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A truly monumental task has finally been finished: the final part of an epic dictionary of medieval Latin is to be published this week, finally closing a project that started over 100 years ago. The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources has more than 58,000 entries, and spans over 15 volumes. The 16th and […]
Imperial College London accepts heavy criticism from independent reviewers after exposé by animal-rights group. The Imperial College London is one of the most prestigious Universities in the world, but they are currently under severe criticism today from an independent review set up in the wake of allegations of malpractice. As the report claims, the university’s […]
In a fantastic discovery, a team of archaeologists have dated a pair of footprints preserved in the mineral-rich sediment in the Chihuahuan Desert to find that these are 10,500 years old. These are the oldest human footprints discovered thus far in North America, predating any previous find by some 5,000 years. Moreover, the footprints mark for […]
Fractals are non-regular geometric shapes that have the same degree of non-regularity on all scales. Fractals are the kind of shapes we see in nature, basically, and even though the term was first coined only a coupled of decades ago or if this is the first time you’ve heard about fractals, chances have it that you […]
Generally, you can view services like any other commodity and apply strict goods economics. So if the same type of service is available elsewhere, even in another country, at a cheaper price it makes sense, economically, to outsource. Is health care a different matter, however? Apparently, if you took an X-ray in the past decade, […]
In transportation, there aren’t that many alternative energy sources like in conventional industry, where you can supply a plant or even a home using solar, hydro or wind power. Before electric vehicles make a significant contribution (don’t hold your breath for too long), alternative means of fueling engines need to be found. This is why […]
One of the predictions derived from Einsten’s theory of general relativity is the existence of wormholes – spacetime shortcuts. In theory such bridges may offer instantaneous travel between the two bridgeheads or wormholes even if these are light-years away from each other. Two independent studies suggest that there’s a link between quantum entanglement and wormholes, […]
It’s been previously shown that the jellyfish are the world’s most efficient swimmers, and researchers wanted to see if they could implement some of its features into a flying machine. New York University researchers have built a small vehicle whose flying motion resembles the movements of a jellyfish – possibly paving the way for small […]
Drug delivery encapsulated in tiny nanoparticles are thoroughly studied with great interest because they offer the chance to deliver treatments more efficiently. That’s not all though – with nanoparticle pills you can selectively target key areas and deliver drugs which otherwise wouldn’t be possible without using invasive methods. Take diabetes for instance – patients need […]
Your gut is home to some 100 trillion bacteria – more than the entire number of cells in the whole human body. Clearly, bacteria are fond of human intestines, as we humans, unknowingly or not, are fond of them. After all, without bacteria our organisms would be deprived of extremely vital vitamin sources and digestion […]
Google Glass is a hands-free technology, with potential applications in a myriad of fields Surgeons have recently started performing surgeries with Google Glass They report great results, as this technology can save a lot of time and effort Google Glass seems like the technology of Star Trek – except it’s here, now. For those who […]
Aside from being really cool and enabling wicked video game graphics, 3D imaging is also extremely useful in research, entering the labs as one of the most powerful tools in the 21st century. Using an imaging technique known as high-speed holographic microscopy, Laurence Wilson, a fellow at Harvard’s Rowland Institute, created detailed 3D images of […]
Ever found yourself in a hazardous relationship in which your spouse makes your hair go white? Well, if the answer’s yes then you’re not alone. A new study provides new evidence that key aspects of the social environment of some animals significantly influence life span after researchers found that sexually frustrated fruit flies and “haunted” […]
Carbon nanotubes and graphene have been hailed time and again as the wonder materials that will change the face of technology in the future. Before silicon can be dethroned from its reigning position, however, a lot of manufacturing issues need to be addressed. A new technique developed by researchers at University of Illinois provides a […]
The wonder material Graphene, the new wonder material that promises to open a new age in technology, just got a whole lot better. Researchers have reported improved interfacing of graphene with other 2-D materials – basically ‘growing’ graphene on silver. This resulted in an exceptionally pristine sample, presenting opportunities for ultrafast electronics and advanced optics/ […]
The Bonobo, or Pygmy Chimpanzee as it was once called, is one of our closest relatives, yet one of the most poorly studied. This fascinating ape displays unique social order and other highly interesting traits, and unfortunately like all great apes it is also endangered. Very little is known, however, about how many specimens are […]
Researchers have developed a camera that can capture translucent objects in 3D The camera is very cheap, at only $500 The camera could be used in medical imaging and collision-avoidance detectors, among others A $500 “nano-camera” that can operate at the speed of light and take 3D pictures has been developed by researchers in the […]
At one of the sites where it’s possible that Buddha was born, archaeologists have identified the remains of an ancient shrine – a timber structure which used to encircle a tree – right at the heart of the present day Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal. Carbon dating reveals this ancient structure is at least […]
Among the many laudable initiatives for which Bill Gates is donating a lot of money (including HIV and malaria vaccine research and artificial clouds to fight greenhouse gases), there’s also a prize for developing better condoms. Because current latex varieties can dull sensation, Gates encouraged entrepreneurs to create a condom that “significantly preserves or enhances […]
A team from Columbia Engineering researchers, led by Mechanical Engineering Professor James Hone and Electrical Engineering Professor Kenneth Shepard has managed to take advantage of graphene’s unique properties (it’s strength and electric conduction) to create a nano-mechanical system that can create FM signals – in other words, the world’s smallest radio. “This work is significant […]
University of Utah researchers found that female mice that live in a competitive social environment and choose to mate casually with multiple partners give birth to males who are much more attractive to female mice, at the cost of a dramatic cut in life expectancy however. You only have one life, says the sexy male […]
There’s only so much you can cram into conventional magnetic storage devices. We’re already seeing these slowly, but surely lose ground in the face of solid-state drives, which offer more storage density and don’t have any moving parts (last longer, make no noise, etc.). What about even further ahead in the future? Well, it’s most […]
In a synergy between biology and electrochemistry, researchers at MIT cleverly exploited genetically modified viruses to assemble metal molecules into extremely thin nanowires that can be used as cathodes in a lithium-air battery. This type of battery has been thoroughly researched in the past few years and has sparked the interest of scientists because of […]
Paleontologists have unearthed skull fragments in Tibet belonging to an ancient “big cat” species, which apparently may be the oldest discovered thus far. The fossils have been dated between 4.1 and 5.95 million years old and belong to a previously unknown species “similar to a snow leopard”, according to US and Chinese palaeontologists. “This cat is […]
A team of researchers at Washington State University achieved a dramatic 400 fold increase in electrical conductivity for a crystal after it was accidentally left exposed to light one day. This readings are attributed to photoconductivity, a phenomenon which causes a material to become more electrically conductive due to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation such as […]
The world’s most complex malware ever created, the Stuxnet virus which was designed and enforced by the U.S. and Israel against Iran a few years ago, may have ended up infecting the International Space Station according to leading security analyst Eugene Kaspersky head of IT security at Kaspersky Labs. The virus was designed to only attack specific […]
Using a range of cheap materials arranged in a specific manner, researchers at Duke University have demonstrated a device that captures microwave signals, such as those relayed by WiFi or even satellites high up above in Earth’s orbit, an converts this free, lost energy into electrical current. The harvesting and conversion efficiency of the device […]
The human brain is possibly the most complex entity in the Universe. It’s absolutely remarkable and beautiful to contemplate, and the things we are capable of because of our brains are outstanding. Even though most people might seem like they’re using their brains absolutely trivially the truth is the brain is incredibly complex. Let’s look […]
Fossils that capture a kinetic moment are truly fascinating because they surprise a scene or picture from millions of years ago, effectively acting as a time capsule. Paleontologists have found along the years all sorts of such scenes, be them dinosaurs engaged in battle before an unlikely event engulfed and preserved them or some other […]
This “How to” may not be that relevant in modern times, but in the XIV and XV century, I could think of a few civilizations that would have loved to learn how Chinese engineers moved huge volumes of rock from quarries tens of miles away. Such blocks of stone, weighing at least 100 tonnes, were […]
Crossing the riverbed of Carrizo Creek in Oklahoma, a series of tracks made by a two-legged dinosaur have been preserved in time for 150 million years. The tracks reveal a most clumsy scene, as the dinosaur in question slipped for a second before going back to his beaten path. When first analyzedin the 1980s, paleontologists […]
On ZME Science we’ve showcased on more than one occasion the wonders of 3-D printing, and how this remarkable piece of technology is going to change a lot of things in the future, especially small scale manufacturing. It’s not just manufacturing it’s changing, it’s people’s lives too. For instance, we reported how 3D printers are […]
Any dog lover will tell you if you see a dog wagging its tail it’s a sign that the dog is happy. Apparently, there are subtle signals given off by variations in tail wagging and these are used to communicate with other dogs what their stance is. Researchers at University of Trento, Italy found that happy dogs […]
After performing an exhaustive quantitative research across numerous plant species, scientists at UCLA’s College of Letters and Science have found that leaf design is governed by a set of fundamental mathematical expressions, underling once again the elegance of nature. The basis of their research was “allometric analysis”, that is to say the study of an object’s evolution […]
What is creativity? Although definitions vary, one might be inclined to say that creativity, ultimately, is anything that has to do with ideas – generating them, building them, transforming them into reality. There are a lot of tests that measure creativity and chances are if you’ve been to a job interview recently you might have […]
A team of researchers at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (Transylvania) claim they have developed artificial blood which has so far behaved promisingly during preliminary tests on mice. If actually found effective in the long-run on humans as well, the new kind of artificial blood might aid in battling blood transfusion shortages all over the world, […]
Looking close at suspicious marks and cuts present in the skulls of saber-tooth like cats which roamed North America millions of years ago, paleontologist Clint Boyd of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology found what he believes are clear signs that the animals used to ambush and kill their own kind. Fierce predators native […]
Researchers at University of Cincinnati have developed an unique all-in-one nanostructure: it can both diagnose cancer cells and deliver its drug payload for treatment at the same time. Other nano carriers are typically built to serve one of the two purposes, not both at once. To achieve this, the researchers fashioned a double-sided surface, called […]
A new study made by a team of international scientists found that English-speaking toddlers learn the concept of number “one” faster than than Japanese- and Chinese-speaking kids, while Arabic and Slovenian speaking kids learned to grasp the idea of number “two” faster than their English-speaking counterparts. The study provides a new set of evidence supporting the […]
In science we have what are called “laws”, be them Newton’s Laws of Motion or Archimedes’ Principle, because these mathematical expressions describe systems in a rigid set of boundaries, essentially helping predict how these systems will behave in the future. What about overly complex, highly dynamic systems; could we use a single mathematical equation to […]
Infertility affects 7.3 million people in the U.S, representing 12% of women of childbearing age, or 1 in 8 couples. Medical advancements in the field have sought to correct infertility anomalies, some with staggering results. For instance, we reported last month how an Australian infertile woman became the first person to get pregnant through ovarian […]
Mysterious and elusive, dark matter has escaped scientists time and time again; yet confirming its existence is quintessential to current efforts of studying the Universe. With this in mind, detecting dark matter has become one of the foremost goals in the physics of the 21st century. An experiment at MIT, called DarkLight, aims to prove […]
One of the greatest mysteries scientists have been trying to reveal is how inanimate chemicals joined to produce life. It’s definitely one of the biggest questions scientists are trying to answer, and the challenges are numerous since it’s very difficult to appreciate what the exact conditions necessary for this to happen were billions of years […]
Craig Venter may just be the most arrogant high-profile scientist today, but in his defense the man has a lot to show for. You might not remember the name, but you might remember his hallmark achievement – the creation of the world’s first synthetic life. Now, with the release of his second book, Life at the […]
Miners trapped inside a mine following a collapsing tunnel or skiers covered in deadly snow after an avalanche might be found and rescued in the future by search teams using an improved form of radar device inspired by dolphin echolocation. The resulting radar can track things more accuracy and at a greater speed than conventional radar. […]
Paulo Lozano, of MIT’s Space Power and Propulsion Laboratory, is a space enthusiast for as long as he can remember, growing up with Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and spending much of his childhood in bookstores studying science and other worlds in our solar system. His passion and hard work eventually landed him a job at MIT where […]
Yeah, I know – for heaven’s sake is there an app for this too now? It seems so. Draper Laboratory, a not-for-profit research and development lab based in Cambridge, Mass, is currently testing a mobile app that may one day actually see the battlefield and help soldiers order airstrikes simply by using their smartphones. The better […]
Some of you might find it surprising to hear that a lot of animals engage in homosexual behavior. Close to 1,500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms, have been observed engaging in such behavior and this is well documented for 500 of them. No one comes close to insects and spiders, though, which have […]
Merging road cars with airplanes into a two-in-one purpose vehicle may seem like a SciFi endeavor, but how truly crazy is this idea? Although we’re far from seeing people hovering to work in a Jetson’s-like craft or mid-air traffic jams like in the Fifth Element, some people believe street-legal cars that can both run on […]
Researchers from the University of Washington have come up with a software program that helps blind people (and not only) make accurate yoga poses. The software watches the user’s movements and gives spoken, simple and easy to understand feedback on what to change to complete a yoga pose. “My hope for this technology is for […]
