Batteries Made Out Of Wood? Researchers Create Efficient, Long-Lasting Batteries Out Of Wood

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"Wood fibers that make up a tree once held mineral-rich water, and so are ideal for storing liquid electrolytes, making them not only the base but an active part of the battery." Image Credit: University of Maryland

Efficient, environmentally friendly, long-lasting batteries made out of wood? Really? Apparently so — such a battery has now been developed thanks to researchers at the University of Maryland. The new battery design is essentially just a tiny sliver of wood coated with tin, but this simple design has already shown great potential — proving itself to be one of the most long-lasting of all sodium-ion nanobatteries. When the efficiency and long-lifespan — at least full … Read More

Massive Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Of 2012 Caused By Changes In The Jet Stream, Research Finds

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Image Credit: University of Sheffield

The exceptional ice-surface melt of the Greenland Ice Sheet in 2012 was caused by changes that occurred in the jet stream, according to new research from the University of Sheffield. This matters because it means that the Greenland Ice Sheet may melt faster than has been predicted by climate models… During the summer of 2012 more than 90% of the Greenland Ice Sheet’s surface melted — greatly exceeding the previous surface-melt record for the Greenland … Read More

Animal-Human ‘Chimera’ Embryo Experiments To Be Given ‘OK’ By Japan’s Regulatory Panel

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iPS cell mice

A series for experiments in animal-human bio-engineering proposed by a team of Japanese researchers has cleared its first regulatory hurdles, news sources inside Japan reported Tuesday. The purpose of the proposed experiments is to grow human organs inside the body of a non-human animal. While many in the US, Canada and Europe might have some foreboding about this ‘Island of Dr. Moreau’ – esque scenario, there is little aversion or opposition to such chimeric tinkering … Read More

Gulf Of Mexico Dead Zone 2013 — Record-Setting Deadzone Is Likely This Year

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"Less oxygen dissolved in the water is often referred to as a 'dead zone' (in red above) because most marine life either dies, or, if they are mobile such as fish, leave the area. Habitats that would normally be teeming with life become, essentially, biological deserts." Image Credit: NOAA

The 2013 Gulf of Mexico dead zone may very likely be the largest one ever, according to new predictions based on several different NOAA-supported forecast models. The hypoxic dead zone is forecast to cover somewhere between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico. The largest dead zone on record was the 2002 one, which covered 8,481 square miles. Dead zones — whether hypoxic (very low oxygen) or anoxic (no oxygen) — are … Read More

15 New Bird Species Discovered In Amazon

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Image Credit: Fabio Schunk

Chorozinho-do-aripuanã is a small bird similar to the the Black-capped Antwren. It is one of 15 bird species new to science. More of them are pictured here. The birds were discovered across a span of twenty five years, but it was only recently that they were confirmed by scientists to be new species. Most of them were discovered in the last five to ten years. None of them currently have formal scientific names, but they … Read More

Mars Had Oxygen-Rich Atmosphere 4 Billion Years Ago? New Research Provides Good Evidence

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Image Credit: USGS

Did Mars have an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4 billion (4000 million) years ago? New research investigating the differences between rocks studied by NASA’s Spirit rover and Martian meteorites is suggesting just such a thing. The differences in composition between the two can be explained with the idea that Mars possessed an oxygen-rich atmosphere about 4 billion years ago — that’s 1.5 billion years before the development of an oxygen-rich environment on the Earth. Specifically, the researchers … Read More

NASA’s Cassini Space Probe Will Take Photo Of The Earth As Seen From Saturn On July 19

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"This simulated view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the expected positions of Saturn and Earth on July 19, 2013, around the time Cassini will take Earth's picture. Cassini will be about 898 million miles (1.44 billion kilometers) away from Earth at the time. That distance is nearly 10 times the distance from the sun to Earth" Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

What does the Earth look like from deep space? From Saturn? On July 19th NASA’s Cassini spacecraft will be taking the first-ever natural-color image of the Earth as seen from the Saturn system. This will also be the first time that Cassini’s highest-resolution camera was used to photograph the Earth and the Moon. According to NASA researchers, in the image the Earth will very-likely look like a small, pale blue dot — visible just in … Read More

Summer Solstice 2013 — Midsummer Begins June 21 2013

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Image Credit: Midsummer Bonfire via Wikimedia Commons

The longest day of the year — the summer solstice — is almost here. On June 21 2013, at exactly 1:04 am EDT (5:04 UTC), the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth will reach its point of greatest inclination to the Sun. The term ‘summer solstice’ generally refers to the exact moment in time when this occurs, but also to the day. The day, and also the general period in time, are also referred to as … Read More

Mars Has Sled-like Tracks In Slopes

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Image Credit: HiRISE, MRO, LPL (U. Arizona), NASA

Looks like someone’s been having fun on Mars without telling anyone. Trails in slopes that seem suspiciously like sled tracks have been documented by research photographs. They weren’t made by little green men though. Blocks of dry ice are the suspects this time. These tracks are called linear gullies and you can see a much larger photograph on the Apod.gov site. The speculation is that the blocks of dry ice evaporate by the time they … Read More

Triclocarban — Chemical In Antibacterial Soaps Shortens Lifespan Of Female Offspring From Mothers Exposed While Nursing, Animal Study Finds

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Image Credit: Antibacterial Soap via Flickr CC

Exposure to triclocarban — a chemical commonly found in antibacterial soaps — results in drastically shorter lives and/or death, for the female offspring of individuals that were exposed to the chemical while nursing, a new study done on rats has found. The chemical is a very commonly-used one — found in most antibacterial soaps, in many personal care products, and in many other antibacterial products. A very large proportion of the public is regularly exposed … Read More