Other Sciences News

Left: schematic of vitamin-driven lithium-ion battery showing the direction of lithium-ion diffusion under charging and discharging conditions. Right: photograph of a red LED powered by the battery. Image credit: Tyler B. Schon et al.

Canadian Scientists Develop Vitamin-Driven Battery

Aug 4, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of Toronto, Canada, has created a battery that stores energy in a biologically derived unit. The team’s paper...

Solar cells. Image credit: Airman 1st Class Nadine Y. Barclay / U.S. Air Force.

Photosynthetic Solar Cell Converts Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Sunlight into Fuel

Aug 1, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers and engineers from South Korea and the United States has developed a solar cell that efficiently converts carbon dioxide...

Image of the external morphology of a hominin foot bone (Paranthropus robustus or Homo ergaster) shows the extent of expansion of the primary bone cancer beyond the surface of the bone. Image credit: Patrick Randolph-Quinney.

South African Fossils Reveal Earliest Hominin Evidence of Cancer

Jul 29, 2016 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists led by Dr. Patrick Randolph-Quinney from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) in Johannesburg, South Africa,...

Spirit of New Zealand under sail. Image credit: University of Otago / Spirit of Adventure Trust.

Building Resilience in Teenagers through Outdoor Education

Jul 26, 2016 by News Staff

New research led by University of Otago researchers Damian Scarf and John Hunter shows that teenagers who go on a sea voyage display significant long-term...

Graham. Image credit: Transport Accident Commission of Victoria, Australia.

Graham: Hypothetical Human Who Can Survive High-Speed Car Crash

Jul 25, 2016 by News Staff

Australian artist Patricia Piccinini, trauma surgeons and crash investigation experts have collaborated to produce ‘Graham,’ an educational tool for...

Crystal structure of beta-Ti3Au (blue – titanium, red – gold). Image credit: Rice University.

New Biocompatible Alloy is Four Times Harder than Pure Titanium

Jul 25, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new biocompatible alloy has been developed, and it’s about 3-4 times harder than most steels and pure titanium. Crystal structure of beta-Ti3Au (blue...

Matthew Glasser et al. discovered that our brain’s cortex is composed of 180 distinct areas per hemisphere. For example, the image above shows areas connected to the three main senses -- hearing (red), touch (green), vision (blue) and opposing cognitive systems (light and dark). Image credit: Matthew Glasser / David Van Essen.

Neuroscientists Release New Map of Human Cortex

Jul 21, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of neuroscientists from the United States and Europe has mapped 180 distinct areas, including 97 that were previously unknown, in...

Security screening area. Image credit: Dan Paluska / CC0 1.0.

Real-Time, Hand-Held Scanner to Revolutionize Airport Security

Jul 20, 2016 by News Staff

A real-time, hand-held chemical scanner with stand-off detection capabilities has been unveiled by a team of researchers and engineers from nine European...

STM image (96 x 126 nm) of a 1,016-byte atomic memory, written to a passage from physicist Richard Feynman’s lecture ‘There’s plenty of room at the bottom.’ The various markers used are explained in the legend below the images. The memory consists of 127 functional blocks and 17 broken blocks. Image credit: F.E. Kalff et al.

‘Atomic Memory’ Device Uses Single Atoms to Store Information

Jul 19, 2016 by News Staff

An international group of researchers from Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands has demonstrated an atomic-scale memory device with a storage density of...

Study: Happy Cows Make Better Milk

Jul 15, 2016 by News Staff

Daily infusions with serotonin, a naturally-occurring chemical associated with feelings of happiness, were shown to increase calcium levels in both the...

Apologies can help improve the feelings of someone hurt. Image credit: Andrew Yee / CC BY.

Should Parents Ask Their Children to Apologize?

Jul 9, 2016 by Craig Smith, University of Michigan

Apologies can help improve the feelings of someone hurt. Image credit: Andrew Yee / CC BY. Have you ever felt deserving of an apology and been upset when...

Harmful algal bloom caused by nutrient pollution, Assateague island National Seashore, MD. Image credit: Eric Vance / U.S. EPA.

Reducing Water Pollution with Microbes and Wood Chips

Jul 6, 2016 by Laura Christianson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Harmful algal bloom caused by nutrient pollution, Assateague island National Seashore, MD. Image credit: Eric Vance / U.S. EPA. Beneath fields of corn...

Turing test: one judge-two hidden interlocutors. Image credit: Kevin Warwick & Huma Shah, Coventry University / Christopher Chapman, University of Reading.

New Study Exposes Major Flaw in Turing Test

Jul 5, 2016 by News Staff

A serious problem in the Turing test — a test posited by the famed British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing which, if passed, would...

A simulation of the Antarctic ozone hole, made from data taken on October 22, 2015. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Researchers Identify Clear Signs of Healing in Antarctic Ozone Layer

Jun 30, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by Prof. Susan Solomon of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has identified the first ‘fingerprints...

Surface of a lotus leaf. Image credit: William Thielicke / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lotus Leaf Inspires Water-Repellent, Antibacterial Metal Surfaces

Jun 29, 2016 by News Staff

A group of scientists from Europe has harnessed new photonics technology to develop superhydrophobic, antibacterial metal surfaces, taking us a step closer...

Aalto University scientists find explanation for auroral sounds. Image credit: Unto Laine / Aalto University.

Scientists Find Explanation for Sounds of Northern Lights

Jun 28, 2016 by News Staff

The popping and crackling sounds associated with Aurora borealis (or the Northern Lights) are born when the related geomagnetic storm activates the charges...

Drinking piping hot coffee, tea and yerba mate probably causes cancer of the esophagus, scientists say. Image credit: Wild0ne.

Very Hot Coffee, Tea, Mate May Increase Risk of Cancer of Esophagus

Jun 20, 2016 by News Staff

Beverages surpassing 149 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius) may increase the risk of tumors in the esophagus, which resides in the chest area below...

New study suggests an intriguing strategy to boost memory for what you’ve just learned: hit the gym 4 hrs later. Image credit: Skeeze.

Physical Exercise Four Hours after Learning Improves Long-Term Memory, Study Shows

Jun 17, 2016 by News Staff

A new study in the journal Current Biology shows that physical exercise after learning improves memory and memory traces, but only if the exercise is done...

Brewing more flavorsome coffee could be as simple as chilling the coffee beans before grinding, say scientists. Image credit: Shixugang.

Chill Coffee Beans to Brew Tastier Beverage, Say Researchers

Jun 15, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has found that chilling roasted coffee beans before grinding results in narrower distribution of small particles,...