Category archives: Technology

Small Jupiter-like exoplanet viewed directly by Earth-based telescope An exoplanet resembling a young Jupiter has been found by astronomers using an Earth-based telescope, the Gemini Planet Imager in Chile, according to findings published online in Science. The gas giant has been dubbed 51 Eridani b and is about 96 light-years from Earth. “To detect planets […]

Minimizing losses in any kind of electronic device is always important, but it is paramount in nanoelectronics. Still, most of the phenomena that lead to inefficiencies in the operation of these nanodevices are poorly understood. Consider the case of quantum dots. A quantum dot is a nanometric crystalline structure of semiconductor materials. In a quantum […]

Horses have distinct facial expressions much like humans Despite facial structure differences, horses have similar facial expressions to humans and use these expressions as social cues. Using their Equine Facial Action Coding System, researchers found that horses have 17 distinct facial movements as opposed to human faces, which have 27. The Christian Science Monitor Physicists […]

A prolific star-making dwarf galaxy The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a busy dwarf galaxy filled with bright, new stars and making even more. NGC 1140 resides in the constellation Eridanus, about 60 million light-years from Earth. Scientists at the European Space Agency say it can’t keep up its robust star production for long because […]

When two superconducting materials are separated by a very thin (less than 10-8 m or 10 nanometers) layer of an insulating material at very low temperature some peculiar electrical effects can be detected called Josephson effects. If normal conducting metals are separated by such a barrier in that conditions it is possible for a small […]

Windbots for the exploration of gas giants NASA is looking to windbots to possibly explore Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, all gas planets that can’t be explored with a rover like those prowling Mars. NASA is financing research into windbots, which would catch a ride on the chaotic gases and gather information that way. Tech […]

The scientific community, in their different fields and specialties, has made tremendous progress regarding human health and how we deal with all the maladies affecting mankind. Particularly in cancer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning book entitled “The Emperor of All Maladies” summarizes in a marvelous way this notion. However, I am convinced that our struggle against cancer […]

We are all familiar with rust. Rust is an iron oxide, usually red, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture, and it is a clear sign of metal corrosion by oxidation. Oxidation is a ubiquitous phenomenon that proceeds via the electrochemical interaction of ambient oxygen molecules […]

Ancient tooth shows signs of early dentistry One of the first examples of dentistry has been found in an ancient molar. Researchers say the 14,000-year-old tooth had been infected and was partially cleaned using flint tools. It predates any undisputed evidence of dental and cranial surgery, currently represented by dental drillings and cranial trephinations dating […]

The current in a semiconductor consists of two parts: the negatively charged electrons in the conduction band and the positively charged holes in the valence band. Although the number of electrons in the conduction band is equal to the number of holes in the valence band, the two contributions to the current are in general […]