Record High Temp Of Last Year May Be The New Normal By 2025

Global temperature records set in 2015 – the hottest year so far – may become the new norm by 2025 if carbon emissions continue to rise at the same rate. Human activities have already locked in this new ‘normal’ for future temperatures but immediate climate action could prevent record extreme seasons year after year. If we don’t reduce our rate of emissions, the record hot summer of 2013 in Australia - when we saw temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius in some areas – could be just another average summer season by 2035. So, what is the idea of a new normal? Researchers determined that a new normal occurred when at least half of the years following an extreme year were cooler and half warmer. Only then can a new normal state be declared. This process was also used to determine new normal conditions for seasonal and regional changes to the climate. Using the ANU’s National Computational Infrastructure supercomputer to run climate models, the researchers explored when new normal states would appear under the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change’s four emissions pathways. The results revealed that while global average temperatures would inevitably enter a new normal under all emissions scenarios, this was not the case at seasonal and regional levels. Researchers found that with prompt action to reduce greenhouse gases, a new normal might never occur in the 21^st century at regional levels during the southern hemisphere summer and northern hemisphere winter.

Water Found On Metallic Asteroid

Scientists have detected the presence of water on Psycho, a largest metallic asteroid in our solar system and the target of a proposed NASA mission. New observations from the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii show evidence of water or hydroxyl on its surface. While the source of these molecules on Psycho remains a mystery, Joshua Emery, from the University of Tennessee, said that water-rich minerals detected on the asteroid might have been delivered by carbonaceous asteroids that impacted Psyche in the distant past.

A Battery Made From Junkyard Metal

Researchers have developed a new high-performance, grid-scale battery made from metal scrap and common household chemicals. The battery, which is the size of a pill bottle, can withstand the equivalent of 13 years of daily charging and discharging while retaining 90% of its capacity. Researcher said that the battery was powerful and easy to build. Researchers were inspired from an ancient technology called the Baghdad Battery, which dates to the first century BC. It consisted of a terracotta pot, a copper sheet and an iron rod along with some trace chemicals that could have been an electrolyte. The team soaked metal in a jar with a solution of water and salt. They then applied a voltage to induce a process called anodisation, which restructures the nanoscopic composition of a metal. That exposes the metal’s interior surface and makes it more receptive to storing and releasing energy. Researchers placed a barrier between the two pieces of metal and submerged it in an electrolyte solution made from water and potassium hydroxide. When connected by wires to a device that generated a current, their contraption worked like a car battery.

Ebola Virus Mutated To Better Infect Humans

The Ebola virus may have adapted to better infect human cells, say scientists who identified mutations in the deadly virus that developed during the recent epidemic in West Africa. More than 28,000 people have been infected with the virus and more than 11,000 people died from the disease. To study whether the virus might have changed genetically in response to infection of such large numbers of people, the researchers used Ebola virus gnomic sequences to track virus mutations. They found that mutations of the gene that encodes the Ebola virus glycol-protein increased the virus’ ability to infect cells of humans and other primates. Ebola virus circulated in an unknown animal reservoir and rarely crosses over into people. When the virus does cross over, the effect has been devastating to those people who are infected. Until recently, the human diseases outbreaks have been short lived, and the virus has had little opportunity to adapt genetically to the human host. By increasing infectivity in human cells, it is possible that these mutations increased Ebola virus spread during the outbreak.

A Smart Glue That Works Under Water

Scientists are developing a “smart glue” – using mussel proteins – that can bond securely underwater and may be turned on and off with electricity. There is no smart adhesive out there that can perform underwater. The chemistry that researchers can potentially incorporate into the adhesive, causing it to reversibly bond and de-bond is quite new. Such“smart glue” can bind underwater sensors and devices to the hulls of ships and submarines and help unmanned vehicles dock along rocky coastlines or in remote locations. The adhesive can also lead to new kinds of bandages that will stay attached when someone sweats or gets wet, and make it less painful to remove a dressing. The smart glue may even be used to attach prosthetic limbs and biometric sensors or seal surgical wounds.

New VR System Lets You Feel Rain, Beating Heart

Researchers have developed a 360-degree virtual reality application using a unique chair to provide full body sensations that enables users to add customizable “feel effects” such as raindrops or a beating heart. Virtual reality has seen a renaissance in recent years as advancements in computer graphics, computing platforms and the seamless flow of information between hardware and software have come together in a powerful way. Researchers team is working to make VR haptic sensations just as rich as the 360 degree visual media now available. Current VR systems provide ‘buzz like’ haptic sensations through hand controllers. But technology exists for much richer sensations. Researchers have created a framework that would enable users to select form a wide range of meaningful sensations that can be adjusted to complement the visual scene and to play them through a variety of haptic feedback devices. The haptic playback and authoring plug-in developed by the researchers connects a VR game engine to a customized haptic device. It allows users to create, personalize and associate haptic feedback to the events triggered in the VR game engine. The haptic definition app, called VR360HD, was developed and tested using a consumer headset and Disney researcher’s haptic chair. The chair features a grid of six vibrotactile actuators in its back and two subwoofers or “shakers” in the seat and back. The grid produces localized moving sensations in the back, while the subwoofers shake two different regions of the body and can create a sensation of motion. Users were able to select from a library of feel effects tested by the team.

This Rewritable Paper Can Be Used More Than 40 Times

Scientists have developed a low-cost, environmentally friendly way to create printed material with rewritable paper that can reduce paper wastage. Even in the present digital age, the world still relies on paper and ink, most of which ends up in landfills or recycling centers. Researchers made the new material by mixing low-toxicity tungsten oxide and polyvinyl pyrrolidone, a common polymer used in medicines and food. To “print” on it, they exposed the material to ultraviolet light for 30 seconds, and it changed from white to a deep blue. To make pictures or words, a stencil can be used so that only the exposed parts turn blue. To erase them, the material can be put in ambient conditions for a day or two. To speed up the erasing, the researchers added heat to make the color disappear in 30 minutes. Alternatively, adding a small amount of polyacrylonitrile to the material can make the designs last for up to 10 days. Tests showed that the material can be printed on and erased 40 times before the quality started to decline. More paper is now recovered for recycling than almost all other materials combined, researchers said. The new material saves energy, water, and landfill space and greenhouse gas emissions.