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Physical sciences

Rift

Volcanic activity could split Africa

Thursday, 5 November 2009

Volcanic activity may split Africa in two, creating a new ocean. This is due to a geological crack which has appeared in northeastern Ethiopia, say experts.


Remnants of ice on Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro snow may vanish in 20 years

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

The snows capping Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, are shrinking rapidly and will likely vanish altogether in 20 years, most likely due to global warming.


John O’Sullivan

Profile: John O’Sullivan

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

John O’Sullivan received the 2009 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science for his part in creating of a luxury we are all familiar with: wireless internet access.


Amanda Barnard

Profile: Amanda Barnard

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Amanda Barnard, winner of the 2009 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year, has brought forth new ways of looking at nanotechnology.


Spruce forest

Cosmic rays speed up tree growth

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Cosmic rays, which constantly strike the Earth and are regulated by the solar wind, may influence how fast trees grow, according to British research.


Hurricane Andrew

Earthquake tool can monitor hurricanes

Monday, 26 October 2009

Hurricanes can be detected on seismometers, says an expert, who claims that scientists may be able to extend the historic North Atlantic hurricane record using records of seismic noise.


Black hole

Lasers simulate black hole in the lab

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

The extreme conditions found around black holes and other very dense objects can be recreated in the laboratory with powerful lasers, physicists say.


Darwin

Darwin's contribution to geology overlooked

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Darwin was more than a biologist; he was first, and foremost, a geologist, say researchers who presented talks at the Geological Society of America's annual meeting.


Shiva crater

Did giant Indian impact kill the dinosaurs?

Monday, 19 October 2009

Move aside Chicxulub; an even bigger asteroid impact off the coast of India may have been ground zero for the dinosaurs, U.S. and Indian scientists say in a controversial finding.


Hurricane Andrew

Pacific's El Nino calms Atlantic hurricanes

Monday, 19 October 2009

The Pacific's El Niño ocean-warming phenomenon has resulted in an especially calm Atlantic hurricane season – a welcome respite for the Caribbean and USA.


Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth

Greek maths comic is surprise bestseller

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

Mathematics theory hardly sounds like comic book material, but a pioneering Greek graphic novel on maths in early 20th century Europe has become an unlikely hit.


Tsunami

Australian plate: cause of Indonesian and Pacific earthquakes?

Friday, 9 October 2009

Following seismic activity in Vanuatu, researchers have suggested that the motion of the Australian tectonic plate may be responsible for recent earthquakes in both Indonesia and the Pacific.


Chaiten

Rapidly erupting volcanoes pose major risk

Thursday, 8 October 2009

Magma from a Chilean volcano shot through Earth's crust at around a metre per second, a speed highlighting the perils from so-called rhyolitic volcanoes, says a new study.


Ada Yonath

Chemists who opened toolbox for life win 2009 Nobel

Thursday, 8 October 2009

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday for work on the ribosome, a cellular machine that makes proteins, the stuff of life.


Willard Boyle

'Masters of light' win Nobel Physics Prize

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Three physicists won the 2009 Nobel Prize on Tuesday for work on fibre optics and light sensing that helped unleash the Information Technology revolution.