The Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) in Potsdam-Golm invites applications for two postdoctoral positions in the gauge-gravity duality (holography). The researchers will join the newly-formed independent research group “Gauge-Gravity Duality” led by Michal P. Heller and generously supported by the Humboldt Foundation through the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award. The group is primarily focused on exploring quantum information approaches to quantum field theories and gravity in the context of holography and beyond. Other topics of interest include non-equilibrium physics of gauge theories, foundations of relativistic hydrodynamics, numerical holography and various aspects of black hole physics. The initial appointment will be for two years with a possibility of extension for one more year upon exceptional performance. In outstanding cases threeyear contract offer can be made. The positions come with very competitive research budgets. The group membe

Don’t regard the action’s speed but follow the good performance of a task, for people don’t ask how long it does take but rather they ask about its quality Imam Ali a.s Beautiful saying of Imam Ali {AS} from Nahjul Balagha لا تَطْلُبْ سُرعَةَ العَمَلِ و اطْلُبْ تَجوِیدَهُ؛ فإنَّ الناسَ لا یَسألُونَ: فی کَم فَرَغَ مِنَ العَمَلِ، إنّما یَسألُونَ عَنْ جَوْدَةِ صَنعَتِهِ. در پی سرعت عمل مباش، بلکه به دنبال خوب انجام دادن آن باش، زیرا مردم نمی پرسند در چه مدت کار را به سرانجام رساند، بلکه از کیفیت انجام آن می پرسند.

A new δ18O Phanerozoic database, based on 24,000 low-Mg calcitic fossil shells, yields a prominent 32u2005Ma oscillation with a secondary 175u2005Ma frequency modulation. The periodicities and phases of these oscillations are consistent with parameters postulated for the vertical motion of the solar system across the galactic plane, modulated by the radial epicyclic motion. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy. As a consequence, the solar system revolves around the galaxy and carries out a small oscillation in the direction perpendicular to the dense galactic disk, with a period much shorter than its orbital period http://www.nature.com/articles/srep06150

The von Kármán Lecture Series: 2016 In the Blink of the Eye: What 10 Years at Mars Can Tell Us About the Planet March 24 & 25 Our eyes in the sky at Mars include the Mars Recoaissance Orbiter, which has been orbiting Mars for 10 years. The orbiter has sent back thousands of high-resolution images and more data than all Mars missions combined and: • Found the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars• Found evidence of diverse watery environments on early Mars, some more habitable than others• Caught avalanches and dust storms in action • Seen seasonal changes and longer-term changes over the last decade On Aug. 12, 2005, the Mars Recoaissance Orbiter (MRO) lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Seven months later, the orbiter arrived at Mars. Thus began an incredible jouey of exploration, guided by the Mars Exploration Program’s “follow-the-water” theme. Originally slated for a two-year prime

Revealing Satu: Cassini Science Highlights and the Grand Finale September 22 & 23 The Cassini mission’s findings have revolutionized our understanding of Satu, its complex rings, the amazing assortment of moons and the planet’s dynamic magnetic environment. The robotic spacecraft arrived in 2004 after a 7-year flight from Earth, dropped a parachuted probe named Huygens to study the atmosphere and surface of Satu’s big moon Titan, and commenced making astonishing discoveries that continue today. Cassini’s current mission extension has led to some remarkable discoveries and more are expected when Cassini repeatedly dives between the iermost ring and the top of Satu’s atmosphere during its final six months starting in April 2017. Late last year Cassini completed its final equatorial tour of Satu’s icy satellites, culminating in a series of Enceladus encounters including a daring pass through the icy moon’s southe jets and plume. The mission then began exe

Ph.D Research Opportunities Job description: Brain engineering research center is providing an excellent opportunity for PhD students who are interested in systems/cognitive neuroscience for performing his/her research dissertations at IPM. The lab is broadly interested in vision and neural engineering with a specific focus on electrophysiological studies on primate vision, computational neuroscience, and visual prosthesis. The candidates should be a PhD student in electronic and computer engineering or basic science such as mathematics and neuroscience. Benefits: The ideal applicants will be supervised by Dr. Reza Lashgari, Prof. Jose Manuel Alonso, and Prof. Jacqueline Gottlieb. The candidate students will be supported financially for three years academic research program. We also provide an opportunity for candidates to attend to the partner labs abroad for 6 months. General requirements Good scientific communication and ability to work in team Fluent in spok

NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this view as it closed in on Jupiter's north pole, about two hours before closest approach on Aug. 27, 2016. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Juno was about 48,000 miles (78,000 kilometers) above Jupiter's polar cloud tops when it captured this view, showing storms and weather unlike anywhere else in the solar system. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS This infrared image from Juno provides an unprecedented view of Jupiter's southe aurora. Such views are not possible from Earth. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS NASA’s Juno spacecraft has sent back the first-ever images of Jupiter’s north pole, taken during the spacecraft’s first flyby of the planet with its instruments switched on. The images show storm systems and weather activity unlike anything previously seen on any of our solar system’s gas-giant planets. Juno successfully executed the first of 36 orbital flybys on Aug. 27 when the spacecraft came about 2,500

Rosetta Probe-ESA Less than a month before the end of the mission, Rosetta’s high-resolution camera has revealed the Philae lander wedged into a dark crack on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The images were taken on 2 September by the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera as the orbiter came within 2.7 km of the surface and clearly show the main body of the lander, along with two of its three legs. The images also provide proof of Philae’s orientation, making it clear why establishing communications was so difficult following its landing on 12 November 2014. Close-up of the Philae lander, imaged by Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on 2 September 2016 from a distance of 2.7 km. The image scale is about 5 cm/pixel. Philae’s 1 m-wide body and two of its three legs can be seen extended from the body. The images also provide proof of Philae’s orientation. The image is a zoom from a wider-scene, and has been interpolated. Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO

Natural Science-DNA Mode archiving technology caot keep up with the growing tsunami of bits. But nature may hold an answer to that problem already For Nick Goldman, the idea of encoding data in DNA started out as a joke. Related stories The tiniest Lego: a tale of nanoscale motors, rotors, switches and pumps Genome researchers raise alarm over big data Synthetic double-helix faithfully stores Shakespeare's soets More related stories It was Wednesday 16 February 2011, and Goldman was at a hotel in Hamburg, Germany, talking with some of his fellow bioinformaticists about how they could afford to store the reams of genome sequences and other data the world was throwing at them. He remembers the scientists getting so frustrated by the expense and limitations of conventional computing technology that they started kidding about sci-fi alteatives. “We thought, 'What's to stop us using DNA to store information?'” Then the laughter stopped. “It was a lightbulb moment,”

NASA View from the Mars rover Curiosity at the foot of Aeolis Mons, before the rover starts to climb the mountain. Expand Four years into its travels across Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover faces an unxadexpected challenge: wending its way safely among dozens of dark streaks that could indicate water seeping from the red planet’s hillsides. Related stories Why hunting for life in Martian water will be a tricky task Water seems to flow freely on Mars Mystery of slick Martian slopes gets less slippery More related stories Although scientists might love to investigate the streaks at close range, strict inteational rules prohibit Curiosity from touching any part of Mars that could host liquid water, to prevent contamination. But as the rover begins climbing the mountain Aeolis Mons next month, it will probably pass within a few kilometres of a dark streak that grew and shifted between February and July 2012 in ways suggestive of flowing water. NASA officials are trying to dete

Nobody understands why deep neural networks are so good at solving complex problems. Now physicists say the secret is buried in the laws of physics. In the last couple of years, deep leaing techniques have transformed the world of artificial intelligence. One by one, the abilities and techniques that humans once imagined were uniquely our own have begun to fall to the onslaught of ever more powerful machines. Deep neural networks are now better than humans at tasks such as face recognition and object recognition. They’ve mastered the ancient game of Go and thrashed the best human players. But there is a problem. There is no mathematical reason why networks arranged in layers should be so good at these challenges. Mathematicians are flummoxed. Despite the huge success of deep neural networks, nobody is quite sure how they achieve their success. Today that changes thanks to the work of Henry Lin at Harvard University and Max Tegmark at MIT. These guys say th

Advanced cancer research is calling on techniques used by NASA scientists who analyze satellite imagery to find commonalities among stars, planets and galaxies in space. Scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) use complex machine leaing algorithms to identify similarities among galaxies that may otherwise be overlooked, NASA officials said in a statement. Using similar techniques, medical professionals are able to analyze a lung sample for common cancer biomarkers. However, analyzing a biopsy specimen for biomarkers is not the only way in which JPL's complex machine leaing algorithms can be used in the medical field. Cancer researchers can also use the space exploration tools to identify common chemical or genetic signatures related to specific cancers, which could revolutionize strategies for early cancer detection. [Captain Kirk Says Space Exploration Leads To Medical Advancements (Video)] In a continuing effort to advance both space and medical knowledge,