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A New Mineral Called Putnisite is Found in Australia

Minerals are classified into species like animals. You would think that all minerals had been identified by scientists. This is not the case. A completely new mineral has been found in Australia at Polar Bear peninsula, Southern Lake Cowan. It is named after the two scientists who discovered it, Christine and Andrew Putnis based at the University of Münster in Germany.

Putnisite is now among the 4,000 known minerals. It was found on the surface of Lake Cowan in Western Australia. The mineral is composed of tiny 0.5 mm diameter crystals in volcanic rock. Its crystals are square and in a range of colors: white, pink, purple and dark green. The mineral is composed of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, sulphur, calcium, strontium and chromium. It glistens as light can penetrate the substance.

Unlike other minerals which belong to families similar in structure, putnisite is unique. Nature joins things together to form minerals. Scientist did not believe a blend of these bases could be joined together as a unit. Researchers are clearly not as clever as nature itself.

Mineralogy by Ty Buchanan

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Earth's Oldest particle Found in Western Australia - a Zircon Crystal

Everyone knows that Australia is old. Just how old has been defined by science - A zircon crystal on a Western Australian sheep station is the oldest piece of planet Earth. It is 4.4 billion years old.

Tests were done to determine the crystal's age. The rate of decay of uranium against the constant lead showed how old it was. This was confirmed by atom-probe tomography where the mass of lead atoms is measured.

The zircon particle was created on the Earth's crust soon after the planet formed. And the Earth was not a violent place until much later. Water was already present and there is a high probability that life began at this time. The Hadean eon as this period is called in now a misnomer because it means Hadean the god of hell.

Proof of life is unlikely. Science is not advanced enough yet to fully examine this period. Very little can be identified as originating in this period of the Earth's development.

Science by Ty Buchanan

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Imaging More Advanced Than MRI

The MRI was the most advanced way of diagnosing what patients were suffering from. It was cutting edge technology that gave very detailed images of the human body. Technology moves forward and advances are made.

Macquarie University with CSIC and the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) have found a way of producing images even clearer than MRI. It is done by using artificial atoms and nitrogen doped diamond nanoparticles. Extremely weak magnetic fields in the human body can now be detected. MRI resolution is millimetric. The new system "sees" down to a millionth of a millimeter.

This technique is not invasive. It will provide an understanding of intracellular processes. The problem with the new diagnostic system is that very temperatures are required to make it work. Artificial atoms are encapsulated in a diamond crystal. They can be manipulated by lasers, dragging atoms above the surface for medical diagnosis.