Spotlight news stories

The shore of Deception Island in Antarctica, in 2008

Antarctic ice loss vaster, faster than thought: study

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 22, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (27) | comments 33

The East Antarctic icesheet, once seen as largely unaffected by global warming, has lost billions of tonnes of ice since 2006 and could boost sea levels in the future, according to a new study.


Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica

Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (26) | comments 31

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of Antarctica's past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages (interglacials) may have been higher than previously thought. The latest analysis ...


plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

Pulling the plug on hybrid myths

Technology / Energy

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (15) | comments 31

(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether you call them myths, urban legends, fables or old wives' tales, there's a lot of misinformation out there about plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. These vehicles, abbreviated PHEVs, ...





Should I buy a PC or Mac?

Technology / Software

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 3.1 / 5 (9) | comments 13

Q. Our 6-year-old PC computer is dying a slow death and we are considering moving to a new iMac but have a few concerns. First, of all, we have several Word documents on our disk drive now that we want to keep and add to ...


nuclear power plant

Doubts raised on nuclear industry viability

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (22) | comments 19

(PhysOrg.com) -- The investment in nuclear power has been growing around the world over the last few years, being viewed as a means for countries to control their energy security, avoid the price fluctuations ...


New hydrogen-storage method discovered

New hydrogen-storage method discovered

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Nov 22, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (42) | comments 15

Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. The discovery paves the way for an entirely new way to approach ...



Implant-based cancer vaccine is first to eliminate tumors in mice

Implant-based cancer vaccine is first to eliminate tumors in mice

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (22) | comments 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- A cancer vaccine carried into the body on a carefully engineered, fingernail-sized implant is the first to successfully eliminate tumors in mammals, scientists report this week in the journal ...


Taking the drudgery out of software development

Taking the drudgery out of software development

Technology / Software

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 3.6 / 5 (10) | comments 12

(PhysOrg.com) -- Software developers will no longer have to reinvent the wheel when writing new programs and applications thanks to a clever new set of tools and a central repository of 'building blocks'.


Design chosen for British 1,000 mph car

Design chosen for British 1,000 mph car (w/ Video)

Technology / Engineering

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (8) | comments 6

(PhysOrg.com) -- A British team hoping to be the first to get a car to 1,000 mph (1,610 km/h) has made its final design selection. The six-tonne car, known as the Bloodhound, will be powered by a Eurofighter ...


In the Brain, Seven Is A Magic Number

In the Brain, Seven Is A Magic Number

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (34) | comments 9

Having a tough time recalling a phone number someone spoke a few minutes ago or forgetting items from a mental grocery list is not a sign of mental decline; in fact, it's natural.


Extinct goat Myotragus balearicus

Extinct goat was cold-blooded

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (37) | comments 12

(PhysOrg.com) -- An extinct goat that lived on a barren Mediterranean island survived for millions of years by reducing in size and by becoming cold-blooded, which has never before been discovered in mammals.


Monster Waves on the Sun are Real

Monster Waves on the Sun are Real (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (16) | comments 2

Sometimes you really can believe your eyes. That's what NASA's STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) spacecraft are telling researchers about a controversial phenomenon on the sun known as the "solar ...


smoking, cigarette

Vaccine being developed to help smokers quit

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (13) | comments 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Glaxo-SmithKline has joined forces with Nabi Pharmaceuticals to produce a vaccine to help smokers give up their addiction permanently.


Explained: The Discrete Fourier Transform

Explained: The Discrete Fourier Transform

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (26) | comments 8

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1811, Joseph Fourier, the 43-year-old prefect of the French district of Isčre, entered a competition in heat research sponsored by the French Academy of Sciences. The paper he submitted ...


Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved

Mystery of the Solar Tsunami -- Solved (w/ Video)

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (27) | comments 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes you really can believe your eyes. That's what NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) is telling researchers about a controversial phenomenon on the sun known as ...


Proton's party pals may alter its internal structure

Proton's party pals may alter its internal structure

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (20) | comments 9

A recent experiment at the DOE's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has found that a proton's nearest neighbors in the nucleus of the atom may modify the proton's internal structure.