Accelerating Science Discovery - Join the Discussion

OSTIblog Articles in the biological sciences Topic

Faster than the speed of light? Or an anomaly?

4360

Faster than the speed of light? Or an anomaly?

According to Einstein's theory of relativity, it is not possible for matter to travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum.  The speed of light (186,282 miles per second) has long been considered a cosmic speed limit, and much of modern physics is based on Einstein's work. Now there is a possibility that Einstein was wrong -- and physics may have to rethink the concept of matter and energy.


The science world was surprised when workers at CERN, the world's largest physics lab, recently announced that they had recorded subatomic particles travelling faster than the speed of light.  If their findings are proven to be correct, they would overturn one of the pillars of the Standard Model of physics, which attempts to explain the way the universe and everything within it works. 
Neutrinos have long been suspected of being able to travel beyond light speed but the ability to measure their speed accurately has only recently been possible thanks to the CERN lab. This may be one of those moments in science history that opens the door to new discoveries, and could change the way we understand the universe and ourselves. However, given the potential far-reaching consequences of such a result, independent measurements are needed before the effect can either be refuted or firmly established.


To find out more about neutrinos and modern physics research results, go to Science Accelerator, a gateway to science that includes R&D results, project descriptions, accomplishments and more.  For international results – from over 70 countries and in 10 languages, go to WorldWideScience and for video results (from DOE and CERN), go to...

Related Topics: biological sciences, neutrinos, physics, Science Accelerator, ScienceCinema, speed of light, WorldWideScience.org (WWS)

Read more...

Managing the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Project Information

4339

Managing the Department of Energy’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Project Information

OSTI’s mission is to collect, preserve, and disseminate DOE-sponsored R&D results emanating from research projects at DOE Laboratories and facilities and from grantees at universities and other institutions.  OSTI performs its mission through many avenues, one of which includes supporting its parent organization within DOE, the Office of Science (SC), and the research programs within SC.

Since 1995, OSTI has provided assistance and support to the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) by developing and maintaining a database of BER research project information.  Called the BER Abstracts Database (http://www.osti.gov/oberabstracts/index.jsp), it contains summaries of research projects supported by the program.  Made up of two divisions, Biological Systems Science Division and Climate and Environmental Sciences Division, BER is responsible for world-class biological and environmental research programs and scientific user facilities.  BER’s research program is closely aligned with DOE’s mission goals and focuses on two main areas:  the Nation’s Energy Security (developing cost-effective cellulosic biofuels) and the Nation’s Environmental Future (improving the ability to understand, predict, and mitigate the impacts of energy production and use on climate change).

The BER Abstracts Database is publicly available to scientists, researchers, and interested citizens.  Each BER research project is represented in the database, including both current/active projects and historical projects dating back to 1995.  The information available on each research project includes:  project title, abstract, principal investigator, research institution, research area, project term, and funding.  Users may conduct basic or advanced searches, and various sorting and downloading options are available.  BER provides the basic project information to OSTI for the database.  At the direction of BER,...

Related Topics: biological sciences, biotechnology, environmental sciences, genomics, Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) Abstracts Database

Read more...