Why Life Originated (And Why it Continues)
Biology /
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (168) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, scientists understand pretty well how life evolves, by mechanisms based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for survival of the fittest. However, Darwin’s 1859 classic, On the Origin ...
Predicted Planet Seen -- First Since Neptune 162 Years Ago
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (56) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2006, astronomer Alice Quillen of the University of Rochester predicted that a planet of a particular size and orbit must lie within the dust of a nearby star. That planet has now been photographed by ...
Unprecedented 16-year-long study tracks stars orbiting Milky Way black hole
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (42) |
17
By watching the motions of 28 stars orbiting the Milky Way's most central region with admirable patience and amazing precision, astronomers have been able to study the supermassive black hole lurking there. ...
The crash of 2008: A mathematician's view
Dec 09, 2008 |
3.1 / 5 (62) |
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Markets need regulation to stay stable. We have had thirty years of financial deregulation. Now we are seeing chickens coming home to roost. This is the key argument of Professor Nick Bingham, a mathematician at Imperial ...
Hubble Finds Carbon Dioxide on an Extrasolar Planet
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (41) |
8
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. This is an important step along the trail of finding the chemical biotracers ...
Research shows there could be no end in sight for Moore's Law
Dec 09, 2008 |
4 / 5 (39) |
13
The fast pace of growing computing power could be sustained for many years to come thanks to new research from the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) that is applying advanced techniques to magnetic semiconductors.
Protein could prevent blocked arteries
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (28) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, researchers have found that a modified form of a naturally occurring protein, N-cadherin, could prevent blocked arteries. Blocked arteries are a major cause of heart attacks ...
Late Neanderthals and modern human contact in southeastern Iberia
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (26) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- It is widely accepted that Upper Paleolithic early modern humans spread westward across Europe about 42,000 years ago, displacing and absorbing Neanderthal populations in the process. However, ...
Researchers Plan to Simulate Movements of 300 Million Americans
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (26) |
8
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Virginia Tech are developing a computer simulation that matches the movements of all 300 million people in towns across the US. The team hopes that the model will help them ...
New polymer coatings prevent corrosion, even when scratched
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (24) |
4
Imagine tiny cracks in your patio table healing by themselves, or the first small scratch on your new car disappearing by itself. This and more may be possible with self-healing coatings being developed at ...
The clear future of electronics
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (25) |
3
A group of scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has fabricated a working computer chip that is almost completely clear -- the first of its kind. The new technology, called transparent resistive ...
Secret ingredient for the health of tropical rainforests found
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (22) |
2
A team of researchers led by Princeton University scientists has found for the first time that tropical rainforests, a vital part of the Earth's ecosystem, rely on the rare trace element molybdenum to capture the nitrogen ...
Psychologists report that a gender gap in spatial skills starts in infancy
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (16) |
14
(PhysOrg.com) -- Men tend to perform better than women at tasks that require rotating an object mentally, studies have indicated. Now, developmental psychologists at Pitzer College and UCLA have discovered ...
Baby fish in polluted San Francisco estuary waters are stunted and deformed
Dec 09, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (14) |
18
(PhysOrg.com) -- Striped bass in the San Francisco Estuary are contaminated before birth with a toxic mix of pesticides, industrial chemicals and flame retardants that their mothers acquire from estuary waters ...
Deciphering honeybee dances and stock market swings
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 09, 2008 |
3.7 / 5 (13) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- What do dancing honeybees and stock markets have in common? At first glance, not much. But both are complicated dynamic systems that are extremely difficult to model — until now. An MIT graduate student has ...
