ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Glaciers in northern Antarctic Peninsula melting faster than ever despite increased snowfall

Posted: 14 Sep 2014 06:10 PM PDT

Increased snowfall will not prevent the continued melting of glaciers in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, according to new research. Scientists have discovered that small glaciers that end on land around the Antarctic Peninsula are highly vulnerable to slight changes in air temperature and may be at risk of disappearing within 200 years.

How an ancient vertebrate uses familiar tools to build a strange-looking head

Posted: 14 Sep 2014 01:02 PM PDT

show that the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus, a survivor of ancient jawless vertebrates, exhibits a pattern of gene expression that is reminiscent of its jawed cousins, who evolved much, much later.

Study sheds new light on why batteries go bad

Posted: 14 Sep 2014 12:52 PM PDT

A comprehensive look at how tiny particles in a lithium ion battery electrode behave shows that rapid-charging the battery and using it to do high-power, rapidly draining work may not be as damaging as researchers had thought -- and that the benefits of slow draining and charging may have been overestimated. The results challenge the prevailing view that 'supercharging' batteries is always harder on battery electrodes than charging at slower rates.

Rules of thumb for climate change turned upside down: Wet and dry regions recalculated

Posted: 14 Sep 2014 12:08 PM PDT

With a new analysis of land regions, climate researchers are challenging the general climate change paradigm that dry regions are getting drier and wet regions are getting wetter. In some regions they are encountering divergent trends.

Three's a charm: Detectors reveal entangled photon triplets

Posted: 14 Sep 2014 12:07 PM PDT

Researchers have directly entangled three photons in the most technologically useful state for the first time, thanks in part to superfast, super-efficient single-photon detectors.

genetic analysis on a species of African midge

Posted: 13 Sep 2014 11:13 AM PDT

Scientists have completed the genetic analysis on a species of African midge, which can survive a wide array of extreme conditions including large variations in temperature, extreme drought and even airless vacuums such as space. The team successfully deciphered the genetic mechanism that makes the midge invulnerable to these harsh conditions.

Boosting armor for nuclear-waste eating microbes

Posted: 12 Sep 2014 06:51 PM PDT

A microbe developed to clean up nuclear waste has just been improved. In earlier research, Gemma Reguera, A microbiologist identified that Geobacter bacteria's tiny conductive hair-like appendages, or pili, did the yeoman's share of remediation. By increasing the strength of the pili nanowires, she improved their ability to clean up uranium and other toxic wastes.

Imaging fuel injectors with neutrons

Posted: 12 Sep 2014 06:50 PM PDT

Researchers are using neutrons to study the formation of these damage-causing bubbles in fuel injectors.