UniversityOfBirmingham
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Listen to the sounds of the Milky Way galaxy's oldest stars
You probably won't get to visit the most ancient stars in humanity's home galaxy, but you'll at least get to hear what they sounded like when they were young. University of Birmingham researchers have detected the acoustic oscillations of Milky Way stars that are about 13 billion years old, or not much younger than the galaxy itself. The trick was to use asteroseismology, or measuring the tiny pulses in brightness triggered by sound caught inside those stars. As you'll hear at the source link, they're not exactly hot summer jams -- these are ominous tones that are more likely to remind you of an emergency broadcast signal than anything else.
UK court sides with Volkswagen on security concerns over key pairing
Giovanni Ribisi had better hope he doesn't botch a job anytime soon. Flavio Garcia from the University of Birmingham cracked the security system that pairs an owner's key to their Porsche, Lamborghini or Audi, and Volkswagen's parent company wants that research to remain unpublished. The UK's high court sided with VW's owner and granted an injunction protecting the Megamos Crypto system. Afterward, Garcia was offered to print his findings, but without the all-important decryption codes. He refused, saying that the public has a right to see the holes in the systems it relies on and that this wasn't an attempt to give criminals a hand in boosting cars. While the court's logic is sound -- once revealed, all manner of "if this ever fell into the wrong hands" situations could arise -- it's unsettling to see government bend to corporate request. At least we know Eleanor can sit in the garage for just a little longer now.
University of Birmingham researchers develop antibacterial stainless steel, mysophobes clap from within their bubbles
Answering the call of germphobes and their Stepford ladies-in-waiting everywhere, researchers at the University of Birmingham have devised a silver-infused technique of warding off unwanted bacteria. Eschewing the previously attempted, but short-lived coating method, these scientists have "developed a novel surface alloying technology" that infuses silver, nitrogen and carbon into a newly germ-resistant stainless steel surface. The team hopes this super durable steel will soon find its anti-bacterial way into hospitals and the surgical implements they employ -- not to mention your college cafeteria. Modern Lady Macbeth homemaker types can breathe a sigh of "Out, damn'd superbug spot" relief and get back to sealing up the furniture.
