Uncategorized
- Plants
Fairly bad pitcher traps triumph in the end
Carnivorous pitcher plant traps rarely catch much, but their lackadaisical hunting turns out not to be so lame after all.
- Environment
Funding canceled for clean coal plant
The Department of Energy has scrapped funding for FutureGen, a project to use new technology to sequester carbon dioxide emissions from a coal power plant.
- Animals
Rainforest frogs flourish with artificial homes
A rainforest frog population grew by about 50 percent when scientists built pools for tadpoles that mimic puddles made by other animals.
- Astronomy
Asteroids or planets might trigger a supernova
Rocky debris falling onto a white dwarf might trigger some supernovas.
- Ecosystems
Termite mound paradises help buffer dry land against climate change
Landscapes dotted by Africa’s great termite mounds look on the verge of turning into desert but are, in fact, more resilient.
- Earth
Ice ages boost production of new ocean crust
When sea levels drop during ice ages, magma at mid-ocean ridges surges.
- Materials Science
Oxygen sneaks into titanium, making it brittle
Oxygen atoms trigger defects in titanium’s atomic structure, making the metal brittle.
- Physics
Temperatures taken in the realm of the tiny
Aluminum and other materials can serve as their own thermometers at nanometer scales, opening up the possibility of taking the temperature of tiny computer transistors.
- Neuroscience
Shots of brain cells restore learning, memory in rats
Scientists healed damage caused to rats’ brains from radiation by injecting cells that replenish the insulation on neurons.
- Neuroscience
With good timing, experiences can rewire old brains
New experiences can rewire old brains — but the timing has to be just right.
- Health & Medicine
E-cigarettes lower immunity to flu and other germs
Electronic cigarettes produce substantial amounts of lung inflammation, a new mouse study finds. They may also reduce the ability to fight off infections from strep and flu germs.
- Paleontology
Monkeys reached Americas about 36 million years ago
Peruvian fossils suggest ancient African primates somehow crossed the Atlantic Ocean and gave rise to South American monkeys.
