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. (AP) -- Naked mole rats don't get cancer. They shrug off brushes with acid and age so well, some are older than the college-aged researchers handling them. http://www.physorg.com/news178645682.html Biology Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:20:01 EST news178645682 (AP) -- NASA says a piece of old space junk that it's been tracking for a few days is no threat to the International Space Station. http://www.physorg.com/news178645573.html Space & Earth Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:46:33 EST news178645573 (AP) -- The growth of cell phones with global-positioning technology is making life uncertain for the makers of personal navigational devices that help drivers figure out where they are and where to go. http://www.physorg.com/news178644619.html Electronics Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:44:33 EST news178644619 (AP) -- Japan launched its fifth spy satellite into orbit Saturday in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence, the government said. http://www.physorg.com/news178615475.html Space & Earth Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:26:34 EST news178615475 The discovery that an ancient light harvesting protein plays a pivotal role in the photosynthesis of green algae should help the effort to develop algae as a biofuels feedstock. Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have identified the protein LHCSR as the molecular "dimmer switch" that acts to prevent green algae from absorbing too much sunlight during photosynthesis and suffering oxidation damage as a consequence. http://www.physorg.com/news178555031.html Biology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:10:01 EST news178555031 (AP) -- The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are giving U.S. financial institutions an additional six months to comply with regulations designed to ban Internet gambling. http://www.physorg.com/news178551993.html Technology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:10:01 EST news178551993 Fujitsu Laboratories today announced, as a world first, the development of a novel technology for forming graphene transistors directly on the entire surface of large-scale insulating substrates at low temperatures while employing chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) techniques which are in widespread use in semiconductor manufacturing. http://www.physorg.com/news178552799.html Technology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:00:59 EST news178552799 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has made the first unambiguous detection of high-energy gamma-rays from an enigmatic binary system known as Cygnus X-3. The system pairs a hot, massive star with a compact object -- either a neutron star or a black hole -- that blasts twin radio-emitting jets of matter into space at more than half the speed of light. http://www.physorg.com/news178547547.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:34:14 EST news178547547 (PhysOrg.com) -- Is it possible to make even more compact digital memories for portable electronic devices and which consume even less energy? A team of French researchers has recently demonstrated that it is feasible, thanks to a new class of materials known as multiferroics, which combine unusual electric and magnetic properties. http://www.physorg.com/news178546236.html Physics Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:15:20 EST news178546236 (PhysOrg.com) -- Ultraluminous infrared galaxies ((ULIRGs) are galaxies whose luminosity exceeds that of a trillion suns; for comparison, the Milky Way galaxy has a typical (and much more modest) luminosity of only about ten billion suns. ULIRGs were discovered by an all-sky infrared survey satellite in the 1980's, and since then the origin(s) of their huge infrared emission has been widely debated. Extreme infrared activity is known to be associated with interacting galaxies, and optical imaging indeed shows that many ULIRGs are in collision, but this fact does not answer the question of what physical mechanism powers the luminosity. Might the same process be underway at a low level in our galaxy? http://www.physorg.com/news178544948.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:55:01 EST news178544948 (AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its seven astronauts returned to Earth with a smooth touchdown Friday to end an 11-day flight that resupplied the International Space Station. http://www.physorg.com/news178530037.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:58:45 EST news178530037 (AP) -- Indonesia has rejected a push by the resort island of Bali for rare turtles to be legally slain in Hindu ceremonies, siding with conservationists of the protected reptiles against religious advocates, an official said Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news178530601.html Biology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:50:01 EST news178530601 (PhysOrg.com) -- The use of antibiotic eye drops for conjunctivitis has increased by almost half since they became available over the counter at chemists in 2005, data obtained by Oxford University researchers has shown. http://www.physorg.com/news178529794.html Medicine & Health Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:37:01 EST news178529794 (PhysOrg.com) -- European researchers have created new tools for semantic technology development which are helping to set the next generation of official standards. The tools also unblock some key bottlenecks in semantic technology. http://www.physorg.com/news178529295.html Technology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:28:55 EST news178529295 China will launch its second moon orbiter next October, state media reported Friday, as it powers ahead with a space programme that has sparked concerns abroad. http://www.physorg.com/news178527266.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:55:20 EST news178527266 Taiwanese researchers have developed a chip to treat backpain that is powered by mobile phone, a member of the team said Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news178526728.html Technology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:46:05 EST news178526728 Hammerhead sharks are some of the Ocean's most distinctive residents. 'Everyone wants to understand why they have this strange head shape,' says Michelle McComb from Florida Atlantic University. One possible reason is the shark's vision. 'Perhaps their visual field has been enhanced by their weird head shape,' says McComb, giving the sharks excellent stereovision and depth perception. However, according to McComb, there were two schools of thought on this theory. In 1942, G. Walls speculated that the sharks couldn't possibly have binocular vision because their eyes were stuck out on the sides of their heads. http://www.physorg.com/news178526505.html Biology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:42:14 EST news178526505 Prized for their impressive antlers, red deer have been caught in the hunters' sights for generations. But a deer's antlers are much more than decorative. They are lethal weapons that stags crash together when duelling. John Currey, from The University of York, UK, has been intrigued by the mechanical properties of bone for over half a century and has become fascinated by the mechanical properties of antler through a long-standing collaboration with Tomas Landete-Castillejos at the Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. http://www.physorg.com/news178526297.html Biology Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:38:54 EST news178526297 (PhysOrg.com) -- A group in The Netherlands has achieved a first: injection of spin-polarized electrons in silicon at room temperature. This has previously been observed only at extremely low temperatures, and the achievement brings spintronic devices using silicon as a semiconductor a step closer. http://www.physorg.com/news178526124.html Physics Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:36:59 EST news178526124 Intervals of regional warmth and cold in the past are linked to the El Niņo phenomenon and the so-called "North Atlantic Oscillation" in the Northern hemisphere's jet stream, according to a team of climate scientists. These linkages may be important in assessing the regional effects of future climate change. http://www.physorg.com/news178459644.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:10:05 EST news178459644 What are the bare essentials of life, the indispensable ingredients required to produce a cell that can survive on its own? Can we describe the molecular anatomy of a cell, and understand how an entire organism functions as a system? http://www.physorg.com/news178459055.html Biology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:10:02 EST news178459055 Darwin suggested that the action of natural selection can produce new species, but 150 years after the publication of his famous book, 'On the Origin of Species', debate still continues on the mechanisms of speciation. New research finds sexual selection to greatly enlarge the scope for adaptive speciation by triggering a positive feedback between mate choice and ecological diversification that can eventually eliminate gene flow between species. http://www.physorg.com/news178458331.html Biology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:00:07 EST news178458331 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new generation of ultrasmall transistors and more powerful computer chips using tiny structures called semiconducting nanowires are closer to reality after a key discovery by researchers at IBM, Purdue University and the University of California at Los Angeles. http://www.physorg.com/news178459486.html Nanotechnology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:00:05 EST news178459486 (PhysOrg.com) -- The copper sequestering drug tetrathiomolybdate (TM) has been shown in studies to be effective in the treatment of Wilson disease, a disease caused by an overload of copper, and certain metastatic cancers. That much is known. Very little, however, is known about how the drug works at the molecular level. http://www.physorg.com/news178458552.html Chemistry Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:00:03 EST news178458552 (PhysOrg.com) -- Advances in computerized modeling and prediction of group behavior, together with improvements in video game graphics, are making possible virtual worlds in which defense analysts can explore and predict results of many different possible military and policy actions, say computer science researchers at the University of Maryland in a commentary published in the November 27 issue of the journal Science. http://www.physorg.com/news178458781.html Technology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:00:01 EST news178458781 Poachers "wiped out" the entire elephant herd in Sierra Leone's only wildlife park, wildlife managers said Thursday after police said they had arrested a gang of 10 poachers. http://www.physorg.com/news178459834.html Biology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:11:10 EST news178459834 (AP) -- Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts thought they were going to give thanks with pantry leftovers Thursday as their mission drew to a close, but found turkey dinners awaiting them. http://www.physorg.com/news178454727.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:00:01 EST news178454727 (PhysOrg.com) -- Whitehead researchers have developed a new approach for genetics in human cells and used this technique to identify specific genes and proteins required for pathogens. http://www.physorg.com/news178454319.html Biology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:39:54 EST news178454319 (PhysOrg.com) -- When spider mites attack a bean plant, the plant responds by producing odours which attract predatory mites. These predatory mites then exterminate the spider mite population, thus acting as a type of 'bodyguard' for the plant. However, if the plant is simultaneously attacked by whiteflies, insects that are related to aphids, the plant becomes less attractive to the predatory mites and therefore more vulnerable to spider mites. http://www.physorg.com/news178451189.html Biology Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:47:54 EST news178451189 (PhysOrg.com) -- A flute playing robot unveiled by Waseda University last year has been joined by a robot saxophonist in a Classical music duet. The aim of the project was to design robots that could respond to each other's visual and aural cues. http://www.physorg.com/news178442951.html Electronics Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:30:01 EST news178442951