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. New research reveals the brain activity that underlies our tendency to "follow the crowd." The study, published by Cell Press in the January 15th issue of the journal Neuron, provides intriguing insight into how human behavior can be guided by the perceived behavior of other individuals. http://www.physorg.com/news151158794.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:33:14 EST news151158794 (PhysOrg.com) -- IBM Research scientists, in collaboration with the Center for Probing the Nanoscale at Stanford University, have demonstrated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with volume resolution 100 million times finer than conventional MRI. http://www.physorg.com/news151073713.html Nanotechnology Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:55:13 EST news151073713 The healthy brain is in a constant struggle between learning new experiences and remembering old experiences, a new study in this week's PLoS Biology reports. Virtually all social interactions require the rapid exchange of new and old information. For instance, normal conversation requires that while listening to the new information another person is providing, we are already retrieving information in preparation of an appropriate reply. Yet, some memory theories assume that these different modes of memory cannot happen at the same time and compete for priority within our brain. http://www.physorg.com/news151055130.html Biology Tue, 13 Jan 2009 07:45:30 EST news151055130 They may never pose a challenge to Olympic superstar Michael Phelps, but the "microswimmers" developed by researchers in Spain and the United Kingdom could break a long-standing barrier to improving delivery of medications for cancer and other diseases. They describe the development of tiny, magnetically controlled particles, called "microswimmers," that doctors could use to precisely deliver medicine to diseased tissue. Their report appears in the December 25, 2008 issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. http://www.physorg.com/news151001927.html Chemistry Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:58:47 EST news151001927 A new Rice University study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that socioemotional meanings, including sexual ones, are conveyed in human sweat. http://www.physorg.com/news150643103.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:18:23 EST news150643103 Women with bulimia nervosa appear to respond more impulsively during psychological testing than those without eating disorders, and brain scans show differences in areas responsible for regulating behavior, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://www.physorg.com/news150397130.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:58:50 EST news150397130 A network of emotion-regulating brain regions implicated in the pathological worry that can grip patients with anxiety disorders may also be useful for predicting the benefits of treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news150091875.html Medicine & Health Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:11:15 EST news150091875 New research by a Rice University psychologist clearly identifies the parts of the brain involved in the process of choosing appropriate words during speech. http://www.physorg.com/news149344989.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:43:09 EST news149344989 Dollar signs for eyes - cartoonists have been drawing them for years, and the artists, while whimsical, may have been onto something. According to new research from UC San Diego, areas of the brain responsible for vision respond more strongly to objects of value. http://www.physorg.com/news149344893.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:41:33 EST news149344893 (PhysOrg.com) -- One of the key steps in the development of any drug or imaging agent intended for human use is measurement of the adsorption, metabolism, and excretion of the drug. Quantifying this collection of pharmacological properties, known as ADME, is a challenging and time-consuming process that is even more difficult when the drug or imaging agent includes a nanoparticle as one of its components. But by taking advantage of the magnetic properties of one kind of nanoparticle, a team of investigators at Washington University in St. Louis has demonstrated that they can measure ADME quickly using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). http://www.physorg.com/news149265429.html Nanotechnology Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:37:09 EST news149265429 Scientists have shown that tiny crystals found inside bacteria provide a magnetic compass to help them navigate through sediment to find the best food, in research out today. http://www.physorg.com/news148708230.html Biology Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:50:30 EST news148708230 (PhysOrg.com) -- Earth's magnetic field, which shields our planet from particles streaming outward from the Sun, often develops two holes that allow the largest leaks, according to researchers sponsored by NASA and the National Science Foundation. http://www.physorg.com/news148665600.html Space & Earth Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST news148665600 The fast pace of growing computing power could be sustained for many years to come thanks to new research from the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) that is applying advanced techniques to magnetic semiconductors. http://www.physorg.com/news148054154.html Nanotechnology Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:09:14 EST news148054154 A key challenge of nanotechnology research is investigating how different materials behave at lengths of merely one-billionth of a meter. When shrunk to such tiny sizes, many everyday materials exhibit interesting and potentially beneficial new properties. http://www.physorg.com/news147967643.html Nanotechnology Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:07:23 EST news147967643 (PhysOrg.com) -- Sometimes physicists resort to tried and trusted model-making tricks. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research, the University of Stuttgart and the Colorado School of Mines have constructed micromachines using the same trick that model makers use to get ships into a bottle where the masts and rigging of the sailing ship are not erected until it is in the bottle. In the same way, the scientists link the valves, pumps and stirrers of a microlaboratory to create a micro device on a chip. To do this, they introduce colloidal particles - tiny magnetizable plastic spheres - as components into the channels on the chip. A rotating magnetic field is used to link the components into larger aggregates and set them into motion as micromachines. (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), December 2, 2008) http://www.physorg.com/news147443726.html Physics Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:35:26 EST news147443726 How marine animals find their way back to their birthplace to reproduce after migrating across thousands of miles of open ocean has mystified scientists for more than a century. But marine biologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill think they might finally have unraveled the secret. http://www.physorg.com/news147374782.html Biology Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:26:22 EST news147374782 Faint magnetic signals from brain activity in children with autism show that those children process sound and language differently from non-autistic children. Identifying and classifying these brain response patterns may allow researchers to more accurately diagnose autism and possibly aid in developing more effective treatments for the developmental disorder. http://www.physorg.com/news147357357.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:35:57 EST news147357357 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated for the first time the existence of a key magnetic -as opposed to electronic -property of specially built semiconductor devices. This discovery raises hopes for even smaller and faster gadgets that could result from magnetic data storage in a semiconductor material, which could then quickly process the data through built-in logic circuits controlled by electric fields. http://www.physorg.com/news146851062.html Physics Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:57:42 EST news146851062 Researchers in Ohio and France have solved a longstanding scientific mystery involving magnetic resonance -- the physical phenomenon that allows MRI instruments in modern hospitals to image tissues deep within the human body. Their discovery, a new mathematical algorithm, should lead to new MRI techniques with more informative and sharper images. http://www.physorg.com/news146838211.html Physics Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:23:31 EST news146838211 Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have improved their understanding of the inner workings of our computers and mp3 players, thanks to an exciting new field of research called 'organic spintronics'. http://www.physorg.com/news146740386.html Physics Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:13:06 EST news146740386 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists using ESA's Mars Express have produced the first crude map of aurorae on Mars. These displays of ultraviolet light appear to be located close to the residual magnetic fields generated by Mars's crustal rocks. They highlight a number of mysteries about the way Mars interacts with electrically charged particles originating from the Sun. http://www.physorg.com/news146487857.html Space & Earth Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:04:17 EST news146487857 Physicists in the USA and at the London Centre for Nanotechnology have found a way to extend the quantum lifetime of electrons by more than 5,000 per cent, as reported in this week's Physical Review Letters. Electrons exhibit a property called 'spin' and work like tiny magnets which can point up, down or a quantum superposition of both. The state of the spin can be used to store information and so by extending their life the research provides a significant step towards building a usable quantum computer. http://www.physorg.com/news145938390.html Physics Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:26:30 EST news145938390 (PhysOrg.com) -- This image gives the first clear view of the faint boundary of the Crab Nebula's X-ray-emitting pulsar wind nebula. The nebula is powered by a rapidly-rotating, highly-magnetized neutron star, or "pulsar" (white dot near the center). http://www.physorg.com/news145202582.html Space & Earth Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:03:02 EST news145202582 According to the international space agencies, "Space Weather" is the single greatest obstacle to deep space travel. Radiation from the sun and cosmic rays pose a deadly threat to astronauts in space. http://www.physorg.com/news145004546.html Physics Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:02:26 EST news145004546 During the time it takes you to read this article, something will happen high overhead that until recently many scientists didn't believe in. A magnetic portal will open, linking Earth to the sun 93 million miles away. Tons of high-energy particles may flow through the opening before it closes again, around the time you reach the end of the page. http://www.physorg.com/news144677133.html Space & Earth Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:05:33 EST news144677133 (PhysOrg.com) -- Meteorites that are among the oldest rocks ever found have provided new clues about the conditions that existed at the beginning of the solar system, solving a longstanding mystery and overturning some accepted ideas about the way planets form. http://www.physorg.com/news144592967.html Space & Earth Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:42:47 EST news144592967 (PHysOrg.com) -- A NASA spacecraft gliding over the battered surface of Mercury for the second time this year has revealed more previously unseen real estate on the innermost planet. The probe also has produced several science firsts and is returning hundreds of new photos and measurements of the planet's surface, atmosphere and magnetic field. http://www.physorg.com/news144511161.html Space & Earth Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:59:21 EST news144511161 Scientists are reporting development of a device that could serve as the electronic "reader" for a coming generation of "wellness cards," specimen holders used to diagnose disease from a drop of a patient's saliva or blood. The research, done by scientists in Utah, Iowa, Arizona, and Minnesota, is presented in two papers scheduled for the November 1 issue of ACS' Analytical Chemistry. http://www.physorg.com/news144326413.html Chemistry Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:40:13 EST news144326413 Physics Professor Diandra Leslie-Pelecky brought more with her when she arrived at UT Dallas than expertise in nanotechnology and shiny behemoth lab equipment. She brought an award for $84,000 from the National Institutes of Health via the Cleveland Clinic. http://www.physorg.com/news143126042.html Nanotechnology Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:14:02 EST news143126042 (PhysOrg.com) -- Physicists have recently discovered that heating one side of a magnetized nickel-iron rod causes electrons to rearrange themselves according to their spins. This so-called "spin Seebeck effect" could lead to batteries that generate magnetic currents, rather than electric currents. A source of magnetic currents could be especially useful for the development of spintronics devices, which use magnetic currents in order to reduce overheating in computer chips, since, unlike electric currents, magnetic currents donīt generate heat. http://www.physorg.com/news142847923.html Physics Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:58:42 EST news142847923