Heavens

Momentum is building for a new energy "smart grid" that would overhaul the U.S.'s 100-year-old electrical power network. The impact would be huge –– from installation of a new web of electrical transmission lines to smart meters to control home appliances. The meters would offer consumers discounted rates if they use electricity at off-peak hours.

Using a thermostatic mixer valve to control the maximum temperature of children's bath water can significantly reduce the temperature of hot bath water and should reduce the risk of scalding, according to researchers at The University of Nottingham.

The study, carried out in partnership with Glasgow Housing Association, found that families with a thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) fitted to the hot and cold water pipes in their bathroom had bath water temperatures that were up to 11˚C cooler than those without and their baths were within the recommended temperature of 46˚C.

Two ESA observatories have combined forces to show the Andromeda Galaxy in a new light. Herschel sees rings of star formation in this, the most detailed image of the Andromeda Galaxy ever taken at infrared wavelengths, and XMM-Newton shows dying stars shining X-rays into space.

As every middle-school child knows, in the process of photosynthesis, plants take the sun's energy and convert it to electrical energy. Now a Tel Aviv University team has demonstrated how a member of the animal kingdom, the Oriental hornet, takes the sun's energy and converts it into electric power -- in the brown and yellow parts of its body -- as well.

This new infrared image of the Lagoon Nebula was captured as part of a five-year study of the Milky Way using ESO's VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. This is a small piece of a much larger image of the region surrounding the nebula, which is, in turn, only one part of a huge survey.

10-Dec 2010 What happens when galaxies crash together? For years, these cosmic collisions have been blamed for triggering violent outbursts at the hearts of galaxies. Now, a remarkable piece of detective work has given a verdict: galactic mergers do not usually whet the appetite of the black holes that power these active galactic nuclei, meaning other, less dramatic phenomena are responsible.

Patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are current smokers were less likely to achieve good response to methotrexate (MTX) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors than those who never smoked. The study by researchers from Sweden also found that RA patients who smoked in the past did not experience a lower response to these therapies. Results of the 10-year study appear in the January 2011 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).

TUCSON, Ariz. (January 4, 2011) -- Cumbersome glaucoma tests requiring a visit to the ophthalmologist could soon be history thanks to a home test developed by an engineer at the University of Arizona.

A new hand-held instrument involving a system of micro-force sensors, specially designed microchips, and math-based programmed procedures has been designed by researchers at the UA College of Engineering. The easy-to-use probe gently rubs the eyelid and can be used at home, threatening to replace painful eye drops and the need for a sterilized sensor.

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- When engineers restore rivers, one Kansas State University professor hopes they'll keep a smaller engineer in mind: the North American beaver.

Beavers are often called ecosystem engineers because they can radically alter stream or valley bottom ecosystems, said Melinda Daniels, an associate professor of geography who recently studied the connection between beavers and river restoration. Beaver dams create diverse river landscapes, she said, and can turn a single-thread channel stream into a meadow, pond or multichannel, free-flowing stream.

System 98S is currently bringing rains and gusty winds to the northwestern coast of Western Australia, and NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite spotted areas of moderate to heavy rainfall in the system.

As people on Earth celebrate the holidays and prepare to ring in the New Year, an ESA/NASA spacecraft has quietly reached its own milestone: on December 26, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) discovered its 2000th comet.

Taking a leaf from animals like dolphins and pilot whales that are known to have anti-fouling skins, researchers from A*STAR's Industrial Consortium On Nanoimprint (ICON) are using nanotechnology to create synthetic, chemical-free, anti-bacterial surfaces. The surfaces can reduce infections caused by pathogens such as S. aureus and E. coli and can be used on common plastics, medical devices, lenses and even ship hulls. Conventional methods for preventing bacterial surface attachment may use potentially harmful metal ions, nanoparticles, chemicals or UV-radiation.