ARIZONA Paleontology – A new dinosaur fossil unearthed in Arizona seems to suggest that dinosaurs multiplied due to their ability to adapt to natural catastrophe, not because of their superior intellect and power. The new study was led by professor of paleontology at The University of Texas at Austin’s Jackson School of Geosciences, Tim Rowe. It shows that the migrations of dinosaurs from South to North America occurred after one of the five great mass extinction events some 200 million years ago.
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ARIZONA Materials Science – The University of Arizona’s department of materials science and engineering is developing materials that will allow spacecraft to safely travel at speeds in excess of 14,000 mph and to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere leaving the protective shields intact. According to Lab Head, Professor Erica Corral, “The space shuttle (nose cone) is 1970s technology. It was designed to burn up in a single use.” Her team seeks to link the temperature resistant properties of ceramics with the strength of fibber-reinforced metals.
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ARIZONA Geology – A University of Arizona-led team of geologists found that, contrary to conventional understanding, glaciers in colder mountain climates actually protect mountains from erosion rather than causing it. The team have coined a term for the effect – “glacial armouring”. Normally the effect of a glacier is to fall downwards eroding the mountains and reducing the height and width by thousands of feet over millennia. This effect is known as the “glacial buzzsaw” but as we move south the effect reverses.
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ARIZONA Cosmology – The solar system could be some 2 million years older according to data recovered from a meteorite recovered from the Sahara desert. According to the study’s co-author Meenakshi Wadhwa, a cosmochemist from Arizona State University “All the interesting things we want to understand about the chemistry of our solar system happened within the first five to 10 million years, when you push it back by 2 million years, that’s a substantial proportion”.
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Arizona State University will lead research to determine whether and how algae can be used instead of petroleum based products for fuel. For more information visit: www.businessweek.com
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