It is always a very exciting time when it comes to the announcement of the Nobel prizes. I am ready to tweet and share the news with the world. This year I was more than happy, for several reasons.
First of all, two women received the prize, one in Physics and another one in Chemistry. Just five women have received this prize in history. It was 55 years since the last female Physics laureate. I think times are changing. Slowly, but they are. And when it comes to science, we need to focus on what is important: the SCIENCE, the research , the IMPACT. The Nobel Prize in Physics “for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics” once more honoured the vast application of the laser in physics. On one side Arthur Ashkin “for optical tweezers and their application to biological systems” and on the other Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland “for their method of generating high-intensity ultrashort optical pulses”. You can find here a good general overview of this year's Nobel Prize in Physics. Some weeks ago I had the pleasure to meet Gérard Mourou at the Frontiers in Optics in Washington DC, and I share here below one of his slides. It shows how laser physics has developed in both directions, slowing down atoms or accelerating particles. One tool for all! The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Frances Arnold, George Smith, and Gregory Winter for applying the principles of evolution to develop proteins used in everything from new biofuels to to the world's best-selling drug. In this article their amazing research has been described as 'Darwin in a test tube'. These are examples of impressive scientific work, and life achievements for the development of humankind. To end, by clicking on the image below you can find Donna Strickland talking about her discovery of the fantastic news, and the best advice: just do what you do best, and what makes you happy! There is so much about our closest star that we still don't know!
That is why NASA and ESA will sent two missions to observe the Sun very closely. Understand the behaviour of the Sun's corona might help scientists to predict future mass ejections as well as the star's evolution. Discover more by clicking on the image below, where you can find amazing videos about the missions! Great overview HERE
This week I am glad to participate as a curator @realscientists on Twitter. If you want to know more about me just click here!!
The year comes to an end. Once more, time flies. However, leaving the discussion of the arrow of time for another time, let's review the highlighted scientific events of 2017. This time I wanted to share with you the video of Science (see below), where the biggest breakthroughs are summarised. Images of Physics from IoP can be found HERE. NBC shows its 7 top science and technology events HERE. With these wrap up, I wish you a wonderful Happy New Year 2018, full of science and freaking news! I remembered when I almost started a PhD some years ago on the aerodynamical study of birds flight. To me, with an aeronautical background, it sounded very interesting, as it covers different scientific disciplines from biology to physics, and can be applied to future technologies (e. g. robotics). My career path brought me to another field in the end, but I find always fascinating understanding life from a physical perspective. When I found this article, I wanted to share it with all of you right away. The article is published HERE, but you can also find the full article just by clicking on the image below. Enjoy the physics of nature! ![]()
As you might have already realised, I quite enjoy to share news about future technologies. In this occasion I have considered this article, which covers different new technologies in what is called the Internet Of Things.
Not only your fridge will order directly when you run out of milk, but sensors will change the ambient light accordingly to protect you from depression or skin cancer, to cite just a couple of examples. Enjoy the article by clicking on the picture below! In the Physicsworld magazine of this month there are very interesting articles about physicists working in fields related to the dangers of our own planet: fire, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes...
These scientists get very very close to these hazards to be able to study them. Still, it seems we are far away of understanding the mechanisms and the science behind them. To get a taste of this kind of research you can enjoy a couple of videos if you click on the image below. This is a very interesting study about mental health problems in PhD students. Work environment, organisation, and work-life balance are key! Download the paper below! ![]()
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