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News | Archive (17 December 2008)
Water in the early Universe
— 18:00 GMT | AstronomyA research group led by graduate student Violette Impellizzeri from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy has used the 100 m Effelsberg radio telescope to detect water at the greatest distance from Earth so far. The water vapour was discovered in the quasar MG J0414+0534 at redshift 2.64, which corresponds to a light travel time of 11.1 billion years, a time when the Universe was only a fifth of the age it is today. The water vapour is thought to exist in clouds of dust and gas that feed the supermassive black hole at the centre of the distant quasar…
'More Cavalier' plants could counter effects of climate change
— 11:54 GMT | BiologyA leading UK plant scientist has called for the application of new in-depth data analysis of plants' natural control systems to enable plant breeders to develop varieties that are naturally less conservative…
New York City beaver returns
— 11:34 GMT | EnvironmentThe Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that New York City's most famous beaver, Jose, has come home for the holidays! After a year-long hiatus, Jose - the first wild beaver to return to New York in at least two centuries - is back at the zoo and has even cut down his own Christmas tree, which he is now using to construct a new lodge on the Bronx River…
Caltech researchers interpret asymmetry in early Universe
— 11:34 GMT | AstronomyThe Big Bang is widely considered to have obliterated any trace of what came before. Now, astrophysicists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) think that their new theoretical interpretation of an imprint from the earliest stages of the Universe may also shed light on what came before…
Planets living on the edge
— 11:34 GMT | AstronomySome stars have it tough when it comes to raising planets. A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows one unlucky lot of stars, born into a dangerous neighbourhood. The stars themselves are safe, but the material surrounding them - the dusty bits of what might have been future planets - can be seen blowing off into space…
Study links ecosystem changes in temperate lakes to climate warming
— 11:34 GMT | EnvironmentUnparalleled warming over the last few decades has triggered widespread ecosystem changes in many temperate North American and Western European lakes, say researchers at Queen's University and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment…
Just a little squeeze lets proteins assess DNA
— 11:34 GMT | BiologyTo find its target, all a protein needs to do is give quick squeezes as it moves along the DNA strand, suggests new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson. Scientists had thought DNA-binding proteins primarily used full-body hugs for accurate readings of the information coded in the DNA's sequence…
Biggest breach of Earth's solar storm shield discovered
— 11:34 GMT | AstronomyEarth's magnetic field, which shields our planet from particles streaming outward from the Sun, often develops two holes that allow the largest leaks, according to researchers sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation…
Tiny magnetic crystals in bacteria are a compass, say Imperial researchers
— 11:34 GMT | BiologyScientists have shown that tiny crystals found inside bacteria provide a magnetic compass to help them navigate through sediment to find the best food, in research out today…
Engineers helping develop energy-harvesting radios
— 11:34 GMT | TechnologyIf changing the batteries in the remote control or smoke detector seems like a chore, imagine having to change hundreds of batteries in sensors scattered across a busy bridge…
Can we spot volcanoes on alien worlds? Astronomers say yes
Owl monkeys need moonlight as much as a biological clock for nocturnal activity