Author archives: César Tomé

MI weekly selection #496

MI weekly selection #496

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Over two-thirds of world’s glaciers will melt by 2100 More than two-thirds of the world’s glaciers will disappear by 2100 if the climate continues to warm at current trends. The global temperature is on track to rise 2.7 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, but scientists note that if future […]

The dawn of the quantum network: quantum interference over 300 km of optical fiber

The dawn of the quantum network: quantum interference over 300 km of optical fiber

Computer scienceCondensed matterPhysicsQuantum physics

By César Tomé

Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics celebrated the fundamental interest of quantum entanglement, and also envisioned the potential applications in “the second quantum revolution” — a new age when we are able to manipulate the weirdness of quantum mechanics, including quantum superposition and entanglement. A large-scale and fully functional quantum network is the holy grail […]

MI weekly selection #495

MI weekly selection #495

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Bering Land Bridge formed surprisingly late during last ice age A new study shows that the Bering Land Bridge, the strip of land that once connected Asia to Alaska, emerged far later during the last ice age than previously thought. Full Story: Princeton University Exotic clasts in Chang’e-5 samples indicate unexplored terrane on moon The […]

MI weekly selection #494

MI weekly selection #494

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

NASA ends Mars InSight lander mission after 4 years NASA has officially concluded its InSight lander mission on Mars after the spacecraft’s solar panels accumulated too much dust and has stopped transmitting information on the planet’s geologic makeup and activity. After an “enormously successful mission,” InSight is “going to sit on Mars and enjoy the […]

Machine learning to understand water’s liquid phases

Machine learning to understand water’s liquid phases

ChemistryComputer scienceCondensed matterMaterialsPhysics

By César Tomé

Water has puzzled scientists for decades. For the last 30 years or so, they have theorized that when cooled down to a very low temperature like -100 ºC, water might be able to separate into two liquid phases of different densities. Like oil and water, these phases don’t mix and may help explain some of […]

MI weekly selection #493

MI weekly selection #493

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Astronomers identify 2 planets as possible water worlds Using data from the Kepler, Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, astronomers have identified two exoplanets orbiting a red-dwarf star 218 light-years away suspected of being made mostly of water. “It is the first time we observe planets that can be confidently identified as water worlds, a type […]

Cyanobacteria could help colonize the moon and Mars

Cyanobacteria could help colonize the moon and Mars

GeosciencesMicrobiology

By César Tomé

The biochemical process by which cyanobacteria acquire nutrients from rocks in Chile’s Atacama Desert has inspired engineers to think of new ways microbes might help humans build colonies on the moon and Mars. Researchers used high-resolution electron microscopy and advanced spectroscopic imaging techniques to gain a precise understanding of how microorganisms modify both naturally occurring […]

MI weekly selection #492

MI weekly selection #492

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Radioactive meteorites could have brought life to Earth The gamma rays produced by carbonaceous chondrites, radioactive meteorites that contain water and organic compounds, could have been sufficient to spark the chemical reactions that created amino acids, the building blocks of life on Earth, researchers have concluded. The study is based on observations from bombarding chemicals […]