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Dark Energy takes the Prize
 Prof. Saul Perlmutter
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The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists whose work vastly increased what we don't know about the universe.
Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess shared the prize for "the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae." In 1998, at the time of the discovery, Quirks & Quarks interviewed
Dr. Perlmutter, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley and a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, about the remarkable discovery that the universe is somehow being pushed apart by what's been dubbed the "dark energy." Since then, Dr. Perlmutter and his colleagues have been working to more accurately measure the accelerating expansion of the universe, which will help theorists understand what physical phenomenon might be causing it. We spoke to him again this week..
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Katydids Make Sexy Snacks
 courtesy J McCartney |
Darwin first observed that the when it comes to mate choice, typically it was male animals who did the choosing. But that is not always the case. New research by
Dr. Darryl Gwynne, a Biology Professor at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, has found the female katydid - a relative of the cricket - will seek out the male who, along with his sperm, provides a nutritional 'gift'. The 'gift' is a large amount of protein secreted from abdominal glands and ejected as he copulates. It is attached to his sperm package, to enable the female to eat while she is being inseminated. The female chooses a mate that will provide the largest gift, in order to maximize the nutritional benefit. That male must provide a gift that is large enough to distract the female for a period of time, to allow for full insemination.
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Fingerprints in Water
 Comet Hartley 2, Courtesy NASA/JPL/UMD
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When the Earth formed in the early solar system, astronomers think water wasn't part of the ingredients list. The heat of the Sun would have expelled any water from the inner part of the protoplanetary disk, where the Earth formed. So the vast amount of water that covers 2/3 of our planet's surface today must have come from farther out in the solar system - raining down on the early Earth.
Dr. Darek Lis, a Senior Research Associate in Physics at the California Institute of Technology, and his colleagues, have found the fingerprint of that water in a comet from the distant Kuiper Belt. Using the Herschel Space Observatory, they looked at Comet Hartley 2 during its approach in 2009, and found in its water a chemical fingerprint that matched the water in Earth's oceans. This suggests that our water came from Kuiper Belt comets, rather than comets from farther out in the Oort cloud, or from the icy asteroids of the asteroid belt.
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A Dangerous Glow
 Bioluminescent Millipede Motyxia sequoiae, Paul Marek, University of Arizona
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Bio-luminescence - or the ability to glow-in-the-dark - is known in some fish, fire flies and, of course, glow worms. Its purpose can be to attract a mate or to attract food. But new research by
Dr. Paul Marek from the Department of Entomology and Center for Insect Science at The University of Arizona in Tucson, has found that in a millipede belonging to the genus
Motyxia, bio-luminescence serves another purpose. In this case, it is a defense mechanism - a warming to its predators to stay away. The warning is necessary because the millipede emits cyanide and other toxic, foul-tasting chemicals, as a secondary line of defense. Bio-luminescence has evolved in these millipedes because they live above ground and do not have the benefit of protective cover or camouflage.
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Slippery When Wet (or anytime)
Taking a page from nature's book,
Dr. Joanna Aizenberg, a Professor of Materials Science and Chemistry, and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, and her group, have made super slippery surfaces by emulating a carnivorous plant. The pitcher plant has an extremely slippery rim, and when insects land on it, they slide down into the plant's liquid- filled pitcher to be trapped and digested. Their secret is that the plant rim has tiny scratches and roughness, which fills with liquid that sticks in place, and lubricates the surface. Dr. Aizenberg and her group have imitated this in several ways, producing surfaces far slipperier than teflon, and which can heal themselves when damaged.
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Science Fact, or Science Fiction: Microwave OvensThis is another episode of our occasional feature, Science Fact or Science Fiction. From time to time, we present a commonly held idea or popular saying - and ask a Canadian scientist to set us straight on whether we should believe it or not. And today's popular belief comes to us from Kenneth Berendzen from Tubingen, Germany, who says: - "Micro-waving your food depletes it of nutrients".
To help us settle this hot issue, we contacted
Dr. Massimo Marcone, in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph. He says it is science fiction.
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Theme music bed copyright Raphaël Gluckstein, Creative Commons License by-nc-nd-2.0
Prof. Saul Perlmutter
courtesy J McCartney
Comet Hartley 2, Courtesy NASA/JPL/UMD
Bioluminescent Millipede Motyxia sequoiae, Paul Marek, University of Arizona
