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Solar cell technology has improved dramatically over the past couple of year, yet it will be a long time before multi-junction cells – then kind that can reach efficiency well over 40% – will become affordable to small home owners or even large scale installation. New methods are always explored, however, each with its own angle […]
Dr Nick Longrich from Bath University was studying bones from two horned dinosaurs from the ceratopsian family (related to Triceratops), when he discovered that the two were actually previously unknown species. The findings highlight that dinosaurs in area were more diverse than previously thought, and they also show that sometimes, museum archives can yield surprising information. “We […]
It might not come as a surprise to hear that the world’s strongest material, graphene, was found to be a great impact absorber as well. After all, there always seems to be a study that adds to the growing list of graphene’s useful properties, be its lightness, flexibility, or electrical conductivity. It’s been labeled as […]
Genetic diversity is essential to our survival, but its exactly the huge variance in genetic information that makes all so sought for personalised treatment so difficult. And you don’t need to look at an entire population or even two different people to experience the power of diversity. It’s enough to look inside your own, personal […]
Look at this incredibly big rock. Take a moment, ponder its dimensions, and its weight. Oh, but if you’re looking at the one in the middle, that’s not it – look over to the right. The one to the right, not fully excavated yet, is the biggest ancient stone block, weighing an impressive 1,650 tons (that’s 3,300,000 […]
Being a teen can be difficult at times – but being a parent of a teen can be even more difficult. Sometimes, it’s like kids just close inside themselves and nothing from the outside can reach them. Well, according to a new study from Harvard, Pittsburgh and California Berkeley – that may actually be the […]
If you thought the bubonic plague is a thing of the past… then think again! The dreadful disease is making a resurgence in the island of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa. There have already been 138 suspected cases of the disease, with a total of 47 victims. You may know the black plague as […]
For the first time, researchers in Germany have been able to create spinal cords in a Petri dish. To be more precise, they didn’t grow complete spinal cords, but neuroepithelial cysts, which are ellipsoid like and were about 60 μm in diameter. These cells express factors that are associated with spinal cord tissue and are in many […]
An experiment fortuitously called DARE (DNA atmospheric re-entry experiment) has come to a most unexpected conclusion: DNA can indeed survive full exposure to space flight and atmospheric re-entry. The findings were reported after DNA molecules placed onto the outer surface of a rocket were collected and analyzed upon its return. Moreover, even after bearing these extreme […]
Since ancient times, people living in hot climates learned if they paint their rooftops white, then their quarters would stay cooler during the scorching heat. In an attempt to curve energy consumed on air conditioning, which accounts for 15% of all electricity consumed in the US, scientists have devised a multi-layered surface that acts in […]
Today, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving – a special time of the year when families gather together and share what they’re most grateful for. And they eat turkey, of course. While they may be hundreds of miles above their families’ home, the three astronauts aboard the International Space Station upheld the tradition and had their own Thanksgiving meal, […]
Historically, NASA burns all its human generated waste in special containers upon atmospheric re-entry. Waste doesn’t need to stick to its name, however, so why not transform it into something more useful like fuel, oxygen or waster. Such a system was devised by researchers at University of Florida for a potential human colony on the […]
US researchers demonstrated an implantable device that can deliver a drug payload when triggered by a remote wireless signal. After the payload is delivered, the whole system, including electronics, dissolve within weeks without harming the body in any way. Doctors would leave behind the resorbable packaging and electronics post surgery for infection management by either thermal treatment or […]
When I first heard about 3-D printing, I was completely stoked. The whole concept blew me away and changed forever what I thought of ‘printing’. We now also know about machines that print metals, food and even human organs, why not light too? While not a 3D printer, Rohinni’s Lightpaper technology can be credited as […]
There’s no more faithful companion than a dog, nor more messier. If you thought dog’s make a mess when they drink water just because they don’t care, think again. Using high-speed cameras and fluid dynamics, researchers found that dogs use their tongues in a different way than cats, pets adorned for their neatness. Lick, lick […]
For a long while astronauts coming back home from the ISS would complain how bad the coffee is in Earth’s orbit. Of course, one might say there’s little room for frivolities when tasked with a mission of such importance as an ISS astronaut. Coffee can wait, so can pastas, sex or cats. The world’s space […]
Apart from both being shiny, it’s hard to see any connection between a Blu-ray disk and a solar panel. Northwestern University researchers thought outside the box, however, and used the disk’s tiny stamped grooves and pits to make molds for solar panels. Because of the resulting structure’s geometry, the solar cells were able to absorb […]
UK researchers highlight once more a depressing topic: income inequality and lack of social mobility. After they tracked families that sent their children to study at Oxford and Cambridge – the two most prestigious and elitist Universities in the world since 1096 – the researchers found that students were more likely to inherit their parent’s […]
Who would’ve thought only a decade ago that quantum computers would become real in the upcoming future? Those of us without such hindsight need to rely on what’s been reported by scientists, and recently all kinds of developments lend us to think that a quantum computing future isn’t that far off. Take the latest qubit […]
For the first time, researchers at the University of Basel used an ultracool atomic gas to cool a very thin membrane to less than one degree Kelvin. The new technique might enable novel investigations of quantum mechanics phenomena and precision measuring devices. Coldest matter in the world lends its freeze In the ultracold world, produced […]
It’s the main argument against renewable energy – sure, they’re environmentally friendly, they’re sustainable, they have very little emissions… but they’re expensive. But while that is already no longer true in many parts of the world, it may also not be true in America – where solar and wind energy are starting to overcome conventional fuels […]
Lake Powell is at historic lows, and while for kayakers it may be a great opportunity to explore channels, it raises a big alarm regarding the future of water in the area. Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River between the border of Utah and Arizona. It is the second largest man-made reservoir by maximum […]
Scientists have found that cocoa flavanols, substances found in chocolate, and to a lesser extent in blueberries, red wine, parsley and black tea have a positive impact on the memory of elders. Flavonoids are a class of plant secondary metabolites. Flavonoids were referred to as Vitamin P until 1950, but the term fell out of favor. Though there […]
What’s that – a starfighter? Ambitious as he may be with his SpaceX ventures, Elon Musk isn’t quite there yet. What he recently unveiled is a new rocket configuration called “X-wing” – like the epic Star Wars spacecraft – that is going to help the next, upgraded version of the Falcon 9 to land itself […]
The R&D and pre-marketing approval cost of a typical pharmaceutical drug sits at around $2.6 billion, according to a new study by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. The study used actual expense data provided by 10 pharmaceutical companies on 106 randomly selected drugs that were first tested in human subjects anywhere in […]
Inspired by Margaret Thatcher’s formidable political skills, researchers in the US sought to understand how a position of power changes a person’s voice, and how this in turn affects their relation with other people. Indeed, being in power alters the acoustic properties of the voice and those tuning in can pick up cues that tell […]
In 2012, the United States generated almost 14 million tons of plastics as containers and packaging, about 11 million tons as durable goods such as appliances, and almost 7 million tons as nondurable goods, such as plates and cups. Compared to the 1960s, when plastics were less than one percent of the waste stream, this ubiquitous […]
Some people, like history’s greatest artists or scientists, have a fantastic imagination that long transcends reality. Others have this line completely blurred and can’t make sense of what’s real or not. For most of us, however, fantasy and reality are clearly separated in our mental psyche. Now, a team of neuroscientists have explored the neural pathways […]
Watch out, Spiderman! Stanford engineers recently demonstrated a pair of gecko-inspired hand pads strong enough to pull the weight of an adult man and to allow him to climb a wall. Scaling walls like a gecko At the center of the gecko’s clinging ability are its specialized pads, located on the reptile’s toes, comprised of various satae (bristle- or […]
The Nanoflare technology uses a genetic-based approach to detect and image live cancer cells present in the blood stream, well before these had a chance to develop into a tumor. The gene-hunting particles developed at Northwestern University might help doctors develop personalized treatments for their patients and curb cancer spread, according to the paper published […]
NASA released a video that helps us visualize where the major CO2 emission hotspots are and how the greenhouse gas travels and swirls around the globe, guided by weather patterns. The CO2 emissions were mapped using data gathered during May 2005 to June 2007 with 64 times the resolution of a standard climate model, on a NASA supercomputer at […]
Since June, 2013 swarms of dying starfish have been riddling the North American western coast. The disease, called sea star wasting syndrome (SSWS), causes the star-shaped echinoderms to first curl from the tips, then swell and twist like a pretzel, followed by festering sores appearing on the flesh and ending in complete degeneration. A starfish […]
In response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration launched a counter-offensive which went on to be known as the “War on Terror” and saw the US wage war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and most recently Syria. The WoT was initiated, in theory at least, to eliminate the threat from al Qaida’s leader, Osama bin Laden, […]
While the LHC at CERN is gearing up for its long-awaited restart, following an overhaul, scientists aren’t standing idle. After analyzing collision data made during 2011-2012, physicists have identified two new baryons, known as the Xi_b‘- and Xi_b*-. The new subatomic particles’ properties match predictions based on the theory of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), a subset […]
We’re used to hearing how elephants are driven off by habitat lost, but never the other way around. Researchers at University of Florida claim that as overhunting has dramatically cut the number of elephants in the wild, but since these also disperse seeds, it seems like dominant tree species are also dying off. Along with the trees, […]
As we were telling you already in several articles, the Rosetta probe is in orbit of a comet – the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet. But to make things even more exciting, Philae, Rosetta’s lander, also made contact with the comet; among other things, the lander found carbon molecules on the comet – the basis of life on Earth. Considering […]
Interpol is launching the first-ever Most Wanted-style list for environmental criminals. This is a milestone achievement because it shows just how serious environmental crimes have become. These crimes include poaching, ivory trafficking and illegal logging – and the list is expected to grow. Andreas Andreou, an officer with Interpol’s environmental unit said: “Until recently, environmental offenses […]
With the EPA setting stricter guidelines for NOx emissions fired by coal plants, the industry is now in a position where it needs new, advanced technologies that clean flue gases. Such a solution might came from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which recently partnered with a leading coal corporation to implement its electron beam technology. […]
A massive independent genetic survey sought to replicate the findings of a 20 year old controversial study which identified a stretch on the X chromosome as being linked with homosexuality. The latest findings, which took into account the genetic makeup of a staggering 409 pairs of gay siblings, confirm the initial reports and further boost the […]
Triclosan is a common antimicrobial and antifungal agent found in consumer products, including soaps, detergents, toys and, surgical cleaning treatments. The effectiveness of Triclosan has been questioned many times, with studies showing that in the long run, it may actually have negative effects by creating bacterial resistance. Now, a new study on mice has found that […]
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? This nonsensical question actually has meaning in the world of Jonty Hurwitz, an anamorphic artist. For his latest project, Hurwitz teamed with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Weitzmann Institute of Science to 3D print sculptures that recreate the smallest human forms ever. These […]
Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, have devised a model that projects how climate change affects atmospheric lightning discharges. According to their findings, global warming – particularly through more water vapor gathering in the upper atmosphere – will cause lightning strikes to increase in frequency by 50% during […]
After studying ancient minerals in a meteorite, MIT scientists have gained valuable insights that help explain how the sun, the planets and our entire solar system formed.Their work suggest that a powerful shock wave that rippled through the clouds of dust and gas surrounding the sun billions of years ago played a crucial role in […]
A 20-year-old algorithm that demonstrated the benefit of using quantum mechanics to solve certain problems has finally been run on a quantum computer – a sweet delicious treat, and a sign that serious progress is being made in the field of quantum computing. The Quantum world is weird A quantum computer is a computation system […]
Scientists have finally climbed to the bottom of one of Siberia’s mysterious holes, and they have come up with some interesting information – and some amazing pics. In case you’re not up to date, scientists started observing some mysterious craters in Siberia. The pseudoscience media had a field day – and so did conspiracy theorists. […]
Hydraulic fracking is one of the hottest topics right now – and while proposers and defenders of the method argue that everything is safe and there is no need to worry, the facts seem to only agree with them sometimes. Even if all the rules and regulations are followed, there would be some controversy; but […]
In the movie “Enemy of State”, the character played by Will Smith is located by the NSA by an advanced satellite that could track his movements in real time, no matter where he would hide. While it’s not certain if intelligence agencies already have this capability, we’re already seeing an incipient concept as presented by University […]
President Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to sign a deal that will see the US nearly double its efforts to cut CO2 emissions by 2025 and China cap its CO2 emissions for the very first time. This historic agreement between the two largest polluters in the world, which together amount to 45% of […]
OK, so we’ve been keeping you up to date with what’s been happening with the Rosetta mission, but we had to sleep eventually, and wonderful things have happened in the mean time. In case you’re not aware, here’s a short summary: Rosetta is a probe launched by the European Space Agency (the European equivalent of […]
It’s no surprise for anyone to find that soldiers fighting together on the front-line are tied together by a special relationship. They have to be. Soldiers need to know they can wholeheartedly depend on each other, put faith in the other’s ability. It’s not just about survival. It’s about comfort; knowing there’s someone close to […]
