Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Potential new drugs: 970 million and still counting
Like astronomers counting stars in the familiar universe of outer space, chemists in Switzerland are reporting the latest results of a survey of chemical space - the so-called chemical universe...
Molecule-size capsules can deliver drugs by sticking to targeted cells
It is now possible to engineer tiny containers the size of a virus to deliver drugs and other materials with almost 100 percent efficiency to targeted cells in the bloodstream...
Cells use import machinery to export their goods as well
In the bustling economy of the cell, little bubbles called vesicles serve as container ships, ferrying cargo to and from the port - the cell membrane. Some of these vesicles,...
Structural biology scores with protein snapshot
In a landmark technical achievement, investigators in the Vanderbilt Centre for Structural Biology have used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods to determine the structure of the largest membrane-spanning protein to...
Novel handheld device detects anthrax with outstanding accuracy and reliability
Veritide Ltd., a developer of innovative biological identification and detection solutions, today reported that new independent data to be presented at the Biodetection Technologies 2009 conference confirm the exceptional accuracy...
Feds invest in smart grid technologies
WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the Department of Energy is soliciting applications for $3.9 billion in grants to modernize the U.S. electric grid.
Fitting squares into circles
Particle filters are standard in the basic fittings for cars. Construction machines, city buses and garbage trucks must now follow suit. This can be achieved effectively and inexpensively thanks to...
HIPS fireproof coatings can really take the heat
(PhysOrg.com) -- Tough new fire-resistant coating materials called HIPS (‘hybrid inorganic polymer system`) are being developed by CSIRO researchers in Melbourne.
Record-Setting Electric Airplane Flight
The electric SkySpark airplane hit 155 mph (250 km/h) on June 10, 2009 in an 8-minute flight, a speed record speed for a 100-percent electrically powered aircraft, according to SkySpark.
Who moved my 'Delete' key? Lenovo did. Here's why.
Lenovo put nearly a year of research into two design changes that debuted on an updated ThinkPad laptop this week. No, not the thinner, lighter form or the textured touchpad...
SRNL to study applicability of solar cell coatings
A project under way at the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River National Laboratory will study how special coatings that mimic structures found in nature can increase the usefulness of...
Getting the most out of gemstones
Emeralds, rubies and the like are referred to as colored gemstones by experts. They sparkle and shine with varying intensity, depending on the cut. A new machine can achieve the...
New Nanoparticles Could Revolutionize Therapeutic Drug Discovery
A revolutionary new protein stabilization technique has been developed which could lead to 30 per cent more proteins being available as potential targets for drug development - opening up exciting...
Effective solar cells and sensitive bioanalysis
A new simulation program optimises the structure and configuration of the metallic contact fingers in concentrator solar cells, thereby improving the efficiency factor, and a highly-sensitive method of producing cDNA...
Exotic Life Could Sprout From Titan Chemistry
A new study has found that hydrocarbon lakes on Titan could be good hosts for a certain type of chemistry that could lead to life.
Physicists spy on flowing sand-forming droplets
High speed photography sheds light on ‘clustering’ in sand streams
Students Create Portable Device to Detect Suicide Bombers
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the weapons of suicide bombers, are a major cause of soldier casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. A group of University of Michigan engineering undergraduate students have...
Plant making gas from wood opens in Austria
A new plant that produces gas from wood was opened in Austria on Wednesday, paving the way towards new possibilities in renewable energy.
Toronto calls heat alert
Toronto has declared its first extreme heat alert of the summer - while city services are virtually shut down by a civic workers strike.
Kites flying in high-altitude winds could provide clean electricity
(PhysOrg.com) -- At any moment, the winds in high-altitude jet streams hold roughly 100 times more energy than all the electricity being consumed on Earth, according to a study by...
Fujitsu Develops World's First Gallium-Nitride HEMT for Power Supply
Fujitsu Laboratories today announced the development of a new structure for gallium-nitride high electron-mobility transistors (GaN)(HEMT) that can minimize power loss in power supplies, thus enabling reduced power consumption of...
Review: DJ gadget feature-filled, but not easy
(AP) -- I've always secretly wanted to learn to DJ, so I was excited to develop my skills on the awkwardly named Pacemaker portable DJ system. After spending some...
Stream Of Sand Behaves Like Water
Researchers recently showed that dry granular materials such as sands, seeds and grains have properties similar to liquid, forming water-like droplets when poured from a given source. The finding could...
A new approach to engineering for extreme environments (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Composite materials such as fiberglass, which take on a mix of properties of their constituent compounds, have been around for decades. Now, an MIT materials scientist is taking...
Glass beads cluster as they flow
High-speed camera catches liquidlike behavior in a stream of granular material
Report: New Radiation Detectors Inadequate
Government Advised Not To Buy Machines Meant To Detect Hidden Nuclear Materials At Ports
Study on keeping nuclear bombs from US ports shows misplaced fear over cargo scanning cost
A two-tiered scanning-protocol for inspecting all containers at international ports could be the most affordable approach to ensuring containers moving through the global transportation system are not carrying nuclear bombs,...
Could Maxwell's Demon Exist in Nanoscale Systems?
(PhysOrg.com) -- Maxwell`s demon may be making a comeback. Physicists know that the demon, an imaginary creature that decreases the entropy of a system, cannot exist in macroscopic systems due...