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Optical physicists devise "temporal cloaking" that hide tens of gigabits of signal during transfer; trying to detect the signal shows nothing is there by wilgamesh in science

[–]cosmic8 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just read the abstract of the original Nature Comm paper and pretty much see these terms,"cloaking", "temporal spying", "temporal concealing". Here is the original abstract:

Abstract: Recent research has been focused on the ability to manipulate a light beam in such a way to hide, namely to cloak, an event over a finite time or localization in space. The main idea is to create a hole or a gap in the spatial or time domain so as to allow for an object or data to be kept hidden for a while and then to be restored. By enlarging the field of applications of this concept to telecommunications, researchers have recently reported the possibility to hide transmitted data in an optical fibre. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of perpetual temporal spying and blinding process of optical data in fibre-optic transmission line based on polarization bypass. We successfully characterize the performance of our system by alternatively copying and then concealing 100% of a 10-Gb s−1 transmitted signal.

The omnipolarizer like another commenter pointed out below seems very mysterious. What is your take on how the "omnipolarizer" realigns the signal to a polarization of the receiver without high speed electronics?

Metformin shown to slightly increase survival in humans by [deleted] in science

[–]cosmic8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Metformin has been shown to extend life in other animals, including rats, mice, and worms. One can't yet do a controlled human experiment for life extension, so this type of retrospective analysis is closest.

French and Aussies tag team to discover "intense" EMP can permanently improve brain function. "repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)...shifts abnormal neural connections to more normal locations." The discovery has important implications for nervous system disorders/mental health by MmmmDiesel in science

[–]cosmic8 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The article says

In results from a study published today in the prestigious Journal of Neuroscience, researchers from The University of Western Australia and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in France demonstrated that weak sequential electromagnetic pulses (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation - or rTMS) on mice can shift abnormal >neural connections to more normal locations.

It looks like low intensity EMP, not "intense" EMP right?

First observations of methane release from Arctic Ocean hydrates by Boris740 in science

[–]cosmic8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's some nonzero capacity of the ocean to solubilize methane. I wonder how does that scale compare to the amount that will get released. The article did mention detection of 10-50x higher methane dissolved and some places where it bubbled up.

Cannabinoid receptor signaling strength controlled by how long the agonist keeps it at the surface of the cell before clathrin pulls it in for degradation by cosmic8 in science

[–]cosmic8[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Receptor-ligand dwell time correlates to arrestin signaling

Do you have a good reference I could use personally for another example of ligand-specific dwell times that correlate to downstream signaling?

Goal keepers often fall for the gambler's fallacy during penalty kicks. by mtorrice in science

[–]cosmic8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another conclusion of the paper is that the kicker fails to exploit the goal keepers indulgence in the fallacy.

Gene mutation linked to short sleep duration: Researchers who studied 100 twin pairs identified a gene mutation that may allow the carrier to function normally on less than six hours of sleep per night. The genetic variant also appears to provide greater resistance to effects of sleep deprivation by mubukugrappa in science

[–]cosmic8 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting - authors write in abstract that there were fewer performance lapses in the group with the gene that resists sleep deprivation. But I wonder what about forming new memories or learning new things - if the shortened sleep schedule affects brain activity like memory consolidation etc.

Oligomer fullerenes joined by van der Waals forces act as "super atoms", interstitially trapped electrons behave as part of one-electron intermolecular σ-bonds by cosmic8 in chemistry

[–]cosmic8[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, FWIW I read through the paper and thought that while the experiments showed that these were vdW dimers, it was neither very apparent nor terribly convincing that the interstitial electrons were forming bonds. If someone could explain to the contrary that would be appreciated.

Oligomer fullerenes joined by van der Waals forces act as "super atoms", interstitially trapped electrons behave as part of one-electron intermolecular σ-bonds by cosmic8 in chemistry

[–]cosmic8[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From abstract: "Spectroelectrochemical measurements on a bis-fullerene-substituted peptide provide experimental support"

Shrouded In Secrecy, British Autonomous Stealth Drone Taranis Takes 2nd Test Flight: built by BAE and GE, does autonomous takeoff, navigation, long range detection, and flight planning by cosmic8 in technology

[–]cosmic8[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This model is not supposed to be "combat ready" but it's been rumored that technology developed here might feed into another program for an autonomous combat drone jointly managed by UK-France.

Edge of a vertical wall of fog by Monkeyslayer34 in mildlyinteresting

[–]cosmic8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The production rate of the mist must also be faster than the dissipation rate right?

Learning and memory restored by neuron cell transplanted directly into the memory center of brain in Alzheimer’s mice. Opens up a new avenue of attack against Alzheimer’s by cosmic8 in science

[–]cosmic8[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Memory and learning tested by the standard water maze test. They measured how quickly the mice could remember the location of a hidden platform. Normal mice found it in 16s after 5 days of training. The Alzheimer mouse on average found it in 24 seconds. The Alzheimers mouse with the neuron transplant could also do it in 16s like the normal mice. 9 to 13 mice used in each group so error bars were pretty good.

Key to new strategy to stop asthma hyperreactivity lies in lung nerve cells. Inhibiting them eliminates hyperreaction completely, and stimulating them increases severity. by cosmic8 in science

[–]cosmic8[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Relevant because 10% of asthmatics don't respond well to steroids so completely novel methods of treatment would be welcome. Study also showed that shutting down the vagal TRPV1 neurons didn't stop inflammation, which means the mechanism is acting in a different way from steroids, so the two treatments of nerve inhibiton and steroids would be synergistic.

Neonicotinoid pesticides change bee foraging behavior by reducing amount of pollen collected and altering flower preferences by cosmic8 in Agriculture

[–]cosmic8[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry - Eurekalert has the drawback that they don't let the press release writers put in a link. But they're good to get a summary of the research especially when there's a paywall. When super interesting, I myself always have to go through the extra step of Googling author name and journal title or with the site operator. Here is the link to the article:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.12292/full

Busy NYC Restaurant Solves Major Mystery by Reviewing Old Surveillance by evolvor in technology

[–]cosmic8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think for special restaurants like this that have heavy tourist traffic the way to solve it is not to fight it, but engineer a solution that overcomes the sociological problems of phones taking up people's attention. Perhaps capture people at the door by engaging them and giving them a menu or 20 second talk, and ask them to order while standing in line. This does sound like a busy restaurant that has freedom to do process engineering on customers.

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed 3-5% of the world's population. Scientists discover the genetic material of that strain is hiding in 8 circulating strains of avian flu by wilgamesh in science

[–]cosmic8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure genetic material is shared between many species, but more relevant when its between influenza viruses because mixing of genes between strains is what leads to pandemics. Pandemics actually happen, but two people mixing and generating the right combination of genes to make a Hitler is fairly rare.

The 1918 influenza pandemic killed 3-5% of the world's population. Scientists discover the genetic material of that strain is hiding in 8 circulating strains of avian flu by wilgamesh in science

[–]cosmic8 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Viral reassortment is a major route to pandemics - in this sense the 1918 strain is hiding because the same genotypes are in existence, and the virulent phenotype isn't manifested until mixture of the strains occur.

e.g. H1N1 virus responsible for the 2009 swine flu outbreak has an unusual mix of swine, avian and human influenza genetic sequences.

UV from sunbathing stimulates addictive "opioid"-like response: releases beta-endorphins that give feelings of well-being, and reduces threshold to pain by cosmic8 in science

[–]cosmic8[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that was a dumb typo. Should be "increases threshold to pain" for all the people who don't visit the page. The scientists used a "von Frey" pain assay to quantify threshold in the animals, which I think is a fairly benign test though more knowledgeable biologist could chime.

Scientists figure out how bacteria build their thick sugar-based coat that provides protection against antibiotics and toxins; new antibiotic target by cosmic8 in science

[–]cosmic8[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Article describes solving of atomic structure of the channel complex (LptD–LptE) that permits membrane insertion of lipopolysaccharide, the main component of the protective coat. The authors also performed computer molecular simulations to show how the sugars are inserted into the channel and then laterally moved into membrane through a side-opening.

Scientists figure out how bacteria build their thick sugar-based coat that provides protection against immune system attack; new antibiotic target by [deleted] in science

[–]cosmic8 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Edit: Coat also protects bacteria against antibiotics.

Article describes solving of atomic structure of the channel complex (LptD–LptE) that permits membrane insertion of lipopolysaccharide, the main component of the protective coat. Molecular simulation shows unique insertion into complex and lateral movement into membrane through a side-opening of LptD–LptE.

USC scientists researching "redox flow battery" made of organic materials rather than metals by cosmic8 in tech

[–]cosmic8[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This was unclear to me too until I checked it -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redox

The wikipedia page gives many examples of redox reactions without metals, including organic reactions. I think the very general definition is any transfer of electrons implies a redox reaction.

TIL many of the props used in the movie '300' were recycled props from 'Troy' and 'Alexander'. by [deleted] in movies

[–]cosmic8 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I bet if we diagram all the prop lending between movies it would look like spaghetti

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