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Opposing phenomena possible key to high-efficiency electricity delivery

By Guest PostDecember 29, 2013Scienceali yazdani, andras gyenis, binghamton university, british columbia, coexistence, copper oxide, da silva neto, eduardo, electricity delivery, high efficiency, high temperature superconductors, hts, material, mystery in physics, pegor aynajian, phenomena, princeton university, rigid pattern, superconductivity, university, xray scattering technique

The coexistence of two opposing phenomena might be the secret to understanding the enduring mystery in physics of how materials heralded as the future of powering our homes and communities actually work, according to Princeton University-led research. Such insight could help spur the further development of high-efficiency electric-power delivery.

Published in the journal Science, the findings provide a substantial clue for unraveling the inner workings of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) based on compounds containing copper and oxygen, or copper oxides. Copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors are prized as a material for making power lines because of their ability to conduct electricity with no resistance. It’s been shown that the material can be used to deliver electrical power like ordinary transmission lines, but with no loss of energy. In addition, typical superconductors need extremely low temperatures of roughly -243 degrees Celsius (-405 degrees Fahrenheit) to exhibit this 100-percent efficiency. A copper oxide HTS, however, can reach this level of efficiency at a comparatively toasty -135 degrees Celsius (-211 degrees Fahrenheit), which is achievable using liquid nitrogen. (more…)

The Virus That Makes a Disposable Syringe

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2013Sciencealpha helical molecules, bacterial cell, bacteriophage, tail structure, virus

For decades, no one knew how a virus that preys on bacteria transfers its DNA into the host cells because it appeared to lack the structures other viruses use for that process. Now researchers have discovered how the virus does it – using a structure that might hold applications for nanotechnology. (more…)

Scientists solve a decades-old mystery in the Earth’s upper atmosphere

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2013Sciencebinbin ni, chorus, craig kletzing, data driven, decades old mystery, earth, electron acceleration, emfisis, extremely energetic particles, geoff reeves, global wave model, inward, jacob bortnik, james van allen, local stochastic acceleration, low frequency, planetary magnetospheres, qianli ma, radial diffusive transport, radiation belts, radio wave, scientists, solve, space scientist, ultra relativistic electrons, university of iowa, upper atmosphere, van allen

New research published in the journal Nature resolves decades of scientific controversy over the origin of the extremely energetic particles known as ultra-relativistic electrons in the Earth’s near-space environment and is likely to influence our understanding of planetary magnetospheres throughout the universe.

Discovering the processes that control the formation and ultimate loss of these electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts — the rings of highly charged particles that encircle the Earth at a range of about 1,000 to 50,000 kilometers above the planet’s surface — is a primary science objective of the recently launched NASA Van Allen Probes mission. Understanding these mechanisms has important practical applications, because the enormous amounts of radiation trapped within the belts can pose a significant hazard to satellites and spacecraft, as well astronauts performing activities outside a craft. (more…)

An Inside Look at a MOF in Action

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2013Scienceals, atmosphere, berend smit, berkeley lab, carbon dioxide gas, david prendergast, gas adsorption, gas molecules, global climate change, inside look, jacs, jeff kortright, jeffrey long, jeffrey neaton, metal organic framework, mg mof 74, mof in action, molecules, nano, nexafs, open metal site, roberta poloni, thomas mcdonald, united states, vulcan, walter drisdell

Berkeley Lab Researchers Probe Into Electronic Structure of MOF May Lead to Improved Capturing of Greenhouse Gases

A unique inside look at the electronic structure of a highly touted metal-organic framework (MOF) as it is adsorbing carbon dioxide gas should help in the design of new and improved MOFs for carbon capture and storage. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have recorded the first in situ electronic structure observations of the adsorption of carbon dioxide inside Mg-MOF-74, an open metal site MOF that has emerged as one of the most promising strategies for capturing and storing greenhouse gases. (more…)

Hard rock life

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2013Scienceamerican geophysical union, bigelow laboratories, biofuel, biotechnology research, breakthrough, caribbean ocean, dco, earth, geomicrobiologist, hard rock life, hardened rock, hydrothermal vent, julie huber, matthew schrenk, merja itavaara, michigan state university, microbial denizen, phenomena, ramunas stepanauskas, South Africa, underground in california, vtt finland

Scientists are digging deep into the Earth’s surface collecting census data on the microbial denizens of the hardened rocks. What they’re finding is that, even miles deep and halfway across the globe, many of these communities are somehow quite similar.

The results, which were presented at the American Geophysical Union conference Dec. 8, suggest that these communities may be connected, said Matthew Schrenk, Michigan State University geomicrobiologist. (more…)

Study Raises Questions about Longstanding Forensic Identification Technique

By Guest PostDecember 27, 2013Scienceann ross, ashley maxwell, cranial vault outline, forensic experts, forensic identification technique, north Carolina, positive id, postmortem xrays, questions, skull, state university

Forensic experts have long used the shape of a person’s skull to make positive identifications of human remains. But those findings may now be called into question, since a new study from North Carolina State University shows that there is not enough variation in skull shapes to make a positive ID.

“In a lot of cases, murder victims or the victims of disasters are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and don’t have extensive dental records we can use to make a match,” says Dr. Ann Ross, a forensic expert and professor of anthropology at NC State who is senior author of a paper on the new study. “But those people may have been in car accidents or other incidents that led them to have their skulls X-rayed in emergency rooms or elsewhere. And those skull X-rays have often been used to make IDs. I’ve done it myself. (more…)

International Research Team Close Human Evolution Gap with Discovery of 1.4 Million-Year-Old Fossil Human Hand Bone

By Guest PostDecember 26, 2013Scienceanatomical features, apes, carol ward, earliest acheulian tools, east africa, evolutionary history, fossil, fredrick manthi, genus, hand anatomy, homo, human evolution gap, human hand bone, human like hand, kaitio site, Kenya, paleo project, styloid process, tool, university of missouri, west turkana

University of Missouri researcher part of team that found the bone in Kenya

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Humans have a distinctive hand anatomy that allows them to make and use tools. Apes and other nonhuman primates do not have these distinctive anatomical features in their hands, and the point in time at which these features first appeared in human evolution is unknown. Now, a University of Missouri researcher and her international team of colleagues have found a new hand bone from a human ancestor who roamed the earth in East Africa approximately 1.42 million years ago. They suspect the bone belonged to the early human species, Homo erectus. The discovery of this bone is the earliest evidence of a modern human-like hand, indicating that this anatomical feature existed more than half a million years earlier than previously known. (more…)

Cassini Sees Saturn and Moons in Holiday Dress

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2013Scienceboulder, carolyn porco, cassini, enceladus, habitable zone, holiday season, linda spilker, liquid water reservoir, moons, most fascinating moons, NASA, planetary system, saturn, saturn pole, solar system, space science institute, titan

This holiday season, feast your eyes on images of Saturn and two of its most fascinating moons, Titan and Enceladus, in a care package from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. All three bodies are dressed and dazzling in this special package assembled by Cassini’s imaging team.

The new images are available online at: https://www.nasa.gov/cassini , https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and https://ciclops.org .

“During this, our tenth holiday season at Saturn, we hope that these images from Cassini remind everyone the world over of the significance of our discoveries in exploring such a remote and beautiful planetary system,” said Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader, based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. “Happy holidays from all of us on Cassini.” (more…)

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