Uncategorized
- Physics
Tiny tungsten beams lord over light
By filtering radiated heat, a novel microstructure of crisscrossed tungsten beams promises to improve the efficiency of light bulbs and of heat-to-electricity conversion devices.
- Health & Medicine
Freeing up the mouse genome
Scientists have assembled the DNA sequences from a strain of the common lab mouse and made the draft genome available for free over the Internet.
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Would-be brain boosters need data lift
Research has yet to confirm that the herb Ginkgo biloba and other nonprescription nutrients enhance memory and intellect.
- Astronomy
More evidence for a revved-up universe
By studying the clustering pattern of galaxies, astronomers have obtained additional evidence that cosmic expansion is accelerating.
- Tech
Bugs on Mars
Undaunted by the hurdles on flight posed by thin air and a lack of oxygen, aerospace engineers are devising extraordinary flying machines resembling giant insects and windmills to make the exploration of Mars more rapid and effective.
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19062
In this article, it struck me that the helicopter lander’s blades might be helped considerably by their undersides’ being dimpled like a golf ball. Those dimples supply significant lift during a ball’s flight. The helicopter wings would seem to benefit in the same way. I suspect that the dimples near the outer radius might be […]
- Anthropology
Searching for the Tree of Babel
Researchers are using new methods of comparing languages to reveal information about the ancestry of different cultural groups and answer questions about human history.
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19006
Linguistic cladistics? Based on vocabulary? Linguistic froth, such as loan words from other languages, frequently becomes a source of heated debate. The deep structures of language that can provide a relatively stable field for analysis are more subtle. These include verb-substantive-object order, verbs of giving or receiving, noun declensions, and the like. But even these […]
- Animals
Gator Feelings: Tough faces, more sensitive than ours
Alligator and crocodile faces carry pressure receptors so responsive that they can detect ripples on the water's surface from a single falling drop.
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Anthrax genomes compared for terrorism clues
Investigators seeking clues to last fall's anthrax attack have analyzed the genome of the anthrax bacterium.
- Planetary Science
Hard bodies pair off
About one out of every eight asteroids traveling near Earth has a rocky companion.
- Archaeology
Openings to the Underworld
Archaeological finds indicate that ancient groups in Mexico and Central America, including the Maya, held beliefs about a sacred landscape that focused on natural and human-made caves as sites of important ritual activities and burials.
