What is New in Science? Some things which are discovered by scientists can be disturbing. Take for example we recently found out something new about death. When we die some genes which are off, turn themselves on. They are being called zombie genes. These are genes which are generally on when we are developing embryos. The scientists found some genes in dead animals they examined after the animal was dead for four days were still turning on or changing. It has been said many of these genes turn on in times of emergency. Scientists have discovered rain drops explode when they fall on powerlines releasing energy. It seems the powerlines are creating a field around themselves and when the water hits the field, bang. The stronger the field the more likely the drop will explode. A formula has been created to determine how much electricity is required to explode a particular rain drop. You are probably saying to yourself who cares about this, but it is important and I will be glad to tell you why. This could be very important for purification of air or water. There are also other fields where this could be useful such as space propulsion and analyzing molecules. Physicists have discovered a way to power spacecraft and it is by using lasers to push the craft which has been modified by etching the spacecraft with a particular pattern. The incredible part of this is the object being propelled is not limited by its distance from the laser or its size according to scientists. This system would also allow the spacecraft to travel faster than ever before. The scientists claim they can now levitate objects using only light. Scientists have created a new material which should be very useful. It is said to be as flexible as rubber, but strong as steel. When I heard about this, the first thing I thought of was an almost indestructible robot. This material could be very useful in many other areas. The material is so strong it is said to be able to stretch to seven times its original length. There is more to this material. It can conduct electricity and regenerate. In some ways the material is said to mimic human skin. It is being said NASA scientists were working with minerals and almost created life. It is being said they did create a reproduction of the ocean floor from four billion years ago. The idea was to understand how the first creatures emerged from the ocean. Amino acid alanine and alpha hydroxy acid lactate were formed which many scientists believe are the building blocks of human life. I find this amazing not only because of what they did, but because I remember seeing an early television program, which was science fiction of course, where this happened and developed into advanced life. I admit what I am about to tell you is beyond my understanding because when we talk about dimensions above the normal four, if we include time, I just can’t picture them or understand how scientists can find them. Having said this, scientists are saying they have discovered our brains process the world in eleven dimensions. They claim our brains are full of multidimensional structures and this is what allows our brains to process data in so many dimensions. An atomic clock is a device for accurately measuring time by using molecules or atoms of substances like cesium. These clocks are the most accurate clocks ever made and the newest ones are so accurate they divide a second into a quadrillion parts, thus allowing the scientists to use this accuracy to measure distortions in space-time. The scientists are saying they can use this tremendous accuracy to detect gravitational waves, test general relativity and search for dark matter. Scientists think they have discovered a human organ they didn’t know existed. They think it might help us understand cancer and other diseases. The scientists believe we have a network of dense connective tissues which are filled with fluid in compartments. They call this the interstitium and this would make it the biggest organ in our body. Money is being poured into experiments to end aging. Before anyone gets too excited, it could be a long time if and when this produces a cure. I say cure because aging is now being treated as a disease. It is felt while aging may never be actually cured, these experiments may provide a way for people to live longer and healthier lives. Climate change has been blamed on humans lately, but scientists who looked into it in 2017 said more frequent and powerful volcanic eruptions have been responsible. I think some of the things we do might contribute, but nature has cycles and even if we didn’t cause any emissions, we would still have warming. For fifty years scientists have been looking for a new form of matter. It seems their quest is over. The scientists have discovered excitonium. The name was selected in the 1960s for the matter which they thought would be discovered. When the article about the matter is read, it sort of contradicts the headline. A scientist said, it was as close to proved as you’re ever going to get in science and you can never prove anything. Chinese scientists have said they found a way for nanoparticles to burn cancer without harming healthy tissue. The particles can raise their temperature hot enough to kill cancer cells and once they reach a certain temperature they cool down again sparing the healthy cells. Space is full of a lot of things and some of those things are cosmic rays. Previously we believed they came from our galaxy. A cosmic ray is a high-energy ray and they continuously strike the earth. Scientists have put forth a new theory concerning cosmic rays which states they come from outside the galaxy. Quantum physics theory is very strange, so strange some scientists think it is all baloney. This is why some scientists are suggesting we forget everything about it and start over. When you hear some of the theories about quantum physics it is no wonder some scientists feel this way. Astronomers are putting a lot of time into studying black holes and it seems they are learning a lot. We have been able to confirm the size of a black hole by measuring the movement of the stars around them. Another method is being put into use and it is aiming a lot of telescopes at a particular black hole at the same time and then piecing the information together to get the size and probably an approximate picture of the black hole.
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