03/09/2009

XMM-Newton uncovers a celestial Rosetta stone

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's XMM-Newton orbiting X-ray telescope has uncovered a celestial Rosetta stone: the first close-up of a white dwarf star, circling a companion star, that could explode into a particular kind of supernova ...

Indoor plants found to release volatile organic compounds

Potted plants add a certain aesthetic value to homes and offices, bringing a touch of nature to indoor spaces. It has also been shown that many common house plants have the ability to remove volatile organic compounds—gases ...

Arctic at warmest levels in 2,000 years or more

Arctic temperatures in the 1990s reached their warmest level of any decade in at least 2,000 years, new research indicates. The study, which incorporates geologic records and computer simulations, provides new evidence that ...

Atoms don't dance the 'Bose Nova'

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hanns-Christoph Naegerl's research group at the Institute for Experimental Physics, Austria, has investigated how ultracold quantum gases behave in lower spatial dimensions. They successfully realized an ...

Metaklett, a steely hook and loop fastener (w/ Video)

Hook and loop fasteners have become commonplace features of both industry and households. However, they have one snag: they are too weak for many applications. Hook and loop fasteners made of spring steel have now been developed ...

Technology strikes a chord with algal biofuels

An award-winning Los Alamos National Laboratory sound-wave technology is helping Solix Biofuels, Inc. optimize production of algae-based fuel in a cost-effective, scalable, and environmentally benign fashion—paving the ...

Gene called flower missing link in vesicle uptake in neurons

As part of the intricate ballet of synaptic transmission from one neuron to the next, tiny vesicles - bubbles containing the chemical neurotransmitters that make information exchange possible -- travel to the tip of neurons ...

Mice can eat 'junk' and not get fat

A study in the September 4th issue of the journal Cell identifies a gene that springs into action in response to a high fat diet. Mice that lack the gene become essentially immune to growing obese, regardless of their eating ...

How to advance scientific literacy

Society needs science, and scientists need an informed, thoughtful, and open-minded citizenry. Thus, the obvious dependence of American society on science is strikingly inconsistent with the low level of scientific literacy ...

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