Science News from around the Web
- Cassini provides a magnetic mysteryFlash Physics: need-to-know updates from the world of physics... Read more »
- Spinning black holes could grow long hairEvidence for ultralight bosons could be found in gravitational waves... Read more »
- New 3D scanning method uses Archimedes' principleFlash Physics: need-to-know updates from the world of physics... Read more »
- UK commits £246m to developing battery technologyFlash Physics: need-to-know updates from the world of physics... Read more »
- Work begins on US neutrino experimentFlash Physics: need-to-know updates from the world of physics... Read more »
- Crops that kill pests by shutting off their genesPlants are among many eukaryotes that can 'turn off' one or more of their genes by using a process called RNA interference to block protein translation. Researchers are now weaponizing this by engineering crops to produce specific RNA fragments that, upon ingestion by insects, initiate RNA interference to shut down... Read more »
- Benefits of promoting competing retail websites?A new study examines how retailers can benefit by showing ads from competing companies on their websites.... Read more »
- Malaria already endemic in the Mediterranean by the Roman periodMalaria was already widespread on Sardinia by the Roman period, long before the Middle Ages, as research on a Roman who died 2,000 years ago indicates.... Read more »
- E-cigarette use may encourage experimentation with tobaccoYoung people who have tried an e-cigarette may be more likely to go on to smoke cigarettes compared with those who have not, a new study has suggested.... Read more »
- Reality check for 'wonder material'Topological insulators, a class of materials which has been investigated for just over a decade, have been heralded as a new 'wonder material', as has graphene. But so far, topological insulators have not quite lived up to the expectations fueled by theoretical studies. Physicists now have an idea about why.... Read more »
- Reality check for 'wonder material'(University of Groningen) Topological insulators, a class of materials which has been investigated for just over a decade, have been heralded as a new 'wonder material', as has graphene. But so far, topological insulators have not quite lived up to the expectations fueled by theoretical studies. University of Groningen physicists... Read more »
- Study finds breast cancer driver, HER2, in 3 percent of lung cancers(University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus) The Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium at the University of Colorado Cancer Center reports this week in the journal Cancer that 24 of 920 patients (3 percent) with advanced-stage lung cancer had mutations in the gene HER2.... Read more »
- Cell mechanism discovery could lead to 'fundamental' change in leukaemia treatment(University of Kent) Researchers have identified a new cell mechanism that could lead to a fundamental change in the diagnosis and treatment of leukaemia.... Read more »
- Physicists design ultrafocused pulses(University of Innsbruck) Physicists working with researcher Oriol Romero-Isart devised a new simple scheme to theoretically generate arbitrarily short and focused electromagnetic fields. This new tool could be used for precise sensing and in microscopy.... Read more »
- Biochar could clear the air in more ways than one(Rice University) Biochar could reduce local air pollution from agriculture by reducing emissions of nitric oxide from soil. Rice University researchers argue that a better understanding of nitric oxide response to biochar will save lives and money, especially on farms near urban areas where agricultural emissions contribute to ozone and... Read more »
- Robotic Exoskeleton Adapts While It's WornThe decades-old pursuit of bulky, much-hyped Iron Man–like “exosuits” could give way to minimalist technologies more in sync with the human body -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Should Fighting Antibiotic Resistance Always Include Finishing a Prescribed Medication?A group of experts takes a controversial stance on how to control superbugs -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Reaching for the Stars, Breakthrough Sends Smallest-Ever Satellites into OrbitDespite technical glitches and regulatory hurdles, nanosatellite swarms could someday be the cornerstone for revolutionary interplanetary or even interstellar space-science missions -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Learning from Nature: Moth Eyes Inspire Nonreflective Screen CoatingA new technique could make digital devices easier to read in bright sunlight -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »
- Wandering in the Void, Billions of Rogue Planets without a HomeNew results suggest free-floating giant planets are less common than previously believed, but hint at vast numbers of smaller castaway worlds -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com ... Read more »