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Researchers studying the brain have long been interested in its neural oscillations, the rhythmic electrical activity that plays an important role in the transmission of information within the brain’s neural circuits. Working with the Wilson-Cowan model, a widely-used model in computational neuroscience that describes the average activity of populations of interconnected neurons, Leandro Alonso has designed a new mathematical tool to help explore the broad spectrum of responses possible from a simple neural circuit. Alonso explains his findings this week in the journal Chaos.

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The American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) are both accepting submissions for their respective 2017 science writing awards. The deadline for entries for both awards is March 31, 2017.

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Inspired by micro-scale motions of nature, a group of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, in Chennai, India, has developed a new design for transporting colloidal particles, tiny cargo suspended in substances such as fluids or gels, more rapidly than is currently possible by diffusion.

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Shrinking the investigation of objects to the nanometer scale often reveals new properties of matter that have no equivalent for their bulk analysis. This phenomenon is motivating studies of nanomaterials which can reveal fascinating new phenomena. It inspired researchers to explore the extent of knowledge about fundamental properties of fluids, which demands reconsideration with the increasing use of fluids in the decreasing sizes of new devices, where their flow is confined into ever-smaller capillary tubes.

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The American Institute of Physics (AIP) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) announced today, on behalf of the Heineman Foundation for Research, Educational, Charitable, and Scientific Purposes, that California astrophysicist Lars Bildsten is the winner of the 2017 Heineman Prize for Astrophysics, a distinguished honor awarded annually to recognize significant contributions to the field.

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Love it or hate it, you've probably at least heard of CBS’s hit TV show “The Big Bang Theory,” now in its 10th year of production. But how accurately does it portray scientific culture, and does it break or reinforce stereotypes? A free article in this month’s edition of Physics Today and a companion Inside Science video interview with its author explore these questions.

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After demonstrating the first acoustically driven tractor beam platform, researchers develop a simpler, cheaper version using 3-D printable parts and open-source electronic components for the maker community

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A team of researchers in Italy set out to develop a simple, ultrasensitive fluorescence detection system of in-flow microRNAs that uses spectrally encoded microgels. As the team reports in Biomicrofluidics, until now such a multiplexed barcode detection approach has only been performed in time-consuming observation procedures, significantly hindering its possible diagnostic performance.

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Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., making early, reliable diagnosis and treatment a priority. Miniaturized lab-on-chip approaches are prime candidates for developing viable diagnostic tests and instruments because they are small, need only limited test volumes, and can be cost-effective. Researchers have developed just such an approach capable of processing biomolecular samples from blood. They describe their work in this week’s Biomicrofluidics.

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Resembling the Leidenfrost effect seen in rapidly boiling water droplets, a disk of ice becomes highly mobile due to a levitating layer of water between it and the smooth surface on which it rests and melts. The otherwise random rotation and translation (sliding) of the ice block can be directed by controlling the flow dynamics of the melted ice-turned-water close to the disk surface.

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Water is vital to life on Earth, yet from a scientific point of view, much remains unknown about water and its many solid phases, which display a plethora of unusual properties and so-called anomalies that, while central to water’s chemical and biological importance, are often viewed as controversial. This inspired researchers to pursue a better understanding of water and ice as materials, which has a far-reaching impact on many areas of research.

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A team of researchers in Korea has demonstrated the use of a wobulation technique to enhance the resolution of flow lithography produced nanostructures.

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What are the characteristics of the way you say, “hello,” (or anything else for that matter) that makes you recognizable over the phone? Despite the increasing amount of literature on personal voice quality, very little is actually known about how to characterize the sound of an individual speaker. Two researchers from UCLA in Los Angeles, California, Patricia Keating and Jody Kreiman, are joining forces to apply acoustics tools to their linguistics research, investigating this question.

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Even if they don’t understand the words, infants react to the way their mother speaks and the emotions conveyed through speech. What exactly they react to and how has yet to be fully deciphered, but could have significant impact on a child’s development. Researchers in acoustics and psychology teamed up to better define and study this impact.

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Exoplanet images, investigations into artificial consciousness, privacy concerns about facial screening assessments by neural-networks, and accelerators in a post-grand unification era of physics are all covered in this month’s special December, 2116 edition of Physics Today, the world's most influential and closely followed magazine devoted to physics and the physical sciences community.

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Open office plans are becoming increasingly common in the workplace -- offering a way to optimize available space and encourage dialogue, interaction and collaboration among employees. However, a new study suggests that productive work-related conversations might actually decrease the performance of other employees within earshot -- more so than other random, meaningless noises.

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What does the detection of enemy planes during WWI have to do with locating endangered Mojave Ground Squirrels? They both benefit from a technique called acoustic beamforming which uses multiple devices to find the point of intersection and pinpoint location. A team of researchers is developing a system using this WWI-era technology to detect and locate endangered Mojave Ground Squirrels on Edwards Air Force Base. They aim to assess populations and any impact the base's activities may be having on the population.

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Hearing is a vital sense for marine mammals who use it to forage, communicate and navigate. Many of these mammals produce specific vocalizations that can be used to identify the species and track their locations via acoustic monitoring. Traditionally, scientists have used underwater microphones to listen for marine mammals, either on the seafloor or towed behind a boat. But now scientists can use autonomous underwater vehicles, gliders and floats specially equipped with hydrophones, to listen to marine mammals in ways impossible until now.

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As panic spreads, an entire shoal (collective) of fish responds to an incoming threat in a matter of seconds, seemingly as a single body, to change course and evade a threatening predator. Within those few seconds, the panic-infused information – more technically known as the startle response – spreads through the collective, warning fish within the group that would otherwise have no way to detect such a threat. The ways in which this information spreads and the role played by position dynamics may help us better plan for emergencies.

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Musical styles and strengths vary dramatically: Some musicians are better at sight reading music, while others are better at playing by ear. Does this mean that their brains are processing information differently? This is a question posed by Eriko Aiba, an assistant professor in Tokyo, Japan who will present research that delves into the various ways the brain engages in music signal processing.

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What would the paradise of Hawaii be without swaying coconut palms, with succulent fruit that is almost synonymous with the tropical island? Unfortunately, that may be the future of the island unless scientists find some way to stop the destructive Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle which feeds on the coconut palms, stripping them of their leaves and decimating the vegetation. A team of researchers at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu are using acoustics to help to understand this beetle, its habits and movements in order to protect the state’s valuable natural resources.

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A group of Clarkson University mathematicians and a civil engineer developed a passive and noninvasive approach to “listen” to a collection of relevant signals from bridges and other mechanical structures to diagnose changes or damage.

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A team of researchers from India have created a model to explain how liquid diffuses through paper which has applications in medical testing and perfume manufacturing

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A collaborative effort between research groups at the Technical University of Freiberg and the University of Siegen in Germany demonstrates that the physical properties of SrTiO3, or strontium titanate, in its single crystal form can be changed by a relatively simple electrical treatment.

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Fluorescence is an incredibly useful tool for experimental biology and it just got easier to tap into, thanks to the work of a group of University of Chicago researchers.

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In a study to be presented during the 172nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the 5th Joint Meeting with Acoustical Society of Japan, a Canadian researcher has new data about the vocal attractiveness of consonants. Vowels are already well studied and there are several acoustic cues intrinsic to vowels -- such as pitch -- that effect listeners’ judgments of attractiveness. According to the researchers, consonants are different.

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While studying bats, researchers noticed a large group of muscles running straight down the middle of the top of the bat’s skull. A set of muscles like this is quite unusual in size and location for a small mammal, so they questioned their purpose. During the 172nd ASA meeting, the researchers will present their work exploring the muscle's complex activity patterns during sonar performance.

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Corn is the leading grain crop in the U.S. but a lack of understanding about the mechanics involved in wind-induced corn stalk failure has hindered further improvements in corn production. Now, by applying mechanical engineering tools and techniques, a group of engineers and plant scientists are making headway addressing this problem. The work will be presented at the 172nd ASA meeting.

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Nucleation processes are a first step in the structural rearrangement involved in the phase transition of matter: a liquid morphing into a gas, a gas becoming a liquid and so on. Understanding this process is critical for preventing, halting or treating cases of nucleation processes gone wrong -- such as in human disease. Now, a team of researchers have made headway toward understanding this problem from a molecular point of view in a new study, which they discuss in this week’s The Journal of Chemical Physics.

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Excessive vibrations – excessive to the point of injury – have been prominent in the news recently, but researchers have developed an algorithm that could help machines avoid getting trapped in resonant motion. Using a combination of computer simulations and experiments, they found that by carefully increasing and decreasing the speed of a rotor, they could nudge it past its resonant frequency. The rotor doesn't get stuck in resonance like the faulty washing machine. The researchers describe their work in this week’s Chaos.

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The quest to develop a wireless micro-robot for biomedical applications requires a small-scale “motor” that can be wirelessly powered through biological media. While magnetic fields can be used to power small robots wirelessly, they do not provide selectivity since all actuators (the components controlling motion) under the same magnetic field just follow the same motion. To address this intrinsic limitation of magnetic actuation, a team of German researchers has developed a way to use microbubbles to provide the specificity needed to power micro-robots for biomedical applications.

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The popularity of forensics and crime scene investigation fueled by a glut of television programs has familiarized many of us with the basics of forensic medicine. However, not much is, in fact, understood about blood back spatter. A team of researchers from the University of Illinois and Iowa State University is exploring the science behind blood back spatter using fluid dynamics to develop a theoretical model for predicting and interpreting blood spatter from gunshot wounds, and it could significantly impact the field of forensic science. The work will be presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics held in Portland, Oregon, Nov. 20-22, 2016.

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Fluid dynamics met history for a team of researchers who studied the Boston Molasses Flood, a disaster that claimed 21 lives, injured 150 and flattened buildings in the Commercial Street area of Boston in 1919. During the 69th APS Division of Fluid Dynamics Meeting, a trio of fluid dynamics physicists at Harvard University will explain how they were inspired to study this event by a group of undergraduates who produced a parody rap video about the flood for a project in their fluid dynamics course. The trio examined this historic, yet not well known, event from a scientific perspective.

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In Japan, many adults hold fond childhood memories of fireworks as a symbol of the summer season. Senko-hanabi, which translates to “sparkling fireworks,” emit a small fireball with streaks of light akin to pine needle structures. As one of the most popular hand-held fireworks since the early Edo period, from 1603 to 1868, they’re renowned for fragile beauty accompanied by a soothing sound. During the 69th DFD meeting, researchers will describe work uncovering the liquid dynamics at play behind Senko-hanabi’s beauty.

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Breastfeeding is a topic that creates discussion and at times even controversy. However, some basic questions about its biology still remain. For instance, does successful infant feeding depend on the mechanics of the breast and, conversely, does breast health depend on breastfeeding? It has been virtually impossible to study these complex dynamics and the delicate interplay that makes breastfeeding possible, but a pair of researchers are working together to build a biomimetic breast that will allow scientists to study how the breast behaves during its primary function: infant feeding.

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Note to elite swimmers: Are you looking for a competitive edge in the hydrodynamics of your front crawl?

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Have you ever taken a good look at a cat’s tongue? If so, you may have noticed the tiny, sharp “spines” on its surface.

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A team at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, exploring how air bubbles rise within a complex fluid, like those found while processing wet concrete, wondered if they could actually get them to sink instead by shaking the mixture in the right way. During the 69th DFD meeting, the researchers will present their work studying bubbles within complex fluids.

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Wind energy is a key part of the global energy future, expanding rapidly throughout the world in onshore and offshore settings. But to be sustainable, large scale, multi-megawatt (multi-MW) wind farming’s economic efficiencies need to be maximized -- and knowing where to place the turbines within the wind farm is a first step. Bring on the drones. Moreover, design novel instrumented drones with a suite of sensors capable of gathering precise field data in the complex flow and terrain of an actual wind farm. This was the approach of researchers from Switzerland.

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A big challenge in cognitive or rehabilitation neurosciences is the ability to design a functional hybrid system that can connect and exchange information between biological systems, like neurons in the brain, and human-made electronic devices. A large effort of researchers in Italy brought together scientists across disciplines to analyze the biocompatibility of the substrate used to connect these biological and human-made components, and investigate the functionality of the adhering cells, creating a living biohybrid system.

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In 2014, the 74,763 new energy vehicles sold accounted for only 0.3 percent of total automobile sales in China that year. So a group of researchers set out to find out what motivates or influences consumer to purchase electric vehicles within seven cities in China. They report their findings this week in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

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Order and disorder might seem dichotomous conditions of a functioning system, yet both states can, in fact, exist simultaneously and durably within a system of oscillators, in what’s called a chimera state. Taking its name from a composite creature in Greek mythology, this exotic state still holds a lot of mystery, but its fundamental nature offers potential in understanding governing dynamics across many scientific fields. Researchers discuss this work in the journal Chaos this week.

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The 69th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society – Division of Fluid Dynamics this month will cover fluid dynamics advances across many disciplines, with applications including forensics, biomimetic devices, sports dynamics, bubble formation and more

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A team of Italian scientists have built on previous work in this field using pectin with a high degree of methylation as the medium to create a new architecture of hybrid device with a double-layered polyelectrolyte that alone drives memristive behavior. They discuss their work in this week’s AIP Advances.

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Traditional leather manufacturing requires the use of several toxic chemicals, such as halogenated flame retardants or organic antimicrobial solvents, which cause pollution. Now, a team of researchers led by Robert Franz of the Montanuniversität in Leoben, Austria are testing an eco-friendly alternative: silver-titanium nanoparticles.

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During the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee, Stephane Evoy, an applied physicist from the University of Alberta, will explain how the team recognized the limited reliability of antibodies in providing bacteria detection with specificity. Instead they used phage-derived proteins, proteins developed from the bacteria-invading viruses, for detection of pathogenic bacteria to address this deficiency. This work has implications not only in disease diagnosis, but also in food and water safety.

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During the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016 ,in Nashville, Tennessee, Taraneh Bozorgzad Moghim and a team of researchers from the University of Surrey in the U.K. studied how the high-performance organic coatings used on aircraft surfaces physically and chemically degrade after exposure to ultraviolet light and ozone at high altitudes.

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Researchers have shed new light on the heterogeneous nature of a polar organic liquid mixed with water. They used laser light as a tool that allowed them to demonstrate the existence of stable nanodroplets of tetrahydrofuran in the bulk of aqueous electrolyte solutions and to develop a new theory that explains the spontaneous generation of heterogeneous nanoparticles in aqueous solutions of polar organic solutes in terms of nanodroplet formation due to “twinkling” hydrogen bonds.

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Carbon, silicon, germanium, tin and lead are all part of a family that share the same structure of their outermost electrons, yet range from acting as insulators to semiconductors to metals. Is it possible to understand these and other trends within element families? In this week’s The Journal of Chemical Physics, researchers describe probing the relationship between the structure (arrangement of atoms) and function (physical properties) of a liquid metal form of the element bismuth.

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In work that will be presented during the AVS 63rd International Symposium and Exhibition being held November 6-11, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee, Sarah Bergbreiter and her colleagues in the Maryland Microrobotics Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park, have not only build microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices the size of insects, but have also created them to move just like real insects.