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(Phys.org) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory have designed a method to evaluate different conductors for use in metamaterial structures, which are engineered to exhibit properties not possible in natural materials. The work was reported this month in Nature Photonics.

One of the courses I teach regularly at my university is “Ethics in Science,” a course that explores (among other things) what’s involved in being a good scientist in one’s interactions with the phenomena about which one is building knowledge, in one’s interactions with other scientists, and in one’s interactions with the rest of the world.

In late November 2011 I went to Johannesburg, South Africa, to meet the newest member of the human family, a nearly two million–year-old creature dubbed Australopithecus sediba. First announced in 2010, its fossilized bones have caused quite a commotion in paleoanthropological circles--and with good reason

In late November 2011 I went to Johannesburg, South Africa, to meet the newest member of the human family, a nearly two million–year-old creature dubbed Australopithecus sediba. First announced in 2010, its fossilized bones have caused quite a commotion in paleoanthropological circles--and with good reason. They are some of the most complete early hominins (the group that includes modern humans and their extinct relatives) ever found, and they exhibit a combination of apelike and humanlike traits that no one would have predicted.

By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - The complete melt of the Greenland ice sheet could occur at lower global temperatures than previously thought, a study in the journal Nature Climate Change showed on Sunday, increasing the threat and severity of a rise in sea level. Substantial melting of land ice could contribute to long-term sea level rise of several meters, potentially threatening the lives of millions of people.

There's a scene in Pixar's Finding Nemo when Dory, a yellow-finned regal tang, injures herself in a tug-of-war over a snorkel mask. A tiny plume of blood curls away from Dory's face into the water around her, where it is sucked into the nostrils of Bruce, a "vegetarian" shark who immediately recants his no-sushi policy. (Fortunately, Dory escapes.) Scientists have known for some time that many ocean predators relish the scent of an injured fish, whereas fish that are more likely to end up as a meal flee from the same scent

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have solved one of the printing industry's greatest challenges - whether a liquid thread will break up into drops.

Using smarty-pants economists and computer scientists, Yahoo analyzed historical data and says the math points to the prez taking the White House this fall. An entire industry has emerged to try to predict who will triumph in any particular political contest

A simple math problem lies at the heart of a heated debate over whether scientists should be allowed to publish provocative research into the transmissibility of H5N1 flu . Assuming the avian virus could spread easily among people, just how deadly would an H5N1 pandemic be for humans?

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long known that butterfly wings produce their iridescent colors by bouncing light around and between tiny ridges in structures made of chitin. More recently they’ve discovered that the chitin material in their wings also expands when struck by infrared radiation which causes a change in its refraction index, converting it to visible light. Now, by adding a layer of carbon nanotubes to the wing material, the researchers have found they are able to increase the amount of heat absorbed.

As baby boomers age, they're looking for ways to turn back the clock. Savvy entrepreneurs, scientists, and venture capitalists are getting in on a burgeoning market that some are calling "the Internet of healthcare." There's no denying it : America is getting old.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have found a way to distort the atomic arrangement and change the magnetic properties of an important class of electronic materials with ultra-short pulses of terahertz (mid-infrared) laser light without heating the material up. While the achievement is currently of purely scientific interest, the researchers say this new approach control could ultimately lead to extremely fast, low-energy, non-volatile computer memory chips or data-switching devices.

Earlier this month, the scientists who altered the H5N1 virus to create a more contagious strain that's transmissible between ferrets, agreed to a temporary moratorium, due to safety concerns. The NewsHour reported the story here and here . [More]

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long been enamored by the gecko’s gravity defying ability to cling to walls and to let go at will, allowing it to walk around sideways, as have Spiderman enthusiasts.

The Dog-Bark Snake Bot You've probably heard of robot snakes before, useful in search-and-rescue scenarios because they can worm their way into confined spaces--perhaps in collapsed buildings--that other machines can't match. You may also know SAR teams sometimes use sniffer dogs to help them locate victims trapped in rubble. But you've probably never conflated these two notions, and pictured a SAR dog that has a slave snake-bot that it can deploy and control with a bark.