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) -- 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) -- 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 (AP) -- The tsunami that killed more than 200 people in the Samoan islands and Tonga earlier this year towered up to 46 feet (14 meters) high - more then twice as tall as most of the buildings it slammed into, scientists said Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news179118002.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:10:02 EST news179118002 Cannabis can reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A systematic review, published in the open access journal BMC Neurology, found that five out six randomized controlled trials reported a reduction in spasticity and an improvement in mobility. http://www.physorg.com/news179118127.html Medicine & Health Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:30:01 EST news179118127 The rising level of atmospheric carbon dioxide may be fueling more than climate change. It could also be making some trees grow like crazy. http://www.physorg.com/news179118204.html Space & Earth Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:04:32 EST news179118204 Google has began weaving an automated language translation feature into its universal search service. http://www.physorg.com/news179117208.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:55:44 EST news179117208 (PhysOrg.com) -- Donhee Ham, Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, uses his personal energy and understanding of physics to design innovative integrated circuits. http://www.physorg.com/news179085037.html Physics Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:50:02 EST news179085037 (AP) -- NASA still isn't sure why two parachutes failed during a test flight of its prototype moon rocket just over a month ago. http://www.physorg.com/news179088399.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:20:01 EST news179088399 (PhysOrg.com) -- The third in a series of papers in the journal Nature completes the case for a new method of predicting earthquakes. http://www.physorg.com/news179087953.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:41:47 EST news179087953 (PhysOrg.com) -- A virus that in nature infects only rabbits could become a cancer-fighting tool for humans. Myxoma virus kills cancerous blood-precursor cells in human bone marrow while sparing normal blood stem cells, a multidisciplinary team at the University of Florida College of Medicine has found. The findings are now online and will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Leukemia. http://www.physorg.com/news179085253.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:30:03 EST news179085253 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research conducted by University of Wyoming Professor Paul Johnson and others demonstrates that genetically modified tadpoles work well as sensitive monitors for rapidly detecting water pollution. http://www.physorg.com/news179084594.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:30:02 EST news179084594 (PhysOrg.com) -- Two studies published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation provide a significant advance in understanding how some species of monkeys such as sooty mangabeys and African green monkeys avoid AIDS when infected with SIV, the simian equivalent of HIV. http://www.physorg.com/news179085831.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:05:48 EST news179085831 Turn on the television any evening and you're apt to see a scene such as this: Five crime scene investigators, or CSIs, return to the crime scene at night to follow up on some leads. CSI Kathryn Willows looks classy in a gray blazer, satin blouse, and high heels. The reality? CSIs don`t wear high heels to crime scenes. http://www.physorg.com/news179084177.html Other Sciences Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:50:01 EST news179084177 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study provides crucial details that promise to help researchers better understand, and perhaps fine-tune with drugs, one of the most important signaling mechanisms in human cells, according to a study published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news179084307.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:38:59 EST news179084307 (PhysOrg.com) -- Birds' alarm calls serve both to alert other birds to danger and to warn off predators. And some birds can pull a ventriloquist's trick, singing from the side of their mouths, according to a UC Davis study. http://www.physorg.com/news179082717.html Biology Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:12:29 EST news179082717 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered a new, more precise method for measuring how much - or how little - nanoscale interfaces love water. http://www.physorg.com/news179082513.html Nanotechnology Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:10:03 EST news179082513 Homer's Iliad tells the story of Troy, a city besieged by the Greeks in the Trojan War. Today, a lone robot sits besieged in the sands of Troy while engineers and scientists plot its escape. http://www.physorg.com/news179081243.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:48:31 EST news179081243 (PhysOrg.com) -- As retailers bombard holiday shoppers with a blizzard of product bargains and layaway options, they should probably be concerned with the power of the words being used to promote their products to consumers. So says an Iowa State University psychologist who has studied how a product's message influences what consumers are ultimately willing to pay for it. http://www.physorg.com/news179076693.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:10:02 EST news179076693 YouTube launched an experimental "Feather" feature on Thursday that slims down online videos for delivery to places where the Internet is unable to handle heavy data traffic. http://www.physorg.com/news179077215.html Technology Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:40:57 EST news179077215 The prototype of Solar Impulse, a pioneering Swiss bid to fly around the world on solar power, briefly took off for the first time on Thursday but under battery power, the organisers said. http://www.physorg.com/news179075027.html Technology Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:13:37 EST news179075027 An international team of scientists that includes an astronomer from Princeton University has made the first direct observation of a planet-like object orbiting a star similar to the sun. http://www.physorg.com/news179072298.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:10:02 EST news179072298 (PhysOrg.com) -- Hawaii may be paradise for vacationers, but for geologists it has long been a puzzle. Plate tectonic theory readily explains the existence of volcanoes at boundaries where plates split apart or collide, but mid-plate volcanoes such as those that built the Hawaiian island chain have been harder to fit into the theory. A classic explanation, proposed nearly 40 years ago, has been that magma is supplied to the volcanoes from upwellings of hot rock, called mantle "plumes," that originate deep in the Earth's mantle. Evidence for these deep structures has been sketchy, however. http://www.physorg.com/news179074389.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:53:40 EST news179074389 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers have identified a new factor that is necessary for the development of many forms of medulloblastoma, the most common type of malignant childhood brain cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news179072176.html Medicine & Health Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:50:11 EST news179072176 A team of University of Minnesota researchers have discovered how PTTH, a hormone produced by the brain, controls the metamorphosis of juvenile insects into adults. http://www.physorg.com/news179072031.html Biology Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:14:39 EST news179072031 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from Intel Labs demonstrated an experimental, 48-core Intel processor, or "single-chip cloud computer," that rethinks many of the approaches used in today's designs for laptops, PCs and servers. http://www.physorg.com/news179071360.html Electronics Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:03:07 EST news179071360 Most scientists believe that staph infections are caused by many bacterial cells that signal each other to emit toxins. The signaling process is called quorum sensing because many bacteria must be present to start the process. http://www.physorg.com/news179070935.html Chemistry Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:56:14 EST news179070935 Noted for harbouring Eta Carinae -- one of the wildest and most massive stars in our galaxy -- the impressive Carina Nebula also houses a handful of massive clusters of young stars. The youngest of these stellar families is the Trumpler 14 star cluster, which is less than one million years old -- a blink of an eye in the Universe's history. This large open cluster is located some 8000 light-years away towards the constellation of Carina (the Keel). http://www.physorg.com/news179068963.html Space & Earth Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:23:15 EST news179068963 (PhysOrg.com) -- An enzyme in our blood that enables our lungs to exhale carbon dioxide could be the key to isolating carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants in order to store them safely underground. A company called Carbozyme, based in New Jersey, is developing a synthetic version of the blood enzyme that could capture carbon dioxide using one-third less energy than other methods. http://www.physorg.com/news179068055.html Chemistry Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:08:37 EST news179068055