Science News
Sierra Leone Quarantines Half Its Population To Stem Ebola Outbreak
IBTimes - 3 Dec 2014 06:34
Sierra Leone has quarantined thousands of its citizens in an effort to slow the outbreak of Ebola, health officials announced on Tuesday. More than half of the country is already under quarantine, and the Daily Mail repo...
Study Finds Mean Boys Do More To Hurt, Manipulate Than Mean Girls
IBTimes - 3 Dec 2014 06:34
We always knew high school was a snake pit. Now research from the University of Georgia finds that although mean girls get all the press, boys are even worse.
'All-Star' Scientists Work To Re-Invent Chemical Synthesis | Video
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 02:16
The team, comprised of organic chemists from around the world, are working at the National Science Foundation funded Center for Selective C-H Functionalization (CCHF).
Laser sniffs out toxic gases from afar
Phys.org - 3 Dec 2014 23:53
Scientists have developed a way to sniff out tiny amounts of toxic gases--a whiff of nerve gas, for example, or a hint of a chemical spill--from up to one kilometer away.
Ever tried a 'laser delicious' apple?
Phys.org - 3 Dec 2014 23:52
The ability to detect when to harvest "climacteric" fruits--such as apples, bananas, pears and tomatoes--at the precise moment to ensure "peak edibleness" in terms of both taste and texture may soon be within reach for f...
Experts Cast Doubt on Meteorite Study's Claims of Martian Life
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 23:45
A debate has long raged among scientists over the possible existence of life on Mars, and a new study is adding fuel to the fire.
Low-grade waste heat regenerates ammonia battery
e! Science News - 3 Dec 2014 23:16
An efficient method to harvest low-grade waste heat as electricity may be possible using reversible ammonia batteries, according to Penn State engineers.
Researchers develop clothes that can monitor and transmit biomedical info on wearers
e! Science News - 3 Dec 2014 23:16
Researchers at Université Laval's Faculty of Science and Engineering and Centre for Optics, Photonics and Lasers have developed smart textiles able to monitor and transmit wearers' biomedical information via wireless or...
Toward a low-cost 'artificial leaf' that produces clean hydrogen fuel
e! Science News - 3 Dec 2014 23:14
For years, scientists have been pursuing "artificial leaf" technology, a green approach to making hydrogen fuel that copies plants' ability to convert sunlight into a form of energy they can use. Now, one team reports pr...
Finding the simple patterns in a complex world: ANU media release
e! Science News - 3 Dec 2014 23:12
An ANU mathematician has developed a new way to uncover simple patterns that might underlie apparently complex systems, such as clouds, cracks in materials or the movement of the stockmarket.
Computer model enables design of complex DNA shapes
e! Science News - 3 Dec 2014 23:12
MIT biological engineers have created a new computer model that allows them to design the most complex three-dimensional DNA shapes ever produced, including rings, bowls, and geometric structures such as icosahedrons tha...
Locked-on lasers burn through leaves on train lines
New Scientist - 3 Dec 2014 23:00
If they won't budge, zap 'em! Train-mounted lasers could cut through the annual annoyance of leaves on the line - the trick is in the focusing
Basis Peak: Fitness Tracker Review
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 22:55
The Peak is the latest fitness tracker from Basis, and the device aims to give you a number of insights into your daily activities, while motivating you to live a healthier life.
Root intelligence: Plants can think, feel and learn
New Scientist - 3 Dec 2014 22:00
With an underground "brain network" and the ability to react and remember, plants have their own kind of intelligence - and may even cry out in pain (full text available to subscribers)
How to Cook Up a Volcano: Heat and Serve
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 21:59
A new study shows how volcanoes cook up an eruption from the cold mush of crystals in their underground magma chambers.
Why Time Can't Go Backward: Physicists Explain
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 21:43
How does time stop everything from happening at once? What mechanism drives time forward, but not backward?
540,000-Year-Old Shell Carvings May Be Human Ancestor's Oldest Art
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 21:41
The ancient, big-bodied relatives of modern-day humans not only ate freshwater shellfish, but engraved their shells and used them as tools, a new study finds.
Google and NASA ride D-Wave to a quantum future
New Scientist - 3 Dec 2014 21:30
A New Scientist investigation reveals Google's grand plans for its quantum computer, as well as the first hints about what's really going on under its hood
Photos: Ancient Shell Carving Is Oldest On Record
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 21:21
A second look at a century-old shell collection uncovered remarkable engravings made on a freshwater shellfish shell in Java, Indonesia.
Cleaning bot operators get censored view of your home
New Scientist - 3 Dec 2014 21:00
Will blurring the video feed recorded by a cleaning robot be enough for us to let strangers on the internet operate them remotely in our homes?
Disseminating science: Lighten our darkness
The Economist - 3 Dec 2014 20:58
PUBLISHING scientific journals used to be pretty straightforward. You received manuscripts describing researchers' latest work, ran them past a few experts in the field, type-set them, printed the result, and sold it to ...
New Frog Species Coughs Instead of Croaking
Live Science - 3 Dec 2014 20:45
Its distinctive mating call helps scientists distinguish the creature from already known frogs with which it was often confused.