gear Push settings
An ambitious project is currently being considered by NASA consisting of capturing and dragging a small-scale asteroid into the moon’s orbit. This would allow for a valuable footing where asteroid research might become a lot more accessible, one of NASA’s main objectives for the upcoming decades. The proposition has been made by the Keck Institute for […]
We’re all familiar with laser weapons from SciFi movies and novels, but how far away is laser warfare from reality? Very close, if we’re to judge from the recently publicized test run of Rheinmetall Defense‘s 50kW high power laser that can melt through thick armor a kilometer away and shoot tiny mobile targets at twice the distance. […]
While important scientific experiments, studies and research are conducted on a daily basis on-board the International Space Station, the astronauts stationed there sometimes have to unwind. Microgravity, radiation, upside down exercising, the constant racket from air pumps and fans …well they all take a toll. Sure the view helps, but sometimes people feel the need to […]
Since 1889, the world has used the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK) – a cylindrical chunk of metal the size of a matchbox stored in a French vault – as the standard for measuring one unit of mass. Some 40 replicas were made and shipped to countries through out the world such that an international standard […]
A novel technique for cooling antimatter down to the point where it might become almost stationary might provide scientists with a better basis for studying one of the greatest modern mysteries today. Antimatter, as it name implies, is the total opposite of matter and when the two meet they cancel each other out. For instance […]
There seems to be consisting evidence supplied both by past and recent rover missions – like the ever sturdy Opportunity, the eager newcomer Curiosity – and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – a spacecraft currently hovering over Mars – that our neighboring red planet was once most likely covered by oceans and lakes and was layered by a thick […]
On December 21 the solar system’s planets will align and/or the sun will also align in turn with the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, which only happens once every 25,772 years, coincidentally with the end of the 13th Bak’tun in the Maya Long Count calendar (December 21st, 2012). The Maya having a superior astronomical knowledge […]
By detecting specific biomarkers (proteins) produced by cancer cells, physicians can diagnose a tumor, however these are so diluted in the bloodstream that only after they’re sufficiently present can they be observed. Usually this happens many years after the tumor had already the chance to develop. Now, scientists at MIT have proposed a novel method […]
The holidays are nigh, and if you haven’t put out your Christmas tree just yet, maybe you’d like to consider something truly special. At the forefront of where art and science meet, Sachiko Kodama makes the most exquisite shapes by stimulating ferrofluids – basically oil with bits iron with a surfactant to prevent clumping (some kind of acid) – with […]
Labelled as an outcast by the rest of Santa’s sleigh pulling reindeer, Rudolph the red-nose reindeer, though mocked off, is indispensable and without him Christmas might not make it to every house from all corners of the globe. With his very shiny nose, Rudolph guides Santa’s sleigh even through the harshest of weather, but exactly why […]
In a novel and highly praised research, a team of astronomers have managed to estimate the mass of our host galaxy with unprecedented accuracy, findings suggesting it is in the order of 1,6 trillion suns. Astronomers estimate there are between 200 and 400 billion stars in the milky way. Estimating the mass of the Milky […]
For the first time ever the shadow of an atom (yes, even an atom can cast a shadow) has been imaged using a complex technique which involved a laser beam and a a Fresnel lens. The culmination of their five-year work is this fantastic snapshot from above, and although this dark spot is quite tiny, the […]
Like every year, Nikon and Olympus each organizes a contest where microscopic photos from the world of biology are judged and selected. We’ve decided to show you the top ten winning entries from the Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition, which were selected from a whooping 2,000 photos from 62 countries. First prize goes to Ralph Grimm, […]
The Upper Las Vegas Wash region is sprawling with fossils from diverse geological eras be it the Cretaceous or the Late Pleistocene. From the latter age, more precisely since the last ice age some 10,000 years ago, a dire wolf fossil was dated and identified. This is the first piece of evidence that the now extinct ice age wolf once […]
A rather frustrating issue for astronomers and astrophysicists is space turbulence. Like in the air, when for instance an airplane meets unfavorable jets of wind, so too a spacecraft or satellite can be jolted a bit by the high energy of gusty winds in space. What’s aggravating however is that while in the first case […]
Detecting a potential threat before it occurs is the first step to preventing any aggression. In today’s wars, the scales favor the party that controls the air. Dominate the battle in the air, and you’ll dominate the battlefield ground side as well. It’s no secret to anyone that impressive aircraft detection systems have been developed […]
A team of scientists at University of Colorado Boulder is currently working on self-assembling robots the size of a ping-pong ball that may fit together to serve various purposes. The researchers envision swarms of such tiny robots could assemble to build or repair satellites in space, contain an oil spill or form into other complex systems. Nikolaus […]
A group of scientists and technicians at CERN have made a doomsday movie filmed at their very own facility, called “Decay”, which tells the story of a pack of survivors left to fend for themselves in the onslaught following “Higgs boson radiation” exposure which caused their colleagues to turn zombie and hunger for brains. The low-budget movie […]
The discovery of the Higgs boson is the most monumental find in physics of the year and possibility since the turn of the new century. Also known as the God particle, the Higgs boson is an elemental particle believed to be responsible for infusing all matter with mass. It’s been theorized for 50 years, but […]
The Geneva based Large Hadron Collider has gobbled a lot of cash and resource in order to become operational, but through the constant fantastic results that has advanced particle physics understanding greatly, which couldn’t have been possible otherwise, it has definitely shown its value. The next generation of particle smasher is apparently destined for Japan, […]
In the most comprehensive and thorough survey of its kind, an international team of scientists sampled, sorted and cataloged every arthropod species they could find in patches of Panama’s San Lorenzo rainforest. During their survey of areas summing up to roughly three acres, the scientists estimated that a 6,000 hectare forest houses 25,000 arthropod species, […]
Researchers from the University of Michigan and University College London have found that trees in the Amazon forest will be able to withstand even the most dreaded of forecasted global warming scenarios from a century from now, after they showed they’ve withstood the test of time. The researchers found that most tree species had been around for millions of […]
Biologists have identified a new species of small nocturnal primates, part of the slow loris family, in Borneo’s forests. Don’t be fooled by its cute grim though, this tiny critter packs a punch, as its bite is poisonous and can cause harm to humans. Nevertheless, barely as it was discovered, scientists issued a warning to environmental agencies […]
Scientists at UC San Diego have finally collected the fruits of their decade-long labor after they managed to genetically engineered algae that can produce complex antibiotics that prevent cancer, otherwise extremely expensive to develop in laboratories. Cheaper treatment would thus be possible, that’s not only limited to cancer, but a slew of other afflictions otherwise treatable would expensive designer-drugs. […]
About one in three breads is thrown away because it gets too tough and infected, and thus inedible, because of mold. Scientists at an American company have found a way to keep bread fresh for up to two months after they zapped it in a sophisticated microwave array. This killed the bacteria and fungi that […]
Dubbed Kenshiro by his makers at Japan’s University of Tokyo, this kid-sized robot is the latest in cutting edge musculoskeletal machines. The robot has 160 muscles artificial muscles, allowing for 64 degrees of freedom or axes of rotations excluding the arms, and was designed to mimic a 12-year-old Japanese male, standing 5 feet and 2 inches and weighing 110 […]
Professor Gregory Retallack of University of Oregon has launched a highly controversial claim that stirred the scientific community recently, implying that ancient fossils found in South Australia from Ediacaran period, a geological time that preceded the great Cambrian explosion, were actually living being living on land, not water as “common sense” dictates. The Ediacaran period ended some 540 million […]
It seems like a scenario from a bad spy movie: someone hacking a medical device like an insulin pump or pacemaker and control it at his will. Unfortunately, this is all but possible. There are currently millions of people fitted with various electronic devices, some of which we’ve featured here on ZME Science. These range […]
Researchers at Rice University and City College of New York have devised rechargeable lithium-ion batteries using a substance extracted from the madder plant as a cathode. The plant has been used since ancient times as a dye, and only recently have researchers learned about its fantastic capabilities it poses as an alternative green battery. The madder plant or Rubia […]
Nonrefractive visual impairments, the kind that can’t be corrected by glasses, have reportedly increased 21% overall and 40% among non-Hispanic whites aged 20 to 39 years compared to a decade ago. The researchers who conducted the study claim that their results show a link between loss of vision and rising diabetes among the US populace. Visual impairment diseases […]
Flexible electronics are still in their infancy, however scientists have raved about them for years now. Electronics that can bend and stretch a lot without breaking open up a slew of new possibilities, from smart clothing equipped with all kinds of sensors to flexible micro-devices. Recently, researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) […]
Yesterday morning, the U.S. Air Force launched its X-37B robotic space plane into orbit via an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This is the spacecraft’s third launch since 2010, however very little is known about X-37B itself and more importantly about its mission. Officials claim that its goal is scientific, however it’s […]
Boredom seems to be a dominant “affliction” of the 21st century. That’s not to say it’s a sole modern life problem. People have been bored since the dawn of mankind, and actually some of the world’s greatest advancements surfaced from the need to battle boredom. Understanding, on an empirical level, what is boredom and what […]
After going to a Boston club a few years ago, Mike Abramson, now a Worcester Polytechnic Institute grad, had a few sips from a drink and immediately felt intoxicated. According to him, his drink had been spiked with drugs. The event prompted him to do something about it, and later inspired him to design plastic […]
You might not know this, but 76-year old actor Alan Alda, known for his role as Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce in the longstanding television series MASH, is a dedicated science enthusiast. A visiting professor at Stony Brook University, where he also founded the Center for Communicating Science, Alda has sought for many years to increase scientific awareness as an indispensable […]
The Mars Curiosity rover is preparing to use its drilling tool for the first time, however as preparations for the operation are being carefully made, NASA engineers are frightened that a potential malfunction of the boring drill might cause an entire electrical disaster. This might mean that the entire rover could get irrecoverably fried. The issue lies […]
Determining when stars first started to form through out the early Universe is a matter of great importance for astronomers and astrophysicists looking to understand how the cosmos evolved from its incipient point of origin. Recently, researchers at MIT who have been studying the most distant quasar observed so far found no discernible trace of heavy […]
It’s amazing how this cross-section view on the right showcasing a new type of transistor from Purdue and Harvard universities resembles a Christmass tree, just in the nick of the time for the holiday season. Its design, however, has little to do with a Christmas trees. Make no mistake, the transistor’s shape and design follows a pattern […]
Coincident with the much anticipated release of the new Lord of the Rings flick, a forensic anthropologist went through the painstaking process of reconstructing the face of the now famous Flores “hobbit”. The facial reconstruction shows a figure that looks a lot more modern than scientists would have thought. Homo floresiensis caused a wave of controversy […]
Some scientists alter genes and breed glow in the dark puppies, others breed pineapples that also taste like coconut, like Australian horticulturalists at Queensland’s department of agriculture. The fruit of their 10 years labor of love was quickly dubbed the “piña colada pineapple” by the press, since it tastes like the two main ingredients of […]
For the first time ever, researchers at at Cambridge and Cardiff, have identified and compiled a list of damaging or disease associated DNA variants in the human genome. The researchers found that an average healthy individual carries 400 potentially damaging DNA variants. Most such variants should be found as genetic research provides more refined results. Scientists have known […]
A new study released by Danish researchers at Aarhus University has found a correlation that suggests that couples that are unable to conceive children have a higher mortality rate than those that are. The study studied more than 21,000 couples having in vitro fertilization treatment between 1994 and 2005. During this period, 15,210 children were born and 1,564 were […]
After a busy November in which both the Taurid and Leonid meteor showers graced star gazers from the around the world, this weekend’s night sky is set to become ablaze with one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year – the Geminids. Like every year when Earth travels past the constellation of Gemini, […]
Generating useful energy out of otherwise mundane activities has been a goal for scientists for many years. Bicycle dynamos that generate electrical current to power a headlight from the kinetic energy generated by the cyclist have been used since the turn of the last century. Modern approaches have gone to greater lengths, turning ones footsteps on […]
While the first electric public transport vehicle become operational more than a century ago when the first trolleys rolled on the streets of Europe’s capitals and America’s major cities, development towards autonomous electric public transportation hasn’t really developed that much since then. Sure power and efficiency has evolved tremendously, but the working principle is more or less […]
Researchers at Parabon NanoLabs have developed an unique tool that allows scientists to use an intuitive drag-and-drop computer interface, much like in any other 3-D CAD software like Catia or AutoCAD, together with DNA self-assembly techniques, to develop and test new drugs much faster. Called the Parabon Essemblix Drug Development Platform, the tool can be used to design molecular pieces […]
Over the past few years, a series of papers looked on how the United States could benefit by switching from crude oil to alternative synthetic fuels. Their findings show that, given the current economic environment where oil prices have simply skyrocketed, synthetic fuels are more advantageous compared to crude oil from a number of perspectives, including […]
After it was first cast out to sea less than a year ago from San Francisco’s bay, the PacX Wave Glider, also known as Papa Mau, finally reached the end of its epic journey after it reached Queensland, Australia setting a new world record for the longest distance traveled by an autonomous vehicle. PacX swam over […]
Astronomers have come across something truly amazing. Observations have surprised a protostar – a star in the making – in its earliest stage ever witnessed. The stellar fetus has only accreted about 20 percent of the matter surrounding it and has yet to begin nuclear fusion. Theories regarding star formation are rather well established, however […]
Solar Impulse, the now famous 100 percent solar-powered aircraft, made the headlines after it proved it could fly for 26 hours straight, be it day or night. Now the projects’ initiators want to take the plane and solar power to new dazzling heights – they want to circumnavigate the globe in 20 days and 20 […]
