astrobiology
Sapphires and rubies in the sky
Researchers at the Universities of Zurich and Cambridge have discovered a new, exotic class of planets outside our solar system. These so-called super-Earths were formed at high temperatures close to their host star and contain high quantities of calcium, aluminium and their oxides -- including sapphire and ruby.
How does your garden grow in space?
behaviour
Marmoset monkeys expect the melody's closing tone
Groups of pilot whales have their own dialects
biomimetics & robotics
Growing bio-inspired shapes with hundreds of tiny robots
3D-printed robot hand plays the piano - badly
I'm not impressed. Go to the museum of musical automata at Bruchsal, Germany, to see more advanced robotic music making dating from the 19th century ...
chemistry
Singapore researchers develop gold-complexed ferrocenyl phosphines as potent antimalarials
Bacterial protein could help find materials for your next smartphone, specifically: lanthanides
See also my recent feature on microbial mining helpers.
conservation
Loss of forest intactness increases extinction risk in birds
environment
Plastic waste disintegrates into nanoparticles, study finds
Loss of intertidal ecosystem exposes coastal communities
evolution
Scientists discover over 450 fossilized millipedes in 100-million-year-old amber
(Photo: Thomas Wesener)
gene technology
Rabbit gene helps houseplant detoxify indoor air
I made fun of GM house plants earlier this year in my column in Nachrichten (ref. to follow).
palaeoanthropology
Returning indigenous remains to their ancestral lands, thanks to ancient DNA
A similar deal was struck re. Spirit Cave mummy, see my feature on ancient americans, out this week.
seasonal science
Snowed in: Wolves stay put when it's snowing, study shows
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in the papers:
How can I remove Google from my life? (just had to have this link on my blogspot - I also share all the facebook scandals on facebook)
Can folk music save the bees? asks the Guardian.
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