Right here. That’s right. Science news on the cutting edge. Simple enough anyone can understand it, detailed enough you can go find out more. No discipline ignored, no focus unworthy. Just this morning I’ve read:
“A serious threat is posed by the cargo that containers may hold,” says Vinny Schaper, SBIR Program manager. “We have to view the ocean with grave concern, and realize that a maritime attack is not beyond the realm of possibility and if it comes, it will probably involve the use of merchant ships. Eleven million containers a year are brought onto our docks. Interrupt this with a terrorist attack, and the backup would reach around the world.”
Scientists are researching new ways of harnessing the sun’s rays which could eventually make it cheaper for people to use solar energy to power their homes.
A single landmine might cost $1, but once in the ground locating it and making it safe can cost up to $1000. According to P. van Genderen and A.G. Yarovoy in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Delft University of Technology, this cost is prohibitive in most areas affected by landmine use and so a cheaper solution is needed. The researchers also point out that a detection system that does not distinguish between landmines and other buried objects is not viable.
The researchers have successfully superposed light beams, which produces a state that appears to be both on and off at once.
Light beams that are simultaneously on and off are vital for the next-generation super computers which should be faster than current computers based on bits, that are either on or off.
Human immune proteins crucial for fighting cancer, viruses and bacterial infections belong to an ancient and lethal toxin family previously only found in bacteria, Australian researchers have found.
I knew about this one, but I was happy to read more:
University of Minnesota astronomers have found an enormous hole in the Universe, nearly a billion light-years across, empty of both normal matter such as stars, galaxies and gas, as well as the mysterious, unseen “dark matter.” While earlier studies have shown holes, or voids, in the large-scale structure of the Universe, this new discovery dwarfs them all.
Oh yeah. Good stuff. I might just make it my homepage. (and replace LOLcats? Shocking!)