The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), a new instrument that will measure the character and worldwide distribution of the tiny particles that make up haze, dust, air pollutants and smoke, will do more than gather data once it’s deployed on the International Space Station this year. “CATS is a groundbreaking science and technology pathfinder,” said Colleen […]
News media losing role as gatekeepers to new ‘social mediators’ on Twitter, study finds
The U.S. government is doing a better job of communicating on Twitter with people in sensitive areas like the Middle East and North Africa without the participation of media organizations, according to a study co-authored by a University of Georgia researcher. The study looked at the U.S. State Department’s use of social media and identified […]
Magnetic nanocubes self-assemble into helical superstructures
Materials made from nanoparticles hold promise for myriad applications, from improved solar energy production to perfect touch screens. The challenge in creating these wonder-materials is organizing the nanoparticles into orderly arrangements. Nanoparticles of magnetite, the most abundant magnetic material on earth, are found in living organisms from bacteria to birds. Nanocrystals of magnetite self-assemble into […]
Single laser stops molecular tumbling motion instantly
In the quantum world, making the simple atom behave is one thing, but making the more complex molecule behave is another story. Now Northwestern University scientists have figured out an elegant way to stop a molecule from tumbling so that its potential for new applications can be harnessed: shine a single laser on a trapped […]
NASA’s TRMM Satellite sees powerful towering storms in Cristobal
NASA’s TRMM satellite identified areas of heavy rainfall occurring in Hurricane Cristobal as it continued strengthening on approach to Bermuda. NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite flew above Hurricane Cristobal on August 26 at 11:35 UTC (7:35 a.m. EDT) gathering rainfall data. A rainfall analysis derived from TRMM’s Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation […]
Experiments explain why some liquids are ‘fragile’ and others are ‘strong’
Only recently has it become possible to accurately “see” the structure of a liquid. Using X-rays and a high-tech apparatus that holds liquids without a container, Kenneth Kelton, PhD, the Arthur Holly Compton Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, was able to compare the behavior of glass-forming liquids as they […]
Novel ‘butterfly’ molecule could build new sensors, photoenergy conversion devices
Exciting new work by a Florida State University research team has led to a novel molecular system that can take your temperature, emit white light, and convert photon energy directly to mechanical motions. And, the molecule looks like a butterfly. Biwu Ma, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering in the FAMU-FSU […]
Research geared to keep women from fleeing IT profession
For years, employers and experts have been trying to reverse the exodus of women from information technology positions. They’re failing. Studies show that women are significantly underrepresented in the IT field, and the number of women who’ve graduated with degrees in computer and information science have plummeted from 37 percent in 1985 to 18 percent […]
Two Ames Laboratory scientists named ‘Most Influential Scientific Minds’
Two Ames Laboratory physicists, Paul Canfield and Sergey Bud’ko, were recently named to Thomson Reuters’ World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2014. Researchers earned inclusion on the list by writing the greatest number of highly cited papers, ranking among the top 1 percent for their subject field and year of publication between 2002 and 2012. According […]
NASA begins hurricane mission with Global Hawk flight to Cristobal
The first of two unmanned Global Hawk aircraft landed at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, on Aug. 27 after surveying Hurricane Cristobal for the first science flight of NASA’s latest hurricane airborne mission. NASA’s airborne Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel, or HS3, mission returns to NASA Wallops for the third year to […]