Airbags will become even safer
Russian scientists are successfully developing smokeless gunpowder for automobile airbags, under ISTC Project #1882. This powder combusts almost instantaneously at the most important moment, but the airbag will fill with a gas that is harmless to the passenger, not like known compositions today. view more (2005-03-03)
Mercury atomic clock keeps time with record accuracy
An experimental atomic clock based on a single mercury atom is now at least five times more precise than the national standard clock based on a "fountain" of cesium atoms. view more (2006-07-17)
Acute Sleep Deprivation Leads To Changes In Nighttime Urine
Our body's production of urine follows a circadian rhythm. During the day, we experience greater urinary frequency; at night, urine production declines, enabling us to get uninterrupted sleep. view more (2007-08-09)
A molecular 'salve' to soothe surface stresses
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have shown for the first time that a single layer of molecular "salve" can significantly soothe the stresses affecting clean metal surfaces. view more (2008-05-30)
Diabetics to benefit as clinical chemistry gets under the skin
Water makes up more than 70 percent of our bodies, and our skin works like an oily film providing an effective barrier to keep water and the other charged substances inside us. But skin is not an impermeable material, and charged substances from inside the body can be made to cross the skin barrier by applying an electric field. Iontophoresis is a... view more... (2002-03-26)
MIT: Lack of fuel may limit US nuclear power expansion
Limited supplies of fuel for nuclear power plants may thwart the renewed and growing interest in nuclear energy in the United States and other nations, says an MIT expert on the industry. view more (2007-03-22)
Receptor activated exclusively by glutamate discovered on tongue
One hundred years ago, Kikunae Ikeda discovered the flavour-giving properties of glutamate, a non essential amino acid traditionally used to enhance the taste of many fermented or ripe foods, such as ripe tomatoes or cheese. New research now reveals that the tongue has a receptor that is exclusively activated by glutamate. view more (2009-10-09)
Radicals Shake Up Molecules in a Tug o' War
Until now, it was commonly thought that colliding molecules get the shakes as the result of energy transfer solely from the smashing of the molecules, but some new research adds a second means by which colliding molecules become vibrationally excited--it is being called the "Tug o' War Mechanism." view more (2008-07-07)
New method edges closer to holy grail of modern chemistry
University of Chicago chemist David Mazziotti has developed a new method for determining the behavior of electrons in atoms and molecules, a key ingredient in predicting chemical properties and reactions. view more (2006-10-13)
New regulations tighten controls on restricted chemicals
The Government of Canada is taking action to better control the sale of chemicals that can be used to make explosives. The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, today announced that new regulations for these chemicals, known as explosives precursors, will be implemented... view more... (2008-03-20)
Blood tests can help detect presence of necrotizing soft tissue infections
With less than half of patients with necrotizing soft tissue infections displaying the physical signs of these very serious infections, researchers have found two simple blood tests can help physicians diagnose what is commonly known as "flesh-eating bacteria," according to a study in the December issue of The American Journal of Surgery. view more (2008-12-04)
A meaty, salty, starchy diet may impact chronic lung disease
A new study finds that eating mostly meat, refined starches, and sodium may increase the likelihood of developing chronic respiratory symptoms, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). view more (2005-11-16)
NIST and partners identify tiny gold clusters as top-notch catalysts
For most of us, gold is only valuable if we possess it in large-sized pieces. However, the "bigger is better" rule isn't the case for those interested in exploiting gold's exceptional ability to catalyze a wide variety of chemical reactions, including the oxidation of poisonous carbon monoxide (CO) into harmless carbon dioxide at room... view more... (2008-09-08)
Pushing the limits of hard disk storage
Just how much data can we cram onto a hard disk? In a paper appearing online today in Physical Review Letters, EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) Professor Harald Brune and his colleagues report what they believe to be the ultimate density limit of magnetic recording. view more (2005-10-10)
ESA's Cluster solved an auroral puzzle
ESA's four Cluster spacecraft have made a remarkable set of observations that has led to a breakthrough in understanding the origin of a peculiar and puzzling type of aurora. These aurorae - seen as bright spots in Earth's atmosphere and called 'dayside proton auroral spots' - occur when fractures appear in the Earth's magnetic field, allowing... view more... (2003-05-20)
Artificial atoms make microwave photons countable
Using artificial atoms on a chip, Yale physicists have taken the next step toward quantum computing by demonstrating that the particle nature of microwave photons can now be detected, according to a report spotlighted in the February 1 issue of the journal Nature. view more (2007-02-02)
Gadonanotubes greatly outperform existing MRI contrast agents
Researchers at Rice University, the Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Houston and the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland have created a new class of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents that are at least 40 times more effective than the best in clinical use. view more (2005-08-12)
Nanotube, heal thyself
Pound for pound, carbon nanotubes are stronger and lighter than steel, but unlike other materials, the miniscule cylinders of carbon - which are no wider than a strand of DNA - remain remarkably robust even when chunks of their bodies are blasted away with heat or radiation. view more (2007-02-16)
A crystal that nature may have missed
For centuries, human beings have been entranced by the captivating glimmer of the diamond. What accounts for the stunning beauty of this most precious gem? As mathematician Toshikazu Sunada explains in an article appearing today in the Notices of the American Mathematical Society, some secrets of the diamond's beauty can be uncovered by a... view more... (2008-01-04)
'Hot' oxygen atoms on titanium dioxide motivated by more than just temperature
Like two ballroom dancers waltzing together, the two atoms of an oxygen molecule severed by a metal catalyst usually behave identically. But new research reveals that on a particular catalyst, split oxygen atoms act like a couple dancing the tango: one oxygen atom plants itself while the other shimmies away, probably with energy partially stolen... view more... (2008-02-11)
|
|
