Using fireballs to uncover the mysteries of ball lightning
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (51) |
6
“People have been pondering ball lightning for a couple of centuries,” says James Brian Mitchell, a scientist the University of Rennes in France. Mitchell says that different theories of how it forms, and why it burns in ...
Pentagon report investigated lasers that put voices in your head
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (139) |
16
A recently unclassified report from the Pentagon from 1998 has revealed an investigation into using laser beams for a few intriguing potential methods of non-lethal torture. Some of the applications the report ...
Solar cell directly splits water for hydrogen
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (85) |
6
Plants trees and algae do it. Even some bacteria and moss do it, but scientists have had a difficult time developing methods to turn sunlight into useful fuel. Now, Penn State researchers have a proof-of-concept device that ...
Wearable Robotics Aid Construction Workers
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (19) |
1
Applied scientists and engineers at Nagayo University in Japan introduced a prototype wearable half-robotic device designed for carpentry workers. The study of carpentry workers utilizing the device in the ...
Novel organic metal hybrids that will revolutionize materials science and chemical engineering
Feb 18, 2008 |
4 / 5 (25) |
0
A novel class of hybrid materials made from metals and organic compounds is changing the face of solid state chemistry and materials science just 10 years after its discovery, with applications already in safe storage of ...
Scientists Explore Consciousness
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (40) |
0
An international team of scientists led by a University of Leicester researcher has carried out a scientific study into the realm of consciousness. The scientists have made a significant step into the understanding of conscious ...
3-D photonic crystals make novel add-drop filters
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (14) |
0
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have come up with a potentially perfect way to sort and distribute the massive amounts of data that travel daily over optical fibers to people throughout the ...
Scientists Discover 'Giant Fossil Frog from Hell'
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (27) |
0
A giant frog fossil from Madagascar dubbed Beelzebufo or ‘the frog from Hell' has been identified by scientists from UCL (University College London) and Stony Brook University, New York. The discovery of the ...
Research: Wisconsin primary results could provide strong clue about Texas and Ohio primaries
Feb 18, 2008 |
3.9 / 5 (8) |
0
The Wisconsin primary on Tuesday could be a bellwether for primaries in Ohio and Texas, according to analysis by two University of Washington researchers. The findings indicate that in American politics, race still matters.
Laser light may be able to detect diseases on the breath
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (25) |
0
By blasting a person's breath with laser light, scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder have shown that they can detect molecules that may ...
Researchers explain spread of 1918 flu pandemic
Biology /
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (29) |
0
MIT researchers have explained why two mutations in the H1N1 avian flu virus were critical for viral transmission in humans during the 1918 pandemic outbreak that killed at least 50 million people.
Fast-learning computer translates from four languages
Technology / Computer Sciences
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (27) |
0
Modern approaches to machine translation between languages require the use of a large ‘corpus’ of literature in each language. Now a European project has demonstrated a cheaper solution which compares favourably with the ...
Into the abyss: Deep-sixing carbon
Feb 18, 2008 |
3.3 / 5 (21) |
2
Imagine a gigantic, inflatable, sausage-like bag capable of storing 160 million tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of 2.2 days of current global emissions. Now try to picture that container, measuring up to 100 metres in radius ...
Human culture subject to natural selection, Stanford study shows
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (23) |
4
The process of natural selection can act on human culture as well as on genes, a new study finds. Scientists at Stanford University have shown for the first time that cultural traits affecting survival and ...
Improved polymers for lithium ion batteries pave the way for next generation of electric and hybrid cars
Feb 18, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (12) |
0
The next generation of electric and hybrid cars may be a step closer thanks to new and improved polymer membranes that allow the development of bigger, safer, and more powerful lithium ion batteries, according to an article ...
