Wednesday 19 August 2015

Flexible dielectric polymer can stand the heat

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Easily manufactured, low cost, lightweight, flexible dielectric polymers that can operate at high temperatures may be the solution

The post Flexible dielectric polymer can stand the heat has been published on Technology Org.

 
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NASAs Saturn V rocket Poster

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


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Saturn V rocket, used for the American manned lunar landing missions

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Detection of gamma rays from a newly discovered dwarf galaxy may point to dark matter

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A newly discovered dwarf galaxy orbiting our own Milky Way has offered up a surprise -- it appears to be radiating gamma rays, according to an analysis by physicists. The exact source of this high-energy light is uncertain at this point, but it just might be a signal of dark matter lurking at the galaxy's center.
via Science Daily
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Mystery of exploding stars yields to astrophysicists

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By combining theory and observation, astrophysicists may have solved one of the ultimate mysteries about stars: what causes Type 1a supernovae, stellar explosions that can outshine whole galaxies. Several of the researchers behind the discovery discuss why understanding the mechanics of these cosmic blasts is so important.
via Science Daily
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America's future dementia epidemic

Science Focus

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2014 was a big year for medicine. An unprecedented Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the release of a report showing an increase in antibiotic resistant diseases worldwide, and a spike in American measles cases from parents opting out of vaccines all made headlines.

Yet researchers studying a quieter but no less deadly disease also had something to say. A team at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging released findings that showed that cases of Alzheimer's disease, the neurological condition that gradually robs the sufferer of their mental abilities, would increase considerably as the American population aged.

The report, which was put together using calculations that took data from a Chicago sample and extrapolated it nationwide using census data, showed that an estimated 1.6 million Americans age 65 or older would die of Alzheimer's by 2050. That would account for 43 percent of older adult deaths in the country. By contrast, 32 percent of older adults deaths were due to the disease in 2010.

It's not that Alzheimer's is somehow becoming more virulent. In fact, some studies indicate that Americans are at less risk of developing the disease today because the rates of heart disease and stroke nationwide are going down. Scientists believe there is a link between cardiovascular health and forms of dementia like Alzheimer's.

Instead, it's demographics that are leading the shift. As the Baby Boomer generation ages, the country will experience what some demographers call "the silver tsunami," as aging Americans fuel a higher demand for services and health care. With that shift also comes an increase in age-related disease, like Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. So while the risk of Alzheimer's might actually be on the decline, the sheer number of older Americans is expected to make the disease a leading cause of death nationwide for decades.

By 2030, 20 percent of the American population will be 65 or older, according to an Alzheimer's Association report. Barring any unforeseen changes in the disease or a cure, that means roughly 13 million older Americans could suffer from Alzheimer's disease by 2050, the association says.

"Age is by far the strongest risk factor for Alzheimer's," said Jennifer Weuve, who led the Rush Institute study. "It will be interesting to see how the aging experience of the Baby Boomer generation will possibly change how we think about Alzheimer's, the way we treat it and the way we manage it."

Researchers are trying hard to stem the tide of dementia in a rapidly aging population. In 2011, President Obama signed an act establishing the National Alzheimer's Project to coordinate federal research into the disease across agencies, with the ultimate goal of an effective treatment by 2025.

With this new attention came renewed funding and global interest, with the G7 group of nations holding a "dementia summit" earlier this year. And cooperation has become central to the push to halt the disease. Federal agencies, universities, hospitals, and drug companies now partner together under an umbrella system organized by the National Institutes of Health to share information and test results, and researchers also share brain scans and other data worldwide.

But Weuve, the Rush Institute study leader, says that even with the hard work being put into research and testing, a workable treatment may still take some time, and that raises tough questions as Americans age.

"We need to face the possibility that there will be a lot of people who develop this condition before we have a cure," she said. "How do we humanely and sanely manage the symptoms of the condition? What is death going to be like? Will we be proud of how we treat Alzheimer's patients?"

 
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 » see original post http://theweek.com/articles/550687/americas-future-dementia-epidemic
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Vote on a message to send to space about what earthlings think of the world

Science Focus

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We're not sure if there's anyone out there to receive them, but we earthlings have been sending messages into space for 40 years now. We've sent radio broadcasts, plaques engraved with pictures, and even a gold-plated record album. So far, we haven't gotten any return messages, but METI (Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) enthusiasts are still coming up with new ways to tackle the two crucial questions raised by this kind of endeavor: How should we send the message? And what should it say?

The first question is technical, concerning the durability of materials, the means of transmission, and the distances to travel. The second is more complicated and far more interesting. A message like this is also a declaration: "This is what we find important. This is who we are."

The Earth Tapestry project aims to create a message that represents a shared, global answer to these questions through an online vote. Pairs of landmarks like Red Square, Machu Picchu, the Lascaux Caves, and others around the world (180 total) are presented along with the questions on eight different parameters: Which is more awe-inspiring? Information-rich? Famous? Noble? Ingenious? Delightful? Durable? Irreplaceable?

The plan is to create a laser engraved disc of a map of the earth along with a legend giving coordinates of these places and what we think about them. It will be sent to the moon on an Astrobotic Technology lander next year.

The director of Earth Tapestry, William Alba of Carnegie Mellon University, says the moon, being "the border between the terrestrial and celestial, between us and the rest of the universe" is a good place to put this information capsule. Not only might extra-terrestrial beings discover it, but humans from the future might as well.

There is also an art installation planned. Alba says they "will continue to take votes over the next year and a half. We plan to fill a space with images of the locations so people can get a sense of what's important to them and people around the world." Earth Tapestry images will be displayed for durations that accord with their rankings in the voting.

There are many other ways to give a sense of what humans find important, of course, but for Alba, landmarks of the world is a good arena for a trial run, to make "a kind of playground or sandbox to think about what do we think is important about ourselves as human beings and how do we decide that together. Place draws people's attention to the globe as a whole. They'll think about where they are and where other people are."

You can cast your vote at earthtapestry.org.

 
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 » see original post http://theweek.com/articles/549449/vote-message-send-space-about-what-earthlings-think-world
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Large Magellanic Cloud Superbubble in Nebula N44 Square Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: envelope sealers, awesome astronomy images, interstellar hydrogen clouds, sbsblmc, star cluster ngc 1929, supernovas, new born stars, n44 nebula, dust clouds, hot young stars, star nursery

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series An awesome photograph from deep space featuring a super bubble in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a small satellite of our Milky Way galaxy around 160000 light years from us.
The massive stars of this nebula produce intense radiation, expelling matter at high speeds, and race through their main stage finally to explode as supernovas. The stellar winds of charged hydrogen and other particles and the supernova shock waves carve out huge cavities called superbubbles in the surrounding gas. Blue shows hot regions created by these winds and shocks, while red shows where the dust and cooler gas are found. Yellow regions show where ultraviolet radiation from hot, young stars is causing gas in the nebula to glow.

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image code: sbsblmc

Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/U.Mich./S.Oey, IR: NASA/JPL, Optical: ESO/WFI/2.2-m

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Sibling stars in a rich star cluster

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Open star clusters like the one seen here are not just perfect subjects for pretty pictures. Most stars form within clusters and these clusters can be used by astronomers as laboratories to study how stars evolve and die.
via Science Daily
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Central Cygnus Skyscape

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Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Stellar Nursery R136 in the Tarantula Nebula Room Stickers

Here's a great wall decal featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: stars, galaxies, astronomy, galaxy, wall decal, dorneblmc, stellar nursery, r136, 30 doradus nebula, massive stars, large magellanic cloud, star cluster, amazing hubble images, tarantula nebula

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series Hundreds of brilliant blue stars wreathed by warm, glowing clouds in appear in this the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus (or Tarantula) Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way.
There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years. The image, taken in ultraviolet, visible, and red light by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, spans about 100 light-years.
The movement of the LMC around the Milky Way may have triggered the massive cluster's formation in several ways. The gravitational tug of the Milky Way and the companion Small Magellanic Cloud may have compressed gas in the LMC. Also, the pressure resulting from the LMC plowing through the Milky Way's halo may have compressed gas in the satellite. The cluster is a rare, nearby example of the many super star clusters that formed in the distant, early universe, when star birth and galaxy interactions were more frequent.
The LMC is located 170,000 light-years away and is a member of the Local Group of Galaxies, which also includes the Milky Way. The Hubble observations were taken Oct. 20-27, 2009. The blue color is light from the hottest, most massive stars; the green from the glow of oxygen; and the red from fluorescing hydrogen.

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Image credit: Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3

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Dwarf galaxies feel the blast from larger neighbours

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Dwarf galaxies are the most abundant galaxies in the universe. Yet understanding how these systems behave in galaxy group environments is still a mystery.

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Hubble Deep Field Image at Full Resolution iPad Air Cases

Here's a great iPad case from Zazzle featuring a Hubble-related design. Maybe you'd like to see your name on it? Click to personalize and see what it's like!


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ESO image: Sibling stars

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Open star clusters like the one seen here are not just perfect subjects for pretty pictures. Most stars form within clusters and these clusters can be used by astronomers as laboratories to study how stars evolve and die. The cluster captured here by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) at ESO's La Silla Observatory is known as IC 4651, and the stars born within it now display a wide variety of characteristics.

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A Better Way To Study Batteries, From The Transformative Materials & Devices Lab

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If lithium-air batteries live up to their promise, we could one day be driving electric cars 500 miles

The post A Better Way To Study Batteries, From The Transformative Materials & Devices Lab has been published on Technology Org.

 
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NASAs Jupiter Swirls Poster

Here's a great poster featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: astronomy, space, nasa, nebula, galaxy, best, unique, original, quality, custom, affordable, photography, gift, popular, science, planet, space exploration, solar system, outer space, deep space, space age, space design, space image, space travel, space shuttle, space telescope, space and time, space race, space center, space time, universe, mystical, laureen, laureenr

This close-up of swirling clouds around Jupiter's Great Red Spot was taken by Voyager 1. It was assembled from three black and white negatives.

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Pillars of Dust, Orion Nebula Rectangular Sticker

Here's a great sheet of stickers featuring a beautiful image from deep space


tagged with: awesome hubble images, cygsb, new star s106ir, constellation cygnus, the swan, glowing hydrogen, interstellar gas clouds, star nurseries, star birth, envelope sealers, star forming activity

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous deep space photogrpah featuring dark pillars of dust doing their best to resist erosion by the intense ultraviolet radiation from the most massive of Orion's stars.

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image code: podoneb

Image credit: NASA, ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

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