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Research Watch
Has the human gekko's time finally come?
By Darren Quick
22:33 February 2, 2010 PST
Researchers at Cornell University have created a palm-sized device that uses water tension as a switchable adhesive bond and can support many times its own weight. The device could usher in a whole new generation of superheroes by allowing shoes or gloves that stick and unstick to walls on command, or see the creation of Post-It notes that can bear loads. Read More
World record 1 megajoule laser shot hits target
By Darren Quick
21:16 February 2, 2010 PST
In their quest to be the first to trigger a nuclear fusion reaction using lasers scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have delivered more than one megajoule of laser energy to a target. The peak power of the laser light, which was delivered within a few billionths of a second, was about 500 times that used by the United States at any given time and demonstrates the target drive conditions required to achieve fusion ignition. Read More
Heat-resistant glue solves sticky problem for architects
By Jeff Salton
22:32 January 28, 2010 PST
Could you confidently gallivant under huge mushroom-like structures knowing that they had been glued – not bolted – together? The architects and engineers of the “Parasols” in Seville, Spain, certainly hope so because the design features components that are stuck to each other in such a way. Understandably, they say the biggest problem was finding a glue that could withstand 60°C (140°F) and therefore wouldn’t melt in Seville’s summer heat. This is a fairly important criterion for the free-standing parasols that cover an area of 150m x 70m - one of the largest architectural timber structures ever built. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research WKI in Germany have adhered to the challenge and stuck with a formula they believe will do the job. Read More
Nano-magnets in metamaterials pave the way to invisibility cloaks
19:35 January 6, 2010 PST
A Harry Potter-style invisibility cloak is one more step closer to reality thanks to the work of a research team at the FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF) in the Netherlands, which has successfully harnessed the magnetic field of light to develop meta-materials that can deflect light in every possible direction. Read More
Silica nanoparticles make wool even more wonderful
By Darren Quick
21:54 December 22, 2009 PST
Already regarded as a “wonder fabric” for its lightness, softness, warmth even when wet, and other qualities, scientists from China say they have been able to improve on the natural properties of wool. They say their discovery could give wool a “brain,” placing it among other “smart” fabrics that shake off wrinkles, shrinkage and “breathe” to release perspiration. Read More
Hybrid biological machines powered by bacteria
By Darren Quick
18:49 December 21, 2009 PST
Researchers have discovered that common bacteria suspended in a solution can be made to turn microgears. This opens up the possibility of building hybrid biological machines at the microscopic scale. The researchers say the discovery demonstrates how microscopic swimming agents, such as bacteria or man-made nanorobots, in combination with hard materials, can constitute a "smart material", which can dynamically alter its microstructures, repair damage, or power microdevices. Read More
Roll up, roll up to see the Irish perpetual motion machine!
By Loz Blain
03:06 December 17, 2009 PST
Remember that zany Irish company Steorn, who claimed to have built a working perpetual motion machine that could produce clean, free energy out of a few magnets and some plastic discs? Well, they're back again. Undeterred by the fact that their own hand-picked jury of scientific judges unanimously agreed that the technology didn't work, Steorn has put its Orbo perpetual motion machine out for public display, and set up web feeds through which you can watch the thing in motion. But the demonstration has failed to impress critics, and for good reasons. Read More
Whales no longer singing the blues?
By Jeff Salton
17:14 December 15, 2009 PST
Endangered blue whales appear to be singing a happier song according to researchers studying the haunting sounds these huge mammals broadcast beneath the waves. Specifically, a drop in frequency has been noticed and a list of possible causes have been examined - from climate change to a rise in human-produced ocean noise - but it seems the explanation could actually be a positive one. It's believed the drop may be caused by the increase of blue whale numbers following bans on commercial whaling activities … in other words, the males don’t need their voices to travel as far to attract a mate. Read More
Gestural interfaces make touch screens look so ‘last year’
By Jeff Salton
21:21 December 13, 2009 PST
The gestural interface used by Tom Cruise in the movie Minority Report was based on work by MIT Media Lab’s Hiroshi Ishii, who has already commercialized similar large-scale gestural interface systems. However, such systems comprise many expensive cameras or require the user to wear tracking devices on their fingers. To develop a similar yet cost effective gestural interface system that is within reach of many more people other researchers at MIT have instead been working to develop screens with embedded optical sensors to track the movement of the user’s fingers that could quickly make touch screens seem outdated. Read More
Methane levels may point to life on Mars
By Jenna Meade
16:37 December 13, 2009 PST
New research has strengthened the possibility that biological life may exist beneath the surface of Mars. Scientists from Imperial College London have shown that the level of methane on the Red Planet can't be explained by meteorites in the atmosphere. This leaves the theory that microorganisms are producing methane gas as a by-product of their metabolic processes as one of the remaining possible explanations. Read More
Gravestones provide clues to climate history
By Jeff Salton
18:48 December 10, 2009 PST
By gathering volunteers' measurements of marble gravestones of different ages around the world, scientists hope to produce a map of the weathering rates of those gravestones and thereby better understand how the atmosphere has been changing. The study, called EarthTrek, is developed and managed by the Geological Society of America's (GSA) Education and Outreach group in partnership with organizations around the globe. Read More
‘Black metal’ discovery could advance the use of T-rays for medical scanning
By Darren Quick
15:48 December 9, 2009 PST
Scientist Chunlei Guo discovered a way to change the surface of a variety of metals so they absorbed virtually all light by using intense laser light in late 2006. He followed up his “black metal” discovery in 2008 by discovering how to use the same basic process to alter surface properties to turn metals a variety of colors. Now Guo and his University of Rochester colleagues have discovered that the altered black metals can detect electromagnetic radiation with frequencies in the terahertz range, also known as T-rays, which have potential in medical and scientific scanning applications, as well as security scanners. Read More
Toshiba's spintronics transistor and a new storage mechanism in silicon come to life
19:47 December 8, 2009 PST
In a recent issue of the journal Nature, researchers from the University of Twente, Netherlands, explain how they succeeded in transferring magnetically coded information directly into a semiconductor, for the first time at room temperatures. Meanwhile, Toshiba announced at the International Electronics Devices Meeting (IEDM) it has developed a MOSFET transistor harnessing spintronics, demonstrating stable, fast and low-power performance. Read More
New laser tuning method from MIT promises smarter airport scanners
By Gizmag Team
23:53 December 7, 2009 PST
New research out of MIT could lead to smarter airport scanners able to detect the presence of drugs and explosives. At the heart of the development is a new approach to laser tuning designed to harness terahertz rays so that they can be used to determine an object's chemical composition. Read More
Low-cost, durable, lightweight battery made from paper
By Darren Quick
19:35 December 7, 2009 PST
By dipping an ordinary piece of paper into ink infused with carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires, scientists have been able to create a low-cost battery or supercapacitor that is ultra-lightweight, bendable and very durable. The paper can be crumpled, folded or even soaked in acidic or basic solutions and still will work. Read More
Single-atom transistor promises new quantum computing breakthroughs
14:42 December 6, 2009 PST
As far as transistor size is concerned, it doesn't get any smaller than this. An international group of researchers from the Helsinki University of Technology, the University of New South Wales and the University of Melbourne have successfully built a fully working transistor that is just one atom in size, smashing previous records and, more importantly, creating a very unique venue to study phenomena to be exploited in the rapidly developing field of quantum computing. Read More
New nano-material could lead to self-washing windows and solar panels
By Darren Quick
19:13 December 3, 2009 PST
While attempting to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease researchers have discovered a new nanomaterial that can repel dust and water and could provide a self-cleaning coating for windows or solar panels. Unlike similar dust-busting materials that take inspiration from the surface of the lotus leaf, the new material is actually made up of molecules of peptides that “grow” to resemble small forests of grass. The coating also acts as a super-capacitor, thereby having implications for electric cars in that it could provide an energy boost to batteries. Read More
Sniffing out the condition of historical books and documents
By Darren Quick
23:33 December 2, 2009 PST
Establishing the condition of old books and precious historical documents traditionally involves removing samples of the paper from the valuable archival materials for testing in a laboratory. Naturally such destructive forms of testing are far from ideal. Now scientists have come up with a better option with the development of a nondestructive “sniff” test that can measure the degradation of old books and documents based on their smell. Read More
Researchers discover recipe for cheaper, more efficient fuel cell
19:25 December 1, 2009 PST
Known mainly for their potential application in hydrogen cars, fuel cells are a promising technology with several unresolved issues, including working temperatures. Scientist at the University of Calgary have discovered a new material that allows a common kind of fuel cell to work at higher temperatures, increasing efficiency while decreasing manufacturing costs. Read More
Marine census reveals 17,500 species and counting living in the murky depths
23:39 November 30, 2009 PST
“The deep sea is the Earth’s largest continuous ecosystem and largest habitat for life. It is also the least studied,” says Dr. Chris German, who along with hundreds of other Marine Life scientists from around the globe is shedding light on these mysterious depths through an unprecedented census of deep-sea marine inhabitants. Their recordings have yielded astonishing findings of more than 17,500 species of often bizarre marine creatures - from oil-eating tubeworms to elephant-eared octopods - inhabiting the blackest depths between 200 meters and up to 5, 000 meters (~3 miles) below ocean surface. Even more remarkable is the ability of these deep-sea creatures to live and thrive in topographically challenging environments where food availability is marginal, at best. Read More
Diamonds boost processing speeds in quantum computers
19:19 November 24, 2009 PST
Scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made important advances in the field of spintronics by demonstrating the ability to electrically manipulate, at room temperatures, the quantum states of electrons trapped in the atomic structural defects of diamond crystals. Despite previous indications to the contrary, such quantum states can be manipulated very quickly, even at gigahertz frequencies, paving the way to significantly faster quantum computing. Read More
New maps suggests Red Planet was blue
By Jeff Salton
16:42 November 24, 2009 PST
Could it be that Mars - the dry, red planet - once had an ocean so huge it covered around one-third of its surface … and that rain created it? New research by scientists from Northern Illinois University (NIU) and the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston would indicate that could be the case. Using an innovative computer program to produce a highly detailed global map of the valley networks on Mars, their findings indicate the networks are more than twice as extensive (2.3 times longer in total length) as had been previously shown in the only other planet-wide map of the valleys. These valley networks roughly form a belt around the planet between the equator and mid-southern latitudes, which would indicate the presence of a long-gone ocean. Read More
Corporate R&D spend up despite global recession
By Jude Garvey
04:47 November 22, 2009 PST
Despite (or because of) the global financial crisis, a survey by global management consulting firm Booz & Company has shown that the top 1,000 public corporate research and development spenders increased their outlay in 2008. While sales were up only 6.5 percent, R&D expenditure rose 5.7 percent to US$532 billion with leading companies recognizing the importance of focusing on R&D in order to take advantage of competitors in the coming upturn. As Booz & Company Partner Barry Jaruzelski succinctly puts it: “Reducing efforts on innovation would be similar to unilateral disarmament in wartime.” Read More
Light resonators used to move nano-sized objects
22:55 November 19, 2009 PST
Scientists at Cornell University report they can now use a light beam carrying a single milliwatt of power to move objects and even change the optical properties of silicon from opaque to transparent at the nanometric scale. Such an advancement could prove very useful for the future of micro-electromechanical (MEMS) and micro-optomechanical (MOMS) systems. Read More
New inexpensive method to clean oil from water
By Darren Quick
19:46 November 17, 2009 PST
The rainbow effect caused by varying thicknesses of oil film on water’s surface might be pretty to look at but is indicative of polluted water. This “oil sheen” proves especially difficult to remove, even when the water is aerated with ozone or filtered through sand. But now a University of Utah engineer has developed an inexpensive new method to remove oil sheen by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles that attack the oil so it can be removed by sand filters. Read More
dariusvons
- February 10, 2010 @ 00:56 UTC
