Science & TechnologyS


Magnet

Japan's Mt. Fuji had possible simultaneous eruptions in past says researchers


The Mainichi
Sun, 14 May 2017 22:52 UTC
Instrument measuring geomagnetism at Mt. Fuju
© Akira BabaAn instrument that measures geomagnetism is seen embedded in lava near Mount Fuji.
Mount Fuji may have erupted twice in close succession roughly a thousand years ago, according to a team of researchers at the Yamanashi Prefectural Government Mount Fuji Research Institute who used a geomagnetic dating technique.

Previous research using various methods has revealed that Mount Fuji has erupted 42 times over the last 2,200 years. It appears that there are stretches of time where the volcano erupted every few decades. However, even with estimates using data from sources such as ancient documents and geological surveys, there are still many eruptions that have yet to be dated.

Akira Baba from the Yamanashi research institute and his colleagues collected samples from lava flows at 380 locations around the foot of Mount Fuji, and analyzed the magnetic iron ore in the rock for the first time. When the ore is heated to high temperatures and then cooled, it records the geomagnetic strength and direction of the Earth's magnetic field at that particular time. Lava is heated to roughly 1,000 degrees Celsius during an eruption before cooling, so the scientists can examine the geomagnetic data documented in the ore to estimate when a given eruption occurred.
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Blue Planet

Scientists say dinosaurs would've survived if the asteroid struck just seconds later

Liz Dunphy
Daily Mail
Sun, 14 May 2017 15:28 UTC
T-rex
Tyrannosaurus Rex dominated earth before an asteroid hit and vaporised sulfur-rich rock which catapulted a light-reflecting cloud into the atmosphere and blocked the suns rays.


If the asteroid that ultimately wiped out dinosaurs had hit the earth seconds earlier or later they may have survived - and left little opportunity for mammal and human life to thrive.

Scientists have studied the site where the asteroid hit approximately 66 million years ago in the Gulf of Mexico.

This chance encounter between an asteroid and a patch of sulfur-rich rock plunged the earth into a global winter as the vaporised sulfur cloud reflected sunlight away from the earth causing dramatic cooling, dwindling food sources and ultimately leading to the death of dinosaurs.

The asteroid's impact was so huge that the blast led to the extermination of three quarters of all life on Earth, including most of the dinosaurs.

But this chance event allowed smaller mammals - and ultimately humans - the chance to thrive.

Had the asteroid crashed seconds earlier or later it would have hit the ocean, potentially causing much less vaporisation which may have allowed the dinosaurs to survive, scientists now believe.
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Eye 1

Cybersecurity researcher sidelines a global malware attack using a $10.69 domain name

Rick Noack
Washington Post
Sat, 13 May 2017 15:04 UTC
NSA headquarters
© Jim Lo Scalzo/European Pressphoto AgencyNational Security Administration headquarters in Fort Meade, Md.
As the world began Friday to understand the dimensions of Wanna Decryptor 2.0, the ransomware that has crippled computers worldwide, a vacationing British cybersecurity researcher was already several steps ahead.

About 3 p.m. Eastern time, the specialist with U.S. cybersecurity enterprise Kryptos Logic bought an unusually long and nonsensical domain name ending with "gwea.com." The 22-year-old says he paid $10.69, but his purchase might have saved companies and governmental institutions around the world billions of dollars.

By purchasing the domain name and registering a website, the cybersecurity researcher claims that he activated a kill switch. It immediately slowed the spread of the malware and could ultimately stop its current version, cybersecurity experts said Saturday. Britain's National Cyber Security Center confirmed Saturday that it was collaborating with the 22-year-old and other private researchers to stop the malware from spreading.
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Radar

Russia's 'Penicillin' reconnaissance system detects artillery fire in five seconds flat


Sputnik
Sun, 14 May 2017 13:18 UTC
Russian 'Penicillin' automated artillery reconnaissance system
© YouTube/RussianArmsRussian 'Penicillin' automated artillery reconnaissance system.
This week, Ruselectronics, the company behind the 'Penicillin' automated artillery reconnaissance system, announced that the advanced new system would go into production in less than two years' time, with state trials expected to wrap up soon. 'Penicillin' is able to pinpoint the location of enemy artillery less than five seconds after firing.

In a press release published Thursday, Ruselectronics, a subsidiary of Russia's Rostec state-owned technology corporation, confirmed that mass production of the new artillery reconnaissance system would begin in early 2019. The St. Petersburg-based Vector Research Institute, part of Ruselectronics, is tasked with developing the system.

Relying on a combination of visible and infrared imaging, along with acoustic and seismic signals, 'Penicillin' can detect the firing positions of enemy artillery, mortars, MLRS (multiple launch rocket systems), anti-aircraft and tactical missiles, and adjust friendly artillery suppression fire accordingly.
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Saturn

'Feathery' gas clouds swirl over Saturn's moon Titan


RT
Sun, 14 May 2017 13:06 UTC
Cassini spacecraft over Saturn
© NASA
NASA has released enhanced imagery of Saturn's largest moon, showing methane gas clouds swirling over Titan's lakes and seas.

As the US space agency's 20-year mission to explore the secrets of Saturn nears its end, the Cassini spacecraft has been in its final orbit of the planet and Titan. One day on the moon lasts the equivalent of 16 Earth days.

The latest photos beamed back to Earth by Cassini provide a glimpse into the turbulent, gaseous environment on Titan.
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Microscope 2

Physicists have ability to control charged molecules with quantum logic

NIST
Science Daily
Wed, 10 May 2017 00:00 UTC
Quantum control
© Hanacek/NISTThis is an infographic of NIST technique for quantum control of molecules.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physicists have solved the seemingly intractable puzzle of how to control the quantum properties of individual charged molecules, or molecular ions. The solution is to use the same kind of "quantum logic" that drives an experimental NIST atomic clock.

The new technique achieves an elusive goal, controlling molecules as effectively as laser cooling and other techniques can control atoms. Quantum control of atoms has revolutionized atomic physics, leading to applications such as atomic clocks. But laser cooling and control of molecules is extremely challenging because they are much more complex than atoms.

The NIST technique still uses a laser, but only to gently probe the molecule; its quantum state is detected indirectly. This type of control of molecular ions -- several atoms bound together and carrying an electrical charge -- could lead to more sophisticated architectures for quantum information processing, amplify signals in basic physics research such as measuring the "roundness" of the electron's shape, and boost control of chemical reactions.
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Mars

Ancient Mars impacts created tornado-like winds that scoured surface


Science Daily
Sat, 13 May 2017 19:42 UTC
An infrared image reveals strange bright streaks extending from Santa Fe crater on Mars
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State UniversityAn infrared image reveals strange bright streaks extending from Santa Fe crater on Mars. Researchers suggest the streaks were caused by tornado-force winds created by the impact that formed the crater
In looking at NASA images of Mars a few years ago, Brown University geologist Peter Schultz noticed sets of strange bright streaks emanating from a few large-impact craters on the planet's surface. The streaks are odd in that they extend much farther from the craters than normal ejecta patterns, and they are only visible in thermal infrared images taken during the Martian night.

Using geological observation, laboratory impact experiments and computer modeling, Schultz and Brown graduate student Stephanie Quintana have offered a new explanation for how those streaks were formed. They show that tornado-like wind vortices -- generated by crater-forming impacts and swirling at 500 miles per hour or more -- scoured the surface and blasted away dust and small rocks to expose the blockier surfaces beneath.

"This would be like an F8 tornado sweeping across the surface," Schultz said. "These are winds on Mars that will never be seen again unless another impact."

The research is published online in the journal Icarus.
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Books

How learning to read changes your brain

Nicola Bell
The Conversation
Wed, 10 May 2017 16:54 UTC
reading
Right now, you are reading these words without much thought or conscious effort. In lightning-fast bursts, your eyes are darting from left to right across your screen, somehow making meaning from what would otherwise be a series of black squiggles.

Reading for you is not just easy - it's automatic. Looking at a word and not reading it is almost impossible, because the cogs of written language processing are set in motion as soon as skilled readers see print.

And yet, as tempting as it is to think of reading as hard-wired into us, don't be fooled. Learning to read is not easy. It's not even natural.

The first examples of written language date back to about 5,000 years ago, which is a small fraction of the 60,000 years or more that humans have spent using spoken language.

This means our species hasn't had enough time to evolve brain networks that predispose us to learn literacy. It is only through years of practice and instruction that we have forged those connections for ourselves.

Comment: What happens to your brain while reading?

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Nebula

Stephen Hawking among 33 scientists on offensive against critics of popular universe origin inflation theory


RT
Sat, 13 May 2017 13:12 UTC
space picture
© NASA
Thirty-three of the world's most respected scientists, including renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, have signed an open letter responding to a controversial article that branded popular views on the origins of the universe unscientific.

The letter was published in response to an article in the February issue of the magazine Scientific American, in which three physicists criticized the popular inflation theory.

The idea is that the universe started expanding exponentially after the Big Bang, with quantum fluctuations translating into stars and galaxies. First proposed in the 1980s, it is now taught as standard in most schools and universities, and is being explored through several related competing models.
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Chalkboard

Ransomware virus infests 75,000 computers across 99 countries


RT
Fri, 12 May 2017 21:43 UTC
Ransomware map
© intel.malwaretech.com
A ransomware virus is spreading aggressively around the globe, with over 75,000 computers in 99 countries having been targeted, according to the latest data. The virus infects computer files and then demands bitcoins to unblock them.

An increase in activity of the malware was noticed starting from 8am CET (07:00 GMT) Friday, security software company Avast reported, adding that it "quickly escalated into a massive spreading." In a matter of hours, over 75,000 attacks have been detected worldwide, the company said.

Dozens of countries around the globe have been affected, with the number of victims still growing, according to the Russian multinational cybersecurity and anti-virus provider, the Kaspersky Lab.

The ransomware, known as WanaCrypt0r 2.0, or WannaCry, is believed to have infected National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK and Spain's biggest national telecommunications firm, Telefonica.

Comment: Also read: Hackers use NSA tools in world cyber attack affecting over 50,000 computers

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