Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
No breakthrough at climate talks
The latest round of UN climate talks in China ends without a major breakthrough, marred by bickering between Beijing and Washington.
Common Webcams Could Be Used to Continuously Monitor Your Vital Signs
Mirror Mirror on the Wall A new technology coming out of the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program uses low-res cameras like those used in Web cams to measure vital signs, opening the...
Laptops can toast skin, researchers warn
Working with a laptop on your lap could lead to "toasted skin syndrome," say Swiss researchers who recommend placing a heat shield under such computers.
Simple beauties of math: Harvard professor views nature itself through geometry's clear lens
Shing-Tung Yau sees a beautiful universe around him, crafted by nature into the shapes and forms we see every day. Mathematics describes those shapes and forms, the discipline of geometry...
Scientists: Keep calm, carry on, but don't keep quiet
I have been dealing with cuts in science since 2007. It can be draining and depressing, but I have learned at least two important lessonsThe HERA collider started up for the first...
Fungal spores travel farther by surfing their own wind
Many fungi, including the destructive Sclerotinia, spew thousands of spores at once to give the spores an extra boost into their host plants. Researchers now show how this works. The...
Surprising silk: Proteins become more concentrated when diluted
New neutron research has revealed that the proteins making up silkworm silk have unexpected properties: effectively the proteins become more concentrated as they are diluted. Scientists found that the silk...
Physicists control chemical reactions mechanically
Physicists have taken a significant step in controlling chemical reactions mechanically, an important advance in nanotechnology.
Harvard Corporation looks ahead
It is a time of change for the Harvard Corporation. In recent months, the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere, formally known as the President and Fellows of Harvard College, has welcomed a...
Funding for the future
Five young and six established Harvard faculty members have received grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under two programs designed to stimulate innovative and transformative research whose potentially high reward comes...
Graphene may hold key to speeding up DNA sequencing
Researchers from Harvard University and MIT have demonstrated that graphene, a surprisingly robust planar sheet of carbon just one-atom thick, can act as an artificial membrane separating two liquid reservoirs. Their findings were...
From ‘Avatar’ Playbook, Athletes Use 3-D Imaging
To gain an edge, teams are using sensors, biomechanics, orthopedics and the technology of Hollywood films.
Why Physicists Are Smug
Over at Cosmic Variance Sean Carroll is fighting an interesting battle. In a series of recent blogs that started under the title "The Laws Underlying The Physics of Everyday Life...
Measuring productivity helps radiology department improve efficiency
Researchers working in a radiology department at a mid-sized hospital were able to increase productivity and improve efficiency by developing a simple method for measuring general technologist productivity, according to...
PC BIOS soon to be replaced by UEFI
(PhysOrg.com) -- The 25 year old PC BIOS will soon be replaced by UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface) that will enable PC's to boot up in a matter of seconds....
A little help for the Warrior
The Warrior II pose can be very challenging to hold for long. Done correctly, your knee should bend to a 90-degree angle, with your shoulders back and your chest broad...
Fox cuts Dish feed for FX, sports channels
A dispute over fees could lead to frustration for sports and wildlife fans. Each side accuses the other of being greedy.Tens of thousands of baseball and college football fans could...
Scrunched-up dimensions untangled
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: British physicist Stephen Hawking may claim that extra dimensions provide the key to understanding the "grand design," but Shing-Tung Yau is the guy who actually...
What to do with a degree in mechanical engineering
From aerospace to petroleum, many sectors welcome mechanical engineering granduates with open armsA degree in mechanical engineering can take you a long way – a fact to which the likes of film-maker Alfred...
Plutonium, Plasmonics, Nanomaterials, and Future Devices: Highlights of AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition
This month in Albuquerque, New Mexico, scientists and engineers from around the world will convene to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in nanotechnology, alternative energy, materials research, and medicine...
Unnh! Grunting Gives Tennis Players an Edge
Grunts may slow down opponents
A Turn-On for Catalysts
Method to control catalytic reactions could lead to better explosive detection and medical diagnostics
Review of Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception
Proofiness: The Dark Arts of Mathematical Deception by Charles Seife (Viking, 2010, $25.95, 304 pages) Reviewed by Dr. Fred Bortz Discover the Science Shelf Book Review Archive This review is...
How Important Is To Know The Value Of The Top Quark Mass ?
I will be attending next week to a conference in Split (Croatia). The conference is titled "LHC Days", and has the purpose of bringing together experimental physicists working at the...
Replacing Oil Addiction With Metals Dependence?
China’s pivotal role as world supplier of rare-earth metals raises alarm that the new energy economy will mean the same old foreign dependence. ...
Scientists isolate, hold, photograph individual Rubidium 85 atom
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a major physics breakthrough, University of Otago scientists have developed a technique to consistently isolate and capture a fast-moving neutral atom - and have also seen and...
Air Force Must Leverage Space Capabilities, General Says
The outgoing head of Space Command urges the Air Force to make better use of existing space capabilities.
Taliban pulled from Medal of Honor game
Electronic Arts has given in to protests and pulled the ability to play as Taliban fighters from its upcoming Medal of Honor war video game.