ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

WHO issues roadmap to scale up international response to the Ebola outbreak in west Africa

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 08:54 AM PDT

The World Health Organization has issued a roadmap to guide and coordinate the international response to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in west Africa. The aim is to stop ongoing Ebola transmission worldwide within 6-9 months, while rapidly managing the consequences of any further international spread.

Copper shines as flexible conductor

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 07:35 AM PDT

By turning instead to copper, both abundant and cheap, researchers have developed a way of making flexible conductors cost-effective enough for commercial application.

Astrophysicists report radioactive cobalt in supernova explosion

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 07:34 AM PDT

Astrophysicists have detected the formation of radioactive cobalt during a supernova explosion, lending credence to a corresponding theory of supernova explosions.

Simpler process to grow germanium nanowires could improve lithium-ion batteries

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 07:32 AM PDT

Researchers have developed what they call "a simple, one-step method" to grow nanowires of germanium from an aqueous solution. Their process could make it more feasible to use germanium in lithium-ion batteries.

Breakthrough in light sources for new quantum technology

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 05:42 AM PDT

One of the most promising technologies for future quantum circuits are photonic circuits, i.e. circuits based on light (photons) instead of electrons (electronic circuits). First, it is necessary to create a stream of single photons and control their direction. Researchers have now succeeded in creating a steady stream of photons emitted one at a time and in a particular direction.

Plug 'n' play protein crystals

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 05:39 AM PDT

Almost a hundred years ago in 1929 Linus Pauling presented the famous Pauling's Rules to describe the principles governing the structure of complex ionic crystals. These rules essentially describe how the arrangement of atoms in a crystal is critically dependent on the size of the atoms, their charge and type of bonding. According to scientists today, similar rules can be applied to prepare ionic colloidal crystals consisting of oppositely charged proteins and virus particles.

Danish museum discovers unique gift from Charles Darwin

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 05:39 AM PDT

The Natural History Museum of Denmark recently discovered a unique gift from one of the greatest-ever scientists. In 1854, Charles Darwin – father of the theory of evolution – sent a gift to his Danish colleague Japetus Steenstrup, director of the Royal Museum of Natural History. Until very recently, no one at the museum knew that it possessed a piece of scientific history of this caliber. Just a few weeks ago, the head of exhibitions was studying the correspondence between Steenstrup and Darwin as part of her search for objects to include in an upcoming exhibition. She started to suspect a treasure lay hidden somewhere, and soon a hunt was launched among the museum's 14 million objects.

How nerve cells communicate with each other over long distances: Travelling by resonance

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 05:38 AM PDT

How nerve cells within the brain communicate with each other over long distances has puzzled scientists for decades. The way networks of neurons connect and how individual cells react to incoming pulses in principle makes communication over large distances impossible. Scientists provide now a possible answer how the brain can function nonetheless: by exploiting the powers of resonance.

Precision control of the timing, structure and functions in molecular self-assembly

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 05:38 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a new methodology that can easily and precisely control the timing of and the structure as well as functions obtained in self-assembly of π-conjugated molecules, which is a key technology in the field of organic electronics materials.

Snails tell of the rise and fall of the Tibetan Plateau

Posted: 29 Aug 2014 05:38 AM PDT

The rise of the Tibetan plateau -- the largest topographic anomaly above sea level on Earth -- is important for both its profound effect on climate and its reflection of continental dynamics. Scientists have now employed a cutting-edge geochemical tool -- "clumped" isotope thermometry -- using modern and fossil snail shells to investigate the uplift history of the Zhada basin in southwestern Tibet.

Researchers use NASA and other data to look into the heart of a solar storm

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 02:00 PM PDT

Scientists found that the CME contained a rare piece of dense solar filament material. This filament coupled with an unusually fast speed led to the large amount of solar material observed.

Watching the structure of glass under pressure

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 11:28 AM PDT

Glass has many applications that call for different properties, such as resistance to thermal shock or to chemically harsh environments. Glassmakers commonly use additives such as boron oxide to tweak these properties by changing the atomic structure of glass. Now researchers have for the first time captured atoms in borosilicate glass flipping from one structure to another as it is placed under high pressure.

A new, tunable device for spintronics

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 10:53 AM PDT

An international team of scientists has developed a tunable spin-charge converter made of GaAs. Spin-charge converters are important devices in spintronics, an electronic which is not only based on the charge of electrons but also on their spin and the spin-related magnetism. Spin-charge converters enable the transformation of electric into magnetic signals and vice versa.

Computer games give a boost to English

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 10:53 AM PDT

If you want to make a mark in the world of computer games you had better have a good English vocabulary. It has now also been scientifically demonstrated that someone who is good at computer games has a larger English vocabulary.

Study reveals drivers of Western consumers' readiness to eat insects

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 08:52 AM PDT

The most likely early adopters of insets as a meat substitute in Western societies are young men with weak attitudes toward meat, who are open to trying novel foods and interested in the environmental impact of their food choice. With a low level of food neophobia, the likelihood that this type of person is willing to eat insects as a meat substitute is estimated more than 75%, according to a new study.

Inter-dependent networks stress test

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 08:52 AM PDT

A new study relies on a complex systems modelling approach to analyze inter-dependent networks and improve their reliability in the event of failure. Energy production systems are good examples of complex systems. Their infrastructure equipment requires ancillary sub-systems structured like a network-including water for cooling, transport to supply fuel, and ICT systems for control and management.

Nanoscale assembly line: Nanoscale production line for assembly of biological molecules created

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 08:08 AM PDT

Researchers have realized a long-held dream: inspired by an industrial assembly line, they have developed a nanoscale production line for the assembly of biological molecules.

Doing more with less: New technique uses fraction of measurements to efficiently find quantum wave functions

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 08:01 AM PDT

Just two years ago, with the advent of a technique called direct measurement, scientists discovered they could reliably determine a system's wave function by "weakly" measuring one of its variables (e.g. position) and "strongly" measuring a complementary variable (momentum). Researchers have now taken this method one step forward by combining direct measurement with an efficient computational technique.

Endangered Siamese Crocodiles Released in Wild

Posted: 28 Aug 2014 08:01 AM PDT

Biologists have just released 17 juvenile critically endangered Siamese crocodiles into a protected wetland in Lao PDR. The one-to-two-year-old crocodiles, which range between 50-100 cm (20-39 inches) in length, were raised in facilities to protect the endangered reptiles and their habitat.

Protein glue shows potential for use with biomaterials

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:37 PM PDT

Scientists have shown that a synthetic protein called AGMA1 has the potential to promote the adhesion of brain cells in a laboratory setting. It is also cheaper and easier to produce on a large scale. This could help overcome a major challenge in nerve tissue engineering.

From water to land and back, the mosquitofish is on a roll

Posted: 27 Aug 2014 05:35 PM PDT

Some fish will leap out of water to escape a predator, but biologists have observed that the mosquitofish chooses the most energy-efficient method for returning -- a finding that has evolutionary implications.