News
- Astronomy
Farthest Bang: A burst that goes the distance
The most-distant gamma-ray burst ever found hails from 900 million years after the birth of the universe, around the time when stars and galaxies first flooded the universe with light.
- Chemistry
How hot was it?
Scientists have created heat-sensing polymers that indicate exposure to high temperatures by changing color under ultraviolet light.
- Chemistry
Novel reaction produces hydrogen
Chemists have found a new way to produce hydrogen using only water, an organic liquid, and a metal catalyst.
- Chemistry
Cactus goo purifies water
Scientists are working on an environmentally benign water-filtering process that uses the nopal cactus.
- Archaeology
French site sparks Neandertal debate
Radiocarbon analyses of material from a French cave indicate that Neandertal and modern human occupations of the site overlapped around 36,000 years ago, possibly explaining why Neandertals began to employ some new toolmaking techniques around that time.
- Health & Medicine
Lead in spice mixes caused poisonings
Contaminated spices, purchased from poorly regulated sources, can explain some cases of lead poisoning that involve several members of a family.
- Earth
The river’s rising: A depressing effect
When the Amazon River swells in flood each rainy season, the immense weight of the water causes Earth's surface in the region to sink dozens of centimeters.
- Physics
Champion of strength is forged in mighty anvil
A new form of carbon created in an anvil and composed of microscopic needles of diamond has emerged as the strongest known material.
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- Animals
Perfect Match: Tied contest gives fish no hormone rush
A male fish produces a burst of hormones as he fights off an intruder, but this surge isn't triggered simply by fighting.
- Tech
Electronics Gets Y’s: Nanotubes branch out as novel transistors
Y-shaped nanotubes might become a common component in ultrasmall electronic circuitry.
- Materials Science
Sun and Sand: Dirty silicon could supply solar power
Scientists have proposed a way to control the distribution of contaminants in silicon, potentially opening up the use of cheaper starting materials for making solar cells.
