(Newswise)–At the base of the Transantarctic Mountains lies a geological oddity. Don Juan Pond is one of the saltiest bodies of water on the planet, filled with a dense, syrupy brine rich in calcium chloride that can remain liquid to minus 50 degrees Celsius, far below the freezing point of water. But the source of […]
Wearable Computing Ring Allows Users To Write Words And Numbers With Thumb
(Newswise)–With the whirl of a thumb, Georgia Tech researchers have created technology that allows people to trace letters and numbers on their fingers and see the figures appear on a nearby computer screen. The system is triggered by a thumb ring outfitted with a gyroscope and tiny microphone. As wearers strum their thumb across the […]
If Termites Eat Bait For One Day, They Die Within 90
Gainesville, FL–(Newswise)–Termites that feed on a well-known bait for one day are eventually doomed, which is good news for those who want to protect their property from the destructive pest, a University of Florida entomologist says. Within 30 days of that first day of feeding, the bait significantly weakens termite colonies, said Thomas Chouvenc, a […]
Hubble Sees Nearby Asteroids Photobombing Distant Galaxies
(Newswise)–Like rude relatives who jump in front your vacation snapshots of landscapes, some of our solar system’s asteroids have photobombed deep images of the universe taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. These asteroids reside, on average, only about 160 million miles from Earth-right around the corner in astronomical terms. Yet they’ve horned their way into […]
Aitape Skull Likely Belongs To World’s Oldest Tsunami Victim
(Newswise)–In 1929, Australian geologist Paul Hossfeld stumbled upon a partial human skull in a mangrove outside the coastal town of Aitape in Papua New Guinea. Originally thought to belong to Homo erectus, the skull was subsequently dated to the mid-Holocene period, about 6,000 years ago. Now, new research suggests the bone fragment belongs to the […]
Examining The Lifestyles Of Microbes
(Newswise)–Microbes are everywhere — in humans they protect us from harmful bacteria and help us digest food; in soils, they provide nutrients and encourage growth of plants. Microbes even live in sediments below the seafloor where they play a key role in the underwater ecosystem. Scientists are identifying and characterizing more microbes each year using […]
Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach To Saturn
Pasadena, CA–NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet’s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15. Cassini is ending its 13-year tour of the Saturn system with an intentional plunge into the planet to ensure Saturn’s moons – in particular Enceladus, […]
Ocean Exploration Uncovers One Of Cuba’s Hidden Natural Treasures
Newswise–A research mission led by Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has uncovered details of one of Cuba’s hidden natural treasures. After nearly two years of planning, a team of scientists from the United States and Cuba has explored never-before-studied mesophotic coral reefs during a month-long circumnavigation of the entire coast of Cuba, which […]
UC San Diego Launches Scripps Center For Marine Archaeology
(Newswise)–Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Department of Anthropology have recently joined efforts within the University of California San Diego to launch the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology (SCMA). Researchers with the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology will conduct fieldwork at key underwater and coastal archaeological sites around the world, studying the influence of marine […]
Strange Silk: Why Rappelling Spiders Don’t Spin Out Of Control
(Newswise)–The last time you watched a spider drop from the ceiling on a line of silk, it likely descended gracefully on its dragline instead of spiraling uncontrollably, because spider silk has an unusual ability to resist twisting forces. In a new paper appearing this week in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, researchers from China […]