Scientists at the synchrotron PETRA III have investigated X-ray absorption of highly charged iron ions.

 Highly charged ions - that is, atoms which have been stripped of most of their electrons - play an important role in astrophysics. Within the large accumulations of visible (luminous) matter in the universe, the highly charged state is the natural one. This is the case in stellar atmospheres as well as in the interior of stars, where temperatures of several million degrees Celsius rule. Highly charged ions also abound around exotic objects such as neutron stars or black holes. Before matter plunges into their cores, it delivers gravitational energy, heating up and emitting extremely intense X-rays, which can be observed. 

A new technique for improving the connections between stacked solar cells could one day improve the overall efficiency of solar energy devices and reduce the cost of solar energy production.

Stacked solar cells consist of several solar cells that are stacked on top of one another. Stacked cells are currently the most efficient cells on the market, converting up to 45 percent of the solar energy they absorb into electricity.

But to be effective, solar cell designers need to ensure the connecting junctions between these stacked cells do not absorb any of the solar energy and do not siphon off the voltage the cells produce -- effectively wasting that energy as heat.

If you want to see Aurora Borealis (the northern lights) in 3-D with your SLR cameras, and even determine the altitude where electrons in the atmosphere emit the light that produces aurora,  Ryuho Kataoka from the National Institute of Polar Research in Tokyo, Japan can show you how.

Kataoka came up with an idea for a new method to measure the height of aurora borealis after working on a 3D movie for a planetarium. They used two digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras set 8 km apart.

Researchers have uncovered the largest single volcano yet documented on Earth.

Tamu Massif covers an area roughly equivalent to the British Isles or the state of New Mexico, making it nearly as big as the giant volcanoes of Mars and placing it among the largest in the Solar System. Tamu Massif covers an area of about 120,000 square miles. By comparison, Hawaii's Mauna Loa – the largest active volcano on Earth – is approximately 2,000 square miles, or roughly 2 percent the size of Tamu Massif. Olympus Mons on Mars has a giant volcano visible on a clear night with a good backyard telescope, and that is only about 25 percent larger by volume than Tamu Massif.

If you have ever been trading a flurry of text messages with someone and there was an awkward pause, don't assume they are doing some work or have a life, you probably should be suspicious.

An analysis has determined that when people lie in digital messages – texting, social media or instant messaging – they take longer to respond, make more edits and they write shorter responses than usual.

The University of Florida's Blueberry Breeding Program has been developing successful blueberry lines for more than 60 years and those lines are credited with helping to create a Florida blueberry industry that was valued at $48 million in 2010 and for allowing rapid expansion of blueberry production in other subtropical areas of the world.

In the past, blueberry flavor selection in the program was based on two standards: subjective ratings from breeders, and a berry's sugar-to-acid ratio. Recently, scientists have determined that the "eating quality" of blueberries has a much higher correlation to consumer acceptance and indication of "blueberry-like flavor intensity" than the traditional measures of sweetness, acidity, or sugar/acid ratios.