carbon
-
Supercomputer Suggests ‘Super Diamonds’ Could Exist in Space
Diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring material on Earth, but a supercomputer just modeled stuff that’s even harder. Called a ‘super-diamond,’ the theoretical material could exist beyond our planet—and maybe, one day, be created here on Earth. Like normal diamonds, super-diamonds are made from carbon atoms. This specific phase of carbon, composed of eight atoms,…
-
Turns Out Ocean Forests Are Much Larger and More Productive Than We Originally Thought
Amazon, Borneo, Congo, Daintree. We know the names of many of the world’s largest or most famous rainforests. And many of us know about the world’s largest span of forests, the boreal forests stretching from Russia to Canada. But how many of us could name an underwater forest? Hidden underwater are huge kelp and seaweed…
-
NZ Researchers Tickle Deep Ocean Organisms With Little Robots to Uncover the Secrets of the Sea
Despite New Zealanders’ close connection with the oceans, very few will have heard of “temperate mesophotic ecosystems” (TMEs). Even fewer will appreciate their importance for coastal fisheries, and possibly climate change mitigation. TMEs typically occur at depths of between 30 and 150 metres – the twilight zone of our oceans, where little sunlight remains. But…
-
Bacteria Survives in Antarctica by Living on Air and Turning Hydrogen Into Water
Humans have only recently begun to think about using hydrogen as a source of energy, but bacteria in Antarctica have been doing it for a billion years. We studied 451 different kinds of bacteria from frozen soils in East Antarctica and found most of them live by using hydrogen from the air as a fuel.…