ScienceMania

Date:April 20, 2017 Source:Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Summary:Scientists have found new ways to detect a bare or naked singularity, the most extreme object in the universe. This finding has possible astrophysical implications. FULL STORY A black hole (on the left) and a naked singularity (on the right). The dashed line represents the event horizon of the black hole, which is absent in the case of a naked singularity, and the arrows represent the direction in which light rays travel. In the case of the black hole, because of the presence of an event horizon, all light rays inside it necessarily end up at the singularity. However, light rays may escape from the vicinity of a naked singularity to a far away observer rendering it visible. A team of scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, India, have found new ways to detect a bare or naked singularity, the most extreme object in the universe. When the fuel of a very massive star is spent, ...

Genetic engineering takes steps towards building superhumans The superpowers of heroes such as Spiderman, Captain America, and the Hulk have become a frequent sight in movies and TV shows, but new technology may mean that you could see them in your day to day life, sometime in the near future. A paper recently released by Stephen Hsu, a professor of theoretical physics at Michigan State University, asserts that by tweaking our genomes, we could make humans drastically smarter. He explained that by modifying gene variants, human intelligence could be increased to 10 times what it is now. The paper has inspired renewed discussion in the academic community around the issue of genetic modification and how it might be used to give people ‘superhuman’ powers. Last week, a man who had been paralyzed for two years walked again following a transplant to his spine. The treatment involved the injection of olfactory ensheathing glial cells (OEGs) into the man’s spine, which were abl...

Substances have the potential to revolutionize electronic and computing devices Date:April 26, 2017 Summary:New two-dimensional quantum materials have been created with breakthrough electrical and magnetic attributes that could make them building blocks of future quantum computers and other advanced electronics. The researchers explored the physics behind the 2-D states of novel materials and determined they could push computers to new heights of speed and power. FULL STORY UCI physicist Jing Xia (right, with graduate student Alex Stern) calls the fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer he built the most sensitive magnetic microscope in the world. He compares it to a telescope that an ornithologist in Irvine could use to inspect the eye of a bird in New York. Physicists at the University of California, Irvine and elsewhere have fabricated new two-dimensional quantum materials with breakthrough electrical and magnetic attributes that could make them building blocks of future quantum comp...

                                                                A stronomy of india   Indian astronomy  has a long history stretching from pre-historic to modern times. Some of the earliest roots of Indian astronomy can be dated to the period of  Indus Valley Civilization  or earlier. Astronomy later developed as a discipline of  Vedanga  or one of the "auxiliary disciplines" associated with the study of the  Vedas , dating 1500 BCE or older. The oldest known text is the  Vedanga Jyotisha , dated to 1400–1200 BCE (with the extant form possibly from 700–600 BCE). As with  other traditions , the original application of astronomy was thus religious. Indian astronomy was influenced by  Greek astronomy  beginning in the 4th century BCE  and through ...