Spy agency tracked Canadians at an airport (Update)
A secret document leaked by U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden shows Canada's electronic spy agency used information gleaned from a free internet service at a Canadian airport to track the wireless...
View ArticleLemur lovers sync their scents
The strength of a lemur couple's bond is reflected by the similarity of their scents, finds a new study.
View ArticleNSA pursues quantum technology
In this month's issue of Physics World, Jon Cartwright explains how the revelation that the US National Security Agency (NSA) is developing quantum computers has renewed interest and sparked debate on...
View ArticleResearchers are piecing together causes of decline in honey bees
Last spring, when Mary Harris started looking for particular pesticides in the pollen carried by honey bees in northwest Iowa, she didn't find any. But that changed the week tractors hit the fields to...
View ArticleResearchers identify amino acid change that allows pathogens to jump from one...
(Phys.org) —A research team with members from the U.K., Germany and the U.S. has identified an amino acid sequence in effector proteins in two pathogens that helps explain how a firmly established...
View ArticleDiagnosis just a breath away with new laser
(Phys.org) —University of Adelaide physics researchers have developed a new type of laser that will enable exciting new advances in areas as diverse as breath analysis for disease diagnosis and remote...
View ArticleResearchers find genetic cause for citrus canker
Researchers from the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida are closer to finding a possible cure for citrus canker after identifying a gene that makes citrus trees...
View ArticleExplosive volcanoes light up Mercury's deep past
Mercury has long been a mystery to scientists. Until recently, knowledge of the planet was limited to the grey, patchy landscape revealed by the Mariner 10 probe, NASA's first mission to Mercury in the...
View ArticleWhat does Google want with DeepMind?
All eyes turned to London this week, as Google announced its latest acquisition in the form of DeepMind, a company that specialises in artificial intelligence technologies. The £400m pricetag paid by...
View ArticleBig sperm don't always win the race
When females mate with more than one male, each one's sperm has to compete to get to her eggs. Until now, researchers had thought the fastest sperm would dominate.
View ArticleResearchers develop new enzyme reactor technology
(Phys.org) —Researchers have developed a new enzymatic process intensification technology that is one of only a few technologies available for accelerating the rate of an enzyme reaction.
View Article3-D scanning with your smartphone
Traditionally, 3-D scanning has required expensive laser scanner equipment, complicated software, and technological expertise.
View ArticleTracking air pollution aids policy makers
(Phys.org) —Recently, Beijing and the nearby Chinese provinces were veiled in smog that reduced visibility, induced health problems, and reached levels described as "beyond index."
View ArticleChina's PandaX WIMP detector set to begin operations soon
(Phys.org) —China's PandaX Dark Matter Experiment is in final preparations to begin operating sometime early this year, representatives for the project have told the press. Its mission is to capture...
View ArticleIt's alive! Scientists combine liquid crystals and living bacteria
(Phys.org) —The prospect of integrated living organisms into a non-living substrate has long held a compelling appeal for those investigating active matter – the study of a type of easily-deformable...
View ArticleResearchers report on new catalyst to convert greenhouse gases into chemicals
(Phys.org) —A team of researchers at the University of Delaware has developed a highly selective catalyst capable of electrochemically converting carbon dioxide—a greenhouse gas—to carbon monoxide with...
View ArticleImaging ferroelectric domains
(Phys.org) —When thin films of ferroelectric materials are grown on single-crystal substrates, they can develop regions of aligned polarization—called "domains"—that often adopt complex patterns....
View ArticleVibrations influence the circadian clock of a fruit fly
The internal circadian clock of a Drosophila (fruit fly) can be synchronised using vibrations, according to research published today in the journal Science. The results suggest that an animal's own...
View ArticleUltrathin platinum films become magnetic when subjected to an electric field
Only a few elements in the periodic table are inherently magnetic. Iron is perhaps the best known, but cobalt and nickel also exhibit this type of ferromagnetism. Scientists have recently discovered,...
View ArticleSpiderman robot spins draglines to cross open space (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —Inspired by spiders' abilities to produce draglines and use them to move across open space, researchers have designed and built a robot that can do the same. Similar to Spiderman shooting a...
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