Imagine this: a scientist in 1925 dropped some mind-blowing ideas that would later rock the world of evolutionary biology. This scientist was George Yule. His work was like a secret stash of tools that helped explain how different groups of organisms change over time. It took nearly two decades for scientists to really notice his ideas about random population growth....
You may think that the rather inexplicably sounding crystals lithium copper borophosphate LICu2 sheds some exciting light on the alloy properties copper, lithium and phosphorus have a very interesting behaviour these otherwordly crystals can sort molecules! Lets begin what molecules are. . All around us, there are tiny particles called atoms. The...
Imagine you're in a lab, and you want to make a super-powerful molecule. Scientists just figured out a cool way to do this in one simple step. They changed the structure of a molecule, added two special groups to a part called a methyl group, and made it both positive and negative at the same time. This all happens at once, making the process quick and easy. The resu...
NASA is rethinking its strategy to bring samples from Mars to Earth. The original plan, with the European Space Agency, was too expensive and slow. Now, NASA has two new ideas. One uses the same method that landed the Perseverance rover. The other asks companies like SpaceX or Blue Origin for help. Both plans aim to return samples by the late 2030s for less than $8 b...
Scientists are in for a shock – they've stumbled upon a new radioactive isotope, 127Xe, using their fancy tool, Xcounts. This gadget was actually designed to spot specific xenon isotopes floating around in the air. Over a couple of months, they snagged 119 air samples with their unique device, SAUNA QB. Guess what? Two of those samples had this mysterious isotope hid...
You know that feeling when you try to stretch a plastic bag and it just tears apart? That's because of the polymers used in its making. One such polymer is gelatin, which is safe and natural but not very flexible. Scientists decided to mix gelatin with another polymer called curdlan to make it more bendy. They found that when curdlan is added to gelatin, the mixture ...
Imagine you're playing with building blocks. Now, imagine those blocks are super tiny and can do amazing things like conduct electricity or improve how things look under a microscope. That's what polyoxometalates (POMs) are! Recently, scientists mixed some fascinating ingredients to create four new POMs. They started with something called {XW9Nb3O40} (X = Si/Ge), whi...
Have you ever considered the tiny iron particles hiding in your water? These microscopic invaders can harm our bodies and damage the pipes that transport water. Fortunately, scientists have found a clever way to capture these iron ions using two materials called polydopamine (PDA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). When combined, PDA and PMMA can trap iron for sever...
Imagine this: you're doing some yard work and suddenly stumble upon something huge, unusual, and very old. That's exactly what happened to a homeowner in Orange County, New York. While tidying up their backyard, they found two massive teeth hidden under some plants. Intrigued, they called in experts from the New York State Museum and State University of New York Oran...
Ever imagined using something as tiny as a grain of sand to clean our water? Scientists have found a fascinating solution with D301 beads. These tiny beads were tested with a common water pollutant called humic acid. Using advanced tools like 3D fluorescence spectroscopy, researchers discovered that D301 beads can absorb a significant amount of pollutant – up to 37. ...