November 2014

Brass mask used to create spiral laser beam (Stuart Hay, ANU)

Physicists Make a Quantum Whirlpool

November 24, 2014April 3, 2021 Science Connectedphysics, quantum physics

Physicists have made a quantum whirlpool that could lead to building computers that are faster and more powerful than anything most of us can dream of. Imagine changing matter into light and light into matter, and then using that technology to build computers that are faster and more powerful than anything most of us can dream of. That dream is closer to reality thanks to a new discovery that could link electronics with photonics. Physicists have successfully engineered a spiral laser beam that can create a vortex, or quantum whirlpool,…

Biology Health

Tapeworm Removed from Man’s Brain

November 22, 2014September 4, 2015 Science Connectedbiology, genetics, health

Doctors in the UK recently removed a very rare tapeworm from a man’s brain that had been living there for four years. During its residency, the worm traveled five centimeters from one side of the brain to the other before it was detected and removed. Following the successful operation, a team took the opportunity to sequence the genome of this rare and poorly understood parasite. The tapeworm, Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, has been reported only 300 times worldwide since 1953 and never before in the UK. The parasite causes sparganosis: inflammation of…

EH Science: Playing Cards, Boians Cho Joo Young via freedigitalphotos.net.

New Technologies Science and Art

Artificial Intelligence Creates Magic Tricks

November 17, 2014April 3, 2021 Science Connectedengineering, games, new tech, psychology

Researchers working on artificial intelligence (AI) at Queen Mary University of London have taught a computer to create magic tricks, and audiences are enjoying the results. The research team is using magic tricks as a means of exploring what artificial intelligence can do. “Using AI to create magic tricks is a great way to demonstrate the possibilities of computer intelligence and it also forms a part of our research into the psychology of being a spectator,” says team member Peter McOwan, Professor of Computer Science. “For example, we suspected that…

Green wood hoopoe, By DickDaniels, CC, Wikimedia commons

Zoology

Birds Bond After Team Fights

November 13, 2014April 3, 2021 Science Connectedanimal behavior, animals, birds, wildlife

As any fan of Hitchcock knows, birds often work together and, when threatened by rivals, are capable of marshaling their troops to defend resources. Now, researchers from the University of Bristol have found that clashes between rival bird groups have a long-lasting impact on the birds’ behaviour, causing them to bond after team fights. Biologists Dr. Andy Radford and Dr. Tim Fawcett have been studying the social behaviour of green woodhoopoes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Following a territorial conflict with their neighbors, victorious green woodhoopoes will unite at nightfall. Such disputes…

Eye on tech background, jscreationzs via freedigitalphotos.net

Health New Technologies

Artificial Retina Could Someday Restore Vision

November 12, 2014September 4, 2015 Science Connectedhealth, new tech

An international and interdisciplinary team of scientists is working on a compact, artificial retina that could someday be used to restore the eyesight of people with retinal degeneration. The gradual loss of eyesight, often caused by the degeneration of the retina, can be a life-altering health issue for many people, especially as they age. The development of a prosthetic retina, however, could help reverse conditions that affect this crucial part of the eye. A growing number of medical devices capable of sending sensory signals to the brain are now available…

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Comet Flyby Affects Mars Atmosphere

November 10, 2014September 4, 2015 Science Connectedastronomy, space

A comet traveling from the most distant region of our solar system passed amazingly close to Mars on October 19, and three spacecraft were there to observe the effects. If you had been standing on Mars, you would have seen thousands of shooting stars, according to astronomers from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The comet came from the Oort Cloud and passed within about 87,000 miles (139,500 kilometers) of Mars. That’s less than half the distance between Earth and our moon and less than one-tenth the distance of any known…

EH Science: Ankylosaurus_skull, By William Diller Matthew (1871-1930)

Paleontology

Armored Dinosaurs, Elaborate Nasal Passages

November 9, 2014September 4, 2017 Science Connecteddinosaurs, fossils, paleontology

Since paleontologists began using CT scans and 3D reconstructions of dinosaur remains, they have been able to tell us much more about dinosaurs than ever before. Now a new study shows that armor-plated dinosaurs (ankylosaurs) had the capacity to modify the temperature of the air they breathed using nasal passages shaped like “crazy straws.” We know that animals use strategies such as sweating, panting, and swimming to prevent their brains from overheating. However, the ankylosaur appears to have relied upon its long and winding nasal cavity to cool down, using…

A Steppe bison on display at the University of Alaska Museum of the North (Bernt Rostad of Oslo, Norway)

Paleontology

Extinct Bison Found Frozen in Siberia

November 6, 2014August 28, 2023 Science Connectedextinct animals, paleontology

Many large mammals went extinct at the end of the last Ice Age (approx 11,000 years ago), including the Steppe bison, or Bison priscus. A team of scientists has found a complete specimen of this extinct bison frozen and naturally mummified in Eastern Siberia. According to the research team, they have uncovered the most complete frozen mummy of the Steppe bison ever found. The frozen body has been dated to 9,300 years before the present day. It was found in the Yana-Indigirka Lowland and the team performed a necropsy to reveal how…

Telescopes at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii (Ethan Tweedie)

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Bizarre Object at the Center of Milky Way Galaxy

November 4, 2014September 4, 2015 Science Connectedastronomy, milky way galaxy, space, telescopes

For years, astronomers have been puzzled by a bizarre, fuzzy-looking object in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The object was suspected of being a hydrogen gas cloud headed toward our galaxy’s enormous black hole. However, it’s not a gas cloud. It’s something much more awesome. In astronomy circles, the mysterious object is known as G2. It is circling the black hole at the center of our galaxy like a rubber duck circling a bathtub drain. Astronomers have spent years trying to figure out what it is, and a…

An artist's rendition of Erlikosaurus, depicted with feathers (Arthur Weasley)

New Technologies Paleontology

Paleontologists Digitally Restore Dinosaur Fossils

November 4, 2014September 4, 2015 Science Connecteddinosaurs, paleontology

Fossils are usually crushed or incomplete when they are found. Millions of years can take a toll, after all. Consequently, fossils have to be studied very carefully to avoid damage and sometimes they are hard to access. Now, an international team of scientists has found a better way to examine delicate fossils and reconstruct their original forms. The team has been using high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT scanning) and digital visualization techniques to restore a rare dinosaur fossil. They went to work on the skull of Erlikosaurus andrewsi, a 3-4meter…