Collaborate Disseminate
Scientists have discovered the organism with the largest known genome, containing 160 billion base pairs. That makes it more than 50 times bigger than the human genome, and the organism it’s describing is a tiny fork fern you wouldn’t even notice if you tripped over it in the forest.
Tags: Plants, Genome, DNA, World’s Largest, Genetics
Continue reading Organism with largest genome packs 50x more DNA than a human’s
The seventh annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection has been released, featuring ever more stunning shots of our home galaxy, contrasted against our home planet. This year’s gallery is sure to inspire awe and just a touch of existential dr… Continue reading Gallery: Our glorious galaxy stars in Milky Way photo competition
Scientists have discovered the oldest known skin fossils, dating back long before the dinosaurs. The samples, found in a cave in Oklahoma, USA, show that reptile scales haven’t changed much in the last 286 million years.
Tags: Skin, World’s Oldest, Fossils, Reptile, University of Toronto
Continue reading World’s oldest skin preserved in extraordinarily rare fossil find
Contact lenses get pretty thin nowadays, but they’ve got nothing on a new lens from scientists at Stanford and the University of Amsterdam. The team has created the world’s thinnest lens, measuring just three atoms thick.Continue ReadingCategory: Physi… Continue reading World’s thinnest lens is just three atoms thick
Scientists have discovered the potential existence of a bizarre new molecule related to water. Dubbed “aquodiium,” this ion could form under extreme conditions and may explain some of the weirdness of our solar system’s ice giant planets.Continue Readi… Continue reading Alien ion of water may explain why Uranus is so weird
Having lots of glass surfaces can brighten up a room, but it also lets in too much heat as well as neighbors’ prying eyes. A new metamaterial is not only more transparent to light, but adds privacy, cools the room inside, and automatically cleans itsel… Continue reading More transparent than glass, new material cools rooms and self-cleans
A new heat-to-energy converter has reached a record efficiency of 44% – the average steam turbine manages about 35%, for comparison. This thermophotovoltaic cell is a major step on the way to sustainable, grid-scale renewable energy storage.Continue Re… Continue reading Thermal power cell harvests electricity from heat at record efficiency
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured direct images of galaxies being born at the cosmic dawn. This is the first time this has ever been witnessed by astronomers, confirming models for galaxy formation.Continue ReadingCategory: Space, ScienceTags… Continue reading James Webb captures first direct images of galaxies born at Cosmic Dawn
Diamonds are famously formed under high pressure and temperature, which is partly why they’re so valuable. But now, scientists have created diamonds in a lab under regular pressure in just 15 minutes.Continue ReadingCategory: Materials, ScienceTags: Di… Continue reading Diamonds grown at normal pressure in just 15 minutes
Concrete and steel production are major sources of CO2 emissions, but a new solution from Cambridge could recycle both at the same time. Throwing old concrete into steel-processing furnaces not only purifies iron but produces “reactivated cement” as a … Continue reading ‘Absolute miracle’ breakthrough provides recipe for zero-carbon cement