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) -- The green mussel is known for being a notoriously invasive fouling species, but scientists have just discovered that it also has a very powerful form of adhesion in its foot, according to a recent article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. The stickiness of the mussel's foot could possibly be copied to form new man-made adhesives. http://www.physorg.com/news170600671.html Chemistry Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:04:54 EST news170600671 (PhysOrg.com) -- Until recently, factory smokestacks that produced nothing but carbon dioxide and water vapor were considered exemplary. Now CO2 has become notorious as a greenhouse gas, and the danger of climate change has become one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time. How can we slow the increasing release of CO2? http://www.physorg.com/news170329164.html Chemistry Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:40:08 EST news170329164 A new method for attaching a large protective polymer molecule to a protein appears to improve protein drugs significantly. http://www.physorg.com/news169915782.html Biology Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:20:02 EST news169915782 (PhysOrg.com) -- Proteins are solids. When heated they do not melt; instead, they decompose or sublime directly to the gas phase at low pressures. They cannot be converted into a liquid form unless they are dissolved in a solvent. A team at the University of Bristol (UK) and the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Golm (Germany) has now successfully liquefied a protein without the assistance of a solvent. As the research team headed by Stephen Mann reports in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the trick is to modify the surface of the protein with a polymeric surfactant. http://www.physorg.com/news169725144.html Chemistry Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:53:08 EST news169725144 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Glasgow are hoping to use tiny fabricated tubes to help damaged nerves heal themselves. http://www.physorg.com/news169645238.html Chemistry Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:42:10 EST news169645238 Cleaning oily smears from kitchen countertops, mirrors, garage floors, and other surfaces with plain water - rather than strong detergents or smelly solvents - may seem like pure fantasy. But scientists in Indiana today describe what they believe to be a simple and effective state-of-the-art oil stain remover. They have developed a new coating for glass, plastics, and a range of other materials that would enable consumers to wipe away those pesky oils with plain water. http://www.physorg.com/news169644578.html Chemistry Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:30:10 EST news169644578 (PhysOrg.com) -- Research with tiny artificial muscles may yield a full-page active Braille system that can refresh automatically and come to life right beneath your fingertips. http://www.physorg.com/news169480554.html Technology Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:40:03 EST news169480554 (PhysOrg.com) -- As organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are poised to go mainstream in the near future, scientists continue to explore new twists on the technology. Recently, researchers have fabricated a "liquid-OLED" - an OLED that uses a liquid organic semiconducting layer to transport charge. http://www.physorg.com/news169466260.html Physics Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:58:35 EST news169466260 An international team of researchers from the Netherlands, Russia and Austria discovered that monolayer coverage and channel length set the mobility in self-assembled monolayer field-effect transistors (SAMFETs). This opens the door to extremely sensitive chemical sensors that can be produced in a cost-effective way. The research was done at Philips Research Eindhoven and Eindhoven University of Technology. The findings were published as an Advanced Online Publication in Nature Nanotechnology. http://www.physorg.com/news169202165.html Nanotechnology Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:00:01 EST news169202165 A new material developed at the University of Virginia - an oxygen nanosensor that couples a light-emitting dye with a biopolymer - simplifies the imaging of oxygen-deficient regions of tumors. Such tumors are associated with increased cancer aggressiveness and are particularly difficult to treat. http://www.physorg.com/news169134170.html Nanotechnology Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:44:25 EST news169134170 (PhysOrg.com) -- Bacteria play a role in myriad industrial processes from fermentation to cleaning up environmental pollution. But floating freely in solution, the microbial cells constantly multiply, generating biomass that must be removed periodically, causing downtime. Additionally, the microorganisms cannot be localized to a specific region of interest. http://www.physorg.com/news168617211.html Chemistry Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:07:20 EST news168617211 University of Washington researchers have found a way to measure exactly how much electrical current is carried by tiny bubbles and channels that form inside nanoscale solar cells, paving the way for development of more efficient materials. http://www.physorg.com/news168608261.html Nanotechnology Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:38:12 EST news168608261 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new class of economically viable solar power cells--cheap, flexible and easy to make--has come a step closer to reality as a result of recent work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where scientists have deepened their understanding of the complex organic films at the heart of the devices. http://www.physorg.com/news168018281.html Physics Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:45:35 EST news168018281 (PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists and engineers at the University of Warwick have found that exposing particular mixtures of polymer particles and other materials to sudden freeze-drying can create a high-tech armored foam that could be used for a number of purposes, including a new range of low power room temperature gas sensors. http://www.physorg.com/news167996488.html Nanotechnology Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:50:01 EST news167996488 "Jewel beetles" are widely known for their glossy external skeletons that appear to change colors as the angle of view changes. Now they may be known for something else--providing a blueprint for materials that reflect light rather than absorbing it to produce colors. http://www.physorg.com/news167585862.html Chemistry Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:38:56 EST news167585862 Tough new fire-resistant coating materials called HIPS ('hybrid inorganic polymer system') are being developed by CSIRO researchers in Melbourne. http://www.physorg.com/news167306601.html Chemistry Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:03:58 EST news167306601 Conventional means of internal reinforcement for concrete member in buildings involve steel bars. Yet for structures that function in harsh environments like coastal regions, or for structures that support sensitive equipment, such as magnetic resonance imaging units; the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is emerging as a valuable option, due to its natural resistance to corrosion, its high strength, light weight, transparency to electrical and magnetic fields and ease of manufacturing and installment. http://www.physorg.com/news166807178.html Technology Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:21:03 EST news166807178 (PhysOrg.com) -- Efficient energy transport plays an important role in the development of optoelectonic materials. The true masters of energy transfer via a hierarchical arrangement of different molecules are the photosynthetic mechanisms of plants. http://www.physorg.com/news166264723.html Nanotechnology Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:39:34 EST news166264723 (PhysOrg.com) -- Tough new fire-resistant coating materials called HIPS (‘hybrid inorganic polymer system`) are being developed by CSIRO researchers in Melbourne. http://www.physorg.com/news165158181.html Chemistry Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:17:21 EST news165158181 Biochips carrying thousands of DNA fragments are widely used for examining genetic material. Experts would also like to have biochips on which proteins are anchored. This requires a gel layer which can now be produced industrially. http://www.physorg.com/news165058328.html Chemistry Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:32:34 EST news165058328 University of Georgia researchers have developed a successful way to grow molecular wire brushes that conduct electrical charges, a first step in developing biological fuel cells that could power pacemakers, cochlear implants and prosthetic limbs. The journal Chemical Science calls the technique "a significant breakthrough for nanotechnology." http://www.physorg.com/news164652420.html Nanotechnology Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:47:25 EST news164652420 A more effective way to build plastic scaffolds on which new tissues and even whole organs might be grown in the laboratory is being developed by an international collaboration between teams in Portugal and the UK. http://www.physorg.com/news164525294.html Technology Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:28:29 EST news164525294 A research team led by a chemist at the University of California, Riverside has fabricated microscopic polymer beads that change color instantly and reversibly when external magnetic fields acting upon the microspheres change orientation. http://www.physorg.com/news164375513.html Chemistry Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:52:32 EST news164375513 (PhysOrg.com) -- Under a microscope they look like tiny pie charts or colorful candy canes: A team led by Joerg Lahann at the University of Michigan has been able to produce micrometer-wide discs and elongated rods precisely built out of multicolored compartments. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, these scientists have developed a simple, cost-effective, reliable, and scalable method for the production of microcylinders with multiple compartments. The inner structure, aspect ratio, and surface chemistry can be tuned by means of the new production method which is based on electrodynamic co-spinning and microcutting processes. http://www.physorg.com/news162455075.html Chemistry Mon, 25 May 2009 07:26:04 EST news162455075 (PhysOrg.com) -- First, Cornell researchers created DNA "bar codes" -- strands of the genetic material that quickly identify the presence of different molecules by fluorescing. Now, they have created new DNA molecules that can detect pathogens and deliver drugs to cells when they form long chains called polymers. http://www.physorg.com/news162057240.html Nanotechnology Wed, 20 May 2009 16:54:41 EST news162057240 (PhysOrg.com) -- Carbon nanotubes are at the center of the nanoelectronics research movement, with scientists making great progress toward getting nanotube-based electronic devices into the hands of consumers. But one area of carbon nanotube research where there has been considerably less success is creating repeating, regular patterns onto individual nanotubes, a task necessary for a key goal of nanoelectronics: patterning transistors directly onto nanotube surfaces. http://www.physorg.com/news161950586.html Nanotechnology Tue, 19 May 2009 11:17:36 EST news161950586 (PhysOrg.com) -- When cells cannot carry out the tasks required of them by our bodies, the result is disease. Nanobiotechnology researchers are looking for ways to allow synthetic systems take over simple cellular activities when they are absent from the cell. This requires transport systems that can encapsulate medications and other substances and release them in a controlled fashion at the right moment. The transporter must be able to interact with the surroundings in order to receive the signal to unload its cargo. http://www.physorg.com/news161937924.html Chemistry Tue, 19 May 2009 07:45:47 EST news161937924 Parachute cords, climbing ropes, and smart coatings for bridges that change color when overstressed are several possible uses for force-sensitive polymers being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois. http://www.physorg.com/news160834918.html Chemistry Wed, 06 May 2009 13:22:39 EST news160834918 (PhysOrg.com) -- A research group reported recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they have engineered nanoparticles to help block a protein process that takes place in tumors, making the tumors more susceptible to chemotherapy treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news160829777.html Nanotechnology Wed, 06 May 2009 11:57:04 EST news160829777 (PhysOrg.com) -- In his office, MIT Professor of Chemical Engineering Gregory Rutledge keeps a small piece of fabric that at first glance resembles a Kleenex. This tissue-like material, softer than silk, is composed of fibers that are a thousand times thinner than a human hair and holds promise for a wide range of applications including protective clothing, drug delivery and tissue engineering. http://www.physorg.com/news160760875.html Nanotechnology Tue, 05 May 2009 16:48:15 EST news160760875