People May Be Constantly Sniffing Their Hands Without Knowing It
Humans' compulsion to touch their faces may be part of a subconscious instinct to smell themselves.
People touch their faces constantly. They do it without thinking, even
now during the coronavirus pandemic, when health officials say not to.
By some estimates,
nearly a quarter
of
respiratory illnesses could be prevented by hand-washing, implying that
people often contract such illnesses by touching their faces.
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Upgraded LIGO Detector Could See Black Holes Being Thrown Out of Galaxies
Scientists may soon be able to observe a dramatic, long-predicted consequence of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
When
a bullet is fired from a gun, the gun recoils to compensate for the
bullet’s momentum. This conservation of momentum still applies when the
most massive objects in the universe -- black holes -- collide and merge
with each other. During these mergers, recoils can be powerful enough
to send the merged black hole flying out of its home galaxy, at speeds
of up to 10,000,000 miles per hour.
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Around a World That Is Practicing Social Distancing
Factories, national parks, and dense urban areas worldwide feel the effects of COVID-19.
This
March, we see how COVID-19 has affected people all around the globe.
Facing social distancing, self-isolation, and shortages in medical
supplies, these pictures show how everyday people are coping with the
pandemic.
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Apollo 13’s Successful Failure
Fifty
years ago, an explosion changed the flight of Apollo 13 into a saga of
skill, fortitude, and resilience. A reporter who covered the mission
recounts the details.
At first, it all seemed routine. On Saturday April 11, 1970, I was sitting in the
press bleachers
at
NASA's Kennedy Space Center watching my seventh manned Apollo launch in
seven months, the fifth lift-off of the mighty Saturn V rocket, and the
start of the third journey to the
lunar surface
.
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Image credits:
NASA
(Scan by Ed Hengeveld)
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Genetic Sleuthing Yields Names for Unmarked Graves
Researchers use the DNA of currently-living Quebecois to help identify their ancestors.
French
settlers first arrived in Quebec in 1608, but until the late 19th
century, their dead were buried without gravestones. Now scientists are
using DNA from those individuals and genealogical records to link the
people who were buried to their modern-day descendants.
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Suspending a Single Molecule Inside a Drop of Helium
The experimental technique could help reveal the fundamental chemistry in photosynthesis and photovoltaic materials.
By
suspending a single molecule consisting of just two metal atoms in a
tiny droplet of liquid helium, physicists have demonstrated a new way to
study the ultrafast vibrational dynamics of molecules. The technique
may help researchers develop high-performing organic photovoltaic
materials for future solar cells.
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I
mage credits
:
Markus Koch
Rights information:
This image may be reproduced with this Inside Science article.
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Toilet Tracker Analyzes Your Outputs
Researchers have created a tech that can track health markers -- all from the toilet seat.
Analyzing
urine and stool has long been an important tool in a doctor’s kit for
diagnosing infections, diabetes and some cancers. Now, an international
team of researchers are finding ways to integrate analysis of many
markers of health -- including the flow and viscosity of, well, bodily
functions -- into a smart toilet to give users a full picture of what’s
coming out of them.
The new report
was published today in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.
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Mars Regularly Shakes from Quakes, NASA Lander Finds
The
space agency’s InSight lander has detected hundreds of marsquakes since
arriving on the red planet about 15 months ago.
NASA's
InSight lander has detected the first clear signs of quakes on Mars,
rumbles from mysterious sources that generate ripples scientists are
using to probe the red planet's hidden interior, new studies find.
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Quantum Computers are Hotter Than Ever -- Literally
Two
independent research groups have created the first superconducting
quantum computers that can operate above 1 K, overcoming a major
obstacle.
Two separate groups of researchers, one from University of New South
Wales in Australia and one from Delft University of Technology in the
Netherlands, have independently developed similar quantum computing
devices that can operate above 1 on the Kelvin temperature scale, up
from the previous 0.1 K range. The feat clears a major hurdle that
has prevented current quantum computers from being scaled up into more
powerful machines.
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Image credits:
Wouterslitsfotografie for QuTech
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Lab-Grown Meat Climbs to New Heights on Scaffolds of Soy
Someday, such supports could allow meat in the lab to grow from tiny hamburger-nuggets into something more like steak.
Growing meat without animals may one day become easier using scaffolds
made of soy, a new study finds. In 1932, Winston Churchill predicted
that "we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order
to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately."
Increasingly, scientists are making this vision a reality by growing
meat from cells in labs.
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Image credits:
Courtesy of Aleph Farms
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Why Towels Get So Stiff When You Dry Them on the Line
A small amount of water bound to the surface of the towel acts like glue to hold the cotton fibers together.
The
stiff, crunchy feel of an air-dried cotton towel is caused by a small
amount of residual water “gluing” the fibers together, new research
shows. Even in the driest climates, cotton naturally retains water
because its main component -- cellulose -- attracts water molecules. At
77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 C) and 60% relative humidity, about 8% of
cotton’s weight is water.
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What Is Autism?
A child neurologist talks about the challenges of autism.
Audrey
Brumback is a physician and scientist who specializes in the care of
people with neurodevelopmental challenges such as autism. She leads a
team of researchers in their quest to understand how changes in the
brain’s electrical activity cause the symptoms that many people with
these disorders experience. She is dedicated to finding new therapies to
treat disorders and to helping parents find answers to questions about
why their child might have autism.
WATCH VIDEO.
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OUR MISSION
Striving to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the lives of our students.
One
of the SVC’s long-term goals has always been to support charitable,
educational, and scientific activities. As its first initiative, the
Foundation created a scholarship program aimed at supporting
enterprising students and practitioners who have an interest in
furthering their education in the field of vacuum coating
technology.
The
Foundation also grants travel awards to students to attend and present
technical papers at the annual SVC Technical Symposium. Since its
inception, both programs have awarded over $250,000 in scholarships to
students from the United States, Canada, China, Lithuania and Spain.
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Society of Vacuum Coaters | PO Box 10628, Albuquerque, NM 87184
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