Matter and Its Interactions
- Physics
Smooshed diamonds: A window into exoplanets?
Scientists have compressed diamonds more than ever before. Their carbon may give clues to what conditions might be like deep within planets way beyond our solar system.
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Wire critter shows power of surface tension
Water striders walk on water by using surface tension. Now you can do the same with a wire critter weight-lifting contest.
- Physics
Very-sub-zero water
Using lasers, scientists measured the temperature of water droplets that remained liquid even when super-cold.
- Genetics
Owww! The science of pain
No one likes pain, but it keeps us alive. That’s why scientists want to learn how best to coexist with this complicated and still somewhat mysterious sensation.
- Tech
Digital displays get flexible
Flexible and unbreakable digital displays could soon be for sale, thanks to a new organic transistor made from plastic.
- Tech
Digital lighting goes organic
An environmentally friendly lighting technology promises not only to save energy but also to transform our indoor environment.
- Animals
Mosquitoes, be gone!
An extract of local seeds in Puerto Rico may be the key to keeping mosquitoes away. It kills the larval insects and repels the biting adults.
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Better than plywood
Most people think of pineapple as a tasty fruit. But it can be so much more, two Malaysian teens showed. They turned the plant’s leaves into a construction material that’s both strong and waterproof.
- Earth
Don’t let the bedbugs bite
A trio of teens has found a nontoxic way to stop bedbugs dead in their tracks. The method relies on a mesh of fibers that a bug can step into easily — but never leave.
- Tech
The road less worn
Two teens have found a new use for old tires. By grinding them up and adding them to asphalt, the old rubber can create stronger, longer-lived roads. And the bonus: The process recycles tires that might otherwise have been burned, creating pollution.
- Chemistry
Scientists confirm element 117
Scientists have confirmed the existence of a new, short-lived superheavy element. For now, they’re calling it ununseptium.
- Physics
Quark quartet forms exotic particle
Quarks are important building blocks of matter, usually bound together as pairs or triples. Now some have formed a quartet. Scientists confirmed the existence of a particle made of four quarks stuck together. Such strange stuff may have been more common in the earliest universe, the scientists say.
