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Berkeley Lab Scientists Achieve Breakthrough in Nanocomposite for High-Capacity Hydrogen Storage

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2011Scienceclean energy, fossil fuels, greenhouse gas, hydrogen storage technology, nanoparticles of magnesium, nanoscale materials, plexiglas, pliable nanocomposite, polymethyl methacrylate, volatile gas

Since the 1970s, hydrogen has been touted as a promising alternative to fossil fuels due to its clean combustion —unlike the combustion of fossil fuels, which spews greenhouse gases and harmful pollutants, hydrogen’s only combustion by-product is water. Compared to gasoline, hydrogen is lightweight, can provide a higher energy density and is readily available. But there’s a reason we’re not already living in a hydrogen economy: to replace gasoline as a fuel, hydrogen must be safely and densely stored, yet easily accessed. Limited by materials unable to leap these conflicting hurdles, hydrogen storage technology has lagged behind other clean energy candidates. (more…)

Stars Gather in ‘Downtown’ Milky Way

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2011Science120 degree view, astronomers, earth, galactic center, Galaxy, infrared array camera, milky way galaxy, multiband imaging photometer, myriad of stars, NASA, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, spitzer image, spitzer space telescope, starlight

The region around the center of our Milky Way galaxy glows colorfully in this new version of an image taken by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

The data were previously released as part of a long, 120-degree view of the plane our galaxy (see https://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2680-ssc2008-11a-Spitzer-Finds-Clarity-in-the-Inner-Milky-Way). Now, data from the very center of that picture are being presented at a different contrast to better highlight this jam-packed region. In visible-light pictures, it is all but impossible to see the heart of our galaxy, but infrared light penetrates the shroud of dust giving us this unprecedented view. (more…)

Human Prejudice Has Ancient Evolutionary Roots

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2011Sciencecoast of puerto rico, common ancestor, evolution, evolutionary theorists, human, human culture, human nature, iat, implicit attitudes, ingenious experiments, island, laurie santos, mahzarin banaji, margaret martinez, monkeys, natashya gutierrez, neha mahajan, primate, psychologist, sequence of photos, us versus them

The tendency to perceive others as “us versus them” isn’t exclusively human but appears to be shared by our primate cousins, a new study led by Yale researchers has found.

In a series of ingenious experiments, Yale researchers led by psychologist Laurie Santos showed that monkeys treat individuals from outside their groups with the same suspicion and dislike as their human cousins tend to treat outsiders, suggesting that the roots of human intergroup conflict may be evolutionarily quite ancient. (more…)

Study Finds More Efficient Means Of Creating, Arranging Carbon Nanofibers

By Guest PostMarch 19, 2011Sciencecarbon nanofibers, diameter of nanofibers, ligand monolayers, ligands, nanofibers, nanoparticles, nickel nanoparticles, north carolina state university, organic molecules, time-consuming, trioctylphosphine

Carbon nanofibers hold promise for technologies ranging from medical imaging devices to precise scientific measurement tools, but the time and expense associated with uniformly creating nanofibers of the correct size has been an obstacle – until now. A new study from North Carolina State University demonstrates an improved method for creating carbon nanofibers of specific sizes, as well as explaining the science behind the method.

“Carbon nanofibers have a host of potential applications, but their utility is affected by their diameter – and controlling the diameter of nanofibers has historically been costly and time-consuming,” says Dr. Anatoli Melechko, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the study. (more…)

Neanderthals Were Nifty At Controlling Fire, According To CU-Boulder Researcher

By Guest PostMarch 16, 2011Scienceanatomically modern humans, archaeological research, neanderthals, paleomagnetism, paola villa, portrayed, prolonged, thermoluminescence

A new study involving the University of Colorado Boulder shows clear evidence of the continuous control of fire by Neanderthals in Europe dating back roughly 400,000 years, yet another indication that they weren’t dimwitted brutes as often portrayed.

The conclusion comes from the study of scores of ancient archaeological research sites in Europe that show convincing evidence of long-term fire control by Neanderthals, said Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Villa co-authored a paper on the new study with Professor Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University in the Netherlands. (more…)

Japan Quake May Have Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis

By Guest PostMarch 15, 2011Environment, Scienceaxis, Chile, complex model, earth mass, earth rotation, earthquake, figure axis, gravitational attraction, Japan, japan earthquake, japan quake, length of earth day, march 11, microseconds, richard gross, sumatran earthquake, theoretical calculation, united states geological survey

The March 11, magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan may have shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis. But don’t worry-you won’t notice the difference.

Using a United States Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, research scientist Richard Gross of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake-the fifth largest since 1900-affected Earth’s rotation. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth’s mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second). (more…)

How the Slime Mold Gets Organized

By Guest PostMarch 13, 2011Sciencealpha catenin, animals cells, asymmetric epithelial cells, beta catenin, cells, cellular slime mold, daniel dickinson, embryo forms, epithelial cells, epithelium, fruiting body, high powered microscope, hollow structure, james nelson, man behind the curtain, multicellular organism, proteins, slime mold, stress, unicellular organism, william weis

*Cells at the tip of the slime mold’s fruiting body organize into an epithelial layer and secrete proteins as do some animals cells*

The so-called cellular slime mold, a unicellular organism that may transition into a multicellular organism under stress, has just been found to have a tissue structure that was previously thought to exist only in more sophisticated animals. What’s more, two proteins that are needed by the slime mold to form this structure are similar to those that perform the same function in more sophistical animals.

Shortly after an animal embryo forms, it develops a single layer of cells that, shaped like a hollow ball, is empty at its center. Acting as a kind of “man behind the curtain” that directs these cells to organize into this hollow formation are several proteins that help each cell touch its neighbors but keep its top surface exposed to the formation’s empty interior. (more…)

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