Heavens

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers have made an important breakthrough in the use of continuous flow microreactors to produce thin film absorbers for solar cells – an innovative technology that could significantly reduce the cost of solar energy devices and reduce material waste.

The advance was just reported in Current Applied Physics, a professional journal, by engineers from Oregon State University and Yeungnam University in Korea.

NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites fly around the world every day capturing images of weather, ice and land changes. Over the last three days these satellites have provided visible and infrared imagery of the ash plume from the Eyjafjallajökull-Fimmvörduháls volcano in Iceland.

Eyjafjallajökull is pronounced similar to "EYE-a-fyat-la-yu-goot," and it is still spewing ash into the atmosphere. Volcanic eruptions are important sources of gases, such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide (SO2) and volcanic ash (aerosols) in the atmosphere.

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have solved a long-standing dilemma about the mass of infrared bright merging galaxies. Because galaxies are the largest directly observable objects in the universe, learning more about their formation is key to understanding how the universe works.

In its first five years in orbit, NASA's Swift satellite has given astronomers more than they could have hoped for. Its discoveries range from a nearby nascent supernova to a blast so far away that it happened when our universe was only 5 percent of its present age.

Swift primarily studies gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) -- the biggest and most mysterious explosions in the cosmos. On April 13, the spacecraft's "burst-o-meter" cataloged its 500th GRB.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 19, 2010)––Stealthy and stubborn, ovarian cancer is a particularly vexing malignancy, difficult to diagnose in early stages and difficult to treat once it progresses further. However, research at Fox Chase Cancer Center is now focusing on one of the most promising new approaches to dealing with the disease––using engineered antibodies to target tumor cells while leaving healthy cells intact.

Low-dose aspirin (LDA) is one of the main agents used for the prevention of thromboembolic vascular events, and has the advantages of both low cost and a prolonged duration of antiplatelet action; however, it is associated with a doubling of the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, even at doses as low as 75 mg daily. The gender differences in the clinical manifestations of LDA-associated gastroduodenal mucosal injury have not been well studied.

April 19, 2010 – Reston, Va. – Aerospace companies must consider offering newly recruited workers flexible job assignments and a variety of projects to remain competitive with other scientific fields of employment. This was among the conclusions of the "2009 Survey of Aerospace Student Attitudes" discussed at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Joint Societies Capitol Hill Reception, April 13, on Capitol Hill.

Treatment options for idiopathic OAB (IOAB) patients not adequately managed by anticholinergic therapy are limited; either highly invasive, expensive or of limited efficacy. BOTOX® (onabotulinumtoxinA) may provide a minimally invasive effective treatment. Professor Chris Chapple (GB) and his group conducted the first large, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose ranging study to systematically asses the benefit/risk balance of the use of BOTOX® in IOAB across a wide range of doses. The results were presented yesterday at the Anniversary EAU Congress in Barcelona.

Conventional die castings can be made stronger using new, more environmentally friendly technologies developed by CSIRO.

The two new technologies – a dynamic gating system and the 'ATM runner system' – produce high-integrity castings with fine-grained microstructure and low porosity by improving the feed of molten metal into the casting. Both systems are suitable for use with aluminium and magnesium alloys.

The solar wind is a thin gas of electrically charged components of atoms -- negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions -- that is constantly blowing from the surface of the sun into space. Since the moon is only slightly tilted compared to the sun, the solar wind flows almost horizontally over the lunar surface at the poles and along the region where day transitions to night, called the terminator.

Irvine, Calif., April 15, 2010 – Astrophysicists are looking everywhere – inside the Large Hadron Collider, in deep mines and far out into space – for evidence of dark matter, which makes up about 25 percent of the energy density of the universe.

Despite the recent tantalizing observation of excess high-energy positrons – thought to be due to dark matter – UC Irvine researchers say we're not quite there yet.

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- A new discovery about the wound-healing process could lead to better treatments for diabetics and other patients who have wounds that are slow to heal.

Loyola University Health System researchers found that certain immune system cells slow the wound-healing process. Thus, it might be possible to improve healing by inactivating these immune system cells, said Elizabeth Kovacs, PhD, who heads the laboratory team that made the discovery.

NASA's Terra satellite has captured another image of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull-Fimmvörduháls volcano ash cloud, now moving into Germany. Eyjafjallajökull continues to spew ash into the air and the ash clouds are still impacting air travel in Northern Europe.

NASA's Terra satellite flew over the volcano on April 16 at 10:45 UTC (6:45 a.m. EDT) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS instrument aboard Terra captured a visible image of Eyjafjallajökull's ash plume over the England and the Netherlands, stretching into Germany.

Black holes have long been beloved of science fiction writers for their destructive capabilities and peculiar ability to warp space time. Now a study led by researchers from The University of Nottingham reveals the awesome power of supermassive black holes — the ability to strip massive galaxies of the cool gases required to form new stars, leaving ageing red giants to splutter out of existence with no stars to replace them..

A new soybean variety from CSIRO is gaining popularity in Japan due to its enhanced suitability as an ingredient in traditional Japanese dishes.

Bred by CSIRO from an old Japanese variety, the Bunya® soybean produces a suite of proteins that gel quickly and firmly – important characteristics for making a range of soy-based foods like tofu and custard.

"Thanks to its great flavour and gelling properties the Bunya soybean is highly sought after in Japan where soy-based foods are hugely popular," says CSIRO Plant Industry scientist, Dr Andrew James.