News

  1. Earth

    Newfound fault may explain quakes

    Tsunami simulations suggest that a newly discovered fault zone beneath the Atlantic Ocean could have released most of the seismic energy from three earthquakes that destroyed Lisbon, Portugal, on the morning of Nov. 1, 1755.

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  2. Earth

    Alaska shook, mountains spoke

    Small pulses in atmospheric pressure detected in Fairbanks soon after the magnitude 7.9 Denali quake on Nov. 3, 2002, suggest that the temblor literally moved mountains.

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  3. Earth

    Earth sometimes shivers beneath thick blankets of ice

    New analyses of old seismic data have distinguished the ground motions spawned by a previously unrecognized type of earthquake—quakes created by brief surges of massive glaciers.

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  4. Planetary Science

    Lunar finding doesn’t hold water

    A new radar study of craters at the moon's north and south poles reveals that neither region contains substantial amounts of frozen water.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Protein found central to ecstasy fever

    Scientists have identified a protein contributing to the high fevers that are sometimes generated by the drug ecstasy.

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  6. Ecosystems

    Brazil Nut Loss Looms: Harvest may be too heavy to last

    A study of 23 spots in Amazonian forests has raised the question of whether the collection of Brazil nuts—praised as a model of gentle forest use—has reached such levels that it may not be sustainable.

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  7. Ecosystems

    Brazil Nut Loss Looms: Harvest may be too heavy to last

    A study of 23 spots in Amazonian forests has raised the question of whether the collection of Brazil nuts—praised as a model of gentle forest use—has reached such levels that it may not be sustainable.

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  8. Tech

    Gel Bots? Vibrated goo mimics slithery motions

    The ability of soft, jellylike hydrogels to move as do snails, snakes, and inchworms may point the way to a new class of squishy robots that promise to be simple, quiet, and versatile.

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  9. Tech

    Gel Bots? Vibrated goo mimics slithery motions

    The ability of soft, jellylike hydrogels to move as do snails, snakes, and inchworms may point the way to a new class of squishy robots that promise to be simple, quiet, and versatile.

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  10. Archaeology

    Bones of Invention: German cave yields Stone Age figurines

    Three ivory figurines found in southwestern Germany may belong to one of the world's oldest known art traditions, dating to more than 30,000 years ago.

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  11. Archaeology

    Bones of Invention: German cave yields Stone Age figurines

    Three ivory figurines found in southwestern Germany may belong to one of the world's oldest known art traditions, dating to more than 30,000 years ago.

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  12. Materials Science

    Crystal Clear: Liquid crystal sensor plays nature’s game

    By fixing the components of a cell membrane to a liquid crystal, researchers devised a sensitive and high-speed sensor for detecting chemical and biowarfare agents.

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