According to Live Science, the researchers identified the massive energy potential from the tiny particle known as a bottom quark, one of six different types of quark. When two are fused together, they form a larger subatomic particle, another particle called a nucleon and one major eruption of energy.

Measurements of the amount of energy showed it was immensely powerful, producing 138 megaelectronvolts, the unit of measurement of energy at this scale. To put it into perspective, this amount of energy would be eight times more powerful than a single fusion event that takes place within a hydrogen bomb, of which billions occur following its detonation.

This gave the Israel-based researchers quite a fright, so much so that they debated whether or not to publish their discovery, wary of its deadly potential.

However, there was some good news for those fearing that a potential planet-killer bomb is on the way, according to Marek Karliner of Tel Aviv University, co-researcher on the project.

“I must admit that when I first realised that such a reaction was possible, I was scared,” he said, “but, luckily, it is a one-trick pony.”

Gone quicker than the blink of an eye

What makes it a “one-trick pony” is that, without a single reaction being a part of a chain of reactions, the quark collision isn’t very dangerous at all.

Additionally, they calculated that if they were to use bottom quarks, such a reaction wouldn’t be possible anyway because, by their nature, they exist for just one picosecond, or one-trillionth of a second, before turning into a safer ‘up’ quark.

Nuclear weapons meanwhile are reliant on the ability to stockpile particles, which means we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Both Karliner and his research partner Jonathan Rosner wanted to be absolutely sure, however, that there was no chance it could be used for nefarious means before publishing their findings in the journal Nature.

“If I thought for a microsecond that this had any military applications, I would not have published it,” Karliner said.

The discovery’s importance to science remains quite substantial as it is the first theoretical proof that subatomic particles can fuse together to release massive amounts of energy.

The post Physicists feared nuclear fusion discovery would lead to new atomic bomb appeared first on Silicon Republic.

“I was surprised by the depths of his views,” said Saini, an award-winning British science journalist, author and broadcaster. “I knew that Victorian male biologists were pretty sexist but I didn’t realise how entrenched that sexism was, both in research and on the personal side.” 

One perspective to explain, if not excuse, the attitude is that Darwin was of his time, and the culture of science has continued to reflect its milieu of a patriarchal culture.

In her book, Inferior: How science got women wrong and the new research that’s rewriting the story, Saini explores the actual science, the research itself, that challenges widely and long-held assumptions about differences between women and men. 

Nerdy science, women in STEM and a recommendation from Daniel Radcliffe… what’s not to love about @AngelaDSaini’s #inferior?! pic.twitter.com/Pc1uCe4Qm6

— Sarah Gaunt (@Sarah_Gaunt90) October 30, 2017

Eye-opening research

While we may neatly apportion various traits and roles between men and women or girls and boys in our culture, the data shows a more complex picture. “The cognitive and psychological differences [between the sexes] are very small when they do exist, and they are not enough to account for the gender inequality we see in society,” explained Saini.

In her book, she trawls through the evidence, and some of the most eye-opening insights come from studies of primates and of hunter-gatherer societies that point to how culture, rather than biology, shapes gender inequality.    

“The narrow view is that we are a naturally male dominated species; that the mother is the sole, natural child-carer, and men are natural hunters,” said Saini.

“[The research] opens the universe up a bit; it allows us to see the true human variety out there. Humans live in a huge spectrum of situations, matrilineal to patriarchal. There are societies where men do the bulk of the hunting and very little childcare, and there are many societies where men and women do everything. That betrays the fact; that [means] it can’t be biological.” 

Building networks  

Inferior has won praise from many quarters, not least from reviews in The Guardian and New Statesman, and even actor Daniel Radcliffe.

So, is there hope for change? “There is a lot of good research being done by men and women in the sciences,” said Saini. “People are starting to question assumptions that they took for granted.”

Saini is currently doing a tour of universities in the UK to tie in with the book, and to build up networks of women who can form friendships, find allies and support each other.

“Men have gained power by backing each other up, having their own networks,” she said.

“If women can do the same, create our own networks and support each other all the way down the ladder, then we have our strengths, too.” 

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The post Not so Inferior: The science of gender inequality appeared first on Silicon Republic.

Now, new research into these vast structures has revealed something no one has seen for thousands of years: a giant void in an unmapped part of the Great Pyramid of Giza, according to National Geographic.

In a paper published to Nature, a team of researchers detailed how it used advanced particle physics technology to dive deep into the interior of the pyramid without harming its structure.

‘Discovery of the century’

Despite having no idea what the space was used for – or even if it is a group of multiple spaces – the void is approximately 153ft long with a height of 26ft, drawing comparisons with the pyramid’s Grand Gallery.

Analysis shows that the void connects with the burial chamber of the pharaoh Khufu, whose remains inhabit this giant memorial site.

Egyptologist and archaeologist Yukinori Kawae has not held back on the significance of this find, going so far as to label it the “discovery of the century”.

“There have been many hypotheses about the pyramid, but no one even imagined that such a big void is located above the Grand Gallery,” he said.

Harnessing the power of the cosmos

Its discovery was born out of the international ScanPyramids project launched in 2015, which aims to use the latest in imaging technology to map the structures without disturbing them.

In its two years of existence, scans of the pyramids had found small voids and pockmarks, but nothing on a scale like this recent find.

Behind the discovery was the harnessing of subatomic particles called muons that, each and every day, arrive here on Earth as cosmic rays from the deepest parts of the universe.

What makes them ideal for use in ‘x-ray archaeology’ is that muons pass through empty space easier than solid materials. Using sensitive detectors that identify changes in speed, these muons can accurately give us an image of empty spaces in buildings.

This makes them a “really fabulous treat from nature”, according to particle physicist Roy Schwitters, who uses the technology to study the Mayan pyramids of Belize.

Que pourrait être la cavité de 30 mètres découverte au coeur de la pyramide de Kheops ? @scanpyramids #Kheops https://t.co/AVfRHATB0K pic.twitter.com/jA552Ya7rO

— Tony Hutinet (@TonyHutinet) November 2, 2017

No plans to explore

As for what the space would have been used for, speculation among experts is that it could be a leftover from when the pyramid was under construction, used as an internal ramp to put the massive roof blocks of the King’s Chamber in place.

While future research and non-invasive imaging are to be carried out by researchers, there are no plans to open up the void, given the pyramid’s importance and the lack of any known pathways or tunnels connected to it.

Egyptologist Salima Ikram agreed with this decision, saying: “If there’s something behind the Mona Lisa, would you want to wipe her clean and see what’s behind her? You really have to preserve the integrity of the monument.”

The post Cosmic particles reveal mysterious void in Egypt’s great pyramid appeared first on Silicon Republic.

Several changes were predicted, such as:

• No waiting times to find out what’s wrong – instant diagnostic results
• No more invasive tissue biopsies – liquid biopsies will be mainstream
• Stratified medicine will be the norm, where cancers will be categorised and treated more specifically
• Doctors will keep your tests on file for future diagnoses

The first speaker was Prof Richard Kennedy, whose specific work is profiled here. He explained: “There are 9m kilometres of DNA in a human body being damaged all the time. Enough mutations will equate to cancer. This was our old way of looking at things.”

But Kennedy showed that now, we understand there’s a lot more going on. “In truth, there are many more routes to cancer.”

He explained the differences between stratified medicine (which treats subsets of patients – for instance, breast cancer patients that are HER2-positive), precision medicine (which treats the exact disease you have) and personalised medicine (which treats the actual disease specific to your own body).

“There’s clearly a need for more precise biomarkers but there are many challenges to this.”

He then discussed how a medical ‘tricorder’ device similar to Star Trek’s could be a reality by 2030. “People want better diagnoses, and analysis at the bedside is the way things are moving,” said Kennedy.

Prof Richard Kennedy. Image: TechWatch

Next up was Queen’s University Belfast School of Pharmacy’s Dr Niamh Buckley, whose work is profiled here. She talked about the importance of opening up data sources for the whole academic community. “We need to move to holistic approaches to science and cancer.”

However, the battle against cancer is uphill, she explained. “Within a patient, the cancer is a village. There are lots of clones and lots of cell types going on. Sometimes, the cell shouting the loudest isn’t the most important. You might have one cancer at the beginning of treatment turning into another cancer at the end.”

Buckley explained a bit more about the theory of liquid biopsy: “We’ll have the ability to detect different biomarkers in body fluid. Cell free DNA or exosomes could contain information from cancer cells through the body.”

Finally, she discussed the challenges to identifying more specific biomarkers:

• Collection of data, and the preprocessing of data, avoiding garbage in and garbage out
• Ethical considerations and anonymity
• Cost – “But costs are always coming down – for example, the human genome project cost $3bn, and now we can do that for $1,000.”

Dr Niamh Buckley. Image: TechWatch

The final speaker, Dr Hugh Cormican, is a doctor of physics and CEO of Cirdan. Based in Lisburn, Cirdan supplies half a million tests/requests a day to laboratory information systems.

Cormican said: “The old way for cancer treatment was patient biopsy > lab >pathology. The new way involves varying treatment for subsets of patients.

“Now, the pathway goes: patient blood sample or biopsy > proteomics (mass spectrometry) or genomics (DNA, gene chip) > microarray images.”

He discussed the main challenges to progress: “How do we communicate results to patients? The extraction of data and who owns the data? Ensuring there isn’t overregulation of industry that would stifle innovation? These are the challenges,” said Cormican.

“In my view, regular visits to the doctor in 2030 will not be prompted by illness. Your doctor will have a wider range of tests; both you and your doctor will have a more holistic view of your health. This will include your state of mind as well as physical conditions, and the focus will be on prevention, not on cures.”

Dr Hugh Cormican. Image: TechWatch

Finally, the panellists took questions from the audience.

Precision medicine is for smaller cohorts of patients. Does that not create problems for the NHS?

Kennedy answered: “That’s why we want to move to the one-test model. The same test will be given to everyone, used to test for many different things.”

How do you decide which cell types to target first?

Buckley said: “That’s the million-dollar question. Do you try to stop resistance happening or do you wait ’til resistance happens and then treat effectively? You can debate either way. Cancer is the best example of evolution – it always adapts accordingly.”

Why do we need GPs?

Cormican answered: “I think you need a life coach, to take a more holistic and preventative view. You need someone to be your guide through a very specialised process.”

If you had £10m to invest, what problem would you solve?

Kennedy said: “I’d solve the heterogeneity problem; that is, if you measure a tumour from one site, it might not show the same as other sites. You hope that first test shows everything but, in reality, it doesn’t. The future of that is imaging. A new area called functional imaging uses probes to determine different tumours.”

What will be the next innovation in precision medicine?

Kennedy said: “The one-stop test: the patient is biopsied and that sample can be used for years. I believe that will become a reality in the next three to four years.”

The next 4IRC debate, Blockchain: Should we question the hype? will be held on Tuesday 7 November at 5:30pm at the Crescent Arts Centre.

By Emily McDaid, editor, TechWatch

A version of this article originally appeared on TechWatch

The post Will the experience of a cancer patient radically improve by 2030? appeared first on Silicon Republic.

The winner of next year’s contest will also represent Ireland in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists when it arrives in Dublin in September 2018.

The upcoming BTYSTE will take place from 10 to 13 January 2018. The winner will walk away with the perpetual trophy and a prize fund, and more than 140 prizes for individuals, groups and teachers will be up for grabs.

Social issues on the minds of Irish students

It’s clear from the entries into the competition that Ireland’s young minds are preoccupied with social issues that are affecting their friends, families and wider society in the country. While there are often entries in the Behavioural Science category that examine homelessness, transgender rights and mental health, this year’s crop of entries sees similar themes addressed in biological and ecological science as well as chemistry, physics and mathematics.

Managing director of BT Ireland, Shay Walsh, said: “The 2018 project themes highlight just how important outlets such as the BTYSTE are for students to investigate matters of interest or concern to them in their everyday life.

“It is fascinating to see such an in-depth knowledge of the prevalent issues facing Ireland, like homelessness. Addressing topical issues is something we really encourage. Our hope is that by showcasing how science and technology are in everything and how they play a role in our everyday lives, we will encourage more students to take part in the magic that is the exhibition.”

Walsh added that BT as a whole was excited to see the participants exhibit their “extraordinary work” in January.

BTYSTE is key for Ireland’s future

Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton, TD, said: “I have set the ambition to make Ireland’s education and training service the best in Europe within a decade. Key to achieving this ambition is ensuring that our young people develop analytical skills, critical thinking and creativity.

“The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition continues to make an invaluable contribution to developing these aptitudes in thousands of students across the country each year.”

He also noted the pressing issues examined by many entrants, adding: “The project title trends always show you what is important to young people in Ireland and this year it is no different, with extremely topical themes such as equality, homelessness and health to the fore.

“That is why events such as this are so important as they allow students across Ireland to channel their talents into projects and subjects which hold significant importance to them.”

The post BTYSTE 2018 finalists are tackling Ireland’s social issues appeared first on Silicon Republic.

To that end, Wikimedia Community Ireland – the national chapter of volunteers that supports and promotes Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects – is launching Wiki Science.

This is the first time the international science photography competition has been held on Irish shores.

It aims to raise awareness of science, scientists and their research by creating a store of quality images taken by members of the public that are free to use in education and outreach.

The organisers said that photographers of all skill levels are encouraged to upload their photos to Wikimedia Commons.

The five main categories include: people in science, microscopy images, non-photographic media, image sets and general.

Focus on women in STEM

A final special category has also been created for photos that will feature a woman working in science, technology, engineering or maths (STEM).

Rebecca O’Neill of Wikimedia Community Ireland said: “We are very excited to be taking part in Wiki Science for the first time.

“In particular, we are passionate about the power of representation of women in STEM to encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

She added: “Ireland has a proud tradition of internationally significant scientific research, and highlighting the work that is happening now through Wiki Science is a way of showcasing that to the world. Our definition of science is very broad, from archaeology to zoology. We want to see images from as many areas as possible.”

The entries will be seen by a panel of Irish judges, with the six winners being announced in early January 2018. These images will then be submitted to the international competition.

An assembly interested in astronomy in Estonia. Image: Martin Mark (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The post Irish Wikimedia community issues calls for best science photographers appeared first on Silicon Republic.

Now, a new planet dubbed NGTS-1b is fundamentally challenging our theory of planet formation as this ‘monster’ is considerably larger than its parent star, which has a mass half that of the sun.

Until now, it was believed that a small star equal in size to this latest example could produce small, rocky planets, but nowhere near on a scale as large as NGTS-1b.

In a paper published to the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, a team from the University of Warwick revealed that NGTS-1b is a gas giant that is about as large as Jupiter, but has approximately 20pc less mass.

Unlike Jupiter, however, the planet is very close to its star at just 3pc of the distance between Earth and the sun, meaning it completes a year in less than three days.

How common are these planets?

The bizarre planet was first spotted by the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), which employs an array of 12 telescopes to scour the sky. In this instance, it spotted periodical dips in brightness, indicating the existence of a planet.

They then tracked the planet’s orbit and calculated the size, position and mass of NGTS-1b by measuring the radial velocity of the star, despite the fact that its small size made it difficult to spot.

Speaking of the implications of such a find, lead author of the study, Dr Daniel Bayliss, said: “The discovery of NGTS-1b was a complete surprise to us. Such massive planets were not thought to exist around such small stars.

“Importantly, our challenge now is to find out how common these types of planets are in the galaxy and, with the new NGTS facility, we are well placed to do just that.”

The post Newly discovered ‘monster’ planet shouldn’t exist, according to science appeared first on Silicon Republic.

But now, dashing the hopes of Sergey Brin et al is a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a team from the University of Arizona, which claims that the entire idea is mathematically impossible.

Based on our current understanding of the evolution of ageing, there is the suggestion that it could be stopped if only science could figure out a way to make selection between organisms perfect.

The idea is that by encouraging competition between cells, we would eliminate the ‘sluggish’ ones associated with ageing and keep the healthy ones on top.

However, according to this new study, this does not take into account the fact that not only do cells slow down, but some cells ratchet up their growth rate, leading to the development of cancer cells.

This occurs in all of us, the researchers said, even though it doesn’t present itself with symptoms, and these cancerous cells ‘cheat’ when placed in competition with healthy cells.

Dying is ‘just something you have to deal with’

“What we show is that this forms a double bind: a ‘catch 22’,” said Paul Nelson, lead author of the study.

“If you get rid of those poorly functioning, sluggish cells, then that allows cancer cells to proliferate; and if you get rid of, or slow down, those cancer cells, then that allows sluggish cells to accumulate.

“So, you’re stuck between allowing these sluggish cells to accumulate or allowing cancer cells to proliferate, and if you do one, you can’t do the other. You can’t do them both at the same time.”

This led Nelson and his fellow researchers to turn to maths, to claim that dying is “just something you have to deal with” as a multicellular organism.

Joanna Masel, Nelson’s partner in the study, added: “Things will get worse over time, in one of these two ways or both.

“Either all of your cells will continue to get more sluggish, or you’ll get cancer. And the basic reason is that things break. It doesn’t matter how much you try and stop them from breaking – you can’t.”

This isn’t the first study to come to the conclusion that our efforts to make us immortal are futile. Last August, a team of Dutch scientists claimed that the maximum age a woman can reach was 115.7 years, while men were given 114.1 years.

The post Is there really a mathematical reason why you can’t live forever? appeared first on Silicon Republic.

He’s building an important bridge between academia and the commercial world.

“We currently have around 16 people working in the Stratified Medicine Group on some main themes, including the development of new technologies to look at molecular pathways in cancer,” said Kennedy.

“Firstly, we’re looking at biomarkers to predict better which drugs will work and which won’t. Secondly, we research ways to harness the body’s immune system to attack cancer. Thirdly, we develop tests and therapies that attack the blood vessels that feed tumours.”

Prof Richard Kennedy, global vice-president of biomarker development and medical director, Almac Diagnostics. Image: TechWatch

What drugs will work for whom?

Genes are represented in DNA from which you make messenger RNA (mRNA). It’s all under the umbrella of molecular biology – how the nucleus controls the cell. One example is an mRNA-based test we have developed that predicts the outcome for patients with early prostate cancer. That test is now in the commercialisation phase at Almac.

We also have an mRNA-based EMT assay that predicts the ability of cancer to spread. This works across different types of cancer, involving MEK inhibitors.

When will it be launched?

It will be two years before the prostate cancer assay can be launched on the market, as we need to secure the mechanisms for paying for the test. The EMT assay will require validation in a clinical trial of MEK inhibitors along with a pharmaceutical partner, which will take one to two years.

Any other results from the group lately?

We developed a test predicting patients that will benefit from drugs that attack the blood vessels that feed cancer. Almac is working on a new therapy with an associated biomarker for patient selection. This will be taken into clinical trials at Belfast City Hospital and several other UK sites.

What’s the future of personalised medicine?

Firstly, let’s look at what’s driving this. Treatments are becoming more expensive and NHS costs are driving up. We also have relatively fewer working people supporting the healthcare of a growing elderly population. If we can give a genetic profile of cancer, then patients will be grouped into A, B, C or D types, and treated specifically for that disease profile, thereby improving therapies while reducing costs and unnecessary side effects.

What about costs?

Although the costs of modern technologies – such as DNA and RNA sequencing approaches – have often been prohibitive, these are coming down all the time. Technology is also speeding up, allowing faster turnaround times from sample analysis to patient result.

How are diagnostics improving?

To date, personalised medicine has relied on tissue biopsies, which involve a surgical procedure. Going forward, we’re trying to use liquid biopsies because they are less invasive. The idea is to develop blood, urine or saliva-based biomarkers. I believe, in two to three years, this will be mainstream.

By Emily McDaid, editor, TechWatch

A version of this article originally appeared on TechWatch

The post High-tech disease profiling is the next stage in the fight against cancer appeared first on Silicon Republic.

One such effort is being led by Trinity College Dublin (TCD), which has unveiled new evidence for how contemporary features are formed on the Red Planet.

In a paper published to Scientific Reports, the team describes phenomena unlike anything seen on Earth, suggesting that the planet’s winter period is moulding its formations – in particular, CO2 sublimation.

The process – by which a substance changes from a solid to a gas without an intermediate liquid phase – is believed to be capable of morphing a planet’s surface with little to no water present.

Dendritic furrows on Martian dunes. The yellow arrows point to boulders, red arrows denote dark fans. Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

During the winter, atmospheric CO2 – of which 95pc of the planet’s atmosphere is made – changes from a gas to a solid and is deposited onto the surface.

Then, in the Martian spring, this process is reversed as the ice sublimates. It is believed this may be integral to the planet’s geomorphological formations.

Several years ago, one of the researchers involved in this latest study, Dr Mary Bourke, discovered unique markings on the surface of Martian sand dunes, which she called ‘sand furrows’.

These elongated, shallow channels formed and disappeared with the seasons, and were unusual in that they appeared to trend both up and down the dune slopes, which ruled out liquid water as the cause.

Examples of the sand furrows discovered during experiments. Image: Lauren McKeown

Evidence of cryo-venting

With these new findings on sublimation, Bourke’s original theory of ‘cryo-venting’ now has more evidence to back it up.

Cryo-venting is a process whereby pressurised CO2 gas beneath the seasonal ice deposit erodes complex patterns on the dune surface when the ice fractures, and releases the gas in towering dust and gas geysers.

During experiments, CO2 blocks on the granular surface of a low humidity chamber showed they can form a range of furrow morphologies that are similar to those observed on Mars.

“The difference in temperature between the sandy surface and the CO2 block will generate a vapour layer beneath the block, allowing it to levitate and manoeuvre downslope, in a similar manner to how pucks glide on an ice-hockey table, carving a channel in its wake,” said Lauren McKeown, one of the researchers.

Her colleague Prof Jim McElwaine added that seeing it in person was “a really exciting moment” and is a process “unlike anything seen to occur naturally on Earth”.

The next step in their research will be to head to the Open University Mars Chamber to assess the influence of Martian atmospheric conditions on these new geomorphic processes, and test a numerical model developed by McElwaine.

The post The surface of Mars is being shaped by truly alien processes appeared first on Silicon Republic.