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) -- For the first time, it has been possible to measure electron density in individual molecular states using what is known as the photoelectric effect. Now published in Science, this method represents a key building block in the development of organic semiconductor elements. Supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, the success of this project rested on the mathematical transformation of the measured data. This made it possible to interpret the distribution of the electrons and draw conclusions about the potential properties of organic semiconductor elements. http://www.physorg.com/news177582885.html Physics Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:35:28 EST news177582885 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Columbia University have successfully discovered a beneficial use for carbon dioxide in the conversion of organic materials, such as grass and bark, into fuel. Their findings show that if utilized on a broad scale, their technique could help significantly reduce overall carbon emissions, both from the use of carbon dioxide in biofuel production and the creation of a more energy-efficient production process. The study appears this week on the website of the Journal of Environmental Science & Technology. http://www.physorg.com/news177179481.html Space & Earth Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:31:39 EST news177179481 (PhysOrg.com) -- Electronic devices can't work well unless all of the transistors, or switches, within them allow electrical current to flow easily when they are turned on. A team of engineers has determined why some transistors made of organic crystals don't perform well, yielding ideas about how to make them work better. http://www.physorg.com/news177103252.html Nanotechnology Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:37:05 EST news177103252 (PhysOrg.com) -- Inventing a useful new tool for creating chemical reactions between single molecules, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have employed microfluidics -- the manipulation of fluids at the microscopic scale -- to make microdroplets that contain single molecules of interest. By combining this new microfluidic "droplet-on-demand" method with "optical tweezers" that could merge multiple droplets and cause their molecular contents to react, the research may ultimately lead to a compact, integrated setup for obtaining single-molecule information on the structure and function of important organic materials, such as proteins, enzymes, and DNA. http://www.physorg.com/news172862506.html Nanotechnology Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:22:11 EST news172862506 (PhysOrg.com) -- Plastic that conducts electricity holds promise for cheaper, thinner and more flexible electronics. This technology is already available in some gadgets -- the new Sony walkman that was introduced earlier this summer and the Microsoft Zune HD music player released last week both incorporate organic light-emitting electronic displays. http://www.physorg.com/news169736246.html Technology Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:58:12 EST news169736246 London's oldest timber structure has been unearthed by archaeologists from Archaeology South-East (part of the Institute of Archaeology at UCL). It was found during the excavation of a prehistoric peat bog adjacent to Belmarsh Prison in Plumstead, Greenwich, in advance of the construction of a new prison building. Radiocarbon dating has shown the structure to be nearly 6,000 years old and it predates Stonehenge by more than 500 years. Jacobs Engineering UK Ltd acted as the managing consultants, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, and the work was facilitated by Interserve Project Services Ltd. http://www.physorg.com/news169297178.html Other Sciences Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:10:05 EST news169297178 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 Stromatolites are dome- or column-like sedimentary rock structures that are formed in shallow water, layer by layer, over long periods of geologic time. Now, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have provided evidence that some of the most ancient stromatolites on our planet were built with the help of communities of equally ancient microorganisms, a finding that "adds unexpected depth to our understanding of the earliest record of life on Earth," notes JPL astrobiologist Abigail Allwood, a visitor in geology at Caltech. http://www.physorg.com/news166972420.html Space & Earth Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:14:07 EST news166972420 Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are expected to power Air Force unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the future because they are an optimum energy harvesting source that may lead to longer flight times without refueling. http://www.physorg.com/news166795115.html Technology Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:58:58 EST news166795115 Emory researchers are tapping the latest-generation DNA sequencing technology to become the first explorers of the genomics of agricultural ant societies. http://www.physorg.com/news166355602.html Biology Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:53:45 EST news166355602 Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new way of dating archaeological objects - using fire and water to unlock their 'internal clocks'. http://www.physorg.com/news162017188.html Other Sciences Wed, 20 May 2009 05:47:29 EST news162017188 Scientists in California are reporting use of a first-of-its-kind approach to craft genetically engineered microbes with the much-sought ability to transform switchgrass, corn cobs, and other organic materials into methyl halides - the raw material for making gasoline and a host of other commercially important products. http://www.physorg.com/news160936277.html Chemistry Thu, 07 May 2009 17:31:58 EST news160936277 Comets have always fascinated us. A mysterious appearance could symbolize God's displeasure or mean a sure failure in battle, at least for one side. Now Tel Aviv University justifies our fascination -- comets might have provided the elements for the emergence of life on our planet. http://www.physorg.com/news160152468.html Space & Earth Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:48:14 EST news160152468 (PhysOrg.com) -- After years of biting and chewing, how are human teeth able to remain intact and functional? A team of researchers from The George Washington University and other international scholars have discovered several features in enamel--the outermost tooth tissue--that contribute to the resiliency of human teeth. http://www.physorg.com/news159197196.html Medicine & Health Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:27:02 EST news159197196 Roughly 20 percent of the electricity consumed worldwide is used to light homes, businesses, and other private and public spaces. Though this consumption represents a large drain on resources, it also presents a tremendous opportunity for savings. Improving the efficiency of commercially available light bulbs -- even a little -- could translate into dramatically lower energy usage if implemented widely. http://www.physorg.com/news158328538.html Physics Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:09:40 EST news158328538 Although perhaps the greatest public health achievement of the 20th century was the disinfection of water, a recent study now shows that the chemicals used to purify the water we drink and use in swimming pools react with organic material in the water yielding toxic consequences. http://www.physorg.com/news157717913.html Space & Earth Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:32:24 EST news157717913 (PhysOrg.com) -- A tiny microbe can take electricity and directly convert carbon dioxide and water to methane, producing a portable energy source with a potentially neutral carbon footprint, according to a team of Penn State engineers. http://www.physorg.com/news157651388.html Chemistry Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:05:23 EST news157651388 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 Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and world-leading gene-synthesis company DNA2.0 have taken an important step toward the development of a cost-efficient process to extract sugars from cellulose--the world's most abundant organic material and cheapest form of solar-energy storage. Plant sugars are easily converted into a variety of renewable fuels such as ethanol or butanol. http://www.physorg.com/news157048957.html Biology Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:43:35 EST news157048957 The next time an overnight snow begins to fall, take two bricks and place them side by side a few inches apart in your yard. http://www.physorg.com/news156349503.html Physics Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:25:42 EST news156349503 (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 Tropical oceans are known as the deserts of the sea. And yet this unlikely environment is the very place where the rich and fertile coral reef grows. Dutch researcher Jasper de Goeij investigated how caves in the coral reef ensure the reef's continued existence. Although sponges in these coral caves take up a lot of dissolved organic material, they scarcely grow. However, they do discard a lot of cells that in turn provide food for the organisms on the reef. http://www.physorg.com/news151074780.html Biology Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:13:00 EST news151074780 Research from Utrecht University shows that there is an organic-rich bed of sediment in the floor of the Eastern Mediterranean. This bed formed over a period of about 4000 years under oxygen-free bottom-water conditions. A wet climatic period was responsible for the phenomenon. According to climate scenarios, the climate may become wetter in this area, potentially giving rise again to a period of oxygen-free bottom-water. These results are published in the September issue of Nature Geoscience. http://www.physorg.com/news141485085.html Space & Earth Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:24:45 EST news141485085 University of Virginia researchers have a plan to greatly increase algae oil yields by feeding the algae extra carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas) and organic material like sewage, meaning the algae could simultaneously produce biofuel and clean up environmental problems. http://www.physorg.com/news138338233.html Biology Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:17:13 EST news138338233