SpaceTime

Khufu’s pyramid is the largest in the Giza pyramid complex.  Ricardo Liberato/wikipedia ,  CC BY-SA Harald Fox , Lancaster University Particle physicists have uncovered a large, hidden void in Khufu’s Pyramid, the largest pyramid in Giza, Egypt – built between 2600 and 2500 BC. The discovery, published in Nature , was made using cosmic-ray based imaging and may help scientists work out how the enigmatic pyramid was actually constructed. The technology works by tracking particles called muons . They are very similar to electrons – having the same charge and a quantum property called spin – but are 207 times heavier. This difference in mass is quite important as it turns out it determines how these particles interact when hitting matter. Highly energetic electrons emit electromagnetic radiation, such as X-rays, when they hit solid matter – making them lose energy and get stuck in the target material. Due to the muon’s much higher mass, this emission of electromagne...

From Wikimedia Commons Harriet Dempsey-Jones , University of Oxford Wouldn’t it be great to be able to hear what people whispered behind your back? Or to read the bus timetable from across the street? We all differ dramatically in our perceptual abilities – for all our senses. But do we have to accept what we’ve got when it comes to sensory perception? Or can we actually do something to improve it? Differences in perceptual ability are most obvious for the more valued senses – hearing and vision. But some people have enhanced abilities for the other senses too. For example, there are “ supertasters ” among us mere mortals who perceive stronger tastes from various sweet and bitter substances (a trait linked with a greater number of taste receptors on the tip of the tongue). It’s not all good news for the supertasters though – they also perceive more burn from oral irritants like alcohol and chilli. Women have been shown to be better at feeling touch than men . Interestin...

A nutrient mix based in part on research from the lab of MIT Professor Emeritus Richard Wurtman has shown promise in treating the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Image: Donna Coveney Studies by Richard Wurtman have led to development of nutrient mix shown to slow cognitive impairment in early stages of the disease. Rob Matheson | MIT News Office Much of Professor Emeritus Richard Wurtman’s career in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences revolved around developing new treatments for diseases and conditions by modifying chemicals produced in the brain. Since coming to MIT in 1970, Wurtman and his research group have generated more than 1,000 research articles and 200 patents, laying the groundwork for numerous successful medical products. For example, the 3 million people in the United States who take melatonin as a sleeping aid are using a product that derives from research in Wurtman’s lab. “I’m very interested in using basic knowledge to am...

Angela Clow , University of Westminster and Nina Smyth , University of Westminster October is a dismal time of year. The clocks go back, which accelerates the onset of darker evenings and the “shorter days” inevitably lead to calls for the tradition of putting clocks forward or backward to stop. Of course, the annual return to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) from British Summer Time (BST) doesn’t make the days any shorter, it merely shifts an hour of available daylight from the evening to the morning. For many, lighter evenings are a priority and little attention is given to the benefits of lighter mornings. Arguments over clock changes tend to revolve around benefits for easier travel in lighter evenings. Nevertheless research suggests that holding onto lighter mornings might have hitherto unforeseen advantages. Light in the morning – more than any other time of day – leads to powerful brain-boosting effects , helping us to function as best we can, despite the approaching...