Warm Dark Matter, Nuclear Waste, Dog Poop, and Personality Tests (Patreon)

Supercomputer Simulation Favours Warm Dark Matter

A snapshot of the cosmic web in the new supercomputer simulation. Credits: Bruno Villasenor/UCSC

A team of researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, has used the Oak Ridge supercomputer to try and figure out what dark matter might be made of. They ran more than 1,000 high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations, and calculated how the gravitational pull of different types of dark matter would affect the distribution of gas clouds. These gas clouds then affect how light from distant quasars travel through the gas clouds on the journey to Earth, making it possible to compare the calculation with observation. Surprisingly, their results challenge the prevalent cold dark matter model, and instead favour warm dark matter in which particles have a higher average velocity.

Y’all know that I don’t think making more and more elaborate computer simulations is going to help us figure out what dark matter is, but I still find it interesting that cold dark matter, which has been the dominant paradigm for so long, is becoming increasingly more difficult to defend. Press release here, paper here.

Crystals That Bind Radioactive Waste

When the crystals bind the radioactive iodine, their colour changes from orange to dark purple. Image: University of Houston

University of Houston researchers have come up with a new idea for nuclear waste management. The researchers synthesised a particular type of organic crystal that is highly effective at capturing iodine, a common radioactive fission product. These crystals are made of only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms and can be produced from commercially available chemicals. They can be used to bind the radioactive iodine and separate it for safe storage. Better still, the crystals are cheap and can be reused. Press release here, paper here.

French Town to DNA-test Dog Poop

A French town is tired of people leaving behind their doggy’s pile of poop and have called on science for rescue. Mayor Robert Menard of Beziers has introduced mandatory DNA tests for pets. Street cleaners and – presumably – offended neighbours can send in samples of dog poop and find the culprits. Offenders will be slapped with a 120-euro cleaning fee. More here.