gear Push settings
There has been a lot of fuss lately about shale gas, which has become increasingly important in the past decade, particularly due to hydraulic fracturing (or fracking), a modern technique used to extract it from the underground. Many have proposed natural shale gas as a supposedly clean bridge fuel, fit to address climate change and […]
The Fourier transformation is arguably the most important algorithm in information technology, with immense applications as well in optics, signal and image processing, pattern recognition etc. Thanks to this remarkable mathematical operation, we’re able to see videos or listen to music on an iPod, as it turns the digital information into readable frequencies. Recently, MIT […]
Ever since researchers started studying the Earth’s spin, they noticed that the spin isn’t perfect. Many believe this is a result of the different elements in the Earth’s core, mantle and crust, which have different densities and generate different friction. Most researchers studying this wobble agreed that the mantle would have to respond to the […]
An artificial brain has taught itself how to estimate the number of objects in an image without actually counting them, showcasing abilities displayed by many animals, as well as humans. Due to the fact that the model wasn’t preprogrammed with numerical abilities (it can’t count), it is believed that this skill emerged as a result […]
Current unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly referred to as drones, are packed with state of the art technology, but despite this they’re not very smart as far as maneuvering around obstacles is concerned. Birds, for instance, can fly through forests at incredible speeds, traveling through out the whole woods at times, with no risk of […]
US-based scientists have successfully managed to engineer a microbe that reacts with seaweed to produce ethanol, and thus making it a new source of biofuel, an alternative to coal and oil. If the research can be applied at an economically feasible scale, it could finally set biofuels usage on an exponentially growth path, as seaweed […]
Black Holes are the least understood entities, so far, in the Universe. However, if there’s one thing scientists know for sure about them, it’s that they’re the most extreme environment in cosmos. Black Holes have such a powerful, relentless gravity pull that it swallows absolutely everything in its vicinity, even light gets absorbed with zero […]
In our very own Milky Way galaxy alone, astronomers estimate there are between 200 billion and 400 billion stars. Of these, there are many that exoplanets within their solar systems. Still, what are the odds planets, more or less similar to our one, capable of supporting life, microscopic or otherwise, exist? This is the exact […]
A team of archaeologists from Egypt and Switzerland unearthed the 3100 year-old tomb of a female singer in the valley of the kings – a woman not related to the ancient Egyptian royal families ever found there. This was published on numerous sites with faulty information, reporting that the tomb was 1100 years old (like […]
Moore’s law states that the level of technology and computing power should double every two years, and so far the postulate hasn’t been wrong in more than 50 years. A group of IBM scientists have now managed to develop a data storage technique which allows for information to be stored with as little as 12 […]
In the age where consumer electronic are purposely built with short lived life cycles, there might seem to be no interest for manufactures to invest in technology that enhances reliability. Sophisticated military controls or aerospace on-board circuitry are a different story though from your counter toaster – the kind of applications that yearn for working electronics that can […]
Archaeologists have uncovered an ancient urn dated from the Mayan classical period, which after a thorough chemical analysis was found to contain traces of nicotine. Though it has been documented in Mayan texts and folklore that tobacco use was a common part of the local community, this is the first hard evidence supporting the fact that Mayans […]
A team of researchers predicted the next big thing in the world of particle physics: super symmetry, or Susy. The Higgs boson is the standing stone of modern particle physics, but it is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of understanding our Universe, and according to Howard Baer, Homer L. Dodge Professor of […]
Researchers at Berkley University have developed an extraordinary robotic toy car called the “Tailbot”, equipped with a stabilizing tail, which is able to correct and adjust its position during mid-air leaps to land safely. The biologists and engineers involved in the study were inspired by lizards that swing their tails upward to prevent them from pitching head-over-heels […]
Found in the tropical landscapes of Brazil (where else?), Philcoxia minensis has developed quite an interesting mechanism to feed: it uses sticky underground leaves to trap tiny roundworms. This rare plant has a few leaves above the ground as well, but most are below; until now, biologists were unaware that plants could actually feed like […]
One of my favorite past times is filling sudoku puzzles. There’s something about this seemingly simple, yet challenging, dance of digits up and down, left and right that manages to keep me highly entertain though a perfectly balanced mixture of thrill and frustration. If you think you’re good enough to solve any kind of sudoku, […]
There’s no bigger drag on a busy Monday morning than finding your car under a heap of snow in the driveway. Taking measures and parking it under some kind shelter, if possible, would be advised if you don’t plan on driving an ice truck. Take NASA for instance, which, like every year, has routed the […]
Moore’s law states that the processing power of computers doubles approximately every two years; as prices fall and manufacturing technology increases, researchers have now shown that wires just a few nanometres wide conduct electricity in the same way as their larger counterparts, rather than being affected by quantum mechanics – a result which surprised many […]
It’s been a fantastic year, and another one that ended too quickly, if you ask me. For science, it was absolutely fantastic, and some mind blowing discoveries were made, including earth-like planets, the hunt for the Higgs boson, fight against cancer, earthquakes, and many, many more. Here’s just a quick sum up of the things […]
Cloaking used to be one of my favorite SciFi themes. James Bond supercars that would show up or disappear instantly at the flick of an alarm key, the hallow man, objects rendered completely invisible to the human eye and lost in the surroundings. I say used to be because spatial cloaking has transcended for some […]
The Stonehenge site, 5,000 years old (new discoveries place it far back in history), still remains of the world’s greatest archeological mysteries. One of its biggest question marks revolves around its conception. It’s fairly understood why it was build, as a site of sun worshiping, but how it was actually built remains unknown, considering these […]
What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger goes the saying, however researchers at NY’s University of Buffalo wanted to scientifically analyze how exactly when faced with adversities, a person comes out mentally tougher, able to cope much better next time. Previous analysis and studies have revealed a clear correlation between the number of adversities fate […]
To be honest with you, I had no idea that this shark existed until a few hours ago; who would have guessed that a shark can live so up North? Furthermore, who would have thought he could be so peculiar? According to some, they can live up to 200 years old, although that number is […]
According to a new study by researchers at University of Melbourne, prolonged stem cell cultures are subjected to a relatively significant risk of mutation, similar to those seen in human cancers. Their results is of capital importance as it shows that lab grown cell treatment might become useless, if left to “stir” for too long. The scientists […]
Researchers studying a primitive fish exhibiting an eel-like body, and which can breath above water, claim that the creature’s ancestors might actually be the true innovators of walking. By using an extensive video analysis, the researchers observed how the African lungfish, when put out of the water, uses its pelvic muscles to not only lift itself […]
The big news about the discovery of the Higgs boson seem farther than some might have expected, even though researchers reported ‘tantalizing hints’ of the elusive particle; physicists will have to hold their breath a little longer. About a week ago, rumors started stirring up the physics world, as the people at CERN zoomed in […]
Isaac Newton is one of the most influential figures in physics, the first to stipulate the fundamental laws of motion and gravity, among many other breakthroughs. Now, anyone can come closer to understanding how Newton first discovered planetary motion or stated his three fundamental principles by reading his own personal notes, recently digitized and released […]
German physicists (who else) reported creating a Stirling engine no larger than 3 micrometers across, which functions just as good as its normal size version – with a little sputter once in a while. I read about this on several other websites, and this device was called a steam engine – which is not really […]
The physicists over at CERN set out to determine if the Higgs Boson is real or not, and they seem poised to figure that out, as rumor spreads about the possible announcement of the elusive particle. Recently, rumors about the boson exploded, and instead of cooling down, they amplified even more; this Tuesday (tomorrow, 13th […]
Chewing without actually eating seems pretty weird, if you think a bit about it, even so it’s a highly popular habit best described by the billion dollar industry of chewing gum. If you’re one of the regular chewers, here’s something to lighten your mood for the day – chewing gum increases your cognitive abilities, albeit […]
Paleontologists have been familiar with the Alamosaurus for decades since the first fossil sample was discovered in 1922, however previous assessments regarding its size have proved to be inaccurate. A team of researchers, now claims that he Alamosaurus was significantly more massive than originally thought after examining fossils they collected in New Mexico between 2003 […]
A team of researchers from led by Guillaume Gervais from McGill’s Physics Department and Mike Lilly from Sandia National Laboratories, have managed to develop one of the smallest electronic circuits in the world using nanowires spaced across each other by a distance so small, it has to be measured at an atomic level. Miniaturization has been […]
NASA’s famous rover, Opportunity, seems to have stumbled upon clear evidence that water used to flow on Mars, a long long time ago. Opportunity was prowling around the Meridiani Planum on Mars, looking at hematite (an iron oxide) when it stumbled upon something which delighted researchers: gypsum. Why is this vein of gypsum so important […]
New Jersey will soon be home to the closest thing to Jurassic Park so far, after yesterday the only press release in the world to feature dinosaurs announced that Field Station: Dinosaurs, an new kind of innovative theme park which opens in Secaucus in May 2012. With the guidance of paleontologists from the New Jersey State […]
Scientists from Russia and Japan searching in the permafrost soil in Siberia have found mammoth remains so well-preserved that they believe they will actually be able to clone it, using its bone marrow. Teams from Sakha Republic’s mammoth museum and Japan’s Kinki University have embarked on this quest, vowing to find how this can be […]
Mark is a former park ranger who found the world’s biggest insect so far: this giant weta is so big that it can actually eat carrots. This little critter was found on an island off New Zealand, and it’s one of the few survivors from its species, which were almost wiped out by rats accidentally […]
Chemistry’s periodic table of elements can welcome two new entries: Livermorium and Flerovium, which were announced Thursday, on the first of December by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. According to procedure, they will undergo a five month public comment period after which the official paperwork will be done and they will be […]
Morality has been the subject of interminable discussions among philosophers since ancient times. What’s makes for ethical behavior is most of the time a matter of the beholder, however it seems like nevertheless humans have an inherent sense of justice nested deep inside of them from an early age. A recent research suggests that babies […]
We’re inclined to think that gestures are reserved to species which at least possess some kind of articulated limbs. However, scientists have shown that wild ravens purposefully gesture, making it the first time this type of behavior has been observed in the wild except in the closest relatives of humans, primates. Sure, you might argue […]
Does flicking a dice really render a random face? The answer would be no. The dice is governed by large-scale conventional physics and its motion, and thus final position can be determined. You can’t tell where it lands just by looking at it thwirl, of course, but the fact remains it’s not random, and neither […]
We at ZME Science love futuristic designs, but above all we love innovative energy efficient solutions. The latest avantgarde lighting set-up from Philips would fit better in an art gallery than in a home, however what it lacks in practicability, it more than makes up in beauty, and moreover in principle – that energy is […]
After a devastating earthquake, most often buildings will crumble trapping people inside its ruins. Search and rescue teams work effortsly in such situation, employing both high tech solutions like heat-seeking or the simple, yet ever effective trained dogs to save people. Twenty four hours after a disaster though, the chances of a person trapped alive […]
Humans are hot-wired to scan other people in their surroundings, and determine whether their trust worthy or not, all by reading various signals like body language, facial expression etc. – the so called first impression. A team of researchers from UC Berkeley have now conducted a study which claims that some people are genetically predisposed to […]
A Dutch researcher has created a virus so deadly that it has the potential to wipe out half of the world’s population. Now, researchers and experts seem to consider that this research is so dangerous it shouldn’t even be published; there are voices which state this shouldn’t even have happened. The virus in case is […]
Somewhere off Papua New Guinea, scientists uncovered the world’s only known orchid to produce flowers at night, only to wither down in daytime. Out of over 25.000 thousand species of orchids, only a handful of them flower in the evening, but this one, Bulbophyllum nocturnum, is the first and only one that does it at […]
Sensitive robotic arms capable of mimicking the precise movement and manipulation of a human’s hand have been used extensively in the past, especially in delicate research where normally human hands would be exposed to hazardous environments. But a robot controlling a human arm? That’s unheard of. A team of french researchers have developed a system […]
In a remarkable find, archeologists have uncovered two ancient pits, perfectly aligned with the sun’s natural summer cycle. These suggest that the Stonehenge site was a place for sun worship at least 500 years before the first stone was erected. Archaeologists from the universities of Birmingham, Bradford and Vienna were involved in an on-going survey work […]
Remember this name: graphene. This wonder material is certainly on a lot of scientists’ lips these days, but in a few years from now, it will be on the lips of more and more people, as its fantastic properties will begin to be put to practical use. Graphene is a planar sheet of Carbon, just […]
I recently came across this interview with Prof. Dr. Siegfried Bethke, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Physics in Munich, posted at Physorg, and just had to share it, because it is incredibly interesting: Professor Bethke, particles have been colliding with each other at the LHC for two years now, the detectors have so […]
The great part of Earth’s liquid outer core comprises of molten iron, which is just swell for us and every inhabitant of our planet, because this layer generates a magnetic field which protects us from radiation which would be lethal. But common accepted theory suggests that there should also be some lighter ingredients down there, […]
