Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: Optics
Published

Photography: One-stop solution for shaping and outlining objects      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

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

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

'Plug and play' nanoparticles could make it easier to tackle various biological targets      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed modular nanoparticles that can be easily customized to target different biological entities such as tumors, viruses or toxins. The surface of the nanoparticles is engineered to host any biological molecules of choice, making it possible to tailor the nanoparticles for a wide array of applications, ranging from targeted drug delivery to neutralizing biological agents.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Marine Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

New species of mosasaur named for Norse sea serpent      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, large, carnivorous aquatic lizards that lived during the late Cretaceous. With 'transitional' traits that place it between two well-known mosasaurs, the new species is named after a sea serpent in Norse mythology, Jormungandr, and the small North Dakota city Walhalla near to where the fossil was found.

Archaeology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

Cold War spy satellite imagery reveals Ancient Roman forts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study analyzing declassified Cold War satellite imagery reveals 396 previously undocumented Roman forts and reports that these forts were constructed from east to west, spanning from what is now western Syria to northwestern Iraq. The analysis refutes Father Antoine Poidebard's claim that the forts were located along a north-south axis.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Energy: Technology Engineering: Nanotechnology
Published

DNA Origami nanoturbine sets new horizon for nanomotors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers introduce a pioneering breakthrough in the world of nanomotors -- the DNA origami nanoturbine. This nanoscale device could represent a paradigm shift, harnessing power from ion gradients or electrical potential across a solid-state nanopore to drive the turbine into mechanical rotations. The core of this pioneering discovery is the design, construction, and driven motion of a 'DNA origami' turbine, which features three chiral blades, all within a minuscule 25-nanometer frame, operating in a solid-state nanopore. By ingeniously designing two chiral turbines, researchers now have the capability to dictate the direction of rotation, clockwise or anticlockwise.

Computer Science: Quantum Computers Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Computing Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Using sound to test devices, control qubits      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have developed a system that uses atomic vacancies in silicon carbide to measure the stability and quality of acoustic resonators. What's more, these vacancies could also be used for acoustically-controlled quantum information processing, providing a new way to manipulate quantum states embedded in this commonly-used material. 

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Optics
Published

Achieving large and uniform particle sizes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Dispersions of polymer particles in a liquid phase (latexes) have many important applications in coatings technology, medical imaging, and cell biology. A team of researchers has now developed a method to produce stable polystyrene dispersions with unprecedentedly large, and uniform, particle sizes. Narrow size distributions are essential in many advanced technologies, but were previously difficult to produce photochemically.

Biology: General Biology: Zoology Ecology: Animals Ecology: Extinction Ecology: General Ecology: Nature Ecology: Research Environmental: Ecosystems Environmental: General Geoscience: Earth Science Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geography Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Climate
Published

Raining cats and dogs: Global precipitation patterns a driver for animal diversity      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A team has identified several factors to help answer a fundamental ecological question: why is there a ridiculous abundance of species some places on earth and a scarcity in others? What factors, exactly, drive animal diversity? They discovered that what an animal eats (and how that interacts with climate) shapes Earth's diversity.

Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Ecology: Animals Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Origin of ancient mummified baboons found in Egypt      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Primatologists are using genetic analysis to determine the geographic origin of ancient mummified baboons found in Egypt. The team finds evidence that the two legendary trading regions of Punt and Adulis may have been the same place separated by a thousand years of history.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General Physics: Quantum Physics
Published

Unexpected behavior discovered in active particles      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Physicists have now shown that, depending on the extent to which the propulsion speed of active particles is dependent on their orientation, clusters in different shapes arise in many-particle systems. This might be a possible key to the realization of programmable matter.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Botany Biology: General Biology: Microbiology Ecology: Nature Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Fungal evolution discovered: Mycena can now invade living hosts      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Biologists have long known mushrooms of the genus Mycena, commonly known as bonnet mushrooms, as fungi that live off of dead trees and plants. New research demonstrates that bonnets can also find their ways into young, healthy trees and plants, where they try to cooperate. In doing so, they have made an evolutionary leap which challenges our understanding of the ecological roles of fungi.

Biology: Biochemistry Biology: General Biology: Zoology Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals
Published

Mummified mice discovered atop sky-high Andean volcanoes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have uncovered 13 mummified cadavers of mice from the summits of Andean volcanoes that stretch nearly 4 miles above sea level. Analyses of the mummies, combined with the capture of live specimens, suggest that the mice scaled the Mars-like peaks on their own -- and are somehow managing to live on them.

Archaeology: General Biology: Biochemistry Biology: Marine Biology: Zoology Ecology: Sea Life Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils
Published

Ancient sea monster remains reveal oldest mega-predatory pliosaur      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The fossils of a 170-million-year-old ancient marine reptile from the Age of Dinosaurs have been identified as the oldest-known mega-predatory pliosaur -- a group of ocean-dwelling reptiles closely related to the famous long-necked plesiosaurs. The findings are rare and add new knowledge to the evolution of plesiosaurs.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Chemistry: General Chemistry: Organic Chemistry Computer Science: General Engineering: Nanotechnology Mathematics: Modeling Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

International team develops novel DNA nano engine      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of scientists has recently developed a novel type of nano engine made of DNA. It is driven by a clever mechanism and can perform pulsing movements. The researchers are now planning to fit it with a coupling and install it as a drive in complex nano machines.

Chemistry: Inorganic Chemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
Published

Electron-rich metals make ceramics tough to crack      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Engineers have developed a recipe to make a certain class of ceramics tougher and more resistant to cracking. The newfound toughness of these ceramics paves the way for their use in extreme applications, such as spacecraft and other hypersonic vehicles.

Engineering: Nanotechnology Offbeat: Computers and Math Offbeat: General
Published

Wearable device makes memories and powers up with the flex of a finger      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have invented an experimental wearable device that generates power from a user's bending finger and can create and store memories, in a promising step towards health monitoring and other technologies.

Chemistry: Biochemistry Engineering: Nanotechnology Physics: General
Published

Going rogue: Scientists apply giant wave mechanics on a nanometric scale      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have shown how the principles of rogue waves -- huge 30-meter waves that arise unexpectedly in the ocean -- can be applied on a nano scale, with dozens of applications from medicine to manufacturing.

Anthropology: Cultures Anthropology: Early Humans Anthropology: General Offbeat: General Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

The encounter between Neanderthals and Sapiens as told by their genomes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

About 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals, who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years in the western part of the Eurasian continent, gave way to Homo sapiens, who had arrived from Africa. This replacement was not sudden, and the two species coexisted for a few millennia, resulting in the integration of Neanderthal DNA into the genome of Sapiens. Researchers have analyzed the distribution of the portion of DNA inherited from Neanderthals in the genomes of humans (Homo sapiens) over the last 40,000 years. These statistical analyses revealed subtle variations in time and geographical space.