A cost analysis of the technologies needed to transport materials into the stratosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight hitting Earth and therefore reduce the effects of global climate change has shown that they are both feasible and affordable. Published in IOP Publishing’s journal Environmental Research Letters, the study has shown that the basic technology…
As family and friends of Neil Armstrong gathered in Ohio on Aug. 31 for a private memorial service, NASA paid tribute to the Apollo astronaut, calling him a great American and a space hero. “He never dwelled on his remarkable accomplishments or sought the limelight,” Kennedy Space Center director and former astronaut Robert Cabana said…
By measuring the unique properties of light on the scale of a single atom, researchers from Duke University and Imperial College London believe that they have characterized the limits of metal’s ability in devices that enhance light. This field is known as plasmonics because scientists are trying to take advantage of plasmons, electrons that have…
As an animal develops from an embryo, its cells take diverse paths, eventually forming different body parts — muscles, bones, heart. In order for each cell to know what to do during development, it follows a genetic blueprint, which consists of complex webs of interacting genes called gene regulatory networks. Biologists at the California Institute…
The LiftPort Group has launched a rather unusual Kickstarter project. They’re looking for money for an experiment to serve as a stepping stone to their ultimate goal – building a space elevator on the Moon. Well, that’s the ultimate goal, anyway. For the immediate future, their goal is much more modest – they want to…
Kids love smartphones and tablets, and that makes the devices great tools for learning math and science. Apps for mobile devices can help make even the most abstract concepts—like algebra or physics—engaging. And smartphones and tablets can be carried out into nature to help students understand what they’re seeing. Star Walk, for example, identifies more…
Harvard scientists have, for the first, time created a type of “cyborg” tissue by embedding a three-dimensional network of functional, bio-compatible nanoscale wires into engineered human tissues. As described in a paper published in Nature Materials, a multi-institutional research team led by Harvard’s Charles M. Lieber and Daniel Kohane developed a system for creating nanoscale…
Tokyo Institute of Technology researchers have shown simpler versions of the universal genetic code can still function in protein synthesis. In addition to understanding early primordial organisms, the research could lead to applications preventing non-natural genetically modified materials from entering the natural world.
In the wake of the passing of pioneering astronaut Neil Armstrong, Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, tweeted that men walking on the moon was “The only positive event in the last 50 yrs for which everyone remembers where they were when it happened.” So after Armstrong, what’s next for space…
Robotics key to rover Curiosity’s ability to drive, drill and analyze Martian surface, says NASA lead engineer