Robot with a Biological Brain: new research provides insights into how the brain works
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (130) |
17
(PhysOrg.com) -- A multidisciplinary team at the University of Reading has developed a robot which is controlled by a biological brain formed from cultured neurons. This cutting edge research is the first ...
NREL Solar Cell Sets World Efficiency Record at 40.8 Percent
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (105) |
23
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have set a world record in solar cell efficiency with a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8 percent of the light ...
Scientists to study synthetic telepathy
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (56) |
23
A team of UC Irvine scientists has been awarded a $4 million grant from the U.S. Army Research Office to study the neuroscientific and signal-processing foundations of synthetic telepathy.
New theory for latest high-temperature superconductors
Aug 13, 2008 |
3.9 / 5 (52) |
1
Physicists from Rice and Rutgers universities have published a new theory that explains some of the complex electronic and magnetic properties of iron "pnictides." In a series of startling discoveries this spring, pnictides ...
Oceans on the precipice: scientist warns of mass extinctions and 'rise of slime'
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (28) |
8
Human activities are cumulatively driving the health of the world's oceans down a rapid spiral, and only prompt and wholesale changes will slow or perhaps ultimately reverse the catastrophic problems they ...
Contraceptive pill influences partner choice
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (25) |
5
The contraceptive pill may disrupt women's natural ability to choose a partner genetically dissimilar to themselves, research at the University of Liverpool has found.
Turning Waste Material into Ethanol
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (22) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- Say the word “biofuels” and most people think of grain ethanol and biodiesel. But there’s another, older technology called gasification that’s getting a new look from researchers at the U.S. ...
MIT solves puzzle of meteorite-asteroid link: New analysis makes it possible to 'know our enemy'
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (20) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- For the last few years, astronomers have faced a puzzle: The vast majority of asteroids that come near the Earth are of a type that matches only a tiny fraction of the meteorites that most frequently hit ...
Measuring the 'Colbert Bump'
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (20) |
1
Democratic politicians receive a 40% increase in contributions in the 30 days after appearing on the comedy cable show The Colbert Report. In contrast, their Republican counterparts essentially gain nothing. These findings ...
Networks of the Future: Extending Our Senses into the Physical World
Technology / Computer Sciences
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.5 / 5 (19) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- The picture of a future with wireless sensor networks-webs of sensory devices that function without a central infrastructure--is quickly coming into sharper focus through the work of Los Alamos National Laboratory ...
Climate change may boost Middle East rainfall
Aug 13, 2008 |
3.3 / 5 (23) |
8
The prospect of climate change sparking food and water shortages in the Middle East is less likely than previously thought, with new research by an Australian climate scientist suggesting that rainfall will be significantly ...
Scientists overcome nanotech hurdle
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (18) |
7
When you make a new material on a nanoscale how can you see what you have made? A team lead by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research Council (BBSRC) fellow has made a significant step toward overcoming this major ...
Causes for Sexual Dysfunction Change as People Age: Earlier experiences with multiple partners and STDs take their toll
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (14) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sexual dysfunction is not an inevitable part of aging, but it is strongly related a number of factors, such as mental and physical health, demographics and lifetime experiences, many of which are interrelated, ...
Hollywood Hair is Captured at Last
Technology / Computer Sciences
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (14) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- UC San Diego computer scientists presented a new method this week for accurately capturing the shape and appearance of a person’s hairstyle for use in animated films and video games.
First reported video of cell's recognition of danger through its protein response
Biology /
Aug 13, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (10) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Cells are expected to respond defensively when an antigen lands on a cell membrane and prepares to cause mischief.
