Symmetry and reflection define Qatar desert installation by Olafur Eliasson
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has created an immersive installation named Shadows Travelling on the Sea of the Day comprised of twenty circular structures during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar . Read more Danish-Icelandic art.....»»
How an iconic desert tree survives extreme heat—and the unique risk it"s facing now
New research has found that the punishing summer temperatures and persistent drought conditions in much of Arizona and the Southwest are dealing a double whammy to trees attempting to regulate their own temperature, putting a critical part of the des.....»»
Tuning skyrmion helicity for racetrack memory and quantum computing applications
Three distinct topological degrees of freedom are used to define all topological spin textures based on out-of-plane and in-plane spin configurations: the topological charge, representing the number of times the magnetization vector m wraps around th.....»»
What is a unit of nature? New framework highlights challenges in biodiversity credit markets
Ecologists have devised a new framework to classify how biodiversity credit operators define what a unit of nature is. The new analysis demonstrates the challenges involved with devising a biodiversity credit market to fund nature recovery, and the r.....»»
Unlike other insects, desert ants may use polarity of geomagnetic field for navigation
Desert ants of the Cataglyphis nodus species use the Earth's magnetic field for spatial orientation, but these tiny insects rely on a different component of the field than other insects, a research team led by Dr. Pauline Fleischmann from the Univers.....»»
NASA flights map critical minerals from skies above western US
On a crystal-clear afternoon above a desert ghost town, a NASA aircraft scoured the ground for minerals. The plane, a high-altitude ER-2 research aircraft, had taken off early that morning from NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, Cali.....»»
Polarization photodetector that mimics desert ant offers pathway for more sensitive, miniaturized imaging systems
Polarization photodetectors (pol-PDs) have widespread applications in geological remote sensing, machine vision, and biological medicine. However, commercial pol-PDs usually require bulky and complicated optical components and are difficult to miniat.....»»
Peru scientists unveil crocodile fossil up to 12 million years old
Paleontologists unveiled on Wednesday the fossil of a young marine crocodile dating back 10 to 12 million years that was discovered in a Peruvian desert......»»
New research could help nonprofits attract millions of online donors
When you're checking out at an online store, it's increasingly common to get a prompt inviting you to toss in a few bucks to a good cause. Your decision to give (or not) may feel like a reflection of how generous you're feeling in the moment. Yet how.....»»
New theory reveals the shape of a single photon
A new theory that explains how light and matter interact at the quantum level has enabled researchers to define for the first time the precise shape of a single photon......»»
Comprehensive database released to advance data-driven research in the field of quasicrystals
Quasicrystals are materials with unique, non-periodic symmetry that distinguishes them from conventional crystals. Approximant crystals, often regarded as precursor materials closely related to quasicrystals, share similar compositional and structura.....»»
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Arecibo Message
On the 50th anniversary of the “Arecibo message,” we present a reflection on humankind’s first attempt to send a transmission to intelligent life in the cosmos......»»
These Bird Nests Show Signs of an Architectural ‘Culture’
Culture may play a role in how birds build collectively in the Kalahari Desert.....»»
Theoretical model explains the anomalous properties of water in extreme conditions
Water, a molecule essential for life, has unusual properties—known as anomalies—that define its behavior. However, there are still many enigmas about the molecular mechanisms that would explain the anomalies that make the water molecule unique. D.....»»
Kagome superconductor breaks the rules at record-breaking temperatures
Using muon spin rotation at the Swiss Muon Source SmS, researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have discovered that a quantum phenomenon known as time-reversal symmetry breaking occurs at the surface of the Kagome superconductor RbV3Sb5 at t.....»»
African Sahara "greening" can alter Northern Hemisphere climate, modeling study finds
Africa's Sahara Desert may be considered a vast expanse of barren sand with limited vegetation, an extreme environment for plants and animals to thrive, but life always finds a way. Indeed, vegetation growth in the desert has waxed and waned over mil.....»»
What is happening with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft?
Among the options NASA and Boeing are considering: a Starliner cargo flight Boeing's Starliner spacecraft safely landed empty in the New Mexico desert about eight weeks ago, marki.....»»
Researchers observe stick-slip phenomenon in carbon nanotube fibers
The shapes of simple polyatomic molecules such as carbon dioxide and methane are characterized by a specific symmetry depending on the manner of linking of the atoms. Nano- to micrometer-sized particles that mimic the shapes of such polyatomic molecu.....»»
Ukraine"s surrender hotline is tempting North Koreans to desert, promising they"ll be well fed
Ukraine"s surrender hotline is tempting North Koreans to desert, promising they"ll be well fed.....»»
Saturday Citations: Reading comprehension; revisiting tardigrade orthodoxy; restoring universal symmetry
This week, physicists suggested that quantum entanglement may be really, really fast rather than instantaneous, and could be measured at an attosecond scale. Paleontologists discovered a fossilized mammal in Colorado that may have lived alongside din.....»»
Newly developed methodology breaks molecular symmetry to back one theory about life"s origin
The vast majority of organic molecules (based on a carbon structure) are not flat, but have a three-dimensional geometry. Various results can be obtained depending on the way the atoms are arranged inside each molecule. In some cases, a molecule and.....»»