Lifeboat Foundation

Physicists have come up with a new model that they say solves five of the biggest unanswered questions in modern physics, explaining the weirdness of dark matter, neutrino oscillations, baryogenesis, cosmic inflation, and the strong CP problem all at once.

The new model, called SMASH, proposes that we only need six new particles to reconcile all of these gaps in the standard model of physics, and the team behind it says it won’t be that hard to test.

The model has been developed by a team of French and German physicists, and they say it doesn’t require any major tweaks to the standard model — just a few new additions.

Continue reading “This New Hypothesis Claims to Solve 5 of the Biggest Problems in Physics” »

In a study led by the University of Leeds, scientists have solved one of the most challenging and long-standing problems in atmospheric science: to understand how particles are formed in the atmosphere.

The research paper, published online today in the journal Science, details the first computer simulation of atmospheric particle formation that is based entirely on experimental data. The research was made possible thanks to a sophisticated laboratory called CLOUD, based within the research facility CERN in Switzerland.

The lead scientist on the study, Professor Ken Carslaw from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds said: “This is a major milestone in our understanding of the atmosphere. The CERN experiment is unique, and it has produced data that seemed completely out of reach just five years ago.”

In Brief:

• Using an advanced supercomputer, scientists came up with a profile for dark matter, concluding that it may be made of axions of a specific type.
• With this new information, the race is on to be the first to prove the existence of dark matter particles.

Understanding what dark matter is has proven to be amazingly difficult. Of course, one might expect this from a thing that is, for all intents and purposes, entirely invisible. Scientists have come to the conclusion that dark matter exists by observing the way gravity behaves—either our model of gravity is in need of an update, or dark matter exists. The latter is the most likely conclusion.

Computronium is defined by some as a substance which approaches the theoretical limit of computational power that we can achieve through engineering of the matter around us. It would mean that every atom of a piece of matter would be put to useful work doing computation. Such a system would reside at the ultimate limits of efficiency, and the smallest amount of energy possible would be wasted through the generation of heat. Computronium crops up in science fiction a lot, usually as something that advanced civilizations have created, occasionally causing conflicts due to intensive harvesting of matter from their galaxy to further their processing power. The idea is also also linked with advanced machine intelligence: A block of matter which does nothing other than compute could presumably would be incredibly sought after by any artificial intelligence looking to get the most compact and powerful brain for its money!

It sounds like a plot from a comic book or a sci-fi film, a theory that got a boost when one of the greatest discoveries in physics in the modern era, the discovery of the “God particle,” or the Higgs boson, the missing piece in the Standard Model of particle physics. In the preface to his book Starmus, Stephen Hawking warns that the Higgs Boson field could collapse, resulting in a chain reaction that would take in the whole universe with it.

Theoretical physicist Joseph Lykken says it would probably take billions of years before we reach that point. Lykken hails from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. If it did happen though, you wouldn’t know it. One instant you are here, the next, you and everything else is swallowed up by an enormous vacuum bubble, traveling at light speed in every direction. Humanity would never see it coming.

Continue reading “Physicists Accidently Discover a Self-Destruct Button for the Entire Universe” »

As atoms in our bodies were made in stars millions of years ago, it’s been common to propose that we are, in fact, made of stars. Now comes news of another mind-blowing cosmic relationship as physicists conclude that human cells and neutron stars share structural similarities, which look like multi-story parking garages.

Neutron stars are quite strange space objects. They come to life as a result of supernova explosions of massive stars and are incredibly dense. While they are the smallest stars, they can pack as much mass as two Suns into a star with the radius of just 10 kilometers.

Continue reading “Humans and Supernova-Born Neutron Stars Have Similar Structures, Discover Scientists” »

Nanoparticles are particles that are smaller than 100 nanometers. They are typically obtained from metals and, because of their tiny size, have unique properties that make them useful for biomedical applications. However, without treatment to make their surfaces biologically inert, their effectiveness is severely limited. Researchers led by Kazuhiko Ishihara at the University of Tokyo have pioneered the use of MPC polymers to modify the surfaces of nanoparticles. In a recent article published in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, they reviewed current ways in which polymeric nanoparticles can be used to transport a type of small nanoparticles called quantum dots into cells.

Cells can uptake polymer nanoparticles embedding quantum dots covered with cytocompatible phospholipid polymer and cell-penetrating peptides. © 2016 Kazuhiko Ishihara, Weixin Chen, Yihua Liu, Yuriko Tsukamoto and Yuuki Inoue.

MPC polymers are large molecules made from chains of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC). Bioactive nanoparticles whose surfaces have been modified with them can be used as anti-tumor compounds, gene carriers, contrast agents that improve MRI images, and protein detectors. MPC polymers mimic cellular membranes and allow the delivery of bioactive molecules that are normally not very soluble in water or that might produce unwanted biological side effects. When scientists attach MPC polymers to the surface of inorganic nanoparticles, they can make substances that are easily delivered into the blood or other tissue.

Continue reading “Researchers explore how polymeric nanoparticles can be used to transport quantum dots into cells” »

We now know the mass of an axion, which means we might be able to prove dark matter does indeed exist.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Kolkata, India, have for the first time implemented a bio-waste-derived electrode as cathode in a quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell.

“The materials to be used as cathode in quantum dot solar cells need to be highly catalytic and electrically conducting to facilitate the electron transfer processes,” explains Professor Sayan Bhattacharyya from the Department of Chemical Sciences at IISER. He adds that the lamellar structure of human hair is likely responsible for the graphene-like sheets in the transformed graphitic porous carbon. “Secondly,” he continues, “since hair contains keratin and other amino acids, carbonizing the acid-digested hair under inert conditions likely retains the nitrogen and sulphur hetero-atoms, which are useful to enhance the catalytic propensity of the produced carbon.”

As the professor explains, the idea behind this research project was to use a bio-waste resource like hair in future energy technologies to achieve a win-win situation — i.e., “A smart way to address environmental concerns and also to produce cheaper devices.”

Continue reading “Solar Cell Cathodes Made from Human Hair” »