Gizmorama - June 18, 2014

Good Morning,

A group of geologists from Northwestern University have evidence that a massive reserve of water is buried deep within the Earth. Is it true or just the premise for a bad sci-fi movie? Check out the article and see if this claim holds any water.

Learn about this interesting story and more from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Scientists have proof that tons of water is trapped in Earth's mantle --*
WASHINGTON (UPI) - It was right there all along -- a massive reserve of water buried deep in the Earth.

Scientists have long theorized a mass of hidden water was somewhere below, but a group of geologists from Northwestern University are the first to offer evidence.

The geologists found the water while studying a vast stretch of Earth's mantle called the transition zone. The vast underground region extends across much of North America. The water, enough to fill the oceans three times over, is hiding in a mineral called ringwoodite some 400 miles beneath Earth's crust.

Steve Jacobsen, who co-authored the study detailing the discovery, says the water explains a lot about why our planet looks and acts the way it does.

"Geological processes on the Earth's surface, such as earthquakes or erupting volcanoes, are an expression of what is going on inside the Earth, out of our sight," Jacobsen said.

"I think we are finally seeing evidence for a whole-Earth water cycle, which may help explain the vast amount of liquid water on the surface of our habitable planet," he explained. "Scientists have been looking for this missing deep water for decades."

By studying seismograph records and conducting a number of lab experiments that replicated deep-Earth pressures and their effects on rock, Jacobson was able to show that water could be fused into and trapped by the crystalline structure of ringwoodite.

The study was published this week in the journal Science.


*-- Frog's sticky tongue could inspire new adhesive technology --*
KIEL, Germany (UPI) - Trying to figure out how to measure the stickiness of a frog's tongue isn't an everyday problem, but it was the central problem for researchers at Kiel University in Germany, who wanted to better understand how the Amazon horned frog hunts and captures its prey.

The horned frog of the Amazon doesn't just slurp up lazy, unsuspecting insects. They hunt and eat lizards, snakes, rodents, other frogs and even small birds. Who knew something that hops around and croaks could be so vicious?

The horned frog's especially adhesive tongue is what allows it to capture and consume such large prey.

The German researchers measured the frog's tongue in action by placing crickets on the other side of a piece of glass and tempting the frog to lunge for the insects. Researchers measured the force of the frog's tongue on the glass.

"What we actually found was that the tongue adhesive forces were well beyond the body weight of these frogs," explained lead researcher Thomas Kleinteich, author of the study published this week in the journal Scientific Reports.

The frog can lift some 1.4 times its body weight using its tongue. To put it human terms: it's the equivalent of a 176-pound person lifting 246 pounds using only his or her tongue.

The adhesive catch and release happens in a matter milliseconds.

"And, another thing which we found, which I did not expect, was that the mucus or the slime on top of their tongues does not seem to be that important as people always assumed," Kleinteich added.

Kleinteich and his fellow researchers think further analysis of the frog's unique and impressive wet-adhesive system could inspire product engineers who need to develop adhesive technologies that work in damp settings.

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