Perhaps someday you'll need to go to the store because you ran out of cathode paint. A team of researchers has just announced a new paint-on battery design. The technique could change the way batteries are produced and eliminate restrictions on the surfaces used for energy storage.
The paint-on battery, like all lithium ion batteries, consists of five layers: a positive current collector, a cathode that attracts positively charged ions, an ion-conducting separator, an anode to attract negative ions, and a negative current collector. For each layer, the challenge was to find a way to mix the electrically conductive material with various polymers to create a paint that could be sprayed onto surfaces. |  |
Possible Alien Message to Get Reply from Humanity
If there's something you'd like to say to aliens, now's your chance. The Wow! signal, a mysterious radio transmission detected in 1977 that may or may not have come from extraterrestrials, is finally getting a response from humanity. Anyone can contribute his or her two cents -- or 140 characters, to be exact -- to the cosmic reply via Twitter.
All tweets composed between 8 p.m. EDT Friday (June 29) and 3 a.m. EDT Saturday (June 30) tagged with the hashtag #ChasingUFOs will be rolled into a single message, according to the National Geographic Channel, which is timing the Twitter event to coincide with the premiere of the channel's new series, "Chasing UFOs." |  |
Dinosaurs May Have Been Warm-Blooded
Dinosaurs may not have been the slow, sunbathing reptiles researchers used to think. In fact, they may have been warm-blooded, new research suggests.
The researchers studied the "growth lines" on animal bones, which are similar to the growth rings in tree trunks. During slow-growing times like during the winter, they are darker and narrower, while in fast-growing times the bones have lighter, wider bands. |  |
Supernova Could Have Caused Mysterious 'Red Crucifix' in Sky in 774 A.D.
An ancient text suggests that an eighth-century jump in carbon-14 levels in trees could be explained by a previously unrecognized supernova explosion
An eerie "red crucifix" seen in Britain's evening sky in ad 774 may be a previously unrecognized supernova explosion — and could explain a mysterious spike in carbon-14 levels in that year's growth rings in Japanese cedar trees. The link is suggested today in a Nature Correspondence by a US undergraduate student with a broad interdisciplinary background and a curious mind.
An eerie "red crucifix" seen in Britain's evening sky in ad 774 may be a previously unrecognized supernova explosion — and could explain a mysterious spike in carbon-14 levels in that year's growth rings in Japanese cedar trees. The link is suggested today in a Nature Correspondence by a US undergraduate student with a broad interdisciplinary background and a curious mind.
Sniffing Out the Stench of Life on Mars
The search for life on Mars trundles on and, beside a few tantalizing hints, we still don't know if the Red Planet could ever have played host to the most basic of life forms.
Why are we having such a hard time? Well, potential abodes for tiny Martians are (or were) likely deep underground, so we need to be smart and look for secondary indications of microbial alien life. And what better way to find aliens than to sniff them out, literally? This wonderfully elegant suggestion comes the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, where a group of geologists had an epiphany. |
Human Ancestors Ate Bark—Food in Teeth Hints at Chimplike Origins
Chew on this: Bits of food stuck in the two-million-year-old teeth of a human ancestor suggest some of our forebears ate tree bark, a new study says.
A first ever find for early human ancestors, the bark evidence hints at a woodsier, more chimplike lifestyle for the Australopithecus sediba species. Other so-called hominins alive at the time are thought to have dined mostly on savanna grasses. A. sediba was identified from stunningly preserved fossils of a female and a young male discovered in a South African cave in 2008 by scientists led by paleoanthropologist and National Geographic Society grantee Lee Berger. |  |
World's Oldest Purse Found—Studded With a Hundred Dog Teeth?
The world's oldest purse may have been found in Germany—and its owner apparently had a sharp sense of Stone Age style.
Excavators at a site near Leipzig (map) uncovered more than a hundred dog teeth arranged close together in a grave dated to between 2,500 and 2,200 B.C. According to archaeologist Susanne Friederich, the teeth were likely decorations for the outer flap of a handbag. "Over the years the leather or fabric disappeared, and all that's left is the teeth. They're all pointing in the same direction, so it looks a lot like a modern handbag flap," said Friederich, of the Sachsen-Anhalt State Archaeology and Preservation Office. |  |
Creative individuals travelled to the south Swedish inland 9,000 years ago
Despite its good ecologic status, there were no permanent settlements in the south Swedish inland 9,000 years ago. Yet the area was visited by people who wanted to express their individuality and creativity and thereby gain status. This is found in a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg.
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Ancient Arab scripts to go digital
JERUSALEM, June 26 (UPI) -- In an effort to preserve Palestinian heritage, ancient Arab language manuscripts from five Jerusalem libraries will soon be available online, officials said.
The project was sponsored and initiated by the European Union and will showcase collections of thousands of ancient Arab language documents, manuscripts and books from five Arab libraries in Jerusalem's Old City, The Jerusalem Post said Tuesday.
The project was sponsored and initiated by the European Union and will showcase collections of thousands of ancient Arab language documents, manuscripts and books from five Arab libraries in Jerusalem's Old City, The Jerusalem Post said Tuesday.
Archaeologists, volunteers work to solve Nez Perce trail mystery
CLARK — Back in 1877, at a point not far from here, a band of Nez Perce Indians slipped from the Absaroka Mountains onto the prairie, eluding the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry in hot pursuit.
The Nez Perce ran their horses in circles to confuse Army scouts before moving onto the Wyoming flatland and making a run north into Montana. While the Nez Perce managed to confuse the Army commanders that September, they also succeeded in confusing historians. The exact route of their great escape remains a mystery 135 years later. |  |
Dolphin Genes Hold Clues to Animal Intelligence
Evolution-wise, bottlenose dolphins have left their mammalian brothers in the dust, and new research is showing what genes they changed to do it. These genes include those involved in brain and metabolism.
These changes could be why dolphins are known to be exceptionally smart, able to use tools, recognize themselves and even communicate with each other and with trainers. |  |
Total of 79 Potentially New Shark Species Found
A genetic study of thousands of specimens of sharks and rays has uncovered scores of potential new species and is fuelling biologists’ debates over the organisation of the family tree of these animals. The work also raises the possibility that some species are even more endangered than previously thought.
Sharks and rays are key predators in marine ecosystems, but the life cycles and population numbers of many species remain poorly understood. The family tree of these animals — which are part of the elasmobranch subclass — has proved similarly opaque, with little agreement among researchers over their evolutionary relationships. |  |
Male Smokers' Damaged DNA Passed On To Offspring
Although it is known that women who smoke during pregnancy put themselves and their unborn babies at risk for several health problems, new research published online in The FASEB Journal reveals that children can inherit damaged DNA if their fathers smoked around the time they were conceived, increasing their risk of developing diseases, such as cancer.
The study, conducted by Professor Diana Anderson from the University of Bradford's Division of Medical Sciences, found a strong association between DNA changes in the sperm of fathers who smoke and DNA changes in their newborn babies.
The study, conducted by Professor Diana Anderson from the University of Bradford's Division of Medical Sciences, found a strong association between DNA changes in the sperm of fathers who smoke and DNA changes in their newborn babies.
Surprise Connection Between Gum Disease and Bad Knees
Want healthy knees? Then you better floss your teeth.
Yes, you read that right. Scientists have found traces of gum bacteria in the knees of people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, adds more evidence of the link between poor oral health and poor health in general. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland essentially traced the passage of bacteria in the mouth to the fluid surrounded the kneecap, called synovial fluid. By analyzing the DNA of the bacteria, the researchers could determine that the progeny of the gum bacteria entered into the bloodstream and settled in the synovial fluid, which was in a weakened state as a result of arthritis. |  |
Prepare to Go Underground
The planet probably won’t become dramatically more sustainable as a result of what happened last week at the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. Yes, lofty speeches were delivered and hundreds of billions of dollars of pledges were made, but the chance of a meaningful climate change treaty coming out of one of these events is now none and noner.
Yet one thing that has become painfully clearer with each passing U.N. climate summit is that the key to sustaining life on Earth is to get smarter about how we develop and reshape cities. Today, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas; by mid-century it will be closer to three out of four people. |  |
Evolution could generate new semiconducting structures
The best semiconductors are grown, not made. At least, this might one day be the case. Proteins that can build silica nanostructures on our behalf have been "evolved" in the lab. The structures could find a use in the semiconductor industry.
Luke Bawazer, now at the University of Leeds, UK, and his colleagues wondered whether proteins that evolved to help build animal skeletons could be used to grow new electronics components. |  |
Why does hot water freeze faster? And other cracking science mysteries
If you can explain, before the end of July, why hot water freezes faster than cold, you could bag £1,000. That's what the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is offering for "the most creative explanation" of this phenomenon, known as the Mpemba effect. They say that submissions should be "eye-catching, arresting and scientifically sound", and may use any media, including film.
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World awaits latest in hunt for Higgs particle
Scientists hunting the Higgs subatomic particle will unveil results next week that could confirm, confound or complicate our understanding of the fundamental nature of the universe.
Seldom has something so small and ephemeral excited such interest. The theoretical particle explains how suns and planets formed after the Big Bang - but so far it has not been proven to exist. |
Voyager 1 poised to cross solar frontier into interstellar space
Scientists launched Voyager 1 in 1977 on what was meant to be a five-year mission to Jupiter and Saturn, however 30 years later the vessel has continued towards the boundary of our solar system 11 billion miles from Earth.
Once the spaceship crosses this border it will enter interstellar space – the void between our solar system and the rest of the universe – becoming the first man-made object to venture beyond our solar “bubble”. Tracking the progress of the spacecraft are a group of scientists at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. They will monitor Voyager 1 for specific signals that should indicate it has left our Sun’s magnetic field. |  |
How Accurate Were Minority Report’s Technology Precogs?
Released 10 years ago today, Minority Report served up a captivating and thoroughly convincing look at what the future might hold. But how well has the film's bold vision aged?
Wired took at look at 10 key technologies from the film — which built on concepts dreamed up during an "idea summit" of tech thinkers convened by director Steven Spielberg — to compare the decade-old science fiction to today's reality. |  |