Once a seafarers' scourge, the gribble could be biofuel hero

Mar 9 | News

Tiny marine isopods called gribbles were for centuries the bane of sailors, whose vessels were quickly devoured. Even today, piers and docks are rapidly gnawed away, and researchers have now been attracted to the enzymes in their gut, which can convert wood into sugars without the help of microbes.

Oldest measurement of Earth's magnetic field reveals battle between sun and Earth

Mar 5 | News

According to findings by Univ. of Rochester researchers who visited sites in Africa known to contain extremely old rocks, the Earth’s magnetic field 3.5 billion years ago was only half as strong as it is today. This may mean the Sun took away much of Earth’s hydrogen and water.

Astronomers get sharpest view ever of star factories in distant universe

6 hours ago | News

Astronomers have combined a natural gravitational lens and a sophisticated telescope array to get the sharpest view ever of "star factories" in a galaxy over 10 billion light-years from Earth. They found that the distant galaxy, known as SMM J2135-0102, is making new stars 250 times faster than our...

Early galaxy went through 'teenage growth spurt,' scientists say

6 hours ago | News

Scientists have found a massive galaxy in the early Universe creating stars like our sun up to 100 times faster than the modern-day Milky Way.

Museum takes new look at air, water, land and life

6 hours ago | News

Watch maggots munch on liver. Stand in the path of a flash flood. Roam around a kelp forest.Nearly 10 years in the making, the $165 million Ecosystems Experience opens Thursday with its one-of-a-kind view of the world at the California Science Center. And it's free.Plants, animals and...

'Cold fusion' moves closer to mainstream acceptance

8 hours ago | News

"Cold fusion," a controversial energy source once relegated to the scientific equivalent of banishment to Siberia, is now moving closer toward acceptance by the mainstream scientific community. A special two-day symposium entitled "New Energy Technology" will include 46 oral presentations on this...

New MSU program targets worldwide counterfeiting

11 hours ago | News

The fight against fake products has found a home at Michigan State University with the launch of the Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program."The FBI has called (it) 'the crime of the 21st century,'" university spokesman Andy Henion wrote on the school's Web site. "The counterfeiting...

Huge sandstorm covers Beijing, turns sky orange

Mar 20 | News

Tons of sand turned Beijing's sky orange as the strongest sandstorm this year hit northern China, a gritty reminder that the country's expanding deserts have led to a sharp increase in the storms.The sky glowed Saturday and a thin dusting of sand covered Beijing, causing workers and tourists to...

Year's strongest sandstorm hits northern China, turns Beijing skies orange with grit

Mar 20 | News

Tons of sand turned Beijing's sky orange as the strongest sandstorm this year hit northern China, a gritty reminder that the country's expanding deserts have led to a sharp increase in the storms.The sky glowed Saturday and a thin dusting of sand covered Beijing, causing workers and tourists to...

NSF dispatches rapid response oceanographic expedition to Chile earthquake site

Mar 19 | News

Scientists funded by the National Science Foundation and affiliated with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) at the University of California at San Diego are undertaking an expedition to explore the rupture site of the 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake.

Wastewater sludge to be turned into 600 kW a day

Mar 19 | News

The project hasn’t reached full-scale yet, but the renewable energy research project that started out in a Nevada lab has reached demonstration stage at a water reclamation facility. The process dries sludge that is normally trucked away for disposal, converting it to solid fuel that can be gasified to produce electricity.

Bacteria could put lock on uranium that threatens groundwater

Mar 19 | News

Scientists already know that some types of bacteria can alter uranium (VI)—a radioactive, toxic, and water-soluble relic of the Cold War era—into uranium (IV)—insoluble, stationary, and less harmful. Argonne Lab studies are beginning to unlock this pathway, but because bacteria interact with so many other elements, harnessing their abilities will prove difficult.

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A clean energy America…is it coming or not?

Feb 24 | RDBlog

Almost a year ago, the buzz during the downturn was that the economic stimulus will help boost jobs in a sort of national improvement program reminiscent of the 1930s. Our coal would be phased out. Our grids would get smart. Our cars would get hybridized.

Build-up over the Y chromosome

Jan 15 | RDBlog

The Y chromosome—it is the one genetic factor that determines whether you will be a male or female and now it is also evolving faster than expected. However, what does this new discovery actually mean to the world of genetics without opening a debate that may cause gender disagreements?

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