Medieval literature and ecology have more in common than meets the eye. For example, in both fields, having an even distribution is better for the survival of their subjects. An even distribution means that an ecosystem’s species has roughly the same number of individuals, ensuring better survival because no species dominates another. In literature, this means that if more works (species) have fewer copies (individuals), it gives them all a better chance of survival as compared to having one work dominate the publishing scene. Read full article here
Science
‘Ghostly’ neutrinos provide new path to study protons
In groundbreaking research, an international collaboration of scientists from the University of Rochester have used a beam of neutrinos to measure the size and shape of the protons that make up the nuclei of atoms. This feat, once thought impossible, provides scientists with a new way of looking at the small components of an atom’s nucleus and opens up a wealth of new information about the structure of an atom’s nucleus and the dynamics of the forces that affect neutrino interactions. The researchers solved the challenge of harnessing neutrinos in large numbers by using a neutrino detector containing a target of both hydrogen and carbon atoms, and over nine years of data collection at Fermilab’s accelerator. Read full article here