Science

Could Fast Radio Bursts Be Powering Alien Probes?

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CFA News:
 
CAMBRIDGE, MA ― The search for extraterrestrial intelligence has looked for many different signs of alien life, from radio broadcasts to laser flashes, without success.
 
However, newly published research suggests that mysterious phenomena called fast radio bursts could be evidence of advanced alien technology. Specifically, these bursts might be leakage from planet-sized transmitters powering interstellar probes in distant galaxies.
 
“Fast radio bursts are exceedingly bright given their short
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AGU: Last Remnant Of North American Ice Sheet Likely To Disappear In 300 Years

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AGU News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The last remaining piece of the vast ice sheet that once covered North America is doomed to vanish in the next few centuries, a new study finds.
 
Rising temperatures in the Arctic have caused the Barnes Ice Cap to melt at an extraordinary pace, and nothing short of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere can prevent it from completely disappearing, according to a new study modeling the ice cap’s behavior.
 
Under a business-as-usual greenhouse gas emissions scenario, the study’s authors project the ice cap will disappear within the next 300
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State Science & Engineering Fair Underway Today

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Today 21 Los Alamos Public School students are competing at the New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair. The local students qualified for the state fair by earning top spots atMarch 4 Northeastern New Mexico Science and Engineering Fair. Judging concludes this afternoon with an awards ceremonies beginning at 6 this evening. Courtesy photo
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Can The Southwest Endure A Change In Climate?

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From left, retired National Weather Service Meteorologist Deirdre Kann; in-depth environmental journalist  Laura Paskas; and David Stuart, an archeologist with lessons learned from the ancient Chaco Canyon culture in New Mexico, gave climate-related presentations Tuesday at the Society for Applied Anthropology conference in Santa Fe. Photo by Roger Snodgrass/ladailypost.com
 
According to Bill deBuys, author and full-time humanist, climate change leads to an enervating depression trap. Photo by Roger Snodgrass/ladailypost.com

By ROGER SNODGRASS
Los Alamos Daily Read More

Tales Of Our Times: When Poisons Move, Risks Evolve

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Tales of Our Times
By JOHN BARTLIT
New Mexico Citizens
for Clean Air & Water

When Poisons Move, Risks Evolve

 
Toxic materials in nature are like a stack of ball bearings on a subway platform. They pose little risk until they start to move.

Follow the trail of the Earth’s store of hazardous materials and the shuffling that moves them through the air and water. The forces are geologic history, weather, time, and inexorably man. Without man’s doings, toxic substances are widely found in nature, in some places more than others. The bad stuff ranges from arsenic, sulfur, mercury and uranium

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100+ Women Who Care Donate First Quarter Meeting Funds To Bradbury Science Museum Association

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On behalf of 100+ Women Who Care, UWNNM Executive Director Kristy Ortega, right, presents a donation check to BSMA Vice President Ryn Herrmann, left, and BSMA Secretary KayLinda Crawford Friday at the Bradbury Science Museum. Courtesy photo 

COMMUNITY News:

100+ Women Who Care, the Los Alamos group of women who strive to have a positive impact in the community without the time-consuming effort  associated with fundraising, gathered recently for their first quarterly meeting of 2017 at project Y in Central Park Square.

The group chose to award its first quarter funds to the Bradbury Read More

EM, UKAEA Expand Collaboration On Robotics

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Acting EM Assistant Secretary Sue Cange and Rob Buckingham, director of the Center for Remote Applications in Challenging Environments, shake hands after signing the Statement of Intent. Courtesy/DOE-EM

DOE News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Energy Office of Evironmental Management (EM) and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA) have agreed to further collaborate to develop and apply robotics to nuclear decommissioning tasks.

Representatives from EM and the UKAEA earlier this month signed a new Statement of Intent (SOI), providing the framework for exchange Read More

Graduating Seniors Invited To Apply For J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Scholarship

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J. Robert Oppenheimer. Courtesy photo

EDUCATION News:

The J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee is dedicated to furthering the memory and spirit of J. Robert Oppenheimer through scholarships to graduating seniors attending Los Alamos, Pojoaque, Capitol, and Santa Fe public high schools.

The committee awarded the first scholarship in 1984 and the number of scholarships awarded has grown over the years due to the generous contributions of many people. Twelve scholarships were awarded in 2016.

The Committee would like to remind graduating seniors that the deadline for applications Read More

LANL: Ultrafast Measurements Explain Quantum Dot Voltage Drop

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A femtosecond laser pulse launches a photocurrent transient in a quantum dot solid, which is time-resolved using ultrafast sampling electronics. This technique provides unprecedented insights into early time photoconductance in quantum dot assemblies for solar cells and photodetectors. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Insights pave way for solar cells and photodetectors based on tunable nanoparticles

Solar cells and photodetectors could soon be made from new types of materials based on semiconductor quantum dots, thanks to new insights based on ultrafast measurements capturing real-time Read More

Breaking The Supermassive Black Hole Speed Limit

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Quasar growing under intense accretion streams. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

A new computer simulation helps explain the existence of puzzling supermassive black holes observed in the early universe. The simulation is based on a computer code used to understand the coupling of radiation and certain materials.

“Supermassive black holes have a speed limit that governs how fast and how large they can grow,” said Joseph Smidt of the Theoretical Design Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, “The relatively recent discovery of supermassive black holes in the early development of the universe Read More