From pretty sure to... "more certain"

           Scientists at CERN are "more certain" that they have correctly identified the Higgs boson. For more information on the Higgs boson and the standard model of particle physics, take a look at my previous blog post - here! Essentially, the Higgs boson is evidence for the Higgs field. This field is theoretically around us and everything at all times. As anything passes through the Higgs field, it obtains mass. The discovery of the particle does not lead to new discoveries, but authenticates all of the understanding and claims that physicists have made since the introduction of the standard model.

            The initial announcement about the Higgs boson was made over the summer. Scientists announced that they had discovered a particle that was "Higgs-like," but they couldn't be sure of the identity until after they went through all of the data they had obtained. According to the New York Times, the scientists at the Large Hadron Collider went through around 2,000 trillion collisions of subatomic particles. That is an insane amount of data. Written out, this is 1 trillion - 1,000,000,000,000. So, 2000 trillion written out is - 2,000,000,000,000,000 - which I think may be 2 quadrillion.  I can't even begin to image how many hours had to be put in by how many scientists to filter through it all. This data is actually more (about double) than the amount of data that led to the initial discovery over the summer.

            The next step for CERN is determining whether or not this is the ONE Higgs boson, or if it is a lighter member of a family of Higgs bosons (scroll down about 3/4 of the page for a good explanation). According to the Standard Model, there should be only one particle. Scientists have met and discussed this, but plan on watching how the particle spins and decays to finally determine what it is. The Higgs boson should have no spin at all. There is an interesting article on spin - here.

            Well, we will all have to wait and see. CERN is now down for two years so that repairs can be made, and the data they have already collected can be fully analyzed. If the Higgs is proven to exist, then the understanding of our universe and how it interacts on the subatomic level will be greatly increased. I for one, look forward to seeing where this data and proposed Higgs boson take the world of particle physics in the next few years.

National Geographic article - here

NBC science article - here

 CNN tech article - here

Chromium- Element of the Week from 3/8 -3/16

             

            Chromium is element number 24 and, appropriately, the 24th most abundant element on Earth. It is a solid, hard metal and its name is derived from the Greek word for color, "chroma." It is malleable, tasteless, and odorless, as well as gray in color. Seeing as how its color is gray, the name doesn’t seem to make sense. But the Greek word was chosen due to the fact that many compounds involving chromium are intensely colored.

            A French pharmacist and chemist, whose name was Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, discovered chromium in 1797. Vauquelin also discovered the element Beryllium in 1798. He initially produced a chromium oxide, but after further testing was eventually able to isolate solid chromium. The method used to achieve this was by hearing chromium oxide in a charcoal oven. Chromium metal is still today obtained primarily through a similar heating method.

            Chromium is commonly used to coat other metals, as it is extremely corrosion resistant. Chromium is also what is added to steel to make it harder and create stainless steel. Chromium as a anti-corrosion agent is the most prominent use of the metal, though some others exist. Several compounds containing chromium are used as intense dyes and pigments, the tanning of leather, and chromic acid is used to destroy any trace of organic molecules in laboratory glassware.

            There are many forms of chromium. Hexavalent chromium or Cr (VI) the most toxic of these and is a known carcinogen. It makes me happy to know that I was just using this in Physical chemistry lab. 

Algernon Lives!

          

            Think Flowers for Algernon - and if you don't know what that is, then I recommend reading either the short story or the novel (and if all else fails watch the film. It is called Charly). I'll give you a brief synopsis - a mentally handicapped man and a mouse are both treated with a drug that will make them smarter, and IT WORKS! But, that is much too happy of an ending... I won't ruin it for you, but I highly highly recommend that you read it.

        Onto the story at hand! The above paragraph may seem like a bit of a disconnect from a science blog, but I promise it has a point. Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York actually implanted human cells called glial progenitor cells (a type of stem cell) into the brains of infant mice. These stem cells produce different types of glia (sort of the glue of the nervous system), including one called astrocytes. Astroyctes are star shaped and give physical support to neurons, which are the basic building blocks of the human nervous system, through chemicals needed for proper function. They also help nourish the neurons and they form a matrix that keeps the neurons in place.

        After implanting these young mice with the glial cells, scientists did tests to see if the intelligence of the mice had been increased - and it had! The results showed not only that they were indeed smarter, but also that the human glial cells worked better than the rodent ones.  It is believed that the increased intelligence could be due to the fact that human astroyctes are larger and more complex than those of other animals.

        Another fascinating part of this research is that scientists implanted glial cells in the brains of mice that had a genetic disorder similar to multiple sclerosis. The glial progenitors healed the mice, which allowed them to live a normal life span. Scientists believe that this type of cell transplant could also help humans who are affected by neurological disorders.

        There is one very unsettling part for me though. While the glial progenitor cells either increased the intelligence of or healed the mice, it also took over the mice progenitors in about 6 months. This seems a little creepily like the Borg to me (from Star Trek - see here). The Borg assimilate other species and make them part of a collective, and I don't like the idea of human cells taking over where mouse cells should have been in control.

        This research could lead to so many cures and there could be so many uses for glial cells that scientists haven't even found yet. It should be exciting to see where this research takes them, and hopefully it's not to being the real life version of the Borg.

Full Popsci article - here

Full Science News article - here

Promethium- Element of the Week from 2/22 -3/8

            

             Promethium is element number 61, a metallic solid, and is technically a lanthanide. It was originally "Prometheum." The history of promethium is long and complicated. Bohuslav Brauner accurately predicted its existence in 1902. Then in 1914, Henry Moseley, measured the atomic numbers of the known elements and proved that there was no element with an atomic number of 61. Two separate groups in 1926, one Italian and one American, claimed to have found it, but it was later discovered that neither of them actually had.

            It was finally in 1945, that the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was able to synthesize and determine that they had element 61 - promethium. The name for promethium comes from Greek mythology. The name is derived from the Titan Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods to give to humankind.

            Natural promethium can come from the decay of uranium and europium. All of the isotopes of promethium are radioactive. The melting point is 1100 C and the boiling point is 3000 C.

            A few of the uses for promethium are nuclear powered battery, and as a potential source for portable X-ray.