Panasonic develops direct methanol fuel cell system with high power output and durability

Technology / Energy

created 8 hours ago | popularity 4.6 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Panasonic Corporation announced it has developed a direct methanol fuel cell system which can produce an average power output of 20 W by increasing the output per cubic centimeter twice that of its previous prototype. Using ...


Fossil shelved for a century reworks carnivore family tree

Fossil shelved for a century reworks carnivore family tree

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 4

More than a hundred years after its discovery, the limbs and vertebrae of a fossil have been pulled off the shelf at the American Museum of Natural History to revise the view of early carnivore lifestyles. ...


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Bees show off the perfect landing

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Honey bees undergo a sudden transition from speeding aircraft to hovering helicopter as they perform the delicate art of landing on a flower.


Modern tests demonstrate soundness of old iron bridge

Modern tests demonstrate soundness of old iron bridge

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (8) | comments 2

An unusual bowstring truss iron bridge that carried traffic across Roaring Run in Bedford County, Va. for almost 100 years is now a picturesque footbridge at the I-81 Ironto, Va. rest stop. Built in 1878, ...


Researchers crack part of the neuronal code

Researchers crack part of the neuronal code

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Prostheses for paralysed patients, communication with patients who have lost all capacity for normal communication - the hopes for modern brain research are high. However, such brain-machine ...


Scientists take important step toward the proverbial fountain of youth

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Going back for a second dessert after your holiday meal might not be the best strategy for living a long, cancer-free life say researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That's because they've shown exactly ...


Iran to unveil new home-built satellite: report

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Dec 24, 2009 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (9) | comments 4

Iran will unveil a new home-built satellite in February, a newspaper reported Thursday, amid Western concerns that Tehran is using its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and ballistic weapons.


Highlight: California, Nevada Lakes Warming Rapidly

Highlight: California, Nevada Lakes Warming Rapidly

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (8) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new JPL study examines the impact recent variability in climate is having on the surface temperatures of large lakes in California and Nevada.


Hardware-accelerated global illumination by image space photon mapping

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 0

Research presented in a paper by Morgan McGuire, assistant professor of computer science at Williams College, and co-author Dr. David Luebke of NVIDIA, introduces a new algorithm to improve computer graphics for video games.


Scientists take a step towards uncovering the histone code

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 20, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell.


Philippine volcano gets louder, could blow up soon (AP)

Philippine volcano gets louder, could erupt soon

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0

(AP) -- Philippine troops on Monday pressed the last 3,000 villagers who have refused to heed government warnings to leave the danger zone around a volcano that experts say is ready to erupt.


Disproportionate effects of global warming and pollution on disadvantaged communities

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 22, 2009 | popularity 2.7 / 5 (11) | comments 19

Global warming, pollution, and the environmental consequences of energy production impose a greater burden on low-income, disadvantaged communities, and strategies to prevent these inequities are urgently needed. A provocative ...


Adverse consequences of obesity may be greater than previously thought

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 23, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (7) | comments 1

The link between obesity and cardiovascular mortality may be substantially underestimated, while some of the adverse consequences of being underweight may be overstated, concludes a study published in the British Medical ...


Ladder-walking locusts show big brains aren't always best

Ladder-walking locusts show big brains aren't always best

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 24, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1

Scientists have shown for the first time that insects, like mammals, use vision rather than touch to find footholds. They made the discovery thanks to high-speed video cameras - technology the BBC uses to ...


'Particle soup' discovery will improve climate predictions

'Particle soup' discovery will improve climate predictions

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research from scientists at The University of Manchester is set to improve predictions about climate and air quality - and make life easier for those suffering from respiratory problems.