Newly Uncovered Enzymes Turn Corn Plant Waste into Biofuel

CORN STOVER: The remnants (or 'stover') of corn after it's harvested can be a good source of biofuel, especially when combined with the right enzymes.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ROYALBROIL

Large 2009 Gulf Of Mexico 'Dead Zone' Predicted

Mississippi dead zone in 2004. This year's Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" could be one of the largest on record, continuing a decades-long trend that threatens the health of a half-billion-dollar fishery. (Credit: Photo courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio)

Scientists Bring 'Light' To Moon's Permanently Dark Craters

Cold Case Techniques Bring Mummy’s Face To 'Life'

Avoiding Catastrophes

It is easy to destroy an ecosystem but difficult to rebuild it

Scientists Create First Comprehensive Computer Model of Sunspots

Sudden Collapse in Ancient Biodiversity : Was Global Warming the Culprit?

Rich Countries and Climate Change : Hot, Wet and Costly

Protein that Triggers Plant Cell Division Revealed by Researchers

Advance in Understanding Cellulose Synthesis

Exploring High-Temperature Superconductivity and the Pseudogap

Using both scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and angle-resolved photo-electron spectroscopy (ARPES) gives researchers a more complete understanding of high-temperature superconducting materials. STM can show actual atoms on the material's surface. ARPES uses the photoelectric effect by aiming a beam of light (photons) at the material's surface. The photons excite atoms in the material, causing them to eject electrons, which are then captured by a detector. The momentum (speed and direction) of the ejected electrons give researchers information about the momentum of electrons inside the material.

Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation

Betelgeuse, Red Supergiant In Constellation Orion, Has Shrunk By 15 Percent In 15 Years

Common Fish Species Has Ability To Learn

Shuttle Launch Derailed Again by Hydrogen Leak

Meteorite Grains Divulge Earth's Cosmic Roots

Pacific Volcano Blows Top, Grounds Flights

Sarychev Peak : Location: 48.1N, 153.2E
Elevation: 4906 feet (1496 m)
Sarychev Peak, a stratovolcano, is the most active volcanoes in the Kurile Islands. Sarychev Peak erupted at least 14 times between 1765 and 1989. The largest eruption (VEI=4) was in 1924. Most eruptions are moderate to moderate-large (VEI=2-3) and explosive. An eruption in 1960, the last major eruption, produced a 3 mile (5 km) high ash cloud. An eruption in 1964 lasted only 6 minutes.

Different Genes Cause Loss of Body Parts in Similar Fish

Global Warming Can Impact Monsoons and Lower Crop Production

International Year of Astronomy

Seven Deadly 'Shrooms

DON'T EAT ME: Some of the world's most toxic mushrooms look dangerously similar to those harvested for food--or recreation.
TAYLOR LOCKWOOD