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) -- Their brains are tiny - about the size of sesame seeds - and yet the behaviour of the humble honey bee is so advanced it has scientists scratching their heads in disbelief. http://www.physorg.com/news180632123.html Biology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:36:19 EST news180632123 A group of Norwegian and American researchers have shown that common variations in genes associated with microcephaly - a neuro-developmental disorder in which brain size is dramatically reduced - may explain differences in brain size in healthy individuals as well as in patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. http://www.physorg.com/news180631939.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:33:02 EST news180631939 (PhysOrg.com) -- Some of the most common minerals in biology, including those in bones and shells, have a mysterious structure: Their crystals are positioned in the same orientation, making them behave as one giant crystal, even though they do not look like a faceted crystal. http://www.physorg.com/news180631288.html Chemistry Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:25:15 EST news180631288 (PhysOrg.com) -- Two brown dwarf-sized objects orbiting a giant old star show that planets may assemble around stars more quickly and efficiently than anyone thought possible, according to an international team of astronomers. http://www.physorg.com/news180627887.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:49:05 EST news180627887 (PhysOrg.com) -- University of California, Riverside Professor of Electrical Engineering and Chair of Materials Science and Engineering Alexander Balandin is leading several projects to explore ways to use the unique capabilities of graphene ?quilts? as heat conductors in high-power electronics. http://www.physorg.com/news180628388.html Nanotechnology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:34:22 EST news180628388 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research from scientists at The University of Manchester is set to improve predictions about climate and air quality - and make life easier for those suffering from respiratory problems. http://www.physorg.com/news180628222.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:30:58 EST news180628222 (PhysOrg.com) -- The star Chi Cygni is located about 550 light-years away, in the direction of the constellation of Cygnus the Swan. It is a notable star because, unlike the sun which still burns hydrogen and is in its mature phase of life, Chi Cygni has aged and begun to expire. http://www.physorg.com/news180627595.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:27:23 EST news180627595 (PhysOrg.com) -- Data compression is one of the fundamental research areas in computer science, letting information systems do more with less. It`s the reason the iPod nano can hold thousands of songs instead of hundreds, and it`s what keeps transmitted images from choking the Internet. If every digital file is a string of bits - zeroes and ones - then compression is a way to represent the same information with fewer bits. http://www.physorg.com/news180625190.html Technology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:40:40 EST news180625190 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto and Goethe University in Germany have discovered a protein that can inhibit the growth of cancer cells, providing crucial clues for the future development of new drugs to treat the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news180624608.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:36:48 EST news180624608 (PhysOrg.com) -- Brookhaven scientists have created a new enzyme with the potential to interfere with a key cell-wall component in plants, possibly leading to plants that are easier to "digest" and convert to biofuels. http://www.physorg.com/news180624203.html Chemistry Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:24:01 EST news180624203 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy`s Brookhaven National Laboratory have found a new way to use a synthetic form of DNA to control the assembly of nanoparticles - this time resulting in switchable, three-dimensional and small-cluster structures that might be useful, for example, as biosensors, in solar cells, and as new materials for data storage. The work is described in Nature Nanotechnology, published online December 20, 2009. http://www.physorg.com/news180624054.html Nanotechnology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:21:26 EST news180624054 (PhysOrg.com) -- By implanting an electrode into the brain of a person with locked-in syndrome, scientists have demonstrated how to wirelessly transmit neural signals to a speech synthesizer. The "thought-to-speech" process takes about 50 milliseconds - the same amount of time for a non-paralyzed, neurologically intact person to speak their thoughts. The study marks the first successful demonstration of a permanently installed, wireless implant for real-time control of an external device. http://www.physorg.com/news180620740.html Medicine & Health Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:26:19 EST news180620740 Google Inc.'s reported plans to acquire local-listings service Yelp may face difficulties, with regulators attuned to the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's established dominance of the Internet-search and advertising markets, observers say. http://www.physorg.com/news180606013.html Technology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:21:03 EST news180606013 (PhysOrg.com) -- "The W boson is one of the very few major building blocks of matter," Dmitri Denisov tells PhysOrg.com. "It is a member of a family of particles that is the most fundamental in nature. The W boson is responsible for weak interactions, which govern some of the most important processes in nature." http://www.physorg.com/news180605589.html Physics Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:13:57 EST news180605589 An unusual bowstring truss iron bridge that carried traffic across Roaring Run in Bedford County, Va. for almost 100 years is now a picturesque footbridge at the I-81 Ironto, Va. rest stop. Built in 1878, it is the oldest standing metal bridge in Virginia. In early December, a Virginia Tech undergraduate conducted a load-bearing analysis of the structure. http://www.physorg.com/news180604484.html Technology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:55:58 EST news180604484 (PhysOrg.com) -- Just like our roads, there is a lot of traffic within the cells in our bodies, because cell components, messenger molecules, and enzymes must also be brought to the right places in the cell. One of these transportation systems functions like a kind of railway: a system of molecular tracks is used to transport vesicles and their contents to their target destinations. http://www.physorg.com/news180602012.html Chemistry Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:14:11 EST news180602012 Frederic Scheer is biding his time, convinced that by 2013 the price of oil will be so high that his bio-plastics, made from vegetables and plants, will be highly marketable. http://www.physorg.com/news180594717.html Chemistry Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:17:07 EST news180594717 South Korea's LG Display said Monday it has developed the world's thinnest LCD television panel, measuring 2.6 millimetres (0.1 inches). http://www.physorg.com/news180594591.html Electronics Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:10:54 EST news180594591 (AP) -- Philippine troops on Monday pressed the last 3,000 villagers who have refused to heed government warnings to leave the danger zone around a volcano that experts say is ready to erupt. http://www.physorg.com/news180594352.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:06:42 EST news180594352 The Egyptians supposedly used it to guide the construction the Pyramids. The architecture of ancient Athens is thought to have been based on it. Fictional Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon tried to unravel its mysteries in the novel The Da Vinci Code. http://www.physorg.com/news180531747.html Other Sciences Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:00:02 EST news180531747 (PhysOrg.com) -- Duke University engineers have created a new generation of lens that could greatly improve the capabilities of telecommunications or radar systems to provide a wide field of view and greater detail. http://www.physorg.com/news180530510.html Physics Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:00:18 EST news180530510 Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell. http://www.physorg.com/news180530290.html Biology Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:00:15 EST news180530290 Researchers studying a period of high carbon dioxide levels and warm climate several million years ago have concluded that slow changes such as melting ice sheets amplified the initial warming caused by greenhouse gases. http://www.physorg.com/news180530639.html Space & Earth Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:00:06 EST news180530639 (PhysOrg.com) -- Boston University biomedical engineers have devised a method for making future genome sequencing faster and cheaper by dramatically reducing the amount of DNA required, thus eliminating the expensive, time-consuming and error-prone step of DNA amplification. http://www.physorg.com/news180531065.html Nanotechnology Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:00:03 EST news180531065 The monkeys at this run-down research centre which was once the pride of Soviet science have seen it all -- a brutal civil war, freezing winters and starvation. http://www.physorg.com/news180532052.html Space & Earth Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:48:17 EST news180532052 (PhysOrg.com) -- Skull fragments of prehistoric koalas from the Riversleigh rainforests of millions of year ago suggest they shared the modern koala's "lazy" lifestyle and ability to produce loud "bellowing" calls to attract mates and provide warnings about predators. http://www.physorg.com/news180469378.html Other Sciences Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:23:45 EST news180469378 Google smartphones are either a daring foray into the telecom world or a misunderstood test of the next-generation of the Internet giant's Android mobile operating system. http://www.physorg.com/news180426137.html Technology Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:23:21 EST news180426137 Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have uncovered fundamental differences between the bone which makes up the skull and the bones in our limbs, which they believe could hold the key to tackling bone weakness and fractures. http://www.physorg.com/news180426060.html Medicine & Health Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:21:26 EST news180426060 Dark spots on flower petals are common across many angiosperm plant families and occur on flowers such as some lilies, orchids, and daisies. Much research has been done on the physiological and behavioral mechanisms for how these spots attract pollinators. But have you ever wondered what these spots are composed of, how they develop, or how they only appear on some but not all of the ray florets? http://www.physorg.com/news180376920.html Biology Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:43:21 EST news180376920 Internet powerhouse Google and Japanese electronics giant Fujitsu have joined an alliance to promote the ability of objects from appliances to cars to communicate with one another online. http://www.physorg.com/news180372614.html Technology Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:30:54 EST news180372614