ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

Colon + septic tank = unique, at times stinky, study Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:08 AM PST What do a human colon, septic tank, copper nanoparticles and zebrafish have in common? They were the key components used by researchers to study the impact copper nanoparticles, which are found in everything from paint to cosmetics, have on organisms inadvertently exposed to them.

Pens filled with high-tech inks for do-it-yourself sensors Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:07 AM PST A new simple tool developed by nanoengineers is opening the door to an era when anyone will be able to build sensors, anywhere, including physicians in the clinic, patients in their home and soldiers in the field. Scientists have developed high-tech inks that react with several chemicals, including glucose. They tested the sensors to measure glucose and pollution.

Freeze! Watching alloys change from liquid to solid could lead to better metals Posted: 26 Feb 2015 08:11 AM PST If you put a camera in the ice machine and watched water turn into ice, the process would look simple. But the mechanism behind liquids turning to solids is actually quite complex, and understanding it better could improve design and production of metals. A recent investigation aboard the International Space Station contributed to that understanding.

Forbidden atomic transitions: Controlling matter 1,000 times more precisely using high-resolution spectroscopy Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PST A new twist on an old tool lets scientists use light to study and control matter with 1,000 times better resolution and precision than previously possible. Physicists have demonstrated "ponderomotive spectroscopy," which allows researchers to peer more deeply into the structure of atoms and direct their behavior at a much finer scale. The new technique could have applications in quantum computing.

Swarmies shuffle through field tests Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:30 AM PST Months of lab work has led to this chilly day -- by Florida standards -- with four small, wheeled robots moving around the parking lot outside the Launch Control Center while their leader, Kurt Leucht, keeps electronic tabs on them using a laptop. He carries the laptop around as he tracks each of the four machines, occasionally tapping one off an obstacle or looking at the vehicle's line of sight to figure out what its sensors are seeing.

Important step towards quantum computing: Metals at atomic scale Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:25 AM PST Scientists report that they could observe experimentally the current flow along channels at the crystal surfaces of topological insulators. The channels are less than one nanometer wide and extend along atomic steps of the crystal lattice. The scientists demonstrated also how these steps can be introduced in any arrangement.

Breakthrough in organic light emitting diodes technology Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:24 AM PST Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are made from carbon-containing materials, have the potential to revolutionize future display technologies, making low-power displays so thin they'll wrap or fold around other structures, for instance.

Clever application of magnetic force enhances laparoscopic surgery Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:15 AM PST A team of engineers is using magnetic force to design new and improved instruments for minimally invasive surgery. The use of magnetic actuation allows them to create tools that are more flexible and more powerful than conventional designs, which place the instruments on the end of long sticks.

Smart crystallization Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:53 AM PST The first semi-liquid, non-protein nucleating agent for automated protein crystallization trials is described. This 'smart material' is demonstrated to induce crystal growth and will provide a simple, cost-effective tool for scientists in academia and industry.

Scientists trick the light fantastic Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PST What if one day, your computer, TV or smart phone could process data with light waves instead of an electrical current, making those devices faster, cheaper and more sustainable through less heat and power consumption? That's just one possibility that could one day result from an international research collaboration that's exploring how to improve the performance of plasmonic devices. The manipulation of light through tiny technology could lead to big benefits for everything from TVs to microscopes.

Blend of polymers could one day make solar power lighter, cheaper and more efficient Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:52 AM PST Scientists are reporting advances on how to one day make solar cells stronger, lighter, more flexible and less expensive when compared with the current silicon or germanium technology on the market.

Aerogel catalyst shows promise for fuel cells: Unzipped nanotubes turned into possible alternative for platinum Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:50 AM PST Aerogels made of graphene nanoribbons and modified with boron and nitrogen are more efficient catalysts for fuel cells and air-metal batteries than expensive platinum is, according to researchers.

First ever photograph of light as a particle and a wave Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:47 AM PST Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists have succeeded in capturing the first-ever snapshot of this dual behavior.

Lab-on-paper developed for rapid, inexpensive medical diagnostics Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:45 AM PST A new paper-based platform has been created for conducting a wide range of complex medical diagnostics. The key development was the invention of fluid actuated valves embedded in the paper that allow for sequential manipulation of sample fluids and multiple reagents in a controlled manner to perform complex multi-step immune-detection tests without human intervention.

Study of atmospheric 'froth' may help GPS communications Posted: 25 Feb 2015 08:11 AM PST When you don't know how to get to an unfamiliar place, you probably rely on a smart phone or other device with a Global Positioning System (GPS) module for guidance. You may not realize that, especially at high latitudes on our planet, signals traveling between GPS satellites and your device can get distorted in Earth's upper atmosphere. Researchers are studying irregularities in the ionosphere, a part of the atmosphere centered about 217 miles (350 kilometers) above the ground that defines the boundary between Earth and space.

Supersonic electrons could produce future solar fuel Posted: 02 Mar 2015 06:17 AM PST Researchers have taken a step closer to producing solar fuel using artificial photosynthesis. In a new study, they have successfully tracked the electrons’ rapid transit through a light-converting molecule.

Interventional radiology offers new treatment for enlarged prostates Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:13 AM PST Men with benign prostatic hyperplasia, a condition in which the prostate is enlarged but not cancerous, have a new, breakthrough treatment option.

3-D printing offers innovative method to deliver medication Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:13 AM PST 3-D printing could become a powerful tool in customizing interventional radiology treatments to individual patient needs, with clinicians having the ability to construct devices to a specific size and shape. Researchers and engineers collaborated to print catheters, stents and filaments to deliver antibiotics and chemotherapeutic medications to a targeted area in cell cultures.

Green light for the world's first intelligent oil pipelines Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:11 AM PST Electronics installed in Norwegian oil pipelines have been tested both at sea and in transport vessel reeling simulations. All that now remains is to install them offshore. Researchers have been developing oil pipelines that can provide real-time condition monitoring reports by means of transmitting data to shore.

Preventing spread of cancer with copper molecules Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:11 AM PST A molecule containing copper that binds specifically with DNA and prevents the spread of cancer has been developed by scientists. First results show that it kills the cancer cells more quickly than cisplatin -- a widely used anti-cancer drug that is frequently administered in chemotherapy.

Borrowing from whales to engineer a new fluid sensor Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:08 AM PST Researchers have borrowed from biological structures called tubercles that humpback whales use to maneuver in the ocean to make a piezoelectric energy harvester for use as an airflow or fluid speed and direction-sensing device.