| LARGE DIAMONDS MADE FROM GAS ARE THE HARDEST YET |
| Washington, D.C. Producing a material that is harder than natural diamond has been a goal of materials science for decades. Now a group* headed by scientists at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory in Washington, D.C., has produced gem-sized diamonds that are harder than any other crystals. Further, the researchers grew these diamonds directly from a gas mixture at a rate that is up to 100 times faster than other methods used to date. |
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| CHEMISTRY PUTS NEW SPARKLE IN DIAMONDS |
| Diamonds are getting bigger, more colorful and cheaper, thanks to chemistry. A favorite gem at Valentine's Day is getting a makeover with synthetic diamond making processes, according to the Feb. 2 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. |
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| BUGS GROW GOLD THAT LOOKS LIKE CORAL |
| Microbes that grow gold grains looking like a coral reef could open up new possibilities for mineral prospecting, according to an Australian researcher. |
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| RUTGERS EXPLORER DESCRIBES SEA FLOOR HOT SPRINGS AS TEEMING WITH VALUABLE MINERALS AND MICROBES |
| With only about 5 percent of the sea floor explored in detail, a picture is emerging of a vast system of natural undersea dynamos, fueled by hot springs, that produce not only valuable mineral deposits, but habitats for unique, heat-loving organisms that can provide materials for products ranging from detergents to pharmaceuticals. |
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| MELTING CRUST MAKES RICH MINERAL DEPOSITS: GEOLOGIST |
| A University of Toronto study suggests why giant gold and copper deposits are found at some volcanoes but not others, a finding that could point prospectors to large deposits of these and other valuable metals. |
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| WISCONSIN TEAM ENGINEERS HYDROGEN FROM BIOMASS |
| In the search for a nonpolluting energy source, hydrogen is often cited as a potential source of unlimited clean power. But hydrogen is only as clean as the process used to make it. Currently, most hydrogen is made from fossil fuels like natural gas using multi-step and high-temperature processes. |
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| SCIENTISTS USE ALFALFA PLANTS TO HARVEST NANOPARTICLES OF GOLD |
| Ordinary alfalfa plants are being used as miniature gold factories that one day could provide the nanotechnology industry with a continuous harvest of gold nanoparticles. |
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| BACTERIA POINT THE WAY TO GOLD DEPOSITS |
| Can bacteria help find gold? A pilot survey of 11 soil profiles across gold mining regions in the Peoples Republic of China indicates that elevated spore counts of Bacillus cereus, a common soil bacterium, were detected in areas adjacent to underlying gold deposits. |
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| ENERGY CRISIS ACCELERATED, NOT HELPED, BY INCREASED OIL PRODUCTION |
| Researchers predict only 30-50 years at most before reserves begin to decline sharply. Increasing oil production will hasten the day when demand for oil outstrips supply and will make an inevitable oil crisis far more unmanageable, researchers from the University of Rochester say. |
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Prospecting, production activity and waste handling of minerals
