The five fingers of our feathered friends: New research results on the...
In most tetrapods (land vertebrates) the fourth (ring) finger is the first to develop in the embryo. And in birds, the finger on the outside of the hand (posterior, the pinky side) appears first, which...
View ArticleUltra-flexible chip can be wrapped around a hair
Scientists in Switzerland said Tuesday they can create electronic chips so flexible they can be wrapped around a human hair.
View ArticleAncient sharks reared young in prehistoric river-delta nursery
Like salmon in reverse, long-snouted Bandringa sharks migrated downstream from freshwater swamps to a tropical coastline to spawn 310 million years ago, leaving behind fossil evidence of one of the...
View ArticleMega-landslide in giant Utah copper mine may have triggered earthquakes
Landslides are one of the most hazardous aspects of our planet, causing billions of dollars in damage and thousands of deaths each year. Most large landslides strike with little warning—and thus...
View ArticleN-test legacy in stratosphere bigger than thought
Levels of radioactive plutonium in Earth's stratosphere from nuclear tests and accidents is higher than previously thought, but probably not dangerous to humans, scientists in Switzerland said Tuesday.
View ArticleStormy stars? Spitzer probes weather on brown dwarfs
(Phys.org) —Swirling, stormy clouds may be ever-present on cool celestial orbs called brown dwarfs. New observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that most brown dwarfs are roiling with...
View ArticleRecently reactivated NASA spacecraft spots its first new asteroid
(Phys.org) —NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft has spotted a never-before-seen asteroid—its first such discovery since coming out of hibernation last year.
View ArticleHubble's first frontier field finds thousands of unseen, faraway galaxies
(Phys.org) —The first of a set of unprecedented, super-deep views of the universe from an ambitious collaborative program called The Frontier Fields is being released today at the 223rd meeting of the...
View ArticleMassive exoplanets may be more earth-like than thought: 'Super-earths' likely...
(Phys.org) —Massive terrestrial planets, called "super-Earths," are known to be common in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Now a Northwestern University astrophysicist and a University of Chicago...
View ArticleHubble unveils a deep sea of small and faint early galaxies
(Phys.org) —NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has uncovered the long-suspected underlying population of galaxies that produced the bulk of new stars during the universe's early years. They are the...
View Article'Ultra HD' takes center stage but skepticism remains
Television giants at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are touting the wonders of ultra high-definition screens despite doubts by analysts that people will buy them.
View ArticleBosch shows automated park assistance at CES
(Phys.org) —CES in Las Vegas, in full swing, has a number of gadgetry themes at this year's show, not least of which is automotive technologies that pave the way for driverless cars which, in the...
View ArticleLife on other planets could be far more widespread, study finds
(Phys.org) —Earth-sized planets can support life at least ten times further away from stars than previously thought, according to academics at the University of Aberdeen.
View ArticleOf lice and men (and chimps): Study tracks pace of molecular evolution
A new study compares the relative rate of molecular evolution between humans and chimps with that of their lice. The researchers wanted to know whether evolution marches on at a steady pace in all...
View ArticleThe ocean's hidden waves show their power
Their effect on the surface of the ocean is negligible, producing a rise of just inches that is virtually imperceptible on a turbulent sea. But internal waves, which are hidden entirely within the...
View ArticleResearchers program bacterial cells to make computer-like decisions
(Phys.org) —Imagine bacterial cells programmed like computers to respond predictably to specific inputs—the cells detect mercury and turn red, or detect and destroy cancerous cells.
View ArticleHow does soil store CO2?
Global CO2 emissions continue to rise—in 2012 alone, 35.7 billion tons of this greenhouse gas entered the atmosphere. Some of it is absorbed by the oceans, plants and soil. They provide a significant...
View ArticleNew discovery could be a Thorne-Zytkow object
(Phys.org) —Speaking at this year's American Astronomical Society meeting, Hubble Fellow, Emily Levesque reported that she and her colleagues at the University of Colorado have discovered a star that...
View ArticleNewly discovered celestial object defies categories
An object discovered by astrophysicists at the University of Toronto (U of T) nearly 500 light years away from the Sun may challenge traditional understandings about how planets and stars form.
View ArticleMetal ink could ease the way toward flexible electronic books, displays
Scientists are reporting the development of a novel metal ink made of small sheets of copper that can be used to write a functioning, flexible electric circuit on regular printer paper. Their report on...
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