Better combustion through plasma
Mix together air, fuel, and heat and you get combustion, the chemical reaction that powers most engines in planes, trains and automobiles. And if you throw in some ionized gas (plasma), it turns out,...
View ArticleFlexible, stretchable fire-ant rafts
What do Jell-O, toothpaste, and floating fire-ant rafts have in common? All are so-called "viscoelastic" materials, meaning that they can both resist flow under stress, like honey, and they can bounce...
View ArticleFinding hidden circles may improve social network privacy settings
Creating a computer program to find relationships in networks, such as Google Plus and Facebook, may help users more easily set up and maintain privacy settings, according to researchers.
View ArticleGREAT3 challenge seeks new methods for measuring weak gravitational lensing
(Phys.org) —Think you can figure out a way to unlock one of the biggest secrets of the universe? The recently launched third Gravitational Lensing Accuracy Testing challenge (GREAT3) is giving...
View ArticleSmart materials investigated on space station
If you have a smartphone, take it out and run your fingers along the glass surface. It's cool to the touch, incredibly thin and strong, and almost impervious to scratching. You're now in contact with a...
View ArticleStudy finds contented males more attractive
(Phys.org) —Happy, sane males have better love lives – at least for mink.
View Article'Electromagnon' effect couples electricity and magnetism in materials
Major industries such as modern microelectronics are based on the interaction between matter and electromagnetism. Electromagnetic signals can be processed and stored in specially tailored materials....
View ArticleEurope's billion-star surveyor set for launch
By repeatedly observing a billion stars, with its billion-pixel video camera, the Gaia mission will allow astronomers to determine the origin and evolution of our galaxy whilst also testing gravity,...
View ArticleProgress against antibiotic-resistant bacterium with wewly ID'd protein
(Phys.org) —Researchers have made inroads into tackling a bacterium that plagues hospitals and is highly resistant to most antibiotics. They determined the 3-D structure and likely function of a new...
View ArticleCity birds tougher than their country counterparts
Urban breeding birds appeared to cope better with the UK's cold, wet spring of 2012 than those living in woodland.
View ArticleThe search for medium-sized black holes
Black holes can be petite, with masses only about 10 times that of our sun—or monstrous, boasting the equivalent in mass up to 10 billion suns. Do black holes also come in size medium? NASA's Nuclear...
View ArticleIndirect study of Earth's core
The center of the Earth is about 6,371 kilometers or 4, 000 miles away, roughly the distance between Phoenix and the North Pole.
View ArticleNew technique for dataset cluster detection
(Phys.org) —A persistent problem for mathematicians trying to understand the structures of networks – in datasets representing relationships among everything from galaxies to people – is community...
View ArticleNASA launches exo-brake parachute from ISS
Mission controllers have confirmed that a small satellite launched from the International Space Station last week has successfully entered its orbit. Soon it will demonstrate two new technologies...
View ArticleMalaria mosquito groups surprisingly do mix and match, new study finds
(Phys.org) —A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and in Mali finds that many of the assumptions underlying current thinking about the genetics of two key subgroups of...
View ArticleStudy duo find adaptive value of same-sex pairing in Laysan albatross
(Phys.org) —A pair of researchers with Pacific Rim Conservation has found that female same-sex pairings of Laysan albatross in Oahu, Hawaii results in more offspring for the colony of birds than if...
View ArticleExpress yourself: Scientists use genetic algorithm to design self-assembling...
(Phys.org) —Material design usually follows what is known as the Edisonian method, a traditional process characterized by trial-and-error discovery rather than a systematic theoretical approach. While...
View ArticleFigures of eight and peanut shells: How stars move at the center of the galaxy
(Phys.org) —Two months ago astronomers created a new 3D map of stars at the center of our galaxy (the Milky Way), showing more clearly than ever the bulge at its core. Previous explanations suggested...
View ArticleResearchers find native male praying mantises falling prey to invading females
(Phys.org) —A trio of researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand has found that male praying mantises are being eaten when they attempt to mate with an invasive species of female...
View ArticleRobots may receive urine-powered artificial 'hearts'
(Phys.org) —It's a first: researchers have built the first artificial-heart-like pump that is powered by microbial fuel cells fed on human urine. But instead of being used as a prosthetic device for...
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