Earth

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- If you've ever stood on a hill during a rainstorm, you've probably witnessed landscape evolution, at least on a small scale: rivulets of water streaming down a slope, cutting deeper trenches in the earth when the rain turns heavier.

MIAMI –April 9, 2013 – Many terrestrial animals are frequently observed scavenging on other animals– whether it is a hyena stealing a lion kill in the Serengeti or a buzzard swooping down on a dead animal. However, documenting this sort of activity in the oceans is especially difficult, and often overlooked in marine food web studies.

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The same material that formed the first primitive transistors more than 60 years ago can be modified in a new way to advance future electronics, according to a new study.

Chemists at The Ohio State University have developed the technology for making a one-atom-thick sheet of germanium, and found that it conducts electrons more than ten times faster than silicon and five times faster than conventional germanium.

MELBOURNE, FLA.—"What are the radiation doses to airplane passengers from the intense bursts of gamma-rays that originate from thunderclouds?" Florida Institute of Technology Department of Physics and Space Science faculty members addressed the issue and presented their terrestrial gamma ray flashes research modeling work at a press conference meeting of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna, Austria, April 10. Joseph Dwyer, Ningyu Liu and Hamid Rassoul discussed a new physics-based model of radiation dose calculations and compared the calculations to previous work.

NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 — One of the Crescent City's time-honored traditions – a steaming bowl of Yak-a-mein Soup, a.k.a., "Old Sober" — after a night of partying in the French Quarter actually does have a basis in scientific fact. That was the word today from an overview of the chemistry of hangovers, presented as part of the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 — Fundamental changes are needed in the education of the scientists whose work impacts medicine, drug discovery, development of sustainable new fuels and other global challenges society is facing in the 21st century. Those changes in graduate education in chemistry are the topic of a special symposium here today at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

Boulder, Colo., USA – GSA Bulletin articles posted online ahead of print over the last month study (1) a Carboniferous collision in central Asia; (2) crystal xenoliths in the Bolivian Altiplano; (3) The Tsakhir Event; (4) Onverwacht Group and Fig Tree Group contact, Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa; (5) iron oxide deposits in the Paraíba Basin, NE Brazil; (6) the southern Alaska syntaxis; (7) paleotopography of the South Norwegian margin; and (8) the Cheyenne belt suture zone, USA.

NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 -- Scientists today described evidence that natural substances extracted from unroasted coffee beans can help control the elevated blood sugar levels and body weight that underpin type 2 diabetes. Their presentation on chlorogenic acids -- widely available as a dietary supplement -- was part of the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, being held here this week.

The first study of its kind to calculate the amount of nutrients entering and leaving the Arctic Ocean has been carried out by scientists based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

Their results, which are published this month in the Journal of Geophysical Research, show that there is a mismatch between what goes into the Arctic Ocean and what comes out.

Combining parallel data from separate satellites can be like trying to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

For the sandwich, you want rich and sweet flavors, blended into a smooth, creamy texture – and you want it all in one convenient package. That's similar to how you want the satellite data, and Bo Yang, a University of Cincinnati graduate student in geography, has a formula for crafting a deeply informative and easily utilized satellite sandwich.

NEW ORLEANS, April 9, 2013 — Call their taste and effects appealing or appalling, no matter. In a city that claims credit for invention of the cocktail, the Hurricane, Sazerac, Pimm's Cup, Bayou Bash, Hand Grenade, Ramos Gin Fizz and other concoctions are the spirits of the French Quarter and its most famous thoroughfare, which happens to be named Bourbon Street.

Striking Caribbean sunsets occur when particles in the air scatter incoming sunlight. But a particulate shadow over the sea may have effects underwater. A research team, including staff scientist Héctor Guzmán from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, linked airborne particles caused by volcanic activity and air pollution to episodes of slow coral-reef growth.

Albert Einstein famously described quantum entanglement as "spooky action at distance"; however, up until now experiments that examine this peculiar aspect of physics have been limited to relatively small distances on Earth.

In a new study published today, 9 April, in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, researchers have proposed using the International Space Station (ISS) to test the limits of this "spooky action" and potentially help to develop the first global quantum communication network.

NEW ORLEANS, April 8, 2013 — After walking hand-in-hand as partners for centuries, cooking and chemistry now are sprinting ahead in a collaboration that is producing new taste sensations and unimaginable delights for the palate. That's the word from a renowned expert on chemistry and cooking who spoke here today at the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.

Washington, D.C.— Carnegie scientists have found that the plant species making up an ecosystem are better predictors of ecosystem chemistry than environmental conditions such as terrain, geology, or altitude. This is the first study using a new, high-resolution airborne, chemical-detecting instrument to map multiple ecosystem chemicals.