Electricity can flow through graphene at high frequencies without energy loss
Plymouth, UK (SPX) Mar 10, 2016 -
Electrical signals transmitted at high frequencies lose none of their energy when passed through the 'wonder material' graphene, a study led by Plymouth University has shown.
Discovered in 2004, graphene - which measures just an atom in thickness and is around 100 times stronger than steel - has been identified as having a range of potential uses across the engineering and health sectors. ...
more
Carbon nanotubes improve metal's longevity under radiation
Washington DC (SPX) Mar 10, 2016 -
One of the main reasons for limiting the operating lifetimes of nuclear reactors is that metals exposed to the strong radiation environment near the reactor core become porous and brittle, which can lead to cracking and failure. Now, a team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere has found that, at least in some reactors, adding a tiny quantity of carbon nanotubes to the metal can dramatically slow ...
more
Converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into batteries
Nashville TN (SPX) Mar 10, 2016 -
An interdisciplinary team of scientists has worked out a way to make electric vehicles that are not only carbon neutral, but carbon negative, capable of actually reducing the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide as they operate.
They have done so by demonstrating how the graphite electrodes used in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric automobiles can be replaced with carbon materi ...
more
Syntax is not unique to human language
Uppsala, Sweden (SPX) Mar 09, 2016 -
Human communication is powered by rules for combining words to generate novel meanings. Such syntactical rules have long been assumed to be unique humans. A new study, published in Nature Communications, show that Japanese great tits combine their calls using specific rules to communicate important compound messages. These results demonstrate that syntax is not unique to humans. Instead, syntax ...
more
Why Hurricane Irene fizzled as it neared New Jersey in 2011
New Brunswick NJ (SPX) Mar 09, 2016 -
A dynamic process that cools the coastal ocean and can weaken hurricanes was discovered as Hurricane Irene made landfall in New Jersey, according to a Rutgers University-led study published. The study's findings could help reduce the uncertainty in hurricane intensity forecasts for hurricanes and typhoons that cross coastal ocean waters before striking populated shorelines.
Hurricane track ...
more
Scientists uncover ancient viruses from 30 million years ago
Boston MA (SPX) Mar 09, 2016 -
Researchers from Boston College, US, have revealed the global spread of an ancient group of retroviruses that affected about 28 of 50 modern mammals' ancestors some 15 to 30 million years ago.
Retroviruses are abundant in nature and include human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV-1 and -2) and human T-cell leukemia viruses. The scientists' findings on a specific group of these viruses called E ...
more
Evolutionary leap from fins to legs was surprisingly simple
Bath, UK (SPX) Mar 09, 2016 -
New research reveals that the limbs of the earliest four-legged vertebrates, dating back more than 360 million years ago, were no more structurally diverse than the fins of their aquatic ancestors. The new finding overturns long-held views that the origin of vertebrates with legs (known as tetrapods) triggered an increase in the anatomical diversity of their skeletons.
The research was car ...
more
