News Pix

NASA Satellite Finds Interior of Mars Is Colder 10 hours ago This map shows the thickness of the north polar layered deposits on Mars as measured by the Shallow Radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Rome/SwRI

Quirky pulsar system discovered at Arecibo challenges theories of binary formation 11 hours ago A comparison of the orbits of the pulsar J1903+0327 and its possible sun-like companion star with the orbit of the Earth around the sun. The objects' sizes are not to scale. Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF

Golden Crown May 14, 2008 A giant, crown-like Au36 ring aggregate with continuous metal-metal contacts (see picture; gold(I) centers are in ball and stick representation) is formed by an Au(I)-Au(I) bonding interaction directed self-assembly. (c) ...

NASA Phoenix Mission Ready For Mars Landing May 13, 2008 The landing site chosen for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander is much farther north than the sites where previous spacecraft have landed on Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Beaver-like robots face off in annual MIT contest May 12, 2008 Students robots in this year's 2.007 contest held at MIT competed in performing beaver-like tasks, including knocking down pool noodle 'trees' and dumping them in a ping-pong ball 'river,' to score points. Photo / Donna Coveney ...

Elusive protein protects malaria parasite from heme May 09, 2008 Hemozoin crystals in the food vacuole of the malaria parasite. Color was added using imaging software. Credit: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

A GPS Buoy undergoing testing May 09, 2008 GPS buoys are used during the campaign to measure sea ice drift. They are deployed through planes or helicopter landing directly on sea ice floes. Credits: ESA

Researchers identify pressure effects on nanomaterials May 08, 2008 Fluorescence from CdSe quantum dot solids in environments varying from stable to high unstable show that small deviations from uniform stress distribution greatly affect the electronic properties. The blue represents cadmium, ...

Nanoworms May 07, 2008 Segmented “nanoworms” composed of magnetic iron oxide and coated with a polymer are able to find and attach to tumors. Credit: Ji-Ho Park, UCSD

Researcher searches DNA for secrets to bacteria's large size May 07, 2008 A close-up of the tip of an Epulopiscium with the tip of a protozoan (Paramecium) and the black spots are E. coli cells. The researcher mixed E. coli and Paramecium cells in with Epulopiscium she had picked out of fish gut ...

New study analyzes why endangered parrot population isn't recovering May 07, 2008 A pair of Puerto Rican parrots at their nest on the island's Luquillo National Forest. Fewer than 45 birds remain in the wild, making this one of the world's most endangered species. (Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...

Saturn Does the Wave in Its Atmosphere May 07, 2008 Scientists have discovered a wave pattern, or oscillation, in Saturn's atmosphere only visible from Earth every 15 years. The pattern ripples back and forth like a wave within Saturn's upper atmosphere. In this region, temperatures ...

Cosmic Web May 06, 2008 This is a model of the cosmic web. Clusters of galaxies are expected to develop at the intersections of the web. Credits: Springel et al., Virgo Consortium

Space Shuttle Discovery Arrives at Launch Pad, Countdown Test Set May 05, 2008 Access platforms at Launch Pad 39A are moved into position against Space Shuttle Discovery. Discovery arrived at its seaside launch pad and was hard down at 6:06 a.m. EDT on May 3. Photo credit: NASA/Troy Cryder

Spiraling pine tree-like nanowires May 02, 2008 Spiraling pine tree-like nanowires created by University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry professor Song Jin and graduate student Matthew Bierman are evidence of an entirely different way of growing the tiny wires, one that ...

3D simulation of a Type Ia supernova May 01, 2008 A snapshot of a three-dimensional simulation of a Type Ia supernova, shortly after the nuclear flame bubble that initiates the Ia event is ignited slightly off-center from the progenitor white dwarf star (shown here as a ...