TOKYO, Feb 6 – Japanese and German researchers have independently synthesized a new class of silicon-based compounds that could expand the element’s role beyond semiconductors and industrial materials. A team led by Professor Takeaki Iwamoto…
Australia’s Queensland and Northern Territory brace for cyclones
[caption id="attachment_3210" align="alignnone" width="624"] Two low-pressure systems are developing of the coasts of Western Australia and Queensland[/caption] Residents in parts of Western Australia and Queensland have been warned to prepare for stormy weather as two…
The Pitcher and the Carpenter
[caption id="attachment_3207" align="alignnone" width="990"] Photograph by Christian Ziegler,[/caption] The fanged pitcher plant and the carpenter ant (seen here in Borneo) have a mutualistic relationship: While the plant’s pitcher stem provides a home for small ant…
Galileo satellites ready for fuelling as launcher takes…
[caption id="attachment_3203" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Soyuz with Galileo satellites[/caption] ESA news-- All the elements for this month’s Galileo launch are coming together at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. As the two satellites undergo final testing and…
A European species has a special place to…
[caption id="attachment_3197" align="aligncenter" width="860"] The black garden ant, Lasius niger. Scientists have found that these insects use certain spots in their nests as toilets.[/caption] Most of us think ants are unsanitary. It certainly seems that…





