R&D Mag - Editorial

Can we spot volcanoes on alien worlds?

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Now that astronomers are finding rocky worlds orbiting distant stars, they're asking the logical questions: Do any of those worlds have volcanoes? And if so, could we detect them? Work by theorists at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggests that the answer to the latter is a qualified "Yes."

Tiny flying bots benefit from car-like drivetrain

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Engineers at Harvard University have created a millionth-scale automobile differential to govern the flight of minuscule aerial robots that could someday be used to probe environmental hazards, forest fires, and other places too perilous for people.

Advanced Photon Source helps answer key questions about common cold virus

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

In a world where doctors can treat the most devastating illnesses, the common cold remains elusive. That's because up until recently, scientists knew little about the viruses that spread this seasonal nuisance. But that may be changing now that researchers have mapped one virus's atomic structure using the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the Argonne National Laboratory.

Ice Cube neutrino observatory nears completion

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The world’s first kilometer-scale neutrino, buried deep under Antarctic ice, should be all systems go by Christmas 2010. With 5,160 sensors occupying a gigaton of ice, researchers hope to detect the small neutrino fluxes that could reveal the sources of cosmic rays and the particle nature of dark matter.

Tiny rulers measure nanoscale structures

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Physicists at China's Wuhan University discovered that nanospheres combined with a nanorod dimer (identical attached molecules that form a fixed, measurable length) could be used to solve the problem of measurement sensitivity in a device called a plasmon ruler. This stable “ruler” could be of great benefit in nanotech applications.

Seed inspired air-bag system could protect astronauts during bumpy landings

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A graduate student in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics has helped design a reusable, 700-pound air-bag system that could inflate during launch and landing, deflate for storage purposes, and partially inflate to provide seating while the vehicle is in space. Not only would the system be lighter than the one NASA originally proposed for Orion, but it would also be entirely mechanical, meaning not controlled by computers.

Bug with bifocals a surprise of nature

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have reported major biological discovery: a sunburst diving beetle larva that has bifocal lenses in four of the larvae’s 12 eyes. They work differently than our own glass or plastic equivalents, but still allow the insects to focus both up-close and at a distance in pursuit of its prey.

Ancient microbes breathed oxygenated life into ocean 'deserts'

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

According to a recent paper from Arizona State researchers and other colleagues, certain microbes were responsible for producing “oxygen oases” in the oceans long before it began accumulating in the atmosphere. Photosynthetic production by cyanobacteria seems to be the most likely explanation.

DNA puts chemists on scent of better artificial nose

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A new approach to building an "artificial nose"—using fluorescent compounds and DNA—could accelerate the use of sniffing sensors into the realm of mass production and widespread use, say Stanford chemists. If their method lives up to its promise, it could one day detect everything from incipiently souring milk to high explosives.

Extreme darkness: nanotube forest covers NIST’s ultra-dark detector

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Inspired by 2008 R&D from RPI that detailed the darkest man-made material ever, researchers at NIST have developed a laser power detector coated with the same material—a forest of carbon nanotubes that reflects almost no light across the visible and part of the infrared spectrum.

Stanford's X-ray laser promises new discoveries

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The Linac Coherent Light Source began full-scale operations in July, and earlier this week was formerly dedicated. According to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and other experts, the high-energy x-ray light source will significantly our understanding of biology and atomic structures. The facility has already gotten 800 experiment proposals.

Low-cost nanopatterning method utilizes popular shrinkable plastic

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The magical world of Shrinky Dinks has taken up residence in a Northwestern University laboratory. A team of nanoscientists is using the flexible plastic sheets as the backbone of a new inexpensive way to create, test and mass-produce large-area patterns on the nanoscale.

Wax and soap can help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A little wax and soap can help build electrodes for cheaper lithium ion batteries, according to a study conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The one-step method will allow battery developers to explore lower-priced alternatives to the lithium ion-metal oxide batteries currently on the market.

Gel could speed wound healing

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A team led by David Becker, a professor at University College London, has tested its Nexagon gel on about 100 people so far. The material works by interrupting how cells communicate and prevents the production of a protein that blocks healing, allowing healing cells to move faster to a wound. If successful, the gel could have a major impact on chronic wound treatment.

New findings show promise for transformation optics

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers have overcome a fundamental obstacle in using new "metamaterials" for radical advances in optical technologies, including ultra-powerful microscopes and computers and a possible invisibility cloak.

Catching a glimpse at electrons in real time for the first time

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

An international team of scientists led by groups from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching, Germany, and from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley has used ultra-short flashes of laser light to directly observe the movement of an atom’s outer electrons for the first time.

Ocean waters off Hawaii could be alternative energy mecca

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

According to researchers in Hawaii, the waters of the leeward side of the Hawaiian Islands might be the ideal spot for ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). It involves placing a heat engine between warm water collected at the ocean's surface and cold water pumped from the deep ocean. Like a ball rolling downhill, heat flows from the warm reservoir to the cool one, driving turbines.

Battery team looks beyond vehicles to the electric grid

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, known for having one of the top research programs in the country for batteries and fuel cells for vehicle applications, has decided to enter another area in the battery world. It has been granted $1.6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to develop a novel storage device for the electric grid.

Cells survive lasers and nanoblasts in new drug delivery method

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Using chemical "nanoblasts" that punch tiny holes in the protective membranes of cells, researchers have demonstrated a new technique for getting therapeutic small molecules, proteins and DNA directly into living cells. Despite the use of lasers to trigger the nanoparticle explosions, more than 90% of the targeted cells remained alive.

Scots engineers prove space expert's 25-year-old theory

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

In 1984, Robert L. Forward proposed the use of a solar sail that would allow satellites placed outside of usual geostationary orbits to maintain position through the pressure sunlight alone. Though initially met with skepticism, Forward’s concept has now been proven to work by an engineering team.

“Mahjong” gene is key player when cancer, normal cells compete

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Among the many dramas that occur within mammalian tissue is a life-or-death competition that suppresses cancer by causing cancerous cells to kill themselves. Central to the discovery at Florida State University was the researchers' identification of "Mahjong" –– a gene that can determine the winners of the competition through its close relationship with another powerful protein player.

Proton is smaller than previously thought

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Apparently, physics is now a game of femtometers. An international team at the Max Planck Institute has announced their findings that the nucleus of a hydrogen atom—the proton—measures just 0.8418 femtometers instead of the previously assumed 0.8768 femtometers. Unfortunately, this change in a fundamental constant could be a problem for physicists.

FDA clears first implantable telescope for vision

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

U.S. health officials have approved a first-of-its-kind technology to counter macular degeneration, a creeping loss of central vision, with a tiny telescope implanted inside the eye. However, the brain must learn to use the device, which divides central and peripheral vision between the two eyes.

First nano-sized light mill motor created

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

While those wonderful light sabers in the Star Wars films remain the figment of George Lucas’ fertile imagination, light mills that can power objects thousands of times greater in size are now fact. Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Univ. of California, Berkeley have created the first nano-sized light mill motor whose rotational speed and direction can be controlled by tuning the frequency of the incident light waves. It may not help conquer the Dark Side, but this new light mill does open the door to a broad range of valuable applications.

New network design could lead to an Internet 100 times as fast

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

MIT researchers have demonstrated a new network design that avoids the need to convert optical signals into electrical ones. As a result, it could make the Internet 100 or even 1,000 times faster while actually reducing the amount of energy it consumes.

Technique improves efficiency of biofuel production

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers at North Carolina State Univ. have developed a more efficient technique for producing biofuels from woody plants that significantly reduces the waste that results from conventional biofuel production techniques. The technique is a significant step toward creating a commercially viable new source of biofuels.

Smaller is better when it comes to platinum catalysts

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

When it comes to metal catalysts, the platinum standard is, well, platinum! However, at about $2,000 an ounce, platinum is more expensive than gold. The high cost of the raw material presents major challenges for the future wide scale use of platinum in fuel cells. Research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that one possible way to meet these challenges is to think small, really small.

A Magellanic voyage of a different sort

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

As Mars Express swiftly sails over the rough Martian landscape, it fittingly passed over a namesake of Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan. The Magellan crater, captured in stunning detail by the probe’s high-resolution camera, reveals the complex geologic past of the Red Planet.

Testing the best-yet theory of nature

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

With a confidence level of 100 billion to one, the most sensitive test yet shows that the spin-statistics theorem, one of the pillars of modern physics, really works: bosons and fermions are different.

High oxygen production in thin-film materials might lead to enhanced fuel cells

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A surprising MIT laboratory finding about the behavior of a thin sheet of material could lead to improved ways of studying the behavior of electrodes and perhaps ultimately to improvements in the rate of power production from one type of fuel cell.

Bouncing beads and duct tape challenge Feynman

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers in The Netherlands have built a machine that uses 2,000 bouncing beads to spin a paddle and perform work. It is a modern interpretation of a 100-year-old thought experiment that physicist Richard Feynman argued would not be possible.

World’s first plastic antibodies developed

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

UC Irvine researchers have developed the first “plastic antibodies” successfully employed in live organisms—stopping the spread of bee venom through the bloodstream of mice.

First graphene touchscreen

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Using a roller-based manufacturing method and chemical vapor deposition techniques, researchers in Korea and Japan have fabricated 30-inch films of graphene treated with nitric acid that serve as transparent electrodes in touchscreen panel devices. This machine-application is an industry-first for graphene.

Peering into the inner workings of catalyst nanoparticles

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Scientists can now peer into the inner workings of catalyst nanoparticles 3,000 times smaller than a human hair within nanoseconds. The findings point the way toward future work that could greatly improve catalyst efficiency in a variety of processes that are crucial to the world’s energy security, such as petroleum catalysis and catalyst-based nanomaterial growth for next-generation rechargeable batteries.

Creating visible-light catalysis in nanowires with gold nanoparticles

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has created visible-light catalysis, using silver chloride nanowires decorated with gold nanoparticles, that may decompose organic molecules in polluted water.

Colors of butterfly wing yield clues to light altering structures

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

At the very heart of some of the most brilliant colors on the wings of butterflies lie bizarre structures, a multidisciplinary team of Yale researchers has found. These structures are intriguing the team’s scientists and engineers, who want to use them to harness the power of light.

Nano-patterned superconducting thin films created

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A team of scientists from Bar-Ilan Univ., Israel, and the Brookhaven National Laboratory has fabricated thin films patterned with large arrays of nanowires and loops that are superconducting when cooled below about 30 kelvin (-243 degrees Celsius). Even more interesting, the scientists showed they could change the material’s electrical resistance in an unexpected way by placing the material in an external magnetic field.

'Pop' science discovery reveals the complex way bubbles burst

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

On the surface of things, how a bubble bursts may seem to be a simple, unremarkable event. However, engineers at Harvard report just the opposite, having uncovered the beautifully complex physics behind rupturing bubbles. Instead of simply vanishing, a large bubble disperses into a ring of smaller bubbles. The finding could be appropriately called an advance in “pop” science.

Running a yellow light isn’t always black or white

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Award-winning research from the Univ. of Cincinnati has revealed the variety of conditions that determine whether a motorist does one of the more dangerous illegal maneuvers in traffic: running a yellow light. Some results were expected, but some were not so obvious.

Scientists use nanoscale architecture to make efficient solar cell

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A nano-scale solar cell inspired by the coaxial cable offers greater efficiency than any previously designed nanotech thin film solar cell by resolving the "thick & thin" challenge inherent to capturing light and extracting current for solar power, Boston College researchers report.

Soccer-playing robots get creative with physics-based planning

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Robot soccer players from Carnegie Mellon Univ. competing in this month's RoboCup 2010 world championship in Singapore should be able to out-dribble their opponents, thanks to a new algorithm that helps them to predict the ball's behavior based on physics principles.

Capturing the secret dance of electrons

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Using a microscope designed to image the arrangement and interactions of electrons in crystals, scientists have captured the first images of electrons that appear to take on extraordinary mass under certain extreme conditions. The technique reveals the origin of an unusual electronic phase transition in one particular material, and opens the door to further explorations of the properties and functions of so-called heavy fermions.

'Doubly magic' research reveals role of nuclear shell

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Univ. of Tennessee (UT), and six collaborating universities have performed a nuclear reaction experiment that explores the unique properties of the "doubly magic" radioactive isotope of 132Sn, or tin-132.

Giving proteins a new glow

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A group of MIT researchers have come up with a new way to overcome the disadvantages of GFP by tagging proteins with a much smaller probe. Their probe allows proteins to carry out their normal functions, offering scientists the chance to glimpse never-before-seen activity.

Advances made in walking robots

Thu, 27 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers at Oregon State Univ. have made an important fundamental advance in robotics, in work that should lead toward robots that not only can walk and run effectively, but use little energy in the process.

Physicists dig theoretical wells to mine quantum dots

Wed, 26 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Graphane is the material of choice for physicists on the cutting edge of materials science, and Rice Univ. researchers are right there with the pack—and perhaps a little ahead. Researchers mentored by Boris Yakobson, a Rice professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of chemistry, have discovered the strategic extraction of hydrogen atoms from a two-dimensional sheet of graphane naturally opens up spaces of pure graphene that look—and act—like quantum dots.

Chemists report promising advance in fuel-cell technology

Tue, 25 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Chemists at Brown Univ. have come up with a promising advance in fuel-cell technology. The team has demonstrated that a nanoparticle with a palladium core and an iron-platinum shell outperforms commercially available pure-platinum catalysts and lasts longer. The finding could move fuel cells a step closer to reality.

Study: Ancient civilizations mastered rubber long before Goodyear

Mon, 24 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

New research from MIT indicates that not only did pre-Columbian peoples know how to process the sap of the local rubber trees along with juice from a vine to make rubber, but they had perfected a system of chemical processing that could fine-tune the properties of the rubber depending on its intended use.

3-D imaging technology could lead to hearing aids that fit

Thu, 20 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

About 36 million Americans suffer from some type of hearing loss. However, only one in five who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one, according to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders. MIT engineers believe that number could be boosted if there were a better way to fit hearing aids to the wearers’ ears.

Fighting bull cloned for first time in Spain

Wed, 19 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Scientists in Spain say they have cloned a fighting bull for the first time. The newborn calf, named Got, is an exact replica of a muscular, horned specimen of the type matadors face in bullrings.

Schooling fish offer new ideas for wind farming

Tue, 18 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

The quest to derive energy from wind may soon be getting some help from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) fluid-dynamics expert John Dabiri-and a school of fish. As head of Caltech's Biological Propulsion Laboratory, Dabiri studies water- and wind-energy concepts that share the theme of bioinspiration: that is, identifying energy-related processes in biological systems that may provide insight into new approaches to-in this case-wind energy.

Glass pumps may be smallest in existence

Mon, 17 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Building what may be the smallest artificial pump in existence, researchers in the U.S. and South Korea have devised a way to fabricate tiny electrodes from glass, harnessing a phenomenon by which nanoscale glass walls can be transformed from insulators to conductors and back again. The breakthrough is described in a recent Scientific American blog.

Graphene and DNA combine to create a stable biosensor

Fri, 14 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Graphene and DNA can combine to create a stable and accurate biosensor, reports a study. The tiny biosensor might eventually help doctors and researchers better understand and diagnose disease.

Molecules that behave like robots

Thu, 13 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A team of scientists from Columbia Univ., Arizona State Univ., the Univ. of Michigan, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have programmed an autonomous molecular "robot" made out of DNA to start, move, turn, and stop while following a DNA track.

DNA could be backbone of next generation logic circuits

Wed, 12 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A Duke Univ. engineer believes that the next generation of simple logic circuits at the heart of computers will be produced inexpensively in almost limitless quantities. The secret is that instead of silicon chips serving as the platform for electric circuits, computer engineers will take advantage of the unique properties of DNA, that double-helix carrier of all life’s information.

Mysterious quantum forces unraveled

Tue, 11 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

MIT researchers have developed a powerful new tool for calculating the effects of Casimir forces, with ramifications for both basic physics and the design of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Unique close-up of the dynamics of photosynthesis

Mon, 10 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers in Sweden, using an advanced x-ray flash at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France, are reportedly the first to have photographed the movement of atoms within a protein as it temporarily stores light energy before forming chemical bonds.

You’re a Neanderthal: Genes say yes, a little bit

Fri, 07 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A detailed study of the Neanderthal genome tells that Neanderthals and modern humans did mate, which means there is at least a little cave man biology in most of us. According to the results of this early comparative study, some people in Europe and Asia carry Neanderthal genetic information.

iPhone goes nuclear

Thu, 06 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

An “app” for iPod, iPads and iPhones developed at the Univ. of Utah to look at medical CT or MRI scans was repurposed by the university's nuclear engineering program to display simulations of a nuclear reactor's core. The visualization of reactor behavior has proven helpful to researchers, but don’t go to Apple’s App Store expecting to download it quite yet.

Maya plumbing: First pressurized water feature found in New World

Wed, 05 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A water feature found in the Maya city of Palenque, Mexico, is the earliest known example of engineered water pressure in the new world, according to a collaboration between two Penn State researchers, an archaeologist and a hydrologist. How the Maya used the pressurized water is, however, still unknown.

Simple salad spinner could save lives

Tue, 04 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A simple salad spinner will save lives this summer, if everything goes as planned by two Rice Univ. undergraduates. The spinner has been turned, so to speak, into a rudimentary centrifuge that medical clinics in developing countries can use to separate blood without electricity.

New research by UC Riverside physicists could help develop gamma ray lasers

Mon, 03 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Positronium is a short-lived system in which an electron and its anti-particle are bound together. In 2007, physicists at the Univ. of California, Riverside created molecular positronium, a brand-new substance, in the laboratory. Now they have succeeded in isolating for the first time a sample of spin polarized positronium atoms.

Pokeberries hold secret to affordable solar power worldwide

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Pokeberries could be the key to spreading solar power across the globe, according to researchers at Wake Forest Univ.'s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials.

Microscopy technique reveals mechanics of blood cell membranes

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Thanks to an interdisciplinary team of researchers, scientists now have a more complete understanding of one of the human body’s most vital structures: the red blood cell. Led by Univ. of Illinois electrical and computer engineering professor Gabriel Popescu, the team developed a model that could lead to breakthroughs in screening and treatment of blood-cell-morphology diseases, such as malaria and sickle-cell disease.

NIST develops 'dimmer switch' for superconducting quantum computing

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A new switch, to be described in an upcoming paper, can reliably tune the interaction strength or rate between two types of circuits—the superconducting circuit’s qubit and the familiar bus—from 100 MHz to nearly zero. This “dimmer” may let engineers have more flexibility when designing a full superconducting quantum system.

First images captured of atomic spin

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Though scientists argue that the emerging technology of spintronics may trump conventional electronics for building the next generation of faster, smaller, more efficient computers and high-tech devices, no one has actually seen the spin—a quantum mechanical property of electrons—in individual atoms until now.

MIT researchers master multicore

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

MIT researchers have developed software that makes computer simulations of physical systems run much more efficiently on so-called multicore chips. In experiments involving chips with 24 separate cores—or processors—simulations of fluid flows were at least 50% more efficient with the new software than they were with conventional software.

World's smallest telemedicine microscope invented

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Aydogan Ozcan, whose invention of a novel lensless imaging technology for use in telemedicine could radically transform global health care, has now taken his work a step further—or tinier: The UCLA engineer has created a miniature microscope, the world's smallest and lightest for telemedicine applications.

Creating sound bullets

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Taking inspiration from a popular executive toy ("Newton's cradle"), researchers at Caltech have built a device—called a nonlinear acoustic lens—that produces highly focused, high-amplitude acoustic signals dubbed "sound bullets."

Microsensors without microfabrication

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Researchers at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) have now built a motion sensor that consists of a tiny metal bead suspended in what the center’s director, Neil Gershenfeld, describes as “a hole drilled in a circuit board.”

Lauric acid nano-bombs: A new way to treat acne

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A natural product found in both coconut oil and human breast milk—lauric acid—shines as a possible new acne treatment thanks to a bioengineering graduate student from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. The student developed a “smart delivery system" capable of delivering lauric-acid-filled nano-scale bombs directly to skin-dwelling bacteria (Propionibacterium acnes) that cause common acne.

World's deepest known undersea volcanic vent found

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

More than three miles below the surface of the Caribbean Sea, researchers from Britain has finally spotted the world’s deepest known volcanic vent. Located a half-mile below any vent previously found, the vent could be hot enough to produce supercritical fluids and a variety of previously unknown sea life.

A step toward more efficient wireless power delivery

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

In 2007, MIT researchers announced that they had discovered a novel way of transmitting electricity without the use of wires. Now, the researchers have demonstrated that the system’s efficiency at transmitting energy improves significantly when it is used to charge multiple devices at the same time.

Biologically based system taps the power of sunlight directly

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A team of MIT researchers has found a novel way to mimic the process by which plants use the power of sunlight to split water and make chemical fuel to power their growth. In this case, the team used a modified virus as a kind of biological scaffold that can assemble the nanoscale components needed to split the hydrogen and oxygen atoms of a water molecule.

Memristor could enable computation on memory chips

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

If HP is right about its invention—the memristor—then it could mean far more to computing than we first thought. HP Labs researchers claim that in addition to being useful for storage devices, the memristor can perform logic and be stacked in layers.

New principle in material science discovered

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A research team led by Brown Univ. engineers has discovered a new mechanism that governs the peak strength of nanostructured metals.

Our universe at home within a larger universe?

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Could our universe be located within the interior of a wormhole which itself is part of a black hole that lies within a much larger universe? Such a scenario in which the universe is born from inside a wormhole (also called an Einstein-Rosen Bridge) is suggested in a paper from Indiana Univ. theoretical physicist Nikodem Poplawski.

Turning noise into vision

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A new technique for revealing images of hidden objects may one day allow pilots to peer through fog and doctors to see more precisely into the human body without surgery.

Microorganisms fine-tuned to survive in toxic groundwater

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Microorganisms can indeed live in extreme environments, but the ones that do are highly adapted to survive and little else, according to a collaboration that includes Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Univ. of Oklahoma.

Manufacturing Carbon Nanotubes

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Carbon nanotube sheets, yarns, and their derivative products are beginning to emerge in the marketplace. The most productive and scalable manufacturing method in play today utilizes a chemical vapor deposition process for making very large format CNT non-woven textile-like sheets directly from the reactor without post processing.

Orange corn holds promise for reducing blindness

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Decreasing or increasing the function of a newly discovered gene in corn may increase vitamin A content and have significant implications for reducing childhood blindness and mortality rates, according to a Purdue Univ.-led study.

Researchers observe healing in radiated materials for first time

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Designing materials that can withstand radiation-induced damage is very important for improving nuclear energy systems. At Los Alamos Lab, researchers have recently discovered a mechanism that allows nanocrystalline materials to heal themselves after such exposure by removing vacancies at grain boundaries even as radiation is causing them.

Physicists create handshaking particles

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Physicists at New York Univ. have created "handshaking" particles that link together based on their shape rather than randomly. Their work marks the first time scientists have succeeded in "programming" particles to join in this manner and offers a type of architecture that could enhance the creation of synthetic materials.

Desalination device that's worth its salt

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

A new approach to desalination being developed by researchers at MIT and in Korea could lead to small, portable units that could be powered by solar cells or batteries and could deliver enough fresh water to supply the needs of a family or small village. As an added bonus, the system would also remove many contaminants, viruses and bacteria at the same time.

Solving hydrogen storage issues with layered graphene sheets

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Graphene—carbon formed into sheets a single atom thick—now appears to be a promising base material for capturing hydrogen, according to recent research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania. The findings suggest stacks of graphene layers could potentially store hydrogen safely for use in fuel cells and other applications.

A golden bullet for cancer

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Magic bullets, also called silver bullets, because of the folkloric belief that only silver bullets can kill supernatural creatures, remain the goal of drug development efforts today. A team of scientists at Washington Univ. in St. Louis is currently working on a magic bullet for cancer. But their bullets are gold rather than silver.

Silk's secrets revealed

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Silks are among the toughest materials known, stronger and less brittle, pound for pound, than steel. Now scientists at MIT have unraveled some of their deepest secrets in research that could lead the way to the creation of synthetic materials that duplicate, or even exceed, the extraordinary properties of natural silk.

High-speed pipeline revs up biomass analysis

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Lab are analyzing 1,000 samples of biomass at a time, finding which one, combined with the right enzyme, most eagerly gives up its sugars to be converted into biofuel. Their work is part of an effort to meet federal regulations that require the U.S. produce 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022.

Evidence: Snowball Earth was iced to the equator

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Ancient tropical rocks that now reside in the remote northern reaches of Canada tell the tale: about 716.5 million years ago the Earth lay bound in a layer of ice that limited life to eukaryotes. Strangely, this glaciation—history’s most extensive at 5 million years, say researchers at NSF and Harvard—occurred at about the same time that animals appear in the fossil record.

Alternative energy crops in space

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

What if space held the key to producing alternative energy crops on Earth? That's what researchers are hoping to find in a new experiment on the International Space Station. The experiment, National Lab Pathfinder-Cells 3, is aimed at learning whether microgravity can help jatropha curcas plant cells grow faster to produce biofuel, or renewable fuel derived from biological matter.

Thermopower waves draw big power from tiny wires

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Carbon nanotubes with a special coating of reactive fuel can, when ignited, create a thermal wave that not only spreads quickly but also pushes electrons along the tube, creating a substantial electric current. The energy created by MIT engineers far exceeds that predicted by thermoelectric calculations.

New energy source comes from the common pea

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

If harnessing the unlimited solar power of the sun were easy, we wouldn't still have the greenhouse gas problem that results from the use of fossil fuel. And while solar energy systems work moderately well in hot desert climates, they are still inefficient and contribute only a small percentage of the general energy demand. A new solution may be coming from an unexpected source—a source that may be on your dinner plate tonight.

Microrings could nix wires for communications in homes

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Purdue Univ. researchers have developed a miniature device capable of converting ultrafast laser pulses into bursts of radio-frequency signals, a step toward making wires obsolete for communications in the homes and offices of the future.

Underwater silk adhesive might suture wounds

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Like silkworm moths, butterflies, and spiders, caddisfly larvae spin silk, but they do so underwater instead on dry land. Now, Univ. of Utah researchers have discovered why the fly's silk is sticky when wet and how that may make it valuable as an adhesive tape during surgery.

Physicist writes a better formula to predict baseball success

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

An Iowa State Univ. physicist, studies the mysteries of the neutrino, the elementary particle that usually passes right through ordinary matter such as baseballs and home-run sluggers.

Stamping microelectromechanical devices onto plastic

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT

MIT researchers have discovered a way to make microelectromechanical devices, or MEMS, by stamping them onto a plastic film. This discovery should reduce their cost, and open up the possibility of large sheets of sensors that could, one day, cover the wings of an airplane to gauge their structural integrity.

First woven fabric heater made from carbon nanotubes

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A Japanese company has woven conductive fabric made from highly-dispersed carbon nanotube multifilament yarns from Bayer MaterialScience, creating what could be the first fabric heaters to enter practical use: they have been successful tested on-board a train to keep water from freezing during a cold winter.

Lab of the Year Brings Science to the Public

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The Plant Conservation Science Center at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Ill., has been selected Laboratory of the Year in the 2010 R&D Magazine Laboratory of the Year competition.

Images of extrasolar planet win award for outstanding paper

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

In the short time that the image of Fomalhaut—a star with a Jupiter-sized planet imaged by Hubble Space Telescope—was published by UC Berkeley’s Paul Kalas, it has become an icon. Why? The 2008 image was the first visible-light picture of an extrasolar planet.

Artificial foot recycles energy

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

An artificial foot that recycles energy otherwise wasted in between steps could make it easier for amputees to walk, its developers say.

Flexible solar cells created with silicon wire arrays

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has created a new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons.

Fiber nanogenerators could lead to electric clothing

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

In research that gives literal meaning to the term "power suit," Univ. of California, Berkeley, engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibers that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles.

Climate tipping points may arrive without warning

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A new Univ. of California, Davis, study by a top ecological forecaster says it is harder than experts thought to predict when sudden shifts in Earth's natural systems will occur—a worrisome finding for scientists trying to identify the tipping points that could push climate change into an irreparable global disaster.

First wild grass species is sequenced for energy sources

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

As the DOE develops sustainable sources of clean renewable energy, perennial grasses have emerged as major candidates for the commercial production of cellulosic biofuels from feedstocks. In completing Brachypodium distachyon, the Joint Genome Institute has sequenced all three most economically important subfamilies of grasses.

Fractal patterns may be key to semiconductor magnetism

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A Princeton-led team of scientists has observed electrons in a semiconductor on the brink of the metal-insulator transition for the first time. Caught in the act, the electrons formed complex patterns resembling those seen in turbulent fluids, confirming some long-held predictions and providing new insights into how semiconductors can be turned into magnets.

Making a leap in quantum computing

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A Princeton Univ. researcher has demonstrated a method that alters the properties of a lone electron without disturbing the trillions of electrons in its immediate surroundings. The feat is essential to the development of future varieties of superfast computers with near-limitless capacities for data.

Record-breaking collisions at LHC produce lots of mesons

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

In December, the Large Hadron Collider shattered the world record for highest energy particle collisions. This week, team led by researchers from MIT, CERN and the KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics in Budapest, Hungary, completed work on the first scientific paper analyzing the results of those collisions.

Printing and testing chemical sensors on elastic waistbands of underwear

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Chemical sensors printed directly on elastic underwear waistbands retained their sensing abilities even after engineers stretched, folded and pulled at the chemical-sensing printable electrodes—sensors that could one day be incorporated into intelligent “hospital-on-a-chip” systems. This work, funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, is led by professor Joseph Wang, from the Department of NanoEngineering at the Univ. of California, San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

Black carbon: The culprit in melting of Himalayan glaciers?

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The fact that glaciers in the Himalayan mountains are thinning is not disputed. However, few researchers have attempted to rigorously examine and quantify the causes. A scientist from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory set out to isolate the impacts of the most commonly blamed culprit—greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide—from other particles in the air that may be causing the melting.

Biggest-ever sunshield for space telescope passes design review

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Workers at NASA and Northrop Grumman had to invent the techniques, materials, and mechanisms needed to build the James Webb Space Telescope’s complex sunshield system. The tennis court-sized solar deflector relies on five layers of Kapton, each as thin as a human hair.

White roofs may successfully cool cities

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Painting the roofs of buildings white has the potential to significantly cool cities and mitigate some impacts of global warming, a new study indicates. The new NCAR-led research suggests there may be merit to an idea advanced by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu that white roofs can be an important tool to help society adjust to climate change.

Magnetic nanoparticle to combat cancer

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Scientists at Georgia Tech and the Ovarian Cancer Institute have further developed a potential new treatment against cancer that uses magnetic nanoparticles to attach to cancer cells, removing them from the body. The treatment, tested in mice in 2008, has now been tested using samples from human cancer patients.

Microbes produce advanced biofuel directly from biomass

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A collaboration led by researchers with the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has developed a microbe that can produce an advanced biofuel directly from biomass. Deploying the tools of synthetic biology, the JBEI researchers engineered a strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria to produce biodiesel fuel and other important chemicals derived from fatty acids.

Designing insectlike microids

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A new approach in the design of miniature, insectlike robots could lead to "microids" the size of ants that move their tiny legs and mandibles using solid-state "muscles."

An Opportunity to see deep inside Mars

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Digging into a rock named Marquette Island perched on a rippled Martian plain, the rover Opportunity is helping scientist examine a geological curiosity that differs from any other mineral yet found. It may have originated from deep under the planet’s crust, and could tell us more about the Red Planet’s formation.

Levitating magnet brings space physics to fusion

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A new experiment that reproduces the magnetic fields of the Earth and other planets has yielded its first significant results. The findings confirm that its unique approach has some potential to be developed as a new way of creating a power-producing plant based on nuclear fusion—the process that generates the sun’s prodigious output of energy.

New sensor could help combat diabetes

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A tiny new sensor could provide fresh, inexpensive diagnosis and treatment methods for people suffering from a variety of diseases. Univ. of Florida engineers have designed and tested versions of the sensor for applications ranging from monitoring diabetics’ glucose levels via their breath to detecting possible indicators of breast cancer in saliva.

Synchronizing blinking genetic clocks

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers at UC San Diego who last year genetically engineered bacteria to keep track of time by turning on and off fluorescent proteins within their cells have taken another step toward the construction of a programmable genetic sensor. The scientists recently synchronized these bacterial “genetic clocks” to blink in unison.

Toxic-free click chemistry a first on a living organism

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

So-called click chemistry previously depended on the use of toxic metals. But a copper-free variant has finally been used to label glycans—a common sugar in animals—in mouse instestinges, heart, and liver. Click chemistry may be a crucial diagnostic tool because of its ability to affix molecular probes to cells.

Biochemists synthesize carbon-locking molecule for the first time

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The protein Rubisco is a key part of the carbon dioxide fixation action in the photosynthetic process. The complex structure has until now proven impossible to reconstruct in the lab. Max Planck Institute scientists in Germany were able to build it by relying on cellular “chaperones”.

Soybean genome decoded, reveals possibilities for biofuels and more

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A key global resource for protein and oil, the soybean is the first legume species to have been published in complete draft form. Appearing in today’s journal Science, the effort by the Joint Genome Institute and many others opens up the genome’s billion-plus nucleotides to further research.

U.S. agency goes after cadmium

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Lead paint and melamine-tainted milk—infamously hazardous products from China—have grabbed the headlines in recent years. But another metal, cadmium, has caught the eye of regulators as the easy-to-work but cancer-causing metal has begun appearing in metallic toys and jewelry.

Lab analysis: Recovery Act may stimulate community-scale wind projects

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

The stimulus package passed in 2009 by Congress may help shovel-ready community wind projects move ahead, according to a new report by Mark Bolinger, a scientist at Berkeley Lab. Bolinger analyzed the impact of two new incentives for wind power that were included in the Recovery Act.

Mirror testing breaks superstitious myths

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

In ancient mythological times reflective surfaces like shiny metals and mirrors were thought to be magical and credited with the ability to look into the future. NASA is using mirrors to do just the opposite—look into the past.

Electric field propels worms to test new drugs

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

A drug-testing process which already earned a Nobel Prize has gotten an electrical boost. For the first time, C. elegans nematodes has been stimulated by electricity to move along a narrow channel in a predictable fashion. This will let researchers study how drugs affect neurons and muscles in real time.

Mathematical model aids simulations of early universe

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

What exactly happened during the Big Bang, when rapidly evolving physical processes set the stage for gases to form stars, planets and galaxies? Now astrophysicists using supercomputers to simulate the Big Bang have a new mathematical tool to unravel those mysteries.

Scientists target East Coast rocks for carbon storage

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Volcanic rocks deep under the population centers of New England, New Jersey, and New York might be ideal for storing carbon dioxide generated by next-generation coal-fired power plants. The type of rock, basalt, is important to the plan because it reacts with the CO2, turning into a solid mineral.

Solar showdown in Calif. tortoises' desert home

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Loggers and real estate developers aren’t the only ones to have crossed Mother Nature’s most challenged wildlife. Now BrightSource Energy, which plans to build a solar-energy complex in the Mojave Desert, has been foiled by environmental groups looking to save rare tortoises. It’s a case of good project, bad location.

Engineered glowing tadpoles detect pollution

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Some of the young amphibians in a Univ. of Wyoming lab have been engineered to light up in response to metals. Others fluoresce when exposed to pollution from plastic. Better still, the glowing tadpoles indicate whether pollution exists in a form that can be absorbed by an organism.

First volume of microbial encyclopedia published

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Joint Genome Institute collaborators have opened a new chapter in the database of life by published the initial volume of the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea. It represents the first major effort to build a balanced catalog of the diversity of genomes present on planet Earth.

Nanoscale changes in collagen advance bone health

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Using a technique that provides detailed images of nanoscale structures, researchers at the Univ. of Michigan and Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital have discovered changes in the collagen component of bone that directly relate to bone health.

Bioengineered materials promote the growth of functional vasculature

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Regenerative medicine therapies often require the growth of functional, stable blood vessels at the site of an injury. Using synthetic polymers called hydrogels, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have been able to induce significant vasculature growth in areas of damaged tissue.

Bioactive glass nanofibers produced

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

A team of researchers from the Univ. of Vigo, Rutgers Univ., and Imperial College London, has developed "laser spinning", a novel method of producing glass nanofibers with materials. They have been able to manufacture bioglass nanofibers, the bioactive glass used in regenerating bone, for the first time.

Isolating new antifreeze molecule in Alaska beetle

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Scientists have identified a novel antifreeze molecule in a freeze-tolerant Alaska beetle able to survive temperatures below minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Unlike all previously described biological antifreezes that contain protein, this new molecule, called xylomannan, has little or no protein. It is composed of a sugar and a fatty acid and may exist in new places within the cells of organisms.

Bacteria provide new insights into human decision making

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Scientists studying how bacteria under stress collectively weigh and initiate different survival strategies say they have gained new insights into how humans make strategic decisions that affect their health, wealth and the fate of others in society.

Airflow in subways may spread contaminants

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

As part of a Homeland Security study on the spread of airborne contaminants released in subway systems, Berkeley Lab researchers are measuring the flow of gas throughout tunnels and cars. Subways created significant airflow as they move through tunnels, which could raise risk in the event of a terrorist attack or spill.

Space tourism’s new carrier explained: VSS Enterprise

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Sir Richard Branson and aviation innovator Burt Rutan look at the business end of their hopes for the future of commercial space flight. At $200,000 a ticket, a flight aboard SpaceShipTwo will not be cheap, but little else can get you five minutes of weightlessness and view that very people have seen: the inky blackness of deep space.

Virgin Galactic to unveil commercial spaceship today

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

After five years of secret construction, SpaceShipTwo is scheduled to be shown in public for the first time today. The commercial passenger spacecraft, bankrolled by Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson and developed by famed aviation designer Burt Rutan, is based on the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne.

World’s smallest snowman

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The world’s smallest “snowman”, measuring about a fifth of the width of a human hair, has been created by scientists at the National Physical Laboratory in West London. It was built by David Cox, who also took the picture.

Discovery of a single-atom transistor

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

A lone phosphorus atom has been used by researchers in Finland and Australia to create a working transistor, based on sequential tunneling of single electrons between the phosphorus atom and the source and drain leads of the transistor. The creators were not thinking of traditional computing, however: this invention was to be a quantum bit for the heart of a quantum computer.

Lasers help make first boron-nitride nanotube yarn

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers have used lasers to create the first practical macroscopic yarns from boron nitride fibers, opening the door for an array of applications, from radiation-shielded spacecraft to stronger body armor. The researchers created a new technique to synthesize high-quality boron-nitride nanotubes (BNNTs).

Pulling the plug on hybrid myths

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Argonne National Lab vehicle systems engineer Forrest Jehlik and his colleagues are working to bring plug-in hybrid technologies to market quickly and cheaply. In the course of their work at the lab’s Center for Transportation Research, they have encountered six commonly-held myths about hybrids.

Scientists explain puzzling lake asymmetry on Titan

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) suggest that the eccentricity of Saturn's orbit around the sun may be responsible for the unusually uneven distribution of methane and ethane lakes over the northern and southern polar regions of the planet's largest moon, Titan.

Nanowires key to future transistors

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

A new generation of ultra-small transistors and more powerful computer chips using tiny structures called semiconducting nanowires are closer to reality after a key discovery by researchers at IBM, Purdue Univ. and the Univ. of California at Los Angeles.

World’s first offshore gravity-based LNG terminal

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

At the heart of this engineering solution, deployed about 17 km from the town of Rovigo, near Venice, Italy, is an enormous reinforced concrete box that rests on the sea floor and houses two LNG storage tanks. The artificial island now represents about 10% of Italy’s annual gas demand and is the first offshore deployment of GE’s dual-fuel low emissions gas turbine system.

Scientists watch as peptides control crystal growth

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By producing some of the highest resolution images of peptides attaching to mineral surfaces, scientists have a deeper understanding how biomolecules manipulate the growth crystals. This research may lead to a new treatment for kidney stones using biomolecules.

New hydrogen-storage method discovered

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Scientists at the Carnegie Institution have found for the first time that high pressure can be used to make a unique hydrogen-storage material. The discovery paves the way for an entirely new way to approach the hydrogen-storage problem.

In building CNT supercapacitors, more defects are better

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Most people would like to be able to charge their cell phones and other personal electronics quickly and not too often. A recent discovery made by UC San Diego engineers could lead to carbon nanotube-based supercapacitors that could do just this.

Protein motor springs to action

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The beamline at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source was built to do research like this: capture the mechanical motion of important enzymes as they engage in gene expression and replication. Their new video simulation was made from information they collected about the Rho transcription termination factor enzyme.

Genome of maize, most important U.S. crop, is finally published

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Spanning 2.3 billion DNA base-pairs and containing about 32,500 genes, the maize genome has one-third more information than the human genome. This sequencing task, accomplished by Cold Spring Harbor Lab and several universities, is a landmark because it not only captures the reference version of maize, but also the haplotype map.

Swarms of miniature robotic explorers to monitor the ocean

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Autonomous drifters being designed by Scripps Institution of Oceanography engineers may help fill in gaps of ocean knowledge. In particular, they hope these ocean probes can monitor and enforce marine protection areas, and discover how harmful algal blooms are caused.

Unraveling the evolution of highly toxic box jellyfish

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

With thousands of stinging cells that can emit deadly venom from tentacles that can reach ten feet in length, the 50 or so species of box jellyfish have long been of interest to scientists and to the public. Yet little has been known about the evolution of this early branch in the animal tree of life. An international team has unraveled the evolutionary relationships among the various species of box jellyfish, thereby providing insight into the evolution of their toxicity.

Fly paper to capture circulating cancer cells

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. These cells, known as circulating tumor cells, or CTCs, can provide critical information for examining and diagnosing cancer metastasis, determining patient prognosis, and monitoring the effectiveness of therapies.

Research spawns discoveries on how crops survive drought

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Breakthrough research done earlier this year by a plant cell biologist at the Univ. of California, Riverside has greatly accelerated scientists’ knowledge on how plants and crops can survive difficult environmental conditions such as drought. Working on abscisic acid (ABA), a stress hormone produced naturally by plants, the team showed how ABA helps plants survive by inhibiting their growth in times when water is unavailable—research that has important agricultural implications.

Scholars weigh in on debate over sprinter’s artificial limbs

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers at Southern Methodist Univ. and the Univ. of Wyoming say that Oscar Pistorius’ “Cheetahs”, the prosthetic limbs that allow the sprinter to compete professionally, shave at least 10 seconds off a 400-m race time, enhance running time by 15-30%. Not so, say researchers at the Univ. of Colorado’s Locomotion Laboratory, which studied multiple amputee runners and instead found a penalty through a combination of leg swing times and ground reaction forces.

Using magnets for leak-free microfluidic devices

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Like other users of microfluidic systems, an NIST researcher, Javier Atencia, was faced with an annoying engineering problem: how to simply, reliably and, most of all, tightly, connect his tiny devices to the external pumps and reservoirs delivering liquids into the system. While pondering this one day, he randomly picked up two magnets and began playing with them. As the magnets pulled apart and then snapped back together, he realized that he had his solution.

A humble bug and its “crown of thorns”

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The common water flea wears a defensive circle of thorns to protect itself against predators. This no doubt caught the judges’ eyes in naming this image the 2009 Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging Competition winner, but look closer and the stunning detail is revealed by tiny blue dots that mark nuclei within the cells.

Budging nanoscale objects with a small force

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

With a bit of leverage, Cornell researchers have used a very tiny beam of light with as little as 1 milliwatt of power to move a silicon structure up to 12 nm. That's enough to completely switch the optical properties of the structure from opaque to transparent, they reported.

Aluminum-lithium alloy soars with Ares

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The bow shock in this image formed during the Oct. 28, 2009, launch of the Ares 1-X test rocket. The shockwave partially envelopes the upper stage containing both the crew module and an expendable secondary booster. This portion of the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle is built using aluminum-lithium alloy 2099, an alloy which earned its maker, Alcoa, an R&D 100 Award in 2007.

Fighting climate change by turning CO2 to stone

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

After years of studies and theories, the first real test for mineral sequestration of carbon dioxide will take place next year with technical leadership from Idaho National Lab’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies. The theory seems sound—CO₂ injected deep into rock rich in metallic ions reacts with the minerals, forming carbonate—but nobody really knows if sequestration has any hope of counteracting rising atmospheric carbon or climate trends.

Mess-free way found to grow graphene

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Single layers of carbon atoms, called graphene sheets, are lightweight, strong, electrically semi-conducting—and notoriously difficult and expensive to make. Now, a Cornell research team has invented a simple way to make graphene electrical devices by growing the graphene directly onto a silicon wafer.

Immune cells guided with light and microparticles

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

A team led by Yale University scientists has developed a new approach to studying how immune cells chase down bacteria in our bodies. The team of scientists has developed a way to create artificial chemical trails that can be shaped in three dimensions over time. By controlling the chemical trails, the team was able to control the movements of neutrophils—immune cells in the blood—and study how they are able to respond to these signals.

Close-up movie shows hidden details in the birth of super-suns

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The constellation of Orion is a hotbed of massive star formation, most prominently in the Great Nebula that sits in Orion's sword. The glowing gas of the Nebula is powered by a group of young massive stars, but behind it is a cluster of younger stars and clumps of gas. Still gathering together under gravity's pull, these gas clumps will eventually ignite into stars.

Durable new blue pigment solves age-old quest

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

An accidental discovery in a laboratory at Oregon State Univ. has apparently solved a quest that over thousands of years has absorbed the energies of ancient Egyptians, the Han dynasty in China, Mayan cultures and more—the creation of a near-perfect blue pigment.

Tiny bubbles clean oil from water

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Small amounts of oil leave a fluorescent sheen on polluted water. Oil sheen is hard to remove, even when the water is aerated with ozone or filtered through sand. Now, a Univ. of Utah engineer has developed an inexpensive new method to remove oil sheen by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles that attack the oil so it can be removed by sand filters.

Taking the lead out of piezoelectrics

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

There is good news for the global effort to reduce the amount of lead in the environment and for the growing array of technologies that rely upon the piezoelectric effect. A lead-free alternative to the current crop of piezoelectric materials has been identified by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Univ. of California (UC), Berkeley.

Nissan LEAF and e-Focus take charge at Beyond Oil

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

More than 300 people converged on Microsoft’s Redmond campus near Seattle to hear from more than 50 experts about innovative transportation strategies. Much of the discussion, of which co-sponsor Idaho National Lab was a major part, centered around solutions for the transportation infrastructure that will need be built in order to support new electric vehicles.

Security could be improved with face recognition technology

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

A number of U.S. states now use facial recognition technology when issuing drivers licenses. Similar methods are also used to grant access to buildings and to verify the identities of international travelers. Historically, obtaining accurate results with this type of technology has been a time intensive activity. Now, a researcher from the Univ. of Miami College of Engineering and his collaborators have developed ways to make the technology more efficient while improving accuracy.

Nanocrystalline diamond probes overcome wear

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers at Northwestern Univ. have developed, characterized, and modeled a new kind of probe used in atomic force microscopy (AFM), which images, measures, and manipulates matter at the nanoscale. Using diamond, researchers made a much more durable probe than the commercially available silicon nitride probes, which are typically used in AFM to gather information from a material, but can wear down after several uses.

Sculptured materials allow multiple channel plasmonic sensors

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Sensors, communications devices and imaging equipment that use a prism and a special form of light, a surface plasmon-polariton, may incorporate multiple channels or redundant applications if manufacturers use sculptured thin films. Surface plasmon resonance devices currently have a wide range of applications. They are commercially used as sensors for humidity, temperature, chemical concentrations and chemical composition.

DNA origami nanoscale breadboards for carbon nanotube circuits

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

In work that someday may lead to the development of novel types of nanoscale electronic devices, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has combined DNA's talent for self-assembly with the remarkable electronic properties of carbon nanotubes, thereby suggesting a solution to the long-standing problem of organizing carbon nanotubes into nanoscale electronic circuits.

Synthetic molecules trigger immune response to HIV

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers at Yale Univ. have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body’s immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases. The molecules—called “antibody-recruiting molecule targeting HIV” (ARM-H) and “antibody-recruiting molecule targeting prostate cancer” (ARM-P)—work by binding simultaneously to an antibody already present in the bloodstream and to proteins on HIV, HIV-infected cells and cancer cells.

Nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Researchers at Purdue Univ. have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident. The synthetic "copolymer micelles" are drug-delivery spheres about 60 nm in diameter. The researchers have now shown that the micelles themselves repair damaged axons, fibers that transmit electrical impulses in the spinal cord.

Innovator of the Year: Dr. Hans van Leeuwen

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

It all began with a boy and his interest in microorganisms and fungi. Dr. Hans van Leeuwen, president of MycoInnovations and Professor of Environmental and Biological Engineering at Iowa State Univ., was infatuated with these small intricate organisms at a young age, brewing beer and wine, and making cheese and yogurt during his school years. He still eats his homemade yogurt every morning for breakfast. Soon this hobby turned into major innovations that can be used around the world, with the hopes of making the world a cleaner and healthier place.

Young Innovator of the Year: Dr. Kevin Sill

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Cancer is a deadly disease that effects millions of people around the world annually. For some patients if the disease doesn’t kill them, the constant injections of toxic chemotherapy drugs could cause severe side effects. However, this era of toxic chemo drugs running throughout cancer victim’s bodies can come to a halt thanks to Kevin Sill PhD, chief science officer at Intezyne Technologies, Inc. (Tampa, Flor.), and his development of the IVECT Method.

Scientist of the Year - Dr. Thomas C. Sparks

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

By some estimates, there are more than a million insect species in this world. Only a small percentage of this number is detrimental to the quality of our lives, but these are the species that drive research by scientists like Dr. Thomas C. Sparks, R&D Magazine’s 44th Scientist of the Year. The entomologist’s job is to know these insects, even down to the molecular level, to discover ways to keep them from destroying a very precious commodity: our food.