Nature designs hard and tough materials at the nanoscale
...o demonstrate that the stress field near a growing crack becomes more and more uniform as the thickness of the structure decreases, eventually reaching the theoretical strength at the critical size. A particle smaller than this size becomes insensitive to crack-like flaws. The findings may explain why bone......llow a lot of water to puff themselves up and then crack apart and discard their old shells. Within a day, their outer membrane, which is called the cuticle, begins to toughen and harden. In experiments Taylor conducted under Kier's supervision, the researchers found that internal pressures were temporaril...UT Southwestern researchers define regions of human genes highly prone to mutation
...hor. "What Ms. Horvath has done is to essentially crack the code within the code to reveal how selection exploits redundancy within the genetic code to specify whether a particular amino acid letter in a protein is written in stone, with ink, or in wet sand at low tide." An important application of this ...OHSU researcher publishes first measurements of 'free-base' nicotine in cigarette smoke
...ws that the modern cigarette does to nicotine what crack does to cocaine. It appears likely that ingredients used in modern cigarette manufacture such as ammonia and urea account for this addiction-enhancing effect." According to Greg Connolly, D.M.D., M.P.M., director of the Massachusetts Tobacco Control ...Microbes' 'blueprints' promise insights into oceans, more
...us and one of closely related Synechococcus should crack many mysteries about these organisms-and of phytoplankton in general. A better understanding of phytoplankton, which play a critical role in the regulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide, will aid studies on global climate change. Further, the "metabo...Mark your calendar for the American Anthropological Association meeting in Chicago Nov. 19-23
...hicago, kidney transplants in Brazil, the toll of crack cocaine, questioning the definition of Alzheimer's, and illustrating how the destitute participate in their own corporeal undoing in San Francisco. Includes Phillippe Bourgois, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Margaret Lock. (Thursday, 10.15-Noon). No Child L...Huge iceberg wreaks havoc on Antarctic marine ecosystem, study finds
...e Shelf has already calved, although another large crack has appeared. However, predicting if and when another large iceberg will fall into the Ross Sea will be very difficult, he cautioned....Bird 'breathalyzer' helps assess migratory diet
...vember 24, 2003 -- While breathalyzers help police crack down on drunk driving, a similar new device is helping a University of Rhode Island graduate student analyze the dietary changes of migrating songbirds. Just as human breathalyzers measure an individual's blood-alcohol level, David Podlesak says tha...Brain study shows some animals crave exercise
...all 50 states, the neighbor who speed walks at the crack of dawn or the cyclist who zooms by every Sunday. We might say these people are addicted to physical activity. But the debate on exercise addiction has remained largely unresolved - until now, that is. The new study, conducted at the University of W...Veterinarians, wildlife experts applaud China's ban of wild bird trade
...try officials also announced a special campaign to crack down on the illegal hunting and sale of wild birds. "We applaud the Chinese government for having the foresight to ban the trade of wild birds to help prevent the spread of disease," said Dr. Elizabeth Bennett, WCS director of Hunting and Wildlife ...Culture of primate non-aggression
...in African chimp populations (e.g. using stones to crack nuts). While most of these cases involve tool use, Robert Sapolsky and Lisa Share now provide evidence, in the latest issue of the open-access journal PLoS Biology, of a higher order cultural tradition in wild baboons in Kenya. Rooted in field observ...Scientists report how protons induce water cages
...rch team. "Fenn suggested that we might be able to crack this important problem with current technology. We collaborated with groups at Pitt and Georgia using experimental techniques developed in my lab and analyzed the results using Pitt's super computers." "Water is tricky because sometimes it is just a ...Nanoscale contact optimizes adhesion
...timately reaches a critical level to drive a small crack to propagate and break the joint. Under these circumstance, the material in the joint is not being used most efficiently because only a small fraction of material is highly stressed at any instant in time. The failure occurs by incremental propagatio...Fat cells could provide the key to a longer life
...erently in different species. All we have to do is crack the code to reset the clock and our research takes this a step closer." The possibility of extending life span has preoccupied scientists for many years. Leading theories include the idea that eating less slows down the progressive damage caused by f...'Crack babies' do better when placed with non-family caregivers
Ever since the epidemic of cocaine and crack use that began in the 1980s, researchers and doctors have been concerned about the development of children born to women who used cocaine during their pregnancy. Initially, research focused on the potential negative impacts of the drug itself, treati...Microbes eat their way to better concrete
... introduces cutting-edge biotechnology in concrete crack remediation." The microbes seal concrete surface cracks with their metabolic byproducts. That's already been done, so Bang and Ramakrishnan plan to use genetic engineering to create microbes that produce even more metabolic byproducts. The researcher...New hydrothermal vents discovered as 'South Pacific Odyssey' research begins
... of hydrothermal vents along a volcanically active crack in the seafloor. About a mile and a half down, the basin could hold answers to questions about the origin of life on Earth, say the scientists, whose plans for their "South Pacific Odyssey" include an unprecedented number of research expeditions to ...