March 19, 2012

Good Morning,

Looks like you guys got a dose of Random Facts by accident! However, as advocates of science, we should appreciate a little Biology info.

In this issue, the first article looks at revolutionary new process of sending wireless messages. Check out the details on this exciting development.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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'Wireless' message sent using neutrinos

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 14 (UPI) -- A wireless message has been sent using a beam of neutrinos, nearly massless particles that travel at near the speed of light, U.S. researchers say. The message -- sent by a group of scientists led by researchers from the University of Rochester and North Carolina State University on a beam of neutrinos 00 traveled through nearly 800 feet of stone and said simply, "Neutrino." Possible uses of neutrinos in communication has long attracted interest because of one particularly valuable property -- neutrinos can penetrate almost anything they encounter. "Using neutrinos, it would be possible to communicate between any two points on Earth without using satellites or cables," Dan Stancil, professor of electrical and computer engineering at N.C. State, said. "Neutrino communication systems would be much more complicated than today's systems, but may have important strategic uses." Submarines, for instance, could communicate over long distances through water, which is difficult if not impossible with present technology. And communicating with someone on the far side of a moon or a planet would be easy, as the message could travel straight through without impediment, researchers said. Scientists demonstrated neutrino message using one of the world's most powerful particle accelerators at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab outside of Chicago, the University of Rochester announced Wednesday. "Of course, our current technology takes massive amounts of high-tech equipment to communicate a message using neutrinos, so this isn't practical now," University of Rochester physics professor Kevin McFarland said. "But the first step toward someday using neutrinos for communication in a practical application is a demonstration using today's technology."


'Feeding habits' of galaxies observed

GARCHING, Germany, March 14 (UPI) -- European astronomers say new observations of young galaxies' so-called feeding habits show they go from consuming interstellar gas to eating other galaxies. During their "teenage" years -- the period from about 3 billion to 5 billion years after the big bang -- galaxies start by taking in a smooth flow of gas as the preferred snack, but later they mostly grow by cannibalizing other smaller galaxies, the researchers said. By employing state-of-the-art instruments at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, astronomers made 100 hours of observations of gas-rich galaxies at the early stage of their development. "Two different ways of growing galaxies are competing: violent merging events when larger galaxies eat smaller ones, or a smoother and continuous flow of gas onto galaxies," research leader Thierry Contini said in a release from ESO's headquarters in Germany. "Both can lead to lots of new stars being created." Smooth gas flow seems to have been a big factor in the building of galaxies in the very young universe, the researchers said, whereas mergers became more important later. The observations also provided some new mysteries, they said. "For me, the biggest surprise was the discovery of many galaxies with no rotation of their gas," Benoit Epinat, another member of the research team, said. "Such galaxies are not observed in the nearby Universe. None of the current theories predict these objects."


Russia to build space warning system

MOSCOW, March 14 (UPI) -- Russia says it will spend $2.1 million to create an automatic warning system to prevent collisions between spaceships, satellites and orbital debris. Russian space agency Roscosmos said Wednesday the system will monitor objects in orbit and warn of potentially dangerous situations -- such as when spaceships, satellites and their waste come too close to each other, or when an object re-enters Earth's atmosphere uncontrolled, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. The telescope-based system will be capable of monitoring 30 space vehicles and raising an alarm at least 30 hours before the situation becomes dangerous, Roscosmos said. The decision to build the early warning system comes after a Phobos-Grunt mission failed in January due to faulty propulsion units and fell back to Earth, crashing into the Pacific Ocean. "The latest event confirmed the necessity of developing the means and capabilities to clean up near-Earth space and the danger from artificial objects," Roscosmos said.


Robots in record-distance ocean swim

HONOLULU, March 15 (UPI) -- Four wave-powered robots have set a record by swimming more than 3,200 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean, their U.S.-based developer said. Built by Liquid Robotics, the PacX Wave Gliders are taking part in a project to gather data about the composition and quality of seawater. The first leg of their transoceanic swim from San Francisco to Hawaii took four months and they are expected to cover 9,000 nautical miles by their journey's end. They were launched in San Francisco harbor Nov. 17, 2011. The robots consist of a floating upper part, shaped like a surfboard, connected by a cable to a lower assemble that has fins and a keel. They have no fuel or engine, instead converting energy from the movement of ocean waves into forward motion. Solar panels installed on the upper surface of the power sensors that take readings every 10 minutes of the surrounding seawater. "I have no doubt new ocean discoveries, insights, and applications will emerge from the PacX data set," Edward Lu, chief of innovative applications at Liquid Robotics, told the BBC. After a short stopover in Hawaii, the robots will split up, with two going on to Japan and two to Australia, crossing the equator.

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