New framework from boron and silicon could smooth the way to higher...
Laptops could work longer and electric cars could drive farther if it were possible to further increase the capacity of their lithium-ion batteries. The electrode material has a decisive influence on a...
View ArticleHuman Argonaute proteins: To slice or not to slice?
What makes one Argonaute a slicer and another one not? Human Argonaute proteins are key players in the gene regulation process known as RNA interference, RNAi. Professor Joshua-Tor's group of Cold...
View ArticleUnusual antibodies in cows suggest new ways to make therapies for people
Humans have been raising cows for their meat, hides and milk for millennia. Now it appears that the cow immune system also has something to offer. A new study led by scientists from The Scripps...
View ArticlePollution in Northern Hemisphere helped cause 1980s African drought
Decades of drought in central Africa reached their worst point in the 1980s, causing Lake Chad, a shallow lake used to water crops in neighboring countries, to almost dry out completely.
View ArticleAstronomers gear up to discover Earth-like planets
If one looks only for the shiniest pennies in the fountain, chances are one misses most of the coins because they shimmer less brightly. This, in a nutshell, is the conundrum astronomers face when...
View ArticleScientists confirm theory regarding the origins of the sucking disc of remoras
Remora fish, with a sucking disc on top of their heads, have been the stuff of legend. They often attach themselves to the hulls of boats and in ancient times were thought to purposely slow the boat...
View ArticleStars don't obliterate their planets (very often)
(Phys.org) —Stars have an alluring pull on planets, especially those in a class called hot Jupiters, which are gas giants that form farther from their stars before migrating inward and heating up.
View ArticleBy trying it all, predatory sea slug learns what not to eat
Researchers have found that a type of predatory sea slug that usually isn't picky when it comes to what it eats has more complex cognitive abilities than previously thought, allowing it to learn the...
View ArticleGoogle rolls its own keyboard app for Android 4.0 and up
(Phys.org) —Google Maps, Google Drive, Google This, Google That….But there is always room for one more new arrival from Google, and now it is in the form of an app called Google Keyboard. Available at...
View ArticleWhispering light hears liquids talk: Scientists build first-ever bridge...
Ever been to a whispering gallery—a quiet, circular space underneath an old cathedral dome that captures and amplifies sounds as quiet as a whisper? Researchers at the University of Illinois at...
View ArticleApple clashes with Amazon in e-book case
Apple attorneys in the US antitrust case on e-books went on the offensive, attacking the credibility of government witnesses and seeking to debunk key elements of the government's case.
View ArticleNew reports allege vast US Internet spying sweep
US spies are secretly tapping into servers of nine Internet giants including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Google in a vast anti-terror sweep targeting foreigners, explosive reports said Thursday.
View ArticlePantry pests trade immunity for sex
(Phys.org) —When presented with a bevy of beauties, male meal moths - the scourge of many a household pantry - will prefer to invest in sex over self-preservation, according to researchers.
View ArticleInnovative solar cell structure stores and supplies energy simultaneously
(Phys.org) —The potential energy available via solar power might seem limitless on a sunny summer day, but all that energy has to be stored for it to be truly useful. If you see a solar panel on a...
View ArticleThe fastest and the brightest: BODIPY–tetrazine derivatives as superbright...
American researchers have developed a probe for marking biomolecules that begins to fluoresce only when it is "switched on" by binding. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the reaction takes...
View ArticleInfrared photosynthesis: A potential power source for alien life in sunless...
Photosynthesis—the harvesting of sunlight to produce energy—is the ultimate driver of virtually all life on the surface of our planet. Most photosynthetic creatures rely on optical light, the kind we...
View ArticleAir bubbles could be the secret to artificial skin
(Phys.org) —Using foam substrates, EPFL scientists were able to make a flexible electronic circuit board. This discovery could lead to the creation of deformable and stretchable circuits.
View ArticleTissue in trouble calls in reinforcements to restore health
Northwestern University scientists are the first to discover a cellular process used by animals when a tissue is stressed and in molecular trouble from the expression of misfolded and damaged proteins:...
View Article'Long-awaited explanation' for mysterious effects in high-temperature...
A German-French research team has constructed a new model that explains how the so-called pseudogap state forms in high-temperature superconductors. The calculations predict two coexisting electron...
View ArticleLarge-scale biodiversity is vital to maintain ecosystem health
(Phys.org) —Over the years ecologists have shown how biological diversity benefits the health of small, natural communities. New analysis by ecologists at UC Santa Cruz demonstrates that even higher...
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