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. In the quest to produce nuclear fusion energy, researchers from the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have recently confirmed long-standing theoretical predictions that performance, efficiency and reliability are simultaneously obtained in tokamaks, the leading magnetic confinement fusion device, operating at their performance limits. Experiments designed to test these predictions have successfully demonstrated the interaction of these conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news176402578.html Physics Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:30:03 EST news176402578 In all the world, there are about 200 types of zeolite, a compound of silicon, aluminum and oxygen that gives civilization such things as laundry detergent, kitty litter and gasoline. But thanks to computations by Rice University professor Michael Deem and his colleagues, it appears there are -- or could be -- more types of zeolites than once thought. http://www.physorg.com/news176391313.html Physics Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:50:02 EST news176391313 In campy old movies, Lucretia Borgia swans around emptying powder from her ring into wine glasses carelessly left unattended. The poison ring is usually a confection of gold filigree holding a cabochon or faceted gemstone that can be broken to empty the ring's contents. It is invariably enormous - so large it is rather odd nobody seems to notice it. http://www.physorg.com/news176306859.html Nanotechnology Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:08:21 EST news176306859 (PhysOrg.com) -- Recently, a trio from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Louisiana Tech University showed that strontium ions congregate on water's surface. Their computer simulation and careful calculations finally demonstrated why experiments and conventional wisdom clashed about the behavior of this type of ion, a divalent cation or one with two electrons missing. http://www.physorg.com/news175891519.html Chemistry Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:46:35 EST news175891519 Epileptic seizures are the most dramatic and prominent aspect of the "alcohol withdrawal syndrome" that occurs when a person abruptly stops a long-term or chronic drinking habit. Researchers have shown that the flow of calcium ions into brain cells via voltage-gated calcium channels plays an important role in the generation of alcohol withdrawal seizures, because blocking this flow suppresses these seizures. But do the changes in calcium currents contribute to alcohol withdrawal seizures or are they a consequence of the seizures? http://www.physorg.com/news175017259.html Medicine & Health Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:20:01 EST news175017259 Our brains, it turns out, are eco-friendly. A study published in Science and reviewed by F1000 Biology members Venkatesh Murthy and Jakob Sorensen reveals that our brains have the amazing ability to be energy efficient. http://www.physorg.com/news174738260.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:50:01 EST news174738260 A new type of redox flow battery presents a huge advantage for electric cars. If the rechargeable batteries are low, the discharged electrolyte fluid can simply be exchanged at the gas station for recharged fluid -- as easy as refilling the petrol tank. http://www.physorg.com/news174662162.html Technology Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:40:01 EST news174662162 (PhysOrg.com) -- Space environments can deliver a beating to spacecraft electronics. For decades, satellites and other spacecraft have used bulky and expensive shielding to protect vital microelectronics -- microprocessors and other integrated circuits -- from space radiation. http://www.physorg.com/news173376237.html Technology Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:04:49 EST news173376237 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's technology was instrumental in cleaning up Southern California Edison's Visalia Pole Yard, which is scheduled to be taken off the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list this week. http://www.physorg.com/news172765794.html Space & Earth Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:30:33 EST news172765794 (PhysOrg.com) -- Salt and paper battery can be used in many low-power devices, such as medical implants, RFID tags, wireless sensors and smart cards. This battery uses a thin-film which makes it an attractive feature for many portable devices that draws a low current. http://www.physorg.com/news172241467.html Technology Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:52:18 EST news172241467 A study led by MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) investigators is providing new insight into the mechanism of neonatal seizures, which have features very different from seizures in older children and adults. In their report in the Sept. 10 issue of Neuron, the researchers describe finding how neurons in different parts of the brains of newborn mammals respond differently to the neurotransmitter GABA, an observation that may explain why seizure activity in the neonatal brain often does not produce visible convulsions and why the common antiseizure drug phenobarbital can exacerbate the invisible nature of neonatal seizures. http://www.physorg.com/news171723251.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:40:22 EST news171723251 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have long known that molecules dance about as the temperature rises, but now researchers know the exact steps that water takes with a certain molecule. Results with small, electrically charged cyanide ions and water molecules reveal that water zips around ions to a greater extent than expected. The findings improve our understanding of a chemical interaction important in atmospheric sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news171641348.html Chemistry Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:10:13 EST news171641348 Scientists have long known that molecules dance about as the temperature rises, but now researchers know the exact steps that water takes with a certain molecule. Results with small, electrically charged cyanide ions and water molecules reveal that water zips around ions to a greater extent than expected. The findings improve our understanding of a chemical interaction important in environmental and atmospheric sciences. http://www.physorg.com/news171173633.html Physics Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:14:43 EST news171173633 (PhysOrg.com) -- When a river flows into the sea, the location is more than just a haven for water commerce. The mixing of fresh and salt water that occurs at an estuary also dissipates energy, as the different salinity waters combine into a state of less-ordered, uniform salinity. The mixing generates a significant 2.2 kJ of energy per liter of fresh water that flows into the sea. http://www.physorg.com/news171102611.html Technology Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:30:03 EST news171102611 Using thin films of silk as templates, researchers have incorporated inorganic nanoparticles that join with the silk to form strong and flexible composite structures that have unusual optical and mechanical properties. This bio-enabled, surface-mediated formation approach mimics the growth and assembly processes of natural materials, taking advantage of the ability of biomolecules to chemically reduce metal ions to produce nanoparticles without harsh processing conditions. http://www.physorg.com/news169911617.html Nanotechnology Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:00:01 EST news169911617 Researchers at the University of Leeds have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that allows the hepatitis C virus (HCV) to remain in the body for decades. http://www.physorg.com/news169741163.html Medicine & Health Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:19:51 EST news169741163 Better tools for manipulating DNA in the laboratory may soon be possible with newly discovered deoxyribozymes (catalytic DNA) capable of cleaving single-stranded DNA, researchers at the University of Illinois say. http://www.physorg.com/news169649497.html Biology Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:52:05 EST news169649497 A process that cleans wastewater and generates electricity can also remove 90 percent of salt from brackish water or seawater, according to an international team of researchers from China and the U.S. http://www.physorg.com/news168778403.html Space & Earth Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:53:59 EST news168778403 (PhysOrg.com) -- Health-conscious consumers know the benefits of eating high-antioxidant foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts. A University of Georgia researcher has uncovered a way to provide antioxidant-rich water in a bottle. http://www.physorg.com/news168271770.html Chemistry Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:20:03 EST news168271770 (PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers have developed a new method for creating high-performance membranes from crystal sieves called zeolites; the method could increase the energy efficiency of chemical separations up to 50 times over conventional methods and enable higher production rates. http://www.physorg.com/news168187670.html Chemistry Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:48:42 EST news168187670 University of Utah School of Medicine researchers and their colleagues at University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center have found strong evidence that abnormal calcium signaling in neurons may play an important role in the development of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), a disorder causing progressive loss of coordination, speech difficulty, and abnormal eye movements. Their findings are published in the July 27, 2009 issue of Journal of Neuroscience. http://www.physorg.com/news167488840.html Medicine & Health Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:41:02 EST news167488840 Arsenic trioxide has a long history as a potent human poison, but it also has proven valuable as one of the primary treatment options for acute promyelocytic leukemia. Efforts to use arsenic trioxide to treat other types of cancer are under way, but clinical trials are revealing that the extreme toxicity of this material is likely to limit its utility as a broad-spectrum anticancer agent. http://www.physorg.com/news167412238.html Nanotechnology Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:30:01 EST news167412238 Nanostructured materials have garnered great interest worldwide due to their unique size-dependent properties for chemical, electronic, structural, medical and consumer applications. http://www.physorg.com/news166722374.html Nanotechnology Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:46:39 EST news166722374 An international team of scientists has developed salt-tolerant plants using a new type of genetic modification (GM), bringing salt-tolerant cereal crops a step closer to reality. http://www.physorg.com/news166195010.html Biology Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:17:31 EST news166195010 Pancreatitis is often a fatal condition, in which the pancreas digests itself and surrounding tissue. Scientists have previously found that alcohol can trigger the condition by combining with fatty acids in the pancreas, which leads to an excessive release of stored calcium ions. Once calcium ions enter cell fluid in the pancreas it activates digestive enzymes and damages the cells. http://www.physorg.com/news165489834.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:40:03 EST news165489834 Alcohol's inebriating effects are familiar to everyone. But the molecular details of alcohol's impact on brain activity remain a mystery. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies brings us closer to understanding how alcohol alters the way brain cells work. http://www.physorg.com/news165418779.html Medicine & Health Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:47:46 EST news165418779 (PhysOrg.com) -- North Carolina State University researchers have discovered a link between copper and the normal functioning of prion proteins, which are associated with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases such as Cruetzfeldt-Jakob in humans or "mad cow" disease in cattle. http://www.physorg.com/news165161592.html Chemistry Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:20:01 EST news165161592 Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena and their colleagues from the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague have developed a new method to quickly and reliably detect metabolites, such as sugars, fatty acids, amino acids and other organic substances from plant or animal tissue samples. One drop of blood -- less than one micro liter -- is sufficient to identify certain blood related metabolites. http://www.physorg.com/news164539160.html Chemistry Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:30:01 EST news164539160 Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated entanglement--a phenomenon peculiar to the atomic-scale quantum world--in a mechanical system similar to those in the macroscopic everyday world. The work extends the boundaries of the arena where quantum behavior can be observed and shows how laboratory technology might be scaled up to build a functional quantum computer. http://www.physorg.com/news163253992.html Physics Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:20:26 EST news163253992 (PhysOrg.com) -- Oxidative stress has been linked to aging, cancer and other diseases in humans. Paradoxically, researchers have suggested that small exposure to oxidative conditions may actually offer protection from acute doses. Now, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have discovered the gene responsible for this effect. Their study, published in PLoS Genetics on May 29, explains the underlying mechanism of the process that prevents cellular damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). http://www.physorg.com/news162797155.html Medicine & Health Fri, 29 May 2009 06:26:23 EST news162797155