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Opportunity rover driving between 'lily pads' in search of Martian sun and science

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Just shy of an unfathomable 4200 Sols traversing ravishing alien terrain on the Red Planet, the longest living 'Martian' – NASA's robot 'Opportunity' – is driving between "lily pads" down steep walled Marathon Valley in search of life giving sun that enables spectacular science yielding clues to Mars watery past. All this as she strives to survive utterly harsh climate extremes, because 'winter is coming' for her seventh time on the fourth rock from the sun!

Ceres reveals its salty secrets – and blurs the line between comets and asteroids

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When Guiseppe Piazzi reported his observations of a minor planet in 1801, he originally thought it might be a comet. But follow-up observations by fellow astronomers suggested that Ceres was actually an asteroid. So it's somewhat ironic that the latest results from NASA's Dawn mission suggest this asteroid is confusingly similar to a comet.

Study finds evidence for more recent clay formation on Mars

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Recent orbital and rover missions to Mars have turned up ample evidence of clays and other hydrated minerals formed when rocks are altered by the presence of water. Most of that alteration is thought to have happened during the earliest part of Martian history, more than 3.7 billion years ago. But a new study shows that later alteration—within the last 2 billion years or so—may be more common than many scientists had thought.

Scientists discover how blue and green clays kill bacteria

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Since prehistoric times, humans have used clays for medicinal purposes.

Ancient medicinal clay shows promise against today's worst bacterial infections

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Naturally occurring clay from British Columbia, Canada—long used by the region's Heiltsuk First Nation for its healing potential—exhibits potent antibacterial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.

New simulation model for predicting bentonite clay swelling in nuclear waste disposal

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Bentonite clay is planned to be used as a key barrier in the deep geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste. To ensure the safety of disposal, it is crucial to understand and predict the swelling behaviour of bentonite clay. The swelling property is, however, regulated by multiple structural and environmental factors. A new spring model developed at the University of Eastern Finland simulates the atomic-level interactions among the components of clay-water system, reproducing the swelling trends and swelling pressures measured by experiments with good accuracy.

Antibiotics hide within soil mineral layers

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A Cornell study revealed the molecular mechanism of how antibiotics from human and farm animal waste become trapped in soils, findings with the potential to explain the behavior and consequences of antibiotics in the environment.

Blast behaviour research could save British troops

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New research that sheds unprecedented light on the behaviour of blasts produced by landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) could aid the development of enhanced protection for UK soldiers on military, peace-keeping and humanitarian missions.

Cost-effective production of hydrogen from natural resources

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Owing to their unbeatable electro-optical properties and compatibility with existing silicon technology, silicon nanosheets (SiNSs) are one of most exciting recent discoveries. They have been the most promising candidate for use in various applications, such as in the process of manufacturing semiconductors and producing hydrogen.

Are calcareous sediments weak points in seismogenic zones?

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Where a tectonic plate dives under another, in the so-called subduction zones at ocean margins, many strong earthquakes occur. Especially the earthquakes at shallow depths often cause tsunamis. How exactly are such earthquakes initiated? Which rock composition favours a break in the earth's interior that can lead to such natural disasters? Scientists at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and the University of Utrecht (NL) published a study in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience which points to earthquake nucleation in calcareous sediments.

Modeling the contractive behavior of soft clay in a heating test

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Unlike other geomaterials, soft clay can paradoxically contract upon heating. This phenomenon is termed the "volumetric contraction of soft clay due to heating."

Mars rock-ingredient stew seen as plus for habitability

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NASA's Curiosity rover is climbing a layered Martian mountain and finding evidence of how ancient lakes and wet underground environments changed, billions of years ago, creating more diverse chemical environments that affected their favorability for microbial life.

Conservation practices may leave African indigenous populations behind

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Conservation and logging groups in Central and West Africa are failing to fully incorporate local concerns into management, marginalizing the livelihoods of the local population, according to Nathan Clay, Ph.D. candidate in geography, Penn State.

A new idea connects the synthesis of clays and the origin of metabolism

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The question of how life has begun has fascinated scientists from many disciplines and it was the organic chemist Graham Cairns-Smith who proposed the theory for the origin of life starting from clays instead of polymers such as RNA.

New paper explores why Peru's parrots eat clay

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For more than 16 years, researchers and volunteers have been observing wildlife along the clay cliffs of Southeastern Peru's Tambopata River. They've gathered data every day, logging more than 20,000 hours and building one of the most extensive datasets on tropical parrots in the world.

Mathematical mystery of ancient Babylonian clay tablet solved

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UNSW Sydney scientists have discovered the purpose of a famous 3700-year old Babylonian clay tablet, revealing it is the world's oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, possibly used by ancient mathematical scribes to calculate how to construct palaces and temples and build canals.

Spectroscopy: Simple solution for soil sample

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Farmers and gardeners know their soil texture can make a big difference in their success. Different plants have different needs for water, nutrients, and air. When they grow in soil that has the right texture, it is easier to deliver the right amount of water, fertilizer, or pesticide to the plants. Then they grow better.

In a high-tech world, car designers still rely on clay

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Car designers have every kind of software and virtual reality tool. But when they want to make sure a car's curves look just right, they rely on one of the world's oldest materials: clay.

New study analyzes causes of 2010 landslide in Saint-Jude, Quebec

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In May 2010, a landslide devastated the municipality of Saint-Jude, Quebec, and was responsible for four fatalities when a house was destroyed by sediment movement. Building on investigations that took place immediately after the landslide, a new study published today in the Canadian Geotechnical Journal discusses triggers of the Saint-Jude landslide that occurred in nearly 10,000-year-old sensitive clay sediment that "liquefies" when disturbed.

Clay minerals on Mars may have formed in primordial steam bath

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Planetary scientists from Brown University have proposed a new scenario for the formation of ancient clay minerals on Mars that, if shown to be true, could rewrite the early history of the red planet.
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