Gizmorama - Monday, September 3, 2012

Good Morning,

U.S. scientists claim that new research indicates that the screens on your televisions, computers, and cell phones may be interrupting your visit from the sandman. No, don't turn off you computer, read this first.

Learn about this and other interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

Questions? Comments? Email me

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*-- Russia considers hypersonic bomber --*
MOSCOW - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin says his country should consider developing a hypersonic aircraft for its long-range bomber needs. "I think we need to go down the route of hypersonic technology and we are moving in that direction and are not falling behind the Americans," Rogozin said on Russian television. "The question is will we copy the Americans' 40-year experience and create a [Northrop] B-2 analog ... or will we go down a new, ultramodern technology route, looking to the horizon, and create a machine able to penetrate air defenses and carry out a strike on any aggressor," he said. Rogozin's comments came days after the failure of a U.S. hypersonic unmanned test vehicle intended to fly at speeds of about 3,800 mph. The U.S. X-51 Waverider test vehicle failed after a control fin broke up and the aircraft fell into the sea Russian Air Force officials have said they expect a future long-range aircraft design to enter service by around 2020, RIA Novosti reported Monday. Russia's Tupolev design bureau, which designed most of Russia's bombers, is reported to be in charge of the program.


*-- Bright device screens can inhibit sleep --*
TROY, N.Y. - Exposure to devices with self-luminous "backlit" screens causes melatonin suppression that can lead to sleep problems, especially in teens, U.S. scientists say. "Our study shows that a two-hour exposure to light from self-luminous electronic displays can suppress melatonin by about 22 percent," Mariana Figueiro of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., said. "Stimulating the human circadian system to this level may affect sleep in those using the devices prior to bedtime." Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland at night and under conditions of darkness, is a "timing messenger" signaling nighttime information throughout the body, the researchers said. "Technology developments have led to bigger and brighter televisions, computer screens, and cell phones" Rensselaer researcher Brittany Wood said in a Rennsselaer release Monday. "To produce white light, these electronic devices must emit light at short wavelengths, which makes them potential sources for suppressing or delaying the onset of melatonin in the evening, reducing sleep duration and disrupting sleep. "This is particularly worrisome in populations such as young adults and adolescents, who already tend to be night owls."


*-- China proposes largest solar telescope --*
BEIJING - Chinese scientists say they are looking for a site to built the world's largest solar telescope to gather data to help understand solar activities. The proposed $90 million Chinese Giant Solar Telescope, "the next-generation [of] ground-based solar telescopes," will lead the field of solar observation in 20 years, Deng Yuanyong, director of the Huairou Solar Observing Station of the National Astronomical Observatories said. The proposal is for a very large infrared and optical solar telescope, with spatial resolution equivalent to a 26-foot-diameter telescope and light-gathering power equivalent to a 16-foot-diameter full aperture telescope, Deng told China's state-run Xinhua news agency. Currently the world's largest ground-based solar telescope is the 3-foot solar telescope of Sweden, with 5-foot solar telescopes soon to be launched by Germany and the United States. "Although solar physics has made big progress with ground-based and space-borne observations in the past decades, it seems that we do need more efforts," Deng said. The western part of the country, including Tibet Autonomous Region as well as Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, may provide candidates for the site of the proposed telescope with the right geological and weather conditions, scientists said. "The site must stay far away from the hustle and bustle of cities, as well as modern industrialization," Lin Jun, chief scientist of the Chinese Academy of Science's Yunnan Observatory, said.


*-- New device can weigh a single molecule --*
PASADENA, Calif. - An international team including researchers in California says it's made the first-ever mechanical device that can weigh individual molecules one at a time. The new technology could eventually help doctors diagnose diseases, enable biologists to study viruses and probe the molecular machinery of cells and even allow scientists to better measure nanoparticles and air pollution, researchers at the California Institute of Technology who took part in the effort reported. The device, only a couple of microns (millionths of a meter) in size, consists of a tiny, vibrating bridge-like structure. When a particle or molecule lands on the bridge, researchers said, its mass changes the oscillating frequency of the bridge in a manner that reveals how much the particle weighs. "As each particle comes in, we can measure its mass," Caltech physics Professor Michael Roukes said. "Nobody's ever done this before." A description of the technology has been published in the online version of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

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