Topic: Science & Technology

Mars once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life, according to two new studies.

Mars once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the potential to support life, according to two new studies based on data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and other instruments on board NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

A lot of farmers are considering harvesting crop residues to be turned into ethanol. However, according to researchers at Washington State University, that's not a good idea, unless your purpose is to create a new dust bowl.

In the rush to develop renewable fuels from plants, converting crop residues into cellulosic ethanol would seem to be a slam dunk.

Children appear to be naturally inclined to feel empathy for others in pain, according to researchers who used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans. Children show responses to seeing someone in pain in the same areas of their brains. Additional aspects of the brain were activated when youngsters saw another person hurt.

Children between the ages of seven and 12 appear to be naturally inclined to feel empathy for others in pain, according to researchers who used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans to study responses in children.

A new mathematical model indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth's surface.

A new mathematical equation, developed by University of Michigan atmospheric and planetary scientist Nilton Renno, could allow scientists to more accurately calculate the maximum expected intensity of a spiraling storm based on the depth of the troposphere and the temperature and humidity of the air in the storm's path. The troposphere is the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere.

Swine production generates large amounts of waste. While this waste contains nutrients that may serve as fertilizer when applied to agricultural fields, the ratio of nutrients in the waste is different than what a crop requires.

Swine production generates large amounts of waste. While this waste contains nutrients that may serve as fertilizer when applied to agricultural fields, the ratio of nutrients in the waste is different than what a crop requires. Application of waste to meet the nitrogen needs of a crop results in application of excess phosphorus which increases the potential for environmental contamination. Swine fed corn diets with more highly available phosphorus produce waste that has a nitrogen to phosphorus ratio closer to what a crop needs than swine fed traditional corn diets.

Climate change could have a major impact on the environment of Costa Rica, upsetting delicate mountain cloud forests, and causing a decrease in plant and animal species in a region famous for its biodiversity. Regional climate models predict that the area will become warmer and drier as climate change accelerates.

While melting Arctic sea ice and glaciers have become a symbol of climate change, new research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst indicates that highland forests in Costa Rica could also be seriously affected by future changes in climate, reducing the number of species in a region famous for its biodiversity.

The first "Virtual Step Pyramid" is to be used by architects, restorers, and archaeologists as part of efforts to save and restore the Step Pyramid in the face of threats from centuries of erosion and the fragility of the stone and clay body of the pyramid, exposed after the protective outer casing was removed by stone robbers in ancient times.

Ancient Egypt Research Associates, Inc., the premier non-profit organization conducting original archaeological research and educational programs in Egypt, has collaborated with Egyptian and Japanese research and technology teams to generate the first 3-D model of Egypt's oldest pyramid, the Djoser Step Pyramid in Saqqara.

Some meteorologists are claiming that the global warming we've been experiencing is part of a natural recurring cycle that began around 1900 and we're soon going to enter a phase of "global cooling." Wait until Al Gore hears about this!

New findings released in the "peer reviewed" book Global Warming - Global Cooling, Natural Cause Found, meteorologist and climate researcher David Dilley utilizes nearly a half million years of data linking long term gravitational cycles of the moon as the cause for the present global warming, rises in carbon dioxide levels, and for 2200 global warming cycles during the past half million years.

North Carolina State University scientists have figured out one reason why pregnant yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti), one of the most important disease transmitters worldwide, choose to lay their eggs in certain outdoor water containers while eschewing others.

In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, North Carolina State University researchers show that certain chemicals emanating from bacteria in water containers stimulate the female mosquitoes to lay their eggs. The female mosquitoes sense these chemical cues and decide that the water container is a preferable environment for their larvae to develop.

Did you ever see a mouse in the kitchen, then find yourself seeing mice in every dust ball and dark corner? According to researchers, this is normal and is part of how the brain works.

Letting your imagination run away with you may actually influence how you see the world. New research from Vanderbilt University has found that mental imagery - what we see with the "mind's eye" - directly impacts our visual perception.

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Mental imagery is commonly referred to as seeing with the mind's eye. This image shows a graphic, yet literal representation of the the minds eye, by showing an eye peering out of the brain.