Large Hardon Collider

[Kuya]

http://io9.com/the-first-image-ever-...truc-509684901

What you’re looking at is the first direct observation of an atom’s electron orbital — an atom's actual wave function! To capture the image, researchers utilized a new quantum microscope — an incredible new device that literally allows scientists to gaze into the quantum realm.

[Mizango]

http://io9.com/the-first-image-ever-...truc-509684901

That sir, is pure win-sauce.

[Kryssan]

That sir, is pure win-sauce.

Meanwhile, in the opposite category:

Life on Mars? by Foxnews

This is seriously posted in science.

Is that a rat on Mars?

A photo from the mast camera on NASA’s Curiosity rover reveals the dusty orange, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet -- and what starry-eyed enthusiasts claim is a dusty orange rodent hiding among the stones.

The photo, taken Sept. 28, 2012, depicts the “Rocknest” site, where NASA’s rover took a scoopful of sand, tasted it, and determined it was full of weathered basaltic materials -- not unlike Hawaii, the space agency’s scientists said last year.

'Note its lighter color upper and lower eyelids, its nose and cheek areas, its ear, its front leg and stomach.'

- ScottCWaring on the blog UFO Sightings Daily

No word on how the rodent tasted, however.

The “creature” was identified on the UFO Sightings Daily website, where its finder, ScottCWaring, held tight to his opinion: That’s one darn cute rodent on Mars.

“Note its lighter color upper and lower eyelids, its nose and cheek areas, its ear, its front leg and stomach. Looks similar to a squirrel camouflaged in the stones and sand by its colors," he wrote. "Hey, who doesn't love squirrels, right?”

Others pointed out that the similarity in coloring and position mean it was most likely just a rock, fingering the psychology phenomenon known as pareidolia, a propensity to pick out faces from everyday objects and structures.

To take advantage of this psychological phenomenon closer to home, designers at Berlin's Onformative studio developed an algorithm that scans the surface of the earth with Google Maps, picking out geographical structures that are likely to be construed as having face-like features, science blog iO9 recently pointed out.

Their algorithm found faces in fields, mustaches in mountains, hills with actual eyes.
Perhaps the algorithm should be turned loose on Mars?

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/...#ixzz2UhtvfySh

I don't even know what my reaction should be... but my head and desk seem to be experiencing a gravitic attraction.

[Coren]

I stopped reading at "fox news"...

[Mizango]

Meanwhile, in the opposite category:

Life on Mars? by Foxnews

This is seriously posted in science.



I don't even know what my reaction should be... but my head and desk seem to be experiencing a gravitic attraction.

Holy shit, rofl

[Salodin]

Aside from it being ridiculous that there would be a rat on Mars... That rock really does look like a rodent lol.

[kuronosan]

Psychological illusion. It's just a fucking rock.

On a side note... fuck yea for quantum microscopy. I just got used to electron microscopy.

[BaneTheBrawler]

looks more like a gopherrock to me.

[Kuya]

I need woozie and or other science person to explain quantum computing to me. What would thst look like, how does it work and what would be the advantage of having one?

[Woozie]

I know almost nothing about quantum computing, unfortunately.

I believe there's a good lecture on it on the institute of theoretical physics website. I'm not 100% sure. I just think I remember seeing one there, and their lectures are usually pretty good

http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/out...ectures-series

[BerenTebogo]

Good news everybody!








So for the first time in my undergraduate career I'm getting funding that isn't from the math department! Hurray!

My research adviser finally pulled an NSF grant for numerical relativity stuff and I'm going to be a paid research assistant for my senior year in both departments, fuck yes. Felt the need to share this with you guys haha.

Also it seems my career path has been set. I'm applying to numerical relativity programs. Going to continue the black hole / gravitational wave research.

[Mizango]

Fuck yes! Congrats! I saw your status update! Happy as fuck for you, bro.

[Buffy]

Perhaps you can investigate my ex-g/f Vagina. That thing is a black hole for other mens' genitalia.

[Kuya]

Grats sath! I'm hoping by september i get a grant so i can focus on research in molecular neuroscience and acrually get paid for all this science.

[BerenTebogo]

Getting paid for science is a fantastic feeling!

I really don't want to stop working on this problem, lol. Despite not having any practical results whatsoever, my adviser is pretty sure I now know more about a spectral methods approach to the 1+1D version of my equation than anyone else in the world right now. It's REALLY aggravating thinking that it might just become something I work on in my free time when I go to grad school.

Turns out that pretty much unless I stay where I am or go to MIT I won't have a chance to work on this exact problem, and my adviser really doesn't think staying is a good idea for me.

Blah, I'm really attached to this problem lol. It's such a weird feeling.

[Mizango]

Grats sath! I'm hoping by september i get a grant so i can focus on research in molecular neuroscience and acrually get paid for all this science.

Dude, that would be a great look. Can we change our names to the 3 1/2 Amigos?

[BerenTebogo]

Slightly related:

Fucking Eigenvalue distributions are funny to look at, lol. Have some fun pictures of the positive, real distributions of the eigenvalues that are making my life hell!

Spoiler: show

[mightyg]

A pair of breasts, a bisected penis, and a punched vagina. You're welcome.

[Kuya]

I know almost nothing about quantum computing, unfortunately.

I believe there's a good lecture on it on the institute of theoretical physics website. I'm not 100% sure. I just think I remember seeing one there, and their lectures are usually pretty good

http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/out...ectures-series

i'll look into that, thanks woozie!

[Kryssan]

Not the typical science post, but:

Neanderthal clues to cancer origins ( link )

A Neanderthal living 120,000 years ago had a cancer that is common today, according to a fossil study.

A fossilised Neanderthal rib found in a shallow cave at Krapina, Croatia, shows signs of a bone tumour.

The discovery is the oldest evidence yet of a tumour in the human fossil record, say US scientists.

The research, published in the journal PLOS One, gives clues to the complex history of cancer in humans.

Until now, the earliest known bone cancers have been identified in ancient Egyptian remains from about 1,000-4,000 years ago.

"It's the oldest tumour found in the human fossil record," Dr David Frayer, the University of Kansas anthropologist who led the US team, told BBC News.

"It shows that living in a relatively unpolluted environment doesn't necessarily protect you against cancer, even if you were a Neanderthal living 120,000 years ago."


Complex history

The fossil was uncovered from an important archaeological site that has yielded almost 900 ancient human bones, along with stone tools.

The cancerous rib is an incomplete specimen, so the overall health impact of the tumour on the individual cannot be established.

The tumour was diagnosed by a medical radiologist from X-rays and CT scans.

Although efforts to extract ancient DNA from the Neanderthal fossil have proved unsuccessful, the researchers hope other fossils may shed light on cancer in prehistoric humans.

Commenting on the study, Kat Arney, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "Some people think that cancer is only a modern disease, but there's evidence from fossils, bones and mummies that it's actually many thousands of years old.

"So this discovery isn't entirely surprising, even though such finds are very rare, but it helps to shed light on the complex history of cancer in humans and our ancient relatives."