Webster Griffin Tarpley is an author, journalist, lecturer, and critic of US foreign and domestic policy. Tarpley maintains that the September 11 attacks were engineered by a rogue network of the military industrial complex and intelligence agencies.

His writings and speeches describe a model of false flag terror operations by a rogue network in the military/intelligence sector working with moles in the private sector and in corporate media, and locates such contemporary false flag operations in a historical context stretching back in the English speaking world to at least the "gunpowder plot" in England in 1605. He also maintains that "The notion of anthropogenic global warming is a fraud."

RT, previously known as Russia Today, is a global multilingual television news network based in the Russian Federation run by RIA Novosti.
RT shows round the clock news bulletins, documentaries, talk shows, and debates, as well as sports news and cultural programs on Russia. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to other international news channels, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world.

In addition to the flagship English-language broadcast, it also runs Arabic and Spanish language channels, and RT America, which is oriented to viewers in the United States. It broadcasts from its headquarters in Moscow and its studio in Washington, DC, and also has bureaus in Miami, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Delhi and Tel Aviv.
RT is the second most-watched foreign news channel in the United States, after BBC News. By March 2010, its videos had garnered more than 83 million views on YouTube and has also set a TV News Channel record after exceeding a view count on YouTube of half a billion. It has 2,000 employees worldwide.

With power plants usually located far from where the electricity they produce will actually be consumed, this can add up to a lot of wasted power. A weave of metallic nanotubes known as armchair quantum wire (AQW) is seen as an ideal solution as it can carry electricity over long distances with negligible loss, but manufacturing the massive amounts of metallic single walled carbon nanotubes required for the development of this "miracle cable" has proven difficult. Now researchers have made a pivotal breakthrough that could make the development of such a cable possible.

Armchair quantum wire gets its name from the metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCN) of which it is made. These SWCNs are dubbed armchairs due to their unique shape, and while they are great at carrying current, they can't yet be made on their own. They are currently grown in batches with other kinds of nanotubes and have to be separated out - not an easy task given that a human hair is 50,000 times larger than a single nanotube.

Rice University chemist Andrew R. Barron, graduate student Alvin Orbaek and undergraduate student Andrew Barrons, are carrying on work instigated by the late Rice professor, nanotechnology pioneer and Nobel laureate Richard Smalley, whose dream was of an energy efficient grid that he predicted would provide solutions to many of the world's energy problems.

Working towards this ultimate goal, the team has found a way to take small batches of individual nanotubes and make them dramatically longer. They say that ideally, long armchair nanotubes could be cut, re-seeded with catalyst and re-grown indefinitely, potentially making the development of a cable that will make an efficient electric grid of the future possible.

The technique involves chemically attaching an iron/cobalt catalyst to the ends of nanotubes and then fine-tuning the temperature and environment in which amplification could occur. Barron says refining the process has taken years but the researchers' efforts are now paying off with up to 90 percent of the nanotubes in a batch now able to be amplified to significant lengths. They say that, although the latest experiments focused on SWCNs of various chiralities (ie. they lack an internal plane of symmetry), they feel the results would be as great, and probably even better, with a batch of pristine armchairs.

According to Barron, the key was finding the right balance of temperatures, pressures, reaction times and catalyst ratios to promote growth and retard etching. While initial growth took place at 1,000 degrees Celsius, the researchers found the amplification step required lowering the temperature by 200 degrees, in addition to adjusting the chemistry to maximize the yield. Barron and his team are continuing to fine-tune their process and hope that by summer's end they can begin amplifying armchair nanotubes with the goal of making large quantities of pure metallics.

"What we're getting to is that sweet spot where most of the nanotubes grow and none of them etch," Barron said.

Orbaek hopes the team's breakthrough will eventually lead to a single furnace to grow nanotubes from scratch, cap them with new catalyst, amplify them and put out a steady stream of fiber for cables.

"What we've done is a baby step," he said. "But it verifies that, in the big picture, armchair quantum wire is technically feasible."

The Rice University research team's work is detailed in a paper published online by the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters.

Source: Gizmag

Marina americană a decis să preia modelul dronelor folosite de armată, astfel că va introduce în curând în uz două ambarcatiuni-robot ce pot fi pilotate de la distantă: "Blackfish" si "Harbor Wing".

Prima dintre ele este controlată printr-o telecomandă si are forma unui jet ski menit să patruleze de-a lungul porturilor pentru a detecta teroristii care înoată. A doua este o barcă cu pânze, având o lungime de 20 de metri si o greutate de 10 tone, care este plină de echipamente de supraveghere si care este menită să navigheze departe de tărm. Ambele ambarcatiuni vor naviga fără a avea oameni la bord.

Aceasta nu este prima actiune a Marinei americane de introducere a catamaranelor robotizate. Cu câtiva ani în urmă, acestia au lansat un plan întreg referitor la modul în care navele pilotate de la distantă pot ajuta la spionarea inamicilor, la transportarea soldatilor pe apă, la atacarea vaselor ostile si la păcălirea piratilor. Companiile electronice de protectia s-au alăturat imediat proiectului.

Noul model al navei "Harbor Wing", X-2, este programat să înceapă navigarea în această toamnă. Ghidat de un GPS, X-2 se va aventura în largul oceanului, mergând pe un curs programat în prealabil, de la San Diego la Hawaii si înapoi. Această cursă este una exactă, Harbor Wing fiind programat să nu se abată cu mai mult de cinci metri de la drumul prestabilit. De asemenea, are un sistem de evitare a coliziunilor, pentru a evita obiectele care plutesc în Oceanul Pacific, un sistem de auto-apărare pentru a face fată atacatorilor si pentru a supravietui unor conditii meteorologice amenintătoare.

Marina speră să utilizeze Harbor Wing pe termen lung în misiunile de supraveghere si observare, dar aceste nave ar putea ajuta si la urmărirea mamiferelor marine.

Drona "Blackfish" se va concentra pe urmărirea oamenilor. Senzorul de navigare Knight Rider, dezvoltat de un contractor britanic QinetiQ, va patrula în porturi străine si nationale pentru a descoperi teroristii care înoată si care nu pot fi găsiti de navele Marinei Militare.

Această dronă este capabilă să navigheze cu o viteză de 65 km/h, dar cel mai probabil, mai mult va pluti pentru a detecta înotătorii.

Ambele ambarcatiuni pot fi controlate de la distantă - Harbor Wing de la câteva sute de kilometri, iar Blackfish de la până un kilometru distantă, dar acestea pot fi autonome, având capacitatea de a naviga singure.

Sursa: Wired

The five panel tribunal unanimously decided that Bush and Blair committed genocide and crimes against peace and humanity when they invaded Iraq in 2003 in blatant violation of international law.

The judges ruled that war against Iraq by both the former heads of states was a flagrant abuse of law, act of aggression which amounted to a mass murder of the Iraqi people.

In their verdict, the judges said that the United States, under the leadership of Bush, forged documents to claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

They further said the findings of the tribunal be made available to members of the Rome Statute and the names of Bush and Blair be entered into a war crimes register.

Both Bush and Blair repeatedly said the so-called war against terror was targeted at terrorists.

Lawyers and human rights activists present here say the verdict by the tribunal is a landmark decision. And the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Foundation said it would lobby the International Criminal Court to charge former US president George Bush and Former British prime minister Tony Blair for war crimes.

Source: presstv.ir - Author: Mahi Ramakrishnan, Press TV, Kuala Lumpur

Non avete un software dedicato per montare i vostri video oppure lo trovate troppo complicato da usare? Niente paura, da adesso il sito di video più frequentato su Internet mette a vostra disposizione un vero e proprio kit di montaggio.

Ci sono lo stabilizzatore, per correggere i girati più mossi, la possibilità di ruotare il quadro, di tagliare le clip (solo in cima o in coda per ora), così come quella di aggiustare luminosità, contrasto, colori e una gamma di effetti che va dal bianco e nero, al lomo passando per il seppia. Ai più pigri infine non dispiacerà l’opzione googliana Mi sento fortunato, per apportare modifiche automatiche con un singolo click.

Cliccando il bottone Edit Video sulla pagina i miei video chiunque potrà dar sfogo al suo talento di regista provetto. Rivedere i filmini delle vacanze sarà uno spasso anche per amici e parenti.

Fonte: wired.it

La sconvolgente intervista censurata, condotta dallo studioso di storia medica Edward Shorter per la televisione pubblica di Boston WGBH e la Blackwell Science, è stata tagliata dal libro "The Health Century" a causa dei sui contenuti - l'ammissione che la Merck ha tradizionalmente iniettato il virus (SV40 ed altri) nella popolazione di tutto il mondo. Questo filmato contenuto nel documentario "In Lies We Trust: The CIA, Hollywood & Bioterrorism", prodotto e creato liberamente dalle associazioni di tutela dei consumatori e dall'esperto di salute pubblica, Dr. Leonard Horowitz, caratterizza l'intervista al maggior esperto di vaccini del mondo, il Dott. Maurice Hilleman, che spiega perché la Merck ha diffuso l'AIDS, la leucemia e altre orribili piaghe nel mondo :

Produzione dei Vaccini facoltativi e non:

Si deve acquistare il germe della malattia (NdR: ma non e'il germe a produrre la malattia, trattasi di falsita' in biologia), un batterio tossico o un virus "vivo" (NdR: NON e' possibile avere virus "vivi", in quanto essi NON sono esseri viventi ma proteine di lipidi contenete porzione di DNA) che deve essere attenuato, o indebolito per uso umano; con una serie di passaggi passando i virus attraverso colture di tessuti animali parecchie volte per ridurre la relativa potenzialita' patogena; es.il vaccino associato al morbillo, parotite e rosolia (MMR) viene preparato nell'embrione di pulcino; il virus della poliomielite attraverso i reni della scimmia verde africana; il virus della rosolia attraverso le cellule diploidi umane, ovvero organi sezionati di feti abortiti.

Come si producono, lo spiega il dott. Alain Scohl in un articolo di cui presentiamo le parti più significative, apparso su Kairos n. 4/97 dove afferma: "L'inoculazione dei vaccini viene praticata a dispetto di tutte le abituali regole di sicurezza raccomandate per i trattamenti medici." Le tecniche di preparazione dei vaccini sono tenute segrete.

Normalmente neanche i grandi professori le conoscono (forse neanche al Ministero ?).

Oggi i vaccini virali moderni sono preparati prevalentemente su colture di cellule umane fetali o animali, cancerizzate artificialmente, per renderle letteralmente immortali (si riproducono sempre all'interno dei corpi viventi), ed avere una certa "stabilità del prodotto", quando non si tratti di cellule già cancerose (linfomi).

Per accrescere il rendimento della produzione, le cellule "immortali" vengono "nutrite" con siero del sangue di vacca, che possiede un fattore dì crescita particolarmente attivo. E' proprio il liquido di coltura di queste cellule cancerizzate che viene inoculato, dopo filtraggio e trattamenti per attenuare o uccidere i virus. E' assolutamente impossibile ottenere un prodotto puro. L'OMS "auspica" pudicamente una purezza del 90%.

Quali pericoli ?

Con questi vaccini si inoculano nel nostro organismo:

- Sostanze cancerogene sicuramente in enormi quantità

- Alcuni strumenti (su scala cellulare) serviti alla manipolazione genetica (nel caso dei vaccini geneticamente manipolati), come enzimi e parti di DNA.

Questo materiale può innescare in qualsiasi momento variazioni del messaggio genetico nel vaccinato, oltre a virus sconosciuto.

Per certi vaccini (polio ed altri) vengono utilizzate colture di cellule di reni della scimmia verde africana, (NdR: con cui viene preparato il vaccino della polio - il rene della scimmia contiene un progenitore del virus HIV, quello che dicono produca l'Aids) il siero del vitello e l'embrione di pulcino sono proteine estranee, materia biologica composta di cellule animali.

I virus detti impropriamente "uccisi"

un virus NON puo' essere ucciso in quanto NON e' un essere vivente ma solo una proteina tossica contenete DNA - vengono resi "inattivi" - in relata' solo "indebolito" - con calore, radiazioni o prodotti chimici, ma in certi casi uno stato febbrile puo' riattivare il virus.

Il virus "indebolito" deve poi essere rinforzato con dei coadiuvanti (buster degli anticorpi) e degli stabilizzatori, aggiungendo farmaci, antibiotici e disinfettanti tossici alla base del preparato:

neomicina, streptomicina, cloruro di sodio, idrossido di sodio, idrossido di alluminio, cloridrato di alluminio, sorbitolo, gelatina idrolizzata, formaldeide (prodotto canceroso) e thiomersal (parte del mercurio).

Commento: NdR: il virus NON e' un micro organismo, ma solo una proteina di lipidi contenente DNA, quindi e' una proteina TOSSICA !

Dato che questa "materia tossica organica" viene iniettata direttamente nella circolazione sanguigna, saltando TUTTI i meccanismi di difesa immunitaria naturale; essa può alterare anche la nostra struttura genetica, oltre ad immunodeprimere il soggetto vaccinato.

Diversi ricercatori hanno notato che i vaccini "ingannano" il corpo stimolando a focalizzarsi solo su un aspetto (cioè la produzione di anticorpi) delle molte strategie complesse normalmente disponibili al sistema immunitario.

Virus (Proteine tossiche) degli animali utilizzati nelle colture di preparazione dei vaccini ed inoculati con essi, possono saltare la barriera della specie in maniera occulta e inosservabile. E' esattamente quello che è successo durante gli anni 50 e gli anni 70 in cui milioni di persone sono state infettate con i vaccini della poliomielite (sabin) e contaminati con il virus SV-40 (scimmia virus) e passato dagli organi della scimmia utilizzati per preparare i vaccini.

SV-40 - contaminante - (il quarantesimo virus di Scimmia rilevato da quando i ricercatori hanno cominciato a osservarli), è considerato un potente soppressore del sistema immunitario, un innesco potente dell'HIV, il nome dato al virus dell' AIDS.

Si dice che causa uno stato clinico simile all' AIDS ed è stato trovato anche nei tumori al cervello, nella leucemia ed in altri cancri umani. I ricercatori lo considerano un virus che genera il cancro della Pleura: mesotelioma.

Secondo il Dott. David Kessler, ex funzionario della Food and Drug Administration, "soltanto circa l'un per cento degli eventi seri (reazioni avverse ai vaccini) viene segnalato alla FDA. Quindi, è assolutamente possibile che ogni anno milioni di persone abbiano reazioni avverse ai vaccini obbligatori".

Il Dott. Robert Mendelsohn che ha criticato spesso la medicina ufficiale per la sua dottrina bigotta.

Ha sostenuto che "i medici sono i preti che erogano l'acqua santa sotto forma di inoculazioni" per dare l'iniziazione rituale della grande industria medica alla nostra consacrazione.

Il Dott. Richard Moskowitz afferma: "I vaccini sono diventati i sacramenti della nostra fede nella biotecnologia. La loro efficacia e sicurezza sono viste estensivamente come auto evidenti e che non necessitano di ulteriori prove". Ogni anno la FDA riceve migliaia di rapporti di reazioni avverse ai vaccini.

Questi dati includono lesioni cerebrali e morti.

Queste informazioni vengono immagazzinate in un database segreto del Governo (USA) a cui i cittadini americani possono accedere (con alcune restrizioni) ricorrendo al Freedom of Information Act (Legge sulla Libertà di Informazione). E' diviso in categorie che includono i vaccini somministrati, i tipi di reazione, informazioni sui ricoveri e le morti e altro ancora.

I dati contenuti vanno dal 1990 all'Agosto 2004.

Tratto da: http://thinktwice.com/secret.htm

ATTENZIONE: lo stesso programma criminale vale per le diffusioni periodiche delle epidemie influenzali !!!

Info:  http://www.mondobiologicoitaliano.it/art_cancro.html
Fonte: http://www.sos2012.it/

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 November 2011 - The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal (Tribunal) entered its fourth and final day of hearing war crimes charge of Crimes against Peace against George W Bush (former U.S. President) and Anthony L Blair (former British Prime Minister) in Kuala Lumpur. For the first time a war crime charge has been heard against these two former heads of state in compliance with due legal process, wherein complaints from war victims had been received, duly investigated and formal charges instituted by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission (Commission).
 
The Tribunal had decided the previous day that a prima facie case had been made out against both the accused. The Defence team presented their case and submission defending the accused. Some of the points submitted and argued are stated in the following paragraphs.

The Defence adopted their prior submissions and proceeded to raise additional grounds, relying additionally on the memoirs of the first and second accused. The Defence highlighted that as an amicus curiae, his function is to assist the Tribunal by raising points of law that are in doubt and to organise information or raise awareness of some aspect of the case that the Tribunal otherwise may miss.
 
No one knows what it is like to have the weight of the nation on his shoulders except a head of state. Both the accused, as former heads of state, took their nations to war. The question now is whether their actions amounted to the offence of Crimes against Peace. Did they ‘plan, prepared and invaded Iraq on 19 March 2003 in violation of the UN Charter’?
 
9/11 changed the world and cast it into a new atmosphere of fear. The world would be a different place. The Prosecution objected to the Defence attempts to show a video recording of the 9/11 attack, as there is no factual basis for the association of 9/11 with Iraq. The fact that the war occurred had been admitted. The war has taken its toll. The question is, was a crime committed by the accused. The Tribunal ruled that it has taken judicial notice (not having to tender evidence to established a fact) of the 9/11 attack and there was no need for the showing of the video.
 
The Defence submitted, that the first accused in his memoirs, on the issue of the absence of WMD, the accusation that ‘Bush lied, and people died’, would be illogical because he would not lead his nation to war on a lie which would be easily discernable after the war. 
 
The second accused in his memoir said that he understood the need for the 2nd UN resolution for political legitimacy but knew the difficulty in getting one due to the politics within the UN Security Council permanent members. And also that there was no UN resolution for the action in Kosovo. While the first accused was of the view that Saddam had not adhered to numerous UN Security Council resolutions.
 
There was a moral ground that many critics of the war do not appreciate. Liberating the people of Iraq from Saddam seems to be lost on the critics. The Defence also referred that the first accused had said that Saddam was a threat. Saddam had invaded two neighbours, Iran in the 1980s and Kuwait in the 1990s. He had killed his own people. Had used chemical weapons. Had links with terrorists. And Saddam was developing WMD. And after 9/11, Saddam was a threat that could no longer be ignored.
 
Some have seen the brutality of war while many are fortunate to have experienced peace. In any event the Defence urged the Tribunal to evaluate the evidence and return a verdict of non-guilty.
 
Prosecution in their reply stated that everyone has a right to lead unmolested lives governed by law. And in the case before the Tribunal that law is international law. We have to adhere to treaties and conventions that govern international relations. From the documents tendered the first accused had conducted himself in manner that showed that he had decided to invade Iraq long before 2003. And this is also evident from his memoir, which amounts to an admission.
 
In a criminal trial such as this, there are two elements that need to be proven. The actus rea (the act), which was the war, which is an accepted fact. The mens rea (intention) is shown clearly from the planning and preparation as early as November 2001 when he had asked his Secretary of Defence to draw up plans for the invasion of Iraq.  And that in September 2002, the Defence Secretary had informed the first accused, who was the commander in chief that it would take six months to mobilise for invasion. On 4 November 2002, the UN resolution 1441 was passed and the invasion was launched on 19 March 2003. On 17 March 2003 the first accused stated “…Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing”. And on 19 March, the ‘shock and awe’ campaign called Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched.
 
The same is true of the second accused who had attacked Iraq. And that he had planned and prepared to invade since 1998. The reason is to bring freedom to the Iraqi people from Saddam through the use of military action.
 
There are 40 UN Security Council Resolutions against Israel but no action is taken. But Saddam had not adhered to 16 resolutions and Iraq is invaded. This is gangsterism.
 
This is a historic moment for the Tribunal to hear the distance drums of war rumbling even today due to the actions of the first and second accused. War criminals have to be dealt with, convict Bush and Blair as charged. A guilty verdict will serve as a notice to the world that war criminals may run but can never ultimately hide from truth and justice.

 
The Verdict

The Tribunal deliberated over the case and decided unanimously that the first accused George W Bush and second accused Anthony L Blair have been found guilty of the Crimes against Peace.

The second accused at the material time as heads of state launched an invasion on Iraq on 19 March 2003. The charge was duly served in accordance with the Charter of the Commission. The accused did not appear and an amicus curiae was appointed.
 
The evidence showed that as far back as 15 September 2001 the accused had planned to invade Iraq. Documents showed that this plan was conveyed by the first accused to the second accused. The accused had attempted to seek he UN approval for invasion. On 2 November 2002, UN Security Council Resolution 1441 did not authorise the use of force against Iraq.   Weapons investigators had confirmed that there were no WMD. It was also established that the Iraq had no WMD. Iraq was not posing any threat to any nation at the relevant time that was immediate that would have justified any form of pre-emptive strike.
 
Humanitarian intervention was not a basis for the invasion. The UN Security Council must authorise any use of force. An individual state cannot replace the UN in deciding the use of force. The 9/11 attack did not show any connection with Iraq but instead the US had used this as a pretext to invade Iraq. Invasion to effect regime change has no legal basis under international law.
 
The Evidence showed that the drums of wars were being beaten long before the invasion. The accused in their own memoirs have admitted their own intention to invade Iraq regardless of international law. Unlawful use of force threatens the world to return to a state of lawlessness. The acts of the accused were unlawful. 
 
The charge is proven beyond reasonable doubt. The accused are found guilty. The Tribunal orders that the names of the 2 convicted criminals be included in the war register of the KL War Crimes Commission. And the findings of this Tribunal be publicised to all nations who are signatories of the Rome Statue.
 
Despite all the facts both the accused had nevertheless invaded Iraq. A detailed written judgment will be published at a later date.
 
The trial was held in an open court from November 19-22, 2011 at the premises of the Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War (KLFCW) at 88, Jalan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur.

Further Information
 
For further information, please contact:
 
Dato’ Dr Yaacob Merican
Secretary General of the KLWCC Secretariat
Tel: +6012-227 8680
 
Ms Malkeet Kaur
Media Representative of KLWCC
malkeet@dbook.com.my
Tel: +6012-3737 886
 
The Tribunal Members

Dato’ Abdul Kadir Sulaiman
Dato' Zakaria Yatim (Recused)
Tunku Sofiah Jewa
Prof Salleh Buang
Mr Alfred Lambremont Webre
Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi
Prof Niloufer Bhagwat (Recused)

The Prosecution

Prof Gurdial S Nijar
Prof Francis Boyle 
Mr Avtaran Singh
 
Amicus Curiae (appointed Defence team)

Mr Jason Kay
And 3 other counsels.
 
The Charge

Crimes Against Peace filed against George W Bush (former President of the U.S.) and Anthony L Blair (former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) wherein they are charged as follows:

The Accused persons had committed Crimes against Peace, in that the Accused persons planned, prepared and invaded the sovereign state of Iraq on 19 March 2003 in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law.

The Tribunal will adjudicate and evaluate the evidence presented on facts and law as in any court of law. The judges of the Tribunal must be satisfied that the charge is proven beyond reasonable doubt and deliver a reasoned judgement. The verdict and the names of the persons found guilty will be entered in the Commission’s Register of War Criminals and publicised worldwide.
 
“WHY is it that the murder of one man is considered a criminal act whereas the killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people committed in wars, is not considered so?" -- Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia

Source: http://www.mathaba.net/support

La forma della nostra Via Lattea non è stata sempre la stessa, e non è immutabile. Quella che osserviamo oggi - la spirale con la corona di braccia simmetriche che dipartono dal compatto nucleo centrale - è stata in realtà forgiata da una piccola galassia: la Galassia Nana Ellittica del Sagittario. I due oggetti celesti si sono scontrati e hanno interagito per miliardi di anni e, oggi, la Via Lattea sta inglobando la sua vicina.

A mostrarlo è una simulazione al computer dell’interazione tra i due insiemi di stelle, condotta da Chris Purcell e il suo team presso l’ Università di Pittsburgh.

“ Abbiamo sempre creduto che la Via Lattea si fosse evoluta relativamente indisturbata nel corso degli ultimi miliardi di anni - ha spiegato Purcell a Space.com - in altre parole, pensavamo che nessuna forza esterna rilevante avesse contribuito a donarle la struttura e la forma che possiede oggi”.

Invece, come descritto nell’ articolo pubblicato su Nature, molto probabilmente la storia è andata diversamente. I ricercatori hanno simulato l’interazione tra una galassia dalla forma circolare, piatta e compatta (come si presuppone dovesse essere in origine la Via Lattea) e una galassia minore del tipo Sagittario; i calcoli mostrano che, in questo particolare caso, la prima cambia aspetto, trasformandosi da un disco piatto a una spirale. Non solo: l’interazione tra i due sistemi porta anche alla formazione di una scia di detriti stellari attorno alla galassia maggiore, che ricorda molto la Costellazione dell’Unicorno che aleggia attorno alla Via Lattea.

La galassia nana, scoperta solo nel 1994, sta per essere cannibalizzata dalla Via Lattea, che entro i prossimi cento milioni di anni la ingloberà totalmente. Ma in questa fusione la Galassia del Sagittario non fa solo la parte della vittima e non è passiva, anzi. Se non fosse stato per lei “ non si sarebbe verificata la formazione di alcuna spirale”, ha ribadito Purcell su Scientific American.

Ma come ha fatto un piccolo ammasso di stelle ad avere tanta influenza su una galassia gigante come la nostra? Tanto per cominciare - spiegano i ricercatori - la Galassia del Sagittario non era poi così nana qualche miliardo di anni fa. È molto probabile che fosse racchiusa in un cocoon di materia oscura grande 100 miliardi di volte la massa del Sole. Secondo, quella tra i due sistemi stellari non è stata una semplice collisione: la Galassia del Sagittario, infatti, si è ripetutamente scontrata con la Via Lattea.

Quello descritto da Purcell e la sua équipe potrebbe non essere un caso isolato nell’Universo. “ Sappiamo che le galassie minori possono avere effetti rilevanti sulle loro ospiti - ha commentato David Law, un ricercatore dell’ University of Toronto’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics che non ha preso parte allo studio - ma questa è la prima volta che è stato individuata una relazione specifica tra l’azione di una galassia minore e il suo effetto”.

Rimane da scoprire quali altre galassie devono la loro forma alla collisione con sistemi stellari minori, un’affermazione tutt’altro che scontata. Molte, infatti, possono esser state le forze evolutive che ne hanno plasmato le forme. Altre informazioni a riguardo potrebbero arrivare dallo stesso Purcell, che ha intenzione di studiare Andromeda, una delle galassie a spirale più vicine alla Via Lattea, distante 2,5 milioni di anni luce).

Fonte: wired.it

"We've created a memory device with the physical properties of Jell-O," says Dr. Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research.

Conventional electronics are typically made of rigid, brittle materials and don't function well in a wet environment. "Our memory device is soft and pliable, and functions extremely well in wet environments -- similar to the human brain," Dickey says.

Prototypes of the device have not yet been optimized to hold significant amounts of memory, but work well in environments that would be hostile to traditional electronics. The devices are made using a liquid alloy of gallium and indium metals set into water-based gels, similar to gels used in biological research.

The device's ability to function in wet environments, and the biocompatibility of the gels, mean that this technology holds promise for interfacing electronics with biological systems -- such as cells, enzymes or tissue. "These properties may be used for biological sensors or for medical monitoring," Dickey says.

The device functions much like so-called "memristors," which are vaunted as a possible next-generation memory technology. The individual components of the "mushy" memory device have two states: one that conducts electricity and one that does not. These two states can be used to represent the 1s and 0s used in binary language. Most conventional electronics use electrons to create these 1s and 0s in computer chips. The mushy memory device uses charged molecules called ions to do the same thing.

In each of the memory device's circuits, the metal alloy is the circuit's electrode and sits on either side of a conductive piece of gel. When the alloy electrode is exposed to a positive charge it creates an oxidized skin that makes it resistive to electricity. We'll call that the 0. When the electrode is exposed to a negative charge, the oxidized skin disappears, and it becomes conducive to electricity. We'll call that the 1.

Normally, whenever a negative charge is applied to one side of the electrode, the positive charge would move to the other side and create another oxidized skin -- meaning the electrode would always be resistive. To solve that problem, the researchers "doped" one side of the gel slab with a polymer that prevents the formation of a stable oxidized skin. That way one electrode is always conducive -- giving the device the 1s and 0s it needs for electronic memory.

The paper was published online July 4 by Advanced Materials. The paper was co-authored by NC State Ph.D. students Hyung-Jun Koo and Ju-Hee So, and NC State INVISTA Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Orlin Velev. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

NC State's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering is part of the university's College of Engineering.

Source: Science Daily