Species Have Come and Gone at Different Rates than Previously Believed

Diversity among the ancestors of such marine creatures as clams, sand dollars and lobsters showed only a modest rise beginning 144 million years ago with no clear trend afterwards, according to an international team of researchers. This contradicts previous work showing dramatic increases beginning 248 million years ago and may shed light on future diversity."Some of the time periods in the past are analogies for what is happening today from global warming," says Jocelyn ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111785&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

In Unique Stellar Laboratory, Einstein's Theory Passes Strict, New Test

Taking advantage of a unique cosmic configuration, astronomers have measured an effect predicted by Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity in the extremely strong gravity of a pair of superdense neutron stars. Essentially, the famed physicist's 93-year-old theory passed yet another test.Scientists at McGill University used the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to do a four-year study of a double-star system unlike any other known in the ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111831&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Radicals Shake Up Molecules in a Tug o' War

Until now, it was commonly thought that colliding molecules get the shakes as the result of energy transfer solely from the smashing of the molecules, but some new research adds a second means by which colliding molecules become vibrationally excited--it is being called the "Tug o' War Mechanism."The new experiment, transforming the textbook story, was performed in the lab of Richard Zare, chair of the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University. This work on energy ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111861&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.