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Explanation: The hydrogen in your body, present in every molecule of water, came from the Big Bang. There are no other appreciable sources of hydrogen in the universe. The carbon in your body was made by nuclear fusion in the interior of stars, as was the oxygen. Much of the iron in your body was made during supernovas of stars that occurred long ago and far away. The gold in your jewelry was likely made from neutron stars during collisions that may have been visible as short-duration gamma-ray bursts or gravitational wave events. Elements like phosphorus and copper are present...

The current work involves the creation of unusual excitons in the material nickel phosphorus trisulfide (NiPS3). These excitons are "dressed" or affected by the environment that surrounds them. In this case that environment is the magnetism. The physicists found that a pulse of light causes each of the little electron "needles" in NiPS3 to start rotating around in a circle. The rotating spins are synchronized and form a wave throughout the material, known as a spin wave. Spin waves can be used in spin electronics, or spintronics... Spintronics essentially uses electrons' spin to go beyond electronics, which is based on...

The cave entrance. (Chris Grooms) You may not give a pile of bat poop gathered over 4,300 years a second look – but to a group of scientists, it's provided an intriguing insight into how bat diets and therefore climate conditions have shifted over thousands of years. Taller than the average man (2 meters or 6-and-a-half feet), the pile of poop (also known as guano) records history in clear layers, much like sediments under a lake. By analyzing the layers back through time, the scientists have been able to figure out changes in the diets of the bats that have...

The study, which focused on the ancient settlements of Shivta and Sa'adon, found archaeological evidence that the Byzantines in the Negev did not raise their pigeons for food, but to fertilize the dry loess soil and making it more suitable for intensive agriculture. Loess is made up of fragment of geological detritus, formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. But despite its lowly origins, loess tends to develop into very rich soils. Under appropriate climatic conditions, it forms some of the most agriculturally productive terrain in the world. "The pigeon droppings are rich in phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, which are...

NASA has focused its vegetable-growing efforts on lettuce, which astronauts tend to while they live on the International Space Station. The orbiting laboratory poses different challenges than the Red Planet's surface, however, and crops that Mars visitors can expect to rely on may not be to everyone's taste. "In fact, in this particular area the soils are more alkaline so this would be OK for growing asparagus and beans and not potatoes," NASA chief scientist Jim Green said during a presentation held here last week as part of the International Astronautical Congress of soil studied by NASA's Curiosity rover. However...

Christopher Doughty, faculty member in the School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems at Northern Arizona University... "Theory suggests that large animals are disproportionately important to the spread of fertility across the planet... What better way to test this than to compare fertility in the world during the Cretaceous period -- where sauropods, the largest herbivores to exist, roamed freely -- to the Carboniferous period -- a time in Earth's history before four-legged erbivores evolved." During these two periods, plants were buried faster than they could decompose. As a result, coal was formed. Doughty gathered coal samples from mines throughout...

The Hypatia stone, as it is known, is not only extraterrestrial in origin. It contains micro-mineral compounds not known to occur anywhere on Earth, not found in any other meteorites, and not known to occur anywhere in the Solar System. It's a discovery that raises some questions about the formation of the Solar System. Subsequent analysis revealed that the diamond-filled stone was not from any known comet or meteorite - its combined features were unique among known extraterrestrial materials. One hypothesis proposed that it might be a fragment of comet nucleus, shocked on impact, and another found that it was...

Amid efforts to find alien life, scientists have not yet confirmed the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization. Findings of a new study suggest this has something do with the element phosphorus lacking in the cosmos. Life-Giving PhosphorusPhosphorus is the 11th most common element on Earth, and it is fundamental to all living things. Phosphorus is one of only six chemical elements on our planet that organisms depend on. "[Phosphorus] helps form the backbone of the long chains of nucleotides that create RNA and DNA; it is part of the phospholipids in cell membranes; and is a building block of the...

Syria strike: Russia unleashes lethal aerial arsenal on Aleppo Hannah Lucinda Smith, Catherine Philp The Times 12:00AM June 23, 2016 Russia is breaching international conventions by dropping incen­diaries similar to white phosphorus on to residential neighbourhoods in the Syrian city of Aleppo in what is thought to be the prelude to a ground assault to retake the city from rebel forces. Photographs have shown what experts believe to be a thermo­baric bomb, the most powerful explosive apart from a nuclear weapon, being detonated next to urban areas, with potentially devastating effects for civilians.

In our planet's early history, 720 to 640 million years ago, thick sheets of ice covered the majority of the surface, as the Earth was locked in a deep freeze. But explosive underwater volcanoes changed the chemistry of the Earth's oceans and were key to breaking the planet from its icy state, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Southampton believe underwater volcanoes helped to thaw out "Snowball Earth", and even led to runaway chemical chain reactions, which created the conditions for an explosion of life on Earth. While much of the driving forces behind glaciation during...

RIVIERA BEACH — A phosphorus grenade and a 55-gallon drum of hydrogen fluoride washed ashore on Singer Island Wednesday, Riviera Beach Fire Rescue reports. A beachgoer found the material along the shore in Singer Island at about 11 a.m. The area has since been cleared and blocked off by city police and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s hazardous material unit, said fire rescue spokesman Dwayne Watson. The drum of hydrogen fluoride was open, but investigators are unsure if it leaked into the water, Watson said.

Is Russia breaking the Geneva Convention by using deadly white phosphorus in Syria? Claims that images and footage show incendiary being dropped on civilians Numerous reports claim that Russia has dropped deadly white phosphorus on civilians in northwest Syria, as its intensive bombing campaign against ISIS continues. The chemical weapon is banned under the Geneva Convention, because it is highly toxic and can burn through flesh and bone. White phosphorus, an incendiary also known as WP, is used by armies to illuminate targets during the night or as a smokescreen during the day. Shocking images posted to Twitter show the...

Engineers at the University of Maryland have created a battery that is made entirely out of one material, which can both move electricity and store it. "To my knowledge, there has never been any similar work reported," said Dr. Kang Xu of the Army Research Laboratory, a researcher only peripherally related to the study. "It could lead to revolutionary progress in area of solid state batteries." Envision an Oreo cookie. Most batteries have at either end a layer of material for the electrodes like the chocolate cookies to help move ions though the creamy frosting – the electrolyte. Chunsheng Wang,...

For nearly two nights April 13th Battalion "Crimea" was a "fiery hell." Vengeful militants hurled White phosphorus, which the international community prohibit for use during the war, as causing the most severe injuries. "Separatist decided to avenge their failed attack by day and obviously a lot of dead on their side. Separatists shoot White phosphorus, burning all around, even brick walls of houses. Already hundreds of unexploded shells of napalm in the air and continue to burst," said in an official media page of the battalion "Crimea." Soldiers of the battalion did not give up and survived a brutal attack....

WASHINGTON (AP) — A phosphate export firm owned by the Moroccan government will give the Clinton Foundation a donation of at least $1 million in advance of a May meeting the charity is to host in Morocco, Politico reported Thursday. The gift adds to the Clinton family charity's reliance on contributions from foreign nations as Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to enter the 2016 presidential race. Clinton Foundation spokesman Craig Minassian did not confirm the Politico report about the donation from OCP, but said Thursday that international participants in the Clinton Global Initiative meeting in Marrakech in early May would work...

The exponential growth in global food production has not only sent the price of fertilisers skyrocketing, but could lead to a world shortage of phosphate within decades. Beyond a temporary market spike driven by richer developing countries and increased supply of biofuels, researchers are warning that the world could face dwindling supplies of phosphate by 2040 unless steps are taken to use it more efficiently and recover it from human waste. But unlike oil, which can be managed by substituting other sources of energy, there is no substitute for the critical role of phosphate in plant development and production. Mineral...

After weeks of promising bipartisanship and refusing to make policy announcements that might rile Democratic lawmakers, Maryland Gov.-elect Larry Hogan has picked his first political fight, coming out swinging against environmentalists and their powerful allies in the General Assembly. Mr. Hogan vowed Monday to roll back proposed new regulations that would limit phosphorus runoff from farms, siding with Eastern Shore farmers who rely on phosphorus-rich chicken manure for fertilizer and against environmentalists who blame it for choking the life out of the Chesapeake Bay. The regulation, known as the “phosphorus management tool,” or PMT, has been hotly debated in the...

To go with toilets that don't flush and light bulbs that don't light, we now have dishwashers that don't wash. In the last six months, a lot of people have suddenly discovered their dishwashers don’t work as well as they used to. The problem, though, isn’t the dishwashers. It’s the soap. Last July, acceding to pressure from environmentalists, America’s dishwasher detergent manufacturers decided to change their formulas. And the new detergents stink. One of the key ingredients in dish detergent is (or was) phosphorus. Phosphorus is a sociable element, bonding easily and well with others. In detergent, it strips food...

"Rocket fire prompts IDF strike on Gaza" SNIPPET: "IAF targets two weapon caches in northern, southern Strip following ongoing rocket fire on Israel's south" SNIPPET: "Israel Air Force jets struck two Gaza targets overnight, following yet another day of continuous rocket fire on Israel's south. Fighter jets targeted two weapons warehouses in southern and northern Gaza in the early hours of Thursday morning. The IDF Spokesman's Unit said the pilots confirmed hitting their targets before safely returning to their base. No injuries were reported among the Palestinians at this time."

Two phosphorous mortars were fired at southern Israel from Gaza on Wednesday, Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told The Jerusalem Post."A police bomb disposal team examined a number of mortars that were fired today. We can confirm that two out of the nine mortars contained phosphorous," Rosenfeld added. Israel Police said it was not the first time that phosphorous shells had been fired at Israel from Gaza.