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Asteroid Vesta is a lot like Earth, study shows

The cold, lifeless Vesta asteroid might be a lot more like our planet than astronomers believed – having a very active life in the early stages of the solar system evolution, a study of a Saharan meteorite shows. The planet that wasn’t Vesta might host a magmatic layer under its rocky exterior, allowing minerals to […]

Poor grammar makes for good passwords

As computing power grows and becomes ever more accessible, passwords become easier to crack day by day. If you want to make it really easy for hackers and automated crawlers to retrieve your secure information then input passwords like common names, pets, sequences of numbers and symbols or birthdays. Yup, they’ll gobble these right up. […]

Microwave metamaterial camera images in real time. It's only a fraction of the size current devices are

Scientists at Duke University have devised a metamaterial that uses microwaves to image objects or scenes in real time, all through a set-up no larger than a book. Currently, the same imaging is being made with robust, huge machinery – the kind you see in airports used to scan people before they board flights – […]

NASA sends Mona Lisa to the Moon

NASA announced in a recent statement that they have beamed an image of the legendary painting to the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter, a spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon, to test communication abilities with the satellite, using laser technology. The image was first converted to a suitable digital format, after which it traveled just less than 400.000 […]

Real life 'holodeck' in 10 years? Very possible, Tim Huckaby says

At his recent keynote 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Las Vegas, Tim Huckaby dazzled the audience with his predictions for the future in user interface and technology. His presentation was initially structured as a showcase of possible developments in the next five years, but Huckaby didn’t stop there and also talked a bit about how […]

Superomniphobic material can avoid any stain - repels almost any liquid

Scientists have developed a new surface, which they call  “superomniphobic”, that can repel virtually any liquid, even the most troublesome like blood or highly concentrated acids. Their findings brings us a step closer to manufacturing stain-proof, spill-proof clothing, protective garments and other products. Currently there is a wide range of clothing and garments that are water proof and offer protection […]

Intelligent molecules that fold and change shape demonstrated for the first time

In an amazing breakthrough, scientists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) have for the first time demonstrated an extremely appealing, yet still obscure concept – intelligent molecules. By definition intelligence is the ability to learn and understand or deal with new situation and the latter is exactly what the researchers’ polymer molecules can do, namely  react to external stimuli and reversibly […]

People remember facebook updates better than faces or quotes from books

There are some 30 million facebook updates pushed on the massive social network every hour, so it might seem like common  sense for most of us to dismiss these as trivial. Scientists at University of Warwick and UC San Diego however chose not to ignore these fleeting, yet direct text updates and actually found some interesting […]

NASA Curiosity rover finds intriguing new evidence of water - prepares to drill

The first sample from underground Mars will come from a rockbed that showcases unexpected mineral veins of gypsum. A Martian candy store Astronomers and geologists are now in the equivalent of a Martian candy store of scientific objectives: the lowest point of Gale crater, called Yellowknife Bay is literally teeming with minerals that could only […]

Robots: reviving the American economy, killing the workforce

The whole point of technology is that of aiding mankind, and it has done so since the advent of fire and will continue to do for a long time. In today’s fast pacing world, however, technology is evolving so fast that it has caught the workforce by surprise. Of course, we’re primarily referring to robots, […]

Chimpanzees have a sense of fairness

Chimpanzees have the same sense of fair-play as humans do, explain researchers who played the Ultimatum game with them – it’s the first time such a trait was observed in a non-human species. Playing a fair game The Ultimatum game is a simple game often used in economy game theory in which the two players […]

New techniques allows heat to be treated like light

A materials science researcher at MIT has devised a novel technique using nanoparticles that allows heat flow to be treated much in the same way as light. This means that like electromagnetic waves, heat was successfully focused and reflected. The findings could help spark further research which might one day aid in the development of […]

California super-earthquake probably on its way

It should be no surprise for anybody that a major earthquake is way overdue in LA; a study has shown that the area has a 99% chance of a big earthquake in the next 30 years (well, 25 years, since the study was conducted in 2008). Even with what should have been a huge wake […]

Fun mathematics of domino chain reactions: could a tiny domino end up to topple a skyscraper-sized one? Yes

Besides being a great family time activity and an awesome display of art for some who have way too much time on their hands, dominos are also a great mathematics exercise. Although most dominos are the same size, it’s well documented that the first domino piece can topple a second larger domino piece, which in […]

Voluntary Temple Slavery in Ancient Egypt 2200 years ago

  In the excavations near the ancient temple of Tebtunis archaeologists found a big number of papyri in a garbage dump near the temple that later turned out to be slave contracts with a significant hystorical value. In the text translated from 100 papyruses, an incredible fact was revealed: not only that the slaves voluntarily […]

Understanding magma in the mantle: rocks melt at greater depth than previously thought

Magma forms much deeper than geologists previously believed, according to a new study conducted by Rice University. Magma and Crust   The group led by geologist Rajdeep Dasgupta put very small samples of peridotite under very large pressures, to find out if the rock can liquify, at least in small amounts, as deep as 250 […]

New earthquake models show 'stable zones' not so stable after all

A recent study conducted by Californian and Japanese seismologists claims that stable fault areas might not be so stable, in terms of earthquake generation. The controversial findings suggest that creeping fault behavior (more on this in the next paragraph) is actually not only instable, but also capable of creating fast slipping earthquake ruptures. Faulty issues […]

Eye color and face shape influence trustworthiness

People with brown eyes appear more trustworthy than those with blue eyes, unless the man has a broad face. What – is this for real? According to a study conducted by Karel Kleisner and colleagues from Charles University in the Czech Republic – the answer is ‘Yes’. The point of the study was to determine […]

Shark embryos stay still to avoid predators

Sharks are the ultimate predators, comfortably sitting at the very top of the food chain; but even they have their enemies (the biggest one being us, of course), especially when they’re small – nobody fears a small shark. But even in their defenseless period, sharks have managed to find a way to adapt. Australian researchers […]

The El Niño turns out to be more chaotic than previously thought

Why would the El Niño be important for the rest of us that don’t live in the western part of South America? Well because it also influences the climate in North America, Asia, Australia, Africa, even Europe perhaps.. so that basically means the whole world. The El Niño-the southern oscillation or ENSO is a sort of a […]

Ordinary glass has extraordinary properties - molecules self align in ultrastable tetris-like structures

Aged glasses are materials that interest scientists very much due to their appealing properties. During thousands and even millions of years glass steadily evolves towards an ever stable molecular configuration. In manufacturing where the process needs to be cut short to weeks or days, similar properties are extremely difficult if not at times impossible to […]

Archaeology news: 1.400 year old gold coins found in Iraq, 300 prehistoric clay figurines found in Greece [shorties]

Gold coins found in Iraq Archaeologists working in the area unearthed 66 magnificent gold coins that are at least 1,400 years old, dating back to the Sassanid era that extended from 225 BC to 640 AD. The coins were sent to the lab for age analysis which will better pinpoint their origin in time. The […]

Bus sized Triassic marine monster sheds light on ecosystems

A new species of “sea monster” was unearther in Nevada – a predator so fierce that it often hunted prey as big or bigger than itself. Thalattoarchon saurophagis translates into “lizard-eating sovereign of the sea” – and boy is that a good name. It measured well over 8 meters and lived some 244 million years […]

Drinking hot chocolate from an orange or creme colored cup makes it taste better

A group of researchers from Polytechnic University of Valencia and Oxford University asked study participants to sample hot chocolate contained in variously colored cups. Their results suggest that drinking hot chocolate and other similar brews from orange or creme colored containers enhances its flavor. The scientists asked the 57 participants to taste the same hot chocolate […]

Simulated manned mission to Mars yields valuable information: boredom key problem

In case you didn’t know, there was a big pretend manned mission to Mars going on in 2010 and 2011, organized by the Russian Academy of Science in conjunction with the European and Chinese space agencies. The experiment, Mars500, placed six people in a simulated spaceship en route to Mars for 520 days, in order […]

How much does a kilogram weigh? The struggle of keeping standardized mass constant

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 […]

Coldest antimatter yet might help scientists probe its secrets

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 […]

Physicists create negative temperature state - thermodynamic laws still stand

Well, the year really kicked off in style. This research is really next level physics, and in order to understand it (even slightly), we’re going to delve into some serious physics. Dancing around absolute zero Over the years, physicists have made significant progress in cooling objects closer to absolute zero (0 Kelvin, the temperature at […]

2013: We're back in business

Hello ladies and gentlemen, hope you had a fine Christmas and New Year Party – we sure did! But after a much needed vacation, we’re back in business! So, just as a quick reminder: – We love it when you write to us! Tell it what we do right, what we do wrong, what we […]

The year in science: breakthrough moments of 2012

It’s been quite the year, ladies and gentlemen – many discoveries, many studies and inventions; from the tiniest of particles to the biggest galaxies, from climate change to medicine and from computers to animals – science spared nothing in 2012. It was a great year for us, and we were really happy to share all […]

2012: Pictures of the Year

The world is in our hands: the extent of Arctic sea ice reached a record low this year, and things seem to get worse and worse each year. Man-caused global warming threatens to destroy this unique environment, along with all the animals which inhabit it. This is me on Mars: the Curiosity Rover landed on […]

ZME Science would like to wish you a happy new year!

This may be a little late, but we started celebrating a little early this year and went on a well deserved vacation – so we’re going to ask for your forgiveness on this one. It’s been a great year for us, mostly due to you, the people who read ZME Science, who support us and […]

Doomsday part 6: asteroid strike

You’ve seen it on the news, so you know it’s true. Your 8 o’clock special news report showcases in a Mayan Apocalypse special a computer simulation of a massive meteor or asteroid impacting Earth causing world doom. There’s no mention anywhere in any Mayan records or myths that the end of the Mayan calendar is […]

Doomsday part 4: Solar flares

A solar flare will breach Earth’s magnetic field that typically shelters our planet’s surface from such hazards. The ensuing onslaught would fry all electronic devices in the world and cut power grids. Chaos would ubiquitously surface causing anarchy in a Mad Max type of scenario. New age prophets have for years labeled technology as the devil’s […]

Doomsday part 3: The magnetic poles are shifting!

Something really bad is going to happen, and the Earth’s rotation will shift, rotating the other way, which will cause a magnetic pole reversal, which is going to rain all sorts of havoc on terrestrial life. As the poles shift, there will be a massive continental drift, with landmasses plunging in towards each other, bringing […]

Doomsday part 2: Nibiru (Planet X) is coming

It’s December 21, 2012. Nibiru, or Planet X as some call it, is going to collide or just barely miss a collision with planet Earth, and the consequences will be devastating. The idea was first started in 1995 by Nancy Lieder, founder of the website ZetaTalk. She describes herself as a contactee with the ability […]

Doomsday part 1: The Maya calendar predicts the end of the world

Doomsday is upon us, fellow ZME Readers! December 2012, particularly 21 December 2012 marks the conclusion of a b’ak’tun—a time period in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar which was used in Central America, most notably associated with the Maya (even though it was the Olmec people that actually invented it). In 1966, Michael D. Coe, […]

Punching may have shaped evolution of human hand

University of Utah researchers analyzed the forces and acceleration involved when different martial artists hit a punching bag. They found that the structure of the fist provides additional support for the knuckles to transmit punching force. “We asked the question: ‘can you strike harder with a fist than with an open palm?’,” co-author David Carrier […]

Spider creates its own larger decoys

Spiders are truly remarkable creatures, but some of them are absolutely unique! This time, biologists working in the Amazon have found a spider that builds elaborate replicas of himself from leaves, debris and insects to confuse predators. The art of deceit From afar, it could mislead even the most experienced eye, hanging in the center […]

Why is Rudolph's nose red? Scientists explain

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 […]

Geologists map African underwater for the first time - big surprises ensue

Deep in Africa, under some of our planet’s most drought threatened areas lie massive water reserves – freshwater aquifers containing 60 times as much water as all the American Great Lakes combined. These aquifers are some 410,000 cubic miles thick and contain 100 times the freshwater that exists on the continent’s surface, and as Africa’s […]

Scientists image an atom's shadow for the first time

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 […]

Top 10 amazing [PHOTOS] capturing microscopic biology from 2012

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, […]

Dire wolf fossil found near Las Vegas provides first evidence of ice age wolves in Nevada

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 […]

Is there such a thing as unjammable radar? Quantum imaging radar seems so

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 swarm of ping-pong ball-sized robots could be the next multi-purpose tinkers

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 […]

Higgs boson might be a twin particle, contradictory measurements suggest

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 […]

New nanotechnology will enable earlier cancer diagnosis

Finding ways to diagnose cancer earlier could potentially save millions of lives, improving the chances of survival for many patients. This is why researchers have developed nanoparticles which amplify tumor signals, making them much easier to detect. Nanotech to the rescue The new technology was developed by researchers from MIT and it makes biomarker detection […]

Mind over matter: paralyzed woman controls robotic arm with her thoughts

Doctors in Pittsburg are stunned by the ability of a patient who reached a never seen before mental control level of a robotic arm. The human part Jan Scheuermann, 53, who is paralyzed neck down, was able to move, grasp and release a variety of common household items with the same ability as with a […]

Japan is lead candidate for hosting the next high energy particle smasher - the International Linear Collider

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, […]