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. On Earth, we tend to find dust nothing more than a nuisance that blankets our furniture and causes us to sneeze. Cosmic dust can also be a hindrance to astronomers because cameras using visible light cannot see through it. However, studying cosmic dust in detail helps astronomers to pin down the ingredients of the raw mixture that eventually gives birth to stars. http://www.physorg.com/news178899301.html Space & Earth Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:16:51 EST news178899301 To design a lightweight anchor that can dig itself in to hold small underwater submersibles, Anette (Peko) Hosoi of MIT borrowed techniques from one of nature's best diggers -- the razor clam. http://www.physorg.com/news178119439.html Electronics Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:40:26 EST news178119439 The health of your heart has a lot to do with the foods you eat. To help busy people and families shop for, prepare, and serve healthy meals, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health created and published Keep the Beat Recipes: Deliciously Healthy Dinners. The new cookbook features 75 simple and delicious recipes influenced by Asian, Latino, Mediterranean, and American cuisine that are good for your heart and taste great too. http://www.physorg.com/news177089455.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:20:01 EST news177089455 (PhysOrg.com) -- The manufacture of parts by compaction and sintering involves filling a die with metal powder. Research scientists have simulated this process for the first time to achieve an evenly distributed powder density. This improves the cost-efficiency of sintering. http://www.physorg.com/news176459452.html Technology Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:30:02 EST news176459452 (PhysOrg.com) -- The cheeseburger and French fries might look tempting, but eating a serving of broccoli or leafy greens first could help people battle metabolic processes that lead to obesity and heart disease, a new University of Florida study shows. http://www.physorg.com/news175354958.html Medicine & Health Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:43:28 EST news175354958 Individuals who follow the Mediterranean dietary pattern -- rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish -- appear less likely to develop depression, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. http://www.physorg.com/news173987723.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:10:01 EST news173987723 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are seeing sub-surface water ice that may be 99 percent pure halfway between the north pole and the equator on Mars, thanks to quick-turnaround observations from orbit of fresh meteorite impact craters on the planet. http://www.physorg.com/news173021371.html Space & Earth Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:00:02 EST news173021371 (PhysOrg.com) -- A Purdue University researcher has found a way to predict the nutrient content in distillers dried grains with solubles, making the ethanol byproduct more marketable as a feedstock. http://www.physorg.com/news172500167.html Chemistry Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:00:01 EST news172500167 (PhysOrg.com) -- The parasitic flowering plant Striga, or "witchweed," attacks the roots of host plants, draining needed water and nutrients and leaving them unable to grow and produce any grains. Witchweed is endemic throughout sub-Saharan Africa, causing crop losses that surpass hundreds of millions of dollars annually and exacerbating food shortages in the region. http://www.physorg.com/news170601530.html Biology Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:19:20 EST news170601530 In a first-of-its kind study, scientists reported today at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) that snack foods like popcorn and many popular breakfast cereals contain "surprisingly large" amounts of healthful antioxidant substances called "polyphenols." http://www.physorg.com/news169827451.html Medicine & Health Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:18:11 EST news169827451 Researchers have found another reason to eat well: a healthy diet helps prevent kidney stones. Loading up on fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, while limiting salt, red and processed meats, and sweetened beverages is an effective way to ward off kidney stones, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Because kidney stones are linked to higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, increased body weight, and other risk factors for heart disease, the findings have considerable health implications. http://www.physorg.com/news169402936.html Medicine & Health Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:25:02 EST news169402936 (PhysOrg.com) -- The party was over more than 4,000 years ago, but the remnants still remain in the gourds and squashes that served as dishware. For the first time, University of Missouri researchers have studied the residues from gourds and squash artifacts that date back to 2200 B.C. and recovered starch grains from manioc, potato, chili pepper, arrowroot and algarrobo. The starches provide clues about the foods consumed at feasts and document the earliest evidence of the consumption of algarrobo and arrowroot in Peru. http://www.physorg.com/news167401723.html Other Sciences Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:29:32 EST news167401723 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Warwick have recovered significant DNA information from a lost form of ancient barley that triumphed for over 3000 years seeing off: 5 changes in civilisation, water shortages and a much more popular form of barley that produces more grains. This discovery offers a real insight into the couture of ancient farming and could assist the development of new varieties of crops to face today's climate change challenges. http://www.physorg.com/news167376131.html Biology Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:00:01 EST news167376131 (PhysOrg.com) -- One of the issues afflicting magnetic memory is the fact that it is difficult to store information for as long as 10 years. In order to overcome this problem, scientists and engineers have been looking for a way to increase the density of magnetic grains used for storage, as well as use a material with high magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE). Using cobalt (which has the highest MAE of ferromagnetic elements), a group at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden, Germany, discovered a way to increase the density of magnetic grains in a data storage device. http://www.physorg.com/news166180590.html Physics Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:16:51 EST news166180590 While most nutrition experts agree that school lunches should include more whole-grain products, a new study from the University of Minnesota finds that food-service workers lack understanding and the resources to meet that goal. http://www.physorg.com/news163171389.html Medicine & Health Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:23:44 EST news163171389 The beta-carotene in so-called "Golden Rice" converts to vitamin A in humans, according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Tufts University in an article that appears in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. http://www.physorg.com/news161441355.html Medicine & Health Wed, 13 May 2009 13:49:48 EST news161441355 Drinking at least one glass of low sodium vegetable juice daily may help overweight people with metabolic syndrome achieve better weight loss results. A study, conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine and presented at this week's Experimental Biology Meeting, found that participants who drank at least 8-ounces of low sodium vegetable juice as part of a calorie-controlled DASH diet lost four pounds over 12 weeks, while those who followed the same diet but drank no juice lost one pound. http://www.physorg.com/news159373244.html Medicine & Health Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:21:22 EST news159373244 Ant trails fascinate children and scientists alike. With so many ants traveling in both directions, meeting and contacting one another, carrying their loads and giving the impression that they have a sense of urgency and duty, they pose the following question: how do they organize themselves? A new study published in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE may have some answers. http://www.physorg.com/news157786575.html Biology Wed, 01 Apr 2009 06:37:41 EST news157786575 Spanish and French astrophysicists have identified a band in the infrared range that serves to track the presence of organic material rich in oxygen and nitrogen in the interstellar dust grains. Should any telescope detect this band, the presence in space of aminoacids and other substances, which are the precursors to life, could be confirmed. http://www.physorg.com/news157301483.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:51:49 EST news157301483 (PhysOrg.com) -- The wind barreled across the ice at Daily Lake as Montana State University paleoecologist Cathy Whitlock and three students used all their strength to pull a metal pipe out of the mucky lake bottom. With much effort, they hauled up 16,000 years of history from the glacial lake. http://www.physorg.com/news154967156.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:27:14 EST news154967156 (PhysOrg.com) -- Titan's vast dune fields, which may act like weather vanes to determine general wind direction on Saturn's biggest moon, have been mapped by scientists who compiled four years of radar data collected by the Cassini spacecraft. http://www.physorg.com/news154966417.html Space & Earth Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:14:26 EST news154966417 (PhysOrg.com) -- A team of astronomers, led by Loretta Dunne from the University of Nottingham, have found some very unusual stardust. In a paper to be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Dr Dunne and her team find new evidence for the production of copious quantities of dust in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, the remains of a star that exploded about 300 years ago. http://www.physorg.com/news154709258.html Space & Earth Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:48:14 EST news154709258 Tiny sediment grains are covered with a very fine-grained, complex mixture of minerals in an open fabric that results in a large surface area in contact with water between the grains. Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are studying this microscopic layer and finding that the mineral composition of these coatings on sediment grains in the unsaturated zone (i.e., between land surface and the water table) can have a substantial effect on the retention of nitrate and sulfate. http://www.physorg.com/news154615214.html Space & Earth Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:40:46 EST news154615214 Omega-6 fatty acids - found in vegetable oils, nuts and seeds - are a beneficial part of a heart-healthy eating plan, according to a science advisory published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. http://www.physorg.com/news152215026.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:58:27 EST news152215026 Starch grains preserved on human teeth reveal that ancient Peruvians ate a variety of cultivated crops including squash, beans, peanuts and the fruit of cultivated pacay trees. http://www.physorg.com/news147374126.html Other Sciences Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:15:26 EST news147374126 (PhysOrg.com) -- Without eyes or ears, plants must rely on the interaction of molecules to determine appropriate mating partners and avoid inbreeding. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers have identified pollen proteins that may contribute to the signaling processes that determine if a plant accepts or rejects individual pollen grains for reproduction. http://www.physorg.com/news143977160.html Biology Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:39:20 EST news143977160 The availability and use of wet distiller's grains in beef finishing diets continues to increase as the ethanol industry expands, and some Texas AgriLife Research scientists are trying to determine if that will affect consumers' meat purchases. http://www.physorg.com/news143892511.html Other Sciences Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:08:31 EST news143892511 A team of scientists, including Penn State Distinguished Professor of Biology Hong Ma, has identified a gene in rice that controls the size and weight of rice grains. The gene may prove to be useful for breeding high-yield rice and, thus, may benefit the vast number of people who rely on this staple food for survival. "Our work shows that it is possible to increase rice's yield by enhancing the expression of a particular gene," said Ma. The team's results will be published on 28 September 2008 in an early online edition of the journal Nature Genetics, and in the November print issue of the journal. http://www.physorg.com/news141835316.html Biology Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:41:56 EST news141835316 A team of Penn State physicists has discovered that the size of grains, such as sand, above a buried object is important in determining the force required to begin raising the object. No one, until now, has discovered how much force is required to initiate an object's movement through grains. The result may be useful for engineering foundations for objects to be anchored in sandy soils, such as power-line towers, or for designing industrial mixer blades, such as those used in pharmaceutical processing. The team's paper is published this month in the journal Physical Review Letters. http://www.physorg.com/news141645681.html Physics Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:01:21 EST news141645681 An explanation for a strange property of noctilucent clouds--thin, wispy clouds hovering at the edge of space at 85 km altitude--has been proposed by an experimental plasma physicist at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), possibly laying to rest a decades-long mystery. http://www.physorg.com/news141568891.html Physics Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:41:31 EST news141568891