Lower increases in global temps could lead to greater impacts than previously thought, study finds
Feb 23, 2009 |
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A new study by scientists updating some of the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 Third Assessment Report finds that even a lower level of increase in average global temperatures due to ...
No longer a gray area: Our hair bleaches itself as we grow older
Biology /
Feb 23, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (25) |
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Wash away your gray? Maybe. A team of European scientists have finally solved a mystery that has perplexed humans throughout the ages: why we turn gray. Despite the notion that gray hair is a sign of wisdom, these researchers ...
One of the most important problems in materials science solved
Feb 23, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (23) |
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Together with three colleagues Professor Peter Oppeneer of Uppsala University has explained the hitherto unsolved mystery in materials science known as 'the hidden order' - how a new phase arises and why. This discovery ...
2008 Was Earth's Coolest Year Since 2000
Feb 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Climatologists at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City have found that 2008 was the coolest year since 2000. The GISS analysis also showed that 2008 is the ...
A Newtonian system that mimics the baldness of rotating black holes
Feb 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The rotating black hole has been described as one of nature's most perfect objects. As described by the Kerr solution of Einstein's gravitational field equations, its spacetime geometry is ...
Researchers develop 'wireless' activation of brain circuits
Feb 23, 2009 |
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Traditionally, stimulating nerves or brain tissue involves cumbersome wiring and a sharp metal electrode. But a team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University is going "wireless."
New rocket aims for cheaper nudges in space: Plasma thruster is small, runs on inexpensive gases (Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 23, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (11) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Satellites orbiting the Earth must occasionally be nudged to stay on the correct path. MIT scientists are developing a new rocket that could make this and other spacecraft maneuvers much less ...
A sprightly explanation for UFO sightings?
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 23, 2009 |
2.6 / 5 (19) |
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In legend, sprites are trolls, elves and other spirits that dance high above our ozone layer. But scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered that some very real "sprites" are zipping across the atmosphere ...
Quantum dots as midinfrared emitters
Feb 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- “People are interested in the mid-infrared,” Dan Wasserman tells PhysOrg.com. Infrared light has a wavelength longer than visible light, and many molecules have numerous very strong optical resonances in the ...
A steep(ing) learning curve on tea
Feb 23, 2009 |
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It's true that, unlike the rest of the world, Americans more often drink our tea instant and iced. But a revolution is brewing. We're warming up to the beneficial qualities of tea, the second most popular drink on the planet ...
Turbulence May Promote the Birth of Massive Stars
Feb 23, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (8) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- On long, dark winter nights, the constellation of Orion the Hunter dominates the sky. Within the Hunter's sword, the Orion Nebula swaddles a cluster of newborn stars called the Trapezium. These stars are ...
The brain's reserve cells can be activated after stroke
Feb 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have found a way of activating the neuronal reserves in the brains of mice by switching off the signal that inhibits the formation of new ...
Childhood trauma has life-long effect on genes and the brain
Feb 23, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- McGill University and Douglas Institute scientists have discovered that childhood trauma can actually alter your DNA and shape the way your genes work. This confirms in humans earlier findings in rats, that ...
Vitamin D deficiency may increase risk of colds, flu
Feb 23, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (6) |
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Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, report investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital ...
Rett Syndrome scientist makes significant discovery
Feb 23, 2009 |
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A paper published online today in Nature Neuroscience reveals the presence of methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) in glia. MeCP2 is a protein associated with a variety of neurological disorders, including Rett Syndrome, the mo ...
