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New research finds evidence of charitable behavior in bacteria

Researchers from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard and from Boston University have discovered that charitable behavior exists in one of the most microscopic forms of life—bacteria. Their findings appear in the current issue of Nature.

In studying the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, the researchers found that the populations most adept at withstanding doses of antibiotics are those in which a few highly resistant isolates sacrifice their own well being to improve the group's overall chance of survival.

A model system for group behavior of nanomachines

For the casual observer it is fascinating to watch the orderly and seemingly choreographed motion of hundreds or even thousands of fish, birds or insects. However, the formation and the manifold motion patterns of such flocks raise numerous questions fundamental to the understanding of complex systems. A team of physicists from Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and LMU Muenchen has developed a versatile biophysical model system that opens the door to studying these phenomena and their underlying principles.

Airline passengers in developing countries face 13 times crash risk as US: INFORMS study

Passengers who fly in Developing World countries face 13 times the risk of being killed in an air accident as passengers in the First World. The more economically advanced countries in the Developing World have better overall safety records than the others, but even their death risk per flight is seven times as high as that in First World countries.

Nickel borate: 200-fold boost in fuel cell efficiency advances 'personalized energy systems'

200-fold boost in fuel cell efficiency advances 'personalized energy systems'

Submarines could use new nanotube technology for sonar and stealth

Speakers made from carbon nanotube sheets that are a fraction of the width of a human hair can both generate sound and cancel out noise -- properties ideal for submarine sonar to probe the ocean depths and make subs invisible to enemies. That's the topic of a report on these "nanotube speakers," which appears in ACS' Nano Letters, a monthly journal.

New pump created for microneedle drug-delivery patch

New pump created for microneedle drug-delivery patch

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University researchers have developed a new type of pump for drug-delivery patches that might use arrays of "microneedles" to deliver a wider range of medications than now possible with conventional patches.

Surgery to repair torn shoulder muscles in the elderly can reduce pain and improve function

CHICAGO – Repairing torn shoulder muscles in elderly patients is often discouraged because of fears of complications. But a new study conducted at Rush University Medical Center has shown that minimally invasive, or arthroscopic, surgery can significantly improve pain and function.

The study has just been published online in Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery and will appear in the October issue.

Many urban streams harmful to aquatic life following winter pavement deicing

This USGS report is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology and is available as a free download online at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es101333u.

The use of salt to deice pavement can leave urban streams toxic to aquatic life, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study on the influence of winter runoff in northern U.S. cities, with a special focus on eastern Wisconsin and Milwaukee.

SUMI: Measuring the origins of solar dark spots and space weather

Measuring the origins of solar dark spots and space weather

With a brilliant, finely tuned spark of ultraviolet (UV) light, a physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helped NASA scientists successfully position a crucial UV sensor inside a space-borne instrument to observe a "hidden" layer of the Sun where violent space weather can originate.

Created: 'quantum cats' made of light

'quantum cats' made of light

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created "quantum cats" made of photons (particles of light), boosting prospects for manipulating light in new ways to enhance precision measurements as well as computing and communications based on quantum physics.

Glasperlenspiel: A new test for gravity

A new test for gravity

A new experiment proposed by physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) may allow researchers to test the effects of gravity with unprecedented precision at very short distances—a scale at which exotic new details of gravity's behavior may be detectable.

Micro rheometer is latest Lab On a Chip device

Micro rheometer is latest Lab On a Chip device

Computer scientists leverage dark silicon to improve smartphone battery life

Computer scientists leverage dark silicon to improve smartphone battery life

Mimicking fish and tailoring radar to warn of bridge peril

Floods cut down more bridges than fire, wind, earthquakes, deterioration, overloads and collisions combined, costing lives and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

The speed and turbulence of an overflowing stream scours away the river bottom that provides the support for a bridge foundation, causing more than 60 percent of bridge failures in the U.S. in the last 30 years.

Currently, "there is no way to determine risk during these crucial events," said Xiong "Bill" Yu, an assistant professor of civil engineering at the Case School of Engineering.

Staggered radiologist work shifts improve patient care, study suggests

Implementation of staggered radiologist work shifts can expedite the communication of urgent findings and improve patient care, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org).