Strange physics bedfellows: general relativity and dark energy

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity explains gravity in terms of the curvature of space by mass. Dating from the second decade of the 20th century, after more than 90 years it is still the basis of our understanding of how gravity works to shape the cosmos.

But gravity as we know it cannot account for an inflationary universe so theoretical physicists have postulated a universe filled with dark matter and dark energy, still undefined but, as they say, necessary unless gravity does not work.

Asteroid 1999 RQ36 mission could tell us how life began

Meet asteroid 1999 RQ36, a chunk of rock and dust about 1,900 feet in diameter that could tell us how the solar system was born, and perhaps, shed light on how life began. It also might hit us someday.

"This asteroid is a time capsule from before the birth of our solar system," said Bill Cutlip of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., one of the leaders of Goddard's effort to propose a mission called OSIRIS-REx that will return a sample from RQ36.

Minimally invasive sports hernia repair may get athletes 'back in the game' faster, study says

New study finds 70 percent of able-bodied hockey players have abnormal hip and pelvis MRIs

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Seventy percent of healthy professional and collegiate hockey players had abnormal hip and pelvis MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), even though they had no symptoms of injury, according to a study presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in New Orleans, (March 13). The study's surprising findings could serve as a warning for surgeons to not depend excessively on imaging when diagnosing patients.

'Tommy John' elbow reconstruction 95 percent successful with grown teen pitchers, study says

A new study presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) Specialty Day in New Orleans, (March 13), found that 95 percent of skeletally mature high school pitchers were satisfied with their "Tommy John" elbow reconstruction surgery. Almost as many, (94.7 percent) returned to competitive baseball.

Repair of torn knee meniscus at the time of ACL reconstruction is safe and effective for children

15 years after ACL knee reconstruction, 84 percent of male patients still highly active, study says

Eighty-four percent of males who had ACL knee (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction with a patellar tendon (the tendon that attaches the knee to the front of the tibia or shin bone) graft continue at a high level of activity 15 years later, according to a study presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Specialty Day in New Orleans, Louisiana (March 13). Additionally, these patients have not developed severe osteoarthritis and their knees remain stable.

Mathematical model can help communities better evaluate sex offender policies

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new mathematical model developed by Indiana University Bloomington and Arizona State University geographers could help communities that are in the midst of passing or reforming sex offender laws. The researchers describe the model and report its first test in an Early View edition of Papers in Regional Science.

By forcing users to quantify risk and issues of special concern, the model can help the policymakers of concerned communities to focus on the spatial management of sex offenders and not mere punitive measures.

Mayo Clinic researchers find younger, more diverse patients having total knee replacements

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A research team led by Mayo Clinic has found a national trend toward younger, more diverse patients having total knee replacement surgery. The findings were presented today at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (http://www.aaos.org/education/anmeet/anmeet.asp) in New Orleans.

Look at Mie!

HOUSTON – (March 12, 2010) – Calculations are fine, but seeing is believing. That's the thought behind a new paper by Rice University students who decided to put to the test calculations made more than a century ago.

In 1908, the German physicist Gustav Mie came up with an elegant set of equations to describe the interaction of electromagnetic waves with a spherical metal particle. The theory has been a touchstone ever since for researchers seeking to quantify how nanoscale plasmonic particles scatter radiation.