ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Spider electro-combs its sticky nano-filaments Posted: 27 Jan 2015 06:23 PM PST A spider commonly found in garden centers in Britain is giving fresh insights into how to spin incredibly long and strong fibers just a few nanometers thick. The majority of spiders spin silk threads several micrometers thick but unusually the 'garden centre spider' or 'feather-legged lace weaver' can spin nano-scale filaments. Now scientists think they are closer to understanding how this is done.

Researchers tune friction in ionic solids at the nanoscale Posted: 27 Jan 2015 01:49 PM PST New experiments have uncovered a way of controlling friction on ionic surfaces at the nanoscale using electrical stimulation and ambient water vapor.

Stomach acid-powered micromotors get their first test in a living animal Posted: 27 Jan 2015 11:08 AM PST Researchers have shown that a micromotor fueled by stomach acid can take a bubble-powered ride inside a mouse. These tiny motors, each about one-fifth the width of a human hair, may someday offer a safer and more efficient way to deliver drugs or diagnose tumors. The experiment is the first to show that these micromotors can operate safely in a living animal.

New mechanism unlocked for evolution of green fluorescent protein Posted: 27 Jan 2015 11:08 AM PST A primary challenge in the biosciences is to understand the way major evolutionary changes in nature are accomplished. Sometimes the route turns out to be very simple. An example of such simplicity is provided in a new publication that shows, for the first time, that a hinge migration mechanism, driven solely by long-range dynamic motions, can be the key for evolution of a green-to-red photoconvertible phenotype in a green fluorescent protein.

New pathway to valleytronics: Femtosecond laser used to manipulate valley excitons Posted: 27 Jan 2015 09:24 AM PST Researchers have uncovered a promising new pathway to valleytronics, a potential quantum computing technology in which information is coded based on the wavelike motion of electrons moving through certain 2-D semiconductors.

Targeted MRI/ultrasound beats standard biopsy to detect high-risk prostate cancer Posted: 27 Jan 2015 09:12 AM PST Targeted biopsy using new fusion technology that combines magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasound is more effective than standard biopsy in detecting high-risk prostate cancer, according to a large-scale study.

The origin of life: Labyrinths as crucibles of life Posted: 27 Jan 2015 08:11 AM PST Water-filled micropores in hot rock may have acted as the nurseries in which life on Earth began. A team has now shown that temperature gradients in pore systems promote the cyclical replication and emergence of nucleic acids.

The laser pulse that gets shorter all by itself Posted: 27 Jan 2015 08:10 AM PST A new method of creating ultra short laser pulses has been created: Just by sending a pulse through a cleverly designed fiber, it can be compressed by a factor of 20.

Economic trade-offs of owning versus leasing a solar photovoltaic system Posted: 27 Jan 2015 08:10 AM PST Two new reports examine the economic options customers face when deciding how to finance commercial or residential solar energy systems. Analysts found that businesses that use low-cost financing to purchase a photovoltaic (PV) system and homeowners who use solar-specific loans can save up to 30 percent compared with consumers who lease a PV system through a conventional third-party owner.

Carbon nanoballs can greatly contribute to sustainable energy supply Posted: 27 Jan 2015 07:01 AM PST Researchers have discovered that the insulation plastic used in high-voltage cables can withstand a 26 per cent higher voltage if nanometer-sized carbon balls are added. This could result in enormous efficiency gains in the power grids of the future, which are needed to achieve a sustainable energy system. The renewable energy sources of tomorrow will often be found far away from the end user. Wind turbines, for example, are most effective when placed out at sea. Solar energy will have the greatest impact on the European energy system if focus is on transport of solar power from North Africa and Southern Europe to Northern Europe.

'Bulletproof' Battery: Kevlar Membrane for Safer, Thinner Lithium Rechargeables Posted: 27 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST New battery technology should be able to prevent the kind of fires that grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2013. The innovation is an advanced barrier between the electrodes in a lithium-ion battery.

Making a tiny rainbow: 300 colors about as wide as a human hair Posted: 27 Jan 2015 06:58 AM PST By varying the size and spacing of aluminum nanodisks, researchers generate images that contain over 300 colors and are not much wider than a human hair.

Shell growth observed thanks to 'ion sponge' Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:22 AM PST Researchers are able to observe the formation of shells in real time on a nanometer scale thanks to a new electron microscopy technique. This enabled them for the first time to see how pieces of polymer act as ‘ion sponges’ – thereby confirming a 30-year-old theory. The required ions are absorbed so that crystals are only formed at these specific locations. Their finding not only throws a new light on biological crystal formation in nature, which is still not fully understood. The results also provide additional understanding of industrial crystal formation processes, which are used for example to increase efficiency in the production of ICs and solar cells.

Chemists control structure to unlock magnetization and polarization simultaneously Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST Scientists have controlled the structure of a material to simultaneously generate both magnetization and electrical polarization, an advance which has potential applications in information storage and processing.

A simulation model to find out the effect of electromagnetic waves on the human body is developed Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:54 AM PST A researcher has simulated the effect that electromagnetic fields have on people. He has developed a model that allows the various phenomena that take place in the propagation of specific electromagnetic waves to be correctly characterized; it also enables one to ascertain whether or not they exceed the levels that could exert harmful effects on health.