How the Martian Moon Phobos Got Its Strange Grooves
A new study bolsters the idea that strange grooves crisscrossing the surface of the Martian moon Phobos were made by rolling boulders blasted free from…
Brown University
Study Shows Ancient Mars Had The Right Conditions For Underground Life
A new study shows evidence that ancient Mars probably had an ample supply of chemical energy for microbes to thrive underground. “We showed, based on…
Dawn Reveals Surprisingly High Concentrations of Organic Material on Ceres
A new analysis of data from NASA’s Dawn mission suggests that organic matter may exist in surprisingly high concentrations on the dwarf planet’s surface. Last…
Scientists Map the Mineralogy of the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin
A detailed study of a giant impact crater on the Moon’s far side could provide a roadmap for future lunar explorers. The study, by planetary…
Tidal Cycles Could Provide Advanced Warning of Volcanic Eruptions
Just before a surprise eruption of New Zealand’s Ruapehu volcano in 2007, seismic tremor near its crater became tightly correlated with twice-monthly changes in the…
Researchers Proposed a New Scenario for the Formation of Ancient Clay Minerals on Mars
New research suggests that the bulk of clay minerals on Mars could have been formed as the planet’s crust cooled and solidified, not by later…
Geochemists Suggest That Earth’s Mantle Varies in Composition
New research by Brown University geochemists provides new insights on the scale at which Earth’s mantle varies in chemical composition. The findings could help scientists…
Neuroscientists Observe Signs of Synaptic Plasticity Emerging in a Living Brain
Using measurements of changes in neural activity in neurons of the inferior temporal cortex of mature nonhuman primates as they observed novel and familiar stimuli,…
Massive Lunar Impact Appears to Have Created the Mafic Mound
Geologists from Brown University detail the discovery of a giant mound near the Moon’s south pole that appears to be a volcanic structure unlike any…
Surface of Ceres Consists of Billions of Years Worth of Meteorite Material
A new set of high-velocity impact experiments from Brown University reveal that the dwarf planet Ceres may be something of a cosmic dartboard: Projectiles that…
New Fabrication Method Improves Efficiency of Perovskite Solar Cells
Scientists from Brown University and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have developed a method for making perovskite cells larger while maintaining efficiency. Using a newly…
Bioengineers Make “Mini-Brains” of Neurons and Supporting Cells
New research from Brown University details a relatively accessible method for making a working (though not thinking) sphere of central nervous system tissue. If you…
Engineers from Brown Develop Key Component for Terahertz Wireless
Engineers from Brown University have made progress on a key component for terahertz wireless: multiplexing and de-multiplexing a terahertz stream. Terahertz radiation could one day…
Pre-Reptile Bunostegos Akokanensisear – Earliest Known Creature to Walk Upright on All Fours
According to a new study from Brown University, the pre-reptile Bunostegos akokanensis the oldest known creature to have walked upright on all fours, roaming the…
Fossils Reveal Dogs Evolved as the Climate Changed
A new study from Brown University shows how dogs evolved in response to changes in climate over the last 40 million years, demonstrating that predators…
Light from Phones or Tablets Suppresses Melatonin Production in Young Teens
A new study from Brown University examines the effect of light exposure at night on the biology of teen sleep, revealing that light from phones…
Scientists Predict Material with Record-Setting Melting Point, More Than 4,400 Kelvins
Scientists at Brown University predict that a material made from hafnium, nitrogen, and carbon would have the highest known melting point, about two-thirds the temperature…
Scientists Engineer Brain Cells to Produce Light
Neuroscientists from Brown University and Central Michigan University are working to make optogenetics even more powerful in the brain and beyond. Providence, Rhode Island (Brown…