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. For nearly a century, scientists have been trying to unravel the many mysteries of superconductivity, where materials conduct electricity with zero resistance. http://www.physorg.com/news152263441.html Physics Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:24:31 EST news152263441 (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 Bioengineers at Harvard University have shown that small plastic disks impregnated with tumor-specific antigens and implanted under the skin can reprogram the mammalian immune system to attack tumors. http://www.physorg.com/news151866192.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:03:49 EST news151866192 (PhysOrg.com) -- `In photonic crystals, the ability to control the structure of a material in full three dimensional space, allows you to control the way that light flows through it,` John Rogers tells PhysOrg.com. `This approach to photonic materials can be useful in applications ranging from communications to lasers to optical waveguides.` http://www.physorg.com/news151758574.html Physics Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:10:25 EST news151758574 A device that can bestow invisibility to an object by "cloaking" it from visual light is closer to reality. After being the first to demonstrate the feasibility of such a device by constructing a prototype in 2006, a team of Duke University engineers has produced a new type of cloaking device, which is significantly more sophisticated at cloaking in a broad range of frequencies. http://www.physorg.com/news151251853.html Physics Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:24:13 EST news151251853 The ability of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the safety of dietary supplements using nanomaterials is severely limited by lack of information, lack of resources and the agency's lack of statutory authority in certain critical areas, according to a new expert report released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN). http://www.physorg.com/news151160447.html Nanotechnology Wed, 14 Jan 2009 13:00:47 EST news151160447 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 (PhysOrg.com) -- It has a beautiful, but also an unpleasant side: crystallization determines the shape of precious stones, but also causes the lime scale in washing machines. How this comes about, has been known for a long time - or has it? http://www.physorg.com/news150998079.html Chemistry Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:54:39 EST news150998079 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using a simple chemical process, scientists at Cornell and DuPont have invented a method of preparing carbon nanotubes for suspension in a semiconducting "ink," which can then be printed into such thin, flexible electronics as transistors and photovoltaic materials. http://www.physorg.com/news150650570.html Nanotechnology Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:22:50 EST news150650570 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dwellings in colonies on the moon one day may be built with new, highly durable bricks developed by students from the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. http://www.physorg.com/news150396734.html Technology Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:52:14 EST news150396734 A new and better way to predict earthquakes and avalanches may soon be available to forecasters thanks to mathematical research underway at NJIT. Using mathematical modeling, researchers are investigating how forces and pressures propagate through granular materials. http://www.physorg.com/news149180680.html Other Sciences Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:04:40 EST news149180680 Two new high-resolution transmission electron microscopes, co-financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), are set to open up new opportunities for research in physics and materials science. The new research microscopes at RWTH Aachen University and the University of Ulm will enable exceptional, state-of-the-art developments in the field of electron optics in Germany and be available to a broad group of users. http://www.physorg.com/news148816641.html Physics Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:57:21 EST news148816641 Students doing research for their classes are increasingly turning to online resources, which raises concerns among many academic instructors who have questions about the quality of material found on the Internet. However, research co-authored by North Carolina State University's Dr. Susan Miller-Cochran offers a teaching approach that attempts to address the problem by encouraging students to do their own critical analysis of the material they use in their work - regardless of whether it was found online. http://www.physorg.com/news147449073.html Other Sciences Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:04:33 EST news147449073 (PhysOrg.com) -- New ways of squeezing out greater efficiency from solar photovoltaic cells are emerging from computer simulations and lab tests conducted by a team of physicists and engineers at MIT. http://www.physorg.com/news146758622.html Physics Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:17:02 EST news146758622 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) -- Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have posited an explanation for superconductivity that may open the door to the discovery of new, unconventional forms of superconductivity. http://www.physorg.com/news146492527.html Physics Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:22:07 EST news146492527 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using an array of nanotube devices, each coated with a different organic material, researchers at the Israel Institute of Technology have developed diagnostic system that may be able to diagnose lung cancer simply by sampling a patient`s breath. The results of this study, which was led by Hossam Haick, Ph.D., appear in the journal Nano Letters. http://www.physorg.com/news146418330.html Nanotechnology Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:45:30 EST news146418330 The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is part of an international team of scientists that is learning more about how cracks form in brittle materials. The team used both computer modeling and experimentation to investigate how cracks grow at low speeds in silicon. This information has potential applications in the development of a variety of materials ranging from armor to machine parts. The research team published their findings in the October 30th edition of Nature. http://www.physorg.com/news146409673.html Physics Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:21:13 EST news146409673 In the face of growing environmental concerns and a renewed interest in energy efficiency, the construction of homes and businesses that emphasize "green" construction materials is on the rise, according to an article scheduled for the November 17 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. http://www.physorg.com/news146146831.html Technology Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:20:31 EST news146146831 (PhysOrg.com) -- Medical researchers are looking at any number of new methods to get drugs to specific locations in the body. Some methods are efficient but less safe, while others are safe but often fail to deliver. http://www.physorg.com/news145939852.html Nanotechnology Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:50:52 EST news145939852 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) -- Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are decoding the mysterious mechanisms behind the high-temperature superconductors that industry hopes will find wide use in next-generation systems for storing, distributing and using electricity. In two new papers on a recently discovered class of high-temperature superconductors, they report that the already complicated relationship between magnetism and superconductivity may be more involved than previously thought, or that a whole new mechanism may drive some types of superconductors. http://www.physorg.com/news145800057.html Physics Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:00:57 EST news145800057 In future, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) - better known as acrylic glass - could be made from natural raw materials such as sugars, alcohols or fatty acids. PMMA is manufactured by polymerising methyl methacrylate (MMA). In a bacterial strain, scientists at the University of Duisburg-Essen and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have found an enzyme which could be used for the biotechnological production of a precursor of MMA. Compared with the previous chemical production process, a biotechnological process is far more environmentally friendly. http://www.physorg.com/news145791266.html Chemistry Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:34:26 EST news145791266 Companies, organisations and citizens spend billions a year on licensing fees for proprietary software. Could that money not be put to better use developing free software alternatives and local expertise? http://www.physorg.com/news145717098.html Technology Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:58:18 EST news145717098 (PhysOrg.com) -- MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny `backpacks` that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering. http://www.physorg.com/news145127136.html Nanotechnology Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:05:36 EST news145127136 Broken hearts could one day be mended using a novel scaffold developed by MIT researchers and colleagues. http://www.physorg.com/news144852736.html Medicine & Health Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:52:16 EST news144852736 Thanks to ESA and UK technology transfer support, a British company has developed a device based on the gamma-ray detection equipment used in ESA`s Integral astronomy satellite to detect and identify the radioactive material mixed with conventional explosives in ‘dirty bombs`. http://www.physorg.com/news144597130.html Technology Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:52:10 EST news144597130 New research shows that environmental gains derived from the use of nanomaterials may be offset in part by the processes used to manufacture them. Research published in a special issue of the Journal of Industrial Ecology, a peer-reviewed journal owned by Yale University and headquartered at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, highlights the need for improved efficiency in the manufacturing of nanoscale materials to reduce energy use, emissions, solid waste, and the use of toxic input materials. http://www.physorg.com/news144419358.html Nanotechnology Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:29:18 EST news144419358 (PhysOrg.com) -- From pacemakers constructed of materials that so closely mimic human tissues that a patient's body can't discern the difference to devices that bypass injured spinal cords to restore movement to paralyzed limbs, the possibilities presented by organic electronics read like something from a science fiction novel. http://www.physorg.com/news143980012.html Chemistry Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:26:52 EST news143980012 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the past several years, researchers have been trying to take advantage of carbon nanotubes` good electrical properties for future nanoscale electronics applications. One of the biggest challenges in this area is finding ways to arrange and assemble the nanotubes into 3D configurations for carrying current in nanoscale devices. http://www.physorg.com/news143891566.html Nanotechnology Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:52:46 EST news143891566