A 161 million-year-old Mongolian fossil not only reveals a new species of salamanders, but also provides proof that much of the evolution of salamanders occurred in Asia.

For more than three years, scientists from the University of Chicago and Peking University in Beijing have been collecting thousands of salamander fossils, many of which preserve the entire skeleton and impressions of soft tissues, from seven excavation sites in Mongolia and China. Prior to the discovery in 1996 of the Chin

Determining details of attraction in mechanically-linked molecules allows chemists to fine-tune shapes, capabilities of supramolecules for improved and new polymers

Virginia Tech chemistry professor H.W. Gibson and his students have been able to take advantage of self assembly to create new chemical structures from mechanically-linked molecules. Gibson will give an invited talk in the Division of Polymer Chemistry at the 225th national meeting of the American Chemical Society March 2

A new group of ceramic materials could lead to more reliable and clearer microwave communication signals, according to engineers at South Bank University, London, speaking at the Institute of Physics Congress at Heriot-Watt University on Wednesday 26 March.

A small ceramic component made from a dielectric material is fundamental to the operation of filters and oscillators in several microwave systems, such as satellite TV receivers, military radar systems, Global Positioning System (GPS) dev

Dirt, dust and grime are familiar to city dwellers. But tiny airborne particles produced by road traffic, especially in highly polluted urban areas, can be a risk to health. Just how much of a risk is the subject of a talk to be given by Birgit Krausse, of the Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development at De Montfort University Leicester, at the Urban Air conference in Prague on Wednesday 26 March. Her findings suggest that current air-quality standards ignore a major component of pollution tha

Researchers at Harper Adams University College, Shropshire, believe a ‘memory’ in the climate system could be tapped to improve long-range weather forecasts.

In the April edition of ‘Weather,’ the journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, an article co-written by Dr Peter Kettlewell will show how summer rainfall levels in the UK are affected by ‘remembered’ changes in winter air pressure over the North Atlantic ocean. The article is based upon the work of a team headed by Dr Kettlewell,

At only about 1,000 in the wild, China’s giant panda is among the most endangered species in the world. But there is still hope if we act fast. The panda’s greatest threat is habitat loss and new research identifies high-quality habitat that, if protected, could increase the species’ chances of long-term survival.

“The current network of nature reserves provides protection for less than half of the pandas’ remaining habitat and fails to conserve essential habitat for disp