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. Quantum dots have the potential to bring many good things into the world: efficient solar power, targeted gene and drug delivery, solid-state lighting and advances in biomedical imaging among them. http://www.physorg.com/news152797334.html Nanotechnology Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:42:35 EST news152797334 (PhysOrg.com) -- Shopping locally may not be as good for the environment as having food delivered, according to new research by the University of Exeter (UK). Published in the journal Food Policy, the study shows that, on average, lower carbon emissions result from delivering a vegetable box than making a trip to a local farm shop. http://www.physorg.com/news152795735.html Other Sciences Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:17:29 EST news152795735 A study in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal Sleep was the first to use twin data to examine the longitudinal link between sleep problems and depression. Results of this study demonstrate that sleep problems predict later depression; the converse association was not found. These findings are consistent with the theory that early treatment of sleep problems may protect children from the development of depression. http://www.physorg.com/news152721800.html Medicine & Health Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:43:45 EST news152721800 Cleaning up the dangerous contaminants - dry-cleaning fluids, solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons - found in underground water presents one of the most urgent challenges facing environmental science. A report issued today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sheds light on a new way to monitor and improve the success of clean-up efforts using a technique developed at the University of Toronto. http://www.physorg.com/news152539505.html Space & Earth Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:05:38 EST news152539505 Knowledge gaps continue to hobble scientists' assessments of the environment, a Michigan State University researcher and colleagues warn. Their warning follows sobering conclusions drawn from what they do know and could help set the global agenda for research funding in the years to come. http://www.physorg.com/news152458921.html Space & Earth Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:42:45 EST news152458921 (PhysOrg.com) -- Making bales with 30 percent of global crop residues -- the stalks and such left after harvesting -- and then sinking the bales into the deep ocean could reduce the build up of global carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by up to 15 percent a year, according to just published calculations. http://www.physorg.com/news152384963.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:10:06 EST news152384963 The Canadian government reportedly is planning to release in February the world's first national regulation requiring companies to detail their use of engineered nanomaterials, according to environmental officials. The information gathered under the requirement will be used to evaluate the risks of engineered nanomaterials and will help to develop appropriate safety measures to protect human health and the environment. http://www.physorg.com/news152377937.html Nanotechnology Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:12:52 EST news152377937 The Delmarva Peninsula, flanking the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, is home to some 600 million chickens. The resulting poultry manure and some of the chicken house bedding material is usually composted and then spread onto croplands as a fertilizer. http://www.physorg.com/news152374066.html Space & Earth Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:08:15 EST news152374066 With a new occupant in the White House, California could soon start enforcing its 2002 law that requires a sharp reduction in vehicle emissions. http://www.physorg.com/news151934834.html Space & Earth Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:07:39 EST news151934834 NASA is preparing to launch NOAA'S latest polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite, called NOAA-N Prime, providing an essential resource for NOAA's weather forecasts and improving the U.S. search and rescue operations. http://www.physorg.com/news151858514.html Space & Earth Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:55:52 EST news151858514 In an upcoming issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Yale researchers used newly developed mathematical models to analyze huge amounts of data on physical characteristics such as temperature and salinity in different ocean habitats and metabolic activity in marine micro-organisms. http://www.physorg.com/news151854172.html Other Sciences Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:43:36 EST news151854172 A new study by researchers at Brigham Young University and Harvard School of Public Health shows that average life expectancy in 51 U.S. cities increased nearly three years over recent decades, and approximately five months of that increase came thanks to cleaner air. http://www.physorg.com/news151780986.html Medicine & Health Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:23:38 EST news151780986 (PhysOrg.com) -- An insecticide used to fumigate termite-infested buildings is a strong greenhouse gas that lives in the atmosphere nearly 10 times longer than previously thought, UC Irvine research has found. http://www.physorg.com/news151764839.html Space & Earth Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:54:28 EST news151764839 While the harsh winter pounding many areas of North America and Europe seemingly contradicts the fact that global warming continues unabated, a new survey finds consensus among scientists about the reality of climate change and its likely cause. http://www.physorg.com/news151609044.html Space & Earth Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:39:04 EST news151609044 Surprising new scientific research is raising concerns about the potential health and environmental hazards of tungsten - a metal used in products ranging from bullets to light bulbs to jewelry - that scientists once thought was environmentally-benign, according to an article scheduled for the Jan. 19 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. http://www.physorg.com/news151583112.html Space & Earth Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:25:12 EST news151583112 Scientists and regulators have a golden opportunity to reduce the health toll from a range of diseases by focusing more attention on identification of environmental factors that can damage the prenatal immune system as well as that of infants and children, according to an article scheduled for the Jan. 19 issue of ACS' Chemical Research in Toxicology. http://www.physorg.com/news151582960.html Chemistry Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:22:40 EST news151582960 (PhysOrg.com) -- The same principles that a Biodesign Institute research team has successfully applied to remove harmful contaminants from the environment may one day allow people to clean up the gunk from their bodies -and reverse the effects of aging. The Biodesign Institute, along with partner, the Methuselah Foundation, is working to vanquish age-related disease by making old cells feel younger. http://www.physorg.com/news151344228.html Biology Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:03:48 EST news151344228 The House Science and Technology Committee today introduced legislation that highlights the growing attention on Capitol Hill to the need to strengthen federal efforts to learn more about the potential environmental, health and safety (EHS) risks posed by engineered nanomaterials. Nanotechnology is an emerging technology that promises to usher in the next Industrial Revolution and is the focus of an annual $1.5 billion federal research investment. http://www.physorg.com/news151318632.html Nanotechnology Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:57:12 EST news151318632 Publications ranging from the journal Science to Time magazine have blasted biofuels for significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, calling into question the environmental benefits of making fuel from plant material. But a new analysis by Michigan State University scientists says these dire predictions are based on a set of assumptions that may not be correct. http://www.physorg.com/news151257863.html Space & Earth Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:04:23 EST news151257863 It has been known for some time that plants respond to environmental cues that guide their flowering. Chief among these signals are light, temperature and vernalization, when flowering is promoted by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures. http://www.physorg.com/news151251480.html Biology Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:18:00 EST news151251480 Water and energy are two resources on which modern society depends. As demands for these increase, researchers look to alternative technologies that promise both sustainability and reduced environmental impact. Engineered osmosis holds a key to addressing both the global need for affordable clean water and inexpensive sustainable energy according to Yale researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news151174174.html Technology Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:49:34 EST news151174174 (PhysOrg.com) -- A January 11, 2009 article in the London Times (on-line version) entitled, Revealed: The Environmental Impact of Google Searches quoted Harvard Physicist, Alex Wissner-Gross that "two Google searches generate the same carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea." As one might expect, the Google Team went into overdrive to correct the perception that Googlers are energy hogs. http://www.physorg.com/news151162640.html Space & Earth Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:37:20 EST news151162640 (PhysOrg.com) -- In general, population extinction is a natural process. For one reason or another, an estimated 99.9% of all species that have lived on Earth are now extinct. However, the reasons for a species going extinct are complex, varied, and changing. Ever since the human population began dispersing throughout the Earth 100,000 years ago, the extinction rate has increased dramatically - as much as 1,000 times, by some estimates - putting us in the midst of a modern extinction called the Holocene extinction event. http://www.physorg.com/news151059872.html Physics Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:04:32 EST news151059872 Removing an invasive species from sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, a World Heritage Site, has caused environmental devastation that will cost more than A$24 million to remedy, ecologists have revealed. Writing in the new issue of the British Ecological Society's Journal of Applied Ecology, they warn that conservation agencies worldwide must learn important lessons from what happened on Macquarie Island. http://www.physorg.com/news150989903.html Biology Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:38:23 EST news150989903 (PhysOrg.com) -- A naturally occurring DNA repair system that normally protects cells from damage can cause retinal degeneration and blindness when overstimulated, according to a new study by MIT researchers. http://www.physorg.com/news150727857.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:50:57 EST news150727857 The coal ash spill in Tennessee last month is putting a spotlight on whether the ash from 450 other power plants around the country could be contaminating the nation's drinking water supplies. http://www.physorg.com/news150654399.html Space & Earth Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:26:39 EST news150654399 Currently, plant testing in the United States to determine potential ecological risks from chemical pesticides to nontarget plants requires two tests, both of which use immature plants. Protection of the plant development and reproduction are not considered, unlike tests required for the protection of animals. Past research conducted by the USEPA and others have shown that plant development/reproduction is not adequately protected with the current test protocols. http://www.physorg.com/news150558365.html Biology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:46:05 EST news150558365 A new way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and tackle climate change had been unveiled by leading economists. http://www.physorg.com/news150446777.html Space & Earth Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:46:17 EST news150446777 The over-enrichment of fresh, transitional, and marine waters with nitrogen (N) can lead to problems associated with eutrophication, such as a change in species composition of aquatic plants and nuisance algal blooms. In this context, dynamic models of flow and water quality are required to aid the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and to understand the impacts of environmental change. http://www.physorg.com/news150373619.html Space & Earth Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:26:59 EST news150373619 Amid a recent flurry of worrisome reports about plastic, a simple question came up: Could we live without it? Could my typical family - a mom, a dad, a 3-year-old girl and a 7-month-old boy - put aside the very material of American lives, the products that greet us after birth in the diapers we wear and usher us out at death in the body bags we are zipped into? http://www.physorg.com/news150131616.html Space & Earth Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:13:36 EST news150131616