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Quantum Chaos In Ultracold Gas Discovered

Quantum Chaos In Ultracold Gas Discovered

The team of Francesca Ferlaino, Institute for Experimental Physics of the University of Innsbruck, Austria, has experimentally shown chaotic behavior of particles in a quantum gas. "For the first time we have been able to observe quantum chaos in the scattering behavior of ultracold atoms," says an excited Ferlaino. The physicists used random matrix theory to confirm their results, thus asserting the universal character of this statistical theory. Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner formulated random matrix theory to describe complex systems in the 1950s. Although interactions between neutrons with atomic nuclei were not well-known then, Wigner was able to reliably predict properties of complex spectra by using random matrices.

Social Media Is Contagious - Practice Safe Hex

Social Media Is Contagious - Practice Safe Hex

Can you catch a mood from someone online? Most people would answer 'yes', because lots of comments on the Internet enrage them.
A political science paper says they can confirm it.

Missing Link In Plant Immunity Identified

Missing Link In Plant Immunity Identified

After a 30-year search, scientists have uncovered how an enzyme critical to plants' rapid immune response against microbes is activated.
"The insights will open up new ways to improve disease resistance and stress tolerance in plants," says Professor Cyril Zipfel of The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich.
The enzyme, the NAPDH oxidase RBOHD, triggers a rapid generation of signalling molecules derived from oxygen that are believed to be detrimental to microbial growth. The newly-discovered way this enzyme is activated, by a protein (called BIK1) fills a gap in how plants perceive a threat and how signals are activated to trigger an immune response.

Study Finds Increased Gender Variance In Children With Autism And ADHD

Study Finds Increased Gender Variance In Children With Autism And ADHD

Washington, DC— John F. Strang, PsyD, a pediatric neuropsychologist at Children's National Health System, and colleagues, found that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were more likely to exhibit gender variance, the wish to be the other gender, than children with no neurodevelopmental disorder, or a medical neurodevelopmental disorder such as epilepsy or neurofibromatosis.

Can Material Rivaling Graphene Be Mined Out Of Rocks? Yes, If...

Can Material Rivaling Graphene Be Mined Out Of Rocks? Yes, If...

Will one-atom-thick layers of molybdenum disulfide, a compound that occurs naturally in rocks, prove to be better than graphene for electronic applications? There are many signs that might prove to be the case. But physicists from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw have shown that the nature of the phenomena occurring in layered materials are still ill-understood and require further research.

Infection Is The Leading Cause Of Failed Prosthetic Knee Joints

Infection Is The Leading Cause Of Failed Prosthetic Knee Joints

NEW ORLEANS─The number of total knee replacement (TKR) procedures continues to climb, as does the number of revision total knee replacement (RTKR) surgeries. In the study, "The Epidemiology of Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty in the United States," presented today at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), researchers used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to evaluate the cause of knee failure for 301,718 revision RTKR surgeries performed between 2005 and 2010.

Maybe The Dingo Ate Your Poison

Maybe The Dingo Ate Your Poison

Poisoning of dingoes - wild dogs - has a deleterious effect on small native mammals such as marsupial mice, bandicoots and native rodents, according to a new paper which found that loss of dingoes after baiting is associated with greater activity by foxes, which prey on small marsupials and native rodents.
As well, the number of kangaroos and wallabies increases when dingoes, the top predators in the Australian bush, disappear. Grazing by these herbivores reduces the density of the vegetation in which the small ground-dwelling mammals live.

What's The Upside Of Feeling Too Sad For Chocolate?

What's The Upside Of Feeling Too Sad For Chocolate?

The instant gratification and the pleasure derived from consuming excessive chocolate and deep-fried foods can lead way to a double-edged sword of negative consequences ranging from weight gain to feelings of low self-esteem. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, combating this type of self-destructive behavior may be achieved simply by making a person feel sad.
"We found that when people who are sad are exposed to pictures of indulgent food or indulgent words, their sadness highlights the negative consequences of indulging and encourages them to indulge less," write authors Anthony Salerno, Juliano Laran (both University of Miami), and Chris Janiszewski (University of Florida).

Gesturing With Hands Is A Powerful Tool For Children's Math Learning

Gesturing With Hands Is A Powerful Tool For Children's Math Learning

Children who use their hands to gesture during a math lesson gain a deep understanding of the problems they are taught, according to new research from University of Chicago's Department of Psychology.
Previous research has found that gestures can help children learn. This study in particular was designed to answer whether abstract gesture can support generalization beyond a particular problem and whether abstract gesture is a more effective teaching tool than concrete action.
"We found that acting gave children a relatively shallow understanding of a novel math concept, whereas gesturing led to deeper and more flexible learning," explained the study's lead author, Miriam A. Novack, a PhD student in psychology.

ADCY2 Gene Implicated In Bipolar Disorder

ADCY2 Gene Implicated In Bipolar Disorder

People with bipolar disorder, as much as one percent of the population, undergo a veritable roller coaster of emotions.
They experience extreme shifts in mood, from manic phases with delusions of grandeur, increased drive and a decreased need for sleep as well as depressive episodes with a severely depressed mood to the point of suicidal thoughts. 
Under the direction of scientists from Bonn, Mannheim and Basel, an international collaboration of researchers discovered two new gene regions that are connected to the prevalent disease. In addition, they were able to confirm three additional suspect genes. In a new worldwide study, scientists utilized an unprecedented numbers of patients. 

Timid Jumping Spider Uses Ant As Bodyguard

Timid Jumping Spider Uses Ant As Bodyguard

A timid jumping spider uses the scent of ants as a secret weapon to save itself from becoming the somewhat soggy prey of the predatory spitting spider. The downside to this plan is that jumping spiders are also a favorite snack of its very own saviors. To overcome this additional hazard, the spider has made yet another plan in the form of an ant-proof nest, writes Ximena Nelson of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and Robert Jackson of the University of Canterbury and the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya, in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.