http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A chill wind chases you into the door of your local newsagent. Rain is drumming down outside. As you pay for your newspaper, you briefly notice a number of strange items on the checkout counter - a matchbox car, plastic toy animals and some trinkets that seem out of place in this shop. http://www.physorg.com/news177020337.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:10:01 EST news177020337 (AP) -- Four years after its first solar sail ended up in the ocean instead of orbit, The Planetary Society announced Monday that by the end of 2010 it will try again to launch a spacecraft that will be propelled by the subtle pressure of sunlight. http://www.physorg.com/news177020675.html Space & Earth Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:00:01 EST news177020675 (PhysOrg.com) -- A researcher at Iowa State University has discovered how a group of proteins from plant pathogenic bacteria interact with DNA in the plant cell, opening up the possibility for what the scientist calls a "cascade of advances." http://www.physorg.com/news177018700.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:30:03 EST news177018700 (AP) -- European antitrust regulators have formally objected to Sun Microsystems Inc.'s planned $7.4 billion sale to Oracle Corp., escalating a battle over a deal that has already been cleared in the U.S. http://www.physorg.com/news177020567.html Technology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:23:33 EST news177020567 (PhysOrg.com) -- UConn researchers have developed a tiny wireless device that can be inserted under a patient?s skin to monitor blood glucose levels over a period of several months. http://www.physorg.com/news177018067.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:20:05 EST news177018067 In research that sheds light on the perils of yo-yo dieting and repeated bouts of sugar-bingeing, researchers from The Scripps Research Institute have shown in animal models that cycling between periods of eating sweet and regular-tasting food can activate the brain's stress system and generate overeating, anxiety, and withdrawal-like symptoms. http://www.physorg.com/news177008257.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:36:41 EST news177008257 A recently devised method of imaging the chemical communication and warfare between microorganisms could lead to new antibiotics, antifungal, antiviral and anti-cancer drugs, said a Texas AgriLife Research scientist. http://www.physorg.com/news177017648.html Chemistry Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:34:54 EST news177017648 (AP) -- British scientists begin a new study on Tuesday to consider how human DNA is used in animal experiments and to determine what the boundaries of such controversial science might be. http://www.physorg.com/news177017080.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:25:19 EST news177017080 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a recently published paper, Aram Harrow at the University of Bristol and colleagues from MIT in the United States have discovered a quantum algorithm that solves large problems much faster than conventional computers can. http://www.physorg.com/news177011105.html Physics Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:20:02 EST news177011105 After one year, a low-calorie, low-fat diet appears more beneficial to dieters' mood than a low-carbohydrate plan with the same number of calories, according to a report in the November 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news177010219.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:00:04 EST news177010219 Although the chances of surviving advanced melanoma aren't very good with current therapies, some patients can live for years with cancer that has spread beyond the skin to other organs. Now it may be possible to identify which patients are more likely to survive by analyzing the activity of hundreds of genes involved in the immune response and gene proliferation, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center. http://www.physorg.com/news177008484.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:50:05 EST news177008484 (PhysOrg.com) -- Becoming "hard of hearing" is a standard but unfortunate part of aging: A syndrome called age-related hearing loss affects about 40 percent of people over 65 in the United States, and will afflict an estimated 28 million Americans by 2030. http://www.physorg.com/news177007147.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:30:11 EST news177007147 In an advance that could one day enable surgeons to reconstruct and restore function to damaged or diseased penile tissue in humans, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine have used tissue engineering techniques to completely replace penile erectile tissue in animals. http://www.physorg.com/news177007876.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:30:07 EST news177007876 The catalytic processes that facilitate the production of many chemicals and fuels could become much more environmentally friendly thanks to a breakthrough achieved by researchers from Lehigh and Rice Universities. http://www.physorg.com/news177006900.html Nanotechnology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:20:09 EST news177006900 Over the last 20 years, the sequencing of the human genome, along with related organisms, has represented one of the largest scientific endeavors in the history of mankind. The information collected from genome sequencing will provide the raw data for the field of bioinformatics, where computer science and biology meet. http://www.physorg.com/news177009481.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:18:51 EST news177009481 They may only be 1.5mm in size, but the tiny wasps that pollinate fig trees can travel over 160km in less than 48 hours, according to research from scientists at the University of Leeds. The fig wasps are transporting pollen ten times further than previously recorded for any insect. http://www.physorg.com/news177006844.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:37:06 EST news177006844 Your ability to make sense of Groucho's words and Harpo's pantomimes in an old Marx Brothers movie takes place in the same regions of your brain, says new research funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), one of the National Institutes of Health. http://www.physorg.com/news177005429.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:31:15 EST news177005429 The long-held theory that our brains use different mechanisms for forming long-term and short-term memories has been challenged by new research from UCL, published today in PNAS. http://www.physorg.com/news177005525.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:21:37 EST news177005525 Researchers have transplanted genetically modified hematopoietic stem cells into mice so that their developing red blood cells produce a critical lysosomal enzyme -preventing or reducing organ and central nervous system damage from the often-fatal genetic disorder Hurler's syndrome. http://www.physorg.com/news177004585.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:36 EST news177004585 (PhysOrg.com) -- The explosive growth of video on the internet calls for new ways of sorting and searching audiovisual content. A team of European researchers has developed a groundbreaking solution that is finding commercial applications. http://www.physorg.com/news177001844.html Technology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:11:44 EST news177001844 A pioneer in solar power in the 1990s before it became "sexy," University of Houston Professor Alex Freundlich recently entered into a collaborative research agreement with U.K.-based start-up QuantaSol for the development of the next generation of super efficient solar cells. http://www.physorg.com/news176999193.html Technology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:40:02 EST news176999193 Using a wet ethanol production method that begins by soaking corn kernels rather than grinding them, results in more gallons of ethanol and more usable co-products, giving ethanol producers a bigger bang for their buck - by about 20 percent. http://www.physorg.com/news176996815.html Chemistry Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:47:29 EST news176996815 (AP) -- Google Inc. is buying mobile advertising network AdMob for $750 million, underscoring the Internet search leader's determination to ensure its marketing machine reaches the growing number of people surfing the Web on phones. http://www.physorg.com/news176995839.html Technology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:31:19 EST news176995839 Johns Hopkins materials scientists have found a new use for a chemical compound that has traditionally been viewed as an electrical conductor, a substance that allows electricity to flow through it. By orienting the compound in a different way, the researchers have turned it into a thin film insulator, which instead blocks the flow of electricity, but can induce large electric currents elsewhere. The material, called solution-deposited beta-alumina, could have important applications in transistor technology and in devices such as electronic books. http://www.physorg.com/news176994899.html Nanotechnology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:19:47 EST news176994899 In an international first, scientists from the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI, Austria) produced a Bose-Einstein condensate of the alkaline-earth element strontium, thus narrowly winning an international competition between many first-rate scientific groups. Choosing the isotope 84Sr, which has received little attention so far, proved to be the right choice for the breakthrough. It can now be regarded as an ideal candidate for future experiments with atomic two-electron systems. http://www.physorg.com/news176994672.html Physics Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:11:51 EST news176994672 Much as adrenaline coursing through our veins drives our body's reactions to stress, the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is behind plants' responses to stressful situations such as drought, but how it does so has been a mystery for years. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) in Valencia, Spain discovered that the key lies in the structure of a protein called PYR1 and how it interacts with the hormone. Their study, published online today in Nature, could open up new approaches to increasing crops' resistance to water shortage. http://www.physorg.com/news176993365.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:02 EST news176993365 Oncologists have had their hands tied because more than half of all human cancers have mutations that disable a protein called p53. As a critical anti-cancer watchdog, p53 masterminds several cancer-fighting operations within cells. When cells lose p53, tumors grow aggressively and often cannot be treated. http://www.physorg.com/news176992628.html Biology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:37:44 EST news176992628 (PhysOrg.com) -- Of the 1.5 billion people in developing countries who do not have electricity, many rely on kerosene lamps for light after the sun goes down. But now, researchers from Denmark have designed an LED lamp that runs on solar cells, which costs less than one-quarter of the annual cost of using kerosene lighting. The solar-LED lamps are expected to last at least a year, making them an affordable alternative to kerosene. http://www.physorg.com/news176991580.html Technology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:20:34 EST news176991580 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have found that acidic ozone water can deactivate H1N1 viruses very effectively, offering a promising disinfectant for the millions of people trying to avoid the disease. Acidic ozone water (AOW) is made from regular tap water mixed with a small amount of acid such as hydrochloric acid, along with an ozonized gas that can be produced in the lab. After deactivating the virus, the substance eventually decays into plain water, leaving no residue or harmful materials in the environment. http://www.physorg.com/news176991361.html Chemistry Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:18:10 EST news176991361 (PhysOrg.com) -- Tesla is becoming synonymous with high performance electric cars. Indeed, the Tesla car company has been making efforts to create a brand of sports car that runs on electricity, and does so in a way that is convenient to motorists. In an effort to prove that it can be done, a Tesla Roadster has gone 313 miles on one charge. This is a new world record -- one that breaks the previous record of 241 miles, set by another Tesla Roadster. http://www.physorg.com/news176990887.html Technology Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:11:26 EST news176990887