Researchers at Harvard University have demonstrated for the first time that they can easily apply a film of tiny, high-performance silicon nanowires to glass and plastic, a development that could pave the way for the next generation of cheaper, lighter and more powerful consumer electronics. The development could lead to such futuristic products as disposable computers and optical displays that can be worn in your clothes or contact lenses, they say.

Their research appears in the November is

Plastic lamp-posts that cause less damage on collision could save hundreds of lives across Europe. In the UK alone, over 500 motorists are killed each year hitting roadside objects such as lampposts. The collapsing posts developed in this EUREKA project E! 2534 THERMOPOLE are able to absorb much of the force in a collision, saving the car driver from the full impact.

According to Gerry Boyce, Director of the UK lead partner Euro Projects, “the THERMOPOLE project team “set out to create a la

A novel method of genetic fingerprinting, analysed and tested by more than 200 European laboratories, has been developed in conjunction with the Gaiker Technological Centre and enables the avoidance of fraud, thus guaranteeing safe foods for the consumer.

For their brand products the Eroski Group has developed and introduced a series of Food Safety control techniques and guarantees which are pioneer in Europe. This initiative started to be developed five years under the auspices of th

A tiny electronic device which could prevent rail disasters will be showcased today – by scientists who created it less than a mile from where the railway revolution began.

Microlog, a highly advanced miniature data logger, weighs less than ten grammes and boasts a four megabyte memory, a powerful 16 byte microprocessor and satellite and mobile phone technology packed into one third of the size of a matchbox.

It has been developed by a father and son team at the University of Newc

Thanks to a team of materials scientists at Northwestern University, molecular electronics may be one step closer to reality. The researchers, led by Mark Hersam, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, have become the first to measure a unique and versatile nanoelectronic effect — called resonant tunneling — through individual molecules mounted directly on silicon.

The findings were published online Nov. 1 by Nano Letters, a publication of the American Chemical Society.

A unique device has been designed by the Moscow scientists – specialists of the Institute of General Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, supported by funding from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. The device not only helps to discover in a few seconds the minute quantities of narcotics and explosives in the air, but to identify and even count every single molecule of these dangerous substances. For the first time has the man managed to approach the creation of device more sensitive than th

Working with capsules of dye just a few billionths of a metre in diameter, researchers at University of Toronto and the advanced optical microscopy facility at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital have created a new strategy for encrypting photographs, signatures and fingerprints on security documents.

“This technology will give security or customs authorities the confidence that documents are not fake,” says U of T chemistry professor Eugenia Kumacheva, who holds the Canada Research C

Police dogs across the country could soon be out of work, replaced by an electronic “dog-on-a-chip” that sniffs out cocaine and other narcotics. Scientists at Georgia Tech have created a new detection tool that is portable, inexpensive, and doesn’t require feeding or grooming. They say it is superior to previous “electronic noses” designed for this purpose.

The report will appear in the Nov. 15 edition of Analytical Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, t

45th Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics

A new invention removes noisy microwave signals from microwave ovens and prevents them from interfering with cordless phones and wireless computer networks. The new technology, developed by plasma physicists at the University of Michigan, is also expected to lead to more efficient microwave ovens, with little or no addition to the ovens’ cost.

Microwave ovens heat food by emitting microwaves from a device called a m

45th Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics

MIT physicists will report a new advance with the plasmatron, a small device that converts part of a fuel into a hydrogen-rich gas that reduces the emission of pollutants from vehicles. Developed by MIT researchers, the plasmatron was tested on a diesel-engine bus in Columbus, Indiana. The bus was tested by a team of engineers from ArvinMeritor, a major automotive and heavy truck components manufacturer which has licensed the plas

Study shows vast amounts of ’buried sunshine’ needed to fuel society

A staggering 98 tons of prehistoric, buried plant material – that’s 196,000 pounds – is required to produce each gallon of gasoline we burn in our cars, SUVs, trucks and other vehicles, according to a study conducted at the University of Utah.

“Can you imagine loading 40 acres worth of wheat – stalks, roots and all – into the tank of your car or SUV every 20 miles?” asks ecologist Jeff Dukes,

Molecular coating could aid nanoscale assembly, microfuidics

Materials researchers at Iowa State University, working in part under a grant from the National Science Foundation, have demonstrated a novel coating that makes surfaces “smart”—meaning the surfaces can be switched back and forth between glassy-slick and rubbery on a scale of nanometers, the size of just a few molecules.

Possible applications include the directed assembly of inorganic nanoparticles, proteins, and na

Silicone rubber and other rubber-like materials have a wide variety of uses, but in almost every case they must be reinforced with particles to make them stronger or less permeable to gases or liquids. University of Cincinnati (UC) chemistry professor James Mark and colleagues have devised a technique that strengthens silicone rubber with nanoscale particles, but leaves the material crystal clear.

Silicone rubber is often reinforced by tiny particles of silica (the primary component of sand

Available report outlines goals, challenges, and research areas

The results of a two-day workshop on hydrogen production through biological and artificial systems now is available.

The workshop, sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and hosted jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), included key scientists from the Air Force, NREL, DOE, other national la

Scientists have long known of the potential risk from cosmic rays and other aspects of space weather, such as streams of protons from the Sun, to airline electronic systems, passengers, and crews. It has not been feasible to quantify this risk, however, as systematic data are lacking on the actual amount of rays and the charged particles and neutrons they create in Earth’s atmosphere that are encountered during typical flights. Researchers have now begun collecting that information, thanks to a

A bus in Indiana is the latest laboratory for MIT’s plasmatron reformer, a small device its developers believe could significantly cut the nation’s oil consumption as well as noxious emissions from a variety of vehicles.

The work will be the subject of an invited talk next Thursday, October 30, at a meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Plasma Physics in Albuquerque, NM.

The researchers and colleagues from industry report that the plasmatron, used with an exhaust t