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. (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Helsinki University of Technology (Finland), University of New South Wales (Australia), and University of Melbourne (Australia) have succeeded in building a working transistor, whose active region composes only of a single phosphorus atom in silicon. The results have just been published in Nano Letters. http://www.physorg.com/news179331125.html Nanotechnology Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:16:01 EST news179331125 Scientists in Cambridge have discovered that the loss of a key segment of DNA can lead to severe childhood obesity. This is the first study to show that this kind of genetic alteration can cause obesity. The results are published today in Nature. http://www.physorg.com/news179329112.html Medicine & Health Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:39:23 EST news179329112 In an encouraging new development, a team led by Scripps Research Institute scientists has restored partial function to lung cells collected from patients with cystic fibrosis. While there is still much work to be done before the therapy can be tested in humans, the discovery opens the door to a new class of therapies for this and a host of other chronic diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news179328978.html Chemistry Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:37:24 EST news179328978 In the long term, the Earth's temperature may be 30-50% more sensitive to atmospheric carbon dioxide than has previously been estimated, reports a new study published in Nature Geoscience this week. http://www.physorg.com/news179328817.html Space & Earth Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:34:02 EST news179328817 Studies with fruit flies have shown that the specialized nerve cells called neurons can rebuild themselves after injury. http://www.physorg.com/news179328565.html Medicine & Health Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:30:58 EST news179328565 Have you ever found yourself struggling to get your order taken at a crowded bar or lunch counter, only to walk away in disgust as more aggressive customers elbow their way to the front? It turns out that flies do much the same thing, according to biologists from the California Institute of Technology. http://www.physorg.com/news179328346.html Biology Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:27:08 EST news179328346 (AP) -- Eric Horvitz illustrates the potential dilemmas of living with robots by telling the story of how he once got stuck in an elevator at Stanford Hospital with a droid the size of a washing machine. http://www.physorg.com/news179255617.html Electronics Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:16:48 EST news179255617 (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have signed off on their plan to team up against Google Inc. in the lucrative Internet search market. http://www.physorg.com/news179255285.html Technology Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:09:41 EST news179255285 The body is a battle zone. Cells constantly compete with one another for space and dominance. Though the manner in which some cells win this competition is well known to be the survival of the fittest, how stem cells duke it out for space and survival is not as clear. A study on fruit flies published in the October 2 issue of Science by Johns Hopkins researchers describes how stem cells win this battle by literally sticking around. http://www.physorg.com/news179171035.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:47:06 EST news179171035 Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins publishing in the December issue of Neoplasia have shown that a protein made by a gene called "Twist" may be the proverbial red flag that can accurately distinguish stem cells that drive aggressive, metastatic breast cancer from other breast cancer cells. http://www.physorg.com/news179170966.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:43:06 EST news179170966 "Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?" wrote author Lynn Hecht Schafran. The answer, according to an article in the Journal of Vision, may lie in our interpretation of facial expressions. http://www.physorg.com/news179170846.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:42:02 EST news179170846 Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it has unleashed a series of lawsuits and is cooperating in criminal prosecutions worldwide in an effort to stem piracy of its software. http://www.physorg.com/news179160647.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:00:02 EST news179160647 You want to go for a run, but you don't want to run in polluted air that might aggravate your asthma. University of California, San Diego computer scientists are creating a network of environmental sensors that will help you avoid air pollution hot spots that exist exactly when you are planning your route. The system will provide up-to-the-minute information on outdoor and indoor air quality, based on environmental information collected by hundreds, and eventually thousands, of sensors attached to the backpacks, purses, jackets and board shorts of San Diegans going about daily life. http://www.physorg.com/news179160276.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:10:01 EST news179160276 A new study shows that muscle cells grown in the lab can restore an intestine's ability to squeeze shut properly. The work, performed in dogs and rats, might ultimately help treat patients with conditions such as gastric reflux and fecal incontinence. http://www.physorg.com/news179160426.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:47:57 EST news179160426 (PhysOrg.com) -- Some atoms don't always follow the rules. Take the beryllium dimer, a seemingly simple molecule made up of two atoms that University of Delaware physicists Krzysztof Szalewicz and Konrad Patkowski and colleague Vladimír Spirko of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic report on in the Dec. 4 edition of the journal Science. http://www.physorg.com/news179157710.html Physics Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:02:24 EST news179157710 When robotic spacecraft bring a sample of Mars back to Earth, scientists will need specially-designed facilities to study the samples and prevent them from escaping to the outside world. http://www.physorg.com/news179156380.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:50:02 EST news179156380 The worst thing about losing your laptop isn't the cost of replacing your gear; it's the loss of personal info and saved passwords. Firefox extension FireFound tracks your lost laptop's location and nukes your personal data in a few clicks. http://www.physorg.com/news179152943.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:50:01 EST news179152943 (PhysOrg.com) -- The first phase of a star's formation are thought to begin deep inside a natal cloud of gas and dust. In the earliest stages, material coalesces under the influence of gravity into so-called "dense cores," which, because they absorb optical light, are sometimes seen in the sky as black shapes against a background of stars or nebulosity. http://www.physorg.com/news179153495.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:40:01 EST news179153495 (PhysOrg.com) -- David Cox, a scientist in the Quantum Detection group at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK, is an expert in nanofabrication techniques. Recently, using the tools of his trade and a bit of humor, he has created his latest masterpiece: the world's smallest snowman, which measures just 0.01 mm across (about one-fifth the width of a human hair). http://www.physorg.com/news179153163.html Nanotechnology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:46:35 EST news179153163 Scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum believe that carnivorous behaviour in plants is far more widespread than previously thought, with many commonly grown plants - such as petunias - at least part way to being "meat eaters". A review paper, Murderous plants: Victorian Gothic, Darwin and modern insights into vegetable carnivory, is published today (4 December 2009) in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. http://www.physorg.com/news179151654.html Biology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:30:01 EST news179151654 (AP) -- No one's going to blame you for keeping holiday gifts minimal this year. But if you want to round out your handmade cards, scarves, pickles and jam with a gadget or gizmo, here are a handful of our $100-and-under favorites. http://www.physorg.com/news179151349.html Electronics Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:16:13 EST news179151349 The British government has shut a unit which has investigated UFO sightings for more than 50 years, judging its resources better spent on more earthly threats, it said Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news179150831.html Other Sciences Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:14:00 EST news179150831 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the very first time, scientists show what EEG can really tell us about how the brain functions. http://www.physorg.com/news179149173.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:10:02 EST news179149173 (PhysOrg.com) -- Antonio Stradivari is the most famous instrument maker of all time. He was especially famous for his violins, which he produced in Cremona from about 1665 until his death in 1737. In particular, the legendary varnish on his instruments has fascinated musicians, violinmakers, historians, and chemists since the beginning of the 19th century -- inciting controversial speculation about "secret" ingredients. The use of analytical processes has allowed a team of scientists from various French and German institutions to shine a light on the mystery. http://www.physorg.com/news179148281.html Chemistry Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:25:36 EST news179148281 A team at The Scripps Research Institute has made major strides in solving a problem that has been plaguing chemists for many years: how best to break carbon-hydrogen bonds and then to create new bonds to join molecules together. This problem is of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry, which currently relies on a method to accomplish this feat that is relatively inefficient and sometimes difficult to perform. http://www.physorg.com/news179148095.html Chemistry Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:22:20 EST news179148095 (PhysOrg.com) -- For more than 30 years, scientists have been trying to harness the power of terahertz radiation. Tucked between microwaves and infrared rays on the electromagnetic spectrum, terahertz rays can penetrate clothing, plastic, and human tissue, but they're thought to be safer than x-rays. Since they're absorbed to different degrees by different molecules, they can also tell chemicals apart: a terahertz scanner at an airport checkpoint, for example, could determine whether a vial in a closed suitcase contained aspirin, methamphetamines or an explosive. http://www.physorg.com/news179147950.html Physics Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:19:43 EST news179147950 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new generation of optical sensors is enabling the development of robust, long-lasting, lighting-fast trace gas detectors for use in a wide range of industrial, security and domestic applications. http://www.physorg.com/news179142263.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:00:01 EST news179142263 (PhysOrg.com) -- Data from the satellite, says principal investigator and UCLA professor Edward Wright, will help scientists answer fundamental questions about the history of our solar system, the Milky Way and the univese. http://www.physorg.com/news179141981.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:41:24 EST news179141981 In contrast to the exhaustive research into venom produced by snakes and spiders, venomous fish have been neglected and remain something of a mystery. Now, a study of 158 catfish species, published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, has catalogued the presence of venom glands and investigated their biological effects. http://www.physorg.com/news179133781.html Biology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:24:07 EST news179133781 (AP) -- The 2010 World Cup is going 3-D. Sony Corp. said Friday it has signed a deal with FIFA, the international football governing body, to record up to 25 World Cup games in 3-D - a technology that gives viewers an illusion of depth on the screen. http://www.physorg.com/news179117888.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:20:02 EST news179117888