Tag:

Blog

Bringing Star Trek to Life: Scientists in Spain and the UK develop “tractor beam” to manipulate particles

by Erin Dahlstrom figures by Utsarga Adhikary Popularized by films like Star Trek and Star Wars, the tractor beam is an iconic science fiction technology that allows the user to manipulate objects in space without making physical contact with the objects. While humans today may not be ready to use this technology in outer space, the ability to manipulate objects without touching them could potentially … Continue reading Bringing Star Trek to Life: Scientists in Spain and the UK develop “tractor beam” to manipulate particles

2 Comments
Blog

Solid-oxide Fuel Cells: Using familiar fuel in a new way

by Michael R. Gerhardt Our climate is rapidly changing, and many countries are beginning to take action. In the United States, President Barack Obama has announced the Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electric power generation, while Chinese president Xi Jinping has announced economic incentives to reduce emissions [1,2]. Even oil companies have publicly acknowledged the challenges we face and have voiced … Continue reading Solid-oxide Fuel Cells: Using familiar fuel in a new way

1 Comment
Art Gallery, Music and Poetry

Quantum Melodics

Quantum Melodics  Click above to play audio (in a new window) while you read about the piece By Jacob Baron, a graduate student at Harvard University. “Quantum Melodics is based on Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. This principle says that the more accurately you know where a particle is, the less accurately you can know how fast it is moving, and vice-versa. To me, this principle seems ridiculous, since … Continue reading Quantum Melodics

2 Comments
Blog

Answering Einstein Decades Later; Quantum Entanglement is Real

Quantum mechanics is so mind-boggling that it has stumped even the greatest minds. In particular, Albert Einstein was so bothered by quantum mechanics that he never gave up in his efforts to discredit the theory.  Physicists have spent several decades trying to develop an experiment that would definitively prove him wrong. A few weeks ago, a team from Delft University finally settled the score. Einstein’s … Continue reading Answering Einstein Decades Later; Quantum Entanglement is Real

1 Comment
Art Gallery, Images

The Light of Elendil in Shelob’s Lair

By Andrew Wong, a second year graduate student in the Applied Physics program at Harvard University.       The increase in global energy demand and subsequent carbon dioxide emissions has driven advancements in renewable energy generation technologies such as wind turbines and solar cells. However, these technologies are inherently intermittent, and require robust energy storage devices. Inexpensive, large-scale energy storage systems such as aqueous … Continue reading The Light of Elendil in Shelob’s Lair

Leave a comment
Blog

Going with the Flow: New Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars

Surface features such as canyons and valleys on the “Red Planet” suggest an abundance of liquid water in its geological past. Water vapors on Mars were first detected in the early 60s followed by observation of water-rich ice patches decades later, but it was not until 2011 that Lujendra Ojha, a Nepali undergraduate student, spotted signs of possible water flows on our neighboring planet. While … Continue reading Going with the Flow: New Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars

2 Comments
Blog

Innovating in a New Market: Challenges for Cleantech

by Greg Silverberg figures by Kaitlyn Choi Cleantech is a troubled sector Scientists know from geological data that carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been below 300 parts per million for nearly 1 million years.  However, for about a century, carbon dioxide concentrations have been rising at a rate unprecedented in these data and are now approaching 400 parts per million.  Carbon dioxide acts … Continue reading Innovating in a New Market: Challenges for Cleantech

Leave a comment
Blog

Friend or Foe? Getting the body to make peace with bioengineered drug delivery systems

Recent drug discoveries promise new treatments and cures for many diseases. However, getting a drug to work, not only in experiments with cells in the lab, but also in the human body, is difficult. One challenge? Getting past the body’s line of defense, the immune system, which fights foreign invaders that make it into the body. In September, a news article reported that scientists have … Continue reading Friend or Foe? Getting the body to make peace with bioengineered drug delivery systems

Leave a comment
Blog

Stephen Hawking Makes Big Claims about Black Holes

Stephen Hawking recently announced that he has solved one of the most famous puzzles in science, the black hole information paradox. The information paradox is a conundrum of Hawking’s own making. In the 1970s, he predicted that black holes radiate, evaporate, and eventually disappear. This scenario is particularly concerning, because once inside a black hole, nothing can escape. If a black hole were to completely … Continue reading Stephen Hawking Makes Big Claims about Black Holes

Leave a comment
Blog, Special Edition on GMOs

Challenging Evolution: How GMOs Can Influence Genetic Diversity

by Heather Landry Summary: The vast diversity in gene sequences are what create the large variety of plants and animals we see today. Genetic diversity is crucial for adapting to new environments, as more variation in genes leads to more individuals of a population having favorable traits to withstand harsh conditions. Low genetic diversity, on the other hand, can be very problematic during changing environments, … Continue reading Challenging Evolution: How GMOs Can Influence Genetic Diversity

52 Comments