Uncategorized
- Astronomy
X-ray craft sees Venus in whole new light
Astronomers have unveiled the first X-ray image of Venus.
- Anthropology
Human evolution put brakes on tooth growth
A new analysis of fossil teeth indicates that the slower pace of dental development observed in people today dates back only about 100,000 years.
- Animals
New lizard ties for ‘world’s smallest’
A newly discovered lizard small enough to curl up on a dime ties for the title of the smallest of its kind in the world.
- Health & Medicine
Low Radiation Hurts Bystander Cells
New research confirms that alpha particles from decaying radon atoms can damage neighboring cells they don't directly hit and suggests a mechanism for this so-called bystander effect.
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18979
The work in this article does show nonlinearity of cell damage from alpha radiation in the dose range studied, but the lowest dose studied (5 percent of all cell nuclei hit) is probably several orders of magnitude above the mean lethal dose for any organism. The researchers need to look at linearity through the dose […]
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Beer-flavoring compounds guide insects
The class of compounds that give beer its bitterness does two more sober jobs in Hypericum flowers.
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Africanized bees rescue loner trees
Africanized bees pollinate some of the big Brazilian forest trees now stranded in the middle of cleared land away from their native pollinators.
- Physics
Shortest transistor makes its debut
A novel type of single-molecule transistor built around a one-molecule-thick layer of organic molecules may eventually lead to faster, denser chips because the channel through which electrons flow is so short.
- Physics
Neutrino shortage may signal new force
The dearth of neutrinos from a precision experiment casts some doubt on the prevailing model of particle physics and may indicate that a previously unrecognized extra force exists.
- Tech
Gadgets from the Quantum Spookhouse
Despite much fanfare about proposed computers based on weird features of quantum mechanics, a whole array of other quantum technologies—navigation devices, chip-making equipment, atomic clocks and more—may also outshine their conventional cousins and be easier to implement than full-blown quantum computers.
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19044
The discussion of photon entanglement in this article invokes the debatable premise that physical facts are not real unless they are observed. The article’s own glove metaphor provides a perfect counterexample. Suppose I receive a package of gloves (entangled particles) from a glove factory (particle generator), each glove wrapped individually. I keep one and send […]
- Health & Medicine
Thinking the way to stronger muscles
Thinking about exercising a muscle can make it stronger.
