Has The 5th Force of Nature Been Found?

                The possible discovery of a previously unknown subatomic particle may indicate that a fifth fundamental force of nature exists, a revolutionary finding that could change our understanding of dark matter and the universe. We’ve known of four fundamental forces: gravitation, electromagnetism and strong and weak nuclear forces.  The researchers came upon a 2015 study by physicists Hungarian Academy of Sciences who were searching for “dark photons”, particles that would signify unseen dark matter, which physicists say makes up 85% of universe’s mass. They were not able to claim that it was a new force. Instead of being a dark photon, the particle may be a “protophobic X boson”. While normal electric force acts on electrons and protons, this boson interacts only with electrons and neutrons – and at an extremely limited range.

New Software Can Analyse & Mimic Your Handwriting

                Scientists have developed a software that can analyse the handwriting of any individual and accurately replicate it, and advance that may spark the comeback of the handwriting word in a world dominated by the QWERTY keyboard. Researchers created ‘My Text in Your Handwriting’, a programme which examines a sample of a person’s handwriting and generates new text saying whatever the user wishes, as if the author had handwritten it themselves. Stroke victims, for example, may be able to formulate letters without the concern of illegibility, or someone sending flowers as a gift could include a handwritten note without even going into the florist. It could also be used in comic book where a piece of handwritten text can be translated into different languages without losing the author’s original style. The machine learning algorithm is built around glyphs. The software learns what is consistent across an individual’s style and reproduces this. To generate an individual’s handwriting, the programme analyses and replicates an author’s specific characters choices, pen-line texture and color, the joining-up between letters, and vertical and horizontal spacing.

'Passphrases' Are The New Passwords

                Move over passwords!  Long passphrases are emerging as a better alternative for digital security than complex codes made of letters, numbers and special keystrokes. No longer must passwords be changed so often, or include an incomprehensible string of special characters. The new direction champions less complexity in favour of length. To a computer, poetry or simple sentences can be just as hard crack. People are less likely to forget them.

This Blood Test Detects Alzheimer's in Just 3 Hours

                A low-cost biochip based blood test that can identify people at a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease in just three hours has been developed. A study showed that the test, which allows multiple tests to be run on one blood sample, was accurate as existing molecular tests that analyse DNA. This is the first time that researchers have used this technology to test for an increased risk of Alzheimer’s. This can empower patients to understand risks, consider medication. This test detects the presence of protein in the blood produced by a specific variation of apolipoprotein gene (ApoE4), which is associated with increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The apolipoprotein gene is inherited from each parent and when a patient inherits the ApoE4 variant from one parent they have a three times greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s, whereas a patient who inherits ApoE4 from both parents is 8-to-12 times more likely to develop the disease.