- Behaviour of single protein observed in unprecedented detail
Scrutinizing a single molecule for more than a few milliseconds used to require effectively "stapling" it down, inhibiting its normal behaviour. Now, using a technique recently developed in their lab, Stanford chemists have for...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- Water Oxidation Advance Boosts Potential for Solar Fuel
Emory University chemists have developed the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, considered a crucial component for generating clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight. The breakthrough was made...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- Scavenging energy waste to turn water into hydrogen fuel
Materials scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have designed a way to harvest small amounts of waste energy and harness them to turn water into usable hydrogen fuel. The process is simple, efficient and recycles...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- New imaging technology advances chemical detection
ASU scientist N.J. Tao and his colleagues at the Biodesign Institute have hit on a new, versatile method to significantly improve the detection of trace chemicals important in such areas as national security, human health and the...
(Issue date: 14 March 2010)
- 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)
