Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
City lights make air pollution worse
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study by scientists in Los Angeles, California has found that bright city lights makes air pollution worse because the glare of the lights interferes with chemical...
Rice researchers take molecule's temperature
You can touch a functioning light bulb and know right away that it's hot. Ouch! But you can't touch a single molecule and get the same feedback...
UCLA bioengineers discover how particles self-assemble in flowing fluids
From atomic crystals to spiral galaxies, self-assembly is ubiquitous in nature. In biological processes, self-assembly at the molecular level is particularly prevalent...
Capasso lab demonstrates highly unidirectional 'whispering gallery' microlasers
Utilising a century-old phenomenon discovered in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, applied scientists at Harvard University have demonstrated, for the first time, highly collimated unidirectional microlasers...
Scientists unravel more details of plant cell-wall construction
One big challenge in converting plants to biofuels is that the very same molecules that keep plants standing up make it hard to break them down. Now scientists at the...
Sweet and biodegradable: Sugar and cornstarch make environmentally safer plastics
A new lactide-based variety of catalysts, which initiate or sustain reactions in chemical processes, is improving the production of "green" plastics, making them stronger and more heat-resistant. This research has...
100 percent of most challenging Christmas plastic wrapping could be recycled by new tech
On average we each consume 120 grammes of plastic wrapping on Christmas gifts most of which is of a type which is almost impossible to recycle. Now researchers at the...
Cornell Joins Team Taking Head-first Plunge Into Algae Biofuels
Cornell University researchers have joined other scientists and a biofuel research company on a mission to develop a commercial-scale algae-to-fuel facility by 2015. The effort is backed by a $9...
'Magnetic sponge' could be a new form of cell and drug delivery
(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers at Duke and Harvard universities have developed a "magnetic sponge" that after implantation into a patient can "squeeze" out drugs, cells, or other agents when passed over...
Taiwan scientists claim microchip 'breakthrough'
Taiwanese scientists on Tuesday unveiled an advanced microchip technology which they claimed marks a breakthrough in piling ever more memory into ever smaller spaces.
Hawking: The elegance in equations
Professor Stephen Hawking explains his theory about black holes and whether equations can be beautiful.
Rings in Sky Leave Alternate Visions of Universes
Scientists looking at concentric rings imprinted on a haze of microwave radiation have come to different conclusions about their origins.
Engineering Researchers Partner With Toyota; DOE Grant Will Further Work Toward a More Efficient Charger for Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
A $3.9 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy will allow electrical engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas to continue contributing to the development of a compact and...
Nanotechnology's Big Impact
Incredibly small nanostructures like buckyballs could lead to tiny devices that bring medicine exactly where it needs to go in your body, as well as powerful computers the size of...
Satellites pinpoint drivers of urban heat islands in the northeast
GREENBELT, Md. -- The size, background ecology, and development patterns of major northeastern cities combine to make them unusually warm, according to NASA scientists who presented new research...
Poisoned Debate Encircles a Microbe Study’s Result
A paper about a bacterium and arsenic set off a debate about peer review, bloggers and the reliability of NASA.
Expert discusses using small-pore zeolites to remove troublesome pollutant from exhaust
(PhysOrg.com) -- While the reactions that eliminate smog-causing nitrogen oxides from automotive tail pipes appear straightforward, there is far more happening than the standard freshmen textbook shows. Professor Raul Lobo...
Answering the catalyst conundrum
(PhysOrg.com) -- Over years of meticulous research into the popular, prototypical catalyst titanium dioxide, a clear view of the atomic-level interactions has emerged, but many of the answers lead to...
Smartphone technology improves prosthetic limbs
Losing a limb can be a devastating experience, and while electrically powered prostheses can serve as a replacement for a lost arm, they are notoriously difficult to operate, and will...
Which methods of heating are most efficient?
Supplying energy is in the process of metamorphosis because people want to know what is the most intelligent and efficient way to utilize all types of energy carriers. Researchers put...
New methods to examine the potential of concentrating thermal solar power
New data and methods have been developed to examine the potential for thermal concentrating solar power (CSP) plants to help meet energy and environmental goals. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National...
An electronic dance of spins and orbits
Because of their potential application in spintronic devices such as next-generation spin-based transistors, the quest for new materials with significant spin-orbit interactions in the electronic ground state is an area...
Research Leader Francine Berman Honored for Leadership in High-Performance and Grid Computing
Cyberinfrastructure pioneer Francine Berman, the vice president for research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Manufacturing medical implants at a high speed
Intelligent software from Siemens for virtual planning and for the control of machine tools is making it possible for medical implants to be manufactured faster and less expensively. The challenge...
An answer to green energy could be in the air
In Mark Moore's world, long nanotubes reach into the clouds, serving at once to tether a turbine-vehicle flying at 2,000 feet, or 10,000 feet, or 30,000 feet (610, 3,050 and...
NIST Team Awarded Millions of Supercomputing Hours, Aims for 'Concrete Results'
The Department of Energy has awarded a NIST team of computer scientists, physicists and mathematicians millions of hours of supercomputing time to analyze concrete flow, with the aim of improving...
NIST Honors 139 for Achievements in 2010
For accomplishments ranging from determining the causes of failures in ballistic-resistant body armor to innovations in technology transfer strategies, NIST recently honored 139 scientific, technical, and administrative employees at its...