 | 1. Astronomers Pin Down Galaxy Collision Rate
Listed on: Monday, October 31, 2011
A new analysis of Hubble surveys, combined with simulations of galaxy interactions, reveals that the merger rate of galaxies over the last 8 billion to 9 billion years falls between the previous estimates....
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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 | 2. Research: Graphene Grows Better on Certain Copper Crystals
Listed on: Monday, October 31, 2011
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — New observations could improve industrial production of high-quality graphene, hastening the era of graphene-based consumer electronics, thanks to University of Illinois engineers....
University of Illinois
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 | 3. Planets Smashed into Dust Near Supermassive Black Holes
Listed on: Saturday, October 29, 2011
Fat doughnut-shaped dust shrouds that obscure about half of supermassive black holes could be the result of high speed crashes between planets and asteroids, according to a new theory from an international team of astronomers....
Royal Astronomical Society
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 | 4. Researchers Use New Approach to Overcome Key Hurdle for Next-Generation Superconductors
Listed on: Saturday, October 29, 2011
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new computational approach to improve the utility of superconductive materials for specific design applications – and have used the approach to solve a key research obstacle for the next-generation superconductor material yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO)....
North Carolina State University
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 | 5. Three New Planets and a Mystery Discovered Outside Our Solar System
Listed on: Saturday, October 29, 2011
Three planets -- each orbiting its own giant, dying star -- have been discovered by an international research team led by a Penn State University astronomer. Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, the astronomers observed the planets' parent stars -- called HD 240237, BD +48 738, and HD 96127 -- tens of light years away from our solar system....
Pennsylvania State University
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 | 6. Improved Characterization of Nanoparticle Clusters for EHS and Biosensors Research
Listed on: Friday, October 28, 2011
The tendency of nanoparticles to clump together in solution—"agglomeration"—is of great interest because the size of the clusters plays an important role in the behavior of the materials....
Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology
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 | 7. HKU Astronomers Discover Complex Organic Matter in the Universe
Listed on: Friday, October 28, 2011
In today's issue of the journal Nature, astronomers report that organic compounds of unexpected complexity exist throughout the Universe. The results suggest that complex organic compounds are not the sole domain of life but can be made naturally by stars....
University of Hong Kong
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 | 8. Future 'Comb on a Chip': NIST's Compact Frequency Comb Could Go Places
Listed on: Friday, October 28, 2011
Laser frequency combs—extraordinarily precise tools for measuring frequencies (or colors) of light—have helped propel advances in timekeeping, trace gas detection and related physics research to new heights in the past decade....
Physical Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology
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 | 9. Yale Engineers Bring New Meaning to the Force of Light
Listed on: Thursday, October 27, 2011
New research by engineers at the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science demonstrates that nanomechanical resonators can operate at much higher amplitudes than previously thought....
Yale University
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 | 10. Paper-based Wireless Sensor Could Help Detect Explosive Devices
Listed on: Thursday, October 27, 2011
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a prototype wireless sensor capable of detecting trace amounts of a key ingredient found in many explosives....
Georgia Institute of Technology
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 | 11. Unexpected Magnetic Excitations in Doped Insulator Surprise Researchers
Listed on: Thursday, October 27, 2011
When doping a disordered magnetic insulator material with atoms of a nonmagnetic material, the conventional wisdom is that the magnetic interactions between the magnetic ions in the material will be weakened....
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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 | 12. NASA Telescopes Help Solve Ancient Supernova Mystery
Listed on: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
PASADENA, Calif. -- A mystery that began nearly 2,000 years ago, when Chinese astronomers witnessed what would turn out to be an exploding star in the sky, has been solved....
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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 | 13. Giant Flakes Make Graphene Oxide Gel (Rice, Colorado Discovery Could Boost Metamaterials, High-strength Fibers)
Listed on: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Giant flakes of graphene oxide in water aggregate like a stack of pancakes, but infinitely thinner, and in the process gain characteristics that materials scientists may find delicious....
Rice University
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 | 14. Fluoride Shuttle Increases Storage Capacity (KIT Researchers Develop New Concept for Rechargeable Batteries)
Listed on: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
KIT researchers have developed a new concept for rechargeable batteries. Based on a fluoride shuttle - the transfer of fluoride anions between the electrodes – it promises to enhance the storage capacity reached by lithium-ion batteries by several factors. Operational safety is also increased, as it can be done without lithium....
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
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 | 15. A New Approach to Solar Power (Hybrid Solar-Thermoelectric Systems Could Provide Advantages Over Conventional Solar Cells Or Solar Thermal Plants.)
Listed on: Saturday, October 22, 2011
Systems to harness the sun's energy typically generate either electricity or heat in the form of steam or hot water. But a new analysis by researchers at MIT shows that there could be significant advantages to systems that produce both electricity and heat simultaneously....
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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 | 16. New Evidence for First Production of Oxygen on Earth
Listed on: Friday, October 21, 2011
A new study is believed to have resolved a major debate about when oxygen began to be produced on Earth and how long it took before oxygen levels were enough to support the growth of life....
University of Western Australia
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 | 17. Herschel Finds Oceans of Water in Disk of Nearby Star
Listed on: Friday, October 21, 2011
PASADENA, Calif. -- Using data from the Herschel Space Observatory, astronomers have detected for the first time cold water vapor enveloping a dusty disk around a young star....
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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 | 18. Astronomers Explain 'Blue Stragglers' (Astronomers Discover How Mysterious Stars Stay So Young)
Listed on: Friday, October 21, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Mysterious "blue stragglers" are old stars that appear younger than they should be: they burn hot and blue. Several theories have attempted to explain why they don't show their age, but, until now, scientists have lacked the crucial observations with which to test each hypothesis....
Northwestern University
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 | 19. Urban 'Heat Island' Effect is Only a Small Contributor to Global Warming, and White Roofs Don't Help to Solve the Problem, Say Stanford Researchers
Listed on: Thursday, October 20, 2011
Cities release more heat to the atmosphere than the rural vegetated areas around them, but how much influence these urban "heat islands" have on global warming has been a matter of debate....
Stanford University
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 | 20. NASA's Spitzer Detects Comet Storm in Nearby Solar System
Listed on: Thursday, October 20, 2011
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system. The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the "Late Heavy Bombardment,"...
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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 | 21. Sea Levels Will Continue to Rise for 500 Years
Listed on: Thursday, October 20, 2011
Rising sea levels in the coming centuries is perhaps one of the most catastrophic consequences of rising temperatures. Massive economic costs, social consequences and forced migrations could result from global warming....
University of Copenhagen
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 | 22. Seeing Through Walls (Researchers at MIT's Lincoln Lab Have Developed New Radar Technology That Provides Real-time Video of What's Going on Behind Solid Walls.)
Listed on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The ability to see through walls is no longer the stuff of science fiction, thanks to new radar technology developed at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory....
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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 | 23. How the Milky Way Killed Off its Satellites
Listed on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Two researchers from Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg have revealed for the first time the existence of a new signature of the birth of the first stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way....
Royal Astronomical Society
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 | 24. Diamonds, Silver and the Quest for Single Photons (Tiny Crystal Towers Enlighten Understanding of Photon Emission, Could Inspire Diamond Microchips for Quantum Computing)
Listed on: Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Building on earlier work, scientists and engineers recently developed a manufacturing process that allows them to craft an assortment of miniature, silver-plated-diamond posts that enable greater control of light producing photons at the atomic scale....
National Science Foundation
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 | 25. Dark Matter Mystery Deepens
Listed on: Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Cambridge, MA - Like all galaxies, our Milky Way is home to a strange substance called dark matter. Dark matter is invisible, betraying its presence only through its gravitational pull....
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Harvard University
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