First instance of ball lightning captured on video and spectrographs
(Phys.org) —Researchers in China have captured, for the first time, an instance of ball lightning, on digital video along with spectrographs. The accidental capture, detailed by the team in a paper...
View ArticleNew world record set for longest duration echo in a man-made structure
(Phys.org) —The record for the longest duration echo in a man-made structure has been decimated by a single shot from a blank loaded pistol—an amazing 112 seconds. It happened inside an oil storage...
View ArticleEnergy storage in miniaturized capacitors may boost green energy technology
"Supercapacitors" take the energy-storing abilities of capacitors (which store electrical charge that can be quickly dumped to power devices) a step further, storing a far greater charge in a much...
View ArticleClever chemistry improves a new class of antibiotics
(Phys.org) —A new class of molecules called acyldepsipeptides—ADEPs—may provide a new way to attack bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics. Researchers at Brown and MIT have discovered...
View ArticleSmooth sailing: Rough surfaces that can reduce drag
From the sleek hulls of racing yachts to Michael Phelps' shaved legs, most objects that move through the water quickly are also smooth. But researchers from UCLA have found that bumpiness can sometimes...
View ArticleCommentary: Say goodbye to the Internet we've known
If you like how cable television works, you're going to love how a court decision this week could change the Internet.
View ArticleAcoustic lens generates tunable 'sound bullets' for ultrasound applications
(Phys.org) —Scientists have developed an acoustic lens that produces pressure pulses that are so intense they're called "sound bullets." Although they are too high-pitched to be audible to the human...
View ArticleResearchers may have found King Alfred's pelvis
Researchers said Friday they may have discovered remains of King Alfred the Great, the 9th-century royal remembered for protecting England from the Vikings and educating a largely illiterate nation.
View ArticleYour home could soon be like the Jetsons'
For decades, futurists have been predicting the era of the "smart" home, where you don't need to be home to lock your doors, dim your lights or adjust your thermostats. But except for the homes of the...
View ArticleCyberattack traced to hacked refrigerator, researchers report
Call it the attack of the zombie refrigerators. Computer security researchers said this week they discovered a large "botnet" which infected Internet-connected home appliances and then delivered more...
View ArticleTiny swimming bio-bots boldly go where no bot has swum before (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) —The alien world of aquatic micro-organisms just got new residents: synthetic self-propelled swimming bio-bots.
View ArticleSeeThru AR eyewear device sets sights on consumer market
(Phys.org) —By air, by sea, by workout trails, augmented reality headsets have just got more interesting with Laster Technologies' SeeThru eyewear. Laster recently launched its SeeThru campaign on...
View ArticleFlying car spreads its wings in Slovakia
Mankind's primordial dream of flight is taking off with a new twist as a Slovak prototype of a flying car spreads its wings.
View ArticleEncrypted Blackphone goes to war with snoopers
It's a fully encrypted smartphone that aims to foil snooping governments, industry rivals and hackers.
View ArticleGermany eyes swift cuts in renewable energy subsidies
Germany's new energy minister has outlined cuts in subsidies to producers of renewable energy as the country wrestles with soaring costs from its nuclear power exit, according to a document obtained by...
View ArticleThe water cycle amplifies abrupt climate change
During the abrupt cooling at the onset of the so-called Younger Dryas period 12680 years ago changes in the water cycle were the main drivers of widespread environmental change in western Europe. Thus,...
View ArticleDistant quasar illuminates a filament of the cosmic web
Astronomers have discovered a distant quasar illuminating a vast nebula of diffuse gas, revealing for the first time part of the network of filaments thought to connect galaxies in a cosmic web....
View ArticleScientists investigate the fiber of our being
We are all aware of the health benefits of "dietary fibre". But what is dietary fiber and how do we metabolise it?
View ArticleHow to tap the sun's energy through heat as well as light
A new approach to harvesting solar energy, developed by MIT researchers, could improve efficiency by using sunlight to heat a high-temperature material whose infrared radiation would then be collected...
View ArticleHookworm genome sequenced
Going barefoot in parts of Africa, Asia and South America contributes to hookworm infections, which afflict an estimated 700 million of the world's poor. The parasitic worm lives in the soil and enters...
View Article