Science & Technology

 Super-TIGER  the WUSTL-led cosmic ray experiment, has just been given the green light for  a third circuit around Antarctica. If the balloon stays up for a complete circuit it will probably break the heavy-lift scientific ballooning record of 42 days — and bring in a rich haul of data about cosmic rays, charged particles that continually bombard the Earth from space. The team has gone positively piratical over the prospect of more booty.

We would all like to believe that there is a kind of karma in life that guarantees those who cheat eventually pay for their bad behavior, if not immediately, then somewhere down the line. But a study of a new gene in the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum suggests that, at least for amoebae, it is possible to cheat and get away with it.

The School of Engineering & Applied Science has selected six semifinalists to receive a $1,000 interim funding award and to go on to compete for a $25,000 grand prize in the inaugural Discovery Competition.

Invisible high-velocity particles rain down on Earth day in and day out, but  it has taken 100 years and clever deduction  for physicists to figure out what they’re made of and where they come from. Although some details are still unclear, physicists have built a case that the cosmic rays are born in volleys of supernova explosions in OB associations, loose associations of hot, massive stars sprinkled throughout our galaxy.

The Super-TIGER comic-ray experiment had a perfect launch Sunday 9:45 am  New Zealand Daylight Time. The enormous balloon that will carry it to the limits of Earth’s atmosphere was stretched out on the ice and then partially filled.  As it came up off the ice, the balloon rose over the downstream instrument. When it was directly overhead the Boss released the  two-ton cosmic-ray instrument and it was lofted effortlessly into the skies over Antarctica.

WUSTL and its academic and corporate partners worldwide are putting research into action and leading a major initiative in Mumbai, India, Dec. 6-12 to address global energy and environmental solutions. The WUSTL-led McDonnell Academy Global Energy and Environmental Partnership (MAGEEP) — a consortium of 28 international universities — is convening in Mumbai for the Fourth International Symposium on Energy and Environment: ACCESS. The symposium is co-hosted by Washington University, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay.

The word from Antarctica is that the polar vortex is setting up early this year and the balloon-borne Super-TIGER cosmic-ray experiment may be launched into the vortex any day now. Once the launch starts, web cams and a tracking map will go live at NASA’a Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility site Blogs and Twitter feeds are already providing a lively running commentary on the buildup to launch.

That’s not a new parking meter or air pump for your tires outside of Brauer Hall — it’s a charging station for electric vehicles. This first charging station on the Danforth Campus is another step in the university’s commitment to sustainability. A ceremony to celebrate the installation is set for 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, outside of Brauer Hall. A station also is planned for the Millbrook Parking Facility and more may follow, depending on demand. 

To encourage entrepreneurship, the university’s Bear Cub Fund program is now providing mentors and other hands-on guidance. Initial, one-page applications are due Dec. 10.

Nanostructures called BRIGHTs seek out biomarkers on cells and then beam brightly to reveal their locations. In the tiny gap between the gold skin and the gold core of the nanoparticle, there is an electromagnetic hot spot that lights up the reporter molecules trapped there. BRIGHTs, which shine about 1.7 x 1011 more brightly than isolated Raman reporters, are intended for use in noninvasive bioimaging.