Category Science

By Robin WhitlockOctober 10, 2015Lead researcher Challa V. Kumar (center) Image source:University of Connecticut Although the rise in solar power use has been both steady and promising, innovation and improvements in cell efficiency could make things even better. A new type of antenna has now been developed which could enable solar panels to become twice as efficient as those currently in operation, thereby increasing the deployment of rooftop solar cells.

September 29, 2015 Image Source: DARPA, news In September 2015, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) briefly discussed their initial findings that could allow for a deeper understanding of and possible treatment for individuals living with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other brain pathologies.

October 27, 2015 Image Source:HIRISE, Mars The Martian starring Matt Damon shows us what it might take for a single person to survive on Mars until possible rescue. Without giving away the plot, Matt Damon’s character, Astronaut Mark Watney needs to find a way to grow plants on Mars in order to stay alive and the terraforming he does is pretty accurate.

Lake Hume at 4 percent Image source:Tim J Keegan, Flickr It’s the sun causing warmingNo, it’s not. The sun is actually cooling, well, slightly, while the Earth is getting warmer. This process has been going on for the past 35 years. Climate change deniers have tried to convince people otherwise by cherry-picking the data so that only those past periods of our history, in which the sun’s temperature and the climate have moved together, are shown.

December 06, 20153D printing is increasingly gaining ground in medicine as it is being used to aid doctors in preparing for complex procedures in addition to making prosthetics. Quite recently the life of Teresa Flint, a mother of 3, diagnosed with a complex aneurysm was saved by doctors at the Jacobs institute in Buffalo using an $87,000 3-D printer (EDENN 260 V) made by Statasy Ltd.

By Robin WhitlockDecember 08, 2015If no realistic agreement is made at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris, the world risks shooting past the safe 2ºC limit on its way to a 4ºC increase in average global temperature or more, but what will that mean for the planet?A report produced by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Climate Analytics for the World Bank in 2012 warned that such a temperature level would trigger a wave of cataclysmic effects including extreme heat waves, declining global food stocks and a sea-level rise that would adversely affect hundreds of millions of people.

Algal blooms in the Great Lakes on the Canada-US border Image source:NASA Earth Observatory, Flickr The prevalence of toxic algal blooms is increasing all over the world and climate change appears to be one of the causative factors.What is an algal bloom? A harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurs when microscopic algae increase in a water system and both freshwater and seawater can be affected.

January 19, 2016Astronaut Scott Kelly, posted two tweets claiming that the orange zinnia has been successfully grown on the International Space Station. The tweets read: “Yes, there are other life forms in space!” and “First ever flower grown in space makes its debut!” This, of course, is big news in the scientific community and marks a first step in growing other end products like fruits and vegetables.

January 18, 2016 Image Source: Patrick Brosset,Flickr Teleportation is a dream of many, and while scientists can& 39;t help you get to work any faster yet, they are trying to solve the problem. Researchers at Purdue University and Tsinghua University are experimenting with teleporting microorganisms based around Schrödinger& 39;s famous experiment.

January 22, 2016A group of French scientists have developed an injectable foam that can be used to repair and even perhaps regrow degenerating bones. The main substance that accomplishes this task is known as Calcium phosphate cement (CPC). This substance has already been used to treat bone diseases before, but until recently, it has never been in the form that can be injected into the body.

February 07, 2016A new pen-like microscope has been developed by researchers from the University of Washington in order to help doctors detect cancer cells more efficiently. When doctors are in the process of cutting tumors, it is all about scans taken of the tumor and the experience of the doctor as well.

January 21, 2016Scientists from the California Institute of Technology just announced a new theory about a large planet lying deep within the reaches of our solar system. In a paper released by Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin on January 20, 2016, the two researchers outline the strong evidence they have found for the existence of a new planet about 10 times the size of earth.

The snake species may have evolved from bigger lizards, and not from small burrowing worm-like lizards as was previously believed.November 21, 2019A team of paleontologists discovered a wonderfully well-preserved snake skull in Argentina, shedding new light on the origin of the species.From their findings, the team has deduced the snake had rear limbs and possibly evolved from giant lizards.

For the first time ever in Broadcom Masters& 39; history, only girls won the prizes.November 20, 2019At a U.S. national science and engineering competition for middle schoolers, all five top prizes were awarded to girls for the first time ever this year.The competition known as the Broadcom MASTERS, or Math, Applied Science, Technology, and Engineering for Rising Stars, takes place every year.

Mathematics permeates every single area of our modern lives, but who do we have to thank for this important field?December 09, 2019Mathematics is at the center of our modern world, whether we& 39;d like to admit it or not. Behind our smartphones, our cars, our computers, even the weather, math is quietly working to calculate the past, present, and future.

Whether you are a coffee connoisseur or a & 34;tea-totaler& 34; (we tried), your weapon of choice for a pick-me-up in the morning is caffeine. But have you ever wondered how this wonder-drug actually works?Here we explore, briefly, what exactly caffeine is, and how it affects your body.RELATED: COFFE MAY NOT BE AS BAD FOR OUR HEART AS WE THINKWhat is caffeine and how does it work?

Out of all the continents, Antarctica was the last to be discovered. With 98 of its surface covered with 1.9Km thick ice, and harsh winters year long, it is the least inhabitable place on earth.And it just might be a researcher’s utopia.Antarctica was discovered in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny.

Science and technology are the great drivers of innovation in the world around us. Technological and scientific breakthroughs help people every day, bringing clean water, access to information through the internet, cures for rare diseases.Many aspects of scientific discovery face few ethical questions.

A new study is confirming a long-suspected fact.December 28, 2019Does your expectation of a certain movie actually affect how much you end up enjoying it? Do your unrealistically high expectations prevent you from enjoying a genuinely decent movie? These are the questions some researchers at Ohio State University sought to answer in their new study.

Water is one of the essential elements required for life to thrive. Virtually every living being on this planet is dependent on water one way or another. Take humans, for example. We can go without food for around three weeks but can only last three-to-four days without water.And yet, water is not a resource equally available to all people in the world.