ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Assumptions about origins of life challenged
• Spider silk coated with carbon nanotubes has multiple surprising uses
• Catastrophic collapse of ice lake created Aram Chaos on Mars
• Changes in Saturn's Moon Titan’s surface brightness point to cryovolcanism
• Super efficient combustion engine emits half the carbon dioxide

Assumptions about origins of life challenged Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:58 PM PDT Before there was life on Earth, there were molecules. A primordial soup. At some point a few specialized molecules began replicating. This self-replication, scientists agree, kick-started a biochemical process that would lead to the first organisms. But exactly how that happened -- how those molecules began replicating -- has been one of science's enduring mysteries. Biochemists now offer an intriguing new view on how life began.

Spider silk coated with carbon nanotubes has multiple surprising uses Posted: 13 Sep 2013 03:58 PM PDT Physicists have discovered that simple methods can result in surprising and environmentally friendly high-tech outcomes during their experiments with spider silk and carbon nanotubes. Spider silk coated with nanotubes can act as a humidity sensor, a strain sensor, an actuator (a device that acts as an artificial muscle, for lifting weights and more) and as an electrical wire, according to researchers.

Catastrophic collapse of ice lake created Aram Chaos on Mars Posted: 13 Sep 2013 09:41 AM PDT Aram Chaos, the lumpy, bumpy floor of an ancient impact crater on Mars, formed as a result of catastrophic melting and outflow of a buried ice lake. A new study combines observations from satellite photos of the 280 kilometer wide and four kilometer deep crater plus models of the ice melting process and resulting catastrophic outflow.

Changes in Saturn's Moon Titan’s surface brightness point to cryovolcanism Posted: 13 Sep 2013 09:41 AM PDT Changes in surface brightness on Titan observed over four years by NASA's Cassini spacecraft have added to evidence that cryovolcanism is active on Saturn's largest Moon. Astronomers compared many volcanic-like features, such as flows, calderas and craters, with similar geological features found on Earth to study the possibility of cryovolcanic activity within regions observed close to Titan's equator.

Super efficient combustion engine emits half the carbon dioxide Posted: 12 Sep 2013 06:27 AM PDT Researchers have developed an internal combustion engine that emits less than half the CO2 compared to a regular engine without compromising performance. This corresponds to fuel consumption of less than 2.4l per 100km. This natural gas-diesel hybrid engine is based on a system of sophisticated control engineering.

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