Earth

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--It's a well-known characteristic of metals that repeated bending in the same place can cause the material to weaken and eventually break; this phenomenon, known as metal fatigue, can cause serious damage to metal components subjected to repeated stress.

But now, researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, and elsewhere have found that under certain conditions, repeated slight stretching of nanoscale metal pieces can actually strengthen a material by eliminating defects in its crystalline structure.

HANOVER, N.H. - A team of researchers at Disney Research and Dartmouth College has developed a new way to display full-color images using only two black patterns printed on transparencies affixed to two sides of a prism.

On hot, humid days, you might jump into water to cool down, but for the tiny mangrove rivulus fish, cooling down means jumping out of water, according to a new study from the University of Guelph.

In the study published today in the journal Biology Letters, the researchers describe how these fish air-chill themselves on solid ground in order to drop their body temperatures. The researchers also found that fish exposed to higher temperatures for a week tolerated warmer water better.

'Honeycrisp' apples are among the most popular varieties in today's fresh fruit market. The apple's explosive crispness, juiciness, and flavor have made them a new favorite among consumers. However, the apples' distinctive characteristics are at peak only when they are properly grown, picked at optimum maturity, and stored under ideal conditions. A new research study in the August 2015 issue of HortTechnology contains recommendations for maintaining consumers' interest in 'Honeycrisp' apples while preserving growers' profit margins.

A NOAA Fisheries research team flying a remotely operated hexacopter in Washington's San Juan Islands in September collected high-resolution aerial photogrammetry images of all 81 Southern Resident killer whales that showed the endangered whales in robust condition and that several appear to be pregnant.

HOUSTON - (Oct. 21, 2015) - Graphene doped with nitrogen and augmented with cobalt atoms has proven to be an effective, durable catalyst for the production of hydrogen from water, according to scientists at Rice University.

The Rice lab of chemist James Tour and colleagues at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of Houston have reported the development of a robust, solid-state catalyst that shows promise to replace expensive platinum for hydrogen generation.

New details on how birds respond to climate change have been revealed by volunteer bird watchers all over Europe. The information they've gathered shows birds respond to changing conditions in different seasons of the year. While some species benefit from these changes, birds that are adapted to colder regions stand to lose. This knowledge can help predict future bird communities in Europe and focus the effort to tackle the effects of climate change on the most vulnerable species.

The iconic sugar maple, one of the most economically and ecologically important trees in the eastern United States and Canada, shows signs of being in a significant decline, according to research results published today (Oct. 21, 2015) in the open-access journal "Ecosphere."

Female mosquitofish are not only bigger than the males, they have bigger impacts on freshwater ecosystems. In a controlled study conducted in experimental ponds, researchers found dramatic differences in pond ecosystems depending on the ratio of males to females in the mosquitofish populations. In ponds dominated by female fish, the researchers observed more pronounced ecological changes, including fewer zooplankton and a greater abundance of algae, than in male dominated ponds.

Repeatedly throughout Earth's history, giant pools of magma greater than 100 cubic miles in volume have formed a few miles below the surface.

They are the sources of super-eruptions - gigantic volcanic outbursts that throw 100 times more superheated gas, ash and rock into the atmosphere than run-of-the-mill eruptions, enough to blanket continents and plunge the globe into decades-long volcanic winters.

MADISON, Wis. - How nature makes its biominerals -- things like teeth, bone and seashells -- is a playbook scientists have long been trying to read.

Among the most intriguing biominerals is nacre, or mother-of-pearl -- the silky, iridescent, tougher-than-rock composite that lines the shells of some mollusks and coats actual pearls. The material has been worked by humans for millennia to make everything from buttons and tooth implants to architectural tile and inlay for furniture and musical instruments.

An unprecedented analysis of North Pacific ocean circulation over the past 1.2 million years has found that sea ice formation in coastal regions is a key driver of deep ocean circulation, influencing climate on regional and global scales. Coastal sea ice formation takes place on relatively small scales, however, and is not captured well in global climate models, according to scientists at the

University of California, Santa Cruz, who conducted the study.

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 20, 2015 - Magnetoencephalography, or MEG, is a non-invasive technique for investigating human brain activity for surgical planning or research, and has been used in hospitals and universities for more than 30 years. It's just one of the many powerful technologies made possible by a tiny device called a SQUID, short for superconducting quantum interference device. SQUIDs can detect minuscule magnetic fields, useful in applications ranging from medical imaging of soft tissue to oil prospecting.

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 20, 2015 - Standard umbrellas come out when the sky turns dark, but in the nanoworld, umbrella shapes may be the next creative way to enhance light emission. Inspired by recent work to enhance the luminescence from diamond nanopillar structures, a team of researchers in Japan has discovered that "umbrella-shaped" diamond nanostructures with metal mirrors on the bottom are more efficient photon collectors than their diamond nanostructure "cousins" of other shapes.

Around the world, from small towns to the biggest cities, civic soldiers in the battle against global warming are striving to cut carbon emissions. One oft-used strategy is to plant more trees, which suck up carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas.

But does adding more oaks and maples make a dent in urban carbon-reduction goals? How does a city know where trees would be most effective for carbon management?