Tech
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- Brown University researchers have shown a way to use graphene oxide (GO) to add some backbone to hydrogel materials made from alginate, a natural material derived from seaweed that's currently used in a variety of biomedical applications. In a paper published in the journal Carbon, the researchers describe a 3-D printing method for making intricate and durable alginate-GO structures that are far stiffer and more fracture resistant that alginate alone.
Research led by a University of Sussex scientist has turned a 156-year-old law of physics on its head in a development which could lead to more efficient recharging of batteries in cars and mobile phones.
Energy, calmness, empathy, maturity and intellectual curiosity may be protective, while impulsivity may harm the chances of longevity, the findings indicate.
Previous research suggests that personality traits in mid-life may predict the probability of dying earlier or later. But it's not clear if the potential seeds of this association might go back even further, as has already been suggested for IQ and family background.
While trying e-cigarettes may prompt some young people to take up smoking at the individual level, there is little evidence that this is the case at the population level, conclude the researchers. And these findings are consistent over several years, they emphasise.
Earlier this year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine published a report which concluded there was "substantial evidence" that vaping among young people is strongly associated with progression to smoking.
Large amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane are being released from an Icelandic glacier, scientists have discovered.
A study of Sólheimajökull glacier, which flows from the active, ice-covered volcano Katla, shows that up to 41 tonnes of methane is being released through meltwaters every day during the summer months. This is roughly equivalent to the methane produced by more than 136,000 belching cows.
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite is providing data on rain rates within Tropical Cyclone 33W as it moves over the Philippines on Nov. 19.
Tropical Depression 33W is about to traverse the south-central Philippines. In the Philippines, 33W is designated "Samuel."
DURHAM, N.C. -- Engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a device that can direct photons of light around sharp corners with virtually no losses due to backscattering, a key property that will be needed if electronics are ever to be replaced with light-based devices.
Tropical Cyclone 04S, known as Bouchra formed in the Southern Indian Ocean during the week of Nov. 12 and by the end of the week it had become a remnant low pressure area. Over the weekend of Nov. 17 and 18 it regenerated into a tropical cyclone and the NOAA-20 satellite passed overhead and captured a visible image of the storm.
Although there is good news about smoking -- only 14 percent of Americans smoke, the lowest number ever, according to a 2017 National Health Interview Survey -- challenges remain. In a given year, more than 40 percent of smokers make no attempt to quit. For those who do, it can take many tries -- estimates vary from six to 30 -- before they succeed, if they ever do. If more smokers are to succeed in staying quit, a better understanding of the factors that hinder them from meeting smoking cessation milestones is needed.
Epigenetic therapies -- targeting enzymes that alter what genes are turned on or off in a cell -- are of growing interest in the cancer field as a way of making a cancer less aggressive or less malignant. Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital now report that at least one epigenetic therapy that initially looked promising for lung cancer actually has the opposite effect, boosting cancer stem cells that are believed to drive tumors. They also identify a strategy that reduces these cells, curbing lung cancer in mice.
AMHERST, Mass. - Until recently, scientists thought of viruses as mostly small infectious agents, tiny compared to typical bacteria and human cells. So imagine the surprise when biologist Jeff Blanchard and Ph.D. student Lauren Alteio at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with others at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI), discovered giant viruses - relatively speaking the size of Macy's parade day balloons - in soil at Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts.
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 18, 2018 -- Marvel comics superheroes Ant-Man and the Wasp -- nom de guerre stars of the eponymous 2018 film -- possess the ability to temporarily shrink down to the size of insects, while retaining the mass and strength of their normal human bodies. But a new study suggests that, when bug-sized, Ant-Man and the Wasp would face serious challenges, including oxygen deprivation.
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 18, 2018 -- Whether it's the acrobatics of a flock of starlings or the synchronized swimming of a school of fish, nature is full of examples of large-scale collective behavior. Humans also exhibit this behavior, most notably in pelotons, the mass of riders in bicycle races.
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 18, 2018 -- Urinating into a cup may be a medical necessity for monitoring the health of the kidney and other issues, but it's often uncomfortable, embarrassing and messy -- especially for women. But what if there were a way to comfortably provide a sample without the splashback?
Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have discovered how to make "superalloys" even more super, extending useful life by thousands of hours. The discovery could improve materials performance for electrical generators and nuclear reactors. The key is to heat and cool the superalloy in a specific way. That creates a microstructure within the material that can withstand high heat more than six times longer than an untreated counterpart.