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News | Archive (September 2007)
Mysterious energy burst stuns astronomers
— 29 Sep 2007 | AstronomyIn a shock finding, astronomers using CSIRO's Parkes telescope have detected a huge burst of radio energy from the distant universe that could open up a new field in astrophysics. The research team, led by Assistant Professor Duncan Lorimer of West Virginia University, reports its discovery in the online journal Science Express. The radio burst appears to have originated at least one-and-a-half billion light-years [500 Mpc] away but was startlingly strong…
Measurements from the edge: magnetic properties of thin films
— 29 Sep 2007 | PhysicsMaterials researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), together with colleagues from IBM and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have pushed the measurement of thin films to the edge - literally - to produce the first data on how the edges of metallic thin films contribute to their magnetic properties. Their results may impact the design of future nanoscale electronics…
Breaking the barrier toward nanometer X-ray resolution
— 29 Sep 2007 | PhysicsA team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have overcome a major obstacle for using refractive lenses to focus x-rays. This method will allow the efficient focusing of x-rays down to extremely small spots and is an important breakthrough in the development of a new, world-leading light source facility that promises advances in nanoscience, energy, biology, and materials research…
Dead time limits quantum cryptography speeds
— 29 Sep 2007 | PhysicsQuantum cryptography is potentially the most secure method of sending encrypted information, but does it have a speed limit? According to a new paper by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI), technological and security issues will stall maximum transmission rates at levels comparable to that of a single broadband connection, such as a cable modem, unless researchers reduce 'dead times' in the detectors that receive quantum-encrypted messages…
Recovery from acid rain much slower than expected
— 29 Sep 2007 | EnvironmentAcid rain was one of the world's worst pollution problems of the 1970s and 1980s, affecting large areas of upland Britain, as well as Europe and North America. In Wales, more than 12,000 km of streams and rivers have been acidified, harming fish, stream insects and river birds such as the dipper…
Swedish pasturelands save European butterflies
— 28 Sep 2007 | BiologyHerb-rich pasturelands in Sweden's woodland areas display a wealth of butterfly species that are dwindling in many other countries in Western Europe, according to a study from Linkoping University in Sweden. But with the growing introduction of more efficient agricultural production, Sweden risks going down the same path…
International team tracks shorebird along previously unknown migration route
— 28 Sep 2007 | BiologyTracking an individual shorebird as it travels across its range from the far north is now possible, thanks to an international team of researchers led by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) wildlife biologists Matthew Johnson and Susan Haig. Black oystercatchers are large, black shorebirds with long pink legs and orange-red bills that are dependent on the coastal marine shoreline and intertidal zone environment…
Diary of earthquake observation
— 28 Sep 2007 | Geology and palaeontologyThe eleven years from 1982 to 1993 were surprisingly calm in the seismic chronicle of the Earth. A period of heavy and frequent earthquakes began in 1993 with a magnitude exceeding 7 points according to the 9-score Richter scale. The phenomenon was discovered by Valentin Ulomov, specialist of the Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, after analysing 600 large-scale earthquakes between 1965 and 2005…
Traces of the deluge
— 28 Sep 2007 | Geology and palaeontologyApparently, disasters resembling the biblical Deluge often happened in Eurasia when glaciers occupied more space than they do now. In the north, the glacier served as a natural dam for Siberian rivers, and gigantic lakes were formed in northern Asia. In the mountains, glaciers formed dammed basins, which periodically burst and flooded vast territories. Huge water and mud flows rushed out at the speed of 20 metres per second…
Local communities celebrate largest protected area in Papua New Guinea
— 28 Sep 2007 | EnvironmentThe creation of three new wildlife management areas in Papua New Guinea will protect some of Asia-Pacific's most threatened and unique wildlife habitats. The new Aramba, Tonda extension and Weriaver areas cover about 710,000 hectares in Papua New Guinea's Western Province, and join up with the existing Tonda wildlife management area of 610,000 hectares…
A new artificial material shows the pathway to improved electronics
Chip alliance delivers major semiconductor performance leap, power savings