Science & Technology
Earth & Environment, Science & Technology - Dec 23, 2009 11:59 - 2 Comments
Bacteria crank microgears to power machines
U. CHICAGO (US)—Scientists have discovered that common bacteria can turn microgears when suspended in a solution, providing insights for designs of bio-inspired dynamically adaptive materials for energy. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 21, 2009 17:58 - 1 Comment
Fingerprinting pirates at the movies
U. ILLINOIS (US)—Most moviegoers catch the previews but miss the invisible “feature” playing on screen—an anti-piracy digital fingerprint that stamps the individual theater showing the motion picture. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 21, 2009 17:14 - 0 Comments
Brown dwarf pair mystifies astronomers
PENN STATE (US)—Two brown dwarf-sized objects orbiting a giant old star show that planets may assemble around stars more quickly and efficiently than anyone thought possible, according to an international team of astronomers. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 18, 2009 18:27 - 0 Comments
Fog found on Titan
CALTECH (US)—Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, looks to be the only place in the solar system—aside from our home planet, Earth—with copious quantities of liquid (largely, liquid methane and ethane) sitting on its surface. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 18, 2009 18:08 - 12 Comments
About face with new recognition software
U. ILLINOIS (US)—An engineering team has developed a face recognition system that is remarkably accurate in realistic situations. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 18, 2009 12:09 - 3 Comments
Flying micro-machines mimic hummingbirds
U. BUFFALO (US)—The secret to the flight of the hummingbird and other tiny birds and insects lies in the looping, swirling flow of air, called a vortex, that their flapping wings create. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 18, 2009 11:07 - 0 Comments
What’s the new story on fruit flies?
CALTECH (US)—For decades, science texts have told a simple and straightforward story about a particular protein—a transcription factor—that helps the embryo of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, pattern tissues in a manner that depends on the levels of this factor within individual cells. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 17, 2009 15:57 - 2 Comments
Real-time action in a virtual world
U. ILLINOIS (US)—A new digital system allows people in different locations to interact in real time in a shared virtual space. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 17, 2009 13:42 - 0 Comments
Why voles don’t play the field
EMORY (US)—Researchers have successfully generated the first transgenic prairie voles, an important step toward unlocking the genetic secrets of pair bonding. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 17, 2009 13:23 - 0 Comments
Scientists film photons with electrons
CALTECH (US)—Recently invented techniques—that allow the real-time, real-space visualization of fleeting changes in the structure of nanoscale matter—have been used to image the evanescent electrical fields produced by the interaction of electrons and photons, and to track changes in atomic-scale structures. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 16, 2009 4:47 - 0 Comments
Sea cow fossil hints to Madagascar’s past
MCGILL (CANADA)—An ancient little sea cow now has a name. This primitive “dugong” is among the world’s first fully aquatic sea cows, having evolved from terrestrial herbivores that began exploiting coastal waters. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 15, 2009 17:35 - 6 Comments
This chip’s got real heart (cells)
JOHNS HOPKINS (US)—Biomedical engineers have built a lab chip with nanoscopic grooves and ridges that grows cardiac tissue closely resembling natural heart muscle. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 15, 2009 12:24 - 0 Comments
Cooking up clear, UV-proof glasses
PENN STATE (US)—Adding cerium oxide to phosphate glass rather than the commonly used silicate glass may make eye glasses that remain colorless, block ultraviolet light, and have increased resistance to radiation damage. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2009 12:26 - 2 Comments
How ho-hum crystals turn into shells
CORNELL (US)—Single crystals of the mineral calcite—the chief material in limestone—are predictable, homogeneous, and, well, a little boring. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 14, 2009 11:42 - 0 Comments
Gene interrupted: Role of introns
INDIANA (US)—The sequences of nonsense DNA that interrupt genes could be far more important to the evolution of genomes than previously thought, according to a recent Science report. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 10, 2009 18:41 - 2 Comments
Can you see me now?
CORNELL (US)—New technology is allowing the deaf and hard of hearing to use cell phones the same way hearing people do—by talking. (more…)
Earth & Environment, Science & Technology - Dec 10, 2009 16:43 - 3 Comments
Meat-eating dino alters evolutionary tree
TEXAS-AUSTIN (US)—Discovery of a nearly complete skeleton of a previously unknown meat-eating dinosaur may answer questions about early dinosaur evolution and a period of explosive diversification when dinosaurs spread across the supercontinent Pangaea. (more…)
Science & Technology - Dec 10, 2009 13:56 - 8 Comments
Tiny transistor may become conductor king
CORNELL (US)—A newly developed and extremely efficient transistor may soon replace silicon as the semiconductor of choice for power applications. (more…)
Follow Futurity
Media Partners
