Science & Technology - Dec 27, 2011 11:28 - 0 Comments

Details of Earth’s core ‘ironed’ out

CALTECH (US) — Researchers have zeroed in on the behavior of iron—a key component of the Earth’s core—by conducting high-pressure experiments to simulate conditions at the planet’s interior. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 23, 2011 10:30 - 1 Comment

Two new planets survive red-giant blast

IOWA STATE (US) — Astronomers have discovered two Earth-sized planets that survived getting caught in the red-giant expansion of their host star. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 22, 2011 17:55 - 1 Comment

Babies remember inklings, not objects

JOHNS HOPKINS / RUTGERS (US) — Infants may not remember what they saw, but they remember that they saw something, according to researchers. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 21, 2011 15:19 - 0 Comments

Tool shows ‘handedness’ of gold nanoparticles

CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — Researchers have successfully used simple nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to analyze the ‘handedness,’ or chirality, of gold nanoparticles. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 21, 2011 13:32 - 2 Comments

‘Unequivocal’ tree of life for seed plants

NYU (US) — Scientists have plotted the evolutionary relationships of 150 different plant species—the largest ever genome tree for seed plants. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 20, 2011 12:23 - 2 Comments

How to build a better wind farm

IOWA STATE (US) — A turbine only ten inches high is helping researchers understand how hills, valleys, and tower placement can affect the productivity of onshore wind farms. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 19, 2011 17:06 - 1 Comment

Warm soil and hormones wake seedlings

U. WARWICK (UK) — Dormant seeds in the soil detect and respond to seasonal changes in soil temperature by changing their sensitivity to plant hormones, new research has found. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 19, 2011 14:47 - 0 Comments

Early black holes gorged on ‘fast food’

CARNEGIE MELLON (US) — The largest cosmological simulation ever conducted shows that a steady diet of cold dense gas caused the rapid growth of the early supermassive black holes. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 19, 2011 11:44 - 0 Comments

Bacteria ‘talk’ and plants listen

UC DAVIS (US) — Scientists have discovered a new signal that helps invading bacteria communicate at the same time it helps targeted rice plants coordinate defensive attacks on the disease-causing invaders. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 15, 2011 11:18 - 3 Comments

Fastest-ever data transfer: 186 Gbps

CALTECH (US) — Researchers have set a new world record for data transfer, helping to usher in the next generation of high-speed network technology. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 15, 2011 9:43 - 1 Comment

Scarier weapons get the (spider) girl

DUKE (US) — The bigger a male jumping spider’s weapons appear to be, the more likely his rival will slink away without a fight, leaving the bigger guy a clear path to the waiting female. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2011 21:00 - 0 Comments

Massive black holes may be quasar relics

U. MICHIGAN (US) — Two newly discovered black holes that are 10 billion times the mass of the sun—the largest ever found—may be the fossil remains of quasars from the early universe. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2011 20:21 - 1 Comment

‘Slam-dunk’ proof of water on Mars

CORNELL (US) — The discovery of a bright vein of gypsum in ancient rock proves that water once flowed underground on Mars, researchers say. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2011 11:48 - 0 Comments

Graphene: Oil industry’s rising star

RICE (US) — Graphene’s strength, light weight, and solubility may ultimately make it the answer to the efficient, environmentally sound production of oil, a new study shows. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2011 10:20 - 0 Comments

Wires get cozy in smallest circuits

MCGILL (CAN) — A team of scientists has engineered one of the world’s smallest electronic circuits. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 13, 2011 13:13 - 0 Comments

Brain’s view of motion is not so simple

NYU (US) — The relationship between the brain and visual perception varies depending on the type of motion being viewed, a finding that suggests a significantly more complex process than previously thought. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 13, 2011 11:36 - 0 Comments

Terrorists leave DNA on backpack, not bomb

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Catching terrorists who detonate bombs may be easier by testing the containers that hide the bombs rather than the actual explosives. (more…)

Science & Technology - Dec 9, 2011 12:22 - 0 Comments

Doping graphene on edge 1,000x more potent

GEORGIA TECH (US) — Doping 2-D sheets of graphene on the edge is 1,000 times more efficient at producing electron carriers than doping on the surface, a new study shows. (more…)

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