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The blob can learn and teach![]() Paris, France (SPX) Dec 26, 2016 It isn't an animal, a plant, or a fungus. The slime mold (Physarum polycephalum) is a strange, creeping, bloblike organism made up of one giant cell. Though it has no brain, it can learn from experience, as biologists at the Research Centre on Animal Cognition (CNRS, Universite Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier) previously demonstrated.1 Now the same team of scientists has gone a step further, proving that a slime mold can transmit what it has learned to a fellow slime mold when the two combine. These ne ... read more |
Feeding the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky WayScientists at Princeton University and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have developed a rigorous new method for modeling the accretion disk that feed ... more
Ultra-small nanocavity advances technology for secure quantum-based data encryptionResearchers have developed a new type of light-enhancing optical cavity that is only 200 nanometers tall and 100 nanometers across. Their new nanoscale system represents a step toward brighter singl ... more
Laser pulses help scientists tease apart complex electron interactionsScientists studying high temperature superconductors-materials that carry electric current with no energy loss when cooled below a certain temperature-have been searching for ways to study in detail ... more
VLA, ALMA team up to give first look at birthplaces of most current starsAstronomers have gotten their first look at exactly where most of today's stars were born. To do so, they used the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Atacama ... more |
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Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review |
PANIC Lander to Revolutionize Asteroid ResearchA US-German team of researchers has proposed to develop a micro-scale low-cost surface lander for the in situ characterization of an asteroid. The tiny spacecraft, called the Pico Autonomous Near-Ea ... more
Festive nebulae light up Milky Way Galaxy satelliteThe sheer observing power of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is rarely better illustrated than in an image such as this. This glowing pink nebula, named NGC 248, is located in the Small Magellan ... more
Avalanche statistics suggest Tabby's star is near a continuous phase transitionIn its search for extrasolar planets, the Kepler space telescope looks for stars whose light flux periodically dims, signaling the passing of an orbiting planet in front of the star. But the timing ... more
Searching a sea of 'noise' to find exoplanets - using only data as a guideYale researchers have found a data-driven way to detect distant planets and refine the search for worlds similar to Earth. The new approach, outlined in a study published Dec. 20 in The Astron ... more
ESO: ALMA's Ability to Search for Water in the Universe ImprovedThe Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile has begun observing in a new range of the electromagnetic spectrum. This has been made possible thanks to new receivers installed at ... more |
![]() New antimatter breakthrough to help illuminate mysteries of the Big Bang
ALPHA observes light spectrum of antimatter for first timeIn a paper published in the journal Nature, the ALPHA collaboration reports the first ever measurement on the optical spectrum of an antimatter atom. This achievement features technological developm ... more
Fluctuations in extragalactic gamma rays reveal two source classes but no dark matterResearchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics and the University of Amsterdam GRAPPA Center of Excellence just published the most precise analysis so far of the fluctuations in the gamm ... more |
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As 2016 ends, I can't help but point out an interesting symmetry in where the mission has recently been and where we are going. Exactly two years ago we had just taken New Horizons out of cruise hibernation to begin preparations for the Pluto flyby. And exactly two years from now we will be on final approach to our next flyby, which will culminate with a very close approach to a small Kuiper Bel ... more Juno Captures Jupiter 'Pearl' Juno Mission Prepares for December 11 Jupiter Flyby Research Offers Clues About the Timing of Jupiter's Formation |
Breakthrough Listen, the 10-year, $100-million astronomical search for intelligent life beyond Earth launched in 2015 by Internet entrepreneur Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking, has announced its first observations using the Parkes Radio Telescope in New South Wales, Australia.
Parkes joins the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia, USA, and the Automated Planet Finder (APF) at Lick Ob ... more Search for ET underway with Parkes Radio Telescope Breakthrough Listen to Search for Intelligent Life Around Tabby's Star New bacteria groups, and stunning diversity, discovered underground |
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An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Chicago, has made the rare discovery of a planetary system with a host star similar to Earth's sun. Especially intriguing is the star's unusual composition, which indicates it ingested some of its planets.
"It doesn't mean that the sun will 'eat' the Earth any time soon," said Jacob Bean, assistant professor ... more Microlensing Study Suggests Most Common Outer Planets Likely Neptune-mass Searching a sea of 'noise' to find exoplanets - using only data as a guide The blob can learn and teach |
Erosion-carved troughs that grow and branch during multiple Martian years may be infant versions of larger features known as Martian "spiders," which are radially patterned channels found only in the south polar region of Mars.
Researchers using NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) report the first detection of cumulative growth, from one Martian spring to another, of channels resultin ... more All eyes on Trump over Mars Opportunity performs several drives to ancient gully Full go-ahead for building ExoMars 2020 |
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The sonic boom created by an airplane comes from the craft's large, speeding body crashing into molecules in the air. But if you shrank the plane to the size of a molecule, would it still generate a shock wave?
Scientists such as University of Iowa physicist Jasper Halekas hope to answer that question by studying miniature shock waves on the moon. These sonic boomlets, physicists believe, ... more India Inc joins hands to bid for moon mission TeamIndus signs contract with ISRO for lunar mission Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin stable after South Pole health scare |
The sheer observing power of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is rarely better illustrated than in an image such as this. This glowing pink nebula, named NGC 248, is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, just under 200 000 light-years away and yet can still be seen in great detail.
Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is part of a collection of galaxies known as the Local Group. Along with ... more VLA, ALMA team up to give first look at birthplaces of most current stars Fluctuations in extragalactic gamma rays reveal two source classes but no dark matter Feeding the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way |
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Airbus DS ships payload module for MetOp-C for final assembly Neutron diffraction probes forms of carbon dioxide in extreme environments NOAA's GOES-S Satellite Undergoing Environmental Testing |
A US-German team of researchers has proposed to develop a micro-scale low-cost surface lander for the in situ characterization of an asteroid. The tiny spacecraft, called the Pico Autonomous Near-Earth Asteroid In Situ Characterizer (PANIC), could be a breakthrough for the scientific community, offering simple and cheap solutions for asteroid research.
The concept of the PANIC mission envi ... more Ceres Offers Insight Into Prospects For Life in Early Solar System The case of the missing diamonds Studies refute hypothesis on what caused abrupt climate change thousands of years ago |
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The Space Science Institute was awarded a grant from the Moore Foundation that will provide 1.26 million solar viewing glasses and other resources for 1,500 public libraries across the nation. They will serve as centers for eclipse education and viewing for their communities.
The libraries will be selected through a registration process managed by the STAR Library Education Network (STAR_N ... more Preparing for the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Giving the Sun a brake Perspectives on magnetic reconnection |
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, the largest missile maker in the country, is taking aim at 20 percent or more of the small-satellite launch contracts in the world by 2020, company executives said.
"We estimate that from 2017 to 2020, we will send aloft at least 10 solid-fuel carrier rockets each year, to send about 50 small satellites into orbit," said Guo Yong, president of the ... more China-made satellites in high demand Space exploration plans unveiled China launches 4th data relay satellite |
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The sheer observing power of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is rarely better illustrated than in an image such as this. This glowing pink nebula, named NGC 248, is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, just under 200 000 light-years away and yet can still be seen in great detail.
Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is part of a collection of galaxies known as the Local Group. Along with ... more VLA, ALMA team up to give first look at birthplaces of most current stars Fluctuations in extragalactic gamma rays reveal two source classes but no dark matter Feeding the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way |
New research into chimpanzees suggests that, when it comes to altruistically helping a fellow chimpanzee, they are 'indifferent'.
The paper, published in Nature Communications, found no evidence that chimpanzees had a tendency to help others - or conversely to be spiteful - when there was no anticipated benefit to themselves.
In two experiments, chimpanzees could determine whether or ... more Earliest evidence discovered of plants cooked in ancient pottery Dental hygiene, caveman style Neurons paralyze us during REM sleep |
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From "Aliens" to "Interstellar," Hollywood has long used suspended animation to overcome the difficulties of deep space travel, but the once-fanciful sci-fi staple is becoming scientific fact.
The theory is that a hibernating crew could stay alive over vast cosmic distances, requiring little food, hydration or living space, potentially slashing the costs of interstellar missions and eradicat ... more NASA Readies for Major Orion Milestones in 2017 India achieves advances multiple space systems in 2016 Spacewalk for Thomas Pesquet at ISS |
Scientists from the University of Southampton have found Arctic lakes, covered with ice during the winter months, are melting earlier each spring.
The team, who monitored 13,300 lakes using satellite imagery, have shown that on average ice is breaking up one day earlier per year, based on a 14-year period between 2000 and 2013. Their findings are published in the Nature journal Scientific ... more Satellites observe 'traffic jams' in Antarctic Ice Stream caused by tides Scientists measure pulse of CO2 emissions during spring thaw in the Arctic Landsat provides global view of speed of ice |
Policymakers and scientists must act quickly and collaboratively to help coastal areas better prepare for rising sea levels globally, say climate change experts from Princeton and Penn State universities.
Recent estimates suggest that global mean sea level rise could exceed two meters by 2100. These projections are higher than previous estimates and are bas ... more Early action key to reducing sea lion impacts on salmon, new study finds Rebels blamed for 'poisoning' Damascus water Pakistan frees 220 Indian fishermen |
Professor Sudip Bhattacharyya of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India, and Professor Deepto Chakrabarty (MIT, USA), an adjunct visiting professor at the same institute, have shown that a population of neutron stars should spin around their axes much faster than the highest observed spin rate of any neutron star.
They pointed out that the observed lower spin rate ... more LISA Pathfinder's pioneering mission continues Magnetic mirror could shed new light on gravitational waves Verlindes new theory of gravity passes first test |
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