The ability to understand how small bodies such as moons switch from orbiting the Sun to orbiting a planet has long remained one of the outstanding problems of planetary science. A paper published in Nature on 15 May shows how this problem has been resolved using chaos theory, enabling scientists to predict where astronomers might search for new moons orbiting the giant planets.
In the last couple of years many small moons have been found orbiting the giant planets in our Solar System. For e
We humans are poorly adapted for underwater vision. However, the Moken peoples of south-east Asia manage to collect shells, clams and sea cucumbers using no visual aids when diving to a depth of 3 or 4 metres. Scientists from Lund University in Sweden have now measured the visual acuity of these children and have found that their ability to see well underwater is not a myth: their acuity in this environment is indeed superior to that of European children. The scientists have also found an explanation
Scientists believe they have opened the door to an overlooked area of bird behaviour – the use of social scents. The basic assumption is that vision and hearing are the main senses that birds use to signal each other, e.g. the colour of plumage; the sound of birdsong. This is questioned by new experimental evidence observed in the Crested Auklet, an arctic seabird.
Research by scientists at Swarthmore College and elsewhere, published in Proceedings B, explored the Crested Auklets’ frequent “
The old adage “treat them mean keep them keen” has been turned on its head by new research published in the Royal Society’s journal Proceedings: Biological Sciences today; at least as far as hyenas are concerned.
Scientists studying Serengeti spotted hyena clans in Tanzania found that male hyenas displaying “friendly” behaviour had much more luck with the ladies than their more aggressive counterparts.
Using genetic techniques, the researchers discovered that males rarely sired o
Speed-up may make “topic-sensitive” page rankings feasible Computer science researchers at Stanford University have developed several new techniques that together may make it possible to calculate Web page rankings as used in the Google search engine up to five times faster. The speed-ups to Googles method may make it realistic to calculate page rankings personalized for an individuals interests or customized to a particular topic. The Stanford team includes grad
Your local weather forecaster uses Doppler radar systems, covering U.S. regions, to estimate rainfall and flooding, but NASA research satellites can see rainfall worldwide.
Data from NASAs Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)satellite, along with information from other satellites, allows researchers to see how much rain is falling over most of the world every three hours. This capability enables scientists to daily map areas of potential flooding.
These maps, available
International research team cracks a hard physics problem. Strongly interacting systems play an important role in quantum physics and quantum chemistry. Stochastic methods such as Monte Carlo simulations are a…
Looking like a glittering cosmic geode, a trio of dazzling stars blaze from the hollowed-out cavity of a reflection nebula in this new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The…
Research examines the nature of explosive events in the magnetosphere. Southwest Research Institute is investigating an unusual event in the Earth’s magnetotail, the elongated portion of the planet’s magnetosphere trailing…
Significant attempts 20 years ago… The study focused on the protein peptide deformylase (PDF). Involved in protein maturation processes in cells, PDF is essential for the survival of bacteria. However,…
HIPS researchers discover new family of bacteria with high pharmaceutical potential. Most antibiotics used in human medicine originate from natural products derived from bacteria and other microbes. Novel microorganisms are…
A new paper published in Nature Nanotechnology outlines a way to create dozens of new “colors” to multiplex single-molecule measurements. Researchers often study biomolecules such as proteins or amino acids…
The material could be made as a thin coating to analyze air quality in industrial or home settings over time. Most systems used to detect toxic gases in industrial or…
Good vibrations… What if your earbuds could do everything your smartphone can do already, except better? What sounds a bit like science fiction may actually not be so far off….
The new technique can modify the nanostructure of bulk and 2D crystals without a cleanroom or expensive etching equipment. In a new paper published on May 1 in the journal…
From skill sets to an overall concept. At the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2024) in Yokohama, Japan, geriatronics researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) will present…
First neuromorphic vision and control of a flying drone. A team of researchers at Delft University of Technology has developed a drone that flies autonomously using neuromorphic image processing and…
Humboldt Professor Dieter Schmalstieg does research at the University of Stuttgart. Dieter Schmalstieg, Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Visual Computing at the University of Stuttgart, has been awarded the Humboldt…