New model gives scientists guidelines to develop 'smart' composite materials...
Many natural composite materials have evolved to wrinkle in response to certain stimuli: The eye of the squid is lined with wavy layers of silvery reflectors that give it a silvery sheen. In the cell...
View ArticleNets, harpoons could be used to haul in space junk (Update)
Nets, harpoons and suicide robots could become weapons of choice to hunt down the space junk threatening crucial communications satellites currently in orbit round Earth, scientists said Thursday.
View ArticleNew phase of water could dominate the interiors of Uranus and Neptune
(Phys.org) —While everyone is familiar with water in the liquid, ice, and gas phases, water can also exist in many other phases over a vast range of temperature and pressure conditions. One lesser...
View ArticleContests to name moons and exoplanets irk International Astronomical Union
(Phys.org) —Two recent contests—one run by the SETI researchers that made the two most recent Pluto moon discoveries and another by an independent group called Uwingu to name an exoplanet—have caused...
View ArticleNASA invites the public to fly along with Voyager
(Phys.org) —A gauge on the Voyager home page, http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov, tracks levels of two of the three key signs scientists believe will appear when the spacecraft leave our solar neighborhood...
View ArticleEntire galaxies feel the heat from newborn stars: Bursts of star birth can...
(Phys.org) —Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have shown for the first time that bursts of star formation have a major impact far beyond the boundaries of their host galaxy. These...
View ArticleHigh performance semiconductor spray paint could be a game changer for...
Researchers at Wake Forest University's Organic Electronics group have come up with a novel solution to one of the biggest technological barriers facing the organic semiconductor industry today. Oana...
View ArticleGoogle Trends foretells stock movements, study reports
Google Trends, a tool that looks at patterns of searches on the Internet, is a potential money-spinner for investors as it provides hints of impending stock movements, a study said on Thursday.
View ArticlePushing the boundaries of transcription: A new level of variation in...
(Phys.org) —Like musicians in an orchestra who have the same musical score but start and finish playing at different intervals, cells with the same genes start and finish transcribing them at different...
View ArticleWith wave of the hand, researchers create touch-based interfaces
Researchers previously have shown that a depth camera system, such as Kinect, can be combined with a projector to turn almost any surface into a touchscreen. But now researchers at Carnegie Mellon...
View ArticleResearchers pinpoint how trees play role in smog production
After years of scientific uncertainty and speculation, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill show exactly how trees help create one of society's predominant environmental and...
View ArticleWhy do guppies jump? The answer is evolutionary (w/ video)
(Phys.org) —If you've owned a pet guppy, you know they often jump out of their tanks. Many a child has asked why the guppy jumped; many a parent has been stumped for an answer. Now a study by...
View ArticleOptical magnetic microscope for high-resolution, wide-field cell imaging
(Phys.org) —Nano-sized crystals of magnetic material can be found in a wide variety of organisms. Among the most studied are magnetotactic bacteria, which can orient and navigate using biosynthesized...
View ArticleResearchers identify key cellular organelle involved in gene silencing
RNA molecules, made from DNA, are best known for their role in protein production. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), however, are short (~22) nucleotide RNA sequences found in plants and animals that do not encode...
View ArticleResearchers develop new metrics for X-ray and neutron analysis of flexible...
(Phys.org) —A dramatic leap forward in the ability of scientists to study the structural states of macromolecules such as proteins and nanoparticles in solution has been achieved by a pair of...
View ArticleClimate change disrupts songbird's timing without impacting population size...
Songbird populations can handle far more disrupting climate change than expected. Density-dependent processes are buying them time for their battle. But without (slow) evolutionary rescue it will not...
View ArticleVaterite: Crystal within a crystal helps resolve an old puzzle
With the help of a solitary sea squirt, scientists have resolved the longstanding puzzle of the crystal structure of vaterite, an enigmatic geologic mineral and biomineral.
View ArticleMonkeys found to conform to social norms
Human tendency to adopt the behaviour of others when on their home territory has been found in non-human primates. Researchers at the University of St Andrews observed 'striking' fickleness in male...
View ArticlePiezoelectric 'taxel' arrays convert motion to electronic signals for tactile...
Using bundles of vertical zinc oxide nanowires, researchers have fabricated arrays of piezotronic transistors capable of converting mechanical motion directly into electronic controlling signals. The...
View ArticleHumpback whales able to learn from others, study finds
Humpback whales are able to pass on hunting techniques to each other, just as humans do, new research has found. A team of researchers, led by the University of St Andrews, has discovered that a new...
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