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Showing posts with label Science Technology. Show all posts

08 December 2011

Detecting E-Coli Contamination in Public Beaches

Contamination of public beaches by fecal matter caused be sewage overflow is dangerous to the public and also impacts the local economy.

32% of monitored beaches in 2006 were closed at least once due to elevated levels of fecal contamination indicator organisms (USEPA, 2007). In 2005–2006, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported 78 separate waterborne disease outbreaks that caused 4,412 illnesses and resulted in 5 deaths.

Escherichia coli is one of the most frequent causes of many common bacterial infections, including cholecystitis, bacteremia, cholangitis, urinary tract infection (UTI), and traveler's diarrhea, and other clinical infections such as neonatal meningitis and pneumonia. Current methods to detect E-coli requires around 24 to 48 hours to produce a result (see the 2nd video: Do you like swimming at a beach?).

A new, accurate, and economical sensor-based device capable of measuring E. coli levels in water samples in less than 1 to 8 hours could serve as a valuable early warning tool and make it easier to detect such contamination. It is described in an article in Environmental Engineering Science, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

The article also provides a detailed description of the Autonomous, Wireless, In-Situ (AWISS), battery-powered device, which contains a prototype optical sensor that can measure changes in fluorescence intensity in a water sample. Simply put, Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance.

Video: Pathogenic Microorganisms in Recreational Waters

In the presence of E. coli bacteria an enzymatic reaction will cause an increase in fluorescence. The AWISS can detect high concentrations of bacteria in less than 1 hour and lower concentrations in less than 8 hours.

Jeffrey Talley of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD) and colleagues at the Environmental Technology Solutions, Gilbert, AZ, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS, present the results of a demonstration project using the AWISS device spanning 7 days. The detection system developed was able to collect and analyze a water sample every 6 hours and send the data collected to remote monitoring stations thru wireless transmissions. They compare the effectiveness of the AWISS to other E. coli detection methods currently approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"Pathogens in the aquatic environment pose significant human and ecological health risks. The work of Professor Talley and his colleagues in developing a remote sensing instrument to detect and transmit pathogen water quality information is a major advance in helping safeguard human health," says Domenico Grasso, PhD, Editor-in-Chief and Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate College, University of Vermont (Burlington).

Video: Detecting E-coli and other pathogens in the waters

Environmental Engineering Science is an authoritative, interdisciplinary monthly online peer-reviewed journal publishing state-of-the-art studies of innovative solutions to problems in air, water, and land contamination and waste disposal. The Journal features applications of environmental engineering and scientific discoveries, policy issues, environmental economics, and sustainable development. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Sustainability: The Journal of Record, Environmental Justice, and Industrial Biotechnology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available.

13 November 2011

What Is The Higgs Boson And Why It Matters

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CERN Announces Discovery of Higgs Boson
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For the past couple of years, scientists have been trying to discover the Higgs Boson. But what is it? For a really simple explanation, Stephen Colbert, Justin Bieber, and Professor Peter Higgs himself will help explain it here.

Basically, the Higgs boson is theorized to be the particle that determines the mass of an object. More than the Higgs particle (a boson is a class of particles), it is the Higgs field that is important. The Higgs boson is the particle that comprises the field, much like how photons comprise the electromagnetic field.

By discovering the Higgs Boson, scientist may then understand how mass is obtained and why some elements have more mass than others.

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity. Unlike weight, mass is not affected by gravity. An object has no weight in space but still has mass.

Video: Stephen Colbert and Physicist Brian Cox talking about the Higgs Boson. Highly recommended.

Imagine two people walking at the same pace and same direction in a mall, one is an unknown person and the other is Justin Bieber. Once the two stop walking, more people will flock around Justin Bieber than the other person. Once they start to move again, Bieber would have a hard time gaining momentum to move again because of the people surrounding him. The other, with no one hindering his movement, can easily resume his pace. Bieber has more mass thus slowing him down when trying to accelerate.

This group or clustering effect is called the Higgs mechanism, as postulated by British physicist Peter Higgs. The group of people surrounding Justin basically is a "Higgs field". Each person in that group is the "Higgs boson".

Basically, what Peter Higgs is proposing is that there is a field (Higgs field) that are attracted to objects thus slowing them down, giving them mass. The more particles (Higgs Boson) of the field that object attracts, the more mass it has. Furthermore, as the mass of an object approaches zero, the closer it gets to accelerating to the speed of light. This can be seen with light, since light has no mass and travels at that speed.

Video: Dr. Don Lincoln of Fermilab explains the Higgs Boson

Roger Cashmore Department of Physics of the University of Oxford, UK says, "We know from quantum theory that fields have particles associated with them, the particle for the electromagnetic field being the photon. So there must be a particle associated with the Higg's field, and this is the Higgs boson. Finding the Higgs boson is thus the key to discovering whether the Higgs field does exist and whether our best hypothesis for the origin of mass is indeed correct."

It should be noted that there are theories that does not include the Higgs field and are also equally important. So finding the Higgs field or proving that it does not exist then were both equally important in the field of science.

As Mary and Ian Butterworth of Imperial College London, and Doris and Vigdor Teplitz of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas state, "If particles get their masses from interacting with the empty space Higgs field, then the Higgs particle must exist; but we can't be certain without finding the Higgs. We have other hints about the Higgs; for example, if it exists, it plays a role in "unifying" different forces. However, we believe that nature could contrive to get the results that would flow from the Higgs in other ways. In fact, proving the Higgs particle does not exist would be scientifically every bit as valuable as proving it does."

Although the discovery of the Higgs particle was announced in 2012 by CERN, scientists were still not sure whether the particle they found was actually the Higgs. It was in March 2013 when the findings were verified and CERN released this statement, "CMS and ATLAS have compared a number of options for the spin-parity of this particle, and these all prefer no spin and positive parity [two fundamental criteria of a Higgs boson consistent with the Standard Model]. This, coupled with the measured interactions of the new particle with other particles, strongly indicates that it is a Higgs boson."

Video: Professor Peter Higgs talk about his life work and the Higgs Boson

10 November 2011

Nanotechnology Electric Car Made From One Molecule

Scientists at the Netherlands and Switzerland have created the world smallest electric car.

Made from a single molecule, the nanotech car is around 1 nanometer long and uses electrons for fuel. 1 nanometer is 1 million times smaller than a dot or period printed on a piece of paper. This discovery can lead to a production of molecular sized robots or transporters that can move molecules around.

The molecule sized machine is composed of four branches that act as wheels. They start rotating when a tiny metal tip delivering a small current is applied to them. Using 10 electric bursts of electrons, the nanotech car moved six billionths of a meter.

Video: The Sykes Group at Tufts University explains the concept of a one molecule machine.

The car was made to move in two ways. They adjusted the symmetry or "chirality" of the rotor parts and the nano-vehicle moved along a random path and also drove in a nearly straight line.

Ben Feringa of the University of Groningen and part of the research team explains, "The important step taken, in my opinion, is that we have shown that we can propel a single molecule along a surface and control directionality. This is exactly what happens with protein nanomotors that 'walk' along filaments with control of directionality,"

The vehicle is constructed around an organic, carbon based frame. It is composed of four rotor parts or "wheels" connected to the body by a carbon-carbon double bond. Applying the metal tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope fires electrons at these bonds which break and re-form the other way round. This process is known as isomerization. This causes the wheels to turn, and the vehicle to move forward.

Tibor Kudernac, a chemist at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, and lead author of the paper published their findings in the journal Nature.

Scientists are optimistic that this demonstration is a step closer to molecular machines to perform specific functions inside the human body. Nanotechnology is starting to open paths to revolutionizing the medical field and other fields of science. Someday, diseases such as cancer can be cured using these kind of machines.

Dr. Kudernac adds, "There are ways to play around. That's what we chemists do - we try to design molecules for particular purposes, and I don't see any fundamental limitations."

Video: Ray Kurzweil, inventor and futurist, explains the benefits of nanotechnology

06 November 2011

Quantum Computers: Tomorrows Technology

Quantum computers are the next step in the evolution of computers.

Quantum computers are being studied more by physicists than engineers. Why? Because these computers employ quantum mechanics. This has to do with the way quantum computers are built. But what makes them special?

Our present day computers use transistors to compute. The more transistors in a computer chip, the more processing power it has. The record for most number of transistors put on a chip is 2 billion. A quantum computer uses atoms for its computing power. To put simply, atoms, the way they behave, makes computing faster. To understand how this works, we have to look at how classical computers work.

We are in the digital age. In a way, digital means our information are stored in bits. Bits can store 2 kinds of information simply 0 or 1. Information and calculations are processed in a steady stream of bits of 0s and 1s.

A Quantum computer does not use bits to store information. It uses quantum bits or qubits. A qubit is basically an atom that carries the information just like a bit does. But unlike a bit, it just doesn't hold a 1 or 0 state. In an atom, it can have a spin-up stage (1) or a spin-down stage (0). But aside from that, an atom can be in both stages at the same time. This peculiar property of the atom is what everyone is excited about.

Video: Dr. Dominic Walliman explains Quantum Computers

In terms of computing power, this means that a quantum computer can theoretically perform a calculation in one step where a classical or digital computer may take several. A classical computer can be programmed to dial a million phone numbers, it will perform this by dialing a phone one million times. A quantum computer can dial the same million numbers all at the same time, in one step.

The possibilities of this are staggering. Quantum computers will revolutionize everything. A computer algorithm that may take years to decipher a coded message would take minutes if not seconds. Calculating the value of PI would be so fast that we won't be able to go thru each number in one lifetime. And sadly, even computer hackers would find it easy to infiltrate a system.

We are still way behind in creating that true quantum computer. We are still at an early stage of quantum technology. The ones we have now are still not practical but what we have now holds promise.

Physicists in University of Wisconsin-Madison studying the possibility of a quantum computer created a quantum computing circuit in 2010. This was a major step in quantum computing technology.

Recently, David Awschalom and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara discovered that silicon carbide can be used for quantum information processing. Prior to this, diamonds were a source of atoms for qubits. This is because, these atoms have electron spin states that can be controlled coherently and manipulated as quantum bits using light. Silicon Carbide, as their study suggests also share this property with diamonds.

Video: Decoherence and Quantum computers

Diamond based qubits have a longer decoherence time that enables it to perform a logical operation. And also, the information can be read out using light which means photons can be utilized in processing the information, a stumbling block on how to pass info to and from the qubit.

It is important that these atoms are stable or "coherent". As atoms, they are sensitive to everything, be it vibration, temperature, or even cosmic rays from the sun. They can be agitated and easily lose its state (or information in this case) which is called "decoherence".

Video: Quantum Computers in much more detail:

Moore's Law states that computer processing power continues to double every 18 months. This means that by the year 2030 or earlier, we will find that the circuits on a microprocessor will approach the atomic scale and quantum computing will be the norm.

We may be seeing the last decade of the Digital Age and now ready to enter the early years of the Quantum Age.

03 November 2011

Famous Scientists of the 21st Century

The 21st Century is just beginning but science and technology are moving in blazing speeds. Without the scientists, how could we move? Today, we look at a few of the famous and popular scientists of the 21st century.

Who are the movers and shakers of this time? Let's look at a sneak preview of the pioneers and explorers of science in the 21st Century. Some may not sound familiar, others may not show concrete discoveries but these people have brought science to the forefront either by their research or by their advocacy of promoting and spreading scientific knowledge to anyone and everyone. Note: They are listed in no particular order.

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Andre Konstantin Geim, born 21 October 1958 with Dutch, Russian, and British heritage. A physicist working at the University of Manchester, Geim was awarded Nobel Prize in Physics together with Konstantin Novoselov for his work on graphene in 2010.

Graphene is a super-conductive form of carbon, made from single-atom-thick sheets. Graphene consists of one-atom-thick layers of carbon atoms arranged in a two-dimensional hexagon. It is the thinnest material in the world, as well as one of the strongest and hardest and is considered a superior alternative to silicon. And has many other uses.

He also researched diamagnetic levitation and in a famous 1997 experiment, he managed to levitate a frog. He has also done research on mesoscopic physics and superconductivity. About his broad range of science that he studies, Geim says, "Many people chose a subject for their PhD and then continue the same subject until they retire. I despise this approach. I have changed my subject five times before I got my first tenured position and that helped me to learn different subjects."

Here is a short video of Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov explaining about graphene:

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Konstantin Sergeevich Novoselov, born 23 August 1974. He is a Russian=British physicist at the University of Manchester as a Royal Society University Research Fellow. He is known for working together with Andree Geim in discovering and studying graphene. Because of their work, they won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.Novoselov is also a recipient of an ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council.

Dr. Novoselov's record includes 49 papers mostly in Physics and Materials Science and has also been cited 3,536 times in a span of twenty years. Dr. Novoselov is a Royal Society Research Fellow in School of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Manchester as well as the Langworthy Professor and director of the Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology also at the University of Manchester.

He received a Diploma from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and undertook his Ph.D. studies at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands before moving to the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom with his doctoral advisor Andre Geim in 2001. According to the ISI Essential Science Indicator, his two papers in Science 2004 and Nature 2005 are the most cited papers on graphene and “have opened up a fast moving front”. The paper in Science 2004 is also acknowledged as “one of the most cited recent papers in the field of Physics”.

Here is an interview where Konstantin Novoselov discusses his research on graphene.

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John Craig Venter was born onborn 14 October 14 1946. He is an American biologist famous for being one of the first to sequence the human genome. He also created the first cell with a synthetic genome last 2010. He now works for the J. Craig Venter Institute which he founded. His current work is focused on creating synthetic biological organisms and also documenting the genetic diversity in the world's oceans. He is listed on Time magazine's 2007 and 2008 issue as part of the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.

The Global Ocean Sampling Expedition (GOS) is an ocean exploration genome project that will assess the genetic diversity in marine microbial life. It is to understand how the diversity contributes to nature's basic processes. The GOS circumnavigated the globe which started in 2004 and ended 2006.

In May 2010, Venter and his team successfully created what they called "synthetic life". They synthesized a very long DNA molecule containing an entire bacterium genome, and introduced this into another cell. This could lead to producing bacteria that can be engineered to perform specific purpose such as create fuel, manufacture medicine, and correct environmental problems like global warming.

Here is a video of Craig Venter and his team announcing that they've created the first fully functioning, reproducing cell controlled by synthetic DNA. He also explains how they did it and why the achievement is a milestone for science:

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Stephen William Hawking was born 8 January 1942. He is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist. His scientific books (specially his runaway bestseller, Brief History of Time) and public appearances have made him a popular pop-icon and academic celebrity. In 2009, Hawking was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

He is known for his research and contributions to the science of cosmology and quantum gravity. He has also achieved success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. His contributions to science still keep coming in. Together with Roger Penrose, he provided theorems regarding gravitational singularities within the framework of general relativity. He also gave theoretical predictions about black holes emits radiation. This type of radiation is known as the Hawking radiation or the Bekenstein-Hawking radiation.

Currently, he is the Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge as well as a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and a Distinguished Research Chair at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario.

Here is Stephen Hawking discussing and asking questions about the Universe:

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Neil deGrasse Tyson was born on 5 October 1958. He is an American astrophysicist. As stated in his website, He " was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.".

He is the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and also a Research Associate in the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. He is part of this list because of his contribution bringing astrophysics and astronomy to the public. He has hosted the educational science television show NOVA scienceNOW on PBS and has been a guest on several TV shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Jeopardy!. It was announced that Tyson will be hosting a new sequel to Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage TV series. He has made astronomy an interesting subject to people worldwide.

Here is Neil DeGrasse Tyson describing the hypothetical experience of death by falling into a black hole:

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Michio Kaku was born on 24 January 1947. He is an American theoretical physicist. A Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, he is also the co-founder of string field theory. Another science communicator like Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Michio Kaku has written several books about physics and related topics. He has also made guest appearances on radio, television, and film.

Kaku achieved popularity because of his knowledge and easy approach to explaining complicated science subjects such as time travel and singularities. Although a theoretical physicist, he covers a wide range of subjects such as wormholes and time travel. He considered the theory that the universe was created from nothing as discussed in the TV show, "What Happened Before the Big Bang".

There are more scientists out there who have contributed to our society. These are just a few of them. We're still at the dawn of this new century. But our science have moved leaps and strides faster than the previous one.

Here is Michio Kaku talks about the Singularity:

Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

30 October 2011

Speed of Light Theory To Be Challenged Again

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LATEST CERN NEWS
18 March 2012
CERN UPDATE: ICARUS Experiment Indicate Neutrino Speed Consistent With Speed Of Light
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After announcing that they have observed particles travelling faster than the speed of light, Physicists at CERN ( European Organization for Nuclear Research) will be conducting the experiment again but in another way. They will address issues that may others have brought up that may have given the first experiment false readings. They want to make sure that their readings are accurate.

In the experiment, particles called neutrinos are sent through the Earth's crust from CERN in Geneva towards Italy at the Gran Sasso laboratory 732km away. The experiment is named OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion-Tracking Apparatus).

Last September, scientists announced that they have observed that the particles were travelling faster than the speed of light. Scientists consistently noticed that the neutrinos traveled 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. Current theories on physics state that this is impossible.

Last month, Ronald van Elburg of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands found an explanation that explained the error in reading the faster than light in neutrino speed. According to van Elburg, it has to do with using gps satellites that OPERA used in measuring the neutrino speed.

Video: OPERA experiment

In the re-calibrated experiment, instead of using firing the protons in a long pulse of 10 microseconds, they will be sent in a series of short bursts of just one or two nanoseconds with a gap of 500 nanoseconds between each burst. They will also be switching from accelerating protons to accelerating lead ions. Hopefully, they will settle the issue once and for all.

According to Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity, nothing can travel faster than light. Most of modern physics is based on this theory. If this is proved wrong and faster than light speed is possible, physicists the world over would have to rethink and redo everything that they know about physics.

Other physics lab are conducting their own experiments as well as collaborating on this one.Teams working on other Gran Sasso experiments will begin independent cross-check analysiss of Opera's results. The US Minos experiment and Japan's T2K experiment will also test the observations.