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Researchers reveal next-generation emergency response technology
June 13, 2013 5:07 pm | CommentsAmericans are accustomed to calling 9-1-1 to get help in an emergency. A research team lead by Ram Dantu of the University of North Texas sees the growth of cell phone and smartphone usage as an opportunity to improve 9-1-1 response. His team has designed several innovative smart phone apps that virtually place 9-1-1 operators at the scene of an emergency, allowing faster response.
Unzipped nanotubes unlock potential for batteries
June 13, 2013 4:04 pm | CommentsResearchers at Rice Univ. have come up with a new way to boost the efficiency of the ubiquitous lithium-ion battery by employing ribbons of graphene that start as carbon nanotubes. Proof-of-concept anodes built with graphene nanoribbons and tin oxide showed an initial capacity better than the theoretical capacity of tin oxide alone.
Electronic nose nanosensor in development for food safety
June 13, 2013 3:47 pm | CommentsThe "electronic nose" sensor developed by a Univ. of California, Riverside engineering professor, and being commercialized by Innovation Economy Crowd (ieCrowd), will be further refined to detect deadly pathogens including toxic pesticides in the global food supply chain, according to a recently signed product development and distribution agreement.
Nanoparticle opens the door to clean-energy alternatives
June 13, 2013 1:57 pm | CommentsCheaper clean-energy technologies could be made possible thanks to a new discovery. A Penn State Univ. research team has found that an important chemical reaction that generates hydrogen from water is effectively triggered—or catalyzed—by a nanoparticle composed of nickel and phosphorus, two inexpensive elements that are abundant on Earth.
Accelrys launches new laboratory informatics system
June 13, 2013 12:58 pm | CommentsScientific innovation and lifecycle management software company Accelrys Inc. on Thursday launched its Accelrys Experiment Knowledge Base (EKB), a laboratory informatics system that facilitates experimentation management and enables organizations to transform mass amounts of scientific data into knowledge essential for faster, more efficient new product innovation.
U.S. court says human genes cannot be patented
June 13, 2013 11:53 am | by JESSE J. HOLLAND - Associated Press Writer - Associated Press | CommentsThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that companies cannot patent parts of naturally-occurring human genes, a decision with the potential to profoundly affect the emerging and lucrative medical and biotechnology industries. The high court's unanimous judgment reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials.
Neuroscience to benefit from hybrid supercomputer memory
June 13, 2013 11:11 am | CommentsTo handle large amounts of data from detailed brain models, IBM, EPFL, and ETH Zürich are collaborating on a new hybrid memory strategy for supercomputers. They are exploring how to combine different types of memory—DRAM, which is standard for computer memory, and flash memory that is akin to USB sticks—for less expensive supercomputing performance to help advance the Human Brain Project.
Cheetah's acceleration power key to their success
June 13, 2013 10:35 am | by Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | CommentsResearchers have recently determined that cheetahs can run twice as fast as Olympian Usain Bolt on a straightaway. Then they measured the energy a cheetah muscle produces compared to body size and calculated the same for Bolt, the sprinter. They found the cheetah had four times the crucial kick power of the Olympian. That power to rapidly accelerate—not just speed alone—is the key to the cheetah's hunting success.
Scientists capture crystallization of materials in nanoseconds
June 13, 2013 10:16 am | CommentsLawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers, for the first time, have created movies of irreversible reactions that occur too rapidly to capture with conventional microscopy. The team used multiframe, nanosecond-scale imaging in the dynamic transmission electron microscope to create movies of the crystallization of phase-change materials used for optical and resistive memory.
Light-carved nanovolcanoes hold promise for drug delivery
June 13, 2013 8:16 am | CommentsResearchers from North Carolina State Univ. have developed a method for creating nanovolcanoes by shining various colors of light through a nanoscale “crystal ball” made of a synthetic polymer. These nanovolcanoes can store precise amounts of other materials and hold promise for new drug-delivery technologies.
Detecting homemade explosives, not toothpaste
June 13, 2013 7:52 am | CommentsSandia National Laboratories researchers want airports, border checkpoints and others to detect homemade explosives made with hydrogen peroxide without nabbing people whose toothpaste happens to contain peroxide. That’s part of the challenge faced in developing a portable sensor to detect a common homemade explosive called a FOx mixture, made by mixing hydrogen peroxide with fuels.
Imaging technique captures ever-changing world of metabolites
June 13, 2013 7:38 am | CommentsWhat would you do with a camera that can take a picture of something and tell you how new it is? If you’re a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist, you use it to gain a better understanding of the ever-changing world of metabolites. A team of researchers has developed a mass spectrometry imaging technique that not only maps the whereabouts of individual metabolites in a biological sample, but how new the metabolites are too.
Nanothermometer enables first atomic-scale heat dissipation measurements
June 13, 2013 7:27 am | CommentsIn findings that could help overcome a major technological hurdle in the road toward smaller and more powerful electronics, an international research team involving Univ. of Michigan engineering researchers, has shown the unique ways in which heat dissipates at the tiniest scales.
Questions rise about seeding for ocean carbon dioxide sequestration
June 12, 2013 6:27 pm | by Tona Kunz, Argonne National Laboratory | CommentsA new study on the feeding habits of ocean microbes calls into question the potential use of algal blooms to trap carbon dioxide and offset rising global levels. These blooms contain iron-eating microscopic phytoplankton that absorb C02 from the air. But one type of phytoplankton, a diatom, is using more iron that it needs, which is reducing the amount of iron left over to support the carbon-eating plankton.
New quantum dot technique combines best of optical and electron microscopy
June 12, 2013 6:08 pm | CommentsIt's not reruns of "The Jetsons", but researchers working at NIST have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale features. The fast, versatile, and high-resolution technique allows scientists to view surface and subsurface features potentially as small as 10 nm in size.
