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. In an advance with overtones of Star Trek phasers and other sci-fi ray guns, scientists in Canada are reporting development of an internal on-off "switch" that paralyzes animals when exposed to a beam of ultraviolet light. The animals stay paralyzed even when the light is turned off. When exposed to ordinary light, the animals become unparalyzed and wake up. Their study appears in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. It reports the first demonstration of such a light-activated switch in animals. http://www.physorg.com/news177772060.html Chemistry Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:20:02 EST news177772060 (PhysOrg.com) -- A consortium led by UC Davis physics professor Robert Svoboda will design the world's largest neutrino detector under a $4.4 million contract recently awarded by the National Science Foundation. http://www.physorg.com/news174731920.html Physics Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:49:21 EST news174731920 A Japanese menswear company has begun selling an "anti-swine flu" business suit that it says can reduce the risk of catching the virus. http://www.physorg.com/news174290645.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:04:24 EST news174290645 (PhysOrg.com) -- Chemical engineers at Oregon State University have invented a new technology to deposit "nanostructure films" on various surfaces, which may first find use as coatings for eyeglasses that cost less and work better. http://www.physorg.com/news172321412.html Nanotechnology Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:04:16 EST news172321412 A team of University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researchers led by Ralf Kaiser, physical chemist at UH Mānoa, unraveled the chemical evolution of the orange-brownish colored atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, the only solar system body besides Venus and Earth with a solid surface and thick atmosphere. The UH Mānoa team, including Xibin Gu and Seol Kim, conducted simulation experiments mimicking the chemical reactions in Titan's atmosphere utilizing crossed molecular beams in which the consequence of a single collision between molecules can be followed. http://www.physorg.com/news172224744.html Space & Earth Tue, 15 Sep 2009 09:13:24 EST news172224744 In an advance toward better treatments for the most serious form of brain cancer, scientists in Illinois are reporting development of the first nanoparticles that seek out and destroy brain cancer cells without damaging nearby healthy cells. The study is scheduled for the Sept. 9 issue of ACS' Nano Letters. http://www.physorg.com/news171745889.html Nanotechnology Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:12:29 EST news171745889 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nicholas Turro of Columbia University, Bernhard Krautler of the University of Innsbruck, Austria and their colleagues have found that, as chlorophyll ages and begins to disintegrate in banana peels it does not change color in the spectrum of visible light we see. Instead, it glows blue when observed under ultraviolet light. http://www.physorg.com/news171740114.html Chemistry Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:49:02 EST news171740114 The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) of our galaxy is a giant complex of molecular gas and dust situated in the innermost 700 light-years of the Milky Way. Although the galaxy is over 100,000 light-years in size, nearly 10% of all of its molecular gas lies in the CMZ. Astronomers know that regions of dense gas and dust tend to produce new stars as the material coalesces and heats up under the influence of gravity. http://www.physorg.com/news170687664.html Space & Earth Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:15:25 EST news170687664 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are adapting the same methods used in fusion-energy research to create extremely thin plasma beams for a new class of "nanolithography" required to make future computer chips. http://www.physorg.com/news169825442.html Nanotechnology Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:44:45 EST news169825442 (PhysOrg.com) -- A star does not die without getting noticed and may even leave the universe with "fireworks." At the end of its life cycle, a star begins to collapse in the middle and throws new material into space. The new material eventually becomes incorporated into new planets and life. Now, a University of Missouri professor identified new features in the material that is being ejected from the dying star Helix Nebula. http://www.physorg.com/news167317412.html Space & Earth Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:50:08 EST news167317412 (PhysOrg.com) -- UC San Diego scientists are using laser plasma-produced light sources to explore performance improvements of critical inspection tools for the semiconductor industry, which ultimately will enable industry to pursue even better and faster chips. While optical lithography is being pushed to its limits in the semiconductor industry, there is a growing concern whether metrology tools can keep pace for creating and inspecting the new generation of devices. http://www.physorg.com/news166804847.html Technology Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:41:23 EST news166804847 Now that the weather is nice, people will spend more time outside. Whether it`s doing yard work, playing golf or relaxing at the beach, we are a nation of sun lovers. Some people with light skin may even spend a few sessions in the tanning booth to begin to develop a golden hue that looks like they spent a week at the beach. Others work outside and whether they planned to or not, they will get more sunlight for the next six months. This carries a note of concern, since sunlight is very likely the reason malignant melanoma incidence has doubled since the 1970`s with an estimated 69,000 new cases expected this year and almost 9,000 deaths. http://www.physorg.com/news162666086.html Medicine & Health Wed, 27 May 2009 18:02:26 EST news162666086 (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 (AP) -- South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for human diseases. The four dogs, all named "Ruppy" - a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" - look like typical beagles by daylight. http://www.physorg.com/news160163765.html Biology Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:56:42 EST news160163765 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers in Japan are reporting development of a new so-called "photochromic" material that changes color thousands of times faster than conventional materials when exposed to light. http://www.physorg.com/news159732927.html Chemistry Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:15:54 EST news159732927 Research by astronomers at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies suggests that shadows hold the key to how giant star-forming structures like the famous "Pillars of Creation" take shape. http://www.physorg.com/news159686915.html Space & Earth Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:29:06 EST news159686915 (PhysOrg.com) -- The ability to create tiny patterns is essential to the fabrication of computer chips and many other current and potential applications of nanotechnology. Yet, creating ever smaller features, through a widely-used process called photolithography, has required the use of ultraviolet light, which is difficult and expensive to work with. http://www.physorg.com/news158511531.html Nanotechnology Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:59:47 EST news158511531 Scientists have shed new light -- literally -- on a possible way to starve cancer tumors or prevent side effects from a wide range of drugs. http://www.physorg.com/news157655203.html Chemistry Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:07:38 EST news157655203 The simple intervention of using ultraviolet (UV) lights near the ceiling together with fans may reduce the spread of tuberculosis (TB) in hospitals, and air treatment with negative ionizers may also be effective, according to research published in PLoS Medicine. http://www.physorg.com/news156506449.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:03:06 EST news156506449 (PhysOrg.com) -- Duke University and United States Army scientists have found that a cheap and nontoxic sunburn and diaper rash preventative can be made to produce brilliant light best suited to the human eye. http://www.physorg.com/news148830246.html Nanotechnology Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:44:06 EST news148830246 Scientists are finding that particles that are barely there - tiny objects known as nanoparticles that have found a home in electronics, food containers, sunscreens, and a variety of applications - can breech our most personal protective barrier: The skin. http://www.physorg.com/news141994246.html Nanotechnology Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:50:46 EST news141994246 Researchers have spent decades probing the causes of depression, schizophrenia and insomnia in humans. But a new study may have uncovered key insights into the origins of these and other conditions by examining a most unlikely research subject: worms. http://www.physorg.com/news137128524.html Biology Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:15:24 EST news137128524 We are continuously bombarded with messages about the dangers of too much sun and the increased risk of melanoma (the less common and deadliest form of skin cancer), but are these dangers real, or is staying out of the sun causing us more harm than good? Two experts debate the issue on BMJ.com today. http://www.physorg.com/news136004597.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:03:17 EST news136004597 An analysis of more than 100 patients has confirmed for the first time that darker-skinned patients benefit as those with lighter skin when given light therapy for morphea and related diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers show. http://www.physorg.com/news134744734.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:05:34 EST news134744734