A new sensor is giving researchers the best look yet at ATP levels inside living cells, enabling scientists to study in greater detail than ever before how fluctuations in this cellular currency affect the cell and contribute to disease.
Airborne technology brings new hope to map shallow aquifers in Earth’s most arid deserts
The new technique will map the top of the aquifer, called the 'water table,' spanning areas as large as hundreds of kilometers using a radar mounted on a high-altitude aircraft. According to the researchers, Desert-SEA will measure the variabilities in the depth of the water table on a large scale,...
Otters, especially females, use tools to survive a changing world
Sea otters are one of the few animals that use tools to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools -- most of whom are female -- are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes...
Now We Know, What Gets Roots to Grow: Can Help in Future Droughts
A biological mechanism familiar to people who fast helps plant roots grow strong.
Jet-propelled sea creatures could improve ocean robotics
Scientists have discovered that colonies of gelatinous sea animals swim through the ocean in giant corkscrew shapes using coordinated jet propulsion, an unusual kind of locomotion that could inspire new designs for efficient underwater vehicles.
Wind farms can offset their emissions within two years
After spinning for under two years, a wind farm can offset the carbon emissions generated across its entire 30-year lifespan, when compared to thermal power plants.
How did sabre-toothed tigers acquire their long upper canine teeth?
In a groundbreaking study an international team of scientists has investigated the evolutionary patterns behind the development of sabre teeth, with some unexpected results along the way.
What fire ants can teach us about making better, self-healing materials
Fire ants form rafts to survive flooding, but how do those bonds work? And what can we learn from them? A professor is researching those questions to expand our knowledge of materials science.
Carbon-capture batteries developed to store renewable energy, help climate
Researchers are developing battery technologies to fight climate change in two ways, by expanding the use of renewable energy and capturing airborne carbon dioxide. Researchers recently created and tested two different formulations for batteries that store renewable energy; when the energy is later used, an electrochemical reaction converts industrial carbon...
Making batteries takes a lot of lithium: Some could come from gas well wastewater
A new analysis suggests that if it could be extracted with complete efficiency, lithium from the wastewater of Marcellus shale gas wells could supply up to 40% of the country's demand.