Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Pressure-cooking turns algae into biofuel
ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 23 (UPI) -- Treating algae with heat and pressure quickly produces a crude oil that could be used in engines, scientists at the University of...
A little less force: Making atomic force microscopy work for cells
Scientists have developed a nanowire-based imaging technique by which atomic force microscopy could be used to study biological cells and other soft materials in their natural, liquid environment without tearing...
Solar cell film creation advance reported
CORVALLIS, Ore., April 22 (UPI) -- U.S. and South Korean scientists say they've made a breakthrough in the use of continuous flow microreactors to produce thin film absorbers for...
Faster 'smart sensor' is developed
RALEIGH, N.C., April 22 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've created a "smart sensor" that can provide faster response times for military and security applications.
New Biofuel Technique Could Have Huge Impact on Chemical Industry
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new method of converting biomass feedstock into sustainable fuel developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and University of Minnesota has the potential to have...
No Silver Lining in Restaurant Sushi’s Mercury Levels
High-priced tuna contains more of the metal than lower-priced supermarket fare
Study shows micro-rna's can move
DURHAM, N.C., April 21 (UPI) -- U.S. and Swedish scientists say they've discovered tiny bits of genetic material known as microRNAs can move from one cell to another.
Protein in Cow Brains Holds Promise for Alternative Energy
Could build better batteries, solar cells When we think of farming energy, we generally think of feedstocks like corn that can be processed into ethanol, or perhaps other plant life we can...
NXP Shows World's Smallest 32-bit ARM Microcontroller
NXP Semiconductors today announced sampling of the world's smallest general-market 32-bit microcontroller, the LPC1102, based on the Cortex-M0 processor. Unleashing unprecedented computing power in 5mm2 of PCB area, this device...
Graphene: Can the Newest Form of Carbon Be Made to Bend, Twist and Roll
(PhysOrg.com) -- Can graphene -- a newly discovered form of pure carbon that may one day replace the silicon in computers, televisions, mobile phones and other common electronic devices --...
Sharing the load: Individual fibrin fibres distribute strain across a network
A new study shows that when it comes to networks of protein fibres, individual fibres play a substantial role in effectively strengthening an entire network of fibres. The research, published...
New material for more ecological, efficient and economic refrigeration systems
Researchers in Spain and Germany have developed a new solid material that produces a caloric effect under hydrostatic pressure (solid-state barocaloric effect). The work was carried out using a high-pressure...
Laser adds extra dimension to lab-on-chip
A European research project has shown how to build optical sensors directly into the structure of labs-on-chips. The breakthrough paves the way for on-the-spot medical diagnostics.
Long polymer chains dance the conga: new model of motion of molecules that give cells structure
Researchers have demonstrated a new model for the motion of actin filaments, the molecules that give a cell its structure. Researchers have long assumed that actin filaments could move anywhere...
Fast Transistors Could Save Energy
(PhysOrg.com) -- Transistors, the cornerstone of electronics, are lossy and therefore consume energy. Swiss esearchers from the ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne have developed transistors targeting high switching speeds and...
New study for cleaner aviation fuel
(PhysOrg.com) -- CSIRO together with Australasia's major aviation players is leading a world-first study to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from air transport by helping to develop a sustainable aviation...
Cement-like creation could help the environment
(PhysOrg.com) -- Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Naji Khoury has created a permeable cement-like material that offers a host of environmental advantages over traditional paving.
Airport Security Neutralized By Water Bottles
In a study study likely to increase travelers' trust in the TSA, Duke university researchers say identifying a prohibited item such as a water bottle may keep airport security from...
EStar Award recognizes innovative supercomputer cooling
An innovative, energy-saving approach to cooling Argonne's Blue Gene/P supercomputer was recognized with an Environmental Sustainability (EStar) award from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science.
3D 'holographic' display seems to have ripped off patented technology (w/ Video)
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this past January, one of the more intriguing technologies was a 3D hologram-like display developed by Taiwan-based Innovision Labs. Called HoloAD, the glasses-free display...
Improbable research: Blowing the feathers off a chicken
An experiment into the air speed required to blow all the feathers off a chickenIn a 1975 monograph called Chicken Plucking as Measure of Tornado Wind Speed, Bernard Vonnegut considers what might...
Pollen Folds Like Origami
For those of us with allergies, springtime pollen is an invisible nuisance. But under the high-powered microscopes of Eleni Katifori, a biophysicist at Rockefeller University in New York, the grains...
Nanotechnology makes a strong boron-cotton fabric that feels like T-shirt material
Cotton reinforced with boron carbide is tough and hard but nonetheless elastic. These properties indicate future promise, but this material is not yet bulletproof.
Robert Pound, Physicist Whose Work Advanced Medicine, Is Dead at 90
Professor Pound was a Harvard physicist and tinkerer who built devices that helped him probe the workings of the atom.
Physicists find a particle accelerator in the sky
Radio waves suggest lightning 'sprites' create powerful electron beams
More Proof of Outer Membrane Cytochrome Role in Electron Transfer
(PhysOrg.com) -- Another step toward improving understanding of electron exchange between microbes and minerals has been documented in the January 2010 issue of Geobiology. Bacteria such as the metal-reducing Shewanella...
Solar energy: Enormous Ontario potential
KINGSTON, Ontario, April 19 (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say solar power production in southeastern Ontario can potentially produce nearly the same amount of power of all U.S. nuclear reactors.
A Conversation With Sean Carroll (the Physicist): Sean Carroll Talks School Science and Time Travel
Dr. Carroll, a cosmologist and theoretical physicist, is an expert on time and the early moments of the universe.