Iron isotopes can be used as a tool in oceanography

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at the University of Leeds in the UK have proved that acid in the atmosphere breaks down large particles of iron found in dust into small and extremely soluble iron nanoparticles, which are more readily used by plankton in the world's oceans. This is an important finding because lack of iron can be a limiting factor for plankton growth in the ocean, especially in the southern oceans and parts of the eastern Pacific.

September 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Analysis of a rock type found only in the world's oldest oceans has shed new light on how large animals first got a foothold on the Earth. By analysing the isotopes of chromium in iron-rich sediments formed in the ancient oceans, a scientific team, led by Professor Robert Frei at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, has found that a rise in atmospheric oxygen levels 580 million years ago was closely followed by the evolution of animal life.

August 26th, 2009 LONDON - In a new study, a team of scientists has described how aluminium radioisotopes can now offer precise timing of events 4.5 billion years ago, and thus have been dubbed as the 'stopwatch for the solar system'. According to a report by BBC News, the study shows that the rate of decay of isotopes can now be relied upon to give accurate measures of time for that period.

July 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have found that the surface of Mars was molten for more than 100 million years after it formed, preventing any early life evolving on the planet. According to a report in Discovery News, the findings are based on an analysis of rare Martian meteorites at NASA's Johnson Space Center in the US.

July 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle and its response to climate change. By analyzing samples of air taken from the stratosphere-the layer of Earth's atmosphere that sits between six and 30 miles above the surface-the team found a much higher concentration of 16O13C18O at high latitudes than expected.

June 17th, 2009 LONDON - Reports indicate that a global network of sensors designed to verify nuclear testing has failed to pick up radioactive gases from North Korea's nuclear blast, which indicates that the country might have used conventional explosives to mimic a nuclear test. North Korea conducted what it claims was its second nuclear test on May 25 this year.

June 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Two geochemists have produced the first picture of how different isotopes of iron were initially distributed in the solid Earth 4.5 billion years ago, opening the door to new studies of planet's geologic history. The picture was produced by the two UC (University of California) Davis geochemists by using a super-computer to virtually squeeze and heat iron-bearing minerals under conditions that would have existed when the Earth crystallized from an ocean of magma to its solid form 4.5 billion years ago.

May 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have come up with a method that could be used to nab terrorists, by detecting how proportions of isotopes in a chemical like sulphur vary throughout the length of a single hair. The mid-term objective is to be able to use these methods to track the geographical movements of people, including international crime suspects and victims.

May 28th, 2009 LONDON - Variation in sulphur concentration in the hair can reveal one's recent diet and the places one has been to. A new laser tool based on this can be very handy to investigators tracking terrorists.

May 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Stone Age humans who lived about 70,000 years ago were such good chemists that they made a sophisticated kind of natural glue by tweaking the chemical and physical properties of an iron-containing pigment, known as red ochre, with the gum of acacia trees for their shafted tools, according to a study. While it has long been believed that the blood-red pigment served a decorative or symbolic purpose, scientists also suspected that the pigment might have been purposely added to improve glue that held the peoples' tools together.

May 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research by an international team of geologists, it has been suggested that Earth's earliest ice age may have been due to the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, which consumed atmospheric greenhouse gases and chilled the earth. The research was done by scientists from the University of Maryland, including post-doctoral fellows Boswell Wing and Sang-Tae Kim, graduate student Margaret Baker, and professors Alan J.

May 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Iron deficiency in the womb is likely to erode the ability of premature babies to process sound, vital for later language development in early childhood. The study evaluated 80 premature babies over 18 months, testing their cord blood for iron levels and using a non-invasive tool - auditory brainstem-evoked response (ABR) - to measure the maturity of the brain's auditory nervous system soon after birth.

April 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Terrence Howard is livid at studio bosses for dropping him out of the Iron Man sequel over alleged money stakes. The Crash star was shocked to know that he would not reappear in the follow up after Don Cheadle had been signed to portray Iron Man/ Tony Stark's best pal Jim Rhodes.

March 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers have gathered evidence of early human experiments with agriculture in dog and pig bones, as well as bones of other animals, from an archaeological site in a region of northwest China. The bones come from a Neolithic site known as Dadiwan, in China's western Loess Plateau, excavated first by a Chinese team in the late 70s and early 80s, and in 2006 by a team from the University of California, Davis, and Lanzhou University in China.

March 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson have been signed on to star in 'Iron Man 2' with Robert Downey Jr. in the lead.