Scientists solve 30-year-old aurora borealis mystery
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (40) |
13
UCLA space scientists and colleagues have identified the mechanism that triggers substorms in space; wreaks havoc on satellites, power grids and communications systems; and leads to the explosive release of ...
Revolutionary materials reflect ancient forms
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (27) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Although order is pleasing to the eye, it can quickly become boring. In Islamic architecture therefore, decoration often follows a strict yet aperiodic pattern. Similar structures also form ...
Material may help autos turn heat into electricity
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (64) |
20
Researchers have invented a new material that will make cars even more efficient, by converting heat wasted through engine exhaust into electricity. In the current issue of the journal Science, they describe a material with t ...
Electron microscopy enters the picometer scale
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (33) |
1
Jülich scientists have succeeded in precisely measuring atomic spacings down to a few picometres using new methods in ultrahigh-resolution electron microscopy. This makes it possible to find out decisive parameters ...
Study: No gender differences in math performance
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (9) |
4
We've all heard it. Many of us in fact believe it. Girls just aren't as good at math as boys. But is it true? After sifting through mountains of data - including SAT results and math scores from 7 million students who were ...
Nanoparticles Detect Telomerase Activity
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (13) |
4
Telomerase, an enzyme that prevents chromosomes from shortening when they divide, is widely suspected of playing a key role in making cancer cells immortal. Though researchers have developed a variety of methods for measuring ...
Why play a losing game? Study uncovers why low-income people buy lottery tickets
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (26) |
11
Although state lotteries, on average, return just 53 cents for every dollar spent on a ticket, people continue to pour money into them — especially low-income people, who spend a larger percentage of their incomes on lottery ...
Cow power could generate electricity for millions
Jul 24, 2008 |
3.8 / 5 (35) |
6
Converting livestock manure into a domestic renewable fuel source could generate enough electricity to meet up to three per cent of North America's entire consumption needs and lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse ...
Lenses galore -- Hubble finds large sample of very distant galaxies
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (14) |
2
By using the gravitational magnification from six massive lensing galaxy clusters, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided scientists with the largest sample of very distant galaxies seen to date. ...
Limiting fructose may boost weight loss
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.1 / 5 (30) |
2
One of the reasons people on low-carbohydrate diets may lose weight is that they reduce their intake of fructose, a type of sugar that can be made into body fat quickly, according to a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical ...
COROT's new find orbits Sun-like star
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.2 / 5 (9) |
2
A team of European scientists working with COROT have discovered an exoplanet orbiting a star slightly more massive than the Sun. After just 555 days in orbit, the mission has now observed more than 50 000 ...
Shielding for ambitious neutron experiment
Jul 24, 2008 |
3.9 / 5 (16) |
0
In science fiction stories it is either the inexhaustible energy source of the future or a superweapon of galactic magnitude: antimaterial. In fact, antimaterial can neither be found on Earth nor in space, is extremely complex ...
Researchers unravel key mechanism of cellular damage in aging and disease
Jul 24, 2008 |
5 / 5 (16) |
1
Researchers have taken a first snapshot of how a class of highly reactive molecules inflicts cellular damage as part of aging, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and Alzheimer's disease to name a few. ...
The Quiet Explosion: Object intermediate between normal supernovae and gamma-ray bursts found
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (12) |
2
A European-led team of astronomers are providing hints that a recent supernova may not be as normal as initially thought. Instead, the star that exploded is now understood to have collapsed into a black hole, producing a ...
Telescope embedded in glasses lens promises to make driving easier for visually impaired
Jul 24, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (4) |
1
Glasses embedded with a telescope promise to make it easier for people with impaired vision to drive and do other activities requiring sharper distance vision. Schepens Eye Research Institute scientists describe the advantages ...

