Researchers find flexible solution for separating gases

Source: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain For a wide range of industries, separating gases is an important part of both the process and the product. This includes separating nitrogen and oxygen from the air for medical purposes, separating carbon dioxide from other gases in the carbon capture process or removing impurities from natural gas. However, separating gases … Read more

Most pristine trilobite fossils ever found, shaking up scientific understanding of long-extinct group

Microtomographic reconstruction of the head and anterior trunk (“body”) limbs of the trilobite Protolenus (Hupeolenus) in ventral view. Credit: Arnaud Mazurier, IC2MP, Univ. Poitiers Researchers have described some of the best-preserved three-dimensional trilobite fossils ever discovered. The fossils, which are more than 500 million years old, were collected in the High Atlas of Morocco and … Read more

Gold nanoparticles kill cancer, but not as thought

Spherical and star-shaped gold nanoparticles (top) and colon cancer cells after approximately five hours of exposure to them (bottom respectively). The photo at the bottom left proves that the cancer cells survived despite the small size of the spherical nanoparticles. False colors. Credit: IFJ PAN Gold particles the size of billionths of a meter are … Read more

Gravitational wave researchers shed new light on the mystery of the Antikythera mechanism

Antikythera Mechanism. Credit: National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece Techniques developed to analyze the ripples in spacetime detected by some of the most sensitive scientific equipment of the 21st century have helped shed new light on the function of the oldest known analog computer. Astronomers from the University of Glasgow have used statistical modeling techniques developed … Read more

Wind tunnel research shows that the flow in a hypersonic jet engine can be controlled optically

Doctoral student Max Chern takes a closer look at the wind tunnel setup where researchers from the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science have demonstrated that control of a dual-mode scramjet engine is possible with an optical sensor. Credit: Wende Whitman, UVA Engineering What if the future of space travel looked less … Read more

The fate of the Ammonites was sealed by a meteor impact that wiped out dinosaurs

Ammonites bask in the Late Cretaceous sun. Credit: Artwork by Callum Pursall Scientists have discovered that ammonite species did not decline before their extinction. The coiled-shell marine mollusks, one of paleontology’s greatest icons, thrived in Earth’s oceans for more than 350 million years until they became extinct during the same accidental event that wiped out … Read more

NASA’s Juno probe gets a close-up view of lava lakes on Jupiter’s moon Io

The JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured two volcanic plumes rising above the horizon of Jupiter’s moon Io. The photo was taken on February 3 from a distance of about 3,800 kilometers. Credit: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS, Image processing by Andrea Luck (CC BY) New findings from NASA’s Juno probe provide a fuller picture of … Read more

Detective work enables Mars rover team Perseverance to revive SHERLOC instrument

This image of NASA’s Perseverance rover collecting data on the wear of the “Valhalla Glades” was taken June 14 in the “Bright Angel” area of ​​Jezero Crater by one of the rover’s forward hazard avoidance cameras. The WATSON camera on the SHERLOC instrument is closest to the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech After six months … Read more

New research reveals evidence of cometary outbursts from 12,800 years ago

Shocked quartz grains, with cracks filled with molten glass. Credit: UC Santa Barbara Researchers continue to build the case for the Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis. The idea holds that a fragmented comet slammed into Earth’s atmosphere 12,800 years ago, triggering widespread climate change that led to, among other things, an abrupt reversal of Earth’s warming … Read more

The space rocks have landed

Inspired by LEGO, ESA scientists have used dust from a meteorite to 3D print LEGO-style ‘space bricks’ to test out building ideas for a future moon base. Credit: The LEGO Group ESA scientists have investigated how a future moon base could be built from materials on the moon’s surface. Inspired by building with LEGO, they … Read more