Over the next 17 months, Virginia Tech will lead a team of researchers exploring the development of a new class of materials that will use plant protein structures in an attempt to mimic biological systems. The Defense Science Office of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) is funding the $2.1 million project.
DARPA is specifically interested in a group of hard polymers called nastic materials. In biology, nastic refers to the natural movement of plants in response to
Duke University Medical Center researchers have identified specific clusters of genes within human aortas that appear to predict with great specificity which patients may be at highest risk for developing atherosclerosis, as well as the severity of the disease.
For the researchers, this is an important first of many steps toward developing highly individualized approaches to identifying and treating atherosclerosis that are tailored to and informed by a patient’s unique genet
The University of Alaska Fairbanks and Fuel Cell Technologies of Kingston, Ontario, have announced that the five-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell installed in Fairbanks has successfully passed the one-year field operational mark.
UAF has been testing fuel cell systems, which convert natural gas to grid-compatible AC electricity, for more than six years. Fuel cells promise highly reliable and efficient small-scale systems for remote power applications that may mean a significant reduc
Researchers at Purdue University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have completed a mathematical analysis showing that it isn’t quite possible to build a so-called “perfect lens,” but the underlying theory still makes it feasible to design better imaging systems.
A perfect lens would be able to focus light more narrowly than conventional lenses, making it possible to etch finer electronic circuits and create more compact and powerful computer chips. Such lenses also m
A Supernova Early Warning System (SNEWS) that detects ghostlike neutrino particles that are the earliest emanations from the immense, explosive death throes of large stars will alert astronomers of the blasts before they can see the flash.
SNEWS “could allow astronomers a chance to make unprecedented observations of the very early turn-on of the supernova,” wrote the authors of an article about the new system in the September issue of the “New Journal of Physics” http://www.iop.org
In a nod to scientific paradox, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have slowed light down in an effort to speed up network communication.
They have shown for the first time that the group velocity of light – the speed at which a laser pulse travels along a light wave – can be slowed to about 6 miles per second in semiconductors. While that speed is not exactly the pace of a turtle, it is 31,000 times slower than the 186,000 miles (or 300 million meters) per seco
New Environmentally-Conscious Battery Sparks a Revolution in the Watch Market
Sony announced today the launch of the world’s first (as of September 29th, 2004) mercury-free Silver Oxide battery. Considered one of the most difficult challenges within the industry, the introduction of the battery heralds a revolution for millions of watch owners around the world and a major advance for the environment. As a leader in the watch battery market, Sony has utilized its expertise to develo
A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology evaluates treatments for postherpetic neuralgia. The guideline is published in the September 28 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The guideline recommends tricyclic antidepressants, gabapentin, lidocaine patch, and opioids for treating the pain of postherpetic neuralgia.
Postherpetic neuralgia is characterized as pain that persists more than three months after an individual has exper
Nanomedicines already bringing clinical benefits to thousands
“Nanotechnology” is a newly fashionable field but in the world of drug development it is certainly not new, Professor Ruth Duncan of the Welsh School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University has told the British Pharmaceutical Conference (September 27-29).
The first nanomedicines are already bringing clinical benefit to thousands of patients, said Professor Duncan in her Conference Science Chairman’s address.
“Pr
New find in Israel shows that cereal production predates agricultural societies by millennia
Archaeologists have found strong evidence that wheat and barley were refined into cereals 23,000 years ago, suggesting that humans were processing grains long before hunter-gatherer societies developed agriculture. The findings, including the identification of the earliest known oven and hence the oldest evidence of baking, were described in a recent issue of the journal Nature. “This is an
Changes in forestry and agriculture affecting ozone pollution
Changes in U.S. forests caused by land use practices may have inadvertently worsened ozone pollution, according to a study led by Princeton University scientists. The study examined a class of chemicals that are emitted as unburned fuel from automobile tailpipes and as vapors from industrial chemicals, but also come naturally from tree leaves. These chemicals, known collectively as VOCs, react with other pollutants to form
Penn State researchers have developed a computer program that mimics the results when a human appraises a task as threatening and feels worried before starting.
Dr. Frank Ritter, associate professor in the School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), says, “In this study, we used our program to mimic the results achieved by people who can be seen as having a type of math anxiety. However, the program could also be used to study the effects of feeling threatened or worried be
While Parkinson’s disease typically brings to mind symptoms such as tremors and slow movement, researchers have found that nearly half of all Parkinson’s patients also suffer from depression. While it might seem natural that someone who has a disease such as Parkinson’s might become depressed, it’s not so simple, says neurologist Irene Richard, M.D., of the University of Rochester Medical Center.
“Many patients assume that’s it’s normal to feel this way
A common butterfly, found in a variety of habitats from the southern United States to northern Argentina, is actually comprised of at least 10 separate species, according to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania.
Astraptes fulgerator, a medium-large skipper butterfly, is a routine visitor to urban gardens and tropical rainforests. While the “species” has been known to science since 1775, only now has examination of a small and standardized signature piece of the genome –
Patients needing second-time or “re-do” heart surgery have a new safer alternative. New findings show that an “off-pump” surgical procedure is performed safely and has improved outcomes for patients than traditional methods.
Due to a newly standardized approach and enhanced technology, doctors can perform this controversial surgery and eliminate the damaging effects of using a heart bypass machine. Off-pump surgery, also known as the “beating heart” method, is performed while the he
A set of newly documented small-scale circulations embedded in thunderstorm squall lines not only spew destructive straight-line winds, but may spawn up to 20% of all U.S. tornadoes. And the remnant circulations from large thunderstorm clusters can survive for days, triggering new storm cells. Over warm oceans, similar remnant circulations provide seed for hurricane development. Scientists expect these and other findings to help improve forecasts of damaging winds and heavy rain.
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