New observations from a NASA spacecraft show that the huge asteroid Vesta is a battered protoplanet left over from the solar system's early days, with a unique mix of characteristics unknown from any other space rock. [More]
Read More »Tag Archives: article
Feed SubscriptionThe Art of Eavesdropping: Nature s Silent Sniffers, Watchers and Listeners
Typically we think of eavesdropping as a human endeavor.
Read More »In Their Prime: Mathematicians Come Closer to Solving Goldbach’s Weak Conjecture
One of the oldest unsolved problems in mathematics is also among the easiest to grasp. The weak Goldbach conjecture says that you can break up any odd number into the sum of, at most, three prime numbers (num
Read More »Massive Active Fault Found beneath Japan’s Mount Fuji
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Mount Fuji may be sitting on a large, active fault that could trigger a magnitude-7 earthquake, changing the shape of the mountain and devastating nearby communities, the education ministry said on Thursday. A survey commissioned by the ministry found a 30-km fault beneath Japan's highest mountain, believed by many to be sacred, and research results indicate it was likely to be active, a ministry official said.
Read More »In Search of the Best (Energy) Ideas: A Q&A with ARPA-E’s Arun Majumdar
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA–E) works on a three-year cycle: Funded projects have three years to prove worthy--or not. Program directors who help fund projects such as Plants Engineered to Replace Petroleum ( PETRO ) or Batteries for Electrical Energy Storage in Transportation ( BEEST ) have three years to steer the research. And, after three years at the helm as the founding director of ARPA–E, mechanical engineer Arun Majumdar has announced that he will be stepping down in June.
Read More »Israel’s Science Minister on Space Technology-for Peaceful and Militaristic Aims
Launch of an Israeli Shavit rocket via Wikimedia Commons Last week I had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Hershkowitz , Israel s minister of science and technology, to talk about his country s capabilities and ambitions in space. We spoke about Israel s homegrown platforms for launching satellites into space; the commercial, military and scientific applications of those satellites; and whether the country has plans to return to the human spaceflight arena, almost 10 years after its first foray ended in tragedy.
Read More »Trade Time and Energy So You Can Live Slow, Reproduce Fast
Who makes your food? Do you live alone and do everything yourself, or are you part of a partnership, roommate situation, or extended family where food is shared? Most likely, the more complicated your living situation, the more complicated the food allocation
Read More »Scientists Urge Action on World’s Biggest Problems
By Chris Wickham LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists from 15 countries are calling for a better political response to the provision of water and energy to meet the challenge of feeding a world of 9 billion people within 30 years. The joint statement by some of the world's leading science academies was issued on Thursday ahead of the G8 summit in the United States.
Read More »U.N. Struggles to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
As it attempts to lead the world toward a more sustainable future, the United Nations has set a policy to move "towards a zero carbon future." [More]
Read More »Fewer Storms Forecast for 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season
By Tom Brown MIAMI (Reuters) - The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is projected to be less active than in recent years with 11 tropical storms, six of which will intensify into hurricanes, U.S. [More]
Read More »Why Light Touching Can Double Your Chances of Getting a Date [Excerpt]
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the new book, Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior , by Leonard Mlodinow. Copyright
Read More »What 3 Science Questions Do You Think the Presidential Candidates Need to Answer before November 6th?
As you may remember from back in February , the Guardian U.S.
Read More »Rise of Humans 2 Million Years Ago Doomed Large Carnivores
Lions are one of just six carnivores that remain in East Africa today, compared with more than 15 species that shared the landscape before the dawn of Homo. Image: Kate Wong The impact of Homo sapiens on the environment over the past few hundred years has been so profound that some scientists term this chapter of Earth s history the Anthropocene . But humans may have begun wreaking ecological havoc far, far earlier than that.
Read More »Occupy Sites Help Cops, Corps Track Occupiers
Occupy Wall Street websites love adding Google, Facebook, and Twitter buttons--which could give law enforcement a handy back door to track users' actions--and identities. Big Data is everywhere. Occupy Wall Street protesters, however, are dealing with a special challenge: Online marketers and analytics firms tracing the minutiae of their lives--including their email contacts and physical location--and possibly passing the information on to law enforcement.
Read More »SpaceX Docking at Space Station Set to Free Data Stuck in Orbit
By Eric Hand of Nature magazine When it comes to doing science on the International Space Station (ISS), the laws of gravity have been flipped: what goes up mostly stays up. [More]
Read More »