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Posted by nkkhoo on 15th March, 2013
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‘God particle’ found: physicists say they have discovered a Higgs boson
The search is all but over for the so-called God particle that is a crucial building block of the universe.
Physicists said on Thursday they believe they have discovered the sub-atomic particle predicted nearly half a century ago, which will go a long way toward explaining what gives electrons and all matter in the universe size and shape.
The elusive particle, called a Higgs boson, was predicted in 1964 to help fill in our understanding of the creation of the universe, which many theorise occurred in a massive explosion known as the Big Bang.
 A representation of traces of a proton-proton collision measured in the search for the Higgs boson. Photo: AP The particle was named for Peter Higgs, one of the physicists who proposed its existence, but it later became popularly known as the God particle.
Last July, scientists at CERN, the Geneva-based European Organisation for Nuclear Research, announced finding a particle they described as Higgs-like, but they stopped short of saying conclusively that it was the same particle or some version of it.
Scientists have now finished going through the entire set of data year and announced the results in a statement and at a physics conference in the Italian Alps.
“To me it is clear that we are dealing with a Higgs boson, though we still have a long way to go to know what kind of Higgs boson it is,” said Joe Incandela, a physicist who heads one of the two main teams at CERN that each involve about 3000 scientists.
Its existence helps confirm the theory that objects gain their size and shape when particles interact in an energy field with a key particle, the Higgs boson. The more they attract, the theory goes, the bigger their mass will be.
But, it remains an “open question”, CERN said in a statement, whether this is the Higgs boson that was expected in the original formulation, or possibly the lightest of several predicted in some theories that go beyond that model.
But for now, it said, there can be little doubt that a Higgs boson does exist, in some form.
Whether or not it is a Higgs boson is demonstrated by how it interacts with other particles and its quantum properties, CERN said in the statement. The data “strongly indicates that it is a Higgs boson”, it said.
The discovery would be a strong contender for the Nobel Prize, though it remains unclear whether that might go to Higgs and the others who first proposed the theory or to the thousands of scientists who found it, or to all of them.
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technology/sci-tech/god-particle-found-physicists-say-they-have-discovered-a-higgs-boson-20130315-2g481.html#ixzz2NaTwu48T
Posted by nkkhoo on 25th January, 2013
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‘Humans evolved from a two-inch worm’
 Our oldest ancestor … a fossil of the Pikaia gracilens. By ELLIE ROSS
HUMANS have evolved from this two-inch worm, scientists claim.
The extinct Pikaia gracilens lived in the sea more than 500million years ago.
Now scientists have linked it to humans, saying that it is a primitive ancestor of animals with spinal cords.
It also gave rise to fish, birds, reptiles and other mammals.
Although Pikaia was first discovered in 1911, scientists assumed it was only related to leeches and earthworms.
But the spinal cord, paired with zig-zag patterened blocks of muscle tissue known as myomeres, relates it to humans.
 Sea worm … how the Pikaia would have looked Lead author Professor Simon Conway Morris, from Cambridge University, said: “The discovery of myomeres is the smoking gun that we have long been seeking.
“This study clearly places Pikaia as the planet’s most primitive chordate.
“So, next time we put the family photograph on the mantle-piece, there in the background will be Pikaia.”
Using cutting-edge microscopes and imagery techniques, scientists revealed fine details in the Pikaia fossils.
Every specimen of Pikaia discovered so far has come from the Burgess Shale fossil beds in Canada’s Yoho National Park.
It is thought to have swum above the sea floor by bending its body from side to side.
Dr Jean-Bernard Caron, from the University of Toronto in Canada, took part in the research.
He said: “It’s very humbling to know that swans, snakes, bears, zebras and, incredibly, humans all share a deep history with this tiny creature no longer than my thumb.”
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4174164/Humans-evolved-from-a-two-inch-worm.html#ixzz2IzPz7yVY
Posted by nkkhoo on 4th December, 2012
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A made in China LED bulb I bought last for a few hours only.
In theory, a LED bulb can last for 20 years, but do not forget circuit board and other components kaput first.
If you want to replace fluorescent bulbs with LED bulbs, let source for branded one, not no branded one from China as I did.
This is another lesson I learned, China products sold in Malaysia market are poor quality stock.
Posted by nkkhoo on 30th October, 2012
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Membrane technology is more expensive in 1990 is not a news, but the cost for membrane technology has decreasing over the years.
A new study has to be conducted to compare new cost structures for 2012 and future which Selangor has done recently.
A thing I am very sure to say is membrane technology can filter urine and shit water from our minister to drinking grade water.
All sewage water from KL and Selangor can be cleaned up with membrane technology, thus no extra water from the river is needed with the membrane technology.
It’s absurd to say more water is needed with membrane technology.
Only one problem with membrane technology is the water processed is too pure and not suitable for consumption before mineral compounds are added.
Langat 2 Better Than Water Membrane Technology
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 (Bernama) — The Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant (Langat 2) project is more economical and viable than using water membrane technology proposed by the Selangor government to avoid a water supply crisis in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Deputy Minister, Datuk Noriah Kasnon said a study conducted since 1990 found this to be so by transferring raw water from Pahang to Selangor (and treated at Langat 2).
“Our study has found that this is the best decision for the people. Membrane technology requires a lot of water, while we have been using water from five rivers in Selangor to the optimum.
“That is why Langat 2 is the best solution to the water supply problem in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. (The Selangor government) keeps changing technology and in the end, putting the people at risk,” she said in reply to a supplementary question from Tan Sri Abd Khalid Ibrahim (PKR-Bandar Tun Razak) in the Dewan Rakyat, here, Tuesday.
The Selangor government has not given approval to the Langat 2 project aimed at meeting the water supply need in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya which is expected to increase by 3.5 to 4.0 per cent each year.
– BERNAMA
Posted by nkkhoo on 15th August, 2012
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How many entomologists in Malaysia? I believe less than five entomologists in entire nation.
The amateur photographer’s name, Guek Hock Ping will be used for naming the insect if he can submit the sample submission with the help of local entomologist.
Insect species discovered via Flickr photo
Social media credited with ‘cybertaxonomy’ for Malaysian green lacewing
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2012/08/14/insect-species-flickr-discovery.html
This photo, taken by amateur photographer Hock Ping Guek in Malaysia and posted to Flickr, shows a previously unclassified species of green lacewing. (Hock Ping Guek/Flickr)
A Malaysian man’s photo of a bug with an eye-catching wing pattern has led to the accidental discovery of a new insect species, after an entomologist on another continent stumbled upon the picture on the popular photo-sharing website Flickr.
Photographer Hock Ping Guek said he first came across the green lacewing in the Malaysian rainforest last year. Struck by its beauty, he snapped a photo and watched it flutter away, later posting the photo online through Flickr.
When Shaun Winterton, a senior entomologist at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, stumbled across the photo while browsing the web, he was perplexed. The splashes of blue and the black lines on the wing were something neither he nor his colleagues had ever seen before.
Winterton wrote to Guek to alert him of the possible discovery of a new insect species.
But it wasn’t until a year later that Guek actually encountered another of the insects — now named Semachrysa jade — and was able to capture the specimen for study. Named after researcher’s daughter
“He told me, ‘I’ve got one in a container on my kitchen table — what should I do with it?’” Winterton told NPR News.
The name of the insect came from Winterton’s daughter, Jade.
Winterton and Guek confirmed that the insect had never been classified before by sending it to Steve Brooks, an entomologist at the Natural History Museum in London.
The trio then collaborated across continents on a research article introducing the new green lacewing to the science world and crediting a “citizen scientist” and the use of an online image database in the study’s title.
The article, A charismatic new species of green lacewing discovered in Malaysia (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae): the confluence of citizen scientist, online image database and cybertaxonomy, is featured in the latest issue of the journal ZooKeys.
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