Infographic: How a Geiger Counter Works
Seventy-five years after Hans Geiger’s death, we explore how his most famous invention detects radiation. From the menacing background chatter as workers handle contaminated debris in
the TV series “Chernobyl,” to the telltale clicks that reveal the
location of a sleeping Godzilla in the monster’s 1954 movie debut,
rattling Geiger counters often add ominous notes to the soundtrack of
radiation-themed stories. This Sept. 24 marks 75 years since the death
of Hans Geiger, the German scientist most widely credited with inventing
the device. READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Two Liver-Destroying Viruses, Two Nobel Prizes
The
new Nobel Prize for hepatitis C follows Blumberg's 1976 Nobel for
hepatitis B. Both discoveries helped make blood transfusions safe. If
you need a blood transfusion today, you can receive one without the
fear of catching a life-threatening liver disease. That's largely thanks
to research that has now been honored with two Nobel Prizes. On Monday,
Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice were named the
winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their
discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C. But 44 years ago, Baruch
S. Blumberg won his own Nobel Prize for discovering the virus that
causes hepatitis B. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Qasim Zafar via Flickr. From "Atlas of Human Anatomy" by Carl Ernest Bock.
Media rights: Public Domain Mark 1.0
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Why Don’t We Have a Hepatitis C Vaccine Yet?
The research that won this year's Nobel Prize in medicine has saved millions of lives, but it has not yet led to a vaccine. This
year, the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine went to three
scientists for their discovery of the hepatitis C virus, a significant
global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer. The
discovery led to the development of drugs that have saved millions of
lives, but one important piece of the puzzle when it comes to dealing
with the disease is still missing: a vaccine. READ FULL ARTICLE.
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How Nobel-Winning Research is Helping Battle Covid-19
The unprecedented pace of scientific progress on Covid-19 builds on groundbreaking discoveries from the past. Today's
Covid-19 researchers didn't start from scratch. Their rapid progress in
understanding a disease that was unknown one year ago rests on over a
century's worth of discoveries about viruses and the immune system. READ FULL ARTICLE.
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How Much Damage Do Heavy Trucks Do to Our Roads?
A simple equation based on a series of experiments from the 1950s still serves as the rule of thumb for estimating road damage. It may be obvious that heavy semitrucks stress and damage roads more than the average commuter sedan does. But by how much? READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: pixabay/Public domain
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Study Shows Ancient Americans Bred Dogs for Their Wool
New research reveals the economic importance of “wool dogs” to the Native American peoples of the Salish Sea. Some
people indigenous to the Pacific Northwest selectively bred special
“wool dogs” to make blankets from their hair, perhaps thousands of years
before Europeans arrived in the area, new research suggests. READ FULL ARTICLE.
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The Moon's Ancient Magnetic Field Helped Protect the Young Earth
Astrophysicists can now piece together the moon's past, including the role of its fleeting magnetic field. The
moon used to have a magnetic field that shielded both itself and the
Earth in their early years, while earthling microbes were just beginning
to develop, new research finds. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: AGeekMom via Flickr
Media rights: CC BY 2.0
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Three Leather Balls Represent Oldest Evidence of Ancient Eurasian Ball Game
The hair-filled balls were discovered in a 3,000-year-old cemetery in northwestern China. Balls
found in the ancient graves of horse riders in northwestern China
reveal evidence of a 3,000-year-old sport. These fist-sized balls, made
of leather and filled with hair and other soft material, predate any
balls found in Eurasia so far. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: University of Zurich
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Tumors Under Physical Stress Inside the Body May Not Respond as Well to Chemotherapy
Researchers found that confined tumors are more resistant to drug treatments. Scientists
have long known that the biochemical environment around living cells
can encourage or suppress their growth. More recently, researchers have
begun recognizing that mechanical cues such as pushing or stretching may
be equally important. READ FULL ARTICLE.
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Two Share Chemistry Nobel Prize for Developing Genetic Scissors
CRISPR-Cas9 tool helps scientists edit DNA. The
2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to two scientists "for
the development of a method for genome editing." The prize goes jointly
to Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of
Pathogens in Germany and Jennifer A. Doudna, of the University of
California, Berkeley and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media rights: American Institute of Physics
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Oil Spills May Ruin Electric Sensing Abilities of Stingrays
Accidents like the Deepwater Horizon spill may hurt the rays’ ability to hunt.
When marine oil spills devastate an ecosystem, images of oil-drenched
seabirds and dead fish fill the news. But creatures also suffer out of
the public eye, such as the sharks and rays that sink to the seafloor
after dying. READ FULL ARTICLE.
Media credits: Stephen M Kajiura
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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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