Scientists found traces of argon (a noble gas) in the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant in the constellation of Taurus. Noble gases rarely engage in chemical reactions, but in this case it has reacted with hydrogen, forming a molecule called argon hydride. This is the very first time that a noble-gas based molecule has been found in space.
Organic matter has been discovered inside meteor glass created by an impact on Earth almost a million years ago. Although the material is from our planet, the discovery suggests similar samples could have been thrown around space, allowing organics to be transported from one planet to another. The researchers found there are tiny pockets inside the meteor glass containing material such as cellulose and proteins.
Researchers have created a 'Wikipedia' for intellectual property, including millions of scientific articles, inventions and all existing gene patents. The Lens is an open web facility that aims to bring clarity and equality to the contentious issue of patenting. Created by social enterprise Cambia and Queensland University of Technology, users will be able to collect, annotate, edit and share their findings.
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.2001 May 18
This stunning image of an iceberg in Greenland was shot by American photographer, Michael Quinn. Greenland is famous for its huge, rippling icebergs, and last year an enormous, 75-square-kilometre one broke off Greenland's Petermann Glacier and floated to Newfoundland in pieces.
Congratulations, China!
Chang’e-3 and the lunar rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) landed on the lunar surface on December 14 at about 1:11 pm UTC. This is the first successful landing on the moon by any spacecraft in more than 30 years.
Engineers in the US have developed a chemical process that converts algae into crude oil in under an hour in the lab. With the new system, a slurry of wet algae is pumped into a chemical reactor and crude oil is produced in minutes, along with a byproduct stream of material that can be used to grow more algae.
This is the coconut octopus - a medium sized octopus that's been observed using coconut shells or seashells to create a hiding place from predators. Amphioctopus marginatus lives in sandy habitats and carries shells under its body, using the tips of its tentacles to move along the seafloor. Every 20 metres or so, the octopus reassembles the two halves and hides to reassess the situation.
INTERESTING NEWS: Researchers have encoded the message "O Canada" in evaporated vodka and transmitted it across the lab with the aid of a tabletop fan. It was then decoded by a receiver that measured the rate of change in concentration of the alcohol molecules, picking up whether the concentration was increasing or decreasing.
It is believed this type of molecular communication could one day be used where conventional wireless technology fails, such as underwater, underground, in oil pipelines, or inside your body.
This Cuban Tre
e Frog swallowed a Christmas light after a bug landed on it! But don't worry - it's okay! The bulb was gently removed from its stomach.
Caption by AsapSCIENCE and photo by James Snyder
