Showing 20 articles starting at article 101
< Previous 20 articles Next 20 articles >
Categories: Energy: Nuclear, Paleontology: General
Published Researchers find oldest undisputed evidence of Earth's magnetic field
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study has recovered a 3.7-billion-year-old record of Earth's magnetic field, and found that it appears remarkably similar to the field surrounding Earth today.
Published Major milestone reached for key weapons component
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have completed a crucial weapons component development milestone, prior to full rate production.
Published Fossil frogs share their skincare secrets
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Palaeontologists have solved a hundred-year-old mystery of how some fossil frogs preserve their fleshy parts -- it's all down to their skin. Palaeontologists studied 45-million-year-old fossil frogs from the Geiseltal site in central Germany. Remarkably, the fossils show full body outlines of the soft tissues. The team discovered that the excellent condition of the fossil frogs is due to preservation of ancient skin remnants.
Published New beta-decay measurements in mirror nuclei pin down the weak nuclear force
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Scientists have gained insights into the weak nuclear force from new, more sensitive studies of the beta decays of the 'mirror' nuclei lithium-8 and boron-8. The weak nuclear force drives the process of nuclear beta decay. The research found that the properties of the beta decays of lithium-8 and boron-8 are in perfect agreement with the predictions of the Standard Model.
Published Ice age climate analysis reduces worst-case warming expected from rising CO2
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A detailed reconstruction of climate during the most recent ice age, when a large swath of North America was covered in ice, provides information on the relationship between CO2 and global temperature. Results show that while most future warming estimates remain unchanged, the absolute worst-case scenario is unlikely.
Published Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The fossilized remains of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters long has been found on a beach in Somerset, UK.
Published Marine plankton behavior could predict future marine extinctions
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Marine communities migrated to Antarctica during the Earth's warmest period in 66 million years long before a mass-extinction event.
Published Genetic variant identified that shaped the human skull base
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have identified a variant in the gene TBX1 as key in the development of the unique morphology at the base of the skull. TBX1 is present at higher levels in humans than in closely related hominins. Low TBX1 also occurs in certain genetic conditions causing altered skull base morphology. This study provides a greater understanding of human disease and evolution.
Published Interspecies competition led to even more forms of ancient human -- defying evolutionary trends in vertebrates
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Competition between species played a major role in the rise and fall of hominins -- and produced a 'bizarre' evolutionary pattern for the Homo lineage -- according to a new study that revises the start and end dates for many of our early ancestors.
Published Seed ferns: Plants experimented with complex leaf vein networks 201 million years ago
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source According to a research team led by palaeontologists, the net-like leaf veining typical for today's flowering plants developed much earlier than previously thought, but died out again several times. Using new methods, the fossilized plant Furcula granulifer was identified as such an early forerunner. The leaves of this seed fern species already exhibited the net-like veining in the late Triassic (around 201 million years ago).
Published Creating an island paradise in a fusion reactor
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source In their ongoing quest to develop a range of methods for managing plasma so it can be used to generate electricity in a process known as fusion, researchers have shown how two old methods can be combined to provide greater flexibility.
Published Digging up new species of Australia and New Guinea's giant fossil kangaroos
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Palaeontologists have described three unusual new species of giant fossil kangaroo from Australia and New Guinea, finding them more diverse in shape, range and hopping method than previously thought. The three new species are of the extinct genus Protemnodon, which lived from around 5 million to 40,000 years ago -- with one about double the size of the largest red kangaroo living today.
Published With inspiration from 'Tetris,' researchers develop a better radiation detector
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new detector system based on the game 'Tetris' could enable inexpensive, accurate radiation detectors for monitoring nuclear sites.
Published 3D mouth of an ancient jawless fish suggests they were filter-feeders, not scavengers or hunters
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Early jawless fish were likely to have used bony projections surrounding their mouths to modify the mouth's shape while they collected food. Experts have used CT scanning techniques to build up the first 3D pictures of these creatures, which are some of the earliest vertebrates (animals with backbones) in which the mouth is fossilized. Their aim was to answer questions about feeding in early vertebrates without jaws in the early Devonian epoch -- sometimes called the Age of Fishes -- around 400 million years ago.
Published Do some mysterious bones belong to gigantic ichthyosaurs?
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Several similar large, fossilized bone fragments have been discovered in various regions across Western and Central Europe since the 19th century. The animal group to which they belonged is still the subject of much debate to this day. A study could now settle this dispute once and for all: The microstructure of the fossils indicates that they come from the lower jaw of a gigantic ichthyosaur. These animals could reach 25 to 30 meters in length, a similar size to the modern blue whale.
Published In the evolution of walking, the hip bone connected to the rib bones
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new reconstruction of the 375-million-year-old fossil fish Tiktaalik -- a close relative of limbed vertebrates -- used micro-CT to reveal bones still embedded in matrix. The reconstruction shows that the fish's ribs likely attached to its pelvis, an innovation thought to be crucial to supporting the body and for the eventual evolution of walking.
Published Dinosaur study challenges Bergmann's rule
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source A new study calls into question Bergmann's rule, an 1800s-era scientific principle stating that animals in high-latitude, cooler climates tend to be larger than close relatives living in warmer climates.
Published Early dinosaurs grew up fast, but they weren't the only ones
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source The earliest dinosaurs had rapid growth rates, but so did many of the other animals living alongside them, according to a new study.
Published Researchers discover 'neutronic molecules'
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers have discovered 'neutronic' molecules, in which neutrons can be made to cling to quantum dots, held just by the strong force. The finding may lead to new tools for probing material properties at the quantum level and exploring new kinds of quantum information processing devices.
Published New step in tectonic squeeze that turns seafloor into mountains
(via sciencedaily.com) Original source Researchers describe zircons from the Andes mountains of Patagonia. Although the zircons formed when tectonic plates were colliding, they have a chemical signature associated with when the plates were moving apart. The researchers think that the unexpected signature could be explained by the mechanics of underlying tectonic plates that hasn't yet been described in other models.