Scientists Discover Material Harder Than Diamond
Feb 12, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (51) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called ...
Psychoactive compound activates mysterious receptor
Feb 12, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (14) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A hallucinogenic compound found in a plant indigenous to South America and used in shamanic rituals regulates a mysterious protein that is abundant throughout the body, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers ...
Quantum Twist: Electrons Mimic Presence of Magnetic Field
Feb 12, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (12) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of scientists led by a Princeton University group recently discovered that on the surface of certain materials collective arrangements of electrons move in ways that ...
Research on viral origins suggests new definition of virus may be needed
Biology /
Feb 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The strange interaction of a parasitic wasp, the caterpillar in which it lays its eggs and a virus that helps it overcome the caterpillar’s immune defenses has some scientists rethinking the ...
Draft version of the Neanderthal genome completed
Biology /
Feb 12, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (9) |
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In a development which could reveal the links between modern humans and their prehistoric cousins, scientists said Thursday they have mapped a first draft of the Neanderthal genome. Researchers used DNA fragments ...
Sequences capture the code of the common cold
Biology /
Feb 12, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (8) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In an effort to confront our most familiar malady, scientists have deciphered the instruction manual for the common cold.
Scientists explore new window on the origins of life
Biology /
Feb 12, 2009 |
4 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The remarkable behaviour of bacteria that have been forced to live without their protective wall has allowed Newcastle University scientists to open a new window on the origins of life on earth.
Songbirds fly 3 times faster than expected (Video)
Biology /
Feb 12, 2009 |
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A York University researcher has tracked the migration of songbirds by outfitting them with tiny geolocator backpacks - a world first - revealing that scientists have underestimated their flight performance ...
Astronomers unveiling life's cosmic origins
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Processes that laid the foundation for life on Earth -- star and planet formation and the production of complex organic molecules in interstellar space -- are yielding their secrets to astronomers ...
New high-res map suggests little water inside moon
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The most detailed map of the Moon ever created has revealed never-before-seen craters at the lunar poles. The map is also revealing secrets about the Moon's interior -- and ...
Researchers Demonstrate 'Quantum Data Buffering' Scheme
Feb 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Pushing the envelope of Albert Einstein's "spooky action at a distance," known as entanglement, researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) of the Commerce Department's ...
Stars cheek by jowl in the early Universe
Feb 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In the early Universe, some galaxies may have had stars packed together a hundred times more closely than in the present day, according to research by a University of Bonn team to be published ...
Involuntary maybe, but certainly not random
Feb 12, 2009 |
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Our eyes are in constant motion. Even when we attempt to stare straight at a stationary target, our eyes jump and jiggle imperceptibly. Although these unconscious flicks, also known as microsaccades, had long ...
Spirit Gets Energy Boost from Cleaner Solar Panels
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 12, 2009 |
5 / 5 (5) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A small but important uptick in electrical output from the solar panels on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit this month indicates a beneficial Martian wind has blown away some of the dust ...
A Pocketful of Uranium: Construction of a Selective Uranium-Binding Protein
Feb 12, 2009 |
4 / 5 (6) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The use of uranium as a nuclear fuel and in weapons increases the risk that people may come into contact with it, and the storage of radioactive uranium waste poses an additional environmental risk. However, ...
