October 2014

Elestial Amethyst From Australia
Elestial Amethyst From Australia

Very large single crystal of milky quartz coated on three faces with lustrous bi-pyramidal smoky/amethyst crystals, many with clay filled...

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Ferrierite-Mg, Quartz (Var: Chalcedony)
Ferrierite-Mg, Quartz (Var: Chalcedony)

Ferrierite-Mg, Quartz (Var: Chalcedony) Ferrierite-Mg System: Orthorhombic Colour: White, colorless, ... Lustre: Vitreous Hardness: ...

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Magma pancakes beneath Lake Toba
Magma pancakes beneath Lake Toba

Where do the tremendous amounts of material that are ejected to from huge volcanic calderas during super-eruptions actually originate? ...

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Scientists Discover Carbonate Rocks Are Unrecognized Methane Sink
Scientists Discover Carbonate Rocks Are Unrecognized Methane Sink

The sediment-based microbes form an important methane "sink," preventing much of the chemical from reaching the atmosphere an...

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Reef-builders with a sense of harmony
Reef-builders with a sense of harmony

Cold-water corals of the species Lophelia pertusa are able to fuse skeletons of genetically distinct individuals. Credit: Solvin Zankl...

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Putnisite: New Mineral Discovered in Australia
Putnisite: New Mineral Discovered in Australia

Crystals of putnisite (purple) . Image credit: P. Elliott et al.   The new mineral is named putnisite after Drs Christine and Andrew...

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Fox-sized relative of Triceratops discovered in Venezuela
Fox-sized relative of Triceratops discovered in Venezuela

An artist's impression of the dinosaur Laquintasaura venezuelae, which lived some 200 million years ago in what is now Venezuela. (© ...

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The beautiful colours of Harts Range Kyanite
The beautiful colours of Harts Range Kyanite

Collected from various localities in the Harts Range region, these gemmy Kyanite crystals range from an "icy blue" (left), thr...

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How did complex life evolve? The answer could be inside out
How did complex life evolve? The answer could be inside out

The inside-out theory provides a gradual path by which eukaryotic cells could have evolved. The first stage began with a bacterial cell ...

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Amazing Saléeite with Strengite
Amazing Saléeite with Strengite

Photo Copyright © Matteo Chinellato Saléeite Formula: Mg(UO₂)₂(PO₄)₂·10   System: Monoclinic Colour: Lemon-yellow, ... Lustre: Sub-Ad...

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Ancient auditory illusions reflected in prehistoric art?
Ancient auditory illusions reflected in prehistoric art?

Here are prehistoric paintings of hoofed animals in a cave with thunderous reverberations located in Bhimbetka, India. During the ...

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Where did all the oil go?
Where did all the oil go?

This image shows hydrocarbon contamination from Deepwater Horizon overlaid on sea floor bathymetry, highlighting the 1,250 square mile ar...

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How dinosaur arms turned into bird wings
How dinosaur arms turned into bird wings

Since early dinosaurs, birds have reduced the number of bones in their wrist, but the origins and identity of those remaining are hard t...

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Monte Roraima "The Real Lost World"
Monte Roraima "The Real Lost World"

Roraima is an interesting mountain located in the Guiana Highlands. The peak actually shares the border with Venezuela, Brazil, and G...

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Hawaii volcano lava wave nears homes
Hawaii volcano lava wave nears homes

Red-hot danger: In this Sept. 1, 2014 photo released by the U.S. Geological Survey, fluid lava streams from the Kilauea volcano in Pa...

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A GPS from the chemistry set
A GPS from the chemistry set

A handy effect This process is an example of the Marangoni effect, which works because the acid distributed in the maze reacts wi...

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Desert Streams: Deceptively Simple
Desert Streams: Deceptively Simple

Dryland channels exhibit very simple topography despite being shaped by volatile rainstorms. That paradox has been resolved in new...

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Software models ocean currents for oil and gas search
Software models ocean currents for oil and gas search

Streamline visualisation provides a 2D generalised representation of recorded electromagnetic fields within deep oceans. Credit: IBM Rese...

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