The Discovery Files

Turns out the builders of a nearly 5000-year old set of structures have a great deal of wisdom to offer to the current day construction industry. The mysteries surrounding the building of the Great Pyramids of Giza have perplexed scientists for centuries, but a research team out of Drexel University offers some answers. Evidence indicates that parts of the Pyramids were built using an early form of concrete. Blocks were cast--not carved--using a limestone concrete. Replicating the recipe for this ancient technique could provide a cost-effective, easily accessible, long-lasting, and much more environmentally friendly alternative to current cement building materials.

Keeping an eye on the ball, or observing others passing by, isn't quite as simple as we might think. Research from the University of Pennsylvania shows that the targeting system of human vision is quite incredible. Seeing motion actually involves two distinct processes that require the brain and the eye to team up. The researchers also found that people exhibit a range of capabilities in sensing and following motion, so the visual experience for a particular event is not the same for all observers.

Until recently, there's been little understanding of the evolutionary history of tropical frogs, but a discovery out of Penn State offers some light to this "black hole." The research team found that nearly all of the 162 Caribbean frog species originated from a single species that rafted on a sea voyage from South America 30 to 50 million years ago. Surprising news... never before had a single origin been identified and it's rare that close relatives dominate such a major geographic region. These researchers are really shaking some limbs in the strife to understand the "tree of life."

A study from an international team of scientists sheds some light on one of the biggest mysteries in climate science. What happens to the 8 billion tons of carbon emissions resulting from motor vehicles, factories, etc. each year? Earlier estimates indicated that forests in the northern regions were responsible for a good portion of the carbon uptake. New information from aircraft samples reveals those numbers to be much lower, but it appears that forests in the tropical regions are doing significantly more than expected to offset the industrial emissions. Not exactly a K.O. (or should we say CO) of global warming, but certainly one round for the tropics in this fight.

Seems everything's going green these days -- even bricks! National Science Foundation grantee Henry Liu is developing bricks made from fly ash (a residue from coal-fired power plants). The new brick on the block holds promise for great ecological benefits over its clay counterpart. Liu says manufacturing of these "green" bricks conserves energy, costs less, and doesn't contribute to air pollution or global warming... plus, it puts to use some of that waste heap (piling up to nearly 70 million tons each year!). Additional safety testing of the material and preparing it for the market is underway. Perhaps soon... "green" house could have a whole new meaning.

Research is unlocking secrets of the Sun's interior, which has been a mystery for decades. Scientists have long wondered why the Sun's chromosphere (a.k.a., 'ring of fire') is much hotter than the surface of the star. A recent discovery reveals that sound waves -- vibrations from the Sun's interior -- are escaping through magnetic cracks to create fountains of hot gas that shape and power the 'ring.' Another piece in solving the puzzle of the 'ring' which is connected to our climate and the ozone layer.

The establishment of marine reserves is successful in protecting fish and other marine life from overfishing, but now research from the University of Exeter shows the benefit is even greater than that. The reserves could also help coral reefs to survive... because algae and seaweed, which are usually detrimental to coral, are controlled by grazing parrotfish. Kind of a reversal of roles in the marine world -- coral reefs, which have supported thousands of fish and other marine species for millions of years, are now getting a helping "hand" from fish.

Scientists at Rice University have revealed a breakthrough method for producing molecular specks of semiconductors called quantum dots. This discovery could clear the way for better, cheaper solar energy panels. Although scientists have studied the great power of these tiny dots for over a decade, they struggled with successfully producing the most efficient type -- tetrapods. But the new "recipe" from Rice scientists is really cooking up great success rates in producing this four-legged variety.

Fighting infection is an on-going battle that keeps picking up speed. Bacteria can adapt to new drugs very quickly, so the key is try and stay several steps ahead of the bugs -- exactly what researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are aiming to do. They have discovered a clever method to test large numbers of molecules quickly and efficiently, offering hope for the discovery of new classes of antibiotics. This is one step forward on the long road to drug development.

Tiny, biodegradable particles could hold answers for improved medicine delivery and offer help for some of our biggest health problems. A Princeton University-led research team has invented an innovative technique to mix drugs and the materials that encapsulate them into nanoparticles that can deliver medicine deep into the lungs or infiltrate cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone. Size is the key for these tiny messengers.

Everything is going wireless these days -- even the battle to lessen earthquake damage. An engineer from Washington University has demonstrated a wireless technology that could be used for structural health monitoring and protection during seismic movement. Wireless sensors would be attached to a building so they could transmit data to a computer which would in turn enable "shock absorbers" to restrain the building from swaying during a quake.

Everyone cringes at the dreaded colonoscopy... so much so, that only a very small percentage of people who should get this procedure, actually do. Researchers at Northwestern University are working on a novel alternative that uses optical technology to screen the base of the colon for precancerous changes. The thought is that one day, this much less invasive procedure could be done by primary care physicians and could replace the traditional colonscopy for many people.

Engineers out of UC San Diego are developing a system that could change the "look" of Internet search engines. Their approach involves training the system to analyze and recognize the content within an image. The system uses a clever image indexing technique that offers a significant increase in accuracy and efficiency over typical image searches that rely on the text associated with an image. Before too long, it could be... "Mission Possible" in easily finding that exact image you want.

We've all seen automobile GPS displays. But can you imagine having one literally right before your eyes... in the windshield? Thanks to a breakthrough in the rapidly evolving field of transparent electronics, we might just realize possibilities like this someday soon. Researchers out of Oregon State University have developed the world's first completely transparent integrated circuit, and the many uses are plain to see. Or maybe they're not.

Turbulence is important in virtually all phenomena involving fluid flow, but completely describing it remains one of physics' major unsolved problems. MIT researchers have provided some clarity to this messy complexity. The researchers report that they have visualized for the first time a convoluted tangle underlying turbulence. Their work may ultimately help engineers design better planes, cars, submarines, and engines.