SCIENCE GURU

Mountain View High School Science Magazine

et J1 - J+a Jk
Te latest and hottest news about science
from all around the world! We publish
an issue every month; copies can be
found in Dr. Tornburgs room and
issues are posted on our blog.
Editor-in-Chief: Kiana Nouri

Science Guru club meets every Friday at lunch in 120, Dr. Tornburgs room
Biocomputers
Pratik Mulpury
I
magine growing a computer
just like clones in a bio lab we
might see in a sci-f movie. Tis
may not be as far out in the future
as we may think. Today, computers
are made of semiconductors that
are used to carry out computations,
while computers made of living
parts have existed solely in the
realm of science fction; only lim-
ited research has been conducted in
the feld.
Continued page 9
Left to right Avni Singhal, Rohun Saxena, Kiana
Nouri, Varsha Suresh Kumar, Dr. Tornburg
Science News & Facts
Kiana Nouri
Sorry Albert! New Physics Challenges Albert Einstein
Einsteins relativity theory may not be accurate. Strange signals
picked up from black holes and distant supernovae suggest
theres more to space-time than Einstein believed. Einstein
envisaged space-time as a perfectly smooth surface warped by
the mass of stars, planets, and galaxies to produce gravity. Now
signals from a variety of celestial objects are hinting at some-
thing diferent. If the observations are confrmed and they are
controversial they suggest that the landscape of reality is al-
together more rugged than Einstein thought. Tat would mean
his isnt the last word on space-time or gravity and would
change fundamentally our perception of the universe.
Continued page 6
Hypothetical Dark Energy
and Invisible Dark Matter
by Jasmine Deng
Page
10
Did You Know Your Face
|s M+e j a Jaa|t
by Varsha Kumar
Page
8
Comet
Investigation
by Carter Fox
Page
k
Long Live . . . Us
by Jasmine Deng
Page
3
2
I
s there a DNA or chemical
element in your blood responsi-
ble for happiness? According to
UCLA scientists, ancient philoso-
phers and modern psychologists,
there isand the secret to happi-
ness is quite trivial. If in fact that is
true, what are these basic compo-
nents? What does happiness mean
to each of us and how can we
fulfll this pursuit of happiness?
Te art and science of hap-
piness has been researched and
analyzed for centuries. Alain de
Botton, the British philosopher,
discusses this in his Epicurus on
Happiness video. Te ancient
Greek philosopher Epicurus
claimed that friends, freedom,
and an analyzed life are the key
ingredients of a happy life. In
fact, present-day psychologists
are researching certain positive
emotions and causes of happi-
ness, such as freedom and friends.
Some of these key emotions are
gratitude, serenity, joy, interest,
hope, pride, amusement, inspira-
tion, awe, and love.
Psychologist Barbara Fred-
rickson has done research in
this area. She has demonstrated
that positive emotions afect our
health. She has developed a the-
ory called Broaden and Build,
through which she describes how
positive emotions broaden our
lives and how resilience is fueled
by positive emotions.
Fredricksons research con-
cludes: ratio of three to one posi-
tive emotions to negative emo-
tions is the point at which people
tend to fourish and thrive. As
another example, according to
psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky,
50% of our happiness is set by
our genes, 10% by life circum-
stances beyond our control, and
40% by our own actions.
Now that we know the for-
mula, we need to substitute the
values that correspond to each of
our lives. In my specifc case, my
family represents the Epicurean
friends. Financial freedom, po-
litical freedom, and the freedom to
live a meaningful life are my pur-
pose, but achieving it is not trivial.
One key tool I can use to help
me is acquiring an education. By
going to university, I can learn
about my interests, my passion,
and what I can do best in life as a
professional. I can achieve fnan-
cial freedom and live a fulflling
life. Getting a degree is an excel-
lent goal; since I gain knowledge
that I can give. As a junior in high
school I started my own very
small technology startup, and I
am still working on it. I still plan
to continue my education in tech-
nology and science and utilize it
to start more ventures. Tis pro-
vides me with fnancial freedom
and opens my hand into giving
more to others, so they can get
their opportunities in life.
Te third ingredient of Epi-
curean life, the analyzed life, is
what I need to work on, in the
process of achieving a life with
freedom. Epicurus taught us that
we look in the wrong places for
the pursuit of happinessfor
example, a spending spree using a
credit card.
On the other hand, if we
analyze our lives periodically, we
can observe that it is not achieve-
ments such as education or money
that are the aims of our lives.
My aim is to utilize education to
contribute to living a meaningful
life. For me that means being able
to increase my knowledge. I gain
knowledge to live a stimulating
and fulflling existence. I plan to
share this stimulating life, spread
knowledge when I can, and give
fnancially what I can.
So, if there is a shortage of
the happiness element in your
blood chemistry and gene activity,
is there another secret to happi-
ness? Absolutely. Live an analyzed
life that, rather than indulging
materialistic cravings, thrives in
the freedom of living a meaning-
ful life.
Kiana Nouri is the founder, presi-
dent, and editor-in-chief of Science
Guru Blog, Magazine, and Club.
Tis issue of Science Guru is cre-
ated, edited, and published by her.
The Scientific Basis of Happiness: Gene Activity and Blood Chemistry
Letter From the Editor Kiana Nouri
3
T
he idea of immortality has been around for a very, very long time.
Many people in myth and legend are claimed to be immortal more specif-
ically, gods and goddesses, or very holy fgures, in some religions. Te quest
for immortality has been (one can say) immortal throughout the ages as well.
Around 200 bc, Qin Shi Huang, the frst emperor of a unifed China, des-
perately sought an elixir of life that supposedly would grant him immortality.
Tis elixir of life mainly consisted of mercury pills, which today are known to
be, unfortunately, poisonous. At least he is immortal in our memory in teaching
us that the path to immortality is not paved with mercury.
In the early 1800s, Leonard Live-Forever Jones claimed to be immortal.
According to Jones, death occurred because of immorality (not to be confused
with immortality), and with prayer and fasting death could be avoided. He is,
needless to say, not alive today.
Of course, with improved medicine and technology, weve greatly elongated
human life spans, for which many people are grateful. We have not quite guar-
anteed immortality, but we can now grow lumps of liver, brain, some bits of the
heart, and retinal cells. So it appears stem cell research is paying of. However,
we can grow only the diferentiated cells, meaning that we can grow the specifc
lung cells, heart cells, and nerve cells, but they grow two-dimensionally, mean-
ing that they grow to become totally fat, stuck on a petri dish.
Te issue is that we happen to be three-dimensional organisms, with three-
dimensional hearts and brains and organs. We can and have made gel
scafolds to get around this, but these are fairly efective only for small parts of
organs, not the complete one. But with the pace of technology, it is quite reason-
able that we should perfect this within a few decades.
Continued next page
Long Live . . . Us
Jasmine has
been an active
member of our
club for two
years now. She is
the community
coordinator for
Science Guru.
J+smlae
Deng
Qing Shi Huang Di, the
frst Chinese emperor
k
T
his past year, Comet ISON made a stunning journey through the inner
solar system. Tis extraordinary comet amazed astronomers around the
world as it made a daring encounter with the sun. Scientists and amateur
astronomers watched ISON closely. If ISON survived, it would reach a magni-
tude visible to the naked eyebut, sadly, the suns intense heat and gravity broke
apart this icy rock from the early solar system.
Comet ISONs journey started nearly a light year from the sun, at the very
edge of our solar system. Tere lies an immense cloud of icy planetesimals
called the Oort Cloud. Occasionally, some of these icy pieces of rock are slung
across the solar system towards the sun by the efect of solar gravity. Comet
ISON journeyed among these planetesimals until it was pulled away and slung
into the inner solar system.
ISON was three to four miles across and its tail extended over 57,000 miles
into space. Its moment of truth with the sun came on Tanksgiving Day. In the
images above, the sun is blocked to show the comet moving towards it. ISON
fought the sun, but soon was disintegrated by its extreme heat and gravity. How-
ever, something later appeared coming out from the opposite side of the sun, as
seen in the second image.
Continued next page
Comet Investigation
Carter Fox is a
new member of
Science Guru
this year.
Carter
Fox
5
Scientists cheered, think-
ing ISON had survived its close
encounter with the sun. Unfor-
tunately, these dreams died when
the remains were found not to
be a comet, but simply a small
amount of lefover rock and
pebbles that survived the encoun-
ter with the sun.
Comets have always fasci-
nated humans, and ISON is surely
not the only comet we have in-
vestigated. Right now the Rosetta
spacecraf is on its way to comet
67P, a comet around two and a
half miles wide controlled by Ju-
piters gravity. Rosetta will attempt
to orbit the comet and to send a
lander down to the surface.
Afer fnding a safe landing
spot, Rosetta will launch its lander
to the surface of the comet. Te
lander is equipped with harpoons
that will be released to tether itself
to the surface, preventing it from
bouncing back into space. Once
on the surface it will drill and heat
samples to investigate organic
molecules and their construction.
Te Stardust spacecraf has al-
ready rendezvoused with a comet
and safely returned home a sam-
ple capsule. On January 2, 2004,
Stardust swung past comet Wild 2
and attempted to pick up particles
from the comet. Aferward, the
spacecrafs sample-return cap-
sule landed in the Utah desert
on January 15, 2006. Scientists
discovered surprising compounds
in the capsule such as olivine, a
mix of iron and magnesium.
Comets are extraordinary
objects from the far reaches of our
solar system that continue to im-
press astronomers with their beau-
ty and complexity. Te Stardust
and Rosetta missions and study of
comet ISON help scientists around
the world unravel the mysteries of
the early solar system.
Watch this animation to see how
Rosetta will deploy its lander and
what will happen as it descends
to the surface: http://www.space.
com/24090-european-spacecraf-
to-land-on-comet-in- 2014-
animation.html
Comet Investigation Carter Fox
Continued from previous page
Already, we can print skin on
3D printers just from taking some
of the patients skin and isolating
individual skin cells, then grow-
ing them and printing skin, as
if from a regular inkjet printer.
(Luckily, skin is a two-dimen-
sional organ.) While few probably
are in desperate need of a skin
transplant, this can aid healing,
possibly saving patients lives, and
prevent scarring.
According to the National
Kidney Foundation, as of June 21,
2013, there were 118,617 people
waiting for lifesaving organ trans-
plants in the US. Of those, 96,645
were waiting for kidney trans-
plants. Soon we may be able to
grow kidneys in labs and trans-
plant them into the human body.
Tis isnt just limited to kidneys
we could grow eyes, hearts, lungs,
and other organs and tissues.
No doubt the road to immor-
tality still has a long way lef to
go. But were getting closer to in
in continuing stem cell research,
and someday, we may all become
a society composed of immortal
individuals like a society of vam-
pires and the undead. Now, most
people can live to eighty or even
reach their centennial. But will we
reach immortality? Only time will
tell.

|aaj |l-e . . . s J+smlae eaj

Continued from page 3
A skin printer
Te scafold for a kidney
6
In quantum theory, nothing
is static or certain. Particles and
energy can fuctuate and pop in
and out of existence on the brief-
est of time scales. Many theories
of quantum gravity the yearned-
for theories of everything that
will unify our descriptions of
space-time and gravity with quan-
tum mechanics suggest some-
thing similar is true of space-time:
instead of a smooth continuum, it
is a turbulent quantum foam with
no clearly defned surface.
Einsteins undulating land-
scape becomes more like a choppy
seascape through which particles
and radiation must fght their
way. Lower-energy light with its
longer wavelengths would be akin
to an ocean liner, gliding through
the foamy quantum sea largely
undisturbed. Light of higher
energy and shorter wavelengths,
on the other hand, would be
more like a small dinghy battling
through the waves.
Want an A+ in your Chem-AP
re-test? Drink a double espresso
for breakfast!
Cofee has long been a friend of
students working through the
night, but it does more than just
keep us awake. A study provides
the frst convincing evidence
that cafeine enhances long-term
memory in people provided the
dose is right. Te efects mirror
similar results seen in honeybees;
a boost to memory from cafeine-
laden nectar may help bees return
to certain plants.
Researchers strongly
suspected that cafeine enhances
memory, but studies that tried to
show this in people werent con-
clusive, as any apparent benefts
in memory could have been due
to increased attention, a known
beneft of cafeine.
Studies in animals such as
rats, meanwhile, suggested that
it enhances memory consolida-
tion the process of strengthen-
ing memories between acquiring
them and retrieving them which
should afect long-term memory.
Bench your best player to win
the series
Dropping one route can boost a
networks overall performance by
emphasizing better options. Ac-
cording to the emerging science
of networks, there are good rea-
sons why some systems perform
better in seemingly disadvanta-
geous conditions. Its just a natu-
ral property of certain kinds of
networks, although a paradoxical
one called Braesss paradox.
Te best implementation is to
close roads to get everyone home
faster, which has worked in New
York and Boston. Cities have used
it for the electricity grid and it is
being used in wireless networks.
Now scientists are applying the
paradox to any network, includ-
ing working on curing cancer by
using this paradox on networks in
the human body.
A drug for perfect pitch
Do you think you could have been
Michael Tilson Tomas, the San
Francisco Symphony maestro, but
missed the opportunity to start in
early childhood? A mood-stabilis-
ing drug can help you achieve per-
fect pitch the ability to identify
any note you hear without infer-
ring it from a reference note.
Since this is a skill that usually
is acquired only early in life, the
discovery is the frst evidence that
it may be possible to revert the
human brain to a childlike state,
enabling us to treat disorders and
unlock skills that are difcult, if
not impossible, to acquire beyond
a certain age.
Continued next page
Science News and Facts Kiana Nouri
Continued from page 1
7
From bilingualism to sporting
prowess, many abilities rely on
neural circuits that are laid down
by our early experiences. Until the
age of seven or so, the brain goes
through several critical periods
during which it can be changed
radically by the environment.
During these times, the brain is
said to have increased plasticity.
Takao Hensch, professor of
neurology at Harvard University,
has conducted research on mice
and found that certain drugs can
be used to kick in the brains plas-
ticity machinery.
He used valproate a drug
used to treat bipolar disorder to
cure amblyopia in adult mice.
Hensch and Dr. Allan Young of
Londons King college used Val-
proate to make adults able to have
perfect pitch, and it worked. Teir
next experiment inviolves using
this drug to cure autism.
Tis time next year, we might be
wearing computers on our heads!
Already a hit with early adopters,
the much-hyped Google Glass
headset will be released to the
public in 2014. And in response to
feedback from those testers, it is
likely to boast a few extra features.
For starters, developers are
keen to incorporate eye-tracking
so that the device can overlay
information on top of objects or
areas that the wearer is gazing at.
Tat could boost the headsets
ability to deliver ultra-personal,
targeted advertising. Glass could
also get tricked out with gesture
recognition, which would allow
users to control it just by waving
their hands.
Te Explorer program to test
early versions of Glass has already
given rise to a slew of potentially
game-changing applications. For
example, it has allowed surgeons
to transmit their view of an op-
eration to medical students else-
where, and helped people watch
what they eat literally as a way
of managing diabetes.
Critics say the headsets cam-
era will destroy privacy, and its
distracting screen could ruin
social interaction. But if Glass and
several competing products launch
next year as expected, millions of
people could become hooked. Tat
will defnitely to change the way
we look at the world.
New electric conductor: stanene
Move over, graphene. Te one-
atom-thick form of carbon, famed
for its conductive abilities, may
soon have a rival in the form
of stanene, a single layer of tin
atoms. Tough it doesnt yet exist,
calculations suggest that stanene
from the Latin for tin, stannum
might conduct electricity with
100 per cent efciency, leading to
low-power computer chips.
Earths fraternal twin discovered
Astronomers have discovered
an exo-planet with the same
mass as Earth. Te planet, called
KOI-314c, is sixty per cent larger
than Earth and is thought to
be more gas than rock so it is
unlikely to be conducive to life.
Its unusual properties challenge
assumptions that any Earth-mass
planet would have an Earth-like
composition.
(Portions printed from New
Scientist.)
Science News and Facts Kiana Nouri
Continued from previous page
8
Varsha has been
vice president
and a very active
member of
Science Guru
since it was
started.
Varsha
Kumar
A
nd by that I mean junk DNA. Junk DNA is DNA that does not code
for proteins, but rather has a function for protein that we have yet to fully
understand.
Geneticists have realized that only a small number of genes infuences your
face shape, which results in variation. Other factors that infuences your face
shape are distant acting enhancers. Axel Visel from the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory believes that these enhancers infuence variation when
it comes to face shape. Tese face enhancers are part of the non-coding DNA
(hence where the name junk DNA came from) that infuences our face shape.
Visel wanted to visualize how these enhancers infuenced face shape during
development. With the help of his colleagues, he used a technique called optical
projection tomography, which allowed him to create a 3D model of a developing
mouse embryo to show where and how the enhancers infuence face shape.
To see the efect the enhancers had, the scientists engineered mice to lack
one of the 120 enhancers involved in face structure. Afer eight weeks, the sci-
entists compared the mice skulls to the control group. Te experiment revealed
that deleting an enhancer had efects on face structure, such as making the
mices face longer.
So why is this important? Knowing the genome for face shape will allow
scientists to study variants and use that information to identify variants on a
smaller level.
If youre interested on this topic, check out this link!
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24462-your-face-may-have-been-sculpted-
by-junk-dna.html#.UsRn_mRDvFg
Did You Know That Your
|+te |s M+e j a Jaa|t
9
Recent research by a team at
Stanford has shown that biocomputing
may be the next frontier for comput-
ers. Tis group of researchers was led
by Drew Endy, an assistant professor of
bioengineering at Stanford. Tey turned
the bacteria E. coli into a computer that
performed the most basic functions of
computers logic, data storage, and data
transmission. Furthermore, they demon-
strated the ability to do this in all types
of living cells.
Similar things have been accom-
plished by other researchers, but this
research set itself apart with the tran-
scriptor, which is their equivalent of
a transistor in a normal computer. It is
able to turn a small amount of informa-
tion into a large amount of information
by creating a change in the fow of RNA
polymerase, an enzyme that produces
RNA similar to how normal transistors
create a change through creating a small
change in voltage.
Despite the transcriptor being the
most unique part of this biocomputer,
there are several other components of
constructed by the Stanford research-
ers. In a computer memory is stored in
a base-two numerical system (ones and
zeroes) that the computer then inter-
prets. Te biocomputer created by the
researchers at Stanford operates on a
similar protocol.
Te researchers used the interac-
tions between two enzymes created by
the E. coli to fip the direction of DNA
sequence end to end and to fip it back
again. (Tere are enzymes in other
microbes that interact similarly.) As
Endy put it, If you are reading along a
particular section of DNA and it reads
one way, we can arbitrarily label that sec-
tion a zero. If it reads the opposite way,
we can call that orientation a one.
Due to the two enzymes being pro-
duced by the microbe and not another
microbe, the data that is stored can be
controlled by the biocomputer itself.
Moreover, the data is extremely easy to
read; the microbe is engineered in such
a way that the DNA sections, when put
under ultraviolet light, shine in diferent
colors for the two directions of the DNA
sequence. All it takes to read the data is
the simple action of shining ultraviolet
light on the microbes.
What is the use of this data if it
cannot be shared? Te biocomputer
solves this problem by making the data
go viral. Using a virus called M13, which
lives a symbiotic lifestyle in bacteria,
the researches have created a biological
internet. When M13 inhabits bacteria,
it broadcasts its genome to other cells.
Tese other cells do not have to be bacte-
ria and can be any type of cell.
Te researches took advantage of
this unique attribute of M13 by engineer-
ing the microbe computer to switch the
package with the M13s genome with the
microbes genome. Tis makes the M13
send the microbes DNA in place of the
M13s DNA, which gives the biocom-
puter the ability to send to any cell the
genetic code containing the data of the
computer. Tis ability to send genetic
code allows researchers to make modif-
cations to many cells at the same time.
In addition to all of this, the bio-
computers created by the researchers can
perform logic like a normal computer.
Te biocomputer contains genetic gates
that open and close to control an enzyme
that travels along a DNA strand. Tis
is based on the same core concept that
a normal computer has, with its silicon
gates that open and close to control the
fow of electrons.
Using the Boolean logic system,
commonly used in computing, there are
two outputs: true and false. If the output
is true, electrons fow. If the outputs is
false, electrons do not fow. In comput-
ing there are several logic gates that op-
erate the electron fow, such as the and
gate, which gives an output of true if
both inputs are true (true is represented
by a one and false is represented by a
zero) or the or gate which gives an
output of true when when one of the two
inputs or both of the inputs are true. Te
biocomputer mimics Boolean logic with
both these gates and all the other major
gates in computing. If the output is true
the enzyme fows, and if the output is
false the enzyme does not fow.
All biological organisms have the
ability to self-replicate and self-assemble
into functional components. Te eco-
nomic beneft of biocomputers lies in
thr potential of all biologically derived
systems to self-replicate and self-assem-
ble, given appropriate conditions. For
instance, all of the necessary proteins for
a certain biochemical pathway, which
could be modifed to serve as a biocom-
puter, could be synthesized many times
over inside a biological cell from a single
DNA molecule, which could itself be
replicated many times over.
Tis characteristic of biological
molecules could make their produc-
tion highly efcient and relatively
inexpensive. In comparison, electronic
computers require manual production,
biocomputers could be produced in
large quantities from cultures, without
machinery needed to assemble them and
reducing impact on our environment.
As one would expect, the potential
efect the biocomputer can have on our
world is immense. One day we might see
engineers using the biological computer
to program cancer cells to stop their de-
structive growth or to program a group of
microbes to produce insulin when sugar
is detected. Te possibilities are endless.
Sadly, there are still some faws with
the biocomputer due to technical issues
resulting from diferences caused by
divergent evolution and the technology
is many years of from human use. Yet,
even small amounts of computing using
this technology can have a profound ef-
fect on our world.

Drew Endys Youtube channel, with a

video about biocomputers:
https://www.youtube.com/user/
chthonicphage/feed
Biocomputers Pratik Mulpury
Continued from page 1
10
D
ark energy is defined by Google as a theoretical repulsive force that
counteracts gravity and causes the universe to expand at an accelerating rate.
Dark energy has always been a mysterious force, and its existence has al-
ways been questioned. Te unknown of it is far greater than the known. We know
that about seventy percent of the universe consists of dark energy and that it is
distributed evenly, with constant density, throughout space, and can be detected
only via gravity. However, the entire theory of dark energy is based on observa-
tion; we have never been able to directly measure dark energy nor directly ana-
lyze dark matter, the invisible mass of the universe that is thought to consist of an
entirely new type of matter with entirely new types of elementary particles.
Te main problem leading to the hypothesis of the existence of dark energy
is the fact that universe is not, in fact, expanding at a uniform rate nor, in fact,
expanding at a decelerating rate. In 1929, Hubble showed that the further away a
galaxy is, the more rapidly it is moving away from us. Again in 2011, the Nobel
Prize winners in 2011 of physics Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam
Riess proved that the universe is accelerating. Te discovery lent credence to
the existence of dark energy and dark matter, both of which were frst postulated
with Hubbles discovery. Dark matter, on the other hand, was originally hypoth-
esized by Vera Rubin to explain the speed of stars revolving around galaxies.
Te leading contender for explaining dark energy, of which much less is
known compared to dark matter, is quantum vacuum energy an idea, tied to
quantum mechanics, that even in the vacuum of space, particles are constantly
Continued next page
Hypothetical Dark Energy
and Invisible Dark Matter
Jasmine has
been an active
member of our
club for two
years now. She is
the community
coordinator for
Science Guru.
J+smlae
Deng
What our universe consists of
Our accelerating universe
11
winking in and out of
existence, generating
energy. We so far have
not been able to link
the math of quantum
mechanics, dealing
with the physics of on a
very small scale, to the
math of general rela-
tivity, which deal with
physics on a very large scale.
Most scientists stick with the
hypothesis that dark energy is a
form of vacuum energy known
as the cosmological constant,
as its strength never varies. If so,
a number w relating the pres-
sure pushing space apart to the
density of dark energy must
equal negative one. Einstein origi-
nally predicted this cosmological
constant.
To fnd out more about both
dark energy and dark matter, we
have to study them which is dif-
fcult when we dont have actual
samples to analyze. So far, study
methods consist of, not studying
dark energy directly, but studying
what is afected by dark
energy.
One method to deter-
mines the rate of accel-
eration of the universe
caused by dark energy. It
measures the light from a
specifc type of superno-
vas (Type Ia). Each Type
Ia explosion has about the
same brightness, and as
the light travels towards
Earth, it is stretched by
the universes expan-
sion to appear red. (Tis
phenomenon is called redshif.)
Te higher the redshif, the longer
the light has been traveling and
the farther back in time the su-
pernova occurred. Examining as
many supernovas as possible can
help scientists determine how fast
galaxies are moving away from
each other.
Tere are also other ways to
study dark energy, albeit indirect-
ly. We can also detect dark matter
through gravitational lensing
the gravitational feld of a galaxy
(or a cluster of galaxies) defects
passing light. Te more mass
there is, the greater the defection.
Tus, we can infer the
existence of matter
even if we cant see it.
We can actu-
ally weigh the universe
through measuring
light intensity of a gal-
axy or the luminosity.
Te more luminous a
galaxy, the more mass it
possesses. Another ap-
proach is to calculate the rotation
of a galaxys body. Variations in
velocity indicate regions of vary-
ing gravity and therefore mass.
Of course, problem still exist.
We still dont know exactly what
dark matter and dark energy are.
Most quantum feld theories pre-
dict a cosmological constant w for
dark energy that is more than one
hundred orders of magnitude too
large. But so far, our conclusions
are that something, at least, is hap-
pening in the ninety-fve percent
of the universe that is dark.
Alternatives to dark energy
involve modifying the laws of
gravity to eliminate dark energy,
or the idea that our galaxy and
its neighborhood may
lie within a giant void.
Alternatives to dark mat-
ter involve changing the
laws of gravity to MOND
(Modifed Newtonian
Dynamics) or possibly
that dark matter is just
ordinary matter that is
difcult to detect (such as
MACHOs). Above all, its
probably best to keep an
open mind.
k,jat|etlt+| +r| |aerj, . . . J+smlae eaj
How gravitational lensing works
Possible futures of our accelerating universe
Continued from previous page
On-line Blog: Scienceguru18.blogspot.com
Science Guru
Club Officers
Kiana Nouri
Kelyn Wood
Carter Fox
Rohun Saxena
Varsha Suresh Kumar
Jasmine Deng
Avni Singhal
Advisor
Dr. Katie Tornburg
Mountain View High School
3535 Truman Avenue,
Mountain View, CA 94040
From the Editor
Dear Readers,
We hope you have enjoyed our DecemberJanuary issue.
Feel free to visit us online at
scienceguru@blogspot.com or join our
weekly club meetings every Friday at Lunch, room 120.
Kiana Nouri
Coming soon to a class near you:
!|e |e|ra+r, Jk
issue of Science Guru!
A report on the latest gadgets from
the Las Vegas Electronics Show
The science of college acceptance