ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Pilotless aircraft will play critical roles in precision agriculture Posted: 26 Jan 2015 02:05 PM PST A new article outlines many of the potential roles drones can play in university research, and the advantages they can offer in speed, cost and data collection.

Researchers use oxides to flip graphene conductivity Posted: 26 Jan 2015 01:46 PM PST A team of researchers has demonstrated a new way to change the amount of electrons that reside in a given region within a piece of graphene, they have a proof-of-principle in making the fundamental building blocks of semiconductor devices using the 2-D material.

Electronic circuits with reconfigurable pathways closer to reality Posted: 26 Jan 2015 09:49 AM PST Multitasking circuits capable of reconfiguring themselves in real time and switching functions as the need arises -- this is the promising application stemming from a new discovery. Other potential uses: miniaturizing our electronic devices and developing resilient circuits.

Cochlear implant users can hear, feel the beat in music Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:24 AM PST People who use cochlear implants for profound hearing loss do respond to certain aspects of music, contrary to common beliefs and limited scientific research, says a research team. The scientists say exposure to the beat in music, such as drums, can improve the emotional and social quality-of-life of cochlear implant users and may even help improve their understanding and use of spoken language.

Researchers identify materials to improve biofuel, petroleum processing Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:23 AM PST Using one of the largest supercomputers in the world, a team of researchers has identified potential materials that could improve the production of ethanol and petroleum products. The discovery could lead to major efficiencies and cost savings in these industries.

Nanoshuttle wear and tear: It’s the mileage, not the age Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:20 AM PST As nanomachine design advances, researchers are moving from wondering if the nanomachine works to how long it will work -- an important question as there are so many potential applications, e.g., for medical uses including drug delivery and early diagnosis. Scientists observed a molecular shuttle powered by kinesin motor proteins and found it to degrade when operating, marking the first time degradation has been studied in detail in an active, autonomous nanomachine.

Helicopter could be 'scout' for Mars rovers Posted: 26 Jan 2015 07:51 AM PST Getting around on Mars is tricky business. Each NASA rover has delivered a wealth of information about the history and composition of the Red Planet, but a rover's vision is limited by the view of onboard cameras, and images from spacecraft orbiting Mars are the only other clues to where to drive it. To have a better sense of where to go and what's worth studying on Mars, it could be useful to have a low-flying scout.

Researchers make magnetic graphene Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST Graphene has many desirable properties. Magnetism alas is not one of them. Magnetism can be induced in graphene by doping it with magnetic impurities, but this tends to disrupt graphene's electronic properties. Now physicists have found a way to induce magnetism in graphene while also preserving graphene's electronic properties. They have accomplished this by bringing a graphene sheet very close to a magnetic insulator -- an electrical insulator with magnetic properties.

Visualizing interacting electrons in a molecule Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST Scientists have succeeded in directly imaging how electrons interact within a single molecule. Understanding this kind of electronic effects in organic molecules is crucial for their use in optoelectronic applications, for example in organic light-emitting diodes, organic field-effect transistors and solar cells.

Chemists find a way to unboil egg whites: Ability to quickly restore molecular proteins could slash biotechnology costs Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST Chemists have figured out how to unboil egg whites -- an innovation that could dramatically reduce costs for cancer treatments, food production and other segments of the $160 billion global biotechnology industry, according to new findings.

Towards a scientific process freed from systemic bias Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST Research on how science works -- the science of science -- can benefit from studying the digital traces generated during the research process, such as peer-reviewed publications. This type of research is crucial for the future of science and that of scientists, according to experts.

Entanglement on a chip: Breakthrough promises secure communications and faster computers Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:57 AM PST A team of scientists has developed, for the first time, a microscopic component that is small enough to fit onto a standard silicon chip that can generate a continuous supply of entangled photons.

Faster annotation system for prokaryotic genomes unveiled Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:53 AM PST A new version of a genome annotation system capable of analyzing more than 2,000 prokaryotic genomes per day has been revealed by scientists, helping researchers accelerate prokaryotic genomics-based studies worldwide (the average was 20 a day).

Majority of primary care physicians find that medical imaging improves patient care Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:53 AM PST Large majorities of primary care physicians believe that advanced medical imaging, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), provides considerable value to patient care.

Medical radiation may be reduced to one-sixth with new mathematical discovery Posted: 26 Jan 2015 05:40 AM PST One of this century's most significant mathematical discoveries may reduce the number of measuring points to one-sixth of the present level. This means reduced exposure to radiation and faster medical imaging diagnostics.

Converting olive mash into cash Posted: 26 Jan 2015 05:38 AM PST An experimental system to create heat and power with waste from olive oil processing is up-and-running in Spain. The system shows a promising way forward for reducing environmental damage and converting organic waste to energy, scientists say.

Nanodiamonds: Promising use for delivering cancer drug to kill chemoresistant cancer stem cells more effectively Posted: 26 Jan 2015 05:38 AM PST Delivery of Epirubicin by nanodiamonds resulted in a normally lethal dosage of Epirubicin becoming a safe and effective dosage for treatment of liver cancer, researchers report after the conclusion of their study.

Infrared imaging technique operates at high temperatures Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:02 PM PST A research team took advantage of superlattice architecture and new materials to develop a detector that does not require low temperatures to operate.

Cherenkov emissions provide investigators real-time tool for quality assurance in radiation therapy Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:01 PM PST Using a simple camera and water tank, investigators demonstrated that induced Cherenkov light can be imaged and used to confirm that the complex spatial dose distribution imparted in dynamic treatment plans is being delivered correctly.