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In the past two years alone, China has begun constructing 15 new nuclear power stations, while Russia, South Korea and India are also initiating major expansions in atomic power. Some Western countries look set to join them: at the end of 2009, licen
A dramatic technique for mining oil and natural gas called hydraulic fracturing is under fire. Here’s why
researchers inspecting the asteroid dust from JAXA’s the Hyabusa mission – the seven-year round trip that landed a probe on a passing asteroid before returning to Earth – have found particles that could contain signs of extraterrestrial life.
A new study by Indiana’s University of Notre Dame has revealed that streams across the U.S. Midwest contain insecticides from adjacent fields of genetically engineered corn, even well after harvest. The transgenic maize (GE corn) in question has been
New research by Rice University scientists suggests that a class of material known as metallacarborane could store hydrogen at or better than benchmarks set by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Program for 2015.
On September 29, we finally achieved repeatable firing of all attached capacitors. That day, and on September 30 and October 1, we fired all eight attached capacitors in 11 successive shots with only three pre-fires. While last month we thought that
After years of research, we may be close to full-scale production of super-strong spider silk
In this revolution, research has become central; it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government. Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in hi
The Fuji Molten salt thorium reactor would generate power at a cost significantly lower than that of current Light Water Reactors (LWR) – at least 30% lower.
Product designer Eben Bayer reveals his recipe for a new, fungus-based packaging material that protects fragile stuff like furniture, plasma screens -- and the environment.
What is it about interspecies friendship that makes it universally cute, hilarious and heartwarming?
With instant death virtually licking at his feet, a daredevil strolls around a ledge inside a volcano, just 100metres from a lake of boiling lava. One slip or a sudden surge of the bubbling red mass and Drew Bristol would be turned into ash.
As part of the latest research, scientists in California developed a drug to block the effects of a specific gene mutation, B-RAF, linked to malignant melanoma – one of the deadliest cancers. In one small clinical trial, tumours shrank by at least
"We have shown that the Maritime Laser Demonstrator's design is as lethal at longer ranges as other previously demonstrated approaches," said Steve Hixson, vice president of Advanced Concepts, Space and Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman
For reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does tend to increase one's risk of dying, even when you exclude former problem drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers.
If you've eaten asparagus, you have probably smelled it. But if you are one of those who can eat asparagus without later experiencing sulfur-scented pee, is it because you can't smell it or because your pee really is asparagus odor-free?
Penguins didn't always boast tuxedo-like black-and-white markings, according to a new study. The discovery of the first ancient penguin fossil with evidence of feathers reveals the aquatic birds were once reddish-brown and gray. The 36 million-yea
Given the ever-increasing number of brain readout and control technologies available, a generalized brain coprocessor architecture could be enabled by defining common interfaces governing how component technologies talk to one another, as well as an
Alcubierre imagined a small volume of flat spacetime in which a spacecraft sits, surrounded by a bubble of spacetime that shrinks in the direction of travel, bringing your destination nearer,
The transport of ions in and out of cells is regulated by electronic security doors, or gates, that let in specific ions under certain circumstances. A role for sodium current in tissue regeneration had been proposed in the past, but this is the fir
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A new approach alleviates osteoarthritis pain better than any drug available.
Surgeons are pioneering a method of inducing extreme hypothermia in trauma patients so that their bodies shut down entirely during major surgery, giving doctors more time to perform operations.
To create their growing surface, the scientists tried out about 500 polymers with varying degrees of roughness, stiffness, and surface hydrophobicity (water-repelling behavior). While the first two variables seemed to make little difference, they dis
The technique will improve research on neuromuscular disorders and could one day help paralyzed patients.
The new design takes advantage of yet another quantum phenomenon: “superposition,” a condition in which objects have multiple values of the same property at the same time – the equivalent, in the classical world, of a ball that is simultaneously comp
Flexible yet rigid like a human bone, and immediately capable of bearing loads: A new kind of implant, made of titanium foam, resembles the inside of a bone in terms of its structural configuration. Not only does this make it less stiff than conventi
University of Arizona physicists have discovered a new way of harvesting waste heat and turning it into electrical power. Using a theoretical model of a so-called molecular thermoelectric device, the technology holds great promise for making cars, p
Scientists have found the toughest material made by life yet — the silk of a spider whose giant webs span rivers, streams and even lakes.
Scientists have discovered that the hormone oxytocin could help wallflowers overcome awkwardness in social situations The chemical dubbed "the hormone of love" is known to increase empathy and bonding – especially parents and their children.
