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The Lead
New technology propels “old energy” boom
May 6, 2013 | by Jonathan Fahey, AP Energy Writer | Comments
Oil companies big and small have used technology to find a bounty of oil and natural gas so large that worries about running out have melted away. New imaging technologies let drillers find oil and gas trapped miles underground and undersea. The result is an abundance that has put the United States on track to become the world's largest producer of oil and gas in a few years.
Inkjet-printed graphene may open doors to foldable electronics
May 20, 2013 3:15 pm | Comments
Northwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that...
Record-breaking high-energy particles detected by telescope buried in Antarctic
May 17, 2013 12:26 pm | Comments
A massive telescope buried in the Antarctic ice has detected 28 extremely high-energy...
Peering into living cells without dye or fluorophore
February 8, 2013 11:31 am | Comments
Two scientists in Switzerland have developed a device that can create 3D images of living cells...
Entrepreneurs need to balance risk of persisting with payoff of succeeding
May 20, 2013 8:35 pm | CommentsIn a new business, sometimes the better part of wisdom is knowing when to quit, a new study concludes. Even though persistence is a key to business success, entrepreneurs might be more successful if they not only knew when to start a business and take risks, but also knew when to abandon it and find something that provides a greater opportunity, the research team concluded.
Non-wetting fabric drains sweat
May 20, 2013 3:54 pm | CommentsWaterproof fabrics that whisk away sweat could be the latest application of microfluidic technology developed by bioengineers at the University of California, Davis. The new fabric works like human skin, forming excess sweat into droplets that drain away by themselves, says inventor Tingrui Pan.
Researchers perform fastest measurements ever made of ion channel proteins
May 20, 2013 3:08 pm | CommentsA team of researchers at Columbia Engineering has used miniaturized electronics to measure the activity of individual ion-channel proteins with temporal resolution as fine as one microsecond, producing the fastest recordings of single ion channels ever performed. Ion channels are biomolecules that allow charged atoms to flow in and out of cells, and they are an important work-horse in cell signaling, sensing, and energetics.
Slow earthquakes: It's all in the rock mechanics
May 20, 2013 2:59 pm | CommentsEarthquakes that last minutes rather than seconds are a relatively recent discovery, according to an international team of seismologists. Researchers have been aware of these slow earthquakes, only for the past five to 10 years because of new tools and new observations, but these tools may explain the triggering of some normal earthquakes and could help in earthquake prediction.
Measles surges in U.K. years after flawed research
May 20, 2013 12:16 pm | by MARIA CHENG - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | CommentsMore than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of now discredited research that linked the vaccine to autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease.
XenoPort MS treatment fails in late-stage testing
May 20, 2013 12:01 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsShares of XenoPort Inc. sank Monday after the drug developer said a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis patients failed in late-stage clinical testing, and it will stop developing the drug. The Santa Clara, Calif., company said the treatment, labeled arbaclofen placarbil, failed to show a statistically significant improvement for patients taking it compared to a fake drug.
Computational tool simplifies complex data into 2D images
May 20, 2013 9:30 am | CommentsResearchers at Columbia University and Stanford University have developed a computational method that enables scientists to visualize and interpret "high-dimensional" data produced by single-cell measurement technologies such as mass cytometry. A sophisticated algorithm converts difficult-to-interpret data into visual representations similar to two-dimensional "scatter plots".
X-ray method shows how frog embryos could help thwart disease
May 20, 2013 9:25 am | CommentsAn international team of scientists using a new X-ray method recorded the internal structure and cell movement inside a living frog embryo in greater detail than ever before. This result showcases a new method to advance biological research and the search for new treatments for genetic diseases.
Competition in the quantum world
May 20, 2013 9:24 am | CommentsUsing a new tool called a quantum simulator—based on a small-scale quantum computer—researchers in Austria have simulated physical phenomena a classical computer cannot investigate efficiently. Scientists there are the first to have simulated the competition between two rival dynamical processes at a new type of transition between two quantum mechanical orders
Protected data cloud to analyze cancer data
May 20, 2013 9:16 am | CommentsThe University of Chicago has recently launched the first secure cloud-based computing system that enables researchers to access and analyze human genomic cancer information, such as the The Cancer Genome Atlas, without the costly and cumbersome infrastructure normally needed to download and store massive amounts of data.
Research shows defects in twin boundaries that strengthen materials
May 20, 2013 9:11 am | CommentsThrough experiments and simulations, a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have found that twin boundaries with good electrical conductivity and a strengthening mechanism in materials may not be so perfect after all.
Nanoantennas help improve infrared sensing
May 20, 2013 7:52 am | CommentsA team of University of Pennsylvania engineers has used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical analysis techniques.
RNA capable of catalyzing electron transfer on early Earth with iron's help
May 20, 2013 7:42 am | CommentsA new study shows how complex biochemical transformations may have been possible under conditions when life began on the early Earth. The study shows that RNA is capable of catalyzing electron transfer under conditions similar to those of the early Earth. Because electron transfer is involved in many biological processes, the study’s findings suggest that complex biochemical transformations may have been possible when life began.
Silicon Valley-area hub becomes factory town
May 20, 2013 7:33 am | by Martha Mendoza, AP National Writer | CommentsSomething unique is happening in Fremont, California, a nondescript suburb of 217,000 tucked in the high-tech region between San Francisco and Silicon Valley: manufacturing. From Tesla Motors, making cutting-edge cars, to Solaria, making solar panels, manufacturers are drawn to Fremont by incentives including a five-year waiver on business taxes, an expedited regulatory process, proximity to Silicon Valley firms and a skilled labor force.
New technique advances carbon-fiber composites
May 20, 2013 7:31 am | by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office | CommentsThese days, aerospace engineering is all about the light stuff. Advanced carbon-fiber composites have been used in recent years to lighten planes’ loads. For the next generation of commercial jets, researchers are looking to even stronger and lighter materials, such as composites made with carbon fibers coated with carbon nanotubes. However, a significant hurdle to achieving such composites has existed, until now.
