Desalination Breakthrough Maximizes Flow for Cheaper Water Filtration
Nature has figured out how to make great membranes. Biological membranes let the right stuff into cells while keeping the wrong stuff out. And, as…
Iowa State University
Diet Changes – Including More Wine and Cheese – May Help Reduce Cognitive Decline
The foods we eat may have a direct impact on our cognitive acuity in our later years. This is the key finding of an Iowa…
Astrophysicists Figure Out How Disk Galaxies Evolve a Smooth, Exponential Fade
Computer simulations are showing astrophysicists how massive clumps of gas within galaxies scatter some stars from their orbits, eventually creating the smooth, exponential fade in…
Using Light Waves to Accelerate Supercurrents to Access Forbidden Light and the Quantum World
Scientists are using light waves to accelerate supercurrents and access the unique properties of the quantum world, including forbidden light emissions that one day could…
Next-Generation Perovskite Solar Cells That Can Take the Heat, Maintain Efficiency Demonstrated
Perovskites with their crystal structures and promising electro-optical properties could be the active ingredient that makes the next generation of low-cost, efficient, lightweight and flexible…
How Old Is a Fingerprint Found at a Crime Scene? Chemists Developed a Way to Measure
Fingerprints are telling us more and more about the people that left them behind. Sure, we all know the unique whorls, loops, and arches in…
77-Year-Old Amateur Astronomer Discovers Rare Galaxy Double Nucleus
Allen Lawrence, wrapping up a long career as an electrical engineer, was serious about moving his astronomy hobby beyond the 20-inch telescope he’d hauled to…
‘Chameleon Metals’ Engineered to Change Surface Structure in Response to Heat
Just like a chameleon changes its skin color in response to its environment, engineers have found a way for liquid metal – and potentially solid…
Nanoscale Sensors Help See How Pressure Alters the Physical, Chemical and Electronic Properties of Matter
Researchers Create Nanoscale Sensors to Better See How High Pressure Affects Materials Researchers have developed new nanoscale technology to image and measure more of the…
Light vs. Dark Turkey Meat – Here’s the Reasons Behind the Different Colors
As families gather together this holiday season, the lucky ones will avoid impassioned discussions about religion and politics. But another argument is almost inevitable: white…
Engineers Solve 50-Year-Old Puzzle in Signal Processing – Inverse Chirp Z-Transform
Something called the fast Fourier transform is running on your cell phone right now. The FFT, as it is known, is a signal-processing algorithm that…
NASA’s TESS Mission Discovers Saturn-Sized Planet
Astronomers who study stars are providing a valuable assist to the planet-hunting astronomers pursuing the primary objective of NASA’s new TESS Mission. In fact, asteroseismologists…
New Experiment Recreates Prehistoric Ocean Conditions
A new experiment by Elizabeth Swanner evaluating the reduction of iron in prehistoric oceans may reinterpret the conditions under which iron-rich sedimentary rock is formed….
Study Reveals Strange Star KIC 8462852 is Likely Swarmed by Comets
Using NASA’s Kepler and Spitzer Space Telescopes, new research suggests that unusual light signals from star KIC 8462852 are likely from dusty comet fragments, which…
Engineers Develop Micro-tentacles So Tiny Robots Can Handle Delicate Objects
Engineers at Iowa State University developed spiraling microrobotic tentacles that can gently grip delicate objects. The tiny tube circled an ant’s thorax, gently trapping the…
Astronomers Discover Misaligned Planets in a Distant Planetary System
In a newly published study, researchers from NASA’s Ames Research Center and Iowa State University detail the discovery of two planets in the Kepler-56 planetary…
Computer Models Help Explain Why Disk Galaxies Eventually Look Alike
In a newly published study, researchers detail how they developed and used computer models simulating galaxy evolution to help explain why all disk galaxies eventually…