Latest science news in Physics & Chemistry
Sky Show This Weekend: Venus to Meet Elusive Mercury
Normally elusive, Mercury will be shining brightly near Venus for most of this month—with a close conjunction on April 3 and 4.
Solvent may change cooking oil production
KINGSTON, Ontario, March 31 (UPI) -- A Canadian professor says a special solvent he invented might revolutionize the manufacturing of cooking oil.
Scientists push closer towards birth of universe
Physicists at CERN, buoyed by their ground-breaking success in creating mini-Big Bangs giving them a glimpse of the dawn of time, began on Wednesday to push closer towards the very...
Better military technology does not lead to shorter wars, analysis reveals
It is generally assumed that military technology that is offensive rather than defensive in nature leads to shorter wars. Yet, new research from Sweden shows that this assumption is not...
Spin-out puts new spin on wind energy
Undersea balloons could store energy from huge turbines
Project to make car fuel from thin air
Researchers from the South West are working on a £1.4 million project that could take carbon dioxide from the air and turn it into car fuel.
Scientists to levitate liquid drops to study glass
Physicists are building a levitation chamber to suspend a drop of liquid in mid-air and watch its atoms as it cools into glass. The machine should help clarify the mystery...
E20 fuel reduces carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions in automobiles
A new study by the Centre for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology indicates that the use of E20 fuel, which blends 20 percent ethanol with gasoline, reduces...
Scientists discover world's smallest superconductor
Scientists have discovered the world's smallest superconductor, a sheet of four pairs of molecules less than one nanometre wide. The Ohio University-led study, published Sunday as an advance online publication...
Sugar-hungry yeast to boost biofuel production
Engineering yeast to transform sugars more efficiently into alcohols could be an economically and environmentally sound way to replace fossil fuels, say scientists.
Scientists create self-powered nanosensor
ATLANTA, March 29 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they've combined a new generation of piezoelectric nanogenerators with nanowire sensors to create a self-powered sensing device.
Nano probes ID, diagnose and track disease
EDINBURGH, Scotland, March 29 (UPI) -- Scottish scientists say they've developed tiny gold chemical sensors that could be used to help detect, diagnose and track a disease's progress.
OMV looks to fill extra gas capacity
VIENNA, March 29 (UPI) -- Austrian energy giant OMV announced Monday that companies could bid for the extra space in its Schonkirchen-Tief gas storage site starting May 6.
Researchers find a way to make drops on a surface move in just one direction
(PhysOrg.com) -- Controlling the way liquids spread across a surface is important for a wide variety of technologies, including DNA microarrays for medical research, inkjet printers and digital lab-on-a-chip systems....
In search of the definite particle
Using a hair-dryer's worth of solar power, a sophisticated device will hitch a lift on one of the last-ever space shuttles to try to answer key questions about the universe. But it...
Cutting-edge laser technology for crime labs developed by FIU research team
(PhysOrg.com) -- Jose Almirall, director of FIU`s International Forensics Research Institute (IFRI), and his research team have been attracting national attention for their cutting-edge research on how laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy...
Cars unsafe for pedestrians
The majority of Australian cars are not adapted to maximise pedestrian safety in the case of an accident, a recent survey has found.
Measuring the Stability of Organic Waste
Scientists present a new methodology that offers a reliable measurement of the biodegradable organic matter content in organic solid materials, useful for researchers and industrial operators.
Pressure sensors on alert
Vacuum panels are particularly good for insulating buildings -- as long as the vacuum does not leak. A tiny pressure sensor can now constantly check the condition of the vacuum...
Using nanotechnology in cancer research
Biomedical researchers in Norway are applying nanotechnology to mimic the body's natural processes, create new blood vessels to supply engineered tissue, and deepen our understanding of cancer.
Naval research laboratory takes a close look at unique diamonds
Naval Research Laboratory, which has been involved in pioneering work involving chemical vapor deposition of diamond and the use of diamond materials in advanced technologies relevant to the Department of...
Science teacher Paul Butlin on Bang Goes the Theory
Bang Goes the Theory has plenty of wow factor, but Science teacher Paul Butlin would have liked to see more explanation of the actual scienceBang Goes the Theory is a programme about...
Nanoparticles Unlock Tumor Identity
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using nanoparticles designed to recognize specific sugar-binding molecules on the surfaces of cells, a team of investigators at Michigan State University has developed a process that uses magnetic...
Apps to curb texting while driving have tough task
(AP) -- Cars use lights, bells and buzzers to remind drivers to fasten their seat belts as they start their engines. It would seem natural, then, to offer motorists...
Scientists scent breakthrough in truffle trafficking
One of Europe's gastronomic jewels, the fabled black Perigord truffle, has been genetically unravelled, a feat that could doom fakers who pass off inferior truffles as the real thing, scientists...
Made easy with light: How lasers can make manufacturing structures out of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics efficient
Lightweight, sturdy and non-corrosive: fiber-reinforced thermoplastics are an ideal material for making boats and cars, and for aerospace engineering. But up to now, processing the raw materials was considered laborious...
U.S. Nuclear Labs Raise Doubts Over Arsenals
In a challenge to the White House, the laboratories have warned that federal programs to extend the life of the nuclear arsenal are insufficient.
The Eerie Silence: Are We Alone in the Universe? by Paul Davies | Book review
Tim Radford ponders the fruitless search for extraterrestrial intelligenceHere is the problem: everywhere we look on Earth, there is life. Microbes multiply in the highest clouds; bacteria cling to Saharan desert dust as...