http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/ News in Engineering, Chemistry and Physics. Read about energy news, nanotechnology and more. Full-text, images, free. en-us Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:05:01 EDT Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/matter_energy/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163538.htm Scientists have developed an innovative robot rat which can seek out and identify objects using its whiskers. The SCRATCHbot robot will be demonstrated at an international workshop looking at how robots can help us examine the workings of the brain. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163538.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080358.htm For a long time, batteries were bulky and heavy. Now, a new cutting-edge battery is revolutionizing the field. It is thinner than a millimeter, lighter than a gram, and can be produced cost-effectively through a printing process. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080358.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630132013.htm Researchers are using a combination of light and ultrasound to visualize fluorescent proteins that are seated several centimeters deep into living tissue. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630132013.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630153406.htm It's a frequent scene in television crime dramas: Clever police technicians zoom in on a security camera video to read a license plate or capture the face of a hold-up artist. But in real life, enhancing this low-quality video to focus in on important clues hasn't been an easy task. Until now. Researchers in Israel have developed a new video "perfection tool" to help investigators enhance raw video images and identify suspects. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630153406.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618085926.htm Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in the early 1990s, nanotubes and nanowires have been the focus of scientific and technological interest. It has since also proved possible to produce these tiny structures from materials other than carbon. Possible applications range across many areas, including microelectronic circuits, sensor technology, and special fibre optics and light-emitting nanotubes for displays. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618085926.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625141452.htm Researchers have discovered a technique to safely handle and transport white phosphorous. Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625141452.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617123435.htm Scientists have found evidence of an important similarity between the behavior of polycrystalline materials -- like metals and ceramics -- and glasses, research that could lead to better predictions of how many valuable materials behave under stress. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617123435.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616121351.htm Chemists have developed novel compounds that show promise for photodynamic cancer therapy, which uses light-activated drugs to kill tumor cells. The new compounds, called dye-sensitized ruthenium nitrosyls, are absorbed by cancer cells and respond to specific wavelengths of light by releasing nitric oxide, which triggers cell death. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616121351.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617123431.htm New studies show that changing the shape of cobalt nanoparticles from spherical to cubic can fundamentally change their behavior. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617123431.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701145529.htm Tooth-colored fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. Researchers hope a new nanotechnology technique will extend the fillings' longevity. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701145529.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080523.htm Scientists have developed a new material by applying a biotechnological treatment to paper sludge. In many cases, the new material could replace plastic packaging and certain building materials. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080523.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080119.htm Researchers have successfully created an optical transistor from a single molecule. This has brought them one step closer to an optical computer. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163113.htm Researchers have devised a microscale tool to help them understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms, slimy colonies of bacteria involved in most human infectious diseases. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163113.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702075921.htm Researchers from across Europe have united to build the largest quantum key distribution network ever built. The efforts of 41 research and industrial organizations were realized as secure, quantum encrypted information was sent over an eight node, mesh network. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702075921.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703091804.htm Video from portable cameras is analyzed to calculate the distance of obstacles and predict the movements of people and cars. This information is then transformed and relayed to a blind person as a three-dimensional ‘picture’ of sound. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703091804.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703065323.htm Modern robotics can help where it is too dangerous for humans to venture. Search and rescue robots (S&R robots) have meanwhile become so sophisticated that they have already carried out their first missions in disasters. And for this reason rescue robots will be given a special place at the RoboCup 2009 – the robotics world championships in Graz. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703065323.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630153408.htm Engineers used a novel underwater manufacturing technique to successfully build biomimetic cilia. The hairlike appendages mix tiny volumes of liquid to speed up biomedical reactions. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630153408.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630180838.htm Improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the weapons of suicide bombers, are a major cause of soldier casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. A group of engineering undergraduate students has developed a new way to detect them. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630180838.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701103006.htm A tiny grid pattern has led materials scientists to an unexpected finding -- the surprisingly strong and long-range effects of certain electromagnetic nanostructures used in data storage. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701103006.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163328.htm A current trend in secondary science education is for students to learn by discovering for themselves how things work. Computer modeling is a teaching method that fits in nicely with this trend and also with new learning objectives such as scientific literacy, inquiry-based learning and active involvement. Researchers have demonstrated that computer modeling is particularly useful for learning complex structures but less effective for learning simple facts. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630163328.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630082647.htm It appears to be a paradox: ultra-thin material that absorbs all incident light. Nonetheless, it does exist. Researchers have demonstrated that at a thickness of 4.5 nanometer niobiumnitride (NbN) is ultra-absorbent. They have recorded a light absorption of almost 100%, while the best light absorption to date was 50%. This research brings the ideal light detector a step closer. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630082647.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702170126.htm A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702170126.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080116.htm New developments in a substance which emits brilliant light could lead to a revolution in lighting for the home and office in five years, claims a leading UK materials scientist. The source of the huge potential he foresees, gallium nitride (GaN), is already used for some lighting applications such as camera flashes, bicycle lights, mobile phones and interior lighting for buses, trains and planes. It could reduce the typical electricity consumption for lighting of a developed country by around 75% while delivering major cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from power stations, and preserving fossil fuel reserves. Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080116.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701103004.htm A novel ion trap could usher in a new generation of applications, because the device holds promise as a stylus for sensing very small forces or for an interface for efficient transfer of individual light particles for quantum communications. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701103004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630132059.htm Physicists and astronomers have developed a new synthesis method, which has led them to the discovery of fluorescent silicon nanoparticles, and may ultimately help track the uptake of drugs by the body's cells. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630132059.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090619171250.htm Researchers have developed a successful way to grow molecular wire brushes that conduct electrical charges, a first step in developing biological fuel cells that could power pacemakers, cochlear implants and prosthetic limbs. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090619171250.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616103313.htm Researchers have demonstrated a new, highly detailed x-ray imaging technique that could be developed into a method for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. The technique has previously been used to look at tumors in breast tissue and cartilage in human knee and ankle joints, but this study is the first to test its ability to visualize a class of minuscule plaques that are a hallmark feature of Alzheimer's disease. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616103313.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630075449.htm Technology that allows gamers to control game functions with only their eyes is helping to open virtual worlds such as Second Life and World of Warcraft to people with severe motor disabilities. For people suffering from conditions such as cerebral palsy, motor neurone disease (MND) or so-called locked-in syndromes, being able to move around and interact in a virtual environment is a “truly liberating experience,” says a computer scientist who helped develop the software. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630075449.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630162848.htm NASA and Japan has released a new digital topographic map of Earth that covers more of our planet than ever before. The map was produced with detailed measurements from NASA's Terra spacecraft. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630162848.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617105050.htm Biophysicists have made gold more precious than ever -- at least as a research tool -- by creating nonstick gold surfaces and laser-safe gold nanoposts to aid in trapping and fixing individual biomolecules for study. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617105050.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090619130018.htm A massive project to develop a complete cycle of technologies for a new generation of high-brightness semiconductor lasers promises to transform the healthcare, telecom and display technology sectors. The semiconductor lasers developed by the Brighter project offer high power and very high efficiency in a small, relatively low-cost package, and they have direct applications in cancer treatment and imaging, high-bandwidth fibre-optic communications, laser-based projectors, heads-up-displays, and even TV screens. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090619130018.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701150851.htm Researchers have developed a groundbreaking middleware platform that could lead to thousands of new applications in a range of industries. Beginning with in-car electronics, the platform can access the functionality, but hide the underlying complexity, of embedded sensors, making development and deployment of new services a snap. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701150851.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629165557.htm They're digging tunnels along the US border at a fast and furious pace, but not a single one of them has ever been discovered by US border patrol agents using technology. That's going to change. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629165557.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622194229.htm Telecoms, healthcare and display technology will be the major beneficiaries of a new generation of semiconductor lasers developed in a massive research effort. Better cancer treatment, wider bandwidth and smaller, better displays could be on their way. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622194229.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629165108.htm Physicists have announced the observation of a new particle, the Omega-sub-b (Ω_b). The particle contains three quarks -- two strange quarks and a bottom quark (s-s-b). It is an exotic relative of the much more common proton and has about six times the proton's mass. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629165108.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629132158.htm Scientists have developed an electrochemical process for coating metal implants which vastly improves their functionality, longevity and integration into the body. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629132158.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622165924.htm Scientists in China are recommending that the Chinese government consider phasing out the direct burning of traditional chunks of coal in millions of households. It suggests that the government substitute coal briquettes and improved stoves for cooking and heating to help reduce the country's high air pollution levels. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090622165924.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122110.htm Chemists have fabricated microscopic polymer beads that change color instantly and reversibly when external magnetic fields acting upon the microspheres change orientation. Applications of the new material include display type units such as rewritable or reusable signage, posters, papers and labels, and other magnetically activated security features, as well as environmentally friendly pigments for paints and cosmetics, and ink materials for color printing. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122110.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616144533.htm In revisiting a chemical reaction that's been in the literature for several decades and adding a new wrinkle of their own, researchers have discovered a mild and relatively inexpensive procedure for removing oxygen from biomass. This procedure, if it can be effectively industrialized, could allow many of today's petrochemical products, including plastics, to instead be made from biomass. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616144533.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617131404.htm Physicists have successfully landed a one-two punch on a tiny glass sphere, refrigerating it in liquid helium and then dosing its perimeter with a laser beam, to bring its naturally occurring mechanical vibrations to a near standstill. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090617131404.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629132210.htm In an effort to increase understanding of the medical device development process and help companies execute the bench-to-bedside process of product development more effectively, researchers at have published the first comprehensive model representing the medical device development process. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629132210.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703065515.htm The first home in the UK which can learn from its residents and take decisive action and text if it is being burgled or the door has been left unlocked, will be unveiled this week in Cairo. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090703065515.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701103010.htm A new statistical analysis technique that identifies and removes systematic bias, noise and equipment-based artifacts from experimental data could lead to more precise and reliable measurement of nanomaterials and nanostructures likely to have future industrial applications. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090701103010.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630075616.htm A robotic vision system that mimics key visual functions of the human brain promises to let robots maneuver quickly and safely through cluttered environments, and to help guide the visually impaired. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630075616.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630075614.htm How can you weigh a single atom? Researchers have built an exquisite new device that can do just that. It may ultimately allow scientists to study the progress of chemical reactions, molecule by molecule. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630075614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615171614.htm A study of stickers peeling from windows could lead to a new way to precisely control the fabrication of stretchable electronics, according to researchers. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615171614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615152928.htm People with impaired mobility who move around in wheelchairs, people who are transporting bulky loads and all other users will be able to travel upwards and downwards without assistance using the innovative escalator designed by Jesús Sánchez, an industrial engineering student in Spain. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615152928.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629081451.htm Engineers are working on a new type of body armor made from cement. The new vests will combine super-strong cement with recycled carbon fibre materials to make a material tough enough to withstand most types of bullets. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629081451.htm