Science & Technology - Dec 22, 2010 11:08 - 0 Comments

African elephants do a double take

U. ILLINOIS (US) — Forget what you always thought about elephants: There are two—not one—species of African elephant. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 20, 2010 14:04 - 2 Comments

Sizing up Earth’s super-strong core

UC BERKELEY (US) — The magnetic field inside Earth’s core, 1,800 miles underground, is 50 times stronger than the magnetic field at the surface that makes compass needles align north-south. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 20, 2010 11:40 - 0 Comments

Fuzzy history of the first flower

U. FLORIDA (US) — Since the first bloom, flowering plants have evolved at a booming rate, yet their origin remains a mystery. A 10-year effort to trace the genetic trail back to the first flower reveals new details about how those genes have changed over time. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 19, 2010 19:04 - 0 Comments

The unnatural charm of metamaterials

IOWA STATE (US) — New fabrication techniques are yielding metamaterials—exotic creations that provide optical properties not found in nature. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 17, 2010 15:22 - 2 Comments

How to create something from nothing

U. MICHIGAN (US) — Under just the right conditions—which involve an ultra-high-intensity laser beam and a two-mile-long particle accelerator—it could be possible to generate matter and antimatter from a vacuum. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 17, 2010 12:23 - 0 Comments

Slice nanotubes with sonic booms

BROWN (US) — It’s difficult to imagine getting a precise cut on a carbon nanotube, with a diameter 1/50,000th the thickness of a human hair. The trick, researchers say, is to squeeze and twist nanotubes using sonic booms. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 17, 2010 10:49 - 2 Comments

Robots in ER? Not just sci-fi

VANDERBILT (US) — The idea of robot assistants that can perform effectively in the often-chaotic environment of the emergency room is not as futuristic as it may seem. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 16, 2010 12:24 - 0 Comments

Front row seat in hunt for exoplanets

YALE (US) — A new online science project will allow ordinary citizens to help professional astronomers in their search for Earth-like planets. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 15, 2010 18:19 - 0 Comments

Saturn moon mountains taller than Everest

JOHNS HOPKINS / WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — A strange mountain range girding the equator of Saturn’s third-largest moon may have been formed not by geological forces but rather by the explosive breakup of an orbiting mini-moon, scientists suggest. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 15, 2010 16:30 - 0 Comments

Debut flight pictures evolving stars

CORNELL (US) — Unparalleled new images are giving scientists views of star-forming regions within and outside the Milky Way. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2010 20:50 - 0 Comments

Unmanned drones track Arctic seals

U. COLORADO (US) — Cameras mounted on unmanned aircraft flying over the Arctic are doing double duty by assessing declining sea ice and pinpointing seals that have hauled up on ice floes. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2010 13:24 - 5 Comments

Fade-free dye for the little black dress

U. LEEDS (UK) — A new dye technology could make doing laundry a breeze. The technique keeps colors from running or fading by permanently dyeing the molecules of fabric fibers. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 13, 2010 9:47 - 0 Comments

Nanowire heart pumps next-gen battery

RICE (US) — Faster-charging three-dimensional microbatteries may soon be able to power new generations of remote sensors, display screens, smart cards, flexible electronics, and biomedical devices. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 13, 2010 0:03 - 0 Comments

Social safety net for dull ants

U. OREGON (US) — When leaf-cutter ants wear out their razor-sharp mandibles, they still can be productive members of their society, a new study shows. They change jobs, carrying the leaves their sharper sisters cut. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 10, 2010 13:58 - 0 Comments

Removing healthy ginseng’s bitter bite

U. ILLINOIS (US) — Ginseng—a common ingredient in energy drinks is desired by consumers—but its bitterness is a turn-off. Now scientists have found a way to mask the acerbic aftertaste while keeping the health benefits. (more…)

Best of 2010, Science & Technology - Dec 9, 2010 13:01 - 3 Comments

How rare is your fingerprint?

U. BUFFALO (US) — A computer scientist has figured out a way to determine how rare a fingerprint is—and how likely it is to belong to a particular crime suspect. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 9, 2010 12:23 - 0 Comments

Morphing molecule detects disease

STANFORD (US) — Engineered biological devices may one day be able to detect cancer cells in the body and then manipulate them to self-destruct, while leaving healthy cells unaffected. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 9, 2010 12:19 - 2 Comments

How we hear ourselves speak

UC BERKELEY (US) — Your brain is listening to what you say—even in a noisy room—simultaneously filtering unwanted noise while amplifying the sounds you make and hear. (more…)

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