Science News takes appreciation of American whiskeys to a whole new level – a teeny-tiny one. Researchers publishing in Physical Review Fluids found that bourbons, unlike other… Read the rest “Bourbons have microscopic signatures. (In a way that scotches don’t.)”
National Geographic reports on a study that has found nicotine-based insecticides – the world’s most widely used pesticides – act like appetite suppressants for … Read the rest “Common insectides have lowered songbird populations – they eat a couple seeds and lose weight.”
New Scientist has the less-than-cheerful discovery that a plastic-based teabag will release *billions* of microplastic particles as it steeps:
… Read the rest “Microplastics in your tea, from the teabag.”A Canadian team found that steeping a
LA Times plunges into a chemical and artistic riddle – how can we restore fading Day-Glo paintings when the formula for Saturn Yellow remains a trade secret?:
… Read the rest “I don’t know, how *do* you make Saturn Yellow?”[Conservator Kamila]
Business Insider lauds Fionn Ferreira, an 18-year-old who won the Google Science Fair (and a $50,000 pot) with a plan to use ferrofluid – magnetic liquid – to stick to microplastics… Read the rest “Irish kid wins big for plan to get rid of microplastics using magnets.”
Fortune reports on a new company that aims to keep supply chains secure in the era of 3D printing by using unique patterns of diamond dust scattered on manufactured parts to act as a unique … Read the rest ““Diamond-based security” low-tech foil for high-tech counterfeiters”
Nature reports on Chinese officials having a redo on one of our past environmental successes, seeking out the source of massive plumes of ozone-destroying CFCs detected over two Chinese… Read the rest “China is going back to fighting the ozone hole.”
Science Daily reports on the discovery that human skin oils react with ozone in the atmosphere inside your office or house to create “the Pig-Pen Effect” – a cloud of … Read the rest “You are your own threat to your air quality. (Well, one of the threats, anyway.)”
Nature says that our need for silicon – the main substance in computer chips, as well as glass windows, bottles, and things like bricks and mortar – could actually threaten … Read the rest “We’re running out of… sand?”
Wired reveals a new way to look at the stuff life relies on – and gives a reason why it could be a lot more common in outer space than we’ve thought. Water, under the right circumstances,… Read the rest “Weird water might exist across the universe – as a supersolid.”
MIT researchers have devised a technique to create a solid, 3D structure and then reduce it to one-thousandth its original volume:
… Read the rest “MIT shrinks objects to the nano-scale.”“It’s a way of putting nearly any kind of material into
Chemistry World introduces us to a particularly talented NASA veteran, George Aldrich – an expert smeller whose olfactory sensitivity ensures that bad smells don’t disrupt… Read the rest “Spacecraft sniffer makes sure NASA’s missions come up roses.”
Nature reveals that natural gas is quite a bit more polluting than we thought – with less-than-airtight facilities leaking 60% more methane than estimated, or about $2 billion in… Read the rest “Natural gas: Not all that clean (but we can fix it!)”
It’s hot here. Spent all day at a swim meet. Non-competitors not allowed in pool. There’s a chain now that makes ice cream using frozen nitrogen. Science art… Read the rest “Science Art: Nitrogen with Secret Binary Robot (Brain Freeze Ice Cream Wallpaper Detail), editor’s own work.”
Nature reports on a new way to turn ship exhaust into an energy source. Dr. Jun Kang at the Korea Maritime and Ocean University in South Korea has devised a way to capture soot from diesel engines… Read the rest “Ship-exhaust power: making batteries from soot.”
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