Ancient Hair-Dyeing – A Nanoscience?
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 30, 2006 |
3.6 / 5 (31) |
0
Scientists have discovered that an ancient method used to darken hair, dating back more than 4,000 years, is based on a chemical process that takes place at the nanoscale. This may be one of the earliest examples ...
Insect population growth likely accelerated by warmer climate
Biology /
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.6 / 5 (24) |
0
Insects have proven to be highly adaptable organisms, able through evolution to cope with a variety of environmental changes, including relatively recent changes in the world's climate. But like something out of a scary Halloween ...
New Method Creates Porous, Multifunctional Silica Nanoparticles
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.3 / 5 (23) |
0
Silica, the mineral of which sand is made, is generally inert in the body and can be modified easily using a variety of well-established chemical reactions. As such, researchers have considered silica an ideal candidate material ...
Desert dust feeds tropical rainforest
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.4 / 5 (19) |
0
The Amazon rainforest in South America relies on dust transported by winds from the Sahara desert in North Africa to replenish the nutrients and minerals in its soils. For the first time, scientists have proved ...
Engineers probe spiders' polymer art
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.2 / 5 (19) |
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A team of MIT engineers has identified two key physical processes that lend spider silk its unrivaled strength and durability, bringing closer to reality the long-sought goal of spinning artificial spider silk.
Researchers Discover Evolutionary Oddity in Flamingos
Biology /
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.4 / 5 (17) |
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With their spindly legs, long necks and bright plumage, flamingos are a curiosity of nature. Now a new discovery by a team of Ohio University researchers reveals an anatomical oddity that helps flamingos eat: ...
Its unusual sugars are one of the keys to DNA's double-helix structure
Oct 30, 2006 |
3.7 / 5 (15) |
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DNA's simple and elegant structure — the "twisted ladder," with sugar-phosphate chains making up the "rails" and oxygen- and nitrogen-containing chemical "rungs" tenuously uniting the two halves — seems to be the work of ...
Sci-fi Life Support
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
0
In Frank Herbert's epic ecological novel Dune (1965), set on the fictitious desert planet Arrakis in another star system, water is so precious that even perspiration and breath moisture are captured and pu ...
Turmeric prevents experimental rheumatoid arthritis, bone loss
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.8 / 5 (11) |
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An ancient spice, long used in traditional Asian medicine, may hold promise for the prevention of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, according to a recently completed study at The University of Arizona College of ...
Football referees do favour home teams, study shows
Oct 30, 2006 |
3.8 / 5 (11) |
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Academics have proved what Premiership football managers have been complaining about for years – that referees are inconsistent and favour home teams. Analysing over 2,500 English Premiership matches, researchers discovered ...
New evidence on why alcohol consumption is a risk factor for cancer
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.7 / 5 (9) |
0
Why is alcohol consumption a risk factor for cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus? Scientists long have suspected that the culprit is acetaldehyde, a compound produced as the body breaks down the alcohol ...
Researchers improving plastics made from corn and soy proteins
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.8 / 5 (8) |
0
David Grewell picked up the little plastic model of a molecule he keeps in his office. He scrunched the model's folding pieces into a ball. That's about the shape of a soy or corn protein, said Grewell, an ...
Inventor helps grasslands go native
Biology /
Oct 30, 2006 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
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Montana rancher and inventor Lee Arbuckle may soon change the nation's market for native grass seed, a tricky-to-harvest crop worth hundreds of millions and vital to restoring wildlands.
Ghost Protein Leaves Fresh Tracks in the Cell
Biology /
Oct 30, 2006 |
3.8 / 5 (8) |
0
Spectrin and ankyrin are two essential proteins acting like bricks and mortar to shape and fortify cell membranes. But distinguishing which protein is the brick and which is the mortar has turned out to be difficult. New ...
Study: More teenage girls using diet pills
Medicine & Health / Medications
Oct 30, 2006 |
2.9 / 5 (8) |
0
A new study suggests use of diet pills by teenage girls is rapidly increasing, with 20 percent of females using such pills by the time they are 20 years old.
