Scientists have discovered that insects contain atomic clues as to the habitats in which they are most able to survive. The research has important implications for predicting the effects of climate change on the insects, which make up three-quar…
MADISON — Recalculating the global use of phosphorous, a fertilizer linchpin of modern agriculture, a team of researchers warns that the world’s stocks may soon be in short supply and that overuse in the industrialized world has become a leading …
Scientists aboard the Royal Research Ship James Cook have discovered a new set of deep-sea volcanic vents in the chilly waters of the Southern Ocean. The discovery is the fourth made by the research team in three years, which suggests that de…
CHESTNUT HILL, MA (2/9/2011) — Coating a lattice of tiny wires called Nanonets with iron oxide — known more commonly as rust — creates an economical and efficient platform for the process of water splitting, an emerging clean fuel scienc…
Microsponges derived from seaweed may help diagnose heart disease, cancers, HIV and other diseases quickly and at far lower cost than current clinical methods. The microsponges are an essential component of Rice University’s Programmable Bio-Nano-Ch…
Analysis of a comprehensive database has revealed strong links between biological productivity in the surface oceans and patterns of biomass and abundance at the seafloor, helping to explain large regional differences. The research was conducted…
Researchers from Northwestern University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have studied individual water droplets and discovered a miniature version of the “water hammer,” an effect that produces the familiar radiator pipe clanging…
Scientists have discovered that the animal with the most genes–about 31,000–is the near-microscopic freshwater crustacean Daphnia pulex, or water flea.
By comparison, humans have about 23,000 genes. Daphnia is the first crustacean to have it…
Nematodes, microscopic worms, are making engineers look twice at their ability to exhibit the “Cheerios effect” when they move in a collective motion.
These parasites will actually stick together like Cheerios swimming in milk in a cereal bowl…
Cambridge, Mass. — February 7, 2011 — A team of applied physicists at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), Princeton, and Brandeis have demonstrated the formation of semipermeable vesicles from inorganic clay.
The res…
Pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, shampoo, toothpaste, pesticides, chemical run-off from highways and many other pollutants infiltrate the giant aquifer under Mexico’s “Riviera Maya,” research shows.
The wastes contaminate a vast labyrinth of …
New discoveries on how underwater ridges impact the ocean’s circulation system will help improve climate projections.
An underwater ridge can trap the flow of cold, dense water at the bottom of the ocean. Without the ridge, deepwater can flow free…
Rare fragments of Martian meteorites have been investigated at the University of Leicester revealing one of the ways water flowed near the surface of Mars.
Scientists at the University’s renowned Space Research Centre, in the Department of P…
Windshields that shed water so effectively that they don’t need wipers. Ship hulls so slippery that they glide through the water more efficiently than ordinary hulls.
These are some of the potential applications for graphene, one of the hottest n…
Many different aspects are involved in predicting high water and floods, such as the type of precipitation, wind, buildings and vegetation. The greater the number of variables included in predictive models, the better the prediction will be. However…
Phosphate-free automatic dishwashing detergents — introduced to combat the phosphate-fed algae blooms that foul the nation’s lakes and rivers — may be making the fish happy. But they’re putting a frown on the faces of some consumers who say th…
If someone told you there was a way you could save 2.5 million to 3 million lives a year and simultaneously halt global warming, reduce air and water pollution and develop secure, reliable energy sources — nearly all with existing technology a…
The temperature of water situated in the subtropical Atlantic experienced a drop of 0.15ºC between 1998 and 2006. This has been revealed by a study led by the IEO (Spanish Oceanography Institute) which suggests that circulation caused by wind c…
