http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) —What happened the last time a vegetated Earth shifted from an extremely cold climate to desert-like conditions? And what does it tell us about climate change today? http://phys.org/news288249987.html Space & Earth Mon, 20 May 2013 06:26:43 EST news288249987 (Phys.org) —How powerful was February's meteor that crashed into Russia? Strong enough that its explosive entry into our atmosphere was detected almost 6,000 miles away in Lilburn, Ga., by infrasound sensors – a full 10 hours after the meteor's explosion. A Georgia Tech researcher has modified the signals and made them audible, allowing audiences to "hear" what the meteor's waves sounded like as they moved around the globe on February 15. http://phys.org/news286815543.html Space & Earth Fri, 03 May 2013 15:59:15 EST news286815543 (Phys.org) —When NASA's twin GRAIL spacecraft made their final descent for impact onto the Moon's surface last December, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's sophisticated payload was in position to observe the effects. As plumes of gas rose from the impacts, the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) aboard LRO detected the presence of mercury and hydrogen and measured their time evolution as the gas rapidly expanded into the vacuum of space at near-escape velocities. http://phys.org/news283516156.html Space & Earth Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:29:59 EST news283516156 Across most of Earth, a tourist attraction that sees 35,000 visitors a year can safely be labeled sleepy. But when it's Antarctica, every footstep matters. http://phys.org/news282630967.html Space & Earth Sat, 16 Mar 2013 05:36:18 EST news282630967 (Phys.org) —It may look like something from "The Lord of the Rings," but this fiery swirl is actually a planetary nebula known as ESO 456-67. Set against a backdrop of bright stars, the rust-colored object lies in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), in the southern sky. http://phys.org/news281598778.html Space & Earth Mon, 04 Mar 2013 05:53:10 EST news281598778 (Phys.org)—A small, translucent sea slug called Clione antarctica swims through the cold waters near the polar regions by flapping its wings. At the same time, tiny cilia that circle the sea slug's body in three bands may flap passively and assist in movement. In this mode, the cilia are inert – unable to move themselves – and scientists don't fully understand what role they play in the sea slug's locomotion. Now in a new study, scientists have found a clue to how passive flapping elements generate movement: through a process commonly found in many areas of science called symmetry breaking. http://phys.org/news270115690.html Physics Mon, 22 Oct 2012 10:10:02 EST news270115690 It's a freezing cold day inside the National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) in Denver, Colo., as it is every day of the year. That's because the NICL is a facility for storing and studying ice cores recovered from the polar regions of the world. It's minus 23.3 degrees Celsius (minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit) inside, so everyone is bundled up in ski parkas, insulated gloves and boots. And, saws are buzzing, as scientists from all over the U.S. are measuring and cutting pieces of precious Antarctic glacier ice to take back to their labs for research. http://phys.org/news268384725.html Space & Earth Tue, 02 Oct 2012 08:18:55 EST news268384725 (Phys.org)—Preliminary data from the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory, presented at the European Planetary Science Conference on 28 September, indicate that the Gale Crater landing site might be drier than expected. http://phys.org/news268048902.html Space & Earth Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:01:55 EST news268048902 Yes, Mars gets eclipses too! This brief animation, made from ten raw subframe images acquired with Curiosity's Mastcam on September 13—the 37th Sol of the mission—show the silhouette of Mars' moon Phobos as it slipped in front of the Sun's limb. http://phys.org/news267177110.html Space & Earth Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:51:56 EST news267177110 The United Nations treaty to protect the ozone layer signed nearly 25 years ago prevented an environmental disaster, a chief UN scientist said Friday, cautioning though that the Earth's radiation shield is still under threat. http://phys.org/news266846640.html Space & Earth Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:04:07 EST news266846640 The Little Ice Age allowed a new wave of arctic foxes to colonise Iceland, according to new research. http://phys.org/news266598735.html Biology Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:00:10 EST news266598735 First analyses of the longest sediment core ever collected on land in the terrestrial Arctic, published this week in Science, provide documentation that intense warm intervals, warmer than scientists thought possible, occurred there over the past 2.8 million years. http://phys.org/news259505913.html Space & Earth Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:10:01 EST news259505913 The densest waters of Antarctica have reduced dramatically over recent decades, in part due to man-made impacts on the climate, Australian scientists said Friday. http://phys.org/news255344726.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 May 2012 11:40:01 EST news255344726 Polar ecosystems could be at risk from the spread of toxic cyanobacteria if the climate continues to warm, say scientists. http://phys.org/news249897166.html Space & Earth Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:52:56 EST news249897166 Most research initiatives aim to discover more knowledge. The International Polar Year (IPY) went even further; it created more discoverers. http://phys.org/news248861616.html Space & Earth Sun, 19 Feb 2012 08:13:45 EST news248861616 Americans' knowledge of facts about the polar regions of the globe has increased since 2006, but this increase in knowledge has not translated into more concern about changing polar environments, according to new research from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire. http://phys.org/news247834836.html Space & Earth Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:00:45 EST news247834836 (PhysOrg.com) -- The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on board Mars Express has recently completed a subsurface sounding campaign over the planet's North Pole. The campaign was interrupted by the suspension of science observations several times between August and October due to safe modes and to anomalies in the operation of the spacecraft's Solid-State Mass Memory (SSMM) system. As MARSIS best observes in the dark, which for the North Pole only occurs every few years, it was among the first instruments to resume observations once a partial work-around for the problems had been implemented. http://phys.org/news243592051.html Space & Earth Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:40:02 EST news243592051 (PhysOrg.com) -- From time to time, sudden releases of energy in Earth's magnetosphere lead to major disturbances that result in bright auroral displays over the planet's polar regions. These auroras are caused by a phenomenon known as a geomagnetic substorm. The precise cause of these substorms has been debated for decades, but new computer simulations, allied to analysis of data from ESA's Cluster spacecraft, are now filling in many of the missing pieces in the puzzle. http://phys.org/news234534018.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:20:46 EST news234534018 (PhysOrg.com) -- Ice and frozen ground at the North and South Poles are affected by climate change induced warming, but the consequences of thawing at each pole differ due to the geography and geology, according to a Penn State hydrologist. http://phys.org/news232299550.html Space & Earth Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:39:37 EST news232299550 An unusual solar flare observed by a NASA space observatory (video) on Tuesday could cause some disruptions to satellite communications and power on Earth over the next day or so, officials said. http://phys.org/news226680413.html Space & Earth Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:47:15 EST news226680413 Scientists from Queen's and Carleton universities head a national multidisciplinary research team that has uncovered startling new evidence of the destructive impact of global climate change on North America's largest Arctic delta. http://phys.org/news224770273.html Space & Earth Mon, 16 May 2011 15:00:01 EST news224770273 An international research team is in the land of snow and ice, in search of soot. http://phys.org/news222529892.html Space & Earth Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:51:50 EST news222529892 A set of maps created by the University of Sheffield have illustrated, for the first time, how our last British ice sheet shrunk during the Ice Age. http://phys.org/news216643695.html Space & Earth Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:48:27 EST news216643695 Measurements show that the sea's salt has profound effects on the chemistry of the air above its surface. http://phys.org/news210252443.html Space & Earth Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:27:35 EST news210252443 Following yesterday's launch dress rehearsal and the debriefing today, the Russian State Commission has given the go-ahead to launch ESA's ice mission tomorrow at 15:57 CEST. http://phys.org/news189865038.html Space & Earth Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:17:43 EST news189865038