100 Explosions on the Moon
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 21, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (57) |
19
Not so long ago, anyone claiming to see flashes of light on the Moon would be viewed with deep suspicion by professional astronomers. Such reports were filed under "L" ... for lunatic.
Swift satellite catches first 'normal' supernova in the act of exploding
May 21, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (51) |
1
Thanks to a fortunate observation with NASA's Swift satellite, astronomers, for the first time, have caught a normal supernova at the moment of its birth--the first instant when an exploding star begins spewing ...
Toy-Like Microboat Could Carry Tiny Cargoes
May 21, 2008 |
3.8 / 5 (48) |
4
As a child, Cheng Luo, an engineer from the University of Texas at Arlington, recalls playing with wooden toy boats that were propelled forward when a drop of oil was placed on the back of the boats. When ...
Brain's 'trust machinery' identified
May 21, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (32) |
0
The brain centers triggered by a betrayal of trust have been identified by researchers, who found they could suppress such triggering and maintain trust by administering the brain chemical oxytocin. The researchers said their ...
A missing link settles debate over the origin of frogs and salamanders
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 21, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (28) |
2
The description of an ancient amphibian that millions of years ago swam in quiet pools and caught mayflies on the surrounding land in Texas has set to rest one of the greatest current controversies in vertebrate ...
Researchers develop new image-recognition software
Technology / Computer Sciences
May 21, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (27) |
3
It takes surprisingly few pixels of information to be able to identify the subject of an image, a team led by an MIT researcher has found. The discovery could lead to great advances in the automated identification ...
UW scientists join hunt for 'God' particle to complete 'theory of everything'
May 21, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (24) |
5
When the world's most powerful subatomic particle collider begins gathering data this summer, it will be a major milestone for a number of University of Washington scientists.
Halting methane squanderlust
May 21, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (24) |
3
The pipes that rise from oil fields, topped with burning flames of natural gas, waste fossil fuels and dump carbon dioxide into the air. In new work, researchers have identified the structure of a catalytic material that ...
Many paths, few destinations: How stem cells decide what they'll be
Biology /
May 21, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (19) |
0
How does a stem cell decide what specialized identity to adopt – or simply to remain a stem cell? A new study suggests that the conventional view, which assumes that cells are “instructed” to progress along ...
Scientists find first dinosaur tracks on Arabian Peninsula
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
May 21, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (18) |
0
Scientists have discovered the first dinosaur tracks on the Arabian Peninsula. In the May 21 issue of the journal PLoS ONE, they report evidence of a large ornithopod dinosaur, as well as a herd of 11 sau ...
Mathematicians Reveal Secrets of the Ancient and Universal Art of Symmetry
May 21, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (13) |
0
Humans have used symmetrical patterns for thousands of years in both functional and decorative ways. Now, a new book by three mathematicians offers both math experts and enthusiasts a new way to understand ...
Virtual biopsy can tell whether colon polyp is benign without removal
May 21, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (13) |
0
A probe so sensitive that it can tell whether or not a cell living within the human body is veering towards cancer development may revolutionize how future colonoscopies are done, say researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, ...
A Modest Glass of Wine Each Day Could Improve Liver Health
May 21, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (12) |
0
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine are challenging conventional thinking with a study showing that modest wine consumption, defined as one glass a day, may not only be safe for the liver, but may actually decrease ...
Storn winds blow in Jupiter's Little Red Spot
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 21, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (11) |
0
Using data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and two telescopes on or near Earth, an international team of scientists has found that one of the solar system’s largest and newest storms – Jupiter’s Little ...
Ocean acidification -- another undesired side effect of fossil fuel-burning
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 21, 2008 |
3.4 / 5 (14) |
1
Up to now, the oceans have buffered climate change considerably by absorbing almost one third of the worldwide emitted carbon dioxide. The oceans represent a significant carbon sink, but the uptake of excess CO2 stemming ...
