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278,908 articles from PhysOrg
Science denied: Why does doubt persist?
The sign in front of the tall display case at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History lures visitors to "meet one of your oldest relatives." Inside stands a morganucodon, a mouse-like animal from the Late Triassic period, 210 million years ago. "A close relative of this tiny creature was the first mammal on earth," the sign says. "Its DNA was passed on to billions of descendants,...
Scientists discover that shape matters in DNA nanoparticle therapy
Researchers from Johns Hopkins and Northwestern universities have discovered how to control the shape of nanoparticles that move DNA through the body and have shown that the shapes of these carriers may make a big difference in how well they work in treating cancer and other diseases.
Small weed helps unravel complex plant defence system
(Phys.org)—Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress as it is commonly known, made history back in 2000 by becoming the first plant to have its entire genetic code read by scientists, contributing to what is often referred to as biology's version of the book of life. Today, the 'microscopes' scientists have access to allow them to zoom down much further into the structure of the proteins that are...
Space shuttle embarks on 12-mile trip to LA museum
(AP)—Space shuttle Endeavour is on its way to a Los Angeles museum where it will spend its retirement.
Strong quake hits Indonesia, but no major damage
A strong earthquake jolted eastern Indonesia on Friday, panicking residents, but no major damage was immediately reported.
US military prepares new rules for cyber war: Panetta
The United States faces a growing threat of a "cyber-Pearl Harbor" and has drafted new rules for the military that would enable it to move aggressively against digital attacks, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said late Thursday.
US video game sales fall 24 percent in September
(AP)—U.S. retail sales of new video-game hardware, software and accessories fell 24 percent in September.
War of tweets rages around US debate
Before, during and after Thursday's US vice presidential debate, the tweets were raging.
When galaxies eat galaxies: Gravitational lenses suggest big collisions make galaxies denser
(Phys.org)—Using gravitational "lenses" in space, University of Utah astronomers discovered that the centers of the biggest galaxies are growing denser – evidence of repeated collisions and mergers by massive galaxies with 100 billion stars.
3G protocols come up short in privacy, say researchers
(Phys.org)—Researchers from the UK and Germany have found that 3G telephony systems pose a security weakness that results in threats to user privacy. The weakness makes it possible for stalkers to trace and identify subscribers. Their paper, "New Privacy Issues in Mobile Telephony: Fix and Verification," says that 3G systems come up short in preventing unauthorized parties from tracking the...
First evidence of dynamo generation on an asteroid found
About 4.6 billion years ago, the solar system was little more than a tenuous disk of gas and dust. In the span of merely 10 million years, this soup evolved to form today's massive, complex planets. In the intervening period, however, the solar system contained a mixture of intermediary bodies—small chunks of rock, the remnants of which today are known as asteroids.
No bail for man accused in Russian technology sale
(AP)—A federal judge has denied bail to the owner of a Texas microelectronics company accused of conspiring to sell advanced technology to the Russian military.
Novel technique helps with researching atomic structure of complex surfaces
With a novel idea, a lot of work and some of the world's most sophisticated equipment, researchers at McMaster University have developed a new way to study the structures of complex surfaces, opening the door to future discoveries in materials, energy and technology.
Romania rising as New World of wine in 'old' Europe
On the gentle slopes of the Dealu Mare (Big Hill) region, winemakers are striving to make Romania the New World of wine in Europe.
Wild monkeys watch fights to exploit losers for grooming
Wild macaques who are bystanders to fights within their group exploit the losers for grooming favours, new research has shown.
THURSDAY 11. OCTOBER 2012
EU commissioner seeks to reassure VW on CO2 emissions
EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has written to German car giant Volkswagen maintaining that proposed EU limits on auto carbon emissions were actually relaxed before they were finalised.
Experts puzzled by lone dolphin in Cayman Islands
(AP)—Stinky the dolphin is lonely, and he's getting way too frisky with humans.
Las Cumbres Observatory achieves first light with NRES spectrograph
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope (LCOGT), a private, nonprofit scientific institution conducting time domain astrophysics and education, and a provider of global telescope resources, achieved first light with their prototype Network of Robotic Echelle Spectrograph (NRES) this week. The event took place earlier in the week at LCOGT's Byrne Observatory located at the UC Santa Barbara...
Mars rock touched by Curiosity has surprises
(Phys.org)—The first Martian rock NASA's Curiosity rover has reached out to touch presents a more varied composition than expected from previous missions. The rock also resembles some unusual rocks from Earth's interior.
Mug handles could help hot plasma give lower-cost, controllable fusion energy
(Phys.org)—New hardware lets engineers maintain the plasma used in fusion reactors in an energy-efficient, stable manner, making the system potentially attractive for use in fusion power plants.
NASA sees Typhoon Prapiroon doing a 'Sit and Spin' in the Philippine Sea
As Typhoon Prapiroon slowed down and became quasi-stationary in the Philippine Sea NASA's Terra satellite passed overhead and captured an image of the storm.
New studies reveal connections between animals' microbial communities and behavior
(Phys.org)—New research is revealing surprising connections between animal microbiomes—the communities of microbes that live inside animals' bodies—and animal behavior, according to a paper by University of Georgia ecologist Vanessa O. Ezenwa and her colleagues. The article, just published in the Perspectives section of the journal Science, reviews recent developments in this emerging...
Researchers make Sudoku puzzles less puzzling
For anyone who has ever struggled while attempting to solve a Sudoku puzzle, University of Notre Dame researcher Zoltan Toroczkai and Notre Dame postdoctoral researcher Maria Ercsey-Ravaz are riding to the rescue. They can not only explain why some Sudoku puzzles are harder than others, they have also developed a mathematical algorithm that solves Sudoku puzzles very quickly, without any guessing...
Satellite sees 16th Atlantic tropical depression born near Bahamas
The 16th tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean season has formed northeast of the Bahamas and NOAA's GOES-14 satellite captured a visible image of the storm as it tracks to the southwest.
Schwarzenegger hands out green award in Denmark
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger handed out a Danish environmental prize to a British company in Copenhagen on Thursday, and praised the city as an inspiration for sustainable energy.