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) -- Yesterday evening, an Ariane 5 ECA launcher lifted off from Europe`s Spaceport at Kourou, in French Guiana, on its mission to place two multi-role telecommunications satellites into geostationary transfer orbits. Two auxiliary payloads were also launched during this mission. http://www.physorg.com/news153756887.html Space & Earth Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:15:43 EST news153756887 Tomorrow's fuel-cell vehicles may be powered by enzymes that consume cellulose from woodchips or grass and exhale hydrogen. http://www.physorg.com/news153594178.html Chemistry Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:06:29 EST news153594178 By controlling emissions of fossil fuels we may be able to greatly delay the start of the next ice age, new research from the Niels Bohr Institute at University of Copenhagen concludes. The results have been published in the scientific magazine, Geophysical Research Letters. http://www.physorg.com/news153556935.html Space & Earth Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:45:00 EST news153556935 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of MIT undergraduate students has invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smoothes the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. The students hope to initially find customers among companies that operate large fleets of heavy vehicles. They have already drawn interest from the U.S. military and several truck manufacturers. http://www.physorg.com/news153505357.html Technology Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:23:01 EST news153505357 (PhysOrg.com) -- As fuel cells are becoming more popular due to their potential use in applications such as hydrogen-powered vehicles, auxiliary power systems, and electronic devices, the need for the precious metal platinum is also increasing. In fuel cells, platinum is often used as the catalyst for oxygen reduction by splitting oxygen molecules into oxygen ions. However, platinum is rare and expensive: in a fuel cell for a typical car, the platinum catalyst costs about $4,000. http://www.physorg.com/news153413712.html Nanotechnology Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:55:56 EST news153413712 Researchers have developed the first-ever biogas plant to run purely on waste instead of edible raw materials -- transforming waste into valuable material. The plant generates 30 percent more biogas than its predecessors. A fuel cell efficiently converts the gas into electricity. http://www.physorg.com/news152878602.html Technology Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:17:05 EST news152878602 (PhysOrg.com) -- A novel technology for synthesising chemicals from plant material could produce liquid fuel for just over €0.50 ($0.65) a liter, say German scientists. But only if the infrastructure is set up in the right way, states the research published in this month`s issue of Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining. http://www.physorg.com/news152464010.html Technology Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:07:24 EST news152464010 The government has launched a project to develop a midair rocket-launching system that can place satellites in orbit, it has been learned. http://www.physorg.com/news152201951.html Space & Earth Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:20:40 EST news152201951 (PhysOrg.com) -- Through work originally designed to remove contaminants from soil, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and their Belgium colleagues at Hasselt University have identified plant-associated microbes that can improve plant growth on marginal land. The findings, published in the February 1, 2009 issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, may help scientists design strategies for sustainable biofuel production that do not use food crops or agricultural land. http://www.physorg.com/news152191745.html Biology Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:29:29 EST news152191745 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst performs two crucial, and previously unreachable steps needed to oxidize ethanol and produce clean energy in fuel cell reactions. Their results are published online in the January 25, 2009 edition of Nature Materials. http://www.physorg.com/news152191425.html Nanotechnology Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:24:09 EST news152191425 Microbes may well be the answer to our global energy crisis. By fermenting biomass to produce biofuels, they offer a possible climate-friendly solution to the anticipated shortfall in fossil fuel supply. A review by Professor Arnold Demain from Drew University in New Jersey, USA, on how microbes could be used to salvage the energy crisis has just been published online Springer's Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news151839704.html Biology Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:42:08 EST news151839704 Engineers and food scientists are teaming up to develop a new type of gelled fuel the consistency of orange marmalade designed to improve the safety, performance and range of rockets for space and military applications. http://www.physorg.com/news151767431.html Chemistry Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:39:57 EST news151767431 (PhysOrg.com) -- Airline passengers arriving in Atlanta on early morning `redeye` flights during the past few months may have noticed something different during their descent to the runway. Instead of the typical sound of engine power rising and falling as the aircraft descended in a series of level flight steps, they may have noticed a quieter arrival - without the steps. http://www.physorg.com/news151688367.html Technology Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:39:56 EST news151688367 The EUREKA (Belgium) i-StARS project is developing a compact, fully integrated and low-cost start-stop system for cars to replace conventional alternators in mass production. This second-generation starter alternator reversible system (StARS) is intended to enable the European automotive industry to meet new EU emissions legislation and significantly reduce fuel consumption without needing to redesign the engine. Additionally, it will fulfil global demands for more energy-efficient vehicles. Market forecasts indicate some one million vehicles a year will be using these systems by 2010 with a 4% penetration rate worldwide in the automotive market for such micro-hybrid applications in 2015. http://www.physorg.com/news151241951.html Technology Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:39:11 EST news151241951 (PhysOrg.com) -- Space shuttle Discovery's installation to its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters was completed Sunday afternoon. http://www.physorg.com/news151081085.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:58:05 EST news151081085 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new version of an environmentally friendly, energy efficient technology that could replace combustion engines in cars and batteries in mobile devices such as phones and laptops is being researched by Aberdeen experts. http://www.physorg.com/news151076750.html Technology Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:45:50 EST news151076750 (PhysOrg.com) -- The rise in sea level since the last ice age has prevented us from feeling the full impact of man-made global warming. The sea level rise has resulted in more harmful greenhouse gases being absorbed by the seas. So argue Bangor University scientists in the latest issue of Geophysical Research Letters (23/12/08), an influential US scientific journal publishing scientific advances that are likely to have immediate influence on the research of other investigators. http://www.physorg.com/news151075775.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:29:35 EST news151075775 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have created an entirely natural and renewable method for producing hydrogen to generate electricity which could drastically reduce the dependency on fossil fuels in the future. http://www.physorg.com/news150472856.html Chemistry Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:00:56 EST news150472856 (PhysOrg.com) -- The benefits of ridesharing - aka car-pooling - are well known: less traffic, less wear on roads and less fuel consumed, and the ability to engage in pre-office-hours water-cooler talk that can be accomplished without the water cooler. http://www.physorg.com/news150396367.html Technology Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:46:07 EST news150396367 (PhysOrg.com) -- Biological fuel cells use enzymes or whole microorganisms as biocatalysts for the direct conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy. One type of microbial fuel cell uses anodes (positive electrodes) coated with a bacterial film. The fuel consists of a substrate that the bacteria can break down. The electrons released in this process must be transferred to the anode in order to be drawn off as current. But how can the electrons be efficiently conducted from the microbial metabolism that occurs inside a cell to the anode? http://www.physorg.com/news149857405.html Chemistry Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:03:25 EST news149857405 (PhysOrg.com) -- The slow evolution of clean-energy solutions is about to kick into high gear, if Sossina M. Haile has anything to say about it. As a fuel cell researcher at the California Institute of Technology and a founding member of the company Superprotonic Inc., she hopes to make this `technology of the future` practical for today`s applications. http://www.physorg.com/news149265036.html Technology Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:30:36 EST news149265036 (PhysOrg.com) -- Excess fuel consumption caused by excess driver and passenger weight has increased in the past two years, with no end in sight. http://www.physorg.com/news148666976.html Other Sciences Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:22:56 EST news148666976 (PhysOrg.com) -- The University of California, San Diego plans to store power produced at night from a planned 2.8 megawatt "green" fuel cell and use the energy during peak-demand hours the following day when electricity rates are highest. Implementation of the advanced energy storage system at UC San Diego, one of the greenest universities in the nation, was made possible by the Nov. 21 approval by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) of a measure designed to lower peak demands on the state`s electrical power grid. http://www.physorg.com/news148582496.html Technology Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:54:56 EST news148582496 Researchers in Nevada are reporting that waste coffee grounds can provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks. Their study has been published online in the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. http://www.physorg.com/news148149549.html Chemistry Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:39:09 EST news148149549 (PhysOrg.com) -- Mark Gordon recently held up a small vial containing three liquids layered one on top of another. That middle layer, the brownish one, is an ionic liquid, Gordon explained. http://www.physorg.com/news147422802.html Chemistry Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:46:42 EST news147422802 New data, generated in mice, by Pierre Sonveaux and colleagues, at Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, have identified a potential new target for anticancer therapeutics. http://www.physorg.com/news146422595.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:56:35 EST news146422595 (PhysOrg.com) -- Mobile electronics have the potential to offer digital luxuries beyond our imagination, but they will never get there on today`s lithium ion batteries. Power has been the weak spot in the development of more advanced mobile electronics, and the need for power will become even more important as devices feature more energy-sapping applications. http://www.physorg.com/news146139643.html Technology Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:20:43 EST news146139643 The longest fuel-cell-powered flight of a radio-controlled aerial vehicle has been achieved by students at the University of Michigan and engineers at Ann Arbor-based fuel-cell manufacturer Adaptive Materials Inc. http://www.physorg.com/news145811696.html Technology Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:14:56 EST news145811696 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nanorobots that are introduced into the body to eradicate tumor cells or clean out clogged arteries are not just science fiction; they are a realistic vision of the technological possibilities of the not-so-distant future. Efficient nanomotors will be needed to drive these nanomachines. http://www.physorg.com/news144479498.html Nanotechnology Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:11:38 EST news144479498 (PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers at Panasonic will showcase their new reduced size methanol fuel cell at the Hydrogen Energy Advanced Technology Exhibition 2008 in Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan. Japan's most populated city will host the exhibit on October 22-24, 2008. http://www.physorg.com/news143869950.html Technology Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:52:30 EST news143869950