Solar Power Breakthrough

MIT researchers announced that they have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is too expensive and inefficient. Inspired by the photosynthesis performed by plants, the scientists have developed a process that will allow the sun's energy to be used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. Later, the oxygen and hydrogen may be recombined inside a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity to power your house or your electric car, day or night.

The key component is a new catalyst that produces oxygen gas from water; another catalyst produces hydrogen gas. The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity -- whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source -- runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced. Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.

Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.

Insects use trapped oxygen to breathe underwater

Hundreds of insect species spend much of their time underwater, where food may be more plentiful. MIT mathematicians have now figured out exactly how those insects breathe underwater.

By virtue of their rough, water-repellent coat, when submerged these insects trap a thin layer of air on their bodies. These bubbles not only serve as a finite oxygen store, but also allow the insects to absorb oxygen from the surrounding water. The insects use this bubble as a kind of external lung.

Thanks to those air bubbles, insects can stay below the surface indefinitely and dive as deep as about 100 feet. Some species, such as Neoplea striola, which are native to New England, hibernate underwater all winter long.

The air bubble's stability is maintained by hairs on the insects' abdomen, which help repel water from the surface. The hairs, along with a waxy surface coating, prevent water from flooding the spiracles--tiny breathing holes on the abdomen.

The spacing of these hairs is critically important: The closer together the hairs, the greater the mechanical stability and the more pressure the bubble can withstand before collapsing. However, mechanical stability comes at a cost. If the hairs are too close together, there is not enough surface area through which to breathe.

Living Fossils

This gallery features many creatures alive today that exist today more or less unevolved from the forms they had hundreds of millions of years ago. Some of the creatures they discuss include the following:

Horseshoe Crab:


Lamprey:


Nautilus:


Okapi:


Platypus:

Rare male Weedy Sea Dragon pregnant

The Georgia Aquarium's attempts to coax rare weedy sea dragons to mate has resulted in success. The pregnant male sea dragon is now only the third of its kind in the United States to successfully become pregnant outside of its natural habitat.

The sea dragon, found in nature only in the waters off southern Australia, became pregnant when a female transferred her eggs onto his tail. Male sea horses, sea dragons and pipe fish all carry the eggs instead of the female.

But so much is unknown about the creatures that a lot about the pregnancy remains a mystery. When the animals finally do mate, the sea dragons arch their tails and swim side by side until they latch onto each other before swimming vertically together during their version of a "date."

Of the 70 small pink eggs wrapped around the male's tail, nobody knows how many are viable and could actually hatch. Scientists are relying on other experiences with breeding, where about 60 percent of the eggs survived, to estimate how things may go. The eggs are expected to hatch in four to six weeks.

2000 year-old seed germinated

Three years ago, a team of researchers took an ancient date seed collected from one of King Herod's palaces and planted it in a small pot. It sprouted, and Methuselah, as they dubbed the sapling, is now 5 feet high.

Radiocarbon dating shows the seed was 2,000 years old, by far the oldest ever to have germinated, as reported in the journal Science. The researchers say they hope the plant will help resurrect a long-extinct species known in biblical times for the sweetness of its fruit.

It is also special because of where it was found: Masada, a mountaintop fortress overlooking the Dead Sea, is where Jewish forces made their last stand against Roman troops after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70.

A number of seeds were collected in the early 1960s by archaeologists excavating the fortress. They stored the seeds at room temperature for nearly four decades. They didn't just plop the seeds into a pot. Instead, they bathed three seeds in fertilizer and enzyme-rich solutions before they were planted. Two of them came up. The plant appears normal, although some of its early leaves had white patches on them. It won't be known whether it will bear fruit until about 2010.

The date palm was domesticated more than 5,000 years ago, and the Judean Dead Sea region was famous for its high-quality fruit. Ancient texts describe how the dates were used to treat tuberculosis, heart problems, worms and infections.

Huge Snail

Fox Cubs

Swimming and Spear-fishing Orangutans

Scientists were shocked recently to discover orangutans learning to swim across rivers and fish with sticks (2). The orangutans were observed swimming across a river to gain access to some of their favorite fruits on Kaja island in Borneo. Orangutans were previously thought to be non-swimmers.

The experts were equally surprised to see an orangutan pick up a tree branch and stun a fish before eating it. Other apes introduced to the island were seen trying to spear fish with sticks after watching fishermen using rods. The apes quickly worked out that it was even easier to steal fish from unattended lines used by the humans on the island. The apes live in Borneo and Sumatra and are regarded by some as second only to humans in intelligence. They are threatened with extinction as their habitats diminish.

Supersized Sea Creatures

Below are pictures of several giant sea creatures from throughout the world.

Sting Ray:


Sunfish:


Catfish:


Giant Pacific Octopus:


Japanese Spider Crab:


Jellyfish:


Giant Squid:

All-Female Fish Species

The "Amazon Molly" fish species, which is all female, has survived for 70,000 years without reproducing sexually, experts believe.

Scientists think the Amazon Molly may be employing special genetic survival "tricks" to avoid becoming extinct. The species, found in southeast Texas and northeast Mexico, interacts with males of other species to trigger its reproduction process. The offspring are clones of their mother and do not inherit any of the male's DNA.

Typically, when creatures reproduce asexually, harmful changes creep into their genes over many generations. The species will eventually have problems reproducing and can often fall victim to extinction. One theory for the Amazon Molly's continued existence is that the fish may occasionally be taking some of the DNA from the males that trigger reproduction, in order to refresh their gene pool.