Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Improved Electric Propulsion Could Boost Satellite Lifetimes
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have won a $6.5 million grant to develop improved components that will boost the efficiency of electric propulsion systems used to...
Electric cars take on hybrids at Tokyo show
Futuristic concept cars, plug-in hybrids, zero-emission electric vehicles and even a hydrogen-powered scooter jostled for the limelight as the Tokyo Motor Show kicked off on Wednesday.
Trapped light rattles its cage
Crystals that can confine both light and vibrations could create better biosensors.
Engineered Proteins Restore Light Sensitivity To Animals
Engineered, light-sensitive molecules introduced into a blind rodent's eye resulted in vision, according to results from an interdisciplinary collaboration between numerous labs. The results could lead to treatments for people...
Innovative line body panels for car assembly
At one of its installations in the Bizkaia Technology Park, TECNALIA Technology Corporation has inaugurated an innovative prototype for vehicle body panels, within the remit of the European PROFORM research...
The next Stephen Hawking: Green gets Cambridge post
Michael Green, one of the pioneers of string theory, takes prestigious role at University of Cambridge
Major advance in organic solar cells
Professor Guillermo Bazan and a team of postgraduate researchers at UC Santa Barbara's Centre for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS) today announced a major advance in the synthesis of organic...
Research for Organic Farming - Soya Thrives on Nitrogen From the Air
For the first time, the capacity of soya plants to absorb nitrogen from the air has been precisely determined in dry areas of Eastern Austria. The primary aim of this...
Hadron collider: A very lucky universe
So ripples from the future are stymying the particle collider? It's more likely to be a multiverse thing
Shifting The World To 100 Percent Clean, Renewable Energy As Early As 2030: Here Are The Numbers
Wind, water and solar energy resources are sufficiently available to provide all the world's energy. Converting to electricity and hydrogen powered by these sources would reduce world power demand by...
Report examines hidden costs of energy production and use
WASHINGTON -- A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes...
The book of life can now literally be written on paper
An insight from the labs of Harvard chemist George Whitesides and cell biologist Don Ingber is likely to make a fundamental shift in how biologists grow and study cells ...
Chemist Develops High-Speed Test to Improve Pathogen Decontamination
(PhysOrg.com) -- A chemist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has developed a technology intended to rapidly assess any presence of microbial life on spacecraft. This new method...
Ten Young Geniuses Shaking Up Science Today
Meet PopSci's annual Brilliant 10--a selection of the brightest young researchers in the country. They're helping to keep us healthy, prevent disasters, and make green energy cheaper than coal. Lucky for us, our...
Brighten up -- it's a new plastic optical fibre technology
(PhysOrg.com) -- It may look like little more than fishing line, but plastic optical fibre or POF promises to revolutionise high-speed last-mile communications networks. Its evolution is being aided by...
PSA nanotech detection system created
EVANSTON, Ill., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've used nanotechnology to develop a PSA detection method for prostate cancer that's 300 times more sensitive than current tests.
Carbon nanotubes may cheaply harvest sunlight
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new alternative energy technology relies on the element most associated with climate change: carbon.
All-in-one computerized scheduling will make airports greener, more efficient
A new computerised approach to airport operations is being developed that will reduce delays, speed up baggage handling and decrease pollution.
Wastepaper could be biofuel source
Wastepaper has been overlooked as a clean, cheap source of biofuel that could replace five per cent of petrol, say researchers.
Making monster waves
Rogue waves -- giant waves that spring up suddenly and tower over the seas around them -have inspired physicists to look for an analogue in light. These high-intensity pulses can...
Tomorrow's Technology Today: Robot Helicopters
Claire Tomlin is pushing the envelope of aerospace design, building a new class of autonomous helicopters. These aircraft don't need a "pilot" steering them remotely because they navigate themselves.
Nanoparticles brought to order
Using small molecules to evenly space nanoparticles in a polymer composite could bring nanoparticle properties to a larger scale
Running electronics using light
(PhysOrg.com) -- "If you open up almost any electronic gadget, you will see various elements that operating using electric circuitries," Nader Engheta tells PhysOrg.com. "Many of them have different functionalities,...
Safe Cracking A La Feynman
While as yet unproven, a promising theorem in particle physics states that physicists are people, too. (If you prick them—the theorem goes—they are likely to bleed, etc.) So far, the strongest support for...
Crystals hold key to "sugar cube" super computer
Tiny crystals could hold the key to creating new super computers with massive memories, scientists believe.
All That Glitters Is Now Gold
Incandescent bulbs are a poor choice for other reasons, however. They are notoriously hot and can alter the temperature and humidity in display cases, potentially damaging priceless museum pieces. Now...
Math Modeling Predicts Unknown Biological Mechanism Of Regulation
A team of scientists have demonstrated -- for the first time -- that mathematical models created from data obtained by DNA microarrays, can be used to correctly predict previously unknown...
Smallest Electronic Component: Researchers Create Molecular Diode
Researchers have found a way to make a key electronic component on a phenomenally tiny scale -- a single-molecule diode.