Nanomagnetic computers are the ultimate in efficiency
Wired Science
Computers that run on chips made from tiny magnets may be as energy-efficient as physics permits. According to new calculations, if nanomagnetic computers used any less energy, they'd violate the second law of thermodynamics. Such computers are still semi-theoretical, but they could someday be used in the deep oceans or even deep space, where energy is at a premium. Read the associated Physical Review Letters abstract.
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Under pressure, sodium and hydrogen may be used as a superconductor
U.S. News & World Report
Hydrogen may be metalized by adding sodium, resulting in a compound that could lead to a new superconducting metal. Read the associated Physical Review Letters abstract.More

Clumpiness of distant universe surprises astronomers
Wired Science
The universe appears to be clumpier than astronomers expected, according to the largest galaxy survey to date. The extra clumps could call for a redesign of the standard model of cosmology, and maybe a new understanding of how gravity works. Read the associated APS Physics Viewpoint.More

Neutrinos caught 'shape shifting' in new way
New Scientist
Neutrinos have been caught spontaneously flip-flopping from one type to another in a way never previously seen. Further observations of this behavior may shed light on how matter came to dominate over antimatter in the universe.More

Black holes with a "kick"
Forbes
Numerical relativity calculations continue to bear fruit for researchers exploiting the Sony Playstation 3. The Air Force Research Lab's CONDOR cluster of 1,760 Sony Playstation 3s has managed to examine the recoil effect that black holes would undergo when swallowing smaller main sequence stars like the sun. Read the associated Physical Review D abstract.More

Physics of life: The dawn of quantum biology
Nature News
The key to practical quantum computing and high-efficiency solar cells may lie in the messy green world outside the physics lab.More

The Hole Picture: Growth of black holes and galaxies linked from an early age
Scientific American
It's the source of a long-standing cosmological quandary. Galaxies or black holes: Which came first? Today, they exist as neatly matched pairs, a black hole nested in the heart of a swirling galaxy, but it seems possible that the growth of one drove the growth of the other.More

Ultra-bright burst of light marks the death throes of a star captured by a black hole
Popular Science
Astronomers have solved the mystery of a gargantuan cosmic explosion first spotted in March: It was caused by a black hole swallowing a star the size of our sun.More

Science of friction is a bit rough
Science News
By playing with plastic blocks that stick and slip much like rock, physicists are challenging centuries-old ideas about the nature of friction itself. Seemingly unimportant differences at small scales can have big consequences, physicists report in an upcoming article in Physical Review Letters. Read the associated Physical Review Letters abstract.More

Shrink peas for designer wrinkles
New Scientist
Scientists have created a computer model that reproduces striking patterns seen in wrinkles formed when metal spheres shrouded in a silicon skin contracted as they cooled. Read the associated Physical Review Letters abstract.More