Stories of modern science... from UPI

, Nov. 28 (UPI) --

HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTORS?

New research suggests that minuscule tubes of carbon are capable of superconductivity at temperatures greater than the boiling point of water, according to a New Scientist report. Superconductivity is the ability of a material to conduct electricity with no resistance, and Guo-meng Zhao and Yong Sheng Wang of the University of Houston in Texas found subtle signs of it in their tubes. "I think all the experimental results are consistent with superconductivity, but I cannot rule out other explanations," Zhao said. No known superconductor works above a temperature of -143 C, but a room-temperature superconductor would be a boon because no energy would be lost as heat, allowing faster, lower-power electronics. It would also allow energy to be transported long distances with 100% efficiency. The nanotubes still have some resistance, but the researchers attribute that to the connections between the tubes. Still, the team's observations are too subtle to convince Paul Grant, a physicist with the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California. "Generally, superconductivity is such a dominating effect that when it occurs it just shouts out at you."

REMOTE MEXICAN CORN CONTAINS TRANSGENIC DNA

A new study in this week's issue of the journal Nature reports that native varieties of corn in remote parts of Mexico are carrying genetically engineered DNA. "This is very serious because the region where our samples were taken are known for their diverse varieties of native corn, which is something that absolutely needs to be protected," said Ignacio Chapela, assistant professor of microbial ecology in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California at Berkeley. The samples were taken from four fields in the remote, mountainous region of Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, and these were compared with corn samples known to be free of so-called 'transgenic' DNA. The researchers found that four of the six samples contained a section of DNA commonly used in genetic engineering techniques. The researchers suspect that the genes were passed from parent to progeny over several generations, stemming from an original transgenic crop far from Sierra Norte de Oaxaca.

MASSIVE BLACK HOLE MAY SHAKE THEORY

A black hole in a system in the Milky Way galaxy has an unusually large mass, according to a report in this week's edition of the journal Nature. The result casts doubt on theories of how these objects form and behave. The system consists of a giant star and a black hole that orbit one another. Because it lies in the same plane as the other stars of the Milky Way, it has been obscured by cosmic dust, preventing conventional telescopes from seeing it. Jochen Greiner and colleagues, of the Astrophysical Institute, Potsdam, Germany, used a telescope that views infrared wavelengths to calculate the black hole's mass, which has 14 times the mass of our Sun. Current theories have trouble explaining how such a massive black hole can form in a binary system. The X-ray emissions coming from the black hole also contradict the standard model.

FOUND: BRONZE AGE VILLAGE BURIED BY VESUVIUS

The volcano known as Vesuvius famously buried the Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD, but archeologists have now found another village that was buried by it. The eruption brilliantly preserved the village's inhabitants and features as happened at Pompeii, but this eruption occurred in 1750 BC. "We knew that Vesuvius erupted a number of times, before and after Pompeii, including in particular in about 1750 BC," Stefano De Caro, archaeological superintendent for the Italian province where the village was found, told the London Telegraph. The wood of the village was destroyed, but much of the clay remained. "What we found was a plaster-cast mould, two or three meters high, of the village in reverse," said De Caro. "It is also the first time we have found (a Bronze Age archeology site in) such detail, and the first site where we have found everything together - the dead, the living, dwellings, crafts, customs, food." Among the finds: ham bones, a hat, and a suspension cage containing the remains of pregnant goats.

(EDITOR: For more information on corn, call 510-643-7741)