http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org provides the latest news from Carnegie Institution for Science Mammalian females ovulate periodically over their reproductive lifetimes, placing significant demands on their ovaries for egg production. Whether mammals generate new eggs in adulthood using stem cells has been a source of scientific controversy. If true, these "germ-line stem cells" might allow novel treatments for infertility and other diseases. However, new research from Carnegie's Lei Lei and Allan Spradling demonstrates that adult mice do not use stem cells to produce new eggs. Their work is published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of April 29. http://phys.org/news286453854.html Biology Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:00:12 EST news286453854 Forecasting volcanic eruptions with success is heavily dependent on recognizing well-established patterns of pre-eruption unrest in the monitoring data. But in order to develop better monitoring procedures, it is also crucial to understand volcanic eruptions that deviate from these patterns. http://phys.org/news286462032.html Space & Earth Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:47:25 EST news286462032 Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth's crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research from a team including Carnegie's Erik Hauri demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago. Their work is published in Nature. http://phys.org/news286022915.html Space & Earth Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:00:07 EST news286022915 Eggs take a long time to produce in the ovary, and thus are one of a body's precious resources. It has been theorized that the body has mechanisms to help the ovary ensure that ovulated eggs enter the reproductive tract at the right time in order to maximize the chance of successful fertilization. http://phys.org/news285417133.html Biology Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:32:20 EST news285417133 A team of researchers has made a major breakthrough in measuring the structure of nanomaterials under extremely high pressures. For the first time, they developed a way to get around the severe distortions of high-energy X-ray beams that are used to image the structure of a gold nanocrystal. The technique, described in April 9, 2013, issue of Nature Communications, could lead to advancements of new nanomaterials created under high pressures and a greater understanding of what is happening in planetary interiors. http://phys.org/news284725561.html Nanotechnology Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:26:11 EST news284725561 Carnegie scientists have found that the plant species making up an ecosystem are better predictors of ecosystem chemistry than environmental conditions such as terrain, geology, or altitude. This is the first study using a new, high-resolution airborne, chemical-detecting instrument to map multiple ecosystem chemicals. The result, published in the April 8, 2013, Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is a key step toward understanding how species composition affects carbon, nitrogen and other nutrient cycling, and the effects of climate change, land use, and other ecosystem pressures. http://phys.org/news284644469.html Biology Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:00:16 EST news284644469 (Phys.org) —Supernovae were always thought to occur in two main varieties. But a team of astronomers including Carnegie's Wendy Freedman, Mark Phillips and Eric Persson is reporting the discovery of a new type of supernova called Type Iax. http://phys.org/news283520268.html Space & Earth Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:38:42 EST news283520268 It has long been believed that male lions are dependent on females when it comes to hunting. But new evidence suggests that male lions are, in fact, very successful hunters in their own right. A new report from a team including Carnegie's Scott Loarie and Greg Asner shows that male lions use dense savanna vegetation for ambush-style hunting in Africa. Their work is published in Animal Behavior. http://phys.org/news282821036.html Biology Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:24:03 EST news282821036 (Phys.org) —For only the second time in history, a team of scientists—including Carnegie's Michele Fumagalli—have discovered an extremely rare triple quasar system. Their work is published by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. http://phys.org/news282290369.html Space & Earth Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:59:45 EST news282290369 A team of astronomers including Carnegie's Ian Thompson have managed to improve the measurement of the distance to our nearest neighbor galaxy and, in the process, refine an astronomical calculation that helps measure the expansion of the universe. Their work is published March 7 by Nature. http://phys.org/news281795884.html Space & Earth Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:00:01 EST news281795884 New theoretical modeling by Carnegie's Alan Boss provides clues to how the gas giant planets in our solar system—Jupiter and Saturn—might have formed and evolved. His work was published recently by the Astrophysical Journal. http://phys.org/news281724632.html Space & Earth Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:51:02 EST news281724632 Mineral evolution is a new way to look at our planet's history. It's the study of the increasing diversity and characteristics of Earth's near-surface minerals, from the dozen that arrived on interstellar dust particles when the Solar System was formed to the more than 4,700 types existing today. New research on a mineral called molybdenite by a team led by Robert Hazen at Carnegie's Geophysical Laboratory provides important new insights about the changing chemistry of our planet as a result of geological and biological processes. http://phys.org/news281286538.html Space & Earth Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:09:32 EST news281286538 Solar geoengineering is a proposed approach to reduce the effects of climate change due to greenhouse gasses by deflecting some of the sun's incoming radiation. This type of proposed solution carries with it a number of uncertainties, however, including geopolitical questions about who would be in charge of the activity and its goals. http://phys.org/news280680985.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:56:31 EST news280680985 A team of scientists, led by researchers at Carnegie's Department of Global Ecology, has determined that the recent widespread die-off of Colorado trembling aspen trees is a direct result of decreased precipitation exacerbated by high summer temperatures. The die-off, triggered by the drought from 2000-2003, is estimated to have affected up to 17% of Colorado aspen forests. In 2002, the drought subjected the trees to the most extreme growing season water stress of the past century. http://phys.org/news279809920.html Space & Earth Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:58:47 EST news279809920 Until now it has not been clear how salt, a scourge to agriculture, halts the growth of the plant-root system. A team of researchers, led by the Carnegie Institution's José Dinneny and Lina Duan, found that not all types of roots are equally inhibited. They discovered that an inner layer of tissue in the branching roots that anchor the plant is sensitive to salt and activates a stress hormone, which stops root growth. The study, published in the current issue of The Plant Cell, is a boon for understanding the stress response and for developing salt-resistant crops. http://phys.org/news278171290.html Biology Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:48:18 EST news278171290