All Stories
- Physics
Particle breakdowns beat expectations
A fresh analysis of 2002 accelerator data finds a third instance of a type of breakdown of subatomic kaons that's not supposed to happen so often, suggesting that shadowy, hypothetical particles predicted by a theory called supersymmetry may be influencing kaon behavior.
- Planetary Science
Cassini spies storms on Saturn
Closing in on Saturn after a 7-year journey, the Cassini spacecraft has discovered two storms merging on the ringed planet, only the second times that scientists have observed such a phenomenon.
- Animals
Male spiders amputate organs, run faster
Tiny male spiders of a species common to the southeastern United States routinely remove one of their two oversize external sex organs, enabling them to run faster and longer.
-
19406
Like physicists, mathematicians have always been divided into theorists and experimentalists. And, as with the physicists, the two groups of mathematicians have not gotten along very well. Still, in physics, there has always been an understanding that both groups are necessary, whereas during the past century or so, it has been possible to pretend that […]
-
-
19405
This article reminded me of the old quote: “A fishing lure is any combination of metal, plastic, wood, feathers, hair, or other manmade or natural material attached to a hook (or hooks) and designed to attract fishermen.” To wit: Decades ago, to impress an office associate who was a trout-fishing traditionalist as to how random […]
- Animals
Hooking the Gullible
Research into fish behavior often reveals ways that bait designers can trick a fish into biting odd-looking lures, but angler appeal can also be an important marketing consideration.
- Materials Science
High-temperature ceramics takes flight
A recent NASA flight test of ultrahigh-temperature ceramic materials might lead to a new aerospace design that would make the space shuttle look downright old-fashioned.
- Materials Science
Scientists tone down silicon rockers
Researchers have created pairs of silicon atoms that stay level instead of slowly rocking in place, permitting scientists to study silicon-surface reactions in unprecedented detail.
- Earth
A slump or a slide? Density decides
Using a full-scale simulator, researchers showed that just a small difference in soil density determines whether a landslide becomes a fast-moving killer or merely one that slowly slumps downhill.
-
19404
What an amazing time resolution for 34 million years ago! Could the temperature changes recorded reflect seasonal eel migration, rather than changes in the Gulf of Mexico? Are the results consistent between otoliths found in close association? Does this offer a method of more precise dating similar to the use of tree rings? Gordon C. […]
- Paleontology
Listening to fish for extinction clues
Tiny fossils from fish that survived worldwide extinctions about 34 million years ago may reveal that cooler winters caused the die-off.
