News
Mollusk shells could pave the way to greener materials
7+ hour, 24+ min ago (456+ words) Nacre-inspired ceramics could be the basis for the next generation of energy-efficient technology By Caitlin Kennedy edited by Clara Moskowitz In 59 B. C. E. Julius Caesar, future dictator of Rome, gifted his favorite mistress Servilia a black pearl earring of such size and…...
Strange "compleximers" show glassy materials can have it all
1+ week, 5+ day ago (348+ words) This bizarre substance breaks the rules of both glass and plastic Scientists thought glassy substances had to be either moldable or impact-resistant'but compleximers are both By Rohini Subrahmanyam edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier "Compleximers'materials that can be molded like window…...
IBM scientists unveil the first ever "half-M'bius" molecule, with the help of quantum computing
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (890+ words) A team at IBM Research has assembled a strange new ring-shaped molecule that bends around like a more complicated M'bius strip By Joseph Howlett edited by Lee Billings The newly discovered half-M'bius molecule. The cloud of electrons twists about the…...
Katharine Burr Blodgett made a breakthrough when she discovered "invisible glass
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (1811+ words) When Katharine Burr Blodgett discovered nonreflecting glass, the General Electric Company"s public relations machine made her a star By Katie Hafner, Natalia S'nchez Loayza, Sophia Levin, Hannah Sammut & The Lost Women of Science Initiative Lisk Feng (image); Lily Whear…...
Chemistry at the heart of the Milky Way has never looked so gorgeous
1+ mon, 3+ week ago (381+ words) Astronomers captured this stunning image of the Milky Way's center, revealing a web of gas, dust and stars in extraordinary detail By Claire Cameron edited by Jeanna Bryner ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Longmore et al. Stars in inset: ESO/D. Minniti…...
Unveiling a pioneer of early nanotechnology
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (1597+ words) The Lost Women of Science team uncovers Katharine Burr Blodgett's overlooked brilliance By Kendra Pierre-Louis, Katie Hafner, Fonda Mwangi & Alex Sugiura Kendra Pierre-Louis: For Scientific American's Science Quickly, I'm Kendra Pierre-Louis, in for Rachel Feltman. When it comes to our…...
The chemical genius of Katharine Burr Blodgett
2+ mon, 3+ week ago (1828+ words) The story of a woman whose discoveries in materials science quietly shape our everyday world but whose legacy was long eclipsed by the famous scientist she worked with at the General Electric Company By Katie Hafner, Natalia S'nchez Loayza, Sophia…...
Rocky Planets May Make Life's Precursor, RNA, All across the Universe
4+ mon, 1+ week ago (502+ words) RNA Might Have Formed Naturally on Early Earth, Seeding Life New experiments show how RNA might form not just on Earth but on other rocky planets, too By Jonathan O'Callaghan edited by Lee Billings An artist's impression of a single…...
Scientists Just Tore Up a Major Particle Physics Theory
4+ mon, 3+ week ago (372+ words) New results from the Micro Boo NE experiment at Fermilab found no evidence of a hypothetical fourth flavor of neutrino By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz The finding, which was published in Nature on Wednesday, calls into question a…...
AI Uncovers Oldest-Ever Molecular Evidence of Photosynthesis
5+ mon, 5+ day ago (449+ words) A machine-learning breakthrough could lift the veil on Earth's early history'and supercharge the search for alien life By Lee Billings edited by Claire Cameron Modern-day microbe-made mounds called stromatolites (seen here in Australia's Shark Bay) have counterparts in the fossil…...