| Using 3-D printing and injectable molds, bioengineered ears look and act like the real thing Posted: 20 Feb 2013 03:47 PM PST Bioengineers and physicians have created an artificial ear -- using 3-D printing and injectable molds -- that looks and acts like a natural ear, giving new hope to thousands of children born with a congenital deformity called microtia. Scientists have described how 3-D printing and injectable gels made of living cells can fashion ears that are practically identical to a human ear. Over a three-month period, these flexible ears grew cartilage to replace the collagen that was used to mold them.  |
| Simple view of gravity does not fully explain the distribution of stars in crowded clusters Posted: 20 Feb 2013 01:36 PM PST Gravity remains the dominant force on large astronomical scales, but when it comes to stars in young star clusters the dynamics in these crowded environments cannot be simply explained by the pull of gravity.  |
| NASA rover confirms first drilled Mars rock sample Posted: 20 Feb 2013 01:11 PM PST NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has relayed new images that confirm it has successfully obtained the first sample ever collected from the interior of a rock on another planet. No rover has ever drilled into a rock beyond Earth and collected a sample from its interior.  |
| Sunlight yields more efficient carbon dioxide to methanol model Posted: 20 Feb 2013 12:37 PM PST In a method that is more efficient and inexpensive than current models, researchers are using carbon dioxide, copper oxide nanowires and simulated sunlight to create methanol.  |
| NASA's Kepler mission discovers tiny planet system: Smallest planet yet found around a star similar to our sun Posted: 20 Feb 2013 10:35 AM PST NASA's Kepler mission scientists have discovered a new planetary system that is home to the smallest planet yet found around a star similar to our sun. The planets are located in a system called Kepler-37, about 210 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. The smallest planet, Kepler-37b, is slightly larger than our moon, measuring about one-third the size of Earth. It is smaller than Mercury, which made its detection a challenge.  |
| Searching for the solar system's chemical recipe Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:34 AM PST The ratio of isotopes in elements like oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen were once thought to be much the same everywhere, determined only by their different masses. Then isotope ratios in meteorites, interplanetary dust and gas, and the sun itself were found to differ from those on Earth. Planetary researchers are now studying these "mass-independent" effects and their origins in the chemical processes of the early solar system.  |
| Ultrahigh-definition TV: New Quad HD TV chip developed Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:34 AM PST It took only a few years for high-definition televisions to make the transition from high-priced novelty to ubiquitous commodity -- and they now seem to be heading for obsolescence just as quickly. Several manufacturers have recently debuted new ultrahigh-definition, or UHD, models (also known as 4K or Quad HD) with four times the resolution of today's HD TVs.  |
| Molecules assemble in water, hint at origins of life Posted: 20 Feb 2013 09:33 AM PST Researchers are exploring an alternate theory for the origin of RNA: they think the RNA bases may have evolved from a pair of molecules distinct from the bases we have today. This theory looks increasingly attractive, as researchers were able to achieve efficient, highly ordered self-assembly in water with small molecules that are similar to the bases of RNA.  |
| Potential benefits of inertial fusion energy justify continued research and development Posted: 20 Feb 2013 08:40 AM PST The potential benefits of successful development of an inertial confinement fusion-based energy technology justify investment in fusion energy research.  |
| Self-healing protective coating for concrete Posted: 20 Feb 2013 08:40 AM PST Scientists are reporting development of what they describe as the first self-healing protective coating for cracks in concrete, the world's most widely used building material. The material is both inexpensive and environmentally friendly.  |
| Ancient 'Egyptian blue' pigment points to new telecommunications, security ink technology Posted: 20 Feb 2013 08:39 AM PST A bright blue pigment used 5,000 years ago is giving modern scientists clues toward the development of new nanomaterials with potential uses in state-of-the-art medical imaging devices, remote controls for televisions, security inks and other technology.  |
| New imaging device is flexible, flat, and transparent Posted: 20 Feb 2013 08:39 AM PST Digital cameras, medical scanners, and other imaging technologies have advanced considerably during the past decade. Continuing this pace of innovation, an Austrian research team has developed an entirely new way of capturing images based on a flat, flexible, transparent, and potentially disposable polymer sheet.  |
| New technique scales up production of graphene micro-supercapacitors Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:07 AM PST While the demand for ever-smaller electronic devices has spurred the miniaturization of a variety of technologies, one area has lagged behind in this downsizing revolution: energy-storage units, such as batteries and capacitors. Engineers have now developed a groundbreaking technique that uses a DVD burner to fabricate micro-scale graphene-based supercapacitors. These micro-supercapacitors can be easily manufactured and integrated into small devices such as next-generation pacemakers.  |
| Quantum dots that assemble themselves Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:07 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated a process whereby quantum dots can self-assemble at optimal locations in nanowires, a breakthrough that could improve solar cells, quantum computing, and lighting devices.  |
| U.S. could double energy productivity, experts say Posted: 20 Feb 2013 07:07 AM PST Researchers have long understood that using energy more efficiently can be just as beneficial as finding new ways to produce energy more efficiently.  |
| Sun's next-door twin: Cool layer in the atmosphere of Alpha Centauri A Posted: 20 Feb 2013 06:24 AM PST The European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory has detected a cool layer in the atmosphere of Alpha Centauri A, the first time this has been seen in a star beyond our own Sun. The finding is not only important for understanding the Sun's activity, but could also help in the quest to discover proto-planetary systems around other stars.  |
| Sweeping dust from a cosmic lobster Posted: 20 Feb 2013 05:47 AM PST Located around 8000 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), NGC 6357 -- sometimes nicknamed the Lobster Nebula due to its appearance in visible-light images -- is a region filled with vast clouds of gas and tendrils of dark dust. These clouds are forming stars, including massive hot stars which glow a brilliant blue-white in visible light.  |
| New taxonomy of platinum nanoclusters Posted: 20 Feb 2013 05:47 AM PST The unexpected diversity of metallic nanoclusters' inner structure has now been catalogued into families.  |
| Nano-channel disentangles knotted DNA Posted: 20 Feb 2013 05:47 AM PST DNA, just like hair, has a tendency to become knotted, thus it may be useful to disentangle it. Unfortunately, it is not possible to "actively" choose at random (or better, in one solution) the filaments with the desired features, and this is why scientists adopt "passive" solutions like, for instance, having the DNA pass through nano-pores or nano-channels.  |
| New technology in the magnetic cooling of chips Posted: 20 Feb 2013 05:44 AM PST Scientists have developed a new technology in the magnetic cooling of chips based on the straining of materials. Compared with the current technologies, this advance reduces the impact on the environment.  |
| Xenon flash for photos in dark from smart phones Posted: 20 Feb 2013 05:44 AM PST Small but mighty Xenon flash for mobile phones - great shots in the dark soon to be a reality.  |
| Six years in space for THEMIS: Understanding the magnetosphere better than ever Posted: 20 Feb 2013 05:29 AM PST On Earth, scientists can observe weather patterns, and more importantly can predict them, through the use of tens of thousands of weather observatories scattered around the globe. Up in the space surrounding Earth -- a space that seethes with its own space weather made of speeding charged particles and constantly changing magnetic fields that can impact satellites -- there are only a handful of spacecraft to watch for solar and magnetic storms. The number of observatories has been growing over the last six years, however. Today these spacecraft have begun to provide the first multipoint measurements to better understand space weather events as they move through space, something impossible to track with a single spacecraft.  |
