Showing 20 articles starting at article 401

< Previous 20 articles        Next 20 articles >

Categories: Engineering: Nanotechnology, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

Return to the site home page

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers aiming to combat rising global temperatures have developed a new 'cooling glass' that can turn down the heat indoors without electricity by drawing on the cold depths of space. The new technology, a microporous glass coating, can lower the temperature of the material beneath it by 3.5 degrees Celsius at noon, and has the potential to reduce a mid-rise apartment building's yearly carbon emissions by 10 percent.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In the 1800s, some of the strongest earthquakes in recorded U.S. history struck North America's continental interior. Almost two centuries later, the central and eastern United States may still be experiencing aftershocks from those events, a new study finds.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study casts doubt on claims that Homo naledi, a small-brained hominin dating to between 335-241,000 years ago, deliberately buried their dead and produced rock art in Rising Star Cave, South Africa. Recent articles suggested the recent excavations at the Rising Star Cave system provided evidence of at least three burial features, two in the Dinaledi Chamber and a third in the Hill Antechamber cavity. The group of experts have now called for a deeper dig into the science behind the findings.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sodium- and potassium-ion batteries are promising next-generation alternatives to the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, their energy density still lags behind that of LIBs. To tackle this issue, researchers explored an innovative strategy to turn hard carbon into an excellent negative electrode material. Using inorganic zinc-based compounds as a template during synthesis, they prepared nanostructured hard carbon, which exhibits excellent performance in both alternative batteries.       

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

With help from an experienced underwater cave-diving team, researchers have constructed the most complete map to date of the microbial communities living in the submerged labyrinths beneath Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Researchers found the cave system's microbiome is distinct from the nearby sea, and microbial communities vary between cave systems forming distinct 'neighborhoods.'  

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Hummingbirds are highly maneuverable fliers, flitting forward and backward as they home in on flowers. But in the dense foliage many inhabit, they often encounter gaps that are too narrow for their wingspan. Since they can't bend their wings in flight, how do they get through? Researchers used high-speed cameras to capture their movements, discovering two unique strategies: they sidle through while fluttering, or fold their wings in a tuck and glide.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A long-beaked echidna named after Sir David Attenborough and last seen by scientists in 1961 has been photographed for the first time in an Indonesian tropical forest. An international team of researchers worked with local communities to deploy over 80 camera traps to film the elusive animal. Besides rediscovering the echidna, the team uncovered a wealth of species completely new to science, including beetles, spiders, and a remarkable tree-dwelling shrimp.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some barnacles are 'morphing' to protect themselves from predatory warm-water sea snails, which are expanding into their territory due to climate change.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Rubber-like materials can exhibit both spring-like and flow-like behaviors simultaneously, which contributes to their exceptional damping abilities. To understand the dynamic viscoelasticity of these materials, researchers have recently developed a novel system that can conduct dynamic mechanical analysis and dynamic micro X-ray computed tomography simultaneously. This technology can enhance our understanding of the microstructure of viscoelastic materials and pave the way for the development of better materials.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

When animals 'sing' sitting on the ground -- such as when crickets chirp -- their volume and reach increase dramatically, by as much as ten-fold. This result contradicts long-held beliefs in the field of animal communication, which presume the ground is a hindrance to sound transmission.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A research team has developed a high-performance coating material that self-assembles from 2D nanosheets, and which could significantly extend the shelf life of electronics, energy storage devices, health & safety products, and more. The researchers are the first to successfully scale up nanomaterial synthesis into useful materials for manufacturing and commercial applications.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team of researchers has built a prototype microscope that does not rely on backscattered radiation, instead uses passive detection of thermally excited evanescent waves. They have examined dielectric materials with passive near-field spectroscopy to develop a detection model to further refine the technique, working to develop a new kind of microscopy for examining nanoscopic material surfaces.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Research on neighboring chimpanzee communities in the forests of West Africa suggests a warfare tactic not previously seen beyond humans is regularly used by our closest evolutionary relatives.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have unveiled a remarkable new material with potential to impact the world of material science: amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC). Beyond its exceptional strength, this material demonstrates mechanical properties crucial for vibration isolation on a microchip. Amorphous silicon carbide is therefore particularly suitable for making ultra-sensitive microchip sensors.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study unveils a novel methodology to engineer colloidal quasicrystals using DNA-modified building blocks. The implications of this breakthrough are far-reaching, offering a potential blueprint for the controlled synthesis of other complex structures previously considered beyond reach.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The chance discovery of a note written in a 15th century Hebrew prayer book fills an important gap in the historical Italian earthquake record, offering a brief glimpse of a previously unknown earthquake affecting the Marche region in the central Apennines.  

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The remnants of an ancient planet that collided with Earth to form the Moon lie deep within the earth, according to a new model.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Optical tweezers use laser light to manipulate small particles. A new method has been advanced using Stampede2 supercomputer simulations that makes optical tweezers safer to use for potential biological applications, such as cancer therapy. 

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sunflowers famously turn their faces to follow the sun as it crosses the sky. But how do sunflowers 'see' the sun to follow it? Plant biologists show that they use a different, novel mechanism from that previously thought.

     (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A joint research team has developed a dual metalens that can switch between shooting modes based on light conditions.