Mysteries of the Universe (Leslie Burrows Book 2)

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There is no rule that says scientists have to look or act a certain way. Scientists can be funny and outgoing, athletic and artistic. They come from all different backgrounds and have all different interests. At Brandeis, our scientists are as diverse as the groundbreaking research they engage in.

I currently research the neuronal circuitry responsible for circadian rhythm in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Why do we use the fruit fly to study circadian rhythm? Fruit flies sleep at night and even sleep the siesta during the afternoon. Several of the molecular proteins responsible for these behavioral oscillations are conserved across species.

My passion outside of science has always been classical piano. I would term discovery as obtaining an unexpected or controversial result. The most difficult part of graduate school is to continue working through all of the uncertainty. After a long day in the lab, I most commonly relax by baking desserts or playing piano. On weekends, I like to go out salsa dancing or traveling New England. After two-years of upgrades and repairs, the Large Hadron Collider is back in the particle smashing business — this time at double the energy of its first run.

Today, researchers at CERN began recording data from the highest-energy particle collisions ever achieved on Earth, and began a new set of experiments that will shed light on a new realm of physics. I spoke with professor Gabriella Sciolla about the restart and the frontier of physics. What are the biggest discoveries physicists hope to make in the coming year with this new, improved experiment?

We can summarize the search for New Physics in three categories: New elementary particles are predicted by exotic theories, such as supersymmetry or extra dimensions, but have never been observed. Dark matter particles, which make up 85 percent of the mass of the universe and have never been observed in the lab, can be produced in high-energy proton-proton collisions at the LHC. Seeing them for the first time would be a revolutionary achievement. New interactions and new particles will affect the behavior of the Higgs boson.

For example, the Higgs will interact with other particles in a way that is different from what the current theory predicts. These three avenues are all very promising and may all lead to a paradigm shift in physics. However, choices need to be made since we cannot work on each and every topic. At the very beginning of Run 2, my group will focus on two topics: Theories of extra dimensions predict a new particle, known as Graviton, that decays into two energetic elementary particles called muons.

Given our know-how in muon reconstruction, it is natural for my group to lead these searches. This experiment costs an awful lot of money. What do you tell people who question its value? This experiment gives us a chance to understand how the universe works at its most fundamental level. The technological applications we develop in pursuit of scientific answers are important. But understanding the basic science will benefit humanity in the long term. The LHC experiments are international projects, so we share the costs.

It will certainly be a historic moment.

These collisions could change the way we think about particle physics. Since I am responsible for the reconstruction and calibration of muons in the ATLAS experiment, I will be totally absorbed in delivering the best quality muons to the collaboration. Muons are crucial ingredients for many searches for New Physics. If the accelerator works as expected, we need only a few months of data to publish our first results.

The mental disorder affects millions of people worldwide but the cause of its wide-ranging symptoms remains largely unknown. Unusual neural oscillations — brain waves — have long been associated with schizophrenia. The oscillations, called delta waves, are similar to slow oscillations seen in normal brains during sleep, but in schizophrenic brains, they occur during wakefulness. The connection between these oscillations and schizophrenic symptoms, particularly cognitive deficits such as memory impairment, has long been unclear.

Lisman and his team set out to understand that connection by artificially producing delta waves in mammalian brains using a new technique called optogenetics, which activates brain signals using light. When the delta frequency light was turned on, Lisman observed disruption in the working memory of rats. When it was turned off, the rodents were once again able to perform working memory tasks.

More important, Lisman and his team were able activate the abnormal oscillations only in a tiny subpart of the thalamus, a region of the brain that has long been a focus of schizophrenia research. An information hub and relay center, the thalamus is central to working memory, sleep, consciousness and sensory-information processing. We suspect the abnormal delta oscillations seen in patients with schizophrenia are producing a similar jamming of normal signals. Delta waves require a specific type of ion channel called a T-type Ca channel. These channels are of particular interest because they are one of the few types of ion channel implicated in schizophrenia by genetic studies.

The next step, Lisman says, is to figure out what kind of agents could be used to block these channels. As a really little kid I wanted to be an artist, and then I wanted to be a vet because I love animals. But I actually knew partway through high school that I wanted to be involved in research science. It is the latest generation of genome editing technology that allows the researcher to create specific mutations in the genomes of their model systems.

This allows you to understand what a specific gene does and why it is important. Discovery means being the first person ever to see a result or data trend — and recognizing that it means something. The quest keeps me motivated, especially during the stretches when nothing seems to be working with my project. Ever wonder what theoretical physicists actually do? Theoretical physics is a lot like sex, Nobelist Richard Feynman once quipped. The prevailing stereotype outside — and inside — the sciences is that theoretical physicists have their gaze firmly fixed on their navels and play in a sandbox of their own creation.

Sure, theoretical physics can get weird, and some theories are pretty far out, but inquiry is always driven by a hunger to understand the universe fundamentally. These physicists research bizarre principles like holography , which postulates that all the information in the universe is stored on a two-dimensional surface, and we are mere projections of that information. Einstein described the way space is connected to time and how it interacts with mass. The answer lies somewhere between two pillars of modern theoretical physics — general relativity GR, which describes gravity and quantum field theory QFT, which describes, among other things, particle physics.

These fundamental theories describe two very different aspects of our universe and are written in different mathematical languages. Essentially, Headrick and other theoretical physicists are building a Rosetta Stone —a bilingual dictionary of sorts — using holography, general relativity and quantum field theory. One conjecture Brandeis theorists pioneered has to do with the relationship between the geometry of space and the quantum information it contains.

Mathematically, certain areas in curved space contain minimal surfaces — a surface that minimizes its area. Dip a wand into soapy water and the soap film will stretch perfectly flat across the shape of the wand. This is a minimal surface. A clerical anomaly points him in the direction of the Crossroads, and it is a point of honour that he will keep Elenora alive.

He will hold her hand through the terror and help her to the other side. Perhaps then, they can grab a burger. Waking up in a dirty alley with no memory of her escape, Ciarah finds herself in the hands of The Wild Hunt Motorcycle Club—a ruthless and violent group of bikers with faerie blood in their veins. Three men drenched in death, sin, and old magic. When The Wild Hunt rides, the souls of the dead join their parade. Motorcycle riding werewolf, Niall MacGregor is the longtime supernatural enforcer for his warlock family.

But the intimate glimpse into her mind has only made him want things he can never have—including the gorgeous, brave woman herself. Teagan Holland left her old pack under a cloud of prejudice.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance Author

Her breed, an Asiatic wild dog, considered nothing but vermin. But as the Glacial Blood Pack are about to find out she is one the kindest people they will ever meet. Will she regret taking this job? Tyler Quinn has been a fighter for the pack since he was eighteen. He is mysterious, and nobody knows that much about why he joined them. All they do know is that he is a fantastic cook and a bit of a computer geek.

Behind the man he portrays is a secret that threatens to send him on a path that he thought he had left behind. Will the white powder be his downfall? It is set in a paranormal world full of drama, suspense and great love affairs. Plus it features a secret that must never be told for fear of the consequences. I got lost about halfway through the related follow-on series Sea Haven — Sisters of the Heart. I loved that one. As the enforcer of the Torpedo Ink motorcycle club, Reaper lives for riding and fighting. But when her secrets catch up to her, Reaper will have to choose between Anya and his club—his heart and his soul.

What he finds instead is Shayla Dover, a mermaid princess moonlighting as a paranormal investigator. His marriage has already been arranged. Shayla has her own reasons to keep her distance from this sexy shifter. Soon they find themselves pitted in a race against time amid a sea of lies, betrayal and an enemy that threatens them both. As the son of a formidable Breed warrior, Aric Chase has been devoted to the Order all his life.

Independent and driven, Kaya wants nothing more than to become a full-fledged member of the Order. Their unwanted partnership soon erupts into a desire neither of them can resist. For Micah, an Earth Elemental, there is too much noise, too much chaos down in the mortal world. He must guard the enemy portal while trying to keep her safe, and trying to keep his hands off her. But she knows nothing of his kind, the enemy that threatens to destroy the world, or the powers in her own blood. She notices anyway, and the closer she gets to her mysterious security guard, the more she realizes he has secrets; big ones.

Discovery in action at Brandeis University

However, it turns out the most earth-shattering secret could be inside her. OK, maybe not a romance but hey who can skip that cover, plus gladiatrixes, Amazons…ancient Rome…. Be brave, gladiatrix… And be wary. When dark treachery and vicious power struggles threaten her hard-won freedom, the only thing that might help the girl known as Victrix save herself and her sisters is a tribe of long-forgotten mythic Amazon warriors. Miriell, a powerful empathic priestess, has been kidnapped from her own primitive planet along with a number of her people, and sold to the evil Amarotu Combine, largest organized crime syndicate in the Sectors.

When she and her handler are sent to use her power to commit an assassination, she must leave behind her own sister as hostage to ensure her compliance. Miriell cannot ask for aid without endangering herself and others. Despite his best efforts, Combine enforcer Conor Stewart is entranced by Miriell, and helps her evade the worst of brutal treatment from the rest of the mob.

But Conor must keep his distance, before the lovely empath learns that he has secrets of his own—secrets that could get them both killed. The situation becomes dire when Conor and Miriell come to the attention of both the Combine overlords and the deadly Mawreg, aliens who threaten the Sectors. And will Conor help her, or remain loyal to his evil bosses?

I try to catch up on ones I missed in recent months. Luck is what makes Life interesting; introducing spicy bits of chaos — good, bad, and neutral. Without Luck, there is no savor — no adventure — in Life. The yeast of Life, Love expands our horizons, deepens our understanding, and opens our eyes.

Love makes us daring. So here is small tale of Lives in progress, plans made and altered — and altered again. A tale of bread, and Luck, and Love. We start with two people — a baker, Don Eyr; Serana, a captain of the Watch. Two people who have not much in common, until Luck brings them together, and they see each other. This decadently naughty box set includes twenty-three ALL-NEW, stand-alone novellas full of hot alien alpha males, breathless passion, and reluctant surrender.

I really enjoy her books — she mixes detailed worldbuilding with some really steamy scenes and lots of romance. This went onto my TBR for sure. Harper Wilde is sitting on the beach, minding her own business when a huge, muscular Kindred warrior with black hair and blazing white eyes demands that she accompany him into the future. By using her, they can conquer both the Mother Ship and the human race.

All posts by Leah Burrows

Unless Harper is altered so the Hive cannot make use of her, the grim future she finds herself in will become reality. Shad is a Shadow Twin—a Kindred male destined always to walk alone with very little chance of forming a bond with a female. Yet, he alone is able to make use of the looper—a time travel device which allows him to move back and forth between the past and the future to try and save Harper. But he knows he must put his feelings aside and do what is necessary to change the past…unless he wants the future to Vanish forever.

As the flagship of the Spire Empire, Vengeance is a legendary AI whose broken heart has proven his greatest battle yet. But his new telepathic link, a little girl named Hayley, finally teaches him to love again—until rogue AIs attack her planet and level her home in a storm of fire and destruction. Vengeance is left with only one hope in his potentially immortal existence: But the closer he tries to get to her, the harder she pushes him away.

Olivia Hawthorne risks everything—her friendship with her telepathic sisters and even her life—to assume a new identity so she can serve aboard Vengeance. After suffering at the hands of rogue AIs, she should be wary of trusting one again, even her old friend. But when rogues raid Spire colonies, Vengeance and Liv must learn to overcome the fears shackling them to the past. Clara was confused when she encountered the sign outside the Cyborg breeding facility. She wanted a child and nothing would stand in her way. Her heart was already on the line.

Reid was the ultimate protector, the perfect bodyguard, his loyalty embedded in his DNA. The animal his creators chose for him was a favorite, a downright blessing, and an ongoing nightmare. He found the perfect reprieve after the Great Galactic War: Division Head of the last Cyborg breeding facility on Earth. The empty halls offered more than silence—they offered him sanctuary.

Twenty-three years ago, Azalyn Rippak Sulani had the misfortune of falling in love with a prince. However, after a group of aliens kidnap her and knock her unconscious, Azalyn wakes up in the Kelderan palace and comes face-to-face with the man who broke her heart. Because of certain circumstances, she has no choice but to stay in the palace.

Prince Keltor tro el Vallen is heir to the Kelderan throne and must put duty above all else. Social connections, especially those with love involved, are dangerous. So when the only female who ever treated him as a man instead of a prince comes storming back into his life, it takes everything Keltor has to keep his distance and resist the lively, straightforward woman.

As Keltor and Azalyn start to realize that they fit better together now than in the past, they face a bigger problem. Namely, if a prince marries a commoner, there could be war. Can they find a way to recapture their love and start over? Fast-talking, and as hard-as-nails as any sailor, she navigates the most dangerous solar roads in the universe. Times are tough, but she gets the job done. The last thing she needs is a delay, but when she runs across a stranded sailor she has no choice.

The law of the roads demands she rescue him… even if he is the last man in the universe she ever wanted to see again. The husband she fell for, but ran from before their wedding night…. Kelwin Sayeed is a super-soldier without a war and with money to burn. Humans were inferior and troublesome creatures, and unlike his fellow warriors, Moroco had no intention of ever mating one.

Trust a female again? Not when he knew how easily they could betray you. So why did he care so much about a certain prickly, irritating female who seemed to take great delight in rousing his temper? All she cared about was keeping her sister safe, and now that Sophie had found her mate, well, it was probably time to leave. If only to tell him exactly what she thought of him. Jennifer Montgomery has never needed anyone in her life except her daughter.

A single mom of a now eighteen year old, her entire life has revolved around Lila. But when Lila goes missing, Jennifer is devastated and determines to do whatever it takes to find her. She just never expected her search to lead her to the Terran Station and their bride program. Siril, Captain of the Herack, is revered on his world for his tireless pursuit of the space pirates infesting the galaxy.

The best of the best, as they say. But all the blood is starting to wear on him. There are only so many heads you can lop off before it grows old. Who would ever want a battered and broken old warrior like him? But Jennifer is fierce, sexy as hell, and he wants to make her his. Kinyi has trained her entire life to be the strongest, most lethal rider on Kladuu. Tane spends his life running from the myth of the White Horn. In a desperate act of defiance, she became a mail order bride for an alien species. On Arkani, a peaceful planet, there might have been a chance to show her scientific skills.

All bets were off when her spaceship was captured by the warriors of Milisaria and the king chose her as a mate. Humans only interested him as allies in war. But, this one began to get under his skin. She withstood cruelty and pain in order to uphold her self-respect. In doing so, she gained his as well. He had far too many concubines already. He had her beaten and starved. Miah Dorsey spends her days slaving away for the Onyx Corporation. Her day goes from bad to worse when her transport ship is attacked and crashes on an alien planet.

The only other survivor? An arrogant, imposing, emerald-green alien warrior.

Shannon Rouchelle (Author of Star Gazer)

Beast is an extremely dangerous Zoran alpha warrior. The only thing he hates more than humans is humans who work for Onyx. Until he meets Miah. Never before has he met a human like her. Her shapely curves drive him mad with lust, and her defiant attitude humors the growly warrior. Stranded on an alien planet, the two enemies have to rely on each other to survive. Will Beast be the protector Miah needs? Or will he give into temptation? His name is Khazaar Drasurq.

For the mighty Khazaar, on the other hand, the Earth women exists only to secure the survival of his race. She is a small cog in the big plan the merciless Alien Lord is following. As Cassie is thrown into his dangerous world, she soon comes to understand just how desperately she needs something only he can give her — his protection. So perfect that demand to be his mate was so high that entering into a lottery was the only way to decide which lucky woman would bear his babies.

That lucky woman was Agena Morrow. However, Agena was set to get more than she bargained for. Especially when it became apparent that whilst Thrax was happy to participate in the act of making a baby, he had no true intention of ever producing one. A mysterious satellite crash. A late-night car accident. After hitting Eric with her truck in the middle of the Wyoming wilderness, Joanna has no choice but to take him back to her cabin.

But his wounds heal suspiciously fast, and she begins to suspect his concussion is covering up some deeper secret. For Olivia Shaw, the danger of her assignments as a deadly Whisper agent is matched only by that of her hidden status: When her handler sends her into the Quillian Empire, her mission is complicated by stumbling upon a kidnapping in progress. Liv is drawn deep into political upheaval when her hostage is revealed to be the infamous Red Wolf, Galen De Corvus, brother of the Quillian Empress. If he realizes what she is, he could expose her secret to either government and doom her to a life as breeding stock.

Quillian nobleman turned operative Galen never planned to involve himself with a citizen of the cold, cruel Syn, but Olivia entices him more than she should. As they work together to protect his royal sister from a violent coup, the passionate bond between them proves to be more than mere biology.

Ruthless, devious, and ambitious, Lucius Mercio has elevated the Serengeti Group to the third wealthiest cartel in the Twelve Systems, cementing his place among the twelve most powerful members of the ruling warrior class. Few will dare to attack Lucius directly, instead they will move in secret, targeting the most vulnerable aspects of his empire including his disgraced and reviled apprentice, Lilian.

Expecting only the meager assignments reserved for apprentices, Lilian was stunned to receive the conservatorship of a valuable Vistrite Crevasse—an honor reserved for proven and trusted warriors. She spends her days teasing brilliant performances out of the actors she auditions. And she spends her nights fantasizing about her mentor, tall, dark and handsome Adrian Harkness.

Adrian Harkness has been under a spell that granted him reprieve from shifting into a massive wild panther. Lucy is talented, hardworking, stunningly sexy and one hundred percent off-limits. Or believe in crushes.

When things go sideways, will Adrian unleash his panther to protect the woman he loves? Or will violence crush this romance before it can blossom? Just like Rapunzel from the fairy tales, dreamy, romantic Amy lives a hidden life. But Amy has a secret — she desperately wants to be stolen. She would love to be rescued from her life of idleness and the thought of a devoted drakoni male charging in and saving her from her boredom sounds perfect to her. Of course, she wants a romantic, loving male who will adore her.

Ryenne Cavanagh is a kick-ass shifter hunter in a world where most shifters are law-abiding, but rogues like to make trouble. Especially not from shifters. Worse still, her new client forces her into competition against a sexy French shifter hunter with a dangerous secret. She needs to solve the case first or lose her fee. Despite their rivalry, the French hottie is breaking down the protective walls built around her heart since she lost her brother and father. Will she uncover the identity of the rogue first or lose her heart along with her fee? More importantly, will she bring the rogue to justice before she becomes his next victim?

Wolf shifter Cole Masterson has been waiting impatiently for his future to arrive. Dani Neville thought the covert training offered by the leader of an ultra-secret shifter association was her only escape from being stuck forever on an isolated island with her bear-shifter clan. A world where vampires are real, rich and hungry, a world where Blood Courtesans satisfy all their needs.

Luxury, fast cars, adventure, whirlwind romance and cold, hard fangs. Karis Dunway is looking for a complete overhaul of her life. On the tail-end of a heartbreak, she makes a desperate move and applies to be a part of a matchmaking program for big predator shifters. But Colt has a nickname that sends up big red flags. His friends and enemies call him the Warmaker, and pretty soon she will figure out exactly what that means.

Colton Dorset, aka the Peacemaker, aka the Warmaker, is hunting for something to tame his bear. If he could figure out what kind of shifter she is, he might be able to navigate this new arranged match, but Karis keeps him guessing at every turn. And as life at the ranch spirals out of control, he will have to figure out if her animal is a help, or a huge hindrance. But her dangerous search for clues only leads her to a blood soaked piece of land, and a trip down a rocky ravine.

Volunteer pack enforcer and full-time ranch hand, Luca Weylyn has been a loner his entire life. But Natalie is human, and Luca is a wolf shifter. Can there be any future for Luca with a woman if he can never share his secrets? When political unrest uproots Caitlyn once again, will she be able to find her feet in an ever changing world of intrigue? Returned to the gilded cage of her family, Caitlyn attempts to hold her own in a sea of political maneuvering.

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Floundering and cut off from the support of her guys, she finds herself bereft all over again. When Caitlyn is presented with choices for her future secretary, she begins to see how complicated life can become. Faced with those trained in seduction, will Caitlyn be able to resist their proposals? Whispers of her guys ill intentions only furthers her doubts as Caitlyn struggles to choose her path: My name is Ria.

Like Leah, but with an R? My life is pretty normal, I guess. Tantalizing pleasure, exhilarating joy, even paralyzing fear—I can make you feel it all, or I can take it all away. Drain you of every single emotion. But things start to go from almost normal to straight-up bizarre when not one, but four insanely gorgeous men stumble into my life.

My name is Clara Daniels.

I was your average New Yorker with a degree in business and a need for a job.

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