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Exotic atoms hold clues to unsolved physics puzzle
May 9, 2013 7:47 am | CommentsAn international team of physicists has found the first direct evidence of pear-shaped nuclei in exotic atoms. The findings could advance the search for a new fundamental force in nature that could explain why the Big Bang created more matter than antimatter—a pivotal imbalance in the history of everything.
Wearable robots getting lighter, more portable
May 9, 2013 3:26 am | by CARLA K. JOHNSON - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press | CommentsWhen Michael Gore stands, it's a triumph of science and engineering. Eleven years ago, Gore was paralyzed from the waist down in a workplace accident, yet he rises from his wheelchair and walks across the room with help from a lightweight wearable robot.
DOE: Breach at Tenn. nuclear plant 'unacceptable'
May 8, 2013 6:46 pm | by MATTHEW DALY - Associated Press - Associated Press | CommentsA breach in which an 82-year-old nun and two other protesters sneaked into a Tennessee nuclear weapons plant last year is "completely unacceptable" and an "important wake-up call" for the government, the head of an agency charged with safeguarding the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile said Wednesday.
Study: Fish oil doesn't help prevent heart attacks
May 8, 2013 5:30 pm | by MARILYNN MARCHIONE - AP Chief Medical Writer - Associated Press | CommentsEating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found. The work makes clearer who does and does not benefit from taking supplements of omega-3 fatty acids, the good oils found in fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines.
Scientists find new magic in magnetic material
May 8, 2013 4:04 pm | CommentsFrom powerful computers to super-sensitive medical and environmental detectors that are faster, smaller, and use less energy—yes, we want them, but how do we get them? In research that is helping to lay the groundwork for the electronics of the future, University of Delaware scientists have confirmed the presence of a magnetic field generated by electrons which scientists had theorized existed, but that had never been proven until now.
Biomaterial shows promise for Type 1 diabetes treatment
May 8, 2013 3:13 pm | CommentsResearchers have made a significant first step with newly engineered biomaterials for cell transplantation that could help lead to a possible cure for Type 1 diabetes, which affects about 3 million Americans. Georgia Institute of Technology engineers and Emory University clinicians have successfully engrafted insulin-producing cells into a diabetic mouse model, reversing diabetic symptoms in the animal in as little as 10 days.
Researchers use graphene quantum dots to detect humidity, pressure
May 8, 2013 3:04 pm | CommentsThe latest research from a Kansas State University chemical engineer may help improve humidity and pressure sensors, particularly those used in outer space. A research team is using graphene quantum dots to improve sensing devices in a two-fold project. The first part involves producing the graphene quantum dots. The second part of the project involves incorporating these quantum dots into electron-tunneling based sensing devices.
One order of steel; hold the greenhouse gases
May 8, 2013 2:52 pm | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | CommentsAnyone who has seen pictures of the giant, red-hot cauldrons in which steel is made—fed by vast amounts of carbon, and belching flame and smoke—would not be surprised to learn that steelmaking is one of the world’s leading industrial sources of greenhouse gases. But remarkably, a new process developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers could change all that.
Engineers fine-tune the sensitivity of nano-chemical sensor
May 8, 2013 1:42 pm | CommentsResearchers in Illinois have discovered a technique for controlling the sensitivity of graphene chemical sensors. The sensors, made of an insulating base coated with a graphene sheet are already so sensitive that they can detect an individual molecule of gas. But manipulating the chemical properties of the insulating layer, without altering the graphene layer, may yet improve their ability to detect gases.
Robotic instruments provide real-time data on Maine red tide
May 8, 2013 12:36 pm | CommentsA robotic sensor that won an R&D 100 Award in 2009 has been put to use by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Gulf of Maine coastal waters to monitor the way red tides behave. These harmful algal blooms, which generate a potentially fatal toxin, can be a challenge to track or predict. The Environmental Sample Processors have been remotely deployed and should simplify and enhance this effort.
Explaining energy shifts in optical tweezers
May 8, 2013 12:26 pm | CommentsPhysicists working with optical tweezers have conducted work to provide an all-in-one guide to help calculate the effect the use of these tools has on the energy levels of atoms under study. This effect can change the frequency at which atoms emit or absorb light and microwave radiation and skew results; the new findings should help physicists foresee effects on future experiments.
Quantum optics demonstrated with microwaves
May 8, 2013 12:21 pm | CommentsPhysicists in Switzerland have demonstrated one of the quintessential effects of quantum optics—known as the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect—with microwaves, which have a frequency that 100,000 times lower than that of visible light. The experiment takes quantum optics into a new frequency regime and could eventually lead to new technological applications.
An electronic nose can tell pears and apples apart
May 8, 2013 12:13 pm | CommentsSwedish and Spanish engineers have created a system of sensors that detects fruit odors more effectively than the human sense of smell. For now, the device, which has 32 sensors and can process scent data in real time, can distinguish between the odorous compounds emitted by pears and apples, but the system can be tailored to other applications.
“Marathon” mice and”'couch potato” mice reveal key to muscle fitness
May 8, 2013 12:09 pm | CommentsResearchers have identified MicroRNAs as the missing link between the two defining features of muscle fitness: fuel-burning and fiber-type switching. The team used two complementary mouse models—the "marathon mouse" and the "couch potato mouse"—to make the finding, which could provide a potential new target for interventions that boost fitness in people with chronic illness or injury.
Electronics comes to paper
May 8, 2013 9:43 am | CommentsPaper, a light and foldable raw material, could be a cost-efficient and simple basis for electronic devices if a practical solution for depositing conductive structures could be found. Researchers in Germany say they have done this by creating targeted structures by printing and heating a catalyst on a sheet of paper. The solution was created with a conventional inkjet printer.
