Transform a ball into a rock -- or make it invisible -- using transformation optics
10 hours ago |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Science fiction and fantasy tales are full of the ability to "cloak" characters with invisibility. Whether it is a spaceship with a cloaking device, or a young wizard with an invisibility ...
Nanopillars Promise Cheap, Efficient, Flexible Solar Cells
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
3 hours ago |
4 / 5 (4) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have demonstrated a way to fabricate efficient solar cells ...
Physicists take first step towards super-fast search algorithms for quantum computers
6 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
When you toss a coin, you either get heads or tails. By contrast, things are not so definite at the microcosmic level. An atomic 'coin' can display a superposition of heads and tails when it has been thrown. However, this ...
Methane-eating microbes can use iron and manganese oxides to 'breathe'
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
6 hours ago |
4.7 / 5 (3) |
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Iron and manganese compounds, in addition to sulfate, may play an important role in converting methane to carbon dioxide and eventually carbonates in the Earth's oceans, according to a team of researchers ...
Reduced diet thwarts aging, disease in monkeys
9 hours ago |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- The bottom-line message from a decades-long study of monkeys on a restricted diet is simple: Consuming fewer calories leads to a longer, healthier life.
Explosive growth of life on Earth fueled by early greening of planet
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 08, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (8) |
2
Earth's 4.5-billion-year history is filled with several turning points when temperatures changed dramatically, asteroids bombarded the planet and life forms came and disappeared. But one of the biggest moments ...
Stem cells' 'suspended' state preserved by key step, scientists report
Jul 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
1
Scientists have identified a gene that is essential for embryonic stem cells to maintain their all-purpose, pluripotent state. Exploiting the finding may lead to a greater understanding of how cells acquire their specialized ...
Easter Island compound extends lifespan of old mice
Jul 08, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (18) |
11
The giant monoliths of Easter Island are worn, but they have endured for centuries. New research suggests that a compound first discovered in the soil of the South Pacific island might help us stand the test ...
Researchers enlist DNA to bring carbon nanotubes' promise closer to reality
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jul 08, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
A team of researchers from DuPont and Lehigh University has reported a breakthrough in the quest to produce carbon nanotubes (CNTs) that are suitable for use in electronics, medicine and other applications.
11-Billion-Year-Old Giant Supernovae Farthest Ever Detected
Jul 08, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (9) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- UC Irvine cosmologists have found two supernovae farther away than any previously detected by using a new technique that could help find other dying stars at the edge of the universe.
One-finger exercise reveals unexpected limits to dexterity
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jul 08, 2009 |
3.1 / 5 (7) |
3
"Push your finger as hard as you can against the surface. Now as hard as you can but move it slowly - follow the ticking clock. Now faster. Now faster."
Human sperm created from embryonic stem cells (Update)
Jul 08, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Human sperm have been created using embryonic stem cells for the first time in a scientific development which will lead researchers to a better understanding of the causes of infertility.
Google's operating system escalates Microsoft duel (Update)
Jul 08, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (8) |
12
(AP) -- Google Inc. is hoping to gain greater control over how personal computers work with its plans to develop a free operating system that will attack Microsoft Corp.'s golden goose - its long-dominant ...
Humans may give swine flu to pigs in new twist to pandemic
1hour ago |
not rated yet |
2
The strain of influenza, A/H1N1, that is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population.
Theory provides more precise estimates of large-area biodiversity
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Ask biologists how many species live in a pond, a grassland, a mountain range or on the entire planet, and the answers get increasingly vague. Hence the wide range of estimates for the planet's biodiversity, predicted to ...
