Source: AAAS When Martin Brasier discovered what looked like fossil cells in between the cemented sand grains of an ancient beach in Western Australia, he knew he had his work cut out for him. One of the biggest challenges for geologists is deciding when a fossil is really a fossil, […]
Jordan Times. TEHRAN (AFP) – Gas- and oil-rich Iran has discovered another gas field with reserves of 495 billion cubic metres valued at $133 billion, the oil ministry’s SHANA news service quoted an oil official as saying on Monday. “The new gas field has in spot reserves of about 495 […]
Source: Physicsworld Liquid water might exist on Mars today, according to a group of scientists in the US. Images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) reveal that dark, narrow, finger-like structures follow slopes in certain regions of the southern hemisphere of the planet during its summer months. The researchers believe […]
Source: Physicsworld Just because life emerged early on Earth does not mean that this is likely to occur on other Earth-like planets, says a pair of US astrophysicists. The researchers’ new mathematical model says that life could just as easily be rare – putting a damper on the excitement surrounding […]
Source: Physicsworld Differences between the near and far sides of the Moon could be the result of a collision between the Moon and a “Trojan” companion that occurred billions of years ago. That is the conclusion of geophysicists in the US and Switzerland who have done computer simulations on how […]
Source: The New York Times The possible presence of liquid water is certain to revive speculation that Mars is teeming with microbial organisms. The recipe for life, at least as we know it, calls for liquid water, carbon-based molecules and a source for energy. There is plenty of ice on […]
Source / Credit: CNN (CNN) — The Dawn spacecraft mission could answer some of the big questions about the Big Bang, NASA scientists said Monday as they released the latest images from the mission. Carrying innovative new instrumentation from the Italian and German space agencies, Dawn is providing unprecedented images […]
James Taylor Forbes July 28, 2011 NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth’s atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far […]
Source: Physicsworld The universe was born spinning and continues to do so around a preferred axis – that is the bold conclusion of physicists in the US who have studied the rotation of more than 15,000 galaxies. While most cosmological theories have suggested that – on a large scale – […]
Dr. Barak Weiss, a Ben-Gurion University of the Negev mathematician, has been selected to receive a Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in 2011. ……… Dr. Weiss’s research focuses on “exceptionally symmetric higher dimensional objects called parameter spaces, their groups of symmetries move points around inside them and […]
By Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times AMMAN – Inconsistency in determining the start of lunar months, particularly Ramadan, casts doubt on the credibility of astronomy, according to Mohammad Odeh, chairman of the Islamic Crescents Observation Project (ICOP). “There are different approaches among countries in determining the start of the lunar month. […]
Source:Times of India // LONDON: Salt is addictive in the same way as cigarettes or hard drugs, a study has found. The findings could help explain why many find it so hard to cut back on salt, despite warnings about dangers to blood pressure and heart health, Daily Mail said […]
“Acoustic metamaterial” may sound exotic, but researchers in France have managed to assemble one from a few multipacks of cola cans. Arranged in a grid, the drinks cans act as a superlens for sound, focusing acoustic waves into much smaller regions than their metre-long wavelengths typically allow. The cans act […]
Geologists have discovered a vast new landscape that rose above the north Atlantic waves 56 million years ago. It was caused by a sudden up-welling from the Earth’s mantle and may explain rapid climate change that took place at about that time. Discovered by UK researchers, the river-valley system is […]
A Japanese minister has resigned, saying that his blood type accounted for his failings. According to Japanese belief, what might yours mean? Read more
by Isobel Leybold in Zurich, swissinfo.ch Insect expert Hans Rudolf Herren’s work in tackling the devastating cassava mealybug crop pest in Africa saved millions of lives and won him the 1995 World Food Prize. Herren, the subject of a new biography, tells swissinfo.ch how he managed to naturally control the bug […]
With climate change, concrete deserts and agriculture, human beings have fundamentally altered the face of the Earth. But have we really ushered in a new geological era, the so-called Anthropocene? Paul Crutzen, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, finds it hard to believe. “It’s incredible to see what a […]
Fertility doctors say they have found a non-invasive way to screen IVF embryos for genetic abnormalities. The current method involves taking cells from the embryo itself, which experts fear may be harmful. Now UK researchers say it is possible to run the same checks on cells surrounding the fertilised egg […]
Surgeons in Sweden have carried out the world’s first synthetic organ transplant. Scientists in London created an artificial windpipe which was then coated in stem cells from the patient. Crucially, the technique does not need a donor, and there is no risk of the organ being rejected. The surgeons stress […]
Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to the traditional incandescent light bulb. They consume less energy and last longer than traditional bulbs. However, CFL bulbs contain mercury vapor which may pose a health risk if handled improperly. A study conducted by Li and Jin […]