A world ruled by fungi
The catastrophe that extinguished the dinosaurs and other animal species, 65 million years ago also brought dramatic changes to the vegetation. In a study presented in latest issue of the journal Science, the paleontologists Vivi Vajda from the University of Lund, Sweden and Stephen McLoughlin from the Queensland University of Technology,... view more... (2004-03-05)
A more silent and ecological refrigerator with more precise temperature maintenance
The Thermal Engineering group of researchers at the Public University of Navarre is working on the design of a domestic thermoelectric refrigerator. Unlike the conventional system of producing a cold environment - by vapour compression - the thermoelectricity used in the design of this refrigerator allows the manufacture of more compact and... view more... (2003-12-03)
Pictures hardly subject to leaching during cleaning
If picture restorers are careful when using solvents, very few organic molecules are likely to be leached away from the paint layer. Serious leaching does however occur when paint samples are immersed in solvents. These are some of the results of a study carried out at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC as part of NWO’s Molart... view more... (2001-05-30)
Non Fire Yet But The Sensors Snap Into Action
Russian researchers offer a fundamentally new approach to the development of gas sensors for fire-prevention detecting devices. In contrast to already known ones, these sensors allow to detect unerringly fire occurrence at its earliest stage. However, this is not a single advantage of the innovation or a sole field of application. view more (2004-12-06)
Delft nano-detector very promising for remote cosmic realms
A miniscule but super-sensitive sensor can help solve the mysteries of outer space. Cosmic radiation, which contains the terahertz frequencies that the sensors detect, offers astronomers important new information about the birth of star systems and planets. view more (2007-01-18)
Termite Killer Lingers as a Potent Greenhouse Gas
Sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2), a gas commonly used to rid buildings of termites and other pests, is a greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere about 36 years, six to 10 times longer than previously thought, according to a research team led by Jens Mühle, an atmospheric chemist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. view more (2009-03-11)
Rockefeller researchers show evidence of asymmetric cell division in mammalian skin
It took almost 10 years for Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Rockefeller University, to find a postdoctoral fellow who shared her curiosity for the direction of cell divisions in the skin. view more (2005-08-17)
Superlubricant effect explained using new friction force sensor
Research conducted in the Netherlands has revealed a previously unknown effect in graphite. The discovery was made by Martin Dienwiebel using the Tribolever, a highly-sensitive friction force microscope which he had developed himself. Dienwiebel has termed the effect superlubrication and this effect probably explains why graphite is such a good... view more... (2003-04-11)
Nanophysics: Serving up Buckyballs on a silver platter
Scientists at Penn State University, in collaboration with institutes in the US, Finland, Germany and the UK, have figured out the long-sought structure of a layer of C60 - carbon buckyballs - on a silver surface. view more (2009-07-28)
New Dressing For Wounds Developed At Hebrew University Promises Faster And Improved Healing
A novel wound dressing made of genetically engineered human collagen that will enable faster and improved healing of injuries has been developed by researchers at the Hebrew University Faculty of Dental Medicine. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the animal kingdom, including humans. It is the major constituent of connective tissues -... view more... (2004-01-19)
Like a snail through the intestinal canal
The medical device currently used for intestinal research, the colonsope, causes patients great discomfort. At TU Delft, an alternative method has been developed, inspired by the way in which snails move. view more (2006-09-22)
ESA studies the Sun-Earth climate link
Meteorologists can no longer view the Earth as an isolated system. Both long-term climate changes and day-to-day weather show links with the Sun`s activity. Scientists therefore study the nature of those links intensely. With data from ESA`s spaceprobes SOHO, Cluster, and Ulysses, we now have the information we need to solve the mystery of how the... view more... (2002-08-23)
Microbiologists meet Scottish Parliament to discuss the environment
Environmental issues such as waste management, GM crops, energy and pollution dominate much of the work of the Scottish Parliament. MSPs will be able to find out about the latest research from scientists at this year's 'Science and the Parliament' event today, Wednesday, 12 November at The Signet Library, Edinburgh. Experts from the Society for... view more... (2003-11-07)
Heart attack in a laboratory dish
NWO researchers at Utrecht University have given heart muscle cells a heart attack in the laboratory. This allowed them to observe clearly the change that takes place in the cell membrane during an attack and how the change sometimes leads to the death of the cell. In a healthy cell, one of the components of the membrane, the phospholipids, are... view more... (2001-05-08)
No Small Measure: Origins of Nanorod Diameter Discovered
A new study answers a key question at the very heart of nanotechnology: Why are nanorods so small? view more (2009-03-20)
New small RNAs found
Dr. Kathleen Collins and a graduate researcher in her lab at UC Berkeley have identified a second RNAi pathway in Tetrahymena thermophilia - introducing a heretofore unprecedented layer of complexity to small RNA biology in unicellular organisms. view more (2005-12-16)
Research helps understand factors that influence efficiency of organic-based devices
Organic-based devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes, require a transparent conductive layer with a high work function, meaning it promotes injection of electron holes into an organic layer to produce more light. view more (2008-07-09)
Catching waves: Measuring self-assembly in action
By making careful observations of the growth of a layer of molecules as they gradually cover the surface of a small silicon rectangle, researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and North Carolina State University (NCSU) have gained basic insights into how self-propagating self-assembly wave fronts develop and have... view more... (2007-06-25)
Growing whiskers that won`t need shaving
As manufacturers try to incorporate more and more functions into electronic gadgets like mobile phones and laptop computers, and at the same time decrease their size, the need for smaller electronic circuit components increases. At the 26th International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors in Edinburgh on Thursday 1 August, Prof Lars... view more... (2002-07-23)
Sulfur signature changes thoughts on atmospheric oxygen
Ancient sediments that once resided on a lake bed and the ocean floor show sulfur isotope ratios unlike those found in other samples from the same time, calling into question accepted ideas about when the Earth's atmosphere began to contain oxygen. view more (2006-08-24)
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