Science & Technology - Oct 4, 2010 15:07 - 0 Comments

Nanomesh slows down heat travel

CALTECH (US) — A new type of mesh material made out of silicon—the second most abundant element in Earth’s crust—could lead to more efficient devices that convert heat to electricity and vice versa. (more…)

Science & Technology - Sep 8, 2010 13:46 - 7 Comments

RNA therapy turns cancer cells suicidal

CALTECH (US)—Researchers have engineered a fundamentally new approach to killing cancer cells. (more…)

Science & Technology - Sep 7, 2010 0:14 - 0 Comments

‘Dead simple’ way to see atomic structure

CALTECH (US)—Using a sheet of carbon just one atom thick, researchers have devised a new technique to visualize the structure of molecules. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Aug 27, 2010 15:32 - 0 Comments

Computer models shake up plate tectonics

CALTECH / U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US)—New computer algorithms allow for the first time simultaneous modeling of the earth’s mantle flow, large-scale tectonic plate motions, and the behavior of individual fault zones. The result is an unprecedented view of plate tectonics and the forces that drive it. (more…)

Science & Technology - Jul 29, 2010 11:08 - 5 Comments

Alien planets dance around dying star

CALTECH/U. FLORIDA (US)—While most extrasolar planets orbit too far from one another to feel each other’s gravity, researchers have found two systems with pairs of gas giant planets locked in an orbital embrace. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 26, 2010 16:23 - 2 Comments

Gut bacteria’s role in multiple sclerosis

CALTECH (US)—Biologists have demonstrated a connection between multiple sclerosis (MS)—an autoimmune disorder that affects the brain and spinal cord—and gut bacteria. (more…)

Science & Technology - Jul 22, 2010 14:49 - 0 Comments

Changing lake depths on Saturn’s Titan

CALTECH (US)—For the first time, scientists have found compelling evidence of lake-level changes on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, that are very similar to the rise and fall of Earth lake levels. (more…)

Science & Technology - Jul 21, 2010 10:13 - 1 Comment

Quasar magnifies far-off galaxy

CALTECH (US)—Astronomers have discovered the first known case of a distant galaxy being magnified by a quasar acting as a gravitational lens. (more…)

Science & Technology - Jul 7, 2010 11:32 - 1 Comment

What separates the cells from the T cells?

CALTECH (US)—When does a cell decide its particular identity? In the case of T cells—immune system cells that help destroy invading pathogens—the answer is when the cells begin expressing a particular gene, according to a new study. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jul 2, 2010 10:29 - 3 Comments

How moms-to-be tame their immune systems

CALTECH (US)—The concept of pregnancy makes no sense—at least not from an immunological point of view. A fetus is made of cells and tissues that are biologically distinct from its mother—precisely what the immune system is meant to search out and destroy. (more…)

Earth & Environment - Jun 21, 2010 23:23 - 0 Comments

Flood forms canyon in 3 days

CALTECH (US)—In the summer of 2002, a week of heavy rains in Central Texas caused Canyon Lake to flood over its spillway and down the Guadalupe River Valley. The waters excavated a 2.2-kilometer-long, 7-meter-deep canyon in the bedrock in just three days, new analysis shows. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Jun 4, 2010 9:49 - 3 Comments

Why H1N1 developed a resistance to Tamiflu

CALTECH (US)—Biologists have pinpointed molecular changes that helped allow the global spread of resistance to the antiviral medication Tamiflu (oseltamivir) among strains of the seasonal H1N1 flu virus. (more…)

Science & Technology - Jun 2, 2010 12:17 - 1 Comment

Distinct strategies help brain take action

CALTECH (US)—The process of learning requires the sophisticated ability to constantly update our expectations of future rewards so we may make accurate predictions about those rewards in the face of a changing environment. (more…)

Science & Technology - May 25, 2010 10:31 - 0 Comments

Team takes temperature of extinct vertebrates

CALTECH (US)—Was Tyrannosaurus rex cold-blooded? Did birds regulate their body temperatures before or after they began to grow feathers? Through analysis of rare isotopes in the bones, teeth, and eggshells of large extinct vertebrates, a research team has taken a critical step toward answering such questions. (more…)

Science & Technology - May 24, 2010 11:38 - 0 Comments

Genes regulate overeating in flies

CALTECH (US)—Biologists have identified two genes that appear to regulate meal sizes and frequency in fruit flies. Both genes have mammalian counterparts that seem to play a similar role in food intake. (more…)

Science & Technology - May 13, 2010 13:09 - 0 Comments

‘Spider’ molecules behave like nanorobots

CALTECH/ U. MICHIGAN (US)—Researchers have programmed an autonomous molecular “robot” made out of DNA to start, move, turn, and stop while following a DNA track. The work is a step toward developing molecular-scale medical devices that can reposition or even rebuild themselves to accomplish different tasks. (more…)

Health & Medicine - Apr 28, 2010 22:13 - 2 Comments

Belly bacteria are talking. Your body listening?

CALTECH (US)—We are not alone—even in our own bodies. The human gut is home to 100 trillion bacteria, which, for millions of years, have co-evolved along with our digestive and immune systems. Some can be harmful, some beneficial, and—according to new research—other microbes may be perched somewhere in between. (more…)

Science & Technology - Apr 23, 2010 11:12 - 0 Comments

‘Sound bullets’ act like sonic scalpels

CALTECH (US)—Inspired by the popular executive toy Newton’s cradle, researchers have built a device—called a nonlinear acoustic lens—that produces highly focused, high-amplitude acoustic signals dubbed “sound bullets.” (more…)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 11:46 - 4 Comments