next steps will be to see if potent stem cells can be harvested and grown from biopsied tissues of IPF patients, which would further reduce the number of invasive procedures a patient would need to endure. "We've demonstrated that the spheroid is a wonderful method for stem cell production - now we want to try and harvest the original cells during the biopsy," he says. "Of course, our ultimate goal is to use this method to treat humans with IPF."</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a><br />
<a href="http://stemcellstm.alphamedpress.org/">Stem Cells Translational Medicine</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/10/study-to-look-into-lung-regeneration.html">Researchers Look into Lung Regeneration</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/10/vaccine-to-treat-lung-cancer-developed.html">Vaccine to Treat Lung Cancer Being Developed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/nuclear-reprogramming-and-its-role-in.html">Nuclear Reprogramming And Its Role In Stem Cell Technology, Cell Pluripotency and DNA</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/04/new-stem-cell-line-offers-safe-and.html">New Stem Cell Line Offers Safe and Prolific Source for Disease and Transplant Studies</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/cancer-stem-cells-from-kidney-tumors.html">Cancer Stem Cells From Kidney Tumors Promises New Therapy In Treating The Disease</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/10/europe-court-rules-against-stem-cell.html">Europe Court Rules Against Stem Cell Patent</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/12/newly-discovered-cardiac-stem-cells.html">Newly Discovered Cardiac Stem Cells Repair Damaged Heart</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/04/cancer-vaccine-based-on-cancer-stem.html">Cancer Vaccine Based on Cancer Stem Cell Being Developed</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/04/stem-cells-engineered-to-attack-hiv.html">Stem Cells Engineered To Attack HIV Virus</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-48945576090001800372015-09-08T23:00:00.000+08:002015-09-08T23:00:04.485+08:00Diamond and Cubic Boron Nitride Alloy Form Superhard Material<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHcgi3HMe4_KLvxdKx098koO_lZ_VTdS9DvBKmj5nKkI9RkV8R1Byfby_ReYAR-jcRBFAZoP_GwTgJUou83JDk8dfgaf5oYcQxuo3SOpmQpd9oe94GvoJf7Kr2-Y2h4qFcC6YB6pbtWBI/s1600/diamond+alloy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpHcgi3HMe4_KLvxdKx098koO_lZ_VTdS9DvBKmj5nKkI9RkV8R1Byfby_ReYAR-jcRBFAZoP_GwTgJUou83JDk8dfgaf5oYcQxuo3SOpmQpd9oe94GvoJf7Kr2-Y2h4qFcC6YB6pbtWBI/s400/diamond+alloy.jpeg" /></a></div>Diamonds are forever, except when they oxidize while cutting through iron, cobalt, nickel, chromium, or vanadium at high temperatures. Conversely, cubic boron nitride possesses superior chemical inertness but only about half of the hardness of diamonds. In an attempt to create a superhard material better suited for a wide variety of materials on an industrial scale, researchers at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, have created an alloy composed of diamonds and cubic boron nitride (cBN) that boasts the benefits of both.<br />
<br />
"Diamond and cubic boron nitride could readily form alloys that can potentially fill the performance gap because of their affinity in structure lattices and covalent bonding character," said Duanwei He, a professor at Sichauan University's Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics. "However, the idea has never been demonstrated because samples obtained in previous studies are too small to test their practical performance."<br />
<br />
In the image above, both A and B a bulk diamond-cubic boron nitride (cBN) alloy samples synthesized at 20 GPa/2200 °C with a diameter of ~3 mm, over a copper screen to exhibit its transparency. Image C and D show polished rake faces of diamond-cBN alloy cutters.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
He and his colleagues at the University of Nevada and the Chinese Academy of Sciences detail their procedure this week in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing.<br />
<br />
Video: Hardness of Diamonds<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w8cvUd9vTtM?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>To synthesize diamond-cBN alloys, the researchers subjected a homogenous mixture of diamond and cubic boron nitride powder to a vacuum furnace at 1300 K for two hours, then pressed the material into 3.5 millimeter pellets under pressure greater than 15 gigapascals and temperatures above 2000 K. The pellets were then polished and sharpened into cutting implements.<br />
<br />
The researchers tested the cutting performances of their alloy on hardened steel and granite bars on a computer numerical controlled lathe. They found that the diamond-cBN alloy rivaled polycrystalline cubic boron nitride's wear and tool life on the steel samples, and exhibited significantly less wear when cutting through granite. The alloy also demonstrated a more preferable high-speed cutting performance than either polycrystalline CBN or commercial polycrystalline diamonds.<br />
<br />
Future work for He and his colleagues involves developing synthesis technology for centimeter-sized diamond-cBN alloy bulks to bring the process up to industrial-scale production.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/107/10/10.1063/1.4929728">Diamond-cBN Alloy: a Universal Cutting Method</a><br />
<a href="http://apl.aip.org/">Applied Physics Letters</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/12/diamond-anvil-produces-hydrogen.html">Diamond Anvil Produces Hydrogen Overnight</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/cutting-graphene-with-precision-using.html">Cutting Graphene With Precision Using Nanorobots and Atomic Force Microscope Discovered</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/09/lasers-used-to-levitate-diamond.html">Lasers Used to Levitate Diamond</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/increased-pediatric-ingestion-related.html">Increased Pediatric Ingestion Related Injuries Due to Neodymium Supermagnets</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/scientists-believe-super-earth-planet.html">Scientists Believe Super-Earth Planet 55 Cancri e May Be Covered With Diamonds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/12/planet-made-of-diamond.html">A Planet Made of Diamonds</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/graphene-roadmap-developed-to-showcase.html">Graphene Roadmap Developed To Showcase Potential of the Wonder Material</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-15582752801975522982015-09-07T23:00:00.000+08:002015-09-07T23:11:10.519+08:00Lasers Used to Levitate Diamond<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Levitating diamond using laser" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEMUo0UqM1SlOxpH_hq0132sLnn5zU0R2m4Id6BeTrefUyz0U9llEgfq3p7VnJKV4L3_M9xDzMvm9hNuIS_G8QrA4oPWMc3c_R7JTPkKCRJJlZGROBJGFAudN521XEnwc503J5COIqM5W/s640/laser+used+to+levitate.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Researchers have, for the first time, levitated individual nanodiamonds in vacuum. The research team is led by Nick Vamivakas at the University of Rochester who thinks their work will make extremely sensitive instruments for sensing tiny forces and torques possible, as well as a way to physically create larger-scale quantum systems known as macroscopic Schrödinger Cat states.<br />
<br />
While other researchers have trapped other types of nanoparticles in vacuum, those were not optically active. The nanodiamonds, on the other hand, can contain nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers that emit light and also have a spin quantum number of one. In the paper, published in Nature Photonics, the researchers from Rochester's Institute of Optics explain this is the first step towards creating a "hybrid quantum system." Their system combines the mechanical motion of the nanodiamond with the internal spin of the vacancy and its optical properties to make it particularly promising for a number of applications.<br />
<br />
In a previous paper, the researchers had shown that nanodiamonds could be levitated in air using a trapping laser. The new paper now shows this can be done in vacuum, which they say is "a critical advance over previous nanodiamond optical tweezer experiments performed in liquids or at atmospheric pressure."<br />
<br />
Nanodiamonds trapped at atmospheric pressure are continuously agitated by collisions with the air molecules around them. Trapping the diamonds in vacuum removes the effect of all these air molecules. "This allows us to exert mechanical control over them," said Levi Neukirch, lead author of the paper and a Ph.D. student in Vamivakas' group at Rochester. "They turn into little harmonic oscillators."<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
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<br />
Neukirch said that this is done by changing the trapping potential that the diamond sees. The trapping potential can be illustrated by imagining the diamond sitting at the bottom of a valley. If the diamond moves away from the bottom of the valley, it effectively moves uphill and eventually rolls back to the bottom. The feedback mechanism the researchers have created changes the shape of the optical potential well, so that the hill is steep when the diamond climbs it, but gradual when it rolls back down. Eventually the diamond would just oscillate a tiny amount at the bottom of the valley. This, Neukirch stated, is their long-term goal: to damp the diamond's motion until it is in the ground state of the system, which would make the system behave as a quantum mechanical oscillator.<br />
<br />
Video: Nanodiamond Levitation Using Lasers<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FPHJyaUDiVI?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>In their previous experiments the diamond shone brightly because it contained hundreds of vacancies, all which emit light after being excited with a laser. In their recent work they chose diamonds that had few vacancies and were even able to select diamonds with a single vacancy. With a single spin in the NV center, and the system functioning as a quantum mechanical oscillator, the researchers would be able to affect the spin state of the tiny defect inside the nanodiamond by exerting mechanical control on the entire nanodiamond.<br />
<br />
For this to be possible, the system has to be in vacuum, at even lower pressures that the researchers were able to achieve. The limiting factor, Neukirch explained, was that the nanodiamonds were destroyed at very low pressures. He believes the nanodiamonds are either melting or sublimating, because at lower pressures there are fewer air molecules to remove the excess internal heat from the diamonds, which is injected by a laser that is used to excite the system as part of the experiment.<br />
<br />
In collaboration with a team from Abo Akademi University in Finland, they replaced their bare nanodiamonds with nanodiamonds that are encased in silica shells, to find if these would protect the nanodiamonds. While this did not solve the problem it did make all the nanodiamonds spherical and homogenous, which the researchers think is desirable for future experiments.<br />
<br />
To be able to measure and control the system, the researchers use two separate lasers: one to trap the nanodiamond, the other one to excite the NV center. When the defect relaxes from an excited state to a lower energy state it emits a photon. This process is known as photoluminescence. Photoluminescence allows the researchers to understand by the energy of the emitted photon what the energy structure of the system is, as well as exert control and be able to change the energy of the system.<br />
<br />
Before the researchers can achieve their goal of being able to cool down the nanodiamonds mechanically into the ground state, they will have to figure out how to stop the nanodiamonds from vanishing in seconds at lower pressures. But the potential for these systems, Neukirch believes, is very exciting.<br />
<br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0'style= 'display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0'); });</script></div>"We have demonstrated the ability to control the NV center's spin in these levitated nanodiamonds," Neukirch said. He explained that the defect's electrons had to take on specific spin states, two of which are normally "degenerate," meaning in this case that states with spin values of +1 or -1 have the same energy.<br />
<br />
"Without applying a magnetic field these two energy levels are the same, but we can separate them with magnetic field, and they react differently to it. If there was an electron in the spin +1 state and you then applied a magnetic field, the whole nanodiamond would feel a push, but if it was in the spin -1 state it would feel a pull," he said. "Because the electron spins are intrinsically quantum mechanical, they can exist in something called superpositions. We can create a state where a single spin is in both the +1 and -1 states simultaneously. If we can mechanically place the nanodiamond in the ground state, this would allow us to both push and pull on the spin, hopefully generating a mechanical superposition of the entire diamond. This is a curious phenomenon that physicists are interested in studying, and it is called a macroscopic Schrödinger Cat state."<br />
<br />
Neukirch also said levitating nanodiamonds in vacuum could be used to measure "extremely tiny forces or torques." The nanodiamonds are in effect nano-oscillators, and any force, even if tiny, will move them slightly. Neukirch added that their "setup is capable of detecting these small motions."<br />
<br />
Neukirch will be starting as a postdoctoral associate in Vamivakas' group this month, continuing this work with the aim of achieving levitated, optically active nanodiamonds that are not destroyed at low pressures.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/nphoton/index.html">Nature Photonics</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/09/superconducting-quantum-interference.html">Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUID) Open Up Practical Applications For Superconductivity</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/05/conductive-liquid-cement-developed-from.html">Conductive Liquid Cement Developed From Mayenite and CO2 Laser Beam Heating</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/physicists-cool-oh-molecules-to-near.html">Physicists Cool OH Molecules To Near Absolute Zero Through Evaporative Cooling</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/09/ultra-cold-atom-physics-experiment.html">Ultra Cold Atom Physics Experiment Delves Deep Into Bose-Einstein Condensates</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/11/famous-and-popular-21st-century.html">Famous Scientists of the 21st Century</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-62277298586842442342015-07-13T06:00:00.000+08:002015-07-13T06:00:00.055+08:00Studying How Galaxy Collisions Affect Star Production<div id="div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0"><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="When Galaxies collide" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="860" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFslIQ4Ebsb8v55ih5_6PPDlPH7xTjrQUmL_gZQo4WdyfeMBKwvmT11-FQaRvQynrdSsTyABJ7uVlUbYKIJxyO9c0P-99c-VEOFHhuWs5Hwyr_liSbxvjbn05zY9Ud00H2usn9WE0jf0jv/s640/Colliding+Galaxies.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is studying the relationship between colliding galaxies and star formation. <br />
<br />
Looking beyond the common belief, that star production is faster when two galaxies collide, scientists at ICRAR believe that this is only true if the two galaxies are of similar mass. They theorize that if one galaxy is more massive than the other, the smaller of the galaxies generate less stars while the other has an increase production of it.<br />
<br />
They explain that the reason for the unequal production of stars from two galaxies of different mass is because the bigger galaxy strips away its smaller galaxy's gas from its gas clouds which is a primary component for star production.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Galaxy Collisions and Star Production</b><br />
<br />
When two different sized galaxies smash together, the larger galaxy stops the smaller one making new stars, according to a study of more than 20,000 merging galaxies.<br />
<br />
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</script><script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>The research, published today, also found that when two galaxies of the same size collide, both galaxies produce stars at a much faster rate.<br />
<br />
Astrophysicist Luke Davies, from The University of Western Australia node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), says our nearest major galactic neighbour, Andromeda, is hurtling on a collision course with the Milky Way at about 400,000 kilometres per hour.<br />
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"Don't panic yet, the two won't smash into each other for another four billion years or so," he says.<br />
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"But investigating such cosmic collisions lets us better understand how galaxies grow and evolve."<br />
<br />
Previously, astronomers thought that when two galaxies smash into each other their gas clouds--where stars are born--get churned up and seed the birth of new stars much faster than if they remained separate.<br />
<br />
Video:<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kyVZr5dqMeA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id="div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0" style="display: block; float: right; margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;"><script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>However Dr Davies' research, using the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey observed using the Anglo-Australian Telescope in regional New South Wales, suggests this idea is too simplistic.<br />
<br />
He says whether a galaxy forms stars more rapidly in a collision, or forms any new stars at all, depends on if it is the big guy or the little guy in this galactic car crash.<br />
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"When two galaxies of similar mass collide, they both increase their stellar birth rate," Dr Davies says.<br />
<br />
"However when one galaxy significantly outweighs the other, we have found that star formation rates are affected for both, just in different ways.<br />
<br />
"The more massive galaxy begins rapidly forming new stars, whereas the smaller galaxy suddenly struggles to make any at all.<br />
<br />
"This might be because the bigger galaxy strips away its smaller companion's gas, leaving it without star-forming fuel or because it stops the smaller galaxy obtaining the new gas required to form more stars."<br />
<br />
The study was released today in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, published by Oxford University Press.<br />
<br />
So what will happen in four billion years to the Milky Way and Andromeda?<br />
<br />
Dr Davies says the pair are like "cosmic tanks"--both relatively large and with similar mass.<br />
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"As they get closer together they will begin to affect each other's star formation, and will continue to do so until they eventually merge to become a new galaxy, which some call 'Milkdromeda'," he says.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/lookup/doi/10.1093/mnras/stv1241">Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA): the effect of close interactions on star formation in galaxies</a><br />
<a href="http://www.icrar.org/">International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR)</a><br />
<a href="http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/">Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/04/dark-matter-interactions-observed-in.html">Dark Matter Interactions Observed in Galaxy Collision at Abell 3827</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/08/distant-galaxy-collision-imaged-through.html">Distant Galaxy Collision Imaged Through Gravitational Lensing</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/collisions-between-massive-elliptical.html">Collisions Between Massive Elliptical Galaxies Result In Increased Mass Density</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/12/hubble-telescope-reveals-galaxy-ngc-922.html">Hubble Telescope Reveals Galaxy NGC 922 Collided With Smaller Galaxy 330 Million Years Ago</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/atacama-large-millimeter-array-alma.html">Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Provides Clear Picture of Radio Galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/06/hubble-space-telescope-images-colliding.html">Hubble Space Telescope Images 'Colliding' Galaxies</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/solving-mystery-of-formation-of-super.html">Solving the Mystery of the Formation of Supermassive Galaxies (SMG)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/possible-visual-evidence-of-dark-galaxy.html">Possible Visual Evidence of a Dark Galaxy Spotted By VLT</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/07/kilo-degree-survey-kids-to-study-dark.html">Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) To Study Dark Matter</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-40909281095204491572015-07-10T00:00:00.000+08:002015-07-10T00:00:00.049+08:00Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) To Study Dark Matter<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="ESO KiDS Dark Matter" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfCZ53W8ZH0TSdmLKfdLBC7UzipTpHjtzAkY9uiGbYgMmnRDOTzXsKd69iXp9N2c4F-UZflmyYKhP3aDv5HZZyqKGFQUSNSxMcwUShZNUaKV3oOtoZiz-yeVL6flGwJdC8oEeXYcA9Fq-Z/s640/dark+matter.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Using imaging from the European Southern Observatory's VLT Survey Telescope (VST) and its huge camera, the OmegaCAM, the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) aims to study and understand the relationship between dark matter and galaxies.<br />
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Astronomers theorize that dark matter which comprises 85% of all matter in the universe is what holds galaxies together. Without dark matter, galaxies would fling themselves apart while they rotate. Dark matter keeps these galaxies together due to the constraining effect of gravity.<br />
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The best way to work out where the dark matter lies is through gravitational lensing — the distortion of the Universe's fabric by gravity, which deflects the light coming from distant galaxies far beyond the dark matter. By studying this effect it is possible to map out the places where gravity is strongest, and hence where the matter, including dark matter, resides.<br />
<br />
The survey studies the distortion of light emitted from galaxies. This light bends as it passes through massive clumps of dark matter while reaching the Earth. From the gravitational lensing effect, these groups turn out to contain around 30 times more dark than visible matter.<br />
<br />
The image above shows a group of galaxies mapped by KiDS. On the right side, the image shows the same area of sky as in the left, but with the invisible dark matter rendered in pink.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>KiDS and Dark Matter</b><br />
<br />
The first results have been released from a major new dark matter survey of the southern skies using ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. The VST KiDS survey will allow astronomers to make precise measurements of dark matter, the structure of galaxy halos, and the evolution of galaxies and clusters. The first KiDS results show how the characteristics of the observed galaxies are determined by the invisible vast clumps of dark matter surrounding them.<br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Around 85% of the matter in the Universe is dark, and of a type not understood by physicists. Although it doesn’t shine or absorb light, astronomers can detect this dark matter through its effect on stars and galaxies, specifically from its gravitational pull. A major project using ESO’s powerful survey telescopes is now showing more clearly than ever before the relationships between this mysterious dark matter and the shining galaxies that we can observe directly.<br />
<br />
The project, known as the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), uses imaging from the VLT Survey Telescope and its huge camera, OmegaCAM. Sited at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, this telescope is dedicated to surveying the night sky in visible light — and it is complemented by the infrared survey telescope VISTA. One of the major goals of the VST is to map out dark matter and to use these maps to understand the mysterious dark energy that is causing our Universe's expansion to accelerate.<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nl8eimZZnFk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>The best way to work out where the dark matter lies is through gravitational lensing — the distortion of the Universe's fabric by gravity, which deflects the light coming from distant galaxies far beyond the dark matter. By studying this effect it is possible to map out the places where gravity is strongest, and hence where the matter, including dark matter, resides.<br />
<br />
As part of the first cache of papers, the international KiDS team of researchers, led by Koen Kuijken at the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, has used this approach to analyse images of over two million galaxies, typically 5.5 billion light-years away. They studied the distortion of light emitted from these galaxies, which bends as it passes massive clumps of dark matter during its journey to Earth.<br />
<br />
The first results come from only 7% of the final survey area and concentrate on mapping the distribution of dark matter in groups of galaxies. Most galaxies live in groups — including our own Milky Way, which is part of the Local Group — and understanding how much dark matter they contain is a key test of the whole theory of how galaxies form in the cosmic web. From the gravitational lensing effect, these groups turn out to contain around 30 times more dark than visible matter.<br />
<br />
"Interestingly, the brightest galaxy nearly always sits in the middle of the dark matter clump," says Massimo Viola (Leiden Observatory, the Netherlands) lead author of one of the first KiDS papers.<br />
<br />
"This prediction of galaxy formation theory, in which galaxies continue to be sucked into groups and pile up in the centre, has never been demonstrated so clearly before by observations," adds Koen Kuijken.<br />
<br />
The findings are just the start of a major programme to exploit the immense datasets coming from the survey telescopes and the data are now being made available to scientists worldwide through the ESO archive.<br />
<br />
The KiDS survey will help to further expand our understanding of dark matter. Being able to explain dark matter and its effects would represent a major breakthrough in physics.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://kids.strw.leidenuniv.nl/index.php">KiDS: the Kilo Degree Survey</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/04/dark-matter-interactions-observed-in.html">Dark Matter Interactions Observed in Galaxy Collision at Abell 3827</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/massive-galactic-filament-of-dark.html">Massive Galactic Filament of Dark Matter Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope In 3D</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/dark-energy-may-explain-how-universe.html">Dark Energy May Explain How The Universe Will End</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/03/baryon-oscillation-spectroscopic-survey.html">Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) Studying and Observing the Accelerating and Expanding Universe</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/05/galaxy-sized-cloud-of-hydrogen-gas.html">Galaxy Sized Cloud of Hydrogen Gas Discovered in Supposedly Empty Region of Space</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/sudbury-neutrino-observatory-snolab.html">Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNOLAB) International Laboratory for Particle Physics Inaugurated In Canada</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/07/mapping-and-dna-sequencing-genomes-of.html">Mapping and DNA Sequencing the Genomes of Uncharted Microbial Organisms - Microbial Dark Matter</a><br />
<br />
<br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-68624272634709501882015-07-09T02:00:00.000+08:002015-07-09T02:00:04.705+08:00New Horned Dinosaur Discovered: Wendiceratops Pinhornensis<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt=" Wendiceratops Pinhornensis"imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtD4Exgo7iV4bjNKO28z7jFoFVxKWU5SWNHGWfGbCDNYuC27BYIxVqHB0Hq0i8MoI-x_nBte_aD0ox7xfkixlAoEAXmHMzUgMuXculDv1uE-9NHfJkmFXUFxRHRmFjgLnPirmj2veAoY73/s640/95098.tif" /></a></div>A new horned dinosaur, Wendiceratops Pinhornensis, was discovered based on fossils collected in Southern Alberta Canada. Around 200 bones discovered in the Canadian bone bed represented at least four of these dinosaur species.<br />
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The new species of dinosaur, which lived during the late Cretaceous period around 79 million years ago, is around 20 feet long and weighed more than a ton. The dinosaur had a series of forward-curling hook-like horns along the margin of the wide and a shield-like frill that projects from the back of its skull. It also had a large, upright horn on the nose and although there were no bones discovered to prove this, the scientists believe that there were horns over the eyes as well (The dinosaur on exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum had reconstructed horns over the eyes; see image below). Because of these horned features, the Wendiceratops is one of the most striking horned dinosaurs ever found.<br />
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The dinosaur is named after renowned fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda, who discovered the site in 2010. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Horned Dinosaur Wendiceratops Pinhornensis</b><br />
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Scientists have discovered a striking new species of horned dinosaur (ceratopsian) based on fossils collected from a bone bed in southern Alberta, Canada. Wendiceratops (WEN-dee-SARE-ah-TOPS) pinhornensis was approximately 6 meters (20 feet) long and weighed more than a ton. It lived about 79 million years ago, making it one of the oldest known members of the family of large-bodied horned dinosaurs that includes the famous Triceratops, the Ceratopsidae. Research describing the new species is published online in the open access journal, PLOS ONE.<br />
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src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>The new dinosaur, named Wendiceratops pinhornensis, is described from over 200 bones representing the remains of at least four individuals (three adults and one juvenile) collected from a bonebed in the Oldman Formation of southern Alberta, near the border with Montana, USA. It was a herbivore, and would crop low-lying plants with a parrot-like beak, and slice them up with dozens of leaf-shaped teeth. Wendiceratops had a fantastically adorned skull, particularly for an early member of the horned dinosaur family. Its most distinctive feature is a series of forward-curling hook-like horns along the margin of the wide, shield-like frill that projects from the back of its skull. The new find ranks among other recent discoveries in having some of the most spectacular skull ornamentation in the horned dinosaur group.<br />
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Video: Wendiceratops Pinhornensis Simulated Breathing Cycle<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="390" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HndpAcV77gE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>"Wendiceratops helps us understand the early evolution of skull ornamentation in an iconic group of dinosaurs characterized by their horned faces," said Dr. David Evans, Temerty Chair and Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, and co-author of the study. "The wide frill of Wendiceratops is ringed by numerous curled horns, the nose had a large, upright horn, and it's likely there were horns over the eyes too. The number of gnarly frill projections and horns makes it one of the most striking horned dinosaurs ever found."<br />
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The horn on the nose is the most interesting feature of Wendiceratops. Although the nasal bone is represented by fragmentary specimens and its complete shape is unknown, it is clear that it supported a prominent, upright nasal horncore. This represents the earliest documented occurrence of a tall nose horn in Ceratopsia. Not only does it tell scientists when the nose horn evolved, the research reveals that an enlarged conical nasal horn evolved at least twice in the horned dinosaur family, once in the short-frilled Centrosaurinae group that includes Wendiceratops, and again in the long-frilled Chasmosaurinae group which includes Triceratops. A nose horn has been generally thought to characterize Ceratopsidae, and be present in their common ancestor.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Wendiceratops Pinhornensis" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2fr6f11O6gDaed_cD3_d4gHuuzhLnlIZCMCeNFKG873qhSxnnvhhIQ2_laNjilkVAzaJ_EGK97PAHRPxewdqut9zQV8WrjCUPsWJd-ixT9Ow2XIlauxhyphenhyphenwh-JN-pK9KnZWFdznvomtYbL/s640/ROM2015_14456_16.jpg" /></a></div><br />
"Beyond its odd, hook-like frill, Wendiceratops has a unique horn ornamentation above its nose that shows the intermediate evolutionary development between low, rounded forms of the earliest horned dinosaurs and the large, tall horns of Styracosaurus, and its relatives," said Dr. Michael Ryan, Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and co-author of the study. "The locked horns of two Wendiceratops could have been used in combat between males to gain access to territory or females."<br />
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The recognition of Wendiceratops affirms a high diversity of ceratopsids likely associated with a rapid evolutionary radiation in the group. It also helps document high faunal turnover rates of ceratopsid taxa early in their evolution, coupled with some degree of ecological niche partitioning during this time.<br />
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The name Wendiceratops (Wendi + ceratops) means "Wendy's horned-face", and celebrates renowned Alberta fossil hunter Wendy Sloboda, who discovered the site in 2010. This is a well-deserved honor for Sloboda, who has discovered hundreds of important fossils in the last three decades, including several new species. "Wendy Sloboda has a sixth sense for discovering important fossils. She is easily one of the very best dinosaur hunters in the world," said Evans.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Royal Ontario Museum dinosaur display" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1D_8ZQWwo6mWIGD61aYGk_Kug8vJM3H5lWNZngIVH7DjyK0YCMGdxUiMXlK0fG6g8xHCR_AeHVqPabBkRwhrLX6juYFGu_WFexen-nErFW8Sq1mf57gfh2001WnmwslXFBYHVHCxejEJn/s640/ROM2015_14488_5.jpg" /></a></div><br />
This dinosaur is the latest in a series of new finds being made by Evans and Ryan as part of their Southern Alberta Dinosaur Project, which is designed to fill in gaps in our knowledge of Late Cretaceous dinosaurs in North America and study their evolution. This project focuses on the paleontology of some of oldest dinosaur-bearing rocks in Alberta, as well as rocks of neighboring Montana that are of the same age. A full-sized skeleton and exhibit profiling Wendiceratops is currently on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and the dig uncovering it appeared in the HISTORY Channel documentary series Dino Hunt Canada. </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130007">Cranial Anatomy of Wendiceratops pinhornensis gen. et sp. nov., A Centrosaurine Ceratopsid from the Oldman Formation (Campanian), Alberta, Canada, and the Evolution of Ceratopsid Nasal Ornamentation</a><br />
<a href="http://www.rom.on.ca/en">Royal Ontario Museum</a><br />
<a href="https://www.cmnh.org/">Cleveland Museum of Natural History</a><br />
<a href="http://www.plosone.org/">PLOS One</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/07/new-horned-dinosaur-nasutoceratops.html">New Horned Dinosaur Nasutoceratops Titusi Discovered in Utah</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/12/new-species-of-horned-dinosaur.html">New Species of Horned Dinosaur Announced</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/largest-dinosaur-argentinosaurus.html">Largest Dinosaur Argentinosaurus Huinculensis Walking Digitally Simulated</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/07/fully-feathered-four-winged-flying.html">Fully Feathered Four Winged Flying Dinosaur Fossil Discovered</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/12/duckbilled-dinosaur-edmontosaurus.html">Duck-billed Dinosaur, Edmontosaurus Regalis, Had Fleshy Head Comb Like A Rooster's Crest</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/05/dinosaurs-survived-by-shrinking.html">Dinosaurs Survived By Shrinking</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/03/studying-four-winged-dinosaur.html">Studying the Four Winged Dinosaur: The Microraptor</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/375-million-year-old-fossil-show.html">375 Million Year Old Fossil Show Evolution Of Hind Legs Started As Enhanced Fish Fins</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-53698370706989722752015-07-09T01:00:00.001+08:002015-07-09T01:00:01.697+08:00Studying Climate Variability By Reconstructing 2500 Years Of Volcanic Activity<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Drilling ice core volcanic activity" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0aO48zm98LZ5uLhccVHtYkPESFuTb5hqm7XkhWjpb9McmfNgOmJw_MX05jpYey93tGLYk2btdr3TMbNYdXY2_QS6JAoXno8HRAuJP61Fz2b_y8e6-N1Bbp48_mowl_fLQ67liFrdag20/s640/drilling+ice+core.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Scientists from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and other institutions reconstructed 2500 years of volcanic activity to prove that volcanic eruptions contribute to climate variability. Gathering data from eruptions dating as far back as the Roman Era, the scientist published a study associating these with extreme shifts in the climate.<br />
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The study notes that eruptions in the tropic and high latitudes were primary contributors of climate variability. These were caused by large amounts of volcanic sulfate particles injected into the upper atmosphere which blocked incoming solar radiation from reaching the Earth's surface. The scientists also studied tree rings from long living bristlecone-pines and saw indications for extreme cooling after a large volcanic eruption. The same results were also derived from looking at ice cores from Greenland (see image above).<br />
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The study also shows that between 500 BC and 1000 AD, 15 of the 16 coldest summers followed large volcanic eruptions; four of them happening just after the largest volcanic events found in record. <br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Volcanoes and Climate Change</b><br />
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It is well known that large volcanic eruptions contribute to climate variability. However, quantifying these contributions has proven challenging due to inconsistencies in both historic atmospheric data observed in ice cores and corresponding temperature variations seen in climate proxies such as tree rings.<br />
<br />
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Published today in the journal Nature, a new study led by scientists from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) and collaborating international institutions, resolves these inconsistencies with a new reconstruction of the timing and associated radiative forcing of nearly 300 individual volcanic eruptions extending as far back as the early Roman period.<br />
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"Using new records we are able to show that large volcanic eruptions in the tropics and high latitudes were the dominant drivers of climate variability, responsible for numerous and widespread summer cooling extremes over the past 2,500 years," said the study's lead author Michael Sigl, Ph.D., an assistant research professor at DRI and postdoctoral fellow with the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland.<br />
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"These cooler temperatures were caused by large amounts of volcanic sulfate particles injected into the upper atmosphere," Sigl added, "shielding the Earth's surface from incoming solar radiation."<br />
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The study shows that 15 of the 16 coldest summers recorded between 500 BC and 1,000 AD followed large volcanic eruptions - with four of the coldest occurring shortly after the largest volcanic events found in record.<br />
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This new reconstruction is derived from more than 20 individual ice cores extracted from ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica and analyzed for volcanic sulfate primarily using DRI's state-of-the-art, ultra-trace chemical ice-core analytical system.<br />
<br />
Video: How Do Active Volcanoes Change Clouds?<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KCM1EXMKjz0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>These ice-core records provide a year-by-year history of atmospheric sulfate levels through time. Additional measurements including other chemical parameters were made at collaborating institutions.<br />
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"We used a new method for producing the timescale," explained Mai Winstrup, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, Seattle. "Previously, this has been done by hand, but we used a statistical algorithm instead. Together with the state-of-the-art ice core chemistry measurements, this resulted in a more accurate dating of the ice cores."<br />
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"Using a multidisciplinary approach was key to the success of this project," added Sigl.<br />
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In total, a diverse research group of 24 scientists from 18 universities and research institutes in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden contributed to this work - including specialists from the solar, space, climate, and geological sciences, as well as historians.<br />
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The authors note that identification of new evidence found in both ice cores and corresponding tree rings allowed constraints and verification of their new age scale.<br />
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"With the discovery of a distinctive signature in the ice-core records from an extra-terrestrial cosmic ray event, we had a critical time marker that we used to significantly improve the dating accuracy of the ice-core chronologies," explained Kees Welten, Ph.D., an associate research chemist from the University of California, Berkeley.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="bristlecone-pine tree ring" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMIptfsln4O9_EzahLN00wb8Yr5sgL6me4VdN8P4QrSlS-ie-n-Cq_-kgKgxIsNcfOEgqEH_Pa8xz7b3Ej3zNZq5EglPteUBXGhNSHKRB8uw3oGs9Ff17CYYWJc3DKs5TuqSU_juu47w9/s320/britlepine+tree+ring.jpg" /></a></div>A signature from this same event had been identified earlier in various tree-ring chronologies dating to 774-775 Common Era (CE).<br />
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"Ice-core timescales had been misdated previously by five to ten years during the first millennium leading to inconsistencies in the proposed timing of volcanic eruptions relative to written documentary and tree-ring evidence recording the climatic responses to the same eruptions," explained Francis Ludlow, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow from the Yale Climate & Energy Institute.<br />
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Throughout human history, sustained volcanic cooling effects on climate have triggered crop failures and famines. These events may have also contributed to pandemics and societal decline in agriculture-based communities.<br />
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Together with Conor Kostick, Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham, Ludlow translated and interpreted ancient and medieval documentary records from China, Babylon (Iraq), and Europe that described unusual atmospheric observations as early as 254 years before Common Era (BCE). These phenomena included diminished sunlight, discoloration of the solar disk, the presence of solar coronae, and deeply red twilight skies.<br />
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Tropical volcanoes and large eruptions in the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes (such as Iceland and North America) - in 536, 626, and 939 CE, for example - often caused severe and widespread summer cooling in the Northern Hemisphere by injecting sulfate and ash into the high atmosphere. These particles also dimmed the atmosphere over Europe to such an extent that the effect was noted and recorded in independent archives by numerous historical eyewitnesses.<br />
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Climatic impact was strongest and most persistent after clusters of two or more large eruptions.<br />
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The authors note that their findings also resolve a long-standing debate regarding the causes of one of the most severe climate crises in recent human history, starting with an 18-month "mystery cloud" or dust veil observed in the Mediterranean region beginning in March, 536, the product of a large eruption in the high-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.<br />
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The initial cooling was intensified when a second volcano located somewhere in the tropics erupted only four years later. In the aftermath, exceptionally cold summers were observed throughout the Northern Hemisphere.<br />
<br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0'style= 'display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0'); });</script></div>This pattern persisted for almost fifteen years, with subsequent crop failures and famines - likely contributing to the outbreak of the Justinian plague that spread throughout the Eastern Roman Empire from 541 to 543 CE, and which ultimately decimated the human population across Eurasia.<br />
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"This new reconstruction of volcanic forcing will lead to improved climate model simulations through better quantification of the sensitivity of the climate system to volcanic influences during the past 2,500 years," noted Joe McConnell, Ph.D., a DRI research professor who developed the continuous-flow analysis system used to analyze the ice cores.<br />
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"As a result," McConnell added, "climate variability observed during more recent times can be put into a multi-millennial perspective - including time periods such as the Roman Warm Period and the times of significant cultural change such as Great Migration Period of the 6th century in Europe."<br />
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This reconciliation of ice-core records and other records of past environmental change will help define the role that large climatic perturbations may have had in the rise and fall of civilizations throughout human history.<br />
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"With new high-resolution records emerging from ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica, it will be possible to extend this reconstruction of volcanic forcing probably all the way back into the last Ice Age," said Sigl.</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.dri.edu/">Desert Research Institute (DRI)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/">Nature</a><br />
<a href="http://www.psi.ch/">Paul Scherrer Institute</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/scientist-use-x-rays-to-probe-origin-of.html">Scientists Use X-Rays To Probe Origin of Volcanic Hotspots</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/06/geoengineering-through-solar-reduction.html">Geoengineering Through Solar Reduction Management (SRM) May Significantly Reduce Rainfall</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/04/climate-during-pliocene-period-may-help.html">Climate During the Pliocene Period May Help Improve Climate Change Predictions</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/11/coralline-algae-aids-in-climate.html">Coralline Algae Aids in Climate Reconstruction</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/04/coiling-spiral-patterns-found-in-mars.html">Coiling Spiral Patterns Found In Mars Lava Flow</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/california-coastal-planners-preparing.html">California Coastal Planners Preparing for Climate Change</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/studying-solar-minimum-and-its-effect.html">Studying Solar Minimum and Its Effect on Climate</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/09/hydrological-research-team-find-that.html">Hydrological Research Team Find That Parched and Dry Soil Trigger Afternoon Rain Storms</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-14954905673817245082015-07-09T01:00:00.000+08:002015-07-09T01:00:00.993+08:00Link Discovered Between Supernova Explosion and Powerful Magnetic Field From Magnetar<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="Supernova explosions by magnetar" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdGtfE-Ty_mYIbmr5aTMSfFh47eI33FLVFXWBXotMI24Rnd8_fBE4moQPgRcJR7P-1w1p-AQdgCHn4dN5B2XG1gtv1823rE_a2FkCZKVPKo4PSWo7E4bPpuP1AuZDQnErbFg5Hd1RtfWx/s640/eso1527a.tif" /></a></div><br />
La Silla and Paranal Observatories in Chile have found a connection between a very long-lasting burst of gamma rays and an unusually bright supernova explosion. Previous belief was that radioactive decay was the reason behind these kind of explosions. Latest findings show that this particular supernova explosion was triggered by decaying super-strong magnetic fields around a magnetar.<br />
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The discovery was aided by Gamma-Ray Burst Optical/Near-Infrared Detector (GROND) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla and also with the X-shooter instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal. GROND is an imaging instrument to investigate Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows and other transients while the X-shooter is a three armed multi-wavelength, medium resolution spectrograph.<br />
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Magnetars are tiny neutron stars that spin hundreds of times per second and has a magnetic field much stronger than normal neutron stars (also known as radio pulsars). Magnetars are thought to develop magnetic field strengths that are 100 to 1000 times greater than those seen in pulsars. These objects are believed to be the strongest magnetised objects in the Universe.<br />
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This discovery marks the first time to link magnetars and supernovas.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Magnetic Fields and Supernovas</b><br />
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Observations from ESO’s La Silla and Paranal Observatories in Chile have for the first time demonstrated a link between a very long-lasting burst of gamma rays and an unusually bright supernova explosion. The results show that the supernova was not driven by radioactive decay, as expected, but was instead powered by the decaying super-strong magnetic fields around an exotic object called a magnetar. The results will appear in the journal Nature on 9 July 2015.<br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are one of the outcomes associated with the biggest explosions to have taken place since the Big Bang. They are detected by orbiting telescopes that are sensitive to this type of high-energy radiation, which cannot penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere, and then observed at longer wavelengths by other telescopes both in space and on the ground.<br />
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GRBs usually only last a few seconds, but in very rare cases the gamma rays continue for hours [1]. One such ultra-long duration GRB was picked up by the Swift satellite on 9 December 2011 and named GRB 111209A. It was both one of the longest and brightest GRBs ever observed.<br />
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As the afterglow from this burst faded it was studied using both the GROND instrument on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla and also with the X-shooter instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal. The clear signature of a supernova, later named SN 2011kl, was found. This is the first time that a supernova has been found to be associated with an ultra-long GRB.<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JIMTijhZRa4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>The lead author of the new paper, Jochen Greiner from the Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany explains: “Since a long-duration gamma-ray burst is produced only once every 10 000–100 000 supernovae, the star that exploded must be somehow special. Astronomers had assumed that these GRBs came from very massive stars — about 50 times the mass of the Sun — and that they signalled the formation of a black hole. But now our new observations of the supernova SN 2011kl, found after the GRB 111209A, are changing this paradigm for ultra-long duration GRBs.”<br />
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In the favoured scenario of a massive star collapse (sometimes known as a collapsar) the week-long burst of optical/infrared emission from the supernova is expected to come from the decay of radioactive nickel-56 formed in the explosion [3]. But in the case of GRB 111209A the combined GROND and VLT observations showed unambiguously for the first time that this could not be the case [4]. Other suggestions were also ruled out [5].<br />
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The only explanation that fitted the observations of the supernova following GRB 111209A was that it was being powered by a magnetar — a tiny neutron star spinning hundreds of times per second and possessing a magnetic field much stronger than normal neutron stars, which are also known as radio pulsars [6]. Magnetars are thought to be the most strongly magnetised objects in the known Universe. This is the first time that such an unambiguous connection between a supernova and a magnetar has been possible.<br />
<br />
Paolo Mazzali, co-author of the study, reflects on the significance of the new findings: “The new results provide good evidence for an unexpected relation between GRBs, very bright supernovae and magnetars. Some of these connections were already suspected on theoretical grounds for some years, but linking everything together is an exciting new development."<br />
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“The case of SN 2011kl/GRB 111209A forces us to consider an alternative to the collapsar scenario. This finding brings us much closer to a new and clearer picture of the workings of GRBs," concludes Jochen Greiner.<br />
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This research is presented in a paper entitled “A very luminous magnetar-powered supernova associated with an ultra-long gamma-ray burst”, by J. Greiner et al., which appears in the journal Nature</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/">Nature</a><br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1527/eso1527a.pdf">A very luminous magnetar-powered supernova associated with an ultra-long gamma-ray burst</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2015/04/extremely-powerful-magnetic-field.html">Extremely Powerful Magnetic Field Detected At Edge of Supermassive Black Hole</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/07/supermassive-black-hole-at-center-of.html">Supermassive Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way Rips Apart Giant Gas Cloud G2</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/spiral-structure-and-jets-streaming-out.html">Spiral Structure and Jets Streaming Out of Black Hole Studied by ALMA and NASA</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/06/black-hole-outflow-from-galaxy-ngc-3783.html">Black Hole Outflow From Galaxy NGC 3783 Surprises Observers</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/08/chandra-x-ray-space-telescope-reveals.html">Chandra X-ray Space Telescope Reveals Reason Supermassive Black Holes Consume Less Matter</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/11/new-class-of-galaxy-black-hole-system.html">New Class of Galaxy-Black Hole System With Black Hole Of Mass Equal To 11 Billion Suns Discovered</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/apex-space-telescope-linked-to-two.html">APEX Space Telescope Linked To Two Others For Sharpest Observation of Quasar 3C 279</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-38355590104809309242015-07-07T23:00:00.000+08:002015-07-07T23:00:07.289+08:00Organ transplant rejection may not be permanent<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="surgery" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj10XhTxFIcWJKopRaVt1x-fyb-_SkN6sKYbxvXYx2dyoEd-5QYUzJGBdzSjQ37J9x7gAwU-eU67k-H_oG4g6i_Lv5zemorZ8_AkePGyhKoA8Y0qBhiuYg4FTSr6Se2vtnYLQSRX-uKtJDh/s320/surgery.jpg" /></a></div>Rejection of transplanted organs in hosts that were previously tolerant may not be permanent, report scientists from the University of Chicago. Using a mouse model of cardiac transplantation, they found that immune tolerance can spontaneously recover after an infection-triggered rejection event, and that hosts can accept subsequent transplants as soon as a week after. This process depends on regulatory T-cells, a component of the immune system that acts as a "brake" for other immune cells. The findings, published online in Nature Communications on July 7, support inducing immune tolerance as a viable strategy to achieve life-long transplant survival.<br />
<br />
"Transplantation tolerance appears to be a resilient and persistent state, even though it can be transiently overcome," said Anita Chong, PhD, professor of transplantation surgery at the University of Chicago and co-senior author of the study. "Our results change the paradigm that immune memory of a transplant rejection is invariably permanent."<br />
<br />
To prevent transplant rejection in patients with end-stage organ failure, a lifelong regimen of immune-suppressing drugs is almost always required. While difficult to achieve, immune tolerance - in which a transplanted organ is accepted without long-term immunosuppression - can be induced in some patients. However, rejection can still be triggered by events such as bacterial infection, even after long periods of tolerance. It has been assumed that the immune system remembers rejection and prevents future transplants from being tolerated.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Chong and her colleagues have previously shown in mice that certain bacterial infections can disrupt tolerance and trigger rejection of an otherwise stable transplant. As they further studied this phenomenon, they made a surprising observation. Infection-triggered rejection caused the number of immune cells that target a transplant to spike in tolerant mice as expected. But they were dramatically reduced seven days post-rejection. This ran counter to rejection in non-tolerant recipients, where these cells remain at elevated levels.<br />
<br />
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>To identify the explanation for this observation, the team grafted a heart into the abdominal cavity of experimental mice and induced immune tolerance. After two months of stable tolerance, the researchers triggered rejection via infection with Listeria bacteria, which caused the transplant to fail. They then grafted a second heart from a genetically identical donor as the first, a week after rejection of the initial graft. This second transplant was readily accepted and remained fully functional over the study period. A second set of experiments, in which a second heart was grafted roughly a month after rejection to give potential immune memory more time to develop, showed similar long-term acceptance.<br />
<br />
The team discovered that regulatory T cells (Tregs) - a type of white blood cell that regulates the immune response by suppressing the activity of other immune cells - were required for the restoration of tolerance. When they depleted Tregs in a group of mice one day before the transplantation of the second heart, the newly transplanted organ was rejected. This suggested that Tregs act as a "brake" that prevents other immune cells from targeting and rejecting the second transplant.<br />
<br />
Video: Successful Stanford Organ Transplant Without Using Anti-Rejection Medication<br />
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OLKfH44FVk0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='width:300px; height:250px; display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>"The methods for achieving transplantation tolerance differ between mice and humans, but the mechanisms that maintain it are likely shared," said Marisa Alegre, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and co-senior author on the study. "Our results imply that tolerant patients who experience rejection could be treated with short-term immunosuppressive medications to protect the transplant, and then weaned off once tolerance returns."<br />
<br />
In addition to presenting new treatment options for current and future tolerant patients who experience transplant rejection, shedding light on the mechanisms involved in tolerance recovery could lead to the discovery of biomarkers or bioassays that predict whether recipients can be safely taken off immunosuppression.<br />
<br />
The findings also hint at possible connections with autoimmune disease and cancer, which both disrupt the immune system's ability to distinguish "self" from "nonself." Better understanding of how immune tolerance is lost and regained could inform efforts toward establishing stronger and more durable phases of remission in autoimmune disease and toward preventing cancer recurrence.<br />
<br />
"We're now working to understand in greater detail the mechanisms for how this return of tolerance happens," said study author Michelle Miller, graduate student in molecular medicine at the University of Chicago. "We want to find if there are other mechanisms besides Tregs that mediate tolerance and help prevent memory of the rejection."</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a><br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/index.html">Nature Communications</a><br />
<a href="http://www.niaid.nih.gov/Pages/default.aspx">National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/03/new-organ-transplant-method-without.html">New Organ Transplant Method Without Requiring Anti-Rejection Medicine</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2011/12/first-three-full-facial-transplantation.html">First Three Full Facial Transplantation in the US Successful</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/surgeons-develop-five-point-assessment.html">Surgeons Develop Five Point Assessment Tool To Predict Successful Long Term Outcome Of Facial Transplantation</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/cholesterol-control-drug-statin.html">Cholesterol Control Drug Statin Prevents Cancer in Heart Transplant Patients</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/use-of-gene-modified-blood-stem-cells.html">Use of Gene Modified Blood Stem Cells Counteracts Toxic Effects of Chemotherapy</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/06/restoring-vision-through-stem-cell.html">Restoring Vision Through Stem Cell Regeneration of Retina and Optic Cup of the Eye</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-3037417858583264322015-04-17T02:00:00.002+08:002015-04-17T02:00:04.552+08:00Extremely Powerful Magnetic Field Detected At Edge of Supermassive Black Hole<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="supermassive blackhole in PKS 1830-211 galaxy" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0bff1zPQblAosH3-FJY9dOQHs-GlE0F9MRupgyjWZig8dmk7dmD010Tnp3xOynM5DvrlzIjEpzDSPfXE4_wHmGw2AuZE93XDZ7D0tHWhrnqt24WfCIOowIaUwqcCmCStZp21VnS9fZXQ/s640/supermassive+black+hole+in+PKS+1830-211+galaxy.jpg" /></a></div><br />
A very powerful magnetic field has been detected at the edge of a supermassive black hole in the distant PKS 1830-211 galaxy. <br />
<br />
The magnetic field is far more powerful than anything previously detected in the core of a galaxy. <br />
<br />
Supermassive black hole are found at the center of almost all the galaxies and are a million times more massive than the Sun. These black holes accrete (come or bring together under the influence of gravitation) vast amounts of matter in the form of a disc. This matter is sucked in the black hole but some escape and are flung out into space at close to the speed of light as part of a jet of plasma.<br />
<br />
This discovery can help astronomers understand the structure and formation of supermassive black holes and the the twin high-speed jets of plasma they frequently eject from their poles. <br />
<br />
The artist's impression show accretion of matter forming a brilliant hot disk around the black hole. There are also often high-speed jets of material ejected at the black hole’s poles that can extend huge distances into space. Observations with ALMA have detected a very strong magnetic field close to the black hole at the base of the jets and this is probably involved in jet production and collimation.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>Supermassive Black Hole at the PKS 1830-211 Galaxy</b><br />
<br />
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has revealed an extremely powerful magnetic field, beyond anything previously detected in the core of a galaxy, very close to the event horizon of a supermassive black hole. This new observation helps astronomers to understand the structure and formation of these massive inhabitants of the centres of galaxies, and the twin high-speed jets of plasma they frequently eject from their poles. The results appear in the 17 April 2015 issue of the journal Science.<br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Supermassive black holes, often with masses billions of times that of the Sun, are located at the heart of almost all galaxies in the Universe. These black holes can accrete huge amounts of matter in the form of a surrounding disc. While most of this matter is fed into the black hole, some can escape moments before capture and be flung out into space at close to the speed of light as part of a jet of plasma. How this happens is not well understood, although it is thought that strong magnetic fields, acting very close to the event horizon, play a crucial part in this process, helping the matter to escape from the gaping jaws of darkness.<br />
<br />
Up to now only weak magnetic fields far from black holes — several light-years away — had been probed. In this study, however, astronomers from Chalmers University of Technology and Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden have now used ALMA to detect signals directly related to a strong magnetic field very close to the event horizon of the supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy named PKS 1830-211. This magnetic field is located precisely at the place where matter is suddenly boosted away from the black hole in the form of a jet.<br />
<br />
The team measured the strength of the magnetic field by studying the way in which light was polarised, as it moved away from the black hole.<br />
<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JIMTijhZRa4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>“Polarisation is an important property of light and is much used in daily life, for example in sun glasses or 3D glasses at the cinema,” says Ivan Marti-Vidal, lead author of this work. “When produced naturally, polarisation can be used to measure magnetic fields, since light changes its polarisation when it travels through a magnetised medium. In this case, the light that we detected with ALMA had been travelling through material very close to the black hole, a place full of highly magnetised plasma.”<br />
<br />
The astronomers applied a new analysis technique that they had developed to the ALMA data and found that the direction of polarisation of the radiation coming from the centre of PKS 1830-211 had rotated. These are the shortest wavelengths ever used in this kind of study, which allow the regions very close to the central black hole to be probed.<br />
<br />
"We have found clear signals of polarisation rotation that are hundreds of times higher than the highest ever found in the Universe," says Sebastien Muller, co-author of the paper. "Our discovery is a giant leap in terms of observing frequency, thanks to the use of ALMA, and in terms of distance to the black hole where the magnetic field has been probed — of the order of only a few light-days from the event horizon. These results, and future studies, will help us understand what is really going on in the immediate vicinity of supermassive black holes.”</div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.chalmers.se/en/centres/oso/Pages/default.aspx">Onsala Space Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/07/supermassive-black-hole-at-center-of.html">Supermassive Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way Rips Apart Giant Gas Cloud G2</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/10/spiral-structure-and-jets-streaming-out.html">Spiral Structure and Jets Streaming Out of Black Hole Studied by ALMA and NASA</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/06/black-hole-outflow-from-galaxy-ngc-3783.html">Black Hole Outflow From Galaxy NGC 3783 Surprises Observers</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/08/chandra-x-ray-space-telescope-reveals.html">Chandra X-ray Space Telescope Reveals Reason Supermassive Black Holes Consume Less Matter</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/11/new-class-of-galaxy-black-hole-system.html">New Class of Galaxy-Black Hole System With Black Hole Of Mass Equal To 11 Billion Suns Discovered</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/apex-space-telescope-linked-to-two.html">APEX Space Telescope Linked To Two Others For Sharpest Observation of Quasar 3C 279</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-26292742192463095662015-04-17T02:00:00.001+08:002015-04-17T02:00:03.392+08:00Spheroid Galaxies Shut Down Star Formation From Inside Out<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCeVW9AJfN42pL8rGTo30flTQlZmV19_BuYHSWFXvk5Ettgp9OVMuzeM4dUxoqosibjcqhA7R6HShsmAvKYlxpILXAlg4V_6lMOzjv1qZA6y0QkhWdHxtxyvFpiw3ts7QWL1SXYVbJLJB/s1600/Elliptical+galaxy+IC+2006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCeVW9AJfN42pL8rGTo30flTQlZmV19_BuYHSWFXvk5Ettgp9OVMuzeM4dUxoqosibjcqhA7R6HShsmAvKYlxpILXAlg4V_6lMOzjv1qZA6y0QkhWdHxtxyvFpiw3ts7QWL1SXYVbJLJB/s640/Elliptical+galaxy+IC+2006.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Astronomers have shown for the first time how star formation in “dead” galaxies sputtered out billions of years ago. ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have revealed that three billion years after the Big Bang, these galaxies still made stars on their outskirts, but no longer in their interiors. The quenching of star formation seems to have started in the cores of the galaxies and then spread to the outer parts. The results will be published in the 17 April 2015 issue of the journal Science.<br />
<br />
Spheroid galaxies are elliptical shaped galaxies and are common in the Universe. The center of these galaxies are densely packed with stars; about then times more than in the Milky Way. <br />
<br />
Observing 22 galaxies , spanning a range of masses, from an era about three billion years after the Big Bang, the researchers noted that the galaxies were still producing stars at the outskirts but not in the center. The Star formation in the bulging center slowed down and stopped starting at the center of the galaxies and spread outwards towards the edges.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
A major astrophysical mystery has centered on how massive, quiescent elliptical galaxies, common in the modern Universe, quenched their once furious rates of star formation. Such colossal galaxies, often also called spheroids because of their shape, typically pack in stars ten times as densely in the central regions as in our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and have about ten times its mass.<br />
<br />
<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script><script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Astronomers refer to these big galaxies as red and dead as they exhibit an ample abundance of ancient red stars, but lack young blue stars and show no evidence of new star formation. The estimated ages of the red stars suggest that their host galaxies ceased to make new stars about ten billion years ago. This shutdown began right at the peak of star formation in the Universe, when many galaxies were still giving birth to stars at a pace about twenty times faster than nowadays.<br />
<br />
“Massive dead spheroids contain about half of all the stars that the Universe has produced during its entire life,” said Sandro Tacchella of ETH Zurich in Switzerland, lead author of the article. “We cannot claim to understand how the Universe evolved and became as we see it today unless we understand how these galaxies come to be.”<br />
<br />
Tacchella and colleagues observed a total of 22 galaxies, spanning a range of masses, from an era about three billion years after the Big Bang. The SINFONI instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) collected light from this sample of galaxies, showing precisely where they were churning out new stars. SINFONI could make these detailed measurements of distant galaxies thanks to its adaptive optics system, which largely cancels out the blurring effects of Earth’s atmosphere.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1kazYwynzmb_XphnGrRPUFAwzBn_dP8iQ8bpOIP4chpbRmgVmX57Yx4NMH0oF-sBT5INUYNtdqL7_RMmYXdOHY379pM-QaRCCfZ4I_NJDxUhv-2fS83WD53RvyH4mEUDDkiuGALWpdFk/s1600/giant+spheroidal+galaxies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1kazYwynzmb_XphnGrRPUFAwzBn_dP8iQ8bpOIP4chpbRmgVmX57Yx4NMH0oF-sBT5INUYNtdqL7_RMmYXdOHY379pM-QaRCCfZ4I_NJDxUhv-2fS83WD53RvyH4mEUDDkiuGALWpdFk/s640/giant+spheroidal+galaxies.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>This diagram illustrates this process. Galaxies in the early Universe appear at the left. The blue regions are where star formation is in progress and the red regions are the "dead" regions where only older redder stars remain and there are no more young blue stars being formed. The resulting giant spheroidal galaxies in the modern Universe appear on the right<br />
<br />
The researchers also trained the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on the same set of galaxies, taking advantage of the telescope’s location in space above our planet’s distorting atmosphere. Hubble’s WFC3 camera snapped images in the near-infrared, revealing the spatial distribution of older stars within the actively star-forming galaxies.<br />
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“What is amazing is that SINFONI’s adaptive optics system can largely beat down atmospheric effects and gather information on where the new stars are being born, and do so with precisely the same accuracy as Hubble allows for the stellar mass distributions,” commented Marcella Carollo, also of ETH Zurich and co-author of the study.<br />
<br />
According to the new data, the most massive galaxies in the sample kept up a steady production of new stars in their peripheries. In their bulging, densely packed centres, however, star formation had already stopped.<br />
<br />
“The newly demonstrated inside-out nature of star formation shutdown in massive galaxies should shed light on the underlying mechanisms involved, which astronomers have long debated,” says Alvio Renzini, Padova Observatory, of the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics.<br />
<br />
A leading theory is that star-making materials are scattered by torrents of energy released by a galaxy’s central supermassive black hole as it sloppily devours matter. Another idea is that fresh gas stops flowing into a galaxy, starving it of fuel for new stars and transforming it into a red and dead spheroid.<br />
<br />
“There are many different theoretical suggestions for the physical mechanisms that led to the death of the massive spheroids,” said co-author Natascha Förster Schreiber, at the Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik in Garching, Germany. “Discovering that the quenching of star formation started from the centres and marched its way outwards is a very important step towards understanding how the Universe came to look like it does now.” </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.spacetelescope.org/">Hubble Space Telescope</a><br />
<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/solving-mystery-of-formation-of-super.html">Solving the Mystery of the Formation of Supermassive Galaxies (SMG)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/10/probing-spiderweb-galaxy-cluster-mrc.html">Probing the Spiderweb Galaxy Cluster (MRC 1138-262) Yields Surprising Data</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/02/planet-forming-in-gas-cloud-near-star.html">Planet Forming In Gas Cloud Near Star HD 100546 Discovered</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/07/gas-outflow-from-sculptor-galaxy-ngc.html">Gas Outflow From Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253) Hints At Scarcity Of High Mass Galaxies</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/possible-visual-evidence-of-dark-galaxy.html">Possible Visual Evidence of a Dark Galaxy Spotted By VLT</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/06/astrophysicist-researches-into.html">Astrophysicist Researches Into The Requirements of Planetary Formation</a><br />
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</script> Jon Vizcarrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17108680135741162923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4977150071862734102.post-44651064857527376322015-04-15T16:00:00.000+08:002015-04-15T16:00:40.672+08:00Dark Matter Interactions Observed in Galaxy Collision at Abell 3827<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0' ><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355491237761-0'); });</script></div><br />
<div align="justify"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a alt="galaxy cluster Abell 3827" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6ye4Btmo4JNQ1n1VAPrOgLbs5XG1eRBIG5JErEx-q3FUOKfWaE6SkhBYNoHec2FqkCdf4PYzIMZxzRUrFGT36g2UWFkMGPHMmCL6JqvUKAgC9rfSSr4BzrKJKOb-ufE-IgyufbXbP4py/s640/galaxy+cluster+Abell+3827.jpg" /></a></div><br />
While studying the simultaneous collision of four galaxies in the galaxy cluster Abell 3827, the European Southern Observatory's VLT and NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope may have, for the first time, observed dark matter interactions with other dark matter.<br />
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The nature of dark matter is still a mystery but it is believed that it comprises 85% of the Universe’s mass; the rest being "normal matter". Without dark matter, galaxies would not be able to hold itself together and would fling themselves apart while they rotate. Dark matter keeps these galaxies together due to the constraining effect of its' gravity.<br />
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Researches observed that during the collision, one clump of dark matter appeared to be lagging behind the galaxy it surrounds. The dark matter is currently 5000 light-years behind the galaxy.<br />
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Dark matter has always been observed interacting with gravity but the computer simulation of the four galaxy collision at Abell 3827 show that extra friction from the collision would slow down dark matter and that the nature of that interaction is not gravity and still is unknown. It is also uncertain how long it took for the collision to happen.The friction that slowed the dark matter could have been a very weak force acting over about a billion years, or a relatively stronger force acting for “only” 100 million years.<br />
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<b>Dark Matter Interactions</b><br />
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For the first time dark matter may have been observed interacting with other dark matter in a way other than through the force of gravity. Observations of colliding galaxies made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have picked up the first intriguing hints about the nature of this mysterious component of the Universe.<br />
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<div style=”display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;”><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script></div>Using the MUSE instrument on ESO’s VLT in Chile, along with images from Hubble in orbit, a team of astronomers studied the simultaneous collision of four galaxies in the galaxy cluster Abell 3827. The team could trace out where the mass lies within the system and compare the distribution of the dark matter with the positions of the luminous galaxies.<br />
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Although dark matter cannot be seen, the team could deduce its location using a technique called gravitational lensing. The collision happened to take place directly in front of a much more distant, unrelated source. The mass of dark matter around the colliding galaxies severely distorted spacetime, deviating the path of light rays coming from the distant background galaxy — and distorting its image into characteristic arc shapes.<br />
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Video:<br />
<div align="center"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nl8eimZZnFk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
</div><br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0' style='display:block;float:right;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1355586938472-0'); });</script></div>Our current understanding is that all galaxies exist inside clumps of dark matter. Without the constraining effect of dark matter’s gravity, galaxies like the Milky Way would fling themselves apart as they rotate. In order to prevent this, 85 percent of the Universe’s mass must exist as dark matter, and yet its true nature remains a mystery.<br />
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In this study, the researchers observed the four colliding galaxies and found that one dark matter clump appeared to be lagging behind the galaxy it surrounds. The dark matter is currently 5000 light-years (50 000 million million kilometres) behind the galaxy — it would take NASA’s Voyager spacecraft 90 million years to travel that far.<br />
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A lag between dark matter and its associated galaxy is predicted during collisions if dark matter interacts with itself, even very slightly, through forces other than gravity. Dark matter has never before been observed interacting in any way other than through the force of gravity.<br />
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Lead author Richard Massey at Durham University, explains: “We used to think that dark matter just sits around, minding its own business, except for its gravitational pull. But if dark matter were being slowed down during this collision, it could be the first evidence for rich physics in the dark sector — the hidden Universe all around us.”<br />
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The researchers note that more investigation will be needed into other effects that could also produce a lag. Similar observations of more galaxies, and computer simulations of galaxy collisions will need to be made.<br />
<br />
<div id='div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0'style= 'display:block;float:left;margin:15px 15px 15px 15px;'><script type='text/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1357551478956-0'); });</script></div>Team member Liliya Williams of the University of Minnesota adds: “We know that dark matter exists because of the way that it interacts gravitationally, helping to shape the Universe, but we still know embarrassingly little about what dark matter actually is. Our observation suggests that dark matter might interact with forces other than gravity, meaning we could rule out some key theories about what dark matter might be.”<br />
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This result follows on from a recent result from the team which observed 72 collisions between galaxy clusters and found that dark matter interacts very little with itself. The new work however concerns the motion of individual galaxies, rather than clusters of galaxies. Researchers say that the collision between these galaxies could have lasted longer than the collisions observed in the previous study — allowing the effects of even a tiny frictional force to build up over time and create a measurable lag.<br />
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Taken together, the two results bracket the behaviour of dark matter for the first time. Dark matter interacts more than this, but less than that. Massey added: “We are finally homing in on dark matter from above and below — squeezing our knowledge from two directions.” </div><br />
RELATED LINKS<br />
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<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/">European Southern Observatory</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2014/01/measuring-universe-to-one-percent.html">Measuring the Universe To One Percent Accuracy With Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/10/massive-galactic-filament-of-dark.html">Massive Galactic Filament of Dark Matter Imaged By Hubble Space Telescope In 3D</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/05/sudbury-neutrino-observatory-snolab.html">Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNOLAB) International Laboratory for Particle Physics Inaugurated In Canada</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2013/05/galaxy-sized-cloud-of-hydrogen-gas.html">Galaxy Sized Cloud of Hydrogen Gas Discovered in Supposedly Empty Region of Space</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/03/baryon-oscillation-spectroscopic-survey.html">Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) Studying and Observing the Accelerating and Expanding Universe</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/07/dark-energy-may-explain-how-universe.html">Dark Energy May Explain How The Universe Will End</a><br />
<a href="http://www.quantumday.com/2012/08/baryon-oscillation-spectroscopic-survey.html">Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) Publicly Release Data On More Than 750,000 Galaxies, Quasars, and Stars</a><br />
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