Headlines

Metallic rutile oxides break the rules of cooling

Physicists have long puzzled over a strange contradiction inside a family of minerals called rutile oxides. These materials all share the same crystal structure—but while some of them, like titanium dioxide, are firmly insulating, others, like ruthenium dioxide, conduct

New Horizons watches the solar wind as it slows down

Where does the solar system end and interstellar space begin? That's a question scientists have been working to answer using spacecraft traveling beyond the sun's influence. A team of researchers from the Southwest Research Institute, led by Heather Elliott, is using the Solar

Reinventing pediatric dental training in Singapore

Managing pediatric dental patients can be stressful for dental students and inexperienced practitioners, particularly when communicating with fearful and uncooperative children. Previous studies found that dental students experience three times the stress levels of seasoned

How proximity steals energy from nanoresonators

Nanomechanical resonators are miniature vibrating structures on chips that oscillate at frequencies ranging from a few kilohertz to gigahertz. They are used as ultrasensitive detectors of mass and force, temperature and pressure, and as components in radio frequency filters and

Wasted pumpkin peel can keep your food fresh

Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a new food preservation solution. Using pumpkin peel as a raw material, they synthesized a nanomaterial for food packaging that slows the deterioration of fruit and other produce while reducing transport damage. The findings were

Hummingbirds speed up pineapple family's evolution

Hummingbirds make bromeliad plants split into new species twice as fast as other pollinators do, scientists at the University of Reading have found. The research team gathered records of which animals pollinate 403 types of bromeliad, which include pineapples and more than