Tiny ancient bandicoot shines light on future
(Phys.org) —A 20 million-year-old fossil skull identified as a 'pocket-sized' ancestor of the bandicoot will give insights into the future of Australia's modern endangered animals.
View ArticleOil industry research sheds light on where life exists on Earth and beyond
(Phys.org) —The North Sea oil and gas industry's pursuit of new oil reserves has contributed to a greater understanding of where life exists on Earth and may even help us look for life on other planets.
View ArticleYahoo takes big leap with $1.1B deal for Tumblr (Update)
Yahoo is buying online blogging forum Tumblr for $1.1 billion as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to rejuvenate an Internet icon that had fallen behind the times.
View ArticleBreakthrough calls time on bootleg booze
(Phys.org) —Using a laser, the St Andrews scientists can now carry out detailed analysis of a spirit sample no bigger than a teardrop and can even confirm whether it is toxic or not. It's hoped the...
View ArticleFaster, stronger, lighter: New technique advances carbon-fiber composites
These days, aerospace engineering is all about the light stuff: building airplanes with lighter wings, fuselage and landing gear in an effort to reduce fuel costs.
View ArticleMajor motion pictures from our prehistoric past (w/ Video)
Cambridge archaeologists are illuminating some of the oldest graphic art of the past, by applying some of the most advanced graphic technology of the present.
View ArticleModern lab reaches across the ages to resolve plague DNA debate
(Phys.org) —From within an ancient German gravesite to laboratories under the harshest extremes of scientific scrutiny, traces of DNA from a deadly disease illuminate the cold pages of history with...
View ArticleCompany pioneering new types of material for 3-D printer 'ink'
(Phys.org) —Emerging Objects, a San Francisco based fabrication studio, is pioneering the use of new kinds of material for use as an "ink" with 3-D printers. To date, their materials are based on wood,...
View ArticleHigh school student develops supercapacitor, wins Young Scientist Award
(Phys.org) —Saratoga California high school student Eesha Khare is a co-winner of this year's Young Scientist Award sponsored by Intel. She won the award for her battery-sized supercapacitor design...
View ArticleFossil brain teaser: New study reveals patterns of dinosaur brain development
A new study conducted at the University of Bristol and published online today in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology sheds light on how the brain and inner ear developed in dinosaurs.
View ArticleResearchers develop fast, economical method for high-definition video...
Video compositing to create special effects, replace backgrounds or combine multiple takes of an actor's performance is an integral, but highly labor-intensive, part of modern film making. Researchers...
View ArticleSlow earthquakes: It's all in the rock mechanics
(Phys.org) —Earthquakes that last minutes rather than seconds are a relatively recent discovery, according to an international team of seismologists. Researchers have been aware of these slow...
View ArticleAdvance in nanotech gene sequencing technique
(Phys.org) —The allure of personalized medicine has made new, more efficient ways of sequencing genes a top research priority. One promising technique involves reading DNA bases using changes in...
View ArticleParasitic wasps use calcium pump to block fruit fly immunity
Parasitic wasps switch off the immune systems of fruit flies by draining calcium from the flies' blood cells, a finding that offers new insight into how pathogens break through a host's defenses.
View ArticlePrinciples of locomotion in confined spaces could help fire ant-inspired...
Future teams of subterranean search and rescue robots may owe their success to the lowly fire ant, a much-despised insect whose painful bites and extensive networks of underground tunnels are...
View ArticleProtein study suggests drug side effects are inevitable
A new study of both computer-created and natural proteins suggests that the number of unique pockets – sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins – is surprisingly small,...
View ArticleCoccoliths thrive despite ocean acidification
Ocean acidification is damaging some marine species while others thrive, say scientists. An international team studied the effect of ocean acidification on plankton in the North Sea over the past forty...
View ArticleUnexpected effects of ocean acidification on deep-sea organisms
About 55.5 million years ago, geologically rapid emission of a large volume of greenhouse gases at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (PETM) led to global warming of about 5oC, severe ocean acidification,...
View ArticleStudy finds the bulk of shoes' carbon footprint comes from manufacturing...
A typical pair of running shoes generates 30 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to keeping a 100-watt light bulb on for one week, according to a new MIT-led lifecycle assessment. But what's...
View ArticleCoral reefs 'ruled by earthquakes and volcanoes'
(Phys.org) —Titanic forces in the Earth's crust explain why the abundance and richness of corals varies dramatically across the vast expanse of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, a world-first study from...
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