New form of silicon might speed up microcircuitry
WASHINGTON — Graphene, single-atom-thick sheets of carbon atoms, is just about the hottest thing in nanotechnology.
Scientific Agenda
Scientific Agenda reports on important and interesting developments from the world of science in Minnesota and elsewhere. Coverage includes reports from MinnPost journalist Sharon Schmickle, Inside Science News Service, and other sources.
Is new species of microbe gobbling up Gulf oil spill?
Microbes found in an undersea cloud of oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout may have the potential to degrade oil faster than previously thought, according to a new study published Tuesday.
As ‘plant productivity’ dips, a search for answers
Earth’s plants — natural scrubbers removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — reduced their carbon uptake by some 606 million tons during the past 10 years, according to a new study.
Obama’s new offshore oil drilling rules: Too many loopholes?
The Obama administration’s new guidelines for offshore oil drilling, which are intended to require much more detailed environmental reviews for deep-water drilling, have upset not only the oil industry, but environmentalists, too.
Minnesota scientists push stem cell therapies into new frontiers
Minnesota scientists are advancing stem cell therapies into territory that is so open that doctors and regulators still are shaping practices and policies as they go along.
U of M announces scientific development gardeners will like — if it works
The University of Minnesota has announced a scientific development that gardeners will hail. If it works, that is.
Toy makes gathering wind data a breeze
CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. — Meteorologists have developed a portable new tool for measuring atmospheric wind speeds by tethering kites to ground-based metering systems.
Hushing noisy hospitals
Hospital noise is taking a toll on the well-being of patients and contributing to errors by staff, a growing body of research suggests.
Mongoose moms synchronize births
WASHINGTON — Giving birth is the social event of the year for banded mongooses in Uganda. When females live in the same group, 60 percent bear their young together on exactly the same night — regardless of when they were impregnated.
Pulsing star discovered using a home computer’s idle time
WASHINGTON — Astronomers announced last week the discovery of a new star, found with help from a most unusual source — a screen saver.
Neurology on a chip
WASHINGTON — Engineers and biologists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, have succeeded in coaxing tiny worms to move around a microchip using electric fields. This should help neurologists study the human nervous system.
Bernanke announcement leaves quake-like aftershocks
The math behind market tremors is the same math that describes actual earthquakes.
Fed’s new energy blog allows you to track Minnesota projects
The U.S. Department of Energy’s new blog offers a forum for following Minnesota-related energy projects.
Hyperlocal effects from a changing climate
A new study by three scientists at the Met Office, the British government agency responsible for making weather forecasts, looks at how hot cities could be by the year 2050.
Secrets of the sponge revealed
Consider the sponge. Call it a lowly, primitive creature and some sponge experts will tell you that you are wrong. These immobile, squishy animals are perhaps better described as simple — so simple, in fact, that they were long thought to be plants.
Living in the past and looking toward the future
WASHINGTON — Making sense of the shards, scraps and other clues left behind by past societies compels archaeologists to study far-ranging topics, from agriculture to art and chemistry to linguistics.
Scientist creates sunscreen from ivy
WASHINGTON — Drive through the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on a sunny day, and you may see a man on the side of the road pruning the English ivy. Mingjun Zhang isn’t the groundskeeper.
Where the best seats will be for northern lights after solar eruption
For fans of the night sky, the big question is: What kind of show will the collision put on, as charged particles hit the upper atmosphere and turn its nitrogen and oxygen atoms into glowing, sweeping curtains of red, green, and blue northern lights
FDA approves stem-cell clinical trial involving spinal-cord injuries
In political debates, one rap on human embryonic stem cells is that no practical therapies have come from the research. The world’s first clinical trial of using the cells to treat a human disease was suspended last year by the U.S.
Marsupials originated in South America, study suggests
All living marsupials — such as wallabies, kangaroos and opossums — all originated in South America, a new genetic study suggests.