Planetary Sciences

Curiosity rover provides new insights into how Mars became uninhabitable

NASA's Curiosity rover, currently exploring Gale crater on Mars, is providing new details about how the ancient Martian climate went from potentially suitable for life—with evidence for widespread liquid water on the surface—to ...

Astronomy

New study eases concerns over possible 'doomsday' asteroid swarm

Astronomers have good news about potentially hazardous asteroids lurking near our planet: There aren't as many as we thought.

US industrial policy may strengthen EV battery supply chain

Vehicle electrification is an important pathway to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The supply chain for electric vehicle battery materials relies heavily on China, a dependency that can leave the US vulnerable to ...

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Medical Xpress

Tech Xplore

What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained

The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded on Monday to two US scientists for discovering microRNA, a previously unknown type of genetic switch which is hoped can pave the way for new medical breakthroughs.

Hera spacecraft launched to examine asteroid collision site

A spacecraft blasted off Monday to investigate the scene of a cosmic crash. The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft rocketed away on a two-year journey to the small, harmless asteroid rammed by NASA two years ago in a ...

Optical method may overestimate neuronal signaling, study finds

Measuring a thought has always been difficult. Neuroscientists have some clever ways, but now University of Connecticut researchers describe in Scientific Reports the flashiest method may be less precise than previously assumed.

How a common economic theory could help save endangered frogs

A common theory that guides financial investment strategies may be a handy tool to protect an endangered Puerto Rican frog. A new study uses modern portfolio theory to identify future "investments" in natural resource management ...

Genomic study reveals fungal domestication by leafcutter ants

While our human ancestors began domesticating food crops around 10,000 years ago, a lineage of ants called the "attines" became fungus farmers 60 million years earlier. The attine ants and their fungal crop mutually depend ...

Singapore families show high resilience during pandemic

A recent study by the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) analyzing the resilience of Singaporean families during the COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered significant findings that highlight ...

Researchers say life expectancy nearing its limit

Humanity is hitting the upper limit of life expectancy, according to a new study. Advances in medical technology and genetic research—not to mention larger numbers of people making it to age 100—are not not translating ...

For UN Agenda: Data gaps detected in 193 countries

To make informed decisions, governments and international organizations need data. The United Nations has been analyzing the global availability of such data together with ETH Zurich. This has brought to light some surprising ...

The extraordinary life of Alfred Nobel

The Nobel prizes may be one of the most famous and prestigious awards in the world—but who was the man behind them? As I explain in my lectures about Alfred Nobel, the inventor and entrepreneur has left a lasting legacy ...

Researchers probe memory of the Venus flytrap

The carnivorous plant Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) captures and digests small animals and absorbs nutrients with its characteristic insectivorous leaves. Six sensory hairs on the inner surface of each leaf sense a visiting ...

Deep learning gives drug design a boost

When you take a medication, you want to know precisely what it does. Pharmaceutical companies go through extensive testing to ensure that you do.

Spinach: Chemistry experiments show potential to power fuel cells

"Eat your spinach," is a common refrain from many people's childhoods. Spinach, the hearty, green vegetable chock full of nutrients, doesn't just provide energy in humans. It also has potential to help power fuel cells, according ...

Gemini South's high-def version of 'A Star is Born'

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is still more than a year from launching, but the Gemini South telescope in Chile has provided astronomers a glimpse of what the orbiting observatory should deliver.

Body energy as a power source

Smartphones, MP3 players, sports electronics devices such as pulse meters or trackers, medical equipment such as tonometers, pacemakers of the heart, or insulin pumps: An increasing number of electronic companions make daily ...

A deeper understanding of a surface phenomenon

Phenomena involving surface tension are extremely complex and have applications in our everyday lives, and OIST researchers are tackling the complicated mathematics behind the physics.

Fires and snow in the Pacific Northwest

The Suomi NPP satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument captured a look at multiple fires and smoke burning in the Pacific Northwest on September 28, 2017.  Accompanying the fires are patches ...

How bacteria produce manganese oxide nanoparticles

Bacteria that produce manganese (Mn) oxides are extraordinarily skilled engineers of nanomaterials that contribute significantly to global biogeochemical cycles. However, mineralization mediated by these organisms is poorly ...

Could it be that religion is more like sex than school?

A lot of arguments about religion treat it like going to school: a religion is a set of lessons to be learned, tests to pass and rules to follow, all watched over by the great headmaster in the sky. That assumption shapes ...

Higher processor performance with microchannel cooler

One of the limiting factors for the computing power of processors is the operating temperature. As part of the CarriCool project under the aegis of IBM, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a new, effective cooling method: ...

Detecting impurities on 3-D components

Impurities adhering to the surface of components can cause problems in later stages of the production process – or even make the entire component useless. A new fluorescence scanner developed by the Fraunhofer Institute ...

Mitzi and the giant hairball

Mitzi is a longtime survivor of lymphoma. It's been five years since her last chemotherapy treatment, but she has been vomiting and her owners are afraid the cancer is back. Her stomach feels very weird – kind of doughy, ...