- Watching crystals grow provides clues to making smoother, defect-free thin films
To make thin films for semiconductors in electronic devices, layers of atoms must be grown in neat, crystalline sheets. But while some materials grow smooth crystals, others tend to develop bumps and defects -- a serious problem...
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- Engineers: New sensor could help treat, combat diabetes, other diseases
A tiny new sensor could provide fresh, inexpensive diagnosis and treatment methods for people suffering from a variety of diseases.
University of Florida engineers have designed and tested versions of the sensor for applications...
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- Llama proteins could play a vital role in the war on terror by detecting the world's "most poisonous poisons," SFBR scientists say
Llama proteins could play a vital role in the war on terror by detecting the world's "most poisonous poisons," SFBR scientists say
Scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) have for the first time...
(Issue date: 24 January 2010)
- Chaperones for climate protection
The World Climate Conference recently took place. Reports about carbon dioxide levels, rising temperatures and melting glaciers appear daily. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry and the Gene Center of...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Game-changing Nanodiamond Discovery for MRI
A Northwestern University study shows that coupling a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent to a nanodiamond results in dramatically enhanced signal intensity and thus vivid image contrast.
"The results are a leap and...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Harnessing the Divas of the Nanoworld
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are the divas of the nanoworld. In possession of alluring properties, they are also notoriously temperamental compared to their carbon-based cousins.
On the plus side, they can withstand...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Toward a less expensive version of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu
A new way of producing the active ingredient in Tamiflu, above, promises to reduce the cost of the widely used anti-flu medication.
Scientists have developed an alternative method for producing the active ingredient in Tamiflu,...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Scientists find amazing new pondlife on nature reserve
One year in to a project to save one of the UK’s top sites for pondlife, amazing new species are being revealed for the first time. Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London working with Dorset Wildlife Trust have...
(Issue date: 17 January 2010)
- Scientists´ breakthrough in production of biofuels
A team of scientists from the University of Sheffield have scooped an international award in recognition of their work on an innovative device which will make the production of alternative biofuels more energy efficient.
The...
(Issue date: 10 January 2010)
- Paper strips can quickly detect toxin in drinking water
A strip of paper infused with carbon nanotubes can quickly and inexpensively detect a toxin produced by algae in drinking water. Engineers at the University of Michigan led the development of the new biosensor. The paper strips...
(Issue date: 10 January 2010)
- Quantum fluctuations are key in superconductors
New experiments on a recently discovered class of iron-based superconductors suggest that the ability of their electrons to conduct electricity without resistance is directly connected with the magnetic properties of those...
(Issue date: 10 January 2010)
- Golden ratio discovered in a quantum world
Researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB), in co-operation with colleagues from Oxford and Bristol Universities, as well as the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, have for the first time...
(Issue date: 10 January 2010)
- Self-destructing bacteria improve renewable biofuel production
An Arizona State University research team has developed a process that removes a key obstacle to producing lower cost, renewable biofuels. The team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe to self-destruct, making the recovery of...
(Issue date: 04 January 2010)
- Soil studies reveal rise in antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance in the natural environment is rising despite tighter controls over our use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, Newcastle University scientists have found.
Bacterial DNA extracted from soil samples...
(Issue date: 04 January 2010)
- Rice scientists divide and conquer
Half a protein is better than none, and in this case, it's way better than a whole one. A Rice University lab has discovered that dividing a particular fluorescent protein and using it as a tag is handy for analysing the workings...
(Issue date: 04 January 2010)
- An inexpensive "dipstick" test for pesticides in foods
"Reagentless Bidirectional Lateral Flow Bioactive Paper Sensors for Detection of Pesticides in Beverage and Food Samples"
Scientists in Canada are reporting the development of a fast, inexpensive "dipstick" test to identify...
(Issue date: 04 January 2010)
- Scientists Use Bacteria to Power Microgears
Scientists at Northwestern University and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have discovered that common bacteria can turn microgears when suspended in a solution, providing insights for the design of...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- Scientists Create World’s First Molecular Transistor
A group of scientists has succeeded in creating the first transistor made from a single molecule. The team includes researchers from Yale University and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. The team,...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- Novel Nanotechnology Heals Abscesses Caused by Resistant Staph Bacteria
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses caused by bacteria resistant to most antibiotics.
M.D.Abscesses are deep skin...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
- Physicists Propose Quantum Entanglement for Motion of Microscopic Objects
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have proposed a new paradigm that should allow scientists to observe quantum behaviour in small mechanical systems.
Their ideas offer a new means of addressing one...
(Issue date: 28 December 2009)
