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Cloud computing user privacy in need of reform
June 11, 2013 12:25 pm | CommentsWhen Web surfers sign up for a new online service or download a Web application for their smartphone or tablet, the service typically requires them to click a seemingly innocuous box and accept the company’s terms of service and privacy policy. But agreeing to terms without reading them beforehand can adversely affect a user’s legal rights, says a new paper by a Univ. of Illinois expert in technology and legal issues.
Chinese spacecraft blasts off with three astronauts
June 11, 2013 10:49 am | by Andy Wong, Associated Press | CommentsChina's fifth and longest manned spacecraft successfully blasted off Tuesday on a 15-day mission to dock with a space lab and educate young people about science. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket and will transport the crew to the Tiangong 1, which functions as an experimental prototype for a much larger Chinese space station to be launched in 2020.
Unfrozen mystery: Water reveals a new secret
June 11, 2013 8:36 am | CommentsA collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers and a team led by the Carnegie Institution for Science's Malcolm Guthrie has led to discoveries about how ice behaves under pressure, changing ideas that date back almost 50 years. The findings could alter scientists' understanding of how the water molecule responds to conditions found deep within planets and could have implications for energy science.
Mismatched materials can be tough enough
June 11, 2013 8:20 am | CommentsRice Univ. researchers have for the first time detailed the molecular mechanism that makes a particular combination of cement and polymer glue so tough. The theoretical research led to a fine picture of how hydrogen bonds control the properties of hybrid organic-inorganic materials. The finding has implications for understanding the interface bonding that is often a roadblock to improved composite properties.
Micro-RNA plays role in wood formation
June 11, 2013 8:10 am | CommentsFor more than a decade, scientists have suspected that hairpin-shaped chains of micro-RNA regulate wood formation inside plant cells. Now, scientists at North Carolina State Univ. have found the first example and mapped out key relationships that control the process. The research describes how one strand of micro-RNA reduced by more than 20% the formation of lignin, which gives wood its strength.
“Popcorn” particle pathways promise better lithium-ion batteries
June 11, 2013 7:59 am | CommentsResearchers at Sandia National Laboratories have confirmed the particle-by-particle mechanism by which lithium ions move in and out of electrodes made of lithium iron phosphate (LFP), findings that could lead to better performance in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, medical equipment and aircraft.
A potential target to thwart antibiotic resistance
June 11, 2013 7:41 am | CommentsBacteria in the gut that are under attack by antibiotics have allies no one had anticipated, a team of Harvard Univ. Wyss Institute scientists has found. Gut viruses that usually commandeer the bacteria, it turns out, enable them to survive the antibiotic onslaught, most likely by handing them genes that help them withstand the drug.
Agilent demonstrates new generation of ion mobility technology
June 11, 2013 7:40 am | CommentsAt the American Society of Mass Spectroscopy conference in Minneapolis this week, Agilent Technologies introduced analytical research findings using new ion mobility technology combined with a modified high-resolution iFunnel quadrupole-time-of-flight liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) system. The prototype systems have provided significantly greater analytical detail for complex samples than high-resolution MS alone.
New family of quasicrystals discovered
June 11, 2013 7:29 am | CommentsScientists at Ames Laboratory have discovered a new family of rare-earth quasicrystals using an algorithm they developed to help pinpoint them. Quasicrystalline materials may be found close to crystalline phases that contain similar atomic motifs, called crystalline approximants. And just like fishing experts know how to hook a big catch, the scientists used their knowledge to hone in on the right spot for their discovery.
“One giant leap” toward a NASA Armstrong center?
June 11, 2013 7:25 am | by Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer | CommentsNeil Armstrong's name is attached to a lunar crater, an asteroid, more than a dozen schools and a museum, but not a single NASA facility is christened in honor of the man whose "giant leap" made him the first to walk on the moon. All that could soon change on the fringes of the Mojave Desert, where leaders at the space agency's top flight research center are mulling a name change.
Agilent announces compliance with RoHS directive
June 10, 2013 4:25 pm | CommentsAgilent Technologies Inc. announced that the majority of its electronic test and measurement products are now designed for compliance with the European Union’s restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Commonly referred to as RoHS, the European directive bans the sale of equipment containing more than the agreed level of lead, mercury, cadmium and other substances.
Why the shape of nanoparticles matters
June 10, 2013 4:13 pm | CommentsA new study involving researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Center and the University of California, Santa Barbara, found that the shape of nanoparticles can enhance drug targeting. The study found that rod-shaped nanoparticles—or nanorods—as opposed to spherical nanoparticles, appear to adhere more effectively to the surface of endothelial cells that line the inside of blood vessels.
Simple theory may explain mysterious dark matter
June 10, 2013 3:54 pm | CommentsMost of the matter in the universe may be made out of particles that possess an unusual, donut-shaped electromagnetic field called an anapole. This proposal, which endows dark matter particles with a rare form of electromagnetism, has been strengthened by a detailed analysis performed by a pair of theoretical physicists at Vanderbilt University.
Sanofi says FDA approves 4-strain flu vaccine
June 10, 2013 2:04 pm | by The Associated Press | CommentsFrench drugmaker Sanofi said Monday the Food and Drug Administration approved a new version of its flu vaccine Fluzone that is designed to prevent four types of the virus. Sanofi said Fluzone Quadrivalent is designed to protect against two types of influenza A and two types of influenza B. Fluzone is the only flu shot recommended in the U.S. for infants and very young children.
Researchers build testbed for artificial photosynthesis
June 10, 2013 1:47 pm | by Lynn Yarris, Berkeley Lab | CommentsA team of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists have developed the first fully integrated microfluidic testbed for evaluating and optimizing solar-driven electrochemical energy conversion systems. This test-bed system has already been used to study schemes for photovoltaic electrolysis of water, and can be readily adapted to study proposed artificial photosynthesis and fuel cell technologies.
