Four years ago, several red giant stars were discovered to pose a paradox: even though they are built from very old stellar material, their large masses indicate a clearly younger age. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (Germany), Aarhus University (Denmark), and The Ohio State University (U.S.) have now solved the apparent contradiction. For the first time,…
Tag: Nitrogen
Swapping Spark Plugs For Nanopulses Could Boost Engine Efficiency By 20 Percent
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Transient Plasma Systems has its roots in pulsed power technology developed for the Department of Defense at the University of Southern California, specifically nanosecond-duration pulses of power. Since 2009, it has been working on commercializing the technology for the civilian market in a number of applications, but obviously it’s the automotive one…
Exposure to air pollution seems to negatively affect women’s fertility
Daily exposure to air pollution, including particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, has a negative impact on women’s fertility Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2207560-exposure-to-air-pollution-seems-to-negatively-affect-womens-fertility/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Mud ball meteorites rain down in Costa Rica
“Mud ball” meteorites – full of clays, organics and water – are unique among space rocks. And a lot of them fell in April 2019 on a small town in Costa Rica, much to the delight of scientists. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/mudball-meteorite-fall-aguas-zarcas-costa-rica-2019…
New evidence for Pluto’s subsurface ocean
Does Pluto have an ocean? That idea seems preposterous at first, but a new study adds to the growing evidence for a subsurface ocean on this distant dwarf planet … and explains how it stays liquid. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/pluto-subsurface-ocean-methane-gas-hydrate-layer…
Neptune’s moon Triton fosters rare icy union
Astronomers using the Gemini Observatory explore Neptune’s largest moon Triton and observe, for the first time beyond the lab, an extraordinary union between carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices. The discovery offers insights into how this volatile mixture can transport material across the moon’s surface via geysers, trigger seasonal atmospheric changes, and provide a context for conditions on other distant, icy worlds….
The Underground Network of Microbes That Connects Trees Mapped For First Time
For the first time, scientists have mapped the millions of species of fungi and bacteria that swap nutrients between soil and the roots of trees, using a database of more than 28,000 tree species living in more than 70 countries. This interconnected web of organisms throughout the woods is being dubbed the “wood wide web.” Science Magazine reports: Before scientists could…
Penguin and seal dung nourishes organisms that are kilometres away
Nitrogen from penguin and seal faeces in Antarctica can spread to an area up to 240 times the original colony, which serves as a vital nutrient for other plants and animals Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2202026-penguin-and-seal-dung-nourishes-organisms-that-are-kilometres-away/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…