Recent findings on makeup of universe may spawn new research
(Phys.org) —New areas of extragalactic study may emerge from research by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) astrophysicists using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory to conclude that baryons...
View ArticleHigh CO2 spurs wetlands to absorb more carbon
(Phys.org) —Under elevated carbon dioxide levels, wetland plants can absorb up to 32 percent more carbon than they do at current levels, according to a 19-year study published in Global Change Biology...
View ArticleUsing pressure to swell pores, not crush them
More than a decade ago, Thomas Vogt and Yongjae Lee, then colleagues at Brookhaven National Laboratory, uncovered a counter-intuitive property of zeolites. When they put these porous minerals in water,...
View ArticleScientists power mobile phone using urine
British scientists on Tuesday reported they had harnessed the power of urine and were able to charge a mobile phone with enough electricity to send texts and surf the internet.
View ArticleWeird fossil sheds light on dinosaurs' lost continent
Palaeontologists in Utah on Wednesday said they had found the fossil of a strange horned dinosaur which roamed an island continent known as Laramidia.
View ArticleFossil shows fish had sucker on its back
(Phys.org) —A 30-million-year-old fossil has revealed how remoras – also called sharksuckers – evolved the sucker that enables them to stick to other fish and 'hitch a ride'.
View ArticleRevealed: Secret of bees' honeycomb
For thousands of years, thinkers have marvelled at the feat of engineering that is the honeycomb.
View ArticlePain makes people more charitable
(Phys.org) —A study involving Victoria University researchers supports the longstanding theory that taking part in extreme, painful rituals increases prosocial behaviours and attitudes including making...
View ArticleAcoustics engineer's work helps take the sting out of baseball bats
For aspiring major leaguers, one of the most painful aspects of learning the game is dealing with the sting of the bat's handle when a baseball is hit incorrectly.
View ArticleNew study explains surprising acceleration of Greenland's inland ice
Surface meltwater draining through cracks in an ice sheet can warm the sheet from the inside, softening the ice and letting it flow faster, according to a new study by scientists at the Cooperative...
View ArticleAnthropologists help solve mystery of 250 million-year-old strange bedfellows
(Phys.org) —They were strange bedfellows in a 250 million-year-old burrow: the sleeping, cat-size mammal forerunner Thrinaxodon liorhinus and the slightly smaller amphibian Broomistega putterilli that...
View ArticleFrom flounders to seahorses: Evolutionary success of spiny-rayed fishes detailed
(Phys.org) —Even as the dinosaurs were becoming extinct 66 million years ago, the ancient ancestor of spiny-rayed fishes flourished, eventually giving rise to tens of thousands of species that can now...
View ArticleEvidence for a Martian Ocean
(Phys.org) —Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have discovered evidence for an ancient delta on Mars where a river might once have emptied into a vast ocean.
View ArticleIntel's multimillion baby Omek is acquired for motion sensing
(Phys.org) —What would Intel do with a company focused on motion sensing technology? A number of ideas circle around the announcement this week that Intel has bought Israel-based Omek Interactive. An...
View ArticleElectronics: Graphene makes a magnetic switch
(Phys.org) —Tiny nanoribbons of carbon could be used to make a magnetic field sensor for novel electronic devices.
View ArticleMicroorganisms found in salt flats could offer new path to green hydrogen fuel
(Phys.org) —A protein found in the membranes of ancient microorganisms that live in desert salt flats could offer a new way of using sunlight to generate environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel,...
View ArticleCombining computer science, statistics creates machines that can learn
Learning a subject well means moving beyond the recitation of facts to a deeper knowledge that can be applied to new problems. Designing computers that can transcend rote calculations to more nuanced...
View ArticleDiscovery of stone monument at El Perú-Waka' adds new chapter to ancient Maya...
Archaeologist tunneling beneath the main temple of the ancient Maya city of El Perú-Waka' in northern Guatemala have discovered an intricately carved stone monument with hieroglyphic text detailing the...
View ArticlePhysicists publish solution to the quantum measurement problem
(Phys.org) —Quantum mechanics is a highly successful theory, but its interpretation has still not been settled. In their recent opus magnum, Theo Nieuwenhuizen (Institute of Physics, UvA) and...
View ArticleFluid dynamics: Resolving shockwaves more accurately
A new computational scheme enables more stable simulations of shockwaves in fluids and may be scalable for large engineering designs.
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