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) -- A new research project has shown that people who perceive numbers visually, and who see sequences of numbers as visual patterns, have better memories for dates and events in the past than people who do not. http://www.physorg.com/news180085439.html Medicine & Health Tue, 15 Dec 2009 07:45:01 EST news180085439 (PhysOrg.com) -- Beginning in mid-December, scientists will undertake a special mission to squeeze the secrets out of ice crystals in cirrus clouds. The SPARTICUS, or Small Particles in Cirrus, campaign will weave together data from an instrumented airplane and ground-based instruments to gather the most comprehensive set of ice crystal measurements yet. Scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are part of the team that will define the scientific mission and they are leading the project's daily operations. http://www.physorg.com/news180032371.html Space & Earth Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:20:05 EST news180032371 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dinosaurs have literally been put through their paces by a new supercomputer, allowing scientists to get closer to understanding how they once moved. http://www.physorg.com/news179594858.html Other Sciences Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:50:04 EST news179594858 It turns out that wearing a cap is good for you, at least if you are a mammal cell. http://www.physorg.com/news179003738.html Biology Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:50:02 EST news179003738 You can think of it as origami - very high-tech origami. Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for fabricating three-dimensional, single-crystalline silicon structures from thin films by coupling photolithography and a self-folding process driven by capillary interactions. http://www.physorg.com/news178212895.html Nanotechnology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:10:13 EST news178212895 Despite minimal exposure to the regular geometric objects found in developed countries, African tribal people perceive shapes as well as westerners, according to a new study. http://www.physorg.com/news177358579.html Medicine & Health Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:17:07 EST news177358579 Predators with experience of skunks avoid them both because of their black-and-white coloration and their distinctive body shape, according to UC Davis wildlife researcher Jennifer Hunter. The study was published online Oct. 21 in the journal Behavioral Ecology. http://www.physorg.com/news177095422.html Biology Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:11:28 EST news177095422 Teenagers' attitudes to diet and weight are shaped by their social class, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. http://www.physorg.com/news173077956.html Medicine & Health Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:30:02 EST news173077956 Researchers from Northwestern University and Boise State University have figured out how to produce a less expensive shape-shifting "memory" foam, which could lead to more widespread applications of the material, such as in surgical positioning tools and valve mechanisms. http://www.physorg.com/news173002757.html Chemistry Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:19:54 EST news173002757 Tiny particles are pivotal to climate change, public health, and nanotechnology. A significant fraction of these particles are aspherical, yet scientists must routinely assume the particles are spherical to interpret many measurements of particle properties. To determine the true shape of particles, experts at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Imre Consulting devised SPLAT II, a single particle mass spectrometer that provides extremely precise particle measurements. http://www.physorg.com/news171641601.html Physics Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:20:01 EST news171641601 A study of 4254 Canadian schoolchildren has shown a direct association between BMI and satisfaction with their body shape. The research, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, shows a linear response for girls, who were happiest when thinnest, and a U-shaped response for boys, who were unhappy when they were too skinny or too fat. http://www.physorg.com/news170536130.html Medicine & Health Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:09:30 EST news170536130 (PhysOrg.com) -- How many sweets fit into a jar? This question depends on the shapes and sizes of the sweets, the size of the jar, and how it is filled. Surprisingly, this ancient question remains unanswered because of the complex geometry of the packing of the sweets. Moreover, as any contestant knows, guessing the number of sweets in the jar is difficult because the sweets located at the center of the jar are hidden from view and can't be counted. Researchers at New York University have now determined how sweets pack from inside the jar, making it easier to more accurately count them. http://www.physorg.com/news168095052.html Physics Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:04:49 EST news168095052 Shape memory alloys can "remember" a condition. If they are deformed, a temperature change can be enough to bring them back to their original shape. A simulation calculates the characteristics of these materials. http://www.physorg.com/news166718002.html Technology Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:34:10 EST news166718002 French videogame powerhouse Ubisoft is putting players into the action when it comes to fitness training. http://www.physorg.com/news163148324.html Technology Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:59:12 EST news163148324 (AP) -- Laid off from her job in Massachusetts, Danielle Marks thought immediately about losing her health insurance. How could she afford the medication and physical therapy she needed to heal after shoulder surgery? http://www.physorg.com/news162738504.html Medicine & Health Thu, 28 May 2009 14:08:56 EST news162738504 BOSTON--By combining the art of origami with nanotechnology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers have folded sheets of DNA into multilayered objects with dimensions thousands of times smaller than the thickness of a human hair. These tiny structures could be forerunners of custom-made biomedical nanodevices such as "smart" delivery vehicles that would sneak drugs into patients' cells, where they would dump their cargo on a specific molecular target. http://www.physorg.com/news162044509.html Chemistry Wed, 20 May 2009 13:26:06 EST news162044509 (PhysOrg.com) -- For many women, body image is a constant struggle; a poor self-image can lead to a host of both mental and physical health problems. But a new study out of Temple University finds that an extremely good body image can also take its toll on a woman's health. http://www.physorg.com/news160926854.html Medicine & Health Thu, 07 May 2009 14:54:48 EST news160926854 Tomatoes come in a variety of sizes and shapes, making them the perfect subject to test shape-analyzing software. The Tomato Analyzer is "rapidly becoming the standard for fruit morphological characterizations," according to a study led by Marin Talbot Brewer of The Ohio State University's Department of Horticulture and Crop Science. Details of the team's latest Tomato Analyzer research were published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. http://www.physorg.com/news160656905.html Biology Mon, 04 May 2009 11:55:30 EST news160656905 Researchers have determined the structure of a key genetic mechanism at work in bacteria, including some that are deadly to humans, in an important step toward the design of a new class of antibiotics, according to an accelerated publication that appeared online today as a "paper of the week" in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. http://www.physorg.com/news159188021.html Chemistry Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:56:18 EST news159188021 Researchers in Japan have turned to mathematics to build a computerized 3D model of the female trunk that could help lingerie and other clothes designers make more sensuous, comfortable, and better fitting product ranges. http://www.physorg.com/news156096749.html Technology Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:13:00 EST news156096749 (PhysOrg.com) -- Flip open any biology textbook and you're bound to see a complicated diagram of the inner workings of a cell, with its internal scaffolding, the cytoskeleton, and how it maintains a cell's shape. Yet the fundamental question remains, which came first: the shape, or the skeleton? http://www.physorg.com/news146753143.html Biology Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:45:43 EST news146753143 Imagine you are a police detective trying to identify a suspect wearing a trench coat, baggy pants and a baseball cap pulled low. Or imagine you are a fashion industry executive who wants to market virtual clothing that customers of all shapes and sizes can try online before they purchase. Perhaps you want to create the next generation of "Guitar Hero" in which the user, not some character, is pumping out the licks. The main obstacle to these and other pursuits is creating a realistic, 3-D body shape - especially when the figure is clothed or obscured. http://www.physorg.com/news144333559.html Technology Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:39:19 EST news144333559 In a new study published in the online-open access journal PLoS ONE, Per Christiansen at the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, reports the finding that the evolution of skull and mandible shape in sabercats and modern cats were governed by different selective forces, and the two groups evolved very different adaptations to killing. http://www.physorg.com/news136606691.html Biology Wed, 30 Jul 2008 03:18:11 EST news136606691 When chemists want to produce a lot of a substance -- such as a newly designed drug -- they often turn to catalysts, molecules that speed chemical reactions. Many jobs require highly specialized catalysts, and finding one in just the right shape to connect with certain molecules can be difficult. Natural catalysts, such as enzymes in the human body that help us digest food, get around this problem by shape-shifting to suit the task at hand. http://www.physorg.com/news134219274.html Chemistry Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:07:54 EST news134219274 Proteins are the workhorses of our cells. They help to digest our food, are at the core of our immune system, and literally shape our body from top to toe. Proteins also play an important role in biotechnology in the form of enzymes, which are important in the creation of anything from pharmaceuticals to bread, washing powder and much more. Their possibilities are virtually without limit. http://www.physorg.com/news133616507.html Biology Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:41:47 EST news133616507