Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Life secret exposed: Scientists unlock mystery of molecular machine
A major mystery about the origins of life has been resolved. According to a study published in the journal Nature, two Université de Montréal scientists have proposed a new theory...
Gravitational Lensing: Astronomers Harness Einstein’s Telescope
Scientists are harnessing the cosmos as a scientific "instrument" in their quest to determine the makeup of the universe. Long ago Einstein recognized the potential existence of gravitational lensing, a...
Safer nanoparticles spotlight tumours, deliver drugs
Small is promising when it comes to illuminating tiny tumours or precisely delivering drugs, but many worry about the safety of nano-scale materials. Now a team of scientists has created...
Scientists make advances on "nano" electronics
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Two U.S. teams have developed new materials that may pave the way for ever smaller, faster and more powerful electronics as current semiconductor technology begins to reach...
Forget the freezer: Research suggests novel way to control water behavior
Researchers may be able to "freeze" water into a solid, not by cooling but by confining it to narrow spaces less than one-millionth of a millimeter wide, according to new...
iPoint 3-D - using fingers as a remote control
'The heart of iPoint 3D is a recognition device, not much larger than a keyboard, that can be suspended from the ceiling above the user or integrated in a coffee...
Tokyo Electric to build solar plant in California: report
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will build a solar power plant in the US state of California through its subsidiary Eurus Energy Holdings Corp., according to a report.
New Silver-based Ink Has Applications In Electronics
A new ink, composed of silver nanoparticles, can be used in electronic and optoelectronic applications to create flexible, stretchable and spanning microelectrodes that carry signals from one circuit element to...
'Green' Plastics Could Help Reduce Carbon Footprint
More than 20 million tons of plastic are placed in US landfills each year. Results from a new study suggest that some of the largely petroleum-based plastic may soon be...
How Green Is My Plug-In?
An electric car (or plug-in hybrid in electric mode) creates carbon-dioxide emissions, too; how much depends on the grid used to recharge it.
China's Chery Auto unveils electric car: company
China's largest independent carmaker Chery Automobile rolled off its first plug-in electric car this week, the latest Chinese automotive company to produce an alternative energy vehicle.
Adaptive Lights Can Monitor What Room Occupants Are Doing And Set Lighting Accordingly
Artificial light affects us in subtle ways. At its best, ambient lighting can relax, soothe or excite, but used poorly it can drain us of energy and disrupt sleep. What...
For the First Time, Scientists Measure the Size of a One-Neutron Halo with Lasers
Atomic nuclei are normally compact structures defined by a sharp border. About twenty-five years ago, it was discovered at the University of California in Berkeley that there are exceptions to...
Paradigm Shift In MRI Detection Results In Broad Images, Crystal Clear
Unconventional thinking led a PhD student to make a discovery that could revolutionize MRI. He succeeded in exciting and imaging nuclear magnetic resonance in the human body by propagating electromagnetic...
Architecture Effort Promotes Sustainable Design Through Green Building Components
Research and development. Industry partnerships. Recycled shipping containers. The University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture is primed to sharpen and green the cutting edge...
Scientists See Smallest-Ever Square Nanotube
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have observed the smallest reported nanotube that has a square cross-section. The structure formed spontaneously and unexpectedly when silver nanowires were stretched and is a reminder that...
Selective catalyst cracks direct peroxide production
Acid-treated catalyst converts hydrogen and oxygen directly into hydrogen peroxide
Instant insight: Size matters
Andrew Houlton and colleagues at Newcastle University explain how DNA can direct electronic materials to grow on the nanoscale
How Fat or Fit Were Dinosaurs? Scientists Use Laser Imaging
Scientists used laser imaging to investigate how fat -- or fit -- T. rex and his fellow dinosaurs were. Researchers found that a small T. rex could have weighed anywhere...
New Shock Absorber Turns Pothole Power Into Electricity
Coming (maybe) to a hybrid near you: new technology that could help run a vehicle off the energy generated by bumps in the road.
Unusual Electronic Properties In Bismuth-based Crystalline Material May Lead To Better Computer Chips And Solar Cells
Physicists have discovered unusual electronic properties in a material that has potential to improve solar cell efficiency and computer chip design. The material has potential to improve solar cell efficiency...
Making the smallest, most perfect polymer films
Like many creative but essentially conservative scientists, Tom Russell of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in more than 30 years of polymer science research, would rarely use the term 'truly...
Report shows a decade of reductions in the cost of installed solar photovoltaic systems
A new study on the installed costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the U.S. shows that the average cost of these systems declined significantly from 1998 to 2007,...
Pitt researchers create atomic-sized one-stop shop for nanoelectronics
University of Pittsburgh researchers have created a nanoscale one-stop shop, a single platform for creating electronics at a nearly single-atom scale that could yield advanced forms of such technologically important...
New method of self-assembling nanoscale elements could transform data storage industry
An innovative and easily implemented technique in which nanoscale elements precisely assemble themselves over large surfaces could soon open doors to dramatic improvements in the data storage capacity of electronic...
Two-step Chemical Process Turns Raw Biomass Into Biofuel
Taking a chemical approach, researchers have developed a two-step method to convert the cellulose in raw biomass into a promising biofuel. The process is unprecedented in its use of untreated,...
Powering the future -- solar cells by the meter
(PhysOrg.com) -- Trials commencing today promise a new era of solar cells that are printed like money.
Elmer Gaden Garners Top Engineering Prize
Chemical engineer made possible the large-scale manufacture of antibiotics