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Sunday, June 15, 2014

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


New evidence for 'oceans' of water deep in Earth: Water bound in mantle rock alters view of Earth's composition

Posted: 12 Jun 2014 11:23 AM PDT

Researchers report evidence for potentially oceans worth of water deep beneath the United States. Though not in the familiar liquid form -- the ingredients for water are bound up in rock deep in the Earth's mantle -- the discovery may represent the planet's largest water reservoir. The researchers have found deep pockets of magma located about 400 miles beneath North America, a likely signature of the presence of water at these depths.

Long-range tunneling of quantum particles

Posted: 12 Jun 2014 11:22 AM PDT

One of the most remarkable consequences of the rules in quantum mechanics is the capability of a quantum particle to penetrate through a potential barrier even though its energy would not allow for the corresponding classical trajectory. This is known as the quantum tunnel effect and manifests itself in a multitude of well-known phenomena. For example, it explains nuclear radioactive decay, fusion reactions in the interior of stars, and electron transport through quantum dots. Tunneling also is at the heart of many technical applications, for instance it allows for imaging of surfaces on the atomic length scale in scanning tunneling microscopes.

David and Goliath: How a tiny spider catches much larger prey

Posted: 12 Jun 2014 06:50 AM PDT

In nature, it is very rare to find a proverbial much smaller David able to overpower and kill a Goliath for supper. This is exactly the modus operandi of a solitary tiny spider from the Negev desert in Israel that routinely kills ants up to almost four times its own size.

Manipulating and detecting ultrahigh frequency sound waves: 1,000 times higher resolution ultrasound images possible

Posted: 11 Jun 2014 02:10 PM PDT

Researchers have demonstrated a technique for detecting and controlling ultrahigh frequency sound waves at the nanometer scale. This represents an advance towards next generation ultrasonic imaging with potentially 1,000 times higher resolution than today's medical ultrasounds.

Mining data archives yields haul of 'red nuggets' galaxies

Posted: 11 Jun 2014 12:11 PM PDT

The world of astronomy has changed. An astronomer used to have to travel to a remote location and endure long, cold nights, patiently guiding a telescope to collect precious photons of light. Now, a proliferation of online archives allows astronomers to make discoveries from the comfort of their own offices. By mining such archives, a team of astronomers has found a treasure trove of 'red nugget' galaxies.

White bread helps boost some of the gut's 'good' microbes

Posted: 11 Jun 2014 08:28 AM PDT

White-bread lovers take heart. Scientists are now reporting that this much-maligned food seems to encourage the growth of some of our most helpful inhabitants -- beneficial gut bacteria. In addition to this surprising find, a new study also revealed that when looking at effects of food on our 'microbiomes,' considering the whole diet, not just individual ingredients, is critical.

Making new species without sex: Plants can transfer their entire genetic material to a partner in an asexual manner

Posted: 11 Jun 2014 07:22 AM PDT

Plants can transfer their entire genetic material to a partner in an asexual manner, researchers report. Occasionally, two different plant species interbreed with each other in nature. This usually causes problems since the genetic information of both parents does not match. But sometimes, instead of passing on only half of each parent's genetic material, both plants transmit the complete information to the next generation. This means that the chromosome sets are totted up. The chromosomes are then able to find their suitable partner during meiosis, allowing the plants to stay fertile and a new species is generated.

Internet not responsible for dying newspapers, new study finds

Posted: 10 Jun 2014 09:19 AM PDT

We all know that the Internet has killed the traditional newspaper trade, right? After all, until the general population started interacting with the web in the mid-90s, the newspaper business was thriving -- offering readers top notch journalism and pages of ads. A new study finds assumptions about the decline of newspapers are based on three false premises.

Major West Antarctic glacier melting from geothermal sources

Posted: 09 Jun 2014 12:34 PM PDT

New research on the Thwaits Glacier will help ice sheet modeling efforts needed to determine when the collapse of the glacier will begin in earnest and at what rate the sea level will increase as it proceeds.

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