| See, feel, hear and control your environment, virtually Posted: 02 Jul 2012 11:30 PM PDT Scientists have transformed vast amounts of data into applications and systems that are able to analyze crowd behavior, allow remote energy management or even tell where some of the windiest spots in the city center are.  |
| Scientists create 'rubber-band electronics' Posted: 02 Jul 2012 06:02 PM PDT Scientists have developed a new way to make highly stretchable electronics. The technology could pave the way for bendable laptops and medical devices that can be integrated into the human body.  |
| Sounding rocket mission to observe magnetic fields on the sun Posted: 02 Jul 2012 06:02 PM PDT On July 5, NASA will launch a mission called the Solar Ultraviolet Magnetograph Investigation or SUMI, to study the intricate, constantly changing magnetic fields on the sun in a hard-to-observe area of the sun's low atmosphere called the chromosphere.  |
| 'Next-generation digital Earth' charted Posted: 02 Jul 2012 06:02 PM PDT The world has gotten smaller and more accessible since applications like Google Earth became mainstream, says an expert. However, there is still a long way to go, and there are important steps to take to get there.  |
| Tapping into genetic reservoir of heat-loving bacteria Posted: 02 Jul 2012 04:25 PM PDT The identification of key proteins in a group of heat-loving bacteria could help light a fire under next-generation biofuel production.  |
| Higher energies for laser-accelerated particles possible Posted: 02 Jul 2012 02:28 PM PDT Physicists have demonstrated for the first time that laser-accelerated protons follow the direction of the laser light. By incorporating this new data into a conventional model describing the laser particle acceleration, high proton energies which have not been realized so far might become achievable. This is important for developing laser particle acceleration for cancer therapy.  |
| Tevatron scientists announce their final results on the Higgs particle Posted: 02 Jul 2012 11:17 AM PDT After more than 10 years of gathering and analyzing data produced by the U.S. Department of Energy's Tevatron collider, scientists from the CDF and DZero collaborations have found their strongest indication to date for the long-sought Higgs particle. Squeezing the last bit of information out of 500 trillion collisions produced by the Tevatron for each experiment since March 2001, the final analysis of the data does not settle the question of whether the Higgs particle exists, but gets closer to an answer.  |
| New light shed on explosive solar activity Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:47 AM PDT The first images of an upward surge of the sun's gases into quiescent coronal loops have been identified by an international team of scientists. The discovery is one more step towards understanding the origins of extreme space storms, which can destroy satellite communications and damage power grids on Earth.  |
| 'Trophy molecule' breakthrough may result in cleaner, cooler nuclear energy Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:35 AM PDT Experts have created a stable version of a 'trophy molecule' that has eluded scientists for decades. They have prepared a terminal uranium nitride compound which is stable at room temperature and can be stored in jars in crystallized or powder form. The breakthrough could have future implications for the nuclear energy industry — uranium nitride materials may potentially offer a viable alternative to the current mixed oxide nuclear fuels used in reactors since nitrides exhibit superior high densities, melting points, and thermal conductivities and the process the scientists used to make the compound could offer a cleaner, low temperature route than methods currently used.  |
| Inspired by nature: Paints and coatings containing bactericidal agent nanoparticles combat marine fouling Posted: 02 Jul 2012 10:35 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that tiny vanadium pentoxide nanoparticles can inhibit the growth of barnacles, bacteria, and algae on surfaces in contact with water, such as ship hulls, sea buoys, or offshore platforms. Their experiments showed that steel plates to which a coating containing dispersed vanadium pentoxide particles had been applied could be exposed to seawater for weeks without the formation of deposits of barnacles, bacteria, and algae.  |
