Making gas out of crude oil
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 12, 2007 |
4 / 5 (12) |
2
An international team that includes University of Calgary scientists has shown how crude oil in oil deposits around the world – including in Alberta’s oil sands – are naturally broken down by microbes in the reservoir.
'Yes, Virginia, physics can be fun!'
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.4 / 5 (11) |
2
Since the release of a 1983 report commissioned by the federal government, Americans have been aware of a significant decrease in the number of US students pursuing studies and careers in the sciences and ...
Different areas of brain respond to belief, disbelief, uncertainty
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.4 / 5 (11) |
1
The human mind is a prolific generator of beliefs about the world. The capacity of our minds to believe or disbelieve linguistic propositions is a powerful force for controlling both behavior and emotion, but the basis of ...
'Retrospective rubber' remembers its old identities
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
0
Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a shape-memory rubber that may enable applications as diverse as biomedical implants, conformal face-masks, self-sealing sutures, and “smart” labels.
Genetic switch for circadian rhythms discovered
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.6 / 5 (10) |
2
University of California, Irvine researchers have identified the chemical switch that triggers the genetic mechanism regulating our internal body clock.
I-Pod-Based Translator Provides Words, Dialects, Gestures
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 12, 2007 |
4 / 5 (11) |
0
A company from Orlando, Florida, is hoping that its new i-Pod-based translator will be easier to use and more practical compared with more sophisticated translators, especially for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
NASA Satellites Help Lift Cloud of Uncertainty on Climate Change
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.2 / 5 (10) |
1
New findings from NASA's CloudSat and other spacecraft in NASA's "A-Train" constellation of five Earth observing satellites offer important insights into this year's record reduction of Arctic sea ice, global ...
Female lower back has evolved to accommodate the weight of pregnancy
Biology /
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
0
When a pregnant woman leans back, and shifts her weight to stand more comfortably, she is performing a motion that for millions of years has helped to compensate for the strain and weight of childbearing on the body. According ...
Primitive early relative of armadillos helps rewrite evolutionary family tree
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.6 / 5 (8) |
0
A team of U.S. and Chilean scientists working high in the Andes have discovered the fossilized remains of an extinct, tank-like mammal they conclude was a primitive relative of today’s armadillos. The results of their surprising ...
Shared Crack Pipes May Spread Hepatitis C Virus
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.7 / 5 (7) |
0
A new study by the University of Victoria’s Centre for Addictions Research (CARBC) suggests that the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) could possibly be passed on between crack smokers who share pipes. As the vast majority of new HCV ...
Deep-sea drilling yields clues to mega-earthquakes
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.1 / 5 (8) |
1
During a successful first expedition to one of the most active earthquake fault zones on the planet, scientists unearthed initial clues to the geophysical fault properties that may underlie devastating earthquakes and tsunamis.
Mixed results: Combining scaffold ingredients yields surprising nanoporous structure
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
0
With a novel twist on existing techniques used to create porous crystals, University of Michigan researchers have developed a new, high-capacity material that may be useful in storing hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide.
Fresh fossil evidence of eye forerunner uncovered
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.1 / 5 (7) |
0
Ancient armoured fish fossils from Australia present some of the first definite fossil evidence of a forerunner to the human eye, a scientist from The Australian National University says.
New paper reveals nanoscale details of photolithography process
Dec 12, 2007 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
1
Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have made the first direct measurements of the infinitesimal expansion and collapse of thin polymer films used in the manufacture of advanced ...
Researchers Discover Virus Using Same Tools as Host Cell
Dec 12, 2007 |
4 / 5 (7) |
0
Duke University Medical Center researchers have discovered that the virus which causes Kaposi's Sarcoma encodes a molecule for controlling gene regulation nearly identical to one found normally in human cells. Both versions ...
