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. 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 China Daily reports the commencement of the 30-mile Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the longest sea bridge under construction world-wide. The six-lane expressway will cut travel time from three-hours to around 30-minutes to and from the densely populated and lucrative centers of manufacturing, finance and tourism located in and around Guangdong Province to Hong Kong. http://www.physorg.com/news180364725.html Technology Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:42:50 EST news180364725 Despite their ability to fly, tropical birds waited until the formation of the land bridge between North and South America to move northward, according to a University of British Columbia study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition. http://www.physorg.com/news179591830.html Biology Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:45:31 EST news179591830 (PhysOrg.com) -- Civil engineering students at the University of Rhode Island will soon take to the roadways to apply what they have learned in the classroom in real-world analyses of bridges, buildings and other structures, thanks to the creation of a mobile testing laboratory. http://www.physorg.com/news178991175.html Technology Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:10:01 EST news178991175 (PhysOrg.com) -- In 2008, scientists built a loudspeaker made of carbon nanotubes that produced sound and music based on the thermoacoustic effect. Now, a different team of scientists has built a loudspeaker made of tiny aluminum wires suspended like a bridge between two supports, producing sound in a similar way. The new wire bridge also has the advantage of being much easier to fabricate than the nanotube device, offering the potential for a wide range of audio applications. http://www.physorg.com/news176543078.html Physics Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:00:01 EST news176543078 China on Saturday opens a new bridge over the Yangtze that will pave the way for rapid development of the country's "last virgin island," Chongming -- now just an hour's drive from booming Shanghai. http://www.physorg.com/news176270468.html Space & Earth Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:05:36 EST news176270468 For the first time in the U.S., unused TV broadcast channels freed up by the transition to digital TV are being used to wirelessly deliver high-speed Internet connectivity to business, education and community users. These unused frequencies are commonly referred to as TV white spaces. http://www.physorg.com/news175370351.html Technology Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:10:01 EST news175370351 (PhysOrg.com) -- A group of researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology has developed a handheld camera that uses microwave signals to non-destructively peek inside materials and structures in real time. http://www.physorg.com/news174054998.html Technology Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:37:14 EST news174054998 Offering the best of full HD 1080p and streaming Internet video, Sony today introduced the BDP-N460 networked Blu-ray Disc player. http://www.physorg.com/news171817132.html Electronics Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:00:02 EST news171817132 Kansas State University researchers are studying the effects of integral bridge expansion resulting from heat to make these types of bridges a more viable alternative. http://www.physorg.com/news165236298.html Technology Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:58:57 EST news165236298 (PhysOrg.com) -- Özlem Durmaz Incel, researcher at the University of Twente, the Netherlands, has developed a spectacular new method that enables wireless sensor networks to function up to ten times more efficiently. Networks based on this revolutionary method can be used for an extremely wide range of applications. They can, for example, be used for the surveillance of bridges, ports and distribution centres. They can also greatly increase efficiency in transport and logistics, for example in large ports. http://www.physorg.com/news160061305.html Technology Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:29:10 EST news160061305 Over the past 19 years Hubble has taken dozens of exotic pictures of galaxies going "bump in the night" as they collide with each other and have a variety of close encounters of the galactic kind. Just when you thought these interactions couldn't look any stranger, this image of a trio of galaxies, called Arp 194, looks as if of the galaxies has sprung a leak. The bright blue streamer is really a stretched spiral arm full of newborn blue stars. This typically happens when two galaxies interact and gravitationally tug at each other gravitationally. http://www.physorg.com/news159546382.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:26:52 EST news159546382 Today, humans perform visual inspections every two years of most of the nation's older bridges. But with a scarcity of inspectors and tens of thousands of bridges, that process can be long and laborious. http://www.physorg.com/news159116064.html Technology Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:55:04 EST news159116064 (PhysOrg.com) -- An ice bridge connecting the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula to Charcot Island has disintegrated. The event continues a series of breakups that began in March 2008 on the ice shelf, and highlights the effect that climate change is having on the region. http://www.physorg.com/news158428139.html Space & Earth Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:50:14 EST news158428139 A team of University of Kansas engineers is testing a new class of devices that could double the life of America's existing bridges using composite materials. http://www.physorg.com/news157964806.html Technology Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:07:16 EST news157964806 In regions that have been devastated by hurricanes and other natural disasters, public officials should pursue a new direction in infrastructure projects, one that focuses on more durable designs and a greater sensitivity to the surrounding environment, a Johns Hopkins researcher says. http://www.physorg.com/news157051992.html Space & Earth Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:33:57 EST news157051992 University of Texas (UT) professor, Dean Neikirk, will be field-testing a new bridge monitoring system within the year. The project is a collaboration between industry, government, and academia that will provide real-time monitoring of dangerous bridges and reduce inspection costs for all bridges. http://www.physorg.com/news154614946.html Technology Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:36:24 EST news154614946 Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation have found a specific mutation that leads to the development of severe autoimmune kidney disease in mice. The research sheds light on the basic biology of the immune system, as well as on the effectiveness of drugs such as the anti-leukemia medication Gleevec/Imatinib. http://www.physorg.com/news151343235.html Medicine & Health Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:47:15 EST news151343235 (PhysOrg.com) -- On its opening day, the London Millennium Bridge experienced unexpected swaying due to the large number of people crossing it. A new study finally explains the Millennium Bridge 'wobble' by looking at how humans stay balanced while walking. http://www.physorg.com/news148707380.html Technology Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:36:20 EST news148707380 (PhysOrg.com) -- New rifts have developed on the Wilkins Ice Shelf that could lead to the opening of the ice bridge that has been preventing the ice shelf from disintegrating and breaking away from the Antarctic Peninsula. http://www.physorg.com/news147094723.html Space & Earth Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:38:43 EST news147094723 Preliminary results of the University of Minnesota's independent academic study of the I-35W bridge collapse suggest that lack of robustness in the bridge's original design, additional load from bridge improvements over the years, weight from construction materials and stresses induced by temperature changes contributed to the collapse of the I-35W bridge on Aug. 1, 2007. http://www.physorg.com/news146405907.html Technology Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:18:27 EST news146405907 Spanning deep gorges, rivers and freeways, bridges are an indispensable part of the traffic network. Yet their condition in Germany is appalling: In a survey carried out by the German automobile club ADAC in 2007, one in ten bridges out of the fifty that were inspected failed the test; a total of four were rated "poor" and one was even rated "very poor". The changing effects of weather and temperature, road salt and the increasing volume of traffic all take their toll on the material - quickly causing damage such as hairline cracks, flaking concrete, and rust penetration. If the bridge engineers fail to recognize these in time, motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are endangered. http://www.physorg.com/news144928188.html Technology Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:49:48 EST news144928188 (PhysOrg.com) -- As his fraternity brothers laid his 5-foot, 7-inch frame end-to-end to measure the Massachusetts Avenue bridge one night in October 1958, there was one distinct thought running through Oliver Smoot's mind. http://www.physorg.com/news141922159.html Other Sciences Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:49:19 EST news141922159 (PhysOrg.com) -- A cell's nucleus - home of it its most precious contents - is a delicate envelope that, without support, is barely able to withstand the forces that keep it in place. Now, researchers have discovered a network of molecules in the nuclear membrane that provide the nucleus with rigidity and also facilitate a previously undiscovered form of communication between the cell`s nucleus and its cytoplasm. http://www.physorg.com/news137420024.html Biology Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:13:44 EST news137420024 The Wilkins Ice Shelf is experiencing further disintegration that is threatening the collapse of the ice bridge connecting the shelf to Charcot Island. Since the connection to the island in the image centre helps to stabilise the ice shelf, it is likely the break-up of the bridge will put the remainder of the ice shelf at risk. http://www.physorg.com/news134908534.html Space & Earth Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:35:34 EST news134908534