Science

How University Of Arizona Guided Men To The Moon

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Moon samples collected by the Apollo astronauts a half-century ago hold answers to questions that weren’t even on scientists’ minds at the time, as new technological tools provide insight into some of the oldest mysteries about the moon, the earth and the solar system.
 
UA News:
 
TUCSON, Ariz. — Only a handful of people were seriously studying the moon when President John F. Kennedy announced in 1961 that Americans would walk on its surface by the decade’s end.
 
Among them was a small group of researchers at the University of Arizona.
 
The UA team imaged
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Amateur Naturalist: Summer Solstice … What Is Happening To The Birds

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The Evening Grosbeak: The most adaptable species for the varying habitats of Los Alamos has resulted in it being the most commonly seen. Photo by Bob Walker
 
A House Sparrow and a fledgling: The efforts of a parent bird may help their numbers increase in coming years. Photo by Bob Walker
 
Amateur Naturalist
By ROBERT DRYJA
 
We have been considering in previous columns what has been happening to the birds of Los Alamos County.
 
This has involved reviewing the distribution of breeding species in different habitats and what has been the trend in their numbers for year to year
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Recent Breakthrough On DIII-D Enables Major Step Toward Economical Fusion Energy

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The D-shaped plasmas in Super H-mode experiments on DIII-D are able to reach ion temperatures of more than 30 million degrees in the pedestal region (the yellow areas of the cross sections), enabling the core plasma (orange areas) to reach optimal fusion temperatures of over 150 million degrees. During the experiments, the DIII-D plasma is the hottest spot in the solar system, far hotter than the core of the sun. Courtesy/General Atomics & Bill Meyer
 
GENERAL ATOMICS News:
 
SAN DIEGO, Calif. ― It’s called “Super-H Mode,” and it could mean a dramatic reduction in the cost and size
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AGU: ‘Bathtub Rings’ Around Titan’s Lakes Might Be Made Of Alien Crystals

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A false-color, near infrared view of Titan’s northern hemisphere collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft showing the moon’s seas and lakes. Orange areas near some of them may be deposits of organic evaporite minerals left behind by receding liquid hydrocarbon. Courtesy/NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute
 
AGU News:
 
BELLEVUE, Wash. ― The frigid lakeshores of Saturn’s moon Titan might be encrusted with strange, unearthly minerals, according to new research being presented here.
 
Scientists re-creating Titan-esque conditions in their laboratory have
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Los Alamos Makerspace Launches New Training, Collaboration And Hiring (MaTCH) Pilot

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Alexandra De Lucia, a gifted LANL post-baccalaureate intern, learning how to solder and taking a stab at building hardware at the local makerspace. De Lucia researches machine learning-based monitoring tools on the LANL High Performance Computing Design team. She has been a seasonal volunteer with Los Alamos Makers since the summer of 2017. At that time, she mentored teens during the summer Coder Dojo. She has come back this year and led a weekly Python Club for teens and adults. Next year, she will study natural language processing, as a PhD student at Johns Hopkins Read More

NMED Launches Technology Transfer Assistance Grants

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NMED News:
 
SANTA FE ― The New Mexico Economic Development Department is launching a new grant program to help facilitate the transfer of technology developed in the laboratory to businesses seeking to improve existing products or business procedures.
 
The New Mexico Technology Transfer Assistance Grants (NM-TAG) are aimed to assist in the transfer and commercialization of technologies developed in New Mexico to business startups.
 
“There is a substantial amount of research being done at the National Laboratories and Universities in New Mexico that can be commercialized,”
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LAF&SF Features Bob Fuselier 6 P.M. Wednesday

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Bob Fuselier of Los Alamos will speak on ‘Neuroscience and Emotions’ this Wednesday at the LAF&SF at the Unitarian Church. Courtesy/LAF&SF

LAF&SF News:

Los Alamos scientist Nels Hoffman spoke to a full house Wednesday at the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum’s Summer Series (LAF&SF).

The theme of the summer series is “Are You a Robot? Brain, Mind and Soul” and Hoffman spoke on the topic of “Neuroplasticity: How the Mind Changes the Brain”.

Bob Fuselier of Los Alamos will speak this Wednesday on “Neuroscience and Emotions”.

Fuselier’s abstract states: In his landmark Read More

Ledoux: Exploring Mysteries Of Living … Welcome

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By STEPHEN F. LEDOUX
Los Alamos member of
The International Behaviorology Institute
 
Welcome to the first of many columns exploring some of the mysteries of life and living, especially some behavior–related mysteries.
 
Each column will include where to find more information. And each column provides some basics of a scientific account for its mystery.
 
Behaviorology, the little known 100-year-old natural science of behavior, supplies the informing science. Indeed, in these columns, the words “science” and “scientist” always mean “natural science” and “natural scientist.”
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Air Force Research Laboratory Prepares DSX Spacecraft For Launch On Space X Falcon Heavy Rocket

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The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) spacecraft in the final preparation stages before shipment to Cape Canaveral, Fla., for launch on a Space X Falcon Heavy Rocket. Courtesy photo
 
KAFB News:
 
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE ― Air Force Research Laboratory engineers have completed the final assembly and integration of the Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) spacecraft in preparation for its placement on the first-ever Department of Defense SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle.
 
The DOD Space Test Program (STP-2) mission,
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Bring Out Your Manhattan Project Era Cars To Main Gate Park Saturday, July 13 For 2019 ScienceFest!

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Courtesy/Chamber

 

Courtesy/Chamber

 

CHAMBER News:

 

All year long thousands of visitors take photos in front of the façade at Main Gate Park at the entrance to Los Alamos. But only once a year is the complete photo-op available with the car parked in front, just like in the iconic photo.

 

It’s become a ScienceFest tradition to have Ken Uher park his 1939 Buick convertible in front of the Main Gate façade at Main Gate Park on the Saturday of ScienceFest. This year, Los Alamos MainStreet would like to invite anyone with a Manhattan Project Era car to join him.

 

While the Read More