Jamming the right two pieces of plastic together creates a thin but strongly conducting channel along the junction that acts like a metal, say Dutch researchers. The discovery could lead to a whole new way of making electronics from non-metallic materials, and even new superconductors
A major evolutionary innovation has unfurled right in front of researchers’ eyes. It’s the first time evolution has been caught in the act of making such a rare and complex new trait. And because the species in question is a bacterium, scientists have been able to replay history to show how this evolutionary novelty grew from the accumulation of unpredictable, chance events
All paper is made of cellulose, which at the nanoscale level is quite strong, but paper processing makes large, fragile fibers that break easily. Researchers in Sweden have have come up with a manufacturing process that keeps the fibers small, resulting in nanopaper
with over 1.6 times the tensile strength of cast iron (214 megapascals vs 130 mPa). And since cellulose is the most abundant organic compound on the planet, it’s cheap to use compared to other exotic, expensive-to-produce options — such as carbon nanotubes — via Slashdot
Scientists unveiled the world’s fastest supercomputer on Monday, a $100 million machine that for the first time has performed 1,000 trillion calculations per second in a sustained exercise
Before they have even hatched, cuttlefish embryos can peer out of their eggs and spot potential prey. It is the first time any animal has been shown to learn visual images before they are born
Google signed a US$146 million contract with US space agency NASA on Wednesday to lease 42.2 acres of open field at NASA Ames facility in Mountain View California to build a new facility. The 40-year agreement means Google will lease close to its own headquarters in Mountain View. By the end of 2013, Google said it will start construction on 1.2 million square feet of offices for research and development, in an effort to accommodate its growing staff of approximately 20,000. NASA Ames will oversee construction
A team of Penn State scientists has discovered a new ultra-small species of bacteria that has survived for more than 120,000 years within the ice of a Greenland glacier at a depth of nearly two miles. The microorganism’s ability to persist in this low-temperature, high-pressure, reduced-oxygen and nutrient-poor habitat makes it particularly useful for studying how life, in general, can survive in a variety of extreme environments on Earth and possibly elsewhere in the solar system
A team of scientists from Boston College and Duke University has developed a highly-engineered metamaterial capable of absorbing all of the light that strikes it — to a scientific standard of perfection. The team designed and engineered a metamaterial that uses tiny geometric surface features to successfully capture the electric and magnetic properties of a microwave to the point of total absorption
It is a national icon, one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions — and an appalling advertisement for Italian builders. But now, 18 years after it was closed to the public for fears that it might topple over, the Leaning Tower of Pisa has been stabilised and has been declared safe for at least another three centuries
DARPA wants to develop a dynamic putty-like material that can be packed around a shattered bone, support the body while the patient heals — and biodegrade, once it’s all over. If successful, this Fracture Putty
could rapidly restore a patient to ambulatory function while normal healing ensues, with dramatically reduced rehabilitation time and the elimination of infection and secondary fractures
, the agency notes
Researchers have discovered a new species of spider on Western Australia’s south coast. The group has also uncovered a population of an ancient arachnid known as the Assassin spider. The spiders were found at a number of sites along a 70 kilometre stretch of coastline near Albany. The Assassin spider is just five millimetres in length and, despite its name, is harmless to humans
A giant squid has been found off Portland in Victoria’s south-west. The six-metre long, 230-kilogram squid was still alive when it was netted by commercial fishermen last night. Fisheries Victoria says the creature is being kept in a freezer and will be transferred to the Melbourne Museum. The museum is yet to confirm whether it will be used for scientific research or put on display
StatoilHydro has decided to build the world’s first full scale floating wind turbine, Hywind, and test it over a two-year period offshore Karm??y. The The company is investing approximately 400 million NOK. Planned startup is autumn 2009
Researchers at the University of Utah describe how the Lamprocyphus augustus’, an inch-long Brazilian beetle, iridescent green scales are composed of chitin arranged by evolution in precisely the molecular configuration that has confounded the would-be fabricators of optical computers. By using the scales as a semiconductor mold, researchers hope to finally build the perfect photonic crystal
A Waterloo teenager has found a way to make plastic bags degrade faster — in three months, he figures. Daniel Burd’s project won the top prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Ottawa. He came back with a long list of awards, including a $10,000 prize, a $20,000 scholarship, and recognition that he has found a practical way to help the environment. He knew plastic does eventually degrade, and figured microorganisms must be behind it. His goal was to isolate the microorganisms that can break down plastic — not an easy task because they don’t exist in high numbers in nature
Tired of the United States and the other 190-odd nations on Earth? If a small team of Silicon Valley millionaires get their way, in a few years, you could have a new option for global citizenship: A permanent, quasi-sovereign nation floating in international waters. With a $500,000 donation from PayPal founder Peter Thiel, a Google engineer and a former Sun Microsystems programmer have launched The Seasteading Institute, an organisation dedicated to creating experimental ocean communities with diverse social, political, and legal systems
Carbon nanotubes, the poster child of the burgeoning nanotechnology industry, could trigger diseases similar to those caused by asbestos, a study suggests. Specific lengths of the tiny fibres were found to cause asbestos-like
inflammation and lesions in mice. Use of asbestos triggered a pandemic of lung disease
in the 20th Century
In a world first, scientists have extracted a gene from the extinct Tasmanian tiger and successfully inserted it into a mouse embryo. It is the first time a gene from any extinct animal has been brought back to life inside another living creature. However, the researchers, from the University of Melbourne and the University of Texas, say the technology will not lead to the cloning of an entire Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine
Two research groups working independently have come up with what they say are cheap processes for growing nanowires to be used with solar cells. The hairy
cells provide a direct path for electrons collected at the panel face to reach an electrode, something which has the potential to dramatically improve system efficiency — via Slashdot
Rock Port only has a population of 1,316 but last week they threw the switch as America’s first ever community completely powered by the wind. Yes, northwest Missouri is windier than central Missouri. It takes winds of up to 9-miles per hour to get those blades spinning. Rock Port is now powered by four wind turbines. In all, 79 turbines are operational in northwest Missouri
RSS – Posts