http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org provides the latest news from Duke University Having the biggest playlist doesn't make a male songbird the brainiest of the bunch, a new study shows. http://phys.org/news288377107.html Biology Tue, 21 May 2013 19:00:01 EST news288377107 Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications. http://phys.org/news288368169.html Chemistry Tue, 21 May 2013 15:16:16 EST news288368169 A new study by scientists at Duke University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) finds no evidence of groundwater contamination from shale gas production in Arkansas. http://phys.org/news287837004.html Space & Earth Wed, 15 May 2013 11:43:30 EST news287837004 Seven years ago, Duke University engineers demonstrated the first working invisibility cloak in complex laboratory experiments. Now it appears creating a simple cloak has become a lot simpler. http://phys.org/news287054955.html Physics Mon, 06 May 2013 10:29:24 EST news287054955 (Phys.org) —Until recently, the only primate known to hibernate as a survival strategy was a creature called the western fat-tailed dwarf lemur, a tropical tree-dweller from the African island of Madagascar. http://phys.org/news286706505.html Biology Thu, 02 May 2013 09:41:56 EST news286706505 As cicadas on the East Coast begin emerging from their 17-year slumber, a spritz of dew drops is all they need to keep their wings fresh and clean. Researchers at Duke University and James Cook University in Australia have shown that dew drops can be beneficial not only in cleaning cicada wings, but other water-repellant surfaces. On these so-called superhydrophobic surfaces, dew drops "jump" by themselves, carrying away the contaminants. http://phys.org/news286453711.html Physics Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:00:17 EST news286453711 (Phys.org) —Capturing methane gas from hog farms and piping it into existing natural gas pipelines may be a cost-effective way to meet North Carolina's Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS), according to a new Duke University study. http://phys.org/news286182127.html Technology Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:02:22 EST news286182127 (Phys.org) —Black and Hispanic homebuyers paid about 3.5 percent more for comparable homes in four metropolitan U.S. markets than white buyers did, according to a Duke University-led analysis of more than 2 million home sales from 1990-2008. http://phys.org/news285925584.html Other Sciences Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:46:32 EST news285925584 (Phys.org) —Drug developers may have a new tool to search for more effective medications and new materials. It's a computer algorithm that can model and catalogue the entire set of lightweight, carbon-containing molecules that chemists could feasibly create in a lab. http://phys.org/news285868672.html Chemistry Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:58:00 EST news285868672 When we hear the term "million dollar voice" we often think of singers with the potential to cash in on their powerful vocal chords. http://phys.org/news285490055.html Other Sciences Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:47:44 EST news285490055 For more than 40 years, snowmelt and runoff from Morocco's High Atlas Mountains has been dammed and redirected hundreds of kilometers to the south to irrigate oases farms in the arid, sub-Saharan Draa Basin. http://phys.org/news284645405.html Space & Earth Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:10:12 EST news284645405 Tougher EPA air-quality standards could spur an increased shift away from coal and toward natural gas for electricity generation, according to a new Duke University study. Complying with stricter regulations on sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide and mercury may make nearly two-thirds of the nation's coal-fired power plants as expensive to run as plants powered by natural gas. The regulations would make 65 percent of U.S. coal plants as expensive as natural gas, even if gas prices rise significantly. http://phys.org/news284381057.html Technology Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:44:29 EST news284381057 As the debate over comprehensive immigration reform unfolds in Washington, a new report reveals dramatic changes in immigrant assimilation as a result of the so-called Great Recession. The report, "Measuring Immigrant Assimilation in Post-Recession America," was authored by Sanford School of Public Policy Professor Jacob Vigdor for the Manhattan Institute. http://phys.org/news284363087.html Other Sciences Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:30:01 EST news284363087 Scientists have identified two new species of mouse lemur, the saucer-eyed, teacup-sized primates native to the African island of Madagascar. http://phys.org/news283456740.html Biology Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:07 EST news283456740 (Phys.org) —A potentially lethal fungal infection appears to gain virulence by being able to anticipate and disarm a hostile immune attack in the lungs, according to findings by researchers at Duke Medicine. http://phys.org/news282469118.html Biology Thu, 14 Mar 2013 08:38:47 EST news282469118