Chemistry

Caesium Reacting With Water in Slow Motion (Video)

February 20, 2013, 7:23 am

Chemist Dr. Martyn Poliakoff from the University of Nottingham in the UK shows caesium reacting with water recorded with a high-speed camera, and discusses the reaction.

Zinc-Rich Material Behaves Like Octopus Tentacles

January 30, 2013, 12:00 pm

The atomic structure of a zinc-based material has a surprising amount in common with the tentacles of an octopus, Oxford University researchers have found.

Missing Hydrogen in Space Consumed by Black Holes?

November 14, 2012, 4:55 pm

The mystery of why star-forming hydrogen gas is undetectable in the farthest regions of the universe may have been solved by Australian astronomers.

Learn Science with Leftover Halloween Candy

October 31, 2012, 9:54 pm

Every Halloween, rather than just dumping the leftovers from hard-earned candy bags, author and freelance writer Loralee Leavitt suggests a fun way to use up these sugary [...]

Science on the Graveyard Shift

October 31, 2012, 8:15 pm

By dark of night in an old graveyard, things rustle. At least if that cemetery is at London Grove Friends Meeting in Kennett Square, Pa.

Curiosity Rover Ingests Shiny Object on Mars

October 19, 2012, 6:12 pm

NASA’s Curiosity “ingested its first solid sample” of soil on Mars for analysis, the U.S. space agency said Thursday.

Solar Wind May Produce Water Ice on Moon

October 15, 2012, 5:15 pm

Water trapped inside lunar soils probably comes from the solar wind—the steady stream of charged particles from the sun.

Dinosaur DNA Half-Life Prevents Cloning

October 12, 2012, 7:29 pm

A new study has shown Jurassic Park couldn’t happen in real life, because fossilized DNA can’t survive for more than about 6.8 million years.

Diamond-Rich Exoplanet Double Earth’s Size

October 11, 2012, 9:55 pm

A recently discovered super-Earth orbiting a nearby star may be at least one-third diamond.

Bacterial Alchemy Generates 24-Karat Gold

October 6, 2012, 6:46 pm

A scientist and an artist have teamed up with a metal-tolerant bacterium called Cupriavidus metallidurans to produce gold nuggets in a glass bioreactor.