A laser beam can push a nanoscale particle away with the pressure of its photons, but the particle may also be drawn toward the light when other particles are nearby–like the “tractor beams” of science fiction–according to a theory in the June Physical Review B. Full story
Married physicists Samir and Smita Mathur have their differences — especially when it comes to black holes. Full story (PDF)
The world’s biggest physics experiment starts in May 2008. To support it, the world’s biggest computing experiment has already begun. The payoffs could reach far beyond physics. Full story (PDF)
The next generation of electronics may rely on some quirky materials, including a type of silicon that dramatically changes its behavior when exposed to heat or light. One of the physicists at the forefront of this research is David Drabold. His unique way of looking at the world — including his use of a once-obscure statistical technique for predicting material properties — is pushing the development of these “disordered” materials forward. Full Story
A theory predicts when a sieve will block particles smaller than its holes; this research could apply to a variety of natural and artificial filters. Full Story
At the molecular level, life already moves fast. In search of a better anticocaine medication, scientists at the University of Kentucky used computer simulations to create a souped-up version of the human enzyme that breaks down the drug even faster. Full story (PDF)
When Sicily’s Mount Etna erupted in 2001, rivers of super-hot lava scoured the mountainside, leaving channels up to 6 meters deep in their wake. A volcanologist who observed one of those channels has now published results that contradict conventional wisdom about how volcanoes sculpt the earth. Full story (link)
Scientists at University College London are looking beyond the question of how many hurricanes will form during a given season to ask how severe and how damaging the hurricanes that strike the US coast will be. The idea is to help people anticipate hurricane damage and all the effects that follow. In Katrina’s wake, knowing what to expect from a storm season—well in advance of a disaster—is more important than ever before. Full story (PDF)
Today, scientists can predict the Earth’s climate months ahead of time. A new synergy between two competing analysis methods is helping push forecasts out even further. Full story (PDF)
A study of vortices may lead to ultra-maneuverable craft that can navigate beneath the ice, or even inside the human body. Full story (PDF)
For the first time in 11,000 years, the fearsome saber-toothed tiger’s canines will tear into fresh meat—if scientists at the University of Buffalo get their way. Full story (PDF)
As scientists confront an increasingly mysterious universe of mostly dark matter and dark energy, there’s comfort in the discovery that the dark matter, at least, moves in ways that are already familiar. A new theory suggests that dark matter doesn’t hover around galaxies in formless halos as once thought; rather, it clumps together in ways that mirror normal matter. Full story (PDF)
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
The Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey
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Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond |
Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Sof by Scott Rosenberg
Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in by Bill Bass
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