Black hole mergers modelled in 3D

BBC NEWS: " Simulations on a supercomputer have allowed Nasa scientists to understand finally the pattern of gravitational waves produced by merging black holes. The work should help the worldwide effort that is currently underway to make the first detection of these 'ripples' in the fabric of space-time. Ultra-sensitive equipment set up in the US and Europe is expected to achieve the breakthrough observation very soon. The new research will make it easier to recognise the correct signals. 'With these calculations, we are now able to know what will be the distinctive gravitational wave signature that comes out from just outside merging black holes,' commented Professor Peter Saulson, who is part of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (Ligo) Scientific Collaboration."

Black hole mergers modelled in 3D

BBC NEWS: " Simulations on a supercomputer have allowed Nasa scientists to understand finally the pattern of gravitational waves produced by merging black holes. The work should help the worldwide effort that is currently underway to make the first detection of these 'ripples' in the fabric of space-time. Ultra-sensitive equipment set up in the US and Europe is expected to achieve the breakthrough observation very soon. The new research will make it easier to recognise the correct signals. 'With these calculations, we are now able to know what will be the distinctive gravitational wave signature that comes out from just outside merging black holes,' commented Professor Peter Saulson, who is part of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (Ligo) Scientific Collaboration."

Telescope bid to spot alien beams

BBC NEWS : "A new optical telescope designed solely to detect light signals from alien civilisations has opened for work at an observatory in Harvard, US. It will conduct a year-round survey, scanning all of the Milky Way galaxy visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Seti is an exploratory science to scour the cosmos for signatures of technology built by alien beings. Some experts believe alien societies are at least as likely to use light for communicating as radio transmissions. The new telescope, which has a 1.8m (72-inch) primary mirror, is the first dedicated optical Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) telescope in the world. It has been installed at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics at Oak Ridge Observatory. 'The opening of this telescope represents one of those rare moments in a field of scientific endeavour when a great leap forward is enabled,' said Bruce Betts, director of projects at the Planetary Society, which funded the telescope. 'Sending laser signals across the cosmos would be a very logical way for ET to reach out; but until now, we have been ill-equipped to receive any such signal.'"

Mistakes 'aid OCD understanding'

BBC NEWS': "Everyone is familiar with the sinking feeling you get after deleting a computer file by mistake or leaving the house without your keys. But such events also cause their own unique reactions in the brain. US scientists writing in the Journal of Neuroscience found one area becomes more active after 'costly' mistakes. They say it may help explain obsessive compulsive disorder, where minor events appear to be enough to triger an over-reaction in the same area. In the study, the brains of 12 healthy adults were examined using a functional MRI (fMRI) scanner while they were undertook 360 computer tests, such as spotting the odd one out or picking pairs of letters. Succeeding at some carried a small financial reward, while failing at others incurred penalties. Others carried no reward or penalty. People were told they had a $10 (�5.70) 'credit' to begin, and that they would receive real cash depending on their balance at the end. The response to a mistake that cost them money was seen to be greater than the response to other mistakes and involved a part of the brain called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC)."

Postcard from Mars

The first color image of Mars from the high resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals pocked craters, carved gullies and wind-formed dunes on Mars' southern hemisphere. (AP photo from NASA/JPL) Apr. 10, 2006

World's First Dedicated Optical SETI Telescope Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence To Begin

Alien civilizations are thought by many to be at least as likely to use visible light signals for communicating as they are to use radio transmissions. Visible light can form tight beams, be incredibly intense, and its high frequencies allow it to carry enormous amounts of information. Using only Earth 2006 technology, a bright tightly focused light beam, such as a laser, can be ten thousand times as bright as its parent star for a brief instant. Such a beam could be easily observed from enormous distances. "The opening of this telescope represents one of those rare moments in a field of scientific endeavor when a great leap forward is enabled," said Planetary Society Director of Projects Bruce Betts. "Sending laser signals across the cosmos would be a very logical way for E.T. to reach out, but until now, we have been ill equipped to receive any such signal." The Planetary Society's Optical SETI telescope's custom processors will process the equivalent of all books in print every second. As the telescope scans strips of sky, it employs a custom-built "camera" containing an array of detectors that can detect a billionth-of-a-second flash of light. The telescope will scan the sky every night, weather permitting.