Humans are diurnal—we are active in the day and sleep at night. But diurnalism is by far the exception rather the rule in mammals. About 250-230 million years ago, the mammalian ancestors, called the therapsids, became ...
Evolution
Oct 15, 2019
0
101
Known to many as muscle wire or memory metal, shape memory alloys are materials that can be bent or deformed, and then return to their original shape when heat is applied. While people are most familiar with the material ...
Materials Science
Oct 3, 2019
0
23
University of Tokyo researchers have announced a new approach for electrical cooling without the need for moving parts. By applying a bias voltage to quantum wells made of the semiconductor aluminum gallium arsenide, electrons ...
Quantum Physics
Oct 3, 2019
0
103
Emissions of greenhouse gases have a warming effect on the climate, whereas small airborne particles in the atmosphere, aerosols, act as a cooling mechanism. That is the received wisdom in any case. However, new research ...
Environment
Sep 25, 2019
0
288
A team of researchers with members from China, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. has found a way to entangle photons generated millions of miles apart. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the researchers ...
When Earth's species were rapidly diversifying nearly 500 million years ago, that evolution was driven by complex factors including global cooling, more oxygen in the atmosphere, and more nutrients in the oceans. But it took ...
Archaeology
Aug 15, 2019
3
636
This summer alone, intense heat waves have been to blame for at least 11 deaths in Japan, a record-breaking 45.9-degree Celsius temperature in France, and a heat advisory affecting 147 million people on the U.S. East Coast. ...
Environment
Aug 14, 2019
2
82
Has your steering wheel been too hot to touch this summer? A new thermoelectric material reported in the journal Science could offer relief.
Materials Science
Jul 18, 2019
0
100
State-of-the-art climate models predict that as a result of human-induced climate change, the surface of the Pacific Ocean should be warming—some parts more, some less, but all warming nonetheless. Indeed, most regions ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 25, 2019
19
3
What if the wood your house was made of could save your electricity bill? In the race to save energy, using a passive cooling method that requires no electricity and is built right into your house could save even chilly areas ...
Nanomaterials
May 24, 2019
0
485
