Science & Technology
Permafrost microbe loves salty Arctic ‘veins’
MCGILL (CAN) — Scientists have discovered a bacterium in the Canadian High Arctic that thrives at -15º Celsius—temperatures nearly as cold as the surface of Mars. Continue…
Friday, May 24, 2013 11:39 - 0 Comments
Science & Technology - May 24, 2013 11:39 - 1 Comment
So, it’s not parasitic mind control?
PENN STATE (US) — The feeding behavior seen in mosquitoes carrying malaria may be an immune response, not the parasite’s manipulation of the insect’s activity for its own survival. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 24, 2013 10:47 - 1 Comment
First boson laser could save power
STANFORD (US) — Scientists have demonstrated a revolutionary electrically driven polariton laser that could significantly improve the efficiency of lasers. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 23, 2013 16:51 - 3 Comments
This quick visual test predicts IQ
U. ROCHESTER (US) — A brief test of a person’s ability to filter out visual movement—in this case, black and white bars moving across a screen—can predict IQ. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 23, 2013 16:15 - 0 Comments
Citizen scientists tag bug collections online
UC BERKELEY (US) — The public can help scientists by deciphering and recording the hand-written field notes that accompany a million insect specimens, many dating back more than 100 years. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 23, 2013 12:17 - 0 Comments
‘Dynamo’ accounts for Sun’s weather cycle
U. LEEDS (UK) / U. CHICAGO (US) — Researchers have discovered what drives the generation of astrophysical magnetic fields like the Sun’s. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 22, 2013 12:38 - 0 Comments
Violent weather on Neptune, Uranus doesn’t run deep
U. ARIZONA (US) — The atmosphere on the planets Uranus and Neptune goes from screaming winds of infernal violence to dead-quiet at a much shallower depth than previously thought. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 22, 2013 11:41 - 1 Comment
Do bird brains trade songs for spatial skills?
DUKE (US) — A long playlist doesn’t mean a male song sparrow is smarter overall, say scientists, who found that spatial memory was lower among the birds with more tunes. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 22, 2013 11:38 - 0 Comments
Bendy nano-sensors detect infrared light
U. PENN (US) — Engineers have used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, which could improve infrared cameras and chemical-analysis techniques. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 22, 2013 11:09 - 0 Comments
Fire ants could teach tunneling robots a few tricks
GEORGIA TECH (US) — Researchers find fire ants tightly regulate the diameter of their tunnels to insure ideal mobility and traction—but when they slip, antennae take grip. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 21, 2013 13:57 - 0 Comments
Biology can’t run on genes alone
UC DAVIS (US) — Don’t lose the organism in the excitement over its genes, say biologists, who caution against straying too far from the actual plants, animals, and microorganisms. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 21, 2013 11:32 - 1 Comment
Hear a heartbeat in space with this stethoscope
JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — A new electronic stethoscope designed for NASA could deliver accurate heart and body sounds to medics assessing astronaut health in a noisy spacecraft. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 21, 2013 8:41 - 0 Comments
Macrophages let salamanders replace limbs
MONASH U. (AUS) — Salamanders can regrow limbs thanks to their immune systems, which could also play a role in the regeneration of their spinal cords, brain tissue, and even parts of their hearts. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 20, 2013 16:46 - 0 Comments
Purify water with tiny magnetic scavengers
STANFORD (US) — Nanoparticles that can be removed quickly by magnet could offer a promising new way to disinfect water. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 20, 2013 16:43 - 0 Comments
‘Water-pumping’ fabric channels away sweat
UC DAVIS (US) — A new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, says inventor Tingrui Pan. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 20, 2013 14:07 - 0 Comments
Slow quakes put ‘big wrinkle’ in rock theory
PENN STATE (US) — When researchers duplicate slow earthquakes, they find that rocks at the fault get stronger when slippage begins, but suddenly weaken. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 20, 2013 12:48 - 3 Comments
‘Crazy ant’ invaders make fire ants seem polite
U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — Invasive “crazy ants” are displacing fire ants across the southeastern United States and may have dramatic effects on the region’s ecosystem, researchers say. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 20, 2013 11:47 - 0 Comments
Tiny droplets ‘flow’ like quark-gluon plasma
VANDERBILT (US) — Physicists may have created the smallest drops of liquid ever made in the lab—only the size of three to five protons. (more…)
Science & Technology - May 17, 2013 9:27 - 2 Comments
Flyby radar maps Saturn’s Earth-like moon
JOHNS HOPKINS (US) — Using a radar imager to peer through the soupy atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, scientists have created the first topographic map of one of the most Earth-like worlds in the solar system. (more…)
