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Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth said in an interview Monday that President-elect Donald Trump’s top priority for the Pentagon is to return the military to warfighters. Asked on Fox News’s Hannity what his vision for the Pentagon is, Hegseth said: There’s a lot to be done. First of all, you salute the commander in chief, who got those 76 million votes, and she’s going to chart the way, and I’ll give him advice and counsel along the way. I’ll just say what he told me: ‘Return the Pentagon to the war fighters. Pete, get in there and clean up all the social justice, politically correct garbage on top, and get back to lethality, war, fighting, accountability, meritocracy and readiness.’ And guess what? Ninety-five percent of the people in that building the Pentagon and that wear the uniform — that’s all they want to do anyway. He said focusing on war fighting would change the culture of the Pentagon and address the recruiting and retention crisis. Already, he said, countless families have reached out to tell him that their son or daughter was not going to join, but now they are due to Trump’s election and Hegseth being chosen to lead the Pentagon. “I’m not going to get ahead of the President on policy or or what our posture will be, but we will be strong, and we will have peace through strength, as Donald Trump has said, and we will put America first. That’s what he’s asked me to do at the Pentagon, and that’s my promise to the American people and our war fighters led by President Donald Trump,” he concluded. Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on ”X” , Truth Social , or on Facebook .
SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Announces the Filing of a Class Action Against Xerox Holdings Corporation - XRX
Particle that only has mass when moving in one direction observed for first time December 10, 2024 Penn State For the first time, scientists have observed a collection of particles, also known as a quasiparticle, that's massless when moving one direction but has mass in the other direction. The quasiparticle, called a semi-Dirac fermion, was first theorized 16 years ago, but was only recently spotted inside a crystal of semi-metal material called ZrSiS. The observation of the quasiparticle opens the door to future advances in a range of emerging technologies from batteries to sensors, according to the researchers. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email For the first time, scientists have observed a collection of particles, also known as a quasiparticle, that's massless when moving one direction but has mass in the other direction. The quasiparticle, called a semi-Dirac fermion, was first theorized 16 years ago, but was only recently spotted inside a crystal of semi-metal material called ZrSiS. The observation of the quasiparticle opens the door to future advances in a range of emerging technologies from batteries to sensors, according to the researchers. The team, led by scientists at Penn State and Columbia University, recently published their discovery in the journal Physical Review X. "This was totally unexpected," said Yinming Shao, assistant professor of physics at Penn State and lead author on the paper. "We weren't even looking for a semi-Dirac fermion when we started working with this material, but we were seeing signatures we didn't understand -- and it turns out we had made the first observation of these wild quasiparticles that sometimes move like they have mass and sometimes move like they have none." A particle can have no mass when its energy is entirely derived from its motion, meaning it is essentially pure energy traveling at the speed of light. For example, a photon or particle of light is considered massless because it moves at light speed. According to Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity, anything traveling at the speed of light cannot have mass. In solid materials, the collective behavior of many particles, also known as quasiparticles, can have different behavior than the individual particles, which in this case gave rise to particles having mass in only one direction, Shao explained. Semi-Dirac fermions were first theorized in 2008 and 2009 by several teams of researchers, including scientists from the Université Paris Sud in France and the University of California, Davis. The theorists predicted there could be quasiparticles with mass-shifting properties depending on their direction of movement -- that they would appear massless in one direction but have mass when moving in another direction. Sixteen years later, Shao and his collaborators accidentally observed the hypothetical quasiparticles through a method called magneto-optical spectroscopy. The technique involves shining infrared light on a material while it's subjected to a strong magnetic field and analyzing the light reflected from the material. Shao and his colleagues wanted to observe the properties of quasiparticles inside silver-colored crystals of ZrSiS. The team conducted their experiments at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in Florida. The lab's hybrid magnet creates the most powerful sustained magnetic field in the world, roughly 900,000 times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field. The field is so strong it can levitate small objects such as water droplets. The researchers cooled down a piece of ZrSiS to -452 degrees Fahrenheit -- only a few degrees above absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature -- and then exposed it to the lab's powerful magnetic field while hitting it with infrared light to see what it revealed about the quantum interactions inside the material. "We were studying optical response, how electrons inside this material respond to light, and then we studied the signals from the light to see if there is anything interesting about the material itself, about its underlying physics," Shao said. "In this case, we saw many features we'd expect in a semi-metal crystal and then all of these other things happening that were absolutely puzzling." When a magnetic field is applied to any material, the energy levels of electrons inside that material become quantized into discrete levels called Landau levels, Shao explained. The levels can only have fixed values, like climbing a set of stairs with no little steps in between. The spacing between these levels depends on the mass of the electrons and the strength of the magnetic field, so as the magnetic field increases, the energy levels of the electrons should increase by set amounts based entirely on their mass -- but in this case, they didn't. Using the high-powered magnet in Florida, the researchers observed that the energy of the Landau level transitions in the ZrSiS crystal followed a completely different pattern of dependence on the magnetic field strength. Years ago, theorists had labeled this pattern the "B^(2/3) power law," the key signature of semi-Dirac fermions. To understand the bizarre behavior they observed, the experimental physicists partnered with theoretical physicists to develop a model that described the electronic structure of ZrSiS. They specifically focused on the pathways on which electrons might move and intersect to investigate how the electrons inside the material were losing their mass when moving in one direction but not another. "Imagine the particle is a tiny train confined to a network of tracks, which are the material's underlying electronic structure," Shao said. "Now, at certain points the tracks intersect, so our particle train is moving along its fast track, at light speed, but then it hits an intersection and needs to switch to a perpendicular track. Suddenly, it experiences resistance, it has mass. The particles are either all energy or have mass depending on the direction of their movement along the material's 'tracks.'" The team's analysis showed the presence of semi-Dirac fermions at the crossing points. Specifically, they appeared massless when moving in a linear path but switched to having mass when moving in a perpendicular direction. Shao explained that ZrSiS is a layered material, much like graphite that is made up of layers of carbon atoms that can be exfoliated down into sheets of graphene that are one atom thick. Graphene is a critical component in emerging technologies, including batteries, supercapacitors, solar cells, sensors and biomedical devices. "It is a layered material, which means once we can figure out how to have a single layer cut of this compound, we can harness the power of semi-Dirac fermions, control its properties with the same precision as graphene," Shao said. "But the most thrilling part of this experiment is that the data cannot be fully explained yet. There are many unsolved mysteries in what we observed, so that is what we are working to understand." Other Penn State researchers on the paper are Seng Huat Lee, assistant research professor of bulk crystal growth; Yanglin Zhu, postdoctoral researcher; and Zhiqiang Mao, professor of physics, of material science and engineering, and of chemistry. Dmitri Basov, Higgins Professor of Physics at Columbia University, was co-lead author on the paper. The other co-authors are Jie Wang of Temple University; Seongphill Moon of Florida State University and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Mykhaylo Ozerov, David Graf and Dmitry Smirnov of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; A. N. Rudenko and M. I. Katsnelson of Radboud University in the Netherlands; Jonah Herzog-Arbeitman and B. Andrei Bernevig of Princeton University; Zhiyuan Sun of Harvard University; and Raquel Queiroz and Andrew J. Millis of Columbia University. The U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Simons Foundation funded Penn State aspects of this research. Story Source: Materials provided by Penn State . Original written by Adrienne Berard. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference : Cite This Page :On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case involving Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 18. At least 26 states have adopted laws restricting or banning such care for minors, and most of those states face lawsuits. The nation's top court will be weighing whether Tennessee's law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, requiring that people in similar circumstances be treated the same under the law. Both sides in the case claim they are acting to protect minors from harm. Gender-affirming care is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups. Here's a look at what's typically involved: Young people who persistently identify as a gender that differs from their sex assigned at birth are often referred to clinics where teams from various medical specialties provide gender-affirming care. Such care begins with an evaluation, which can include a pediatrician and a mental health specialist who assess the degree of distress, if any, the young person is experiencing. Those who meet defined criteria may be diagnosed with what's called gender dysphoria if their distress is continuous and significant. Some young people and their families may decide to try a social transition involving a new hairstyle, clothing, name or pronouns. Experts agree that allowing children to express their gender in a way that matches their identity is beneficial. Chazzie Grosshandler, 18, of Chicago, said she was 9 years old when she told her parents she was a girl and "not just a boy who likes girly things." She started receiving care two years later. "The first-ever step of gender-affirming care for me was when I told my parents that I was a girl and that I had felt this way for a long time and that they accepted me," she said. "I think people get really confused when they hear the word 'care' that it has to be something medical. But the truth is that it's more than just medical. It's love and acceptance." A subset of young people may be offered additional interventions such as puberty blockers to ease distress and give them time to explore their gender identity. The drugs, known as GnRH agonists, block the release of key hormones involved in sexual maturation. They've been used for decades to treat precocious puberty, an uncommon medical condition that causes puberty to begin abnormally early. The medication starts after a young person show early signs of puberty - enlargement of breasts or testicles. This typically occurs around age 8 to 13 for those assigned female at birth and a year or two later for those assigned male at birth. The drugs can be given as injections every few months or as arm implants lasting up to a year or two. Many of the effects are reversible - puberty and sexual development resume as soon as the drugs are stopped. Researchers are exploring the effects of puberty blockers on bone development, but no research has shown an increased risk for bone fractures. Young people can stay on puberty blockers for several years. After puberty blockers, trans adolescents go through puberty either with or without hormone treatment. Some may choose to take hormones to make their bodies more closely match their gender identity. They take manufactured versions of either estrogen or testosterone - hormones that prompt sexual development in puberty. Estrogen comes in skin patches and pills. Testosterone is available in injections, implants or gels. Guidelines recommend starting these when teens are mature enough to make informed medical decisions. Many transgender people take the hormones for life. If the medication is stopped, some physical changes remain. Testosterone generally leads to permanent voice-lowering, facial hair and development of the Adam's apple. Estrogen can lead to permanent breast development. Research on long-term hormone use in transgender adults has found potential health risks including a modest risk for blood clots with estrogen and negative cholesterol changes with testosterone. Gender-affirming surgery in transgender teens is far less common than hormone treatment. When it is done among transgender youth, it's almost always breast reduction surgery in older transgender males. Even so, that type of surgery is extremely rare. Perhaps surprisingly, breast reduction among minors is most frequently performed in males who are not transgender. This is for a condition called gynecomastia, which means having more breast tissue than usual. A study looking at millions of 2019 insurance claims found 151 breast reductions performed for U.S. minors. Nearly all - 97% - were not transgender. Research suggests that transgender youth are prone to stress, depression and suicidal thoughts. Some studies suggest treatment for gender dysphoria can improve young people's well-being, but some nuances remain unclear. In one study, researchers spent two years testing and tracking 315 transgender youth who received hormone therapy. Depression and anxiety symptoms eased and life satisfaction increased among those designated female at birth, but not among those designated male at birth. The researchers speculated that the youth designated male at birth might be more affected by stress from being different from most of their peers. In the same study, published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine, two participants died by suicide - one after six months and the other after a year. Longer term studies on treatment outcomes are underway.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State players have watched Ashton Jeanty make opponents look silly all season. They don’t want to be the next defenders Boise State’s star posterizes with jukes, spin moves, stiff arms and heavy shoulders. But they also know that slowing down Jeanty, who finished second in Heisman Trophy voting , will be their toughest task yet when the two teams meet in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. “In any other year, I think the guy wins the Heisman,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “You could make the argument that he should have won it this year. He is hard to tackle. He is compact, 5-(foot)-10, he has the ability to run away from you. He has the ability to make you miss.” Jeanty led the nation with 2,497 rushing yards on 344 carries this season. He scored more touchdowns (30) than any player since Najee Harris scored 30 times with Alabama in 2020. Additionally, Jeanty’s yards after contact (1,889) exceed every FBS running backs’ rushing total since Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard led the NCAA with 2,094 total rushing yards in 2019. Jeanty also forced an NCAA-record 143 missed tackles this season. The junior did it all behind an offensive line that has been forced to shuffle its parts in the wake of numerous injuries. Only left tackle Kage Casey and left guard Ben Dooley have started every game up front for the Broncos this season. “He’s a beast in terms of his production on the field, but then also his durability,” Franklin said. “There’s not too many people that are able to get clean shots on him. All of it is super impressive. But I think the stat that I mentioned earlier, the most impressive stat is the yards after contact.” This could be Jeanty’s biggest challenge to date, too. Although he’s helped Boise State churn out 250 rushing yards per game, good for fifth among FBS programs, the Nittany Lions are well stocked to defend the run. Their defense is seventh nationally allowing just 100 rushing yards per game and has tightened up down the stretch. In its last six games, Penn State is allowing just 2.7 yards per rush and has only given up three rushing touchdowns, two coming in the Big Ten championship game against No. 1 Oregon. “They’ve had our backs throughout the whole year,” Penn State quarterback Drew Allar said. “They have made me a lot better throughout the year, just going against the best defense in America and just glad I got to go against them every day in practice and not against them out on the field in a game setting.” In the opening round of the CFP, Penn State held SMU to just 58 rushing yards on 36 carries. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions notched 11 of their 50 tackles for loss over the last six games against the Mustangs. Most of those came from a defensive line that regularly rotates run-stuffing tackles Zane Durant, Dvon J-Thomas and Coziah Izzard between dynamic ends Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Carter alone has 21 1/2 of his team’s 102 stops behind the line of scrimmage this year. He’s hoping to add a few against Jeanty and stay off the star back’s own long-running highlight reel. “I’m living in my dreams,” Carter said. “I’m having the most fun I ever had playing football and I’ve been playing since I was 8 years old. I’m very blessed. I’m just very humbled to have this opportunity. I just want to keep taking advantage of all the opportunities that I have.”Cowboys score 24 points in 4th quarter for narrow victory over Commanders in bizarre game