MI weekly selection #22
Pear-shaped nuclei in some atoms may help explain antimatter
Researchers have used a particle accelerator called REX-ISOLDE at CERN in Switzerland to discover an atom with pear-shaped nuclei. The discovery could lead scientists to extend the Standard Model in physics […]
Raw Science: Detected positively
There are few cases in the history of physics in which a particle, theoretically predicted, has been detected repeatedly and not identified as such. This is what happened to the positron.
Paul Dirac showed in 1928 that it could be […]
On bees, antennae and (electrical) flower power
Bees visit flowers to obtain nectar (a sugary liquid) and pollen (their source of fat and protein). During foraging trips, bees do not choose flowers at random. For example, as first pointed out by Aristotle, bees visit only one […]
Always look on the light side of graphs
Consider a set of distinct points in the plane, no three of them on the same line. Draw straight-line segments joining pairs of those points. This is called a geometric graph and here we are going to focus on […]
Habitability of alien worlds: hype or reality?
There are some science news that appear recursively in the media. Just to stick to my field of knowledge we could point to Mars’ water and habitability of extra solar planets. It is certainly great to have people reading about […]
Satellite based quantum cryptography
Cryptography is, beyond any doubt, an important technology. Keeping the privacy of communications has many applications in modern societies. For instance, being able to send a message, as your credit card number, with the confidence that no one will understand […]
MI weekly selection #21
Jamestown settlers turned to cannibalism to survive, bones show
The scarred skull of a 14-year-old girl reveals that English settlers in Jamestown, Va., may have engaged in cannibalism to survive. A brutal winter in 1609 brought a food shortage, killing […]
Legos and motivation
At my workplace, we received recently a survey to measure our engagement at work. We were asked to evaluate different aspects of our daily job, such as the work atmosphere, productivity, performance…, and each question would accumulate points for our […]
Cellulose conversion to starch, a promising strategy for future global food demand
Carbohydrates are molecules composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. They are formed of at least three atoms of carbon. Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates and they cannot be hydrolyzed to smaller carbohydrates. Among the monosccharides we find glucose or fructoses […]
Can 3D printing mark a turning point in tissue engineering?
Nowadays we are getting more and more accustomed to making use of new technologies shortly after they have been developed. We like the idea of immediacy and our wishes coincide well with the commercial interests of industry. Nevertheless, there is […]