Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Heads-up Study Of Hair Dynamics May Lead To Better Hair-care Products
From frizzy perms to over-bleached waves, "bad hair days" could soon become a less frequent occurrence. Chemists report the first detailed microscopic analysis of what happens to individual hair fibers...
Science closer to organic spin transistor
SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. physicists say they've moved closer to making an organic "spin transistor" by controlling electrical current using the "spin" within electrons.
Physicists Transmit Light through Opaque Materials
No matter how thick an opaque "scattering material" is, physicists have shown how to weave light through tiny open channels in the material, so that the light passes through on...
Chemists Make Beds With Soft Landings: Researchers Create Stable, Highly Pure Helical Peptide Arrays
Bedsprings aren't often found in biology. Now, chemists have secured a layer of tiny protein coils onto a thin surface, much like miniature bedsprings in a frame. This thin film...
Improved Technique Determines Structure In Membrane Proteins
By combining custom-built spectrometers, novel probe designs and faster pulse sequences, scientists have developed unique capabilities for probing protein chemistry and structure through the use of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance...
Safer Alternative To Heparin Created
Robert Linhardt has spent years stitching together minuscule carbohydrates to build a more pure and safer alternative to the commonly used and controversial blood thinner heparin. Now he has announced...
Using Sunlight To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen By Replicating Key Process In Photosynthesis
Chemists have used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and...
Plug-In Hybrid From G.M. Is Nearly Ready for Testing
General Motors said that it had “essentially finished” designing its first plug-in hybrid car and would have production-ready prototypes within 10 days.
Two Large Solar Plants Planned in California
Two California companies plan to build solar power plants 10 times larger than the largest now in service, creating the first utility-scale use of technology mostly confined to rooftops.
Caltech engineers build mini drug-producing biofactories in yeast
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed a novel way to churn out large quantities of drugs, including antiplaque toothpaste additives, antibiotics, nicotine, and even morphine, using mini...
Cool Back-To-School Gadgets
CNET-TV's Natali Del Conti showcased several, from an electronic "crammer" to a portable printer and a kids' laptop, on The Early Show.
Ames lab physicist develops 'electrifying' theory
John R. Clem, a physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, has developed a theory that will help build future superconducting alternating-current fault-current limiters for electricity transmission and...
Film Review: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
The Star Wars universe rides again in the new animated film 'The Clone Wars.'
The Large Hadron Collider: 'Seeing nothing is not an option'
Sept. 10 is a date particle physicists around the world have undoubtedly circled on their calendars: the official start-up of the Large Hadron Collider.
Airlines push for homegrown jet fuel
(AP) -- With the price of oil still above $100 a barrel, everything from wood chips to chicken fat is being scrutinized as an alternative to traditional fuel. But...
True Properties Of Carbon Nanotubes Measured
Carbon nanotubes' atomic structure should, in theory, give them mechanical and electrical properties far superior to most common materials. Unfortunately, theory and experiments have failed to converge on the true...
Dual-Mode Nanoparticles Image Tumors Using MRI and PET
Medical imaging represents one of the most used and useful procedures in the oncologist`s diagnostic toolkit, even though each of the most useful techniques—magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography x-ray...
Energy from model enzymes
Mimicking enzymes with inorganic complexes could offer a new route to catalysing hydrogen fuel cells, claim Japanese scientists.
Furfural fuels straight from cellulose
Cheap chemical conversion boosts promise of alternative plant waste biofuels
Chile shows a great potential for renewable energies
According to a study, the non conventional renewable energies could supply up to 40% of the energy demand in Chile by 2025.
Algae: Biofuel of the Future?
Algae are tiny biological factories that use photosynthesis to transform carbon dioxide and sunlight into energy so efficiently that they can double their weight several times a day, producing oil...
More women choosing careers in forensic science
(AP) -- Kelly Johnson snips pieces from a blood-stained, blue-striped shirt, then swabs the neck and armpits for sweat. Down the hall, Samantha Glass watches as a chemical reaction...
New Nanomaterial Makes Plastic Stiffer, Lighter And Stronger
Scientists have developed a nanomaterial that makes plastic stiffer, lighter and stronger and could result in more fuel-efficient airplanes and cars as well as more durable medical and sports equipment.
Chemists Take Gold, Mass-produce Beijing Olympic Logo
Nanoscientists have mass-produced the 2008 Summer Olympics logo -- 15,000 times. All the logos take up one square centimeter of space. The researchers printed the logos as well as an...
Self-assembling Polymer Arrays Improve Data Storage Potential
A new manufacturing approach holds the potential to overcome the technological limitations currently facing the microelectronics and data-storage industries, paving the way to smaller electronic devices and higher-capacity hard drives.
U.S. helps fund hydrogen storage projects
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Energy says it has selected 10 cost-shared hydrogen storage research projects that will receive up to $15.3 million.
Nothing stops an expert in the art of living
There are few things more irritating than a fly buzzing around the house. South African's have an unconventional solution to the problem. They hang up a bunch of Roridula gorgonias...
Amplifying Small Molecules
Supramolecular complex generates target compounds in PCR-like cascade reaction.