Untangling the tree of life
These days, phylogeneticists – experts who painstakingly map the complex branches of the tree of life – suffer from an embarrassment of riches. The genomics revolution has given them mountains of DNA...
View ArticleInnovation in spectroscopy could improve greenhouse gas detection
(Phys.org) —Detecting greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could soon become far easier with the help of an innovative technique developed by a team at the National Institute of Standards and Technology...
View ArticleStudy shows dogs may have been domesticated far earlier than thought
(Phys.org) —An international team of researchers has found genetic evidence that suggests dogs may have been domesticated as far back as 32,000 years ago. In their paper published in Nature...
View ArticleResearchers successfully convert human skin cells into embryonic stem cells
Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to become embryonic stem cells capable of...
View ArticleOldest evidence of split between Old World monkeys and apes discovered
Two fossil discoveries from the East African Rift reveal new information about the evolution of primates, according to a study published online in Nature this week led by Ohio University scientists.
View ArticleCatching graphene butterflies
Writing in Nature, a large international team led Dr Roman Gorbachev from The University of Manchester shows that, when graphene placed on top of insulating boron nitride, or 'white graphene', the...
View ArticleBillion-year-old water could hold clues to life on Earth and Mars
A UK-Canadian team of scientists has discovered ancient pockets of water, which have been isolated deep underground for billions of years and contain abundant chemicals known to support life.
View Article40-year-old prediction confirmed: First direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly...
A team of researchers from Columbia University, City University of New York, the University of Central Florida (UCF), and Tohoku University and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan,...
View ArticleSuperfluids: Observation of 'second sound' in a quantum gas
Second sound is a quantum mechanical phenomenon, which has been observed only in superfluid helium. Physicists from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, in collaboration with colleagues from the...
View ArticleEvolution shapes new rules for ant behavior
In ancient Greece, the city-states that waited until their own harvest was in before attacking and destroying a rival community's crops often experienced better long-term success.
View Article'Fish thermometer' reveals long-standing, global impact of climate change
Climate change has been impacting global fisheries for the past four decades by driving species towards cooler, deeper waters, according to University of British Columbia scientists.
View ArticleActivity continues on the Sun
(Phys.org) —Solar activity continued on May 14, 2013, as the sun emitted a fourth X-class flare from its upper left limb, peaking at 9:48 p.m. EDT.
View ArticleScientists develop 'green' pretreatment of Miscanthus for biofuels
Two University of Illinois scientists have developed an environmentally friendly and more economical way of pretreating Miscanthus in the biofuel production process.
View ArticleUltraresponsive magnetic nanoscavengers for next generation water purification
(Phys.org) —Among its many talents, silver is an antibiotic. Titanium dioxide is known to glom on to certain heavy metals and pollutants. Yet other materials do the same for salt. In recent years,...
View ArticleTropical air circulation drives fall warming on Antarctic Peninsula
(Phys.org) —The eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, a finger of the southern polar continent that juts toward South America, has experienced summer warming of perhaps a half-degree per decade – a...
View Article4C+29.30: Black hole powered jets plow into galaxy
(Phys.org) —This composite image of a galaxy illustrates how the intense gravity of a supermassive black hole can be tapped to generate immense power. The image contains X-ray data from NASA's Chandra...
View ArticleA new laser paradigm: An electrically injected polariton laser
Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have demonstrated a paradigm-shifting "polariton" laser that's fueled not by light, but by electricity.
View ArticleThe developmental genetics of space and time: Developmental genes often take...
(Phys.org) —Albert Erives, associate professor in the University of Iowa Department of Biology, and his graduate student, Justin Crocker, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Howard Hughes...
View ArticleGoogle unveils $10-a-month 'All Access' music plan
Google on Wednesday launched a subscription-based music service, allowing users of Android phones and tablets to listen to their favorite songs and artists for a monthly fee.
View ArticleHiRISE Mars camera reveals hundreds of impacts each year
Scientists using images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, or MRO, have estimated that the planet is bombarded by more than 200 small asteroids or bits of comets per year forming craters at least...
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