From UZH MediaDesk:
‘Physicists from the University of Zurich have discovered a previously unknown particle composed of three quarks in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator. A new baryon could thus be detected for the first time at the LHC. The baryon known as Xi_b^* confirms fundamental assumptions of physics regarding the binding of quarks.’
Read the full article here.
Now, that is a diamond I could really enjoy!
‘Like all diamonds, the diamond used by the researchers has impurities — things other than carbon. The more impurities in a diamond, the less attractive it is as a piece of jewelry, because it makes the crystal appear cloudy.
The team, however, utilized the impurities themselves.
A rogue nitrogen nucleus became the first qubit. In a second flaw sat an electron, which became the second qubit. (Though put more accurately, the “spin” of each of these subatomic particles was used as the qubit.)’
This is exciting!
Yes, according to Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX!
‘The commercial space travel entrepreneur told the BBC in an interview that he’s figured out how to send a person on a round-trip journey to Mars and back, and that it could be ready in as little as ten years. The best part? Musk says that the “average person” could afford the trip since it will only cost $500,000.’
Sweet!
Of course, if we have to rely on the UN to keep the Iranian nukes from having a bit of a party in North America, one question really needs to be asked:
How much for a one-way trip?!?!?
Bookmark this spot for when you need your Richard Feynman hit.
Plastic is one of the most beneficial inventions in human history: its impact on improving human health alone is quite amazing.
The problem with this amazing material was that it did not naturally decompose, so that it would fill garbage heaps and create a set of difficulties all of its own. This has lead to countless lobyists vilifying plastic and trying to limit its use. Taxes on shopping bags are just one small real-life result of the anti-plastic propaganda.
According to PCWorld, these worries are now a thing of the past!
‘This is the first fungus species, identified by the Yale researchers as Pestalotiopsis microspore, which exclusively subsists on polyurethane. It can also grow in an anaerobic (air-less) environment, which will hopefully allow it to take root in the deepest regions of our trash heaps. ‘
Yes: PESTALOTIOPSIS!
Making plastic a biodegradable material.
So, stop feeling guilty over this aspect of improving the human condition!
Well, that about wraps it up for evolution denials…
‘An evolutionary transition that took several billion years to occur in nature has happened in a laboratory, and it needed just 60 days.
Under artificial pressure to become larger, single-celled yeast became multicellular creatures. That crucial step is responsible for life’s progression beyond algae and bacteria, and while the latest work doesn’t duplicate prehistoric transitions, it could help reveal the principles guiding them.’
Check out the full article – it includes photos.
What is interesting about this is that the ‘evolutionary pressure’ applied to the yeast was nothing other than selective breeding: the simplest, time-tested method we have been applying in agriculture for millenia.
It also demonstrates, once and for all, that selective breeding resulting from evolutionary pressures is sufficient to cause ‘macro-evolution’ because what we have seen here is undeniably the emergence of a new species from an old one: the emergence of multicellular yeast from single-cell yeast!
For your reference, here is the citation:
‘“Experimental evolution of multicellularity.” By William C. Ratcliff, R. Ford Denison, Mark Borrello, and Michael Travisano. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jan. 17, 2012.‘
P.S.
I wonder how many religious leaders (of all the creationist religions which also deny evolution: i.e. Islam, some Christian sects plus other, smaller religions) who had claimed this was impossible will step up and admit their error. Now that their beliefs have been demonstrably falsified, they have no choice but to change their beliefs or admit that their faith is at odds with reality.
BBC is reporting the discovery of a new particle at LHC:
“The Chi-b (3P) is a more excited state of Chi particles already seen in previous collision experiments, explained Prof Roger Jones, who works on the Atlas detector at the LHC.
“The new particle is made up of a ‘beauty quark’ and a ‘beauty anti-quark’, which are then bound together,” he told BBC News.
“People have thought this more excited state should exist for years but nobody has managed to see it until now.”
Physics: the search for ‘Truth’ and ‘Beauty’!
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 