New membrane can separate even highly mixed fine oil-spill residues

Whenever there is a major spill of oil into water, the two tend to mix into a suspension of tiny droplets, called an emulsion, that is extremely hard to separate—and that can cause severe damage to ecosystems. But MIT researchers ...

Trapping butterfly wings' qualities

Butterflies have inspired humans since the time of ancient Egypt, but now they're also inspiring researchers to look toward nature to help create the next generation of waterproof materials for electronics and sensors.

Refining atmospheric climate models

(PhysOrg.com) -- A long, frustrating search for the source of "extra" aerosols seen in field experiments but not in models might have come to an end when scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Imre Consulting ...

Ice heating up cold clouds

In the Arctic, competition within clouds is hot. The small amount of heat released when water vapor condenses on ice crystals in Arctic clouds, which contain both water and ice, determines the cloud's survival, according ...

Cicadas get a jump on cleaning (w/ Video)

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 ...

Pollution teams with thunderclouds to warm atmosphere

Pollution is warming the atmosphere through summer thunderstorm clouds, according to a computational study published May 10 in Geophysical Research Letters. How much the warming effect of these clouds offsets the cooling ...

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