Topics : Science World Report

Mar 15, 2012 01:33 PM EDT

A Pioneer in Mathematics: First Woman Math Ph.D. in America

Winifred Edgerton Merrill (1862-1951) was the first woman to receive a PhD in mathematics in the United States. Throughout her life, she worked to advance women in a male-dominated society. She helped to found Barnard College, the renowned women's college affiliated with Columbia University, and she...

Mar 15, 2012 08:06 AM EDT

New Study Lowers Estimate of Ancient Sea-level Rise

The seas are creeping higher as the planet warms. But how high will they go? Projections for the year 2100 range from inches to several feet, or more. The sub-tropical islands of Bermuda and the Bahamas contain important sites where researchers have gone looking for answers; by pinpointing where sho...

Mar 14, 2012 04:13 PM EDT

Encyclopedia Britannica Ends Print, Goes Digital

In yet another sign of the growing dominance of the digital publishing market, the oldest English-language encyclopedia still in print is moving solely into the digital age.

Mar 14, 2012 03:28 PM EDT

Mystery Human Fossils Put Spotlight on China

Fossils from two caves in south-west China have revealed a previously unknown Stone Age people and give a rare glimpse of a recent stage of human evolution with startling implications for the early peopling of Asia.

Mar 14, 2012 02:27 PM EDT

The Brazilian Navy Faces Its Worst Enemy in WWI: The Spanish Flu

Few people know about the participation of Brazil in Word War I. Although Brazil remained neutral during most of the conflict, it eventually sent a fleet to support the war effort against the central powers. It was the only Latin-American country to do so. But the Brazilian expedition encountered an...

Mar 14, 2012 01:27 PM EDT

Current Water Resources in Europe and Africa

A new assessment of available water resources, published today by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), reveals that large areas in Spain and Eastern Europe have on average less than 200 mm freshwater available every year while the demand for water is three to ten times higher. The report 'Current Water ...

Mar 14, 2012 08:04 AM EDT

Danish Research Center to Explore Mysteries of Earth's Interior

The DanSeis Centre at the University of Copenhagen has just received a grant of more than â‚¬3 million from the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education to investigate and tackle one of geoscience's great mysteries: do mantle plumes, hypothetically buoyant regions of heated ma...

Mar 13, 2012 02:42 PM EDT

Data Support Theory on Location of Lost Leonardo da Vinci Painting

Evidence uncovered during research conducted in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio late last year appears to support the theory that a lost Leonardo da Vinci painting existed on the east wall of the Hall of the 500, behind Giorgio Vasari's mural "The Battle of Marciano." The data supporting the theoretical ...

Mar 13, 2012 10:34 AM EDT

Detecting Clouds from Both Sides Now

"Bows and flows of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air;" we've looked at clouds that way. But the interface between clouds and clear air isn't as well-defined as these imaginative shapes might lead us to believe.

Mar 13, 2012 08:25 AM EDT

Scientists Name 2 New Species of Horned Dinosaur

Two new horned dinosaurs have been named based on fossils collected from Alberta, Canada. The new species, Unescopceratops koppelhusae and Gryphoceratops morrisoni, are from the Leptoceratopsidae family of horned dinosaurs. The herbivores lived during the Late Cretaceous period between 75 to 83 mill...

Mar 12, 2012 04:35 PM EDT

A New Theory on the Formation of the Oldest Continents

The earth's structure can be compared to an orange: its crust is the peel supported by the earth's heavy mantle. That peel is made up of a continental crust 30 to 40 kilometers thick. It is much lighter than the thinner oceanic crust and protrudes from the earth's mantle because of its lower density...

Mar 12, 2012 03:58 PM EDT

Statue, Chapels and Animal Mummies Found in Egypt by U of T team

A wooden statue of a king, a private offering chapel, a monumental building and remains of over 80 animal mummies found by a University of Toronto-led team in Abydos, Egypt reveal intriguing information about ritual activity associated with the great gods.