Resource Blog

Bat echolocation: 3-D imaging differentiates how various bats generate biosonar signals

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:11 +0000

Researchers, using micro-computed tomography systems, have shed new light on the way bats echolocate. With echolocation, animals emit sounds and then listen to the reflected echoes of those sounds to form images of their surroundings in their brains.

SwRI researchers offer explanation for the differences between Ganymede and Callisto

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:07 +0000

Ganymede’s and Callisto’s evolutionary paths diverged about 3.8 billion years ago during the Late Heavy Bombardment.

Buying Your First (Energy-Efficient) Home

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:03 +0000

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Krista and Micah Fuerst were looking near here to buy their first place together, and had narrowed it down to two houses: One built 25 years ago of standard materials, the other brand new and built to strict energy efficiency standards. [More]

Researchers synchronize blinking ‘genetic clocks’ — genetically engineered bacteria that keep track of time

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:10 +0000

Researchers who last year genetically engineered bacteria to keep track of time by turning on and off fluorescent proteins within their cells have taken another step toward the construction of a programmable genetic sensor. The scientists recently synchronized these bacterial “genetic clocks” to blink in unison and engineered the bacterial genes to alter their blinking rates when environmental conditions change.

Neuron connections seen in 3-D

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:00:11 +0000

Scientists have managed to obtain 3-D images of the vesicles and filaments involved in communication between neurons. The method is based on a novel technique in electron microscopy, which cools cells so quickly that their biological structures can be frozen while fully active.

Human running speeds of 35 to 40 mph may be biologically possible

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:00:13 +0000

A new study offers intriguing insights into the biology of human running speed. The study identifies the critical variable imposing the biological limit to running speed, and projects how the biological limits might be pushed beyond speeds achieved by Usain Bolt to perhaps 35 or even 40 miles per hour, said study authors.

National Science Foundation selects National Solar Observatory to build world’s largest solar telescope

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:00:09 +0000

The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope will be the world’s flagship facility for the study of magnetic phenomena in the solar atmosphere.

Even small dietary reductions in salt could mean fewer heart attacks, strokes and deaths

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:12 +0000

Reducing salt in the American diet by as little as one-half teaspoon per day could prevent nearly 100,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths each year, according to researchers.

Rover gives NASA an opportunity to view interior of Mars

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:06 +0000

The dark rock dubbed Marquette Island is providing a better understanding of the mineral and chemical makeup of the martian interior.

Unusual snail shell could be a model for better armor

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:12 +0000

Deep within the Kairei Indian hydrothermal vent field, two-and-one-half miles below the central Indian Ocean, scientists have discovered a gastropod mollusk, whose armor could improve load-bearing and protective materials in everything from aircraft hulls to sports equipment.

Public invited to pick pixels on Mars

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:08 +0000

Scientists are taking suggestions on where to image the Red Planet using NASA satellite.

Farming Fuel in Middle Eastern Salt Marshes

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:04 +0000

A new biofuels project at Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Institute of Science and Technology will unite Boeing , Honeywell and others in search of a system to produce fuel and other useful products from biomass and seawater.

The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Project is focused on integrating aquaculture and farming to create a closed-loop system that thrives in areas where fresh water is scarce.

[More]

Scientists identify Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park as one of most biodiverse places on Earth

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:13 +0000

A team of scientists has documented that Yasuni National Park, in the core of the Ecuadorian Amazon, shatters world records for a wide array of plant and animal groups, from amphibians to trees to insects. The authors also conclude that proposed oil development projects represent the greatest threat to Yasuni and its biodiversity.

Artificial muscles restore ability to blink, save eyesight

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:12 +0000

Surgeons have demonstrated that artificial muscles can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis to blink, a development that could benefit the thousands of people each year who no longer are able to close their eyelids due to combat-related injuries, stroke, nerve injury or facial surgery.

Wilder weather exerts a stronger influence on biodiversity than steadily changing conditions

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:09 +0000

An increase in the variability of local conditions could do more to harm biodiversity than slower shifts in climate, a new study has found.