Alternative energy crops in space

Mar 9 | News

What if space held the key to producing alternative energy crops on Earth? That's what researchers are hoping to find in a new experiment on the International Space Station. The experiment, National Lab Pathfinder-Cells 3, is aimed at learning whether microgravity can help jatropha curcas plant cells grow faster to produce biofuel, or renewable fuel derived from biological matter.

Silicon nanowires trap sunlight

Mar 5 | News

Solar cells made from silicon are projected to be a prominent factor in future renewable green energy equations, but so far the promise has far exceeded the reality. While there are now silicon photovoltaics that can convert sunlight into electricity at impressive 20% efficiencies, the cost of this solar power is prohibitive for large-scale use. Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), however, are developing a new approach that could substantially reduce these costs.

Researchers create new antimatter

Mar 5 | News

A worldwide team of researchers have for the first time created a particle that is believed to have been in existence immediately after the creation of the universe. The full antinucleus—an antiproton, antineutron, and anti-Lambda particle—is the first to contain an anti-strange quark and represents the first nucleus to drop below the plane in the 3-D Periodic Table of Elements.

Dark matter lens helps measure the age of Universe

Mar 2 | News

Astronomers from the United States and Europe have used a gravitational lens—a distant, light-bending clump of dark matter—to make a new estimate of the Hubble constant, which determines the size and age of the universe.

Catching a glimpse of nanobubbles on super non-stick surfaces

Mar 1 | News

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have obtained the first glimpse of miniscule air bubbles that keep water from wetting a super non-stick surface.

Gold and silver nanowires bond naturally

Feb 22 | News

Welding uses heat to join pieces of metal in everything from circuits to skyscrapers. But Rice Univ. researchers have found a way to beat the heat on the nanoscale. The group discovered that gold wires between three-billionths and 10-billionths of a meter wide weld themselves together quite nicely—without heat.

Life’s smallest motor carries cell cargo like a seesaw

Feb 18 | News

Life’s smallest motor, a protein that shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide, does so by rocking up and down like a seesaw, according to research conducted by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Brandeis Univ.

Microwaving Moondust

Feb 16 | Featured Articles

Physics software simulates parameters for extracting water from the Moon. Preliminary data from NASA’s Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009, impacts into the Moon’s south pole.

Sensor exploits traditional weakness of nano devices

Feb 16 | News

By taking advantage of a phenomenon that until now has been a virtual showstopper for electronics designers, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Panos Datskos is developing a highly sensitive chemical and biological sensor.

First wild grass species is sequenced for energy sources

Feb 11 | News

As the DOE develops sustainable sources of clean renewable energy, perennial grasses have emerged as major candidates for the commercial production of cellulosic biofuels from feedstocks. In completing Brachypodium distachyon, the Joint Genome Institute has sequenced all three most economically important subfamilies of grasses.

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Much ado about next to nothing

Mar 15

The recent review of the past 10 years of the National Nanotechnology Initiative--as presented by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology--suggested the rise of nanomanufacturing as the near future of nanotechnology. But the actual proposed funding reflects a cautious approach, even about nanotech in general.

Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

Mar 5

I typically attend the annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy each year in pursuit of specific coverage. This year, I sought out candidates for coverage in a vacuum technology article, and pulled together some instruments for a spectroscopy guide. But as busy as that kept me, it wasn’t all mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps on the show floor.  

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NuGard Coating Ashburn Hill

Jan 7

NuGard First Response Protective Clothing are lightweight coveralls, jackets, and pants that provide protection from heat and flame while keeping the wearers body temperature constant.

Multi-Touch Music Maker

Jan 7

Professor David Wessel shows his multi-touch interface that uses computer technologies that allow him to experiment with fine controls to "caress" the instrument.