For the first time, the dynamics of how Facebook user communities are formed have been identified, revealing surprisingly few large communities and innumerable highly connected small-size communities. These findings are about to be published in EPJ Data Science by Italian scientist Emilio Ferrara, affiliated with both Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, USA and his home University of Messina. This work could ultimately help identify the most efficient way to spread information, such as advertising, or ideas over large networks.
Tech
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, November 8, 2012 -- Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have developed a radically new design for a concentrator solar cell that, when irradiated from the side, generates solar conversion efficiencies which rival, and may eventually surpass, the most ultra-efficient photovoltaics.
The new cell architecture developed at the David Ben-Gurion National Solar Research Center at BGU can exceed an ultra-efficient 40 percent conversion efficiency with intensities equal to 10,000 suns.
PHILADELPHIA — The disease atherosclerosis involves the build up of fatty tissue within arterial walls, creating unstable structures known as plaques. These plaques grow until they burst, rupturing the wall and causing the formation of a blood clot within the artery. These clots also grow until they block blood flow; in the case of the coronary artery, this can cause a heart attack.
Although widespread rebuilding in the hard-hit New York metro region from Super Storm Sandy has not yet begun, NJIT Assistant Professor Mohamed Mahgoub, http://www.njit.edu/news/experts/mahgoub.php, PhD, PE, says when the hammers start swinging, it's time to look at autoclaved aerated concrete.
Scientific progress could be casualty in public health vs. privacy debate over newborn blood samples
The tremendous potential public health benefits of research with blood samples left over after routine newborn screening must not be lost amidst controversy and litigation, say medical and bioethics experts in a commentary published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
A long-abandoned fermentation process once used to turn starch into explosives can be used to produce renewable diesel fuel to replace the fossil fuels now used in transportation, University of California, Berkeley, scientists have discovered.
MAYWOOD, Il. - Loyola University Medical Center is among the centers participating in a landmark study that could lead to fewer inappropriate shocks from implanted defibrillators.
Implanted defibrillators save lives by shocking hearts back into a normal rhythm. But sometimes a defibrillator can go off when it's not necessary, delivering a shock that feels like a kick in the chest.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A South American butterfly flapped its wings, and caused a flurry of nanotechnology research to happen in Ohio.
Researchers here have taken a new look at butterfly wings and rice leaves, and learned things about their microscopic texture that could improve a variety of products.
For example, the researchers were able to clean up to 85 percent of dust off a coated plastic surface that mimicked the texture of a butterfly wing, compared to only 70 percent off a flat surface.
Fast and ultrasensitive optical systems are gaining increasing significance and are being used in a diverse range of applications, for example, in imaging procedures in the fields of medicine and biology, in astronomy and in safety engineering for the automotive industry. Frequently the challenge lies in being able to record high-quality images under extremely low light conditions. Modern photo detectors for image capture typically reach their limits here.
Power supply is the backbone of our modern economy. Nearly every aspect of life depends on electrically-operated devices. When the flow of power stops, it is not just the lights that go out. In the supermarket, the automatic teller machines and cash registers stop working. Even telephones, radios and televisions become paralyzed. If the shortage lasts a long time the supply of hot water, gas and fuel and the functioning of respirators at intensive care units in nursing homes or at private homes is at risk.
A new study shows that defibrillators – devices designed to detect and correct dangerous heart rhythms – can help people with heart disease live longer, and with a much better quality of life, than they do now.
Each year throughout the world, up to 22 million tons of rubber are processed and a large portion of it goes into the production of vehicle tires. Once the products reach the end of their useful life, they typically land in the incinerator. In the best case, the waste rubber is recycled into secondary products. Ground to powder, the rubber residues can be found, for example, in the floor coverings used at sports arenas and playgrounds, and in doormats. But until now, the appropriate techniques for producing high-quality materials from these recyclables did not exist.
A Northwestern University research team has found a way to manufacture single laser devices that are the size of a virus particle and that operate at room temperature. These plasmonic nanolasers could be readily integrated into silicon-based photonic devices, all-optical circuits and nanoscale biosensors.
Reducing the size of photonic and electronic elements is critical for ultra-fast data processing and ultra-dense information storage. The miniaturization of a key, workhorse instrument -- the laser -- is no exception.
A research team that includes a University of California, Davis, plant scientist has identified a source of carbon emissions that could play a role in understanding past and future global change.
While earlier studies have found that erosion can bury carbon in the soil, acting as a carbon sink, or storage, the new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that part of that sink is only temporary.
Ethanol blends of 10 to 25 percent could potentially have more fuel pump compatibility issues than higher blends, according to a study conducted by a team led by Mike Kass of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Fuels and Engines Research Group.
"Many scientists had thought that higher ethanol blends – especially those exceeding 50 percent – would have the poorest properties, but that doesn't' appear to be the case," Kass said.