Mimicking the Earth"s crust: Examining solidification of building material candidates by cold sintering
Ceramic materials are ubiquitous in the world of construction. Building materials such as cement, bricks, tiles, or electrical insulators like porcelain are all ceramic products that we rely on in our daily lives. These ceramics are manufactured by a.....»»
Sea sponge-inspired microlenses offer new possibilities in optics
Beneath the ocean's surface, simple marine animals called sea sponges grow delicate glass skeletons that are as intricate as they are strong. These natural structures are made of a material called silica—also known as bioglass—that is both lightw.....»»
Does the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b have an atmosphere after all?
TRAPPIST-1 b is one of seven rocky planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1, located 40 light-years away. The planetary system is unique because it allows astronomers to study seven Earth-like planets from relatively close range, with three of them in th.....»»
Watch the space station send the first wooden satellite into orbit
NASA has released footage showing the first-ever wooden satellite being deployed to orbit in a study to test its effectiveness as a space material......»»
Completing the "timetree" of primates: A new way to map the evolutionary history of life on Earth
In a new article published in Frontiers in Bioinformatics, biologists Dr. Jack M Craig, Dr. Blair Hedges, and Dr. Sudhir Kumar, all at Temple University, have built an evolutionary tree that encompasses 455 primates, every species for which genetic d.....»»
ALMA observes dusty site of planet formation
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has successfully observed a site of planet formation by detecting a high concentration of dust grains, a planet-forming material, outside the orbits of just-formed planets......»»
How to find a comet before it hits Earth
How do you find a comet that could pose a threat to Earth but hasn't passed our planet in the last 200 years or more? You look for its footprint......»»
Seabed seismographs unlock mysteries of longest runout sediment flows
Durham University scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in marine geoscience, revealing unprecedented insights into the dynamics of Earth's longest runout sediment flows......»»
Neural mechanisms of aggression reveal how fighting female flies focus on their foes
In most research labs, the scientists are on the same page about why they're pursuing a research project. But the Rubin Lab at HHMI's Janelia Research Campus isn't an ordinary research lab. The lab is examining how aggression affects vision in female.....»»
Bringing the power of tabletop precision lasers for quantum science to the chip scale
For experiments that require ultra-precise measurements and control over atoms—think two-photon atomic clocks, cold-atom interferometer sensors and quantum gates—lasers are the technology of choice, the more spectrally pure (emitting a single col.....»»
Southern states brace for water changes, report finds
Water is everywhere. It falls freely from the sky and flows across the earth. Humans are inextricably connected to water and to forests. Changes in land use, forest conditions, and climate affect water – with consequences for drinking water treatme.....»»
Rising desertification shows we can"t keep farming with fossil fuels
Three-quarters of Earth's land has become drier since 1990. Droughts come and go—more often and more extreme with the incessant rise of greenhouse gas emissions over the last three decades—but burning fossil fuels is transforming our blue planet......»»
Could the ESA"s PLATO mission find Earth 2.0?
Currently, 5,788 exoplanets have been confirmed in 4,326 star systems, while thousands more candidates await confirmation. So far, the vast majority of these planets have been gas giants (3,826) or Super-Earths (1,735), while only 210 have been "Eart.....»»
Early Earth"s oceans of magma may have accelerated the moon"s departure
The Earth and moon have been locked in a gravitational dance for billions of years. Each day, as the Earth turns, the moon tugs upon the oceans of the world, causing the rise and fall of tides. As a result, the Earth's day gets a little bit longer, a.....»»
Researchers turn coal into graphite for clean energy, electric vehicle batteries
Yesterday's polluting fuel could be transformed into a valuable material for tomorrow's electric vehicle batteries, thanks to a wide-ranging research project that utilizes expertise spanning the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory......»»
Catalyst "breathes" new life into acrylonitrile production
A team of engineers is reimagining one of the essential processes in modern manufacturing. Their goal? To transform how a chemical called acrylonitrile (ACN) is made—not by building world-scale manufacturing sites, but by using smaller-scale, modul.....»»
NASA"s Lucy spacecraft prepares for second Earth gravity assist
On Dec. 12, at 11:15 p.m. EST, NASA's Lucy spacecraft, currently in a two-year orbit around the sun, will skim Earth's atmosphere, passing only about 220 miles (360 kilometers) above the surface. This close flyby will result in a "gravity assist," pu.....»»
Eyes on the sun: Naked thallium-205 ion decay reveals history over millions of years
The sun, the essential engine that sustains life on Earth, generates its tremendous energy through the process of nuclear fusion. At the same time, it releases a continuous stream of neutrinos—particles that serve as messengers of its internal dyna.....»»
New set of human rights principles aims to end displacement and abuse of Indigenous people
For more than a century, conservationists have worked to preserve natural ecosystems by creating national parks and protected areas. Today the Earth faces a global biodiversity crisis, with more than 1 million species at risk of extinction. This make.....»»
Sentinel-1C captures first radar images of Earth
Less than a week after its launch, the Copernicus Sentinel-1C satellite has delivered its first radar images of Earth—offering a glimpse into its capabilities for environmental monitoring. These initial images feature regions of interest, including.....»»
Links between gender stereotypes and American patriotism date from the Cold War, but weren"t true then either
In 1959, at the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow, in front of a model American kitchen full of appliances, Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev sparred over the advantages of the two countries' econom.....»»