Spider venom reveals new secret
University of Arizona researchers led a team that has discovered that venom of spiders in the genus Loxosceles, which contains about 100 spider species including the brown recluse, produces a different...
View ArticleResearch suggests terror bird's beak was worse than its bite
Analysis of fossilized remains of the two meter tall terror bird (Gastornis) indicate that was unlikely to have been a carnivore.
View ArticleWhales feel the (sun)burn
Whales have been shown to increase the pigment in their skin in response to sunshine, just as we get a tan.
View ArticleChlorophyll harnessed for use in nanophotonic applications
Researchers from Aalto University and the University of Helsinki are developing nanostructures in which chlorophylls are bound to synthetic materials. Chlorophyll is a true gift of nature to photonics,...
View ArticleRNA molecule behind behavior changes cued by environment
Quick changes in behavior – in worms, at least – can be triggered by a unique form of the molecule RNA acting within the nucleus of a cell, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered.
View ArticleFog harvesting: How to get fresh water out of thin air
In some of this planet's driest regions, where rainfall is rare or even nonexistent, a few specialized plants and insects have devised ingenious strategies to provide themselves with the water...
View ArticleTo better protect US coasts, research suggests mixing engineering and ecology
As the peak of hurricane season menaces the Northern Hemisphere, a researcher at the University of Kansas is promoting fresh approaches to safeguarding American coastlines from storm surges, tsunamis...
View ArticleDesigner sugarcane, not switchgrass, being retooled to produce biofuels
Remember switchgrass? In his State of the Union address in 2006, President George W. Bush suggested scientists use switchgrass to produce an ecologically friendly fuel. Cellulosic ethanol, he called...
View ArticleRethinking surface tension
(Phys.org) —If you've ever watched a drop of water form into a bead or a water strider scoot across a pond, you are familiar with a property of liquids called surface tension.
View ArticleFlavonoids: Little changes—large effects
(Phys.org) —Scientists at the University of York have discovered that very small chemical changes to dietary flavonoids cause very large effects when the plant natural products are tested for their...
View ArticleFor better li-ion batteries, scientists watch one at work
(Phys.org) —Using x-rays at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), a group of researchers has studied, in great detail, the nanoscale workings of a lithium-ion battery, learning new information...
View ArticleCosmic ray finding: Researchers take a step closer to finding cosmic ray origins
(Phys.org) —The origin of cosmic rays in the universe has confounded scientists for decades. But a study by researchers using data from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole reveals new...
View ArticleSmart sock for baby monitoring in funding campaign
(Phys.org) —Owlet Baby Monitors, a Salt Lake City business, is self-raising funds for its product, Owlet Vitals Monitor, a "smart" sock on the baby that can monitor vital signs and can send the...
View ArticleNovel statistical approach for understanding microbial community ecology
To enhance the study of subsurface microbial communities underlying the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a novel analytical...
View ArticleBetter oxygen extraction attracts commercial interest
Developing highly efficient ion transport membranes for the extraction of oxygen for industrial and medical use has earned a team of Curtin University scientists first prize in the university's...
View ArticleFifth endemic NZ songbird family identified
New Zealand's unique biodiversity has been strengthened with the identification of a new endemic songbird family—the family Mohouidae—which includes the endangered Yellowhead, the Whitehead and the...
View ArticlePhysics team suggests possible way to make quantum cryptography available in...
(Phys.org) —A team of physicists at Bristol University in the U.K. has proposed a possible way to allow for quantum cryptography between a large station and a small hand held device. They describe such...
View ArticleThe more the merrier: Promiscuity in mice is a matter of free choice
(Phys.org) —In many species, females frequently mate with more than one male. Researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna) aimed to find out why. In experiments on...
View ArticleSea-level rise drives shoreline retreat in Hawaii
Sea-level rise (SLR) has been isolated as a principal cause of coastal erosion in Hawaii. Differing rates of relative sea-level rise on the islands of Oahu and Maui, Hawaii remain as the best...
View ArticleChemistry team creates spontaneously forming supramolecular nanotube yarn
(Phys.org) —A team of chemists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing has created an alternative to carbon nanotubes. In their paper published in the journal Advanced Materials, the...
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