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) -- New insight into how nature handles some fundamental processes is guiding researchers in the design of tailor-made proteins for applications such as artificial photosynthetic centers, long-range electron transfers, and fuel-cell catalysts for energy conversion. http://www.physorg.com/news176564279.html Chemistry Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:38:36 EST news176564279 Hydrogen, the most common element in the universe, is normally an insulating gas, but at high pressures it may turn into a superconductor. Now, scientists at the Carnegie Institution in Washington D.C., US, have discovered a hydrogen-based compound that could be helpful in the search for metallic and superconducting forms of hydrogen. The results are reported in Physical Review Letters and highlighted in the August 3rd issue of APS's on-line journal Physics. http://www.physorg.com/news168518594.html Physics Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:43:52 EST news168518594 A research collaboration between Munich-based biophysicists and a structural biologist in Hamburg (Germany) is helping to explain why our muscles, and those of other animals, don't simply fall apart under stress. Their findings may have implications for fields as diverse as medical research and nanotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news167329628.html Biology Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:40:01 EST news167329628 By manipulating individual atoms in DNA and forming unique molecules, a Georgia State University researcher hopes to open new avenues in research towards better understanding the mechanisms of DNA replication and transcription, and perhaps leading to new treatments for diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news167058036.html Chemistry Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:03:03 EST news167058036 (PhysOrg.com) -- Most of us, when we take our first science classes, learn that when things cool down, they shrink. (When they heat up, we learn, they usually expand.) However, water seems to be the exception to the rule. Instead of shrinking as it cools, this common liquid actually expands. In order to explain this phenomenon, some scientists have adopted the `mixture` model, which purports that low-density, ice-like components dominate due to cooling. Masakazu Matsumoto, at the Nagoya University Research Center for Materials Science in Japan, has a different idea. He describes his findings in Physical Review Letters: "Why Does Water Expand When It Cools?" http://www.physorg.com/news167040410.html Physics Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:07:34 EST news167040410 One of nature's most gripping feats of survival is now better understood. For the first time, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory observed the chemical changes in individual cells that enable them to survive conditions that should kill them. http://www.physorg.com/news166195237.html Chemistry Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:50:01 EST news166195237 (PhysOrg.com) -- Below 0 °C, water turns to ice. But beyond that, or below about -75 °C, the ice may turn back into liquid water. While scientists have previously predicted this phase transition with computer simulations, recent experiments may have finally demonstrated the existence of this ultra-cold water. http://www.physorg.com/news165084657.html Chemistry Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:51:25 EST news165084657 (PhysOrg.com) -- Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have discovered a potential chink in the armor of fibers that make the cell walls of certain inedible plant materials so tough. The insight ultimately could lead to a cost-effective and energy-efficient strategy for turning biomass into alternative fuels. http://www.physorg.com/news159623619.html Biology Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:54:08 EST news159623619 A ghostly property of matter, called quantum tunneling, may aid the quest for accurate, low-cost genomic sequencing, according to a new paper in Nature Nanotechnology Letters by Stuart Lindsay and his collaborators at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University. Tunneling implies that a particle, say an electron, can cross a barrier, when, according to classical physics, it does not have enough energy to do so. http://www.physorg.com/news156953933.html Nanotechnology Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:43:19 EST news156953933 Researchers have discovered an unusual molecule that is essential to the atmosphere's ability to break down pollutants, especially the compounds that cause acid rain. It's the unusual chemistry facilitated by this molecule, however, that will attract the most attention from scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news137780533.html Chemistry Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:22:13 EST news137780533