Science X Newsletter Week 10

Phys.org Newsletter for week 10:

	The first ever photograph of light as both a particle and wave (Phys.org)—Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists at EPFL have succeeded in capturing the first-ever snapshot of this dual behavior.
	Laser weapon system stops truck in field test Lockheed Martin's 30-kilowatt fiber laser weapon system successfully disabled the engine of a small truck during a recent field test, demonstrating the rapidly evolving precision capability to protect military forces and critical infrastructure.
	Researchers develop the first-ever quantum device that detects and corrects its own errors When scientists develop a full quantum computer, the world of computing will undergo a revolution of sophistication, speed and energy efficiency that will make even our beefiest conventional machines seem like Stone Age clunkers by comparison.
	Buckybomb shows potential power of nanoscale explosives (Phys.org)—Scientists have simulated the explosion of a modified buckminsterfullerene molecule (C60), better known as a buckyball, and shown that the reaction produces a tremendous increase in temperature and pressure within a fraction of a second. The nanoscale explosive, which the scientists nickname a "buckybomb," belongs to the emerging field of high-energy nanomaterials that could have a variety of military and industrial applications.
	Na-ion batteries get closer to replacing Li-ion batteries (Phys.org)—As lithium resources continue to decline worldwide, the next generation of portable electronics will most likely be powered by something other than Li-ion batteries. One potential candidate is the sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery, which stands out because sodium is cheaper, non-toxic, and more abundant than lithium.
	The dark side of cosmology It's a beautiful theory: the standard model of cosmology describes the universe using just six parameters. But it is also strange. The model predicts that dark matter and dark energy – two mysterious entities that have never been detected—make up 95% of the universe, leaving only 5% composed of the ordinary matter so essential to our existence.
	Breakthrough in energy harvesting could power life on Mars Martian colonists could use an innovative new technique to harvest energy from carbon dioxide thanks to research pioneered at Northumbria University, Newcastle.
	Breakthrough in OLED technology Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are made from carbon-containing materials, have the potential to revolutionize future display technologies, making low-power displays so thin they'll wrap or fold around other structures, for instance.
	Theorist suggests a way to test gravitational Casimir attraction (Phys.org)—James Quach, a research fellow at Tokyo University is suggesting that it might be possible to observe a gravitational Casimir attraction by carrying out an experiment he has envisioned. In his paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, he suggests that it might be possible to detect such an attraction using two mirrors that are able to reflect gravitational waves.
	When temperature goes quantum A UA-led collaboration of physicists and chemists has discovered that temperature behaves in strange and unexpected ways in graphene, a material that has scientists sizzling with excitement about its potential for new technological devices ranging from computing to medicine.
	Grand tree of life study shows a clock-like trend in new species emergence and diversity Temple University researchers have assembled the largest and most accurate tree of life calibrated to time, and surprisingly, it reveals that life has been expanding at a constant rate.
	Higgs particle can disintegrate into particles of dark matter, according to new model The 'Standard Model' of particle physics successfully describes the smallest constituents of matter. But the model has its limitations – it does not explain the dark matter of the universe. Christoffer Petersson, a research scientist at Chalmers University of Technology, has found a solution. His theories are now being tested at the particle physics laboratory CERN.
	Severe changes in world's leaf growth patterns over past several decades revealed Extensive worldwide changes in the timing of leaf activity over the past few decades—which may have significant ecological and atmospheric consequences—have been revealed by a University of Otago, New Zealand research team analyzing satellite data from 1980 - 2012.
	Radical vaccine design effective against herpes viruses Herpes simplex virus infections are an enormous global health problem and there is currently no viable vaccine. For nearly three decades, immunologists' efforts to develop a herpes vaccine have centered on exploiting a single protein found on the virus's outer surface that is known to elicit robust production of antibodies. Breaking from this approach, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have created a genetic mutant lacking that protein. The result is a powerfully effective vaccine against herpes viruses.
	Giant methane storms on Uranus Most of the times we have looked at Uranus, it has seemed to be a relatively calm place. Well, yes its atmosphere is the coldest place in the solar system. But, when we picture the seventh planet in our solar system invariably the image of a calming blue hazy disc that the spacecraft Voyager 2 took in 1986 comes to mind.
	Researchers discover new material to produce clean energy Researchers at the University of Houston have created a new thermoelectric material, intended to generate electric power from waste heat - from a vehicle tailpipe, for example, or an industrial smokestack - with greater efficiency and higher output power than currently available materials.
	New material captures carbon dioxide with high capacity A new provisionally patented technology from a New Mexico State University researcher could revolutionize carbon dioxide capture and have a significant impact on reducing pollution worldwide.
	Scientists question rush to build Nicaragua canal A consortium of environmental scientists has expressed strong concern about the impact of a controversial Central American canal across Nicaragua.
	Throwing light on a mysterious human 'superpower' Most people, at some point in their lives, have dreamt of being able to fly like Superman or develop superhuman strength like the Hulk. But very few know that we human beings have a "superpower" of our own, which almost anybody can perform by simply staring at the computer screen in front of them. As physics teacher David Shane explains in March's issue of Physics World, human beings have an astonishing ability to detect the polarization of light with just the naked eye.
	Earliest known fossil of the genus Homo dates to 2.8 to 2.75 million years ago The earliest known record of the genus Homo—the human genus—represented by a lower jaw with teeth, recently found in the Afar region of Ethiopia, dates to between 2.8 and 2.75 million years ago, according to an international team of geoscientists and anthropologists. They also dated other fossils to between 2.84 and 2.58 million years ago, which helped reconstruct the environment in which the individual lived.