Articles by Jim Algar
Want to be Aquaman? These crystals may allow us to breathe underwater
Crystal substance that can hold incredible amounts of oxygen could someday allow people to venture underwater without scuba gear, researchers suggest. A spoonful of the material can absorb all the oxygen in an average size room, they say.
Cheetah population decline may be linked to human interference
Human activity may be taxing the energy available to hunting cheetahs, study suggests. The main drain is not in their high-speed chases of prey but in the increasingly extended bouts of walking in search of it as humans encroach on their habitats, researchers say.
World's first solar battery promises to reduce cost by 'breathing': Here's how
U.S. researchers combine electricity-generating solar cell and electricity-storing battery into a single device: a solar battery. Light and oxygen create energy in a "breathing" battery.
Amazing seafloor map reveals thousands of uncharted volcanoes resting on ocean bed
New maps from satellite data show the shape of the world's sea floors in unprecedented detail. Towering volcanoes, deep chasms visible in maps based on data from gravity-measuring satellites.
This particle acts as matter and antimatter: Physicists find elusive Majorana fermion
Physicists detect a particle with a Jekyll-and-Hyde quality that allows it to be both matter and antimatter. Search for the elusive particle has been going on since the 1930s.
Fatal heroin overdoses doubled in the U.S. says CDC
Efforts to combat addiction to prescription painkillers may be driving some addicts to heroin with fatal results, CDC study says. Overdose deaths linked to illegal heroin on the rise, the study finds.
Pitbull owner sentenced after dogs maul woman to death
California man sentenced to 15 years for mauling death of woman. Second-degree murder conviction follows fatal attack on 63-year-old woman.
Is 'group selection' a thing? Spiders support an evolutionary, revolutionary idea
A theory of evolution hotly debated since the time of Darwin gets support in a new field study. 'Group selection,' a suggestion long argued by evolutionary biologists, may have been observed in the wild, researchers say.
California might be shrinking in mass due to climate change-induced drought
California may be losing mass as it dries out in ongoing drought. Satellite images give dramatic evidence of water loss, as scientists put blame on human-caused climate change.
Pluto has not been reinstated! But there is reasonable doubt
The public speaks: give Pluto back it status as a planet. Debate rages over Pluto's second-class "dwarf planet" classification.
Thermotolerant yeast will change the face of biofuel production
Researchers "push" the evolution of yeast to create strains better at biofuel production. Better tolerance of yeast to high temperatures and alcohol can boost ethanol production, they say.
Curiosity doesn’t kill the cat, but it does boost memory, says study
Curiosity changes our brain, improves learning and memory, study suggests. Scientists track changes in the curious mind.
Central Park is a massive microbe universe: 167,000 species teeming under the soil
Underground diversity of microbial life in New York's Central Park as great as anywhere in the natural world, study finds. Scientists find bacteria there never documented before.
Nobel-prize winning physicist Martin Perl passes at age 87
Nobel Prize winner who discovered fundamental subatomic particles dies. Physicist Martin Perl smashed atoms together to reveal new kind of particle, the tau lepton.
Couple receives sperm from black donor, sues sperm bank for mistake
Same-sex couple in Ohio sues sperm bank, alleging negligence caused sperm from the wrong donor to be provided. While couple says they had selected a white donor, got sperm from a black donor.
Coral reefs may be threatened, but some species likely to thrive in rising water temperatures
Expect winners and losers as rising ocean temperatures continue to affect the world's coral reefs, researchers predict. One study attempts to identify the most fortunate species.
U.S. may keep nuclear warheads handy for giant asteroid threat
Some Cold War nuclear warheads may be retained for possible use against threatening asteroids, U.S. report says. Weapons could be launched into space to deflect approaching asteroids, experts say.
How good is your nose? Apparently it can predict your life span
Loss of the sense of smell may be a predictor of death within 5 years, a study finds. Researchers say such a decline may be an early warning of health problems to come.
Lunar and solar, October’s got both eclipses: Where/when to see all the celestial eye candy
Lots of events for sky watchers in October, astronomers say. The sun, moon, planets, meteors and even a comet will put on celestial shows, they say.
Monarch butterfly migration is a single gene feat
Researchers find single gene responsible for the migratory prowess of monarch butterflies. Gene makes them more marathon runners than sprinters, researchers say.
CERN makes music from Large Hadron Collider’s atom smashing data
CERN celebrates the discovery of the Higgs boson by composing music based on the particle's "sound." Resulting musical piece performed to mark CERN's 60th anniversary.
Rare gene mutation might block cancer-causing cell division
Discovery of genetics behind a disease that causes premature aging could lead to cancer therapies, researchers say. The mutation in a single gene may provide clues to developing drugs that can combat deadly cell division characteristic of cancers.
Earth's oceans get numerical ratings for overall health
The world's oceans get a 'D' in a health report card called the Ocean Health Index. Still, researchers say, with all the problems facing our seas, the result was better than expected.
Children orphaned, isolated as Ebola fears grow 'stronger than family ties'
Relatives of children orphaned by Ebola outbreak refusing to take them in over fears of infection, United Nations says. Infection fear becoming "stronger than family ties," U.N. child agency UNICEF says.
Mapping the human brain takes brain power and millions in cash
U.S. funding for a wide range of projects intended to help treat brain disorders announced. The National Institutes of Health to fund 58 projects involved in brain research.
Wildlife cut by half since 1970: ‘No room for complacency’ says WWF
New study of global losses in wildlife populations paints a grim picture. Blame laid at the feet of human impacts on nature.
Dolphins' magnetic 'sixth sense': Smart cetaceans respond to magnetic fields
Dolphins can sense magnetism in objects, study in France finds. A magnetic sense may allow the creatures to navigate through the world's oceans using our planet's magnetic field, researchers say.
Spinal cord recovery therapy gets closer to human clinical trials
System of using signals mimicking those of the brain to directly stimulate the spinal cord could let the paralyzed walk again, researchers say. Technique tested on rats could have human trials next summer.
Water of our solar system predates our sun; Here’s how scientists know
Much of the water on Earth and throughout our solar system is older than even the sun, study suggests. Originating in interstellar space, it would have been present at the very birth of the sun and the planets, researchers say.
How did birds evolve from dinosaurs? New clues help tell the story
No single "missing link" between dinosaurs and birds, researchers say, but rather a gradual evolution. Earliest birds would have been indistinguishable from their immediate dinosaur ancestors, they explain.
