Earth

Neutrinos change flavors while crossing Japan

DURHAM, NC – By shooting a beam of neutrinos through a small slice of the Earth under Japan, physicists say they've caught the particles changing their stripes in new ways. These observations may one day help explain why the universe is made of matter rather than anti-matter.

The T2K experiment has been using the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex, or J-PARC, located on the east coast, to shoot a beam of muon neutrinos 185 miles, or 295 kilometers, underground toward the Super-Kamiokande, or Super-K, detector in Kamioka, near Japan's west coast.

Researchers predict record Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' due to Mississippi River flooding

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Extreme flooding of the Mississippi River this spring is expected to result in the largest Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" on record, according to a University of Michigan aquatic ecologist and his colleagues.

The 2011 forecast, released today by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), calls for a Gulf dead zone of between 8,500 and 9,421 square miles, an area roughly the size of New Hampshire.

Major flooding on the Mississippi River predicted to cause largest Gulf of Mexico dead zone ever recorded

The Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone is predicted to be the largest ever recorded, due to extreme flooding of the Mississippi River this spring, according to an annual forecast by a team of NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Louisiana State University and the University of Michigan. The forecast is based on Mississippi River nutrient inputs compiled annually by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

New American Chemical Society podcast: 'Green' cars made from fruit

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2011 — The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions," focuses on advances toward using material obtained from fruit to make plastic components for cars and other motor vehicles.

Researchers record two-state dynamics in glassy silicon

Such cluster "hopping" between two positions is known as two-state dynamics, a signature property of glass. In a glass, the atoms or molecules are randomly positioned or oriented, much the way they are in a liquid or gas. But while atoms have much more freedom of motion to diffuse through a liquid or gas, in a glass the molecules or atom clusters are stuck most of the time in the solid. Instead, a cluster usually has only two adjoining places that it can ferry between.

Making quantum cryptography truly secure

(14 June 2011) Singapore and Trondheim, Norway: Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an advanced tool for secure computer-based interactions, providing confidential communication between two remote parties by enabling them to construct a shared secret key during the course of their conversation.

UBC researchers discover molecular mechanism for some anti-arrhythmia drugs

University of British Columbia researchers – using an innovative, atom-by-atom substitution method – have uncovered the mechanism by which a particular class of drugs controls irregular heartbeats.

Major flooding on the Mississippi River likely to cause large Gulf of Mexico dead zone

The Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone is predicted to be larger than average this year, due to extreme flooding of the Mississippi River this spring, according to an annual forecast by a team of NOAA-supported scientists from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Louisiana State University and the University of Michigan. The forecast is based on Mississippi River nutrient inputs compiled annually by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Healing times for dental implants could be cut

The technology used to replace lost teeth with titanium dental implants could be improved. By studying the surface structure of dental implants not only at micro level but also at nano level, researchers at the University of Gothenburg; Sweden, have come up with a method that could shorten the healing time for patients.

Copper folds protein into precursors of Parkinson's plaques

Researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out how copper induces misfolding in the protein associated with Parkinson's disease, leading to creation of the fibrillar plaques which characterize the disease. This finding has implications for both the study of Parkinson's progression, as well as for future treatments.

Hebrew University cave researchers explore stream-filled cavern at entrance to Jerusalem

Jerusalem, June 13, 2011 – Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers have conducted an initial survey of what appears to be an important, ancient water source in a cave that was been discovered during excavation work for a new train station being constructed at the entrance to Jerusalem.

Chillingham cattle cowed by climate change

Spring flowers are opening sooner and songbirds breeding earlier in the year, but scientists know little about how climate change is affecting phenology – the timing of key biological events – in UK mammals. Now, a new study on Northumberland's iconic Chillingham cattle published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology shows climate change is altering when these animals breed, and fewer calves are surviving as a result.

Earth

Neutrinos change flavors while crossing Japan

Researchers predict record Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' due to Mississippi River flooding

Major flooding on the Mississippi River predicted to cause largest Gulf of Mexico dead zone ever recorded

New American Chemical Society podcast: 'Green' cars made from fruit

Researchers record two-state dynamics in glassy silicon

Making quantum cryptography truly secure

UBC researchers discover molecular mechanism for some anti-arrhythmia drugs

Major flooding on the Mississippi River likely to cause large Gulf of Mexico dead zone

Healing times for dental implants could be cut

Copper folds protein into precursors of Parkinson's plaques

Hebrew University cave researchers explore stream-filled cavern at entrance to Jerusalem

Chillingham cattle cowed by climate change

Under pressure, sodium, hydrogen could undergo a metamorphosis, emerging as superconductor

'Networking' turns up flu viruses with close ties to pandemic of 2009

Studies reveal attitudes of women and their caregivers on use of technology in childbirth