Futurity.org » Rice University

Gold nanoparticles relay signals down the line

Mike Williams-Rice — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:41:21 +0000

RICE (US) — Tiny channels of gold nanoparticles may transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via “dark plasmons.”

The Rice University study, published in the journal Nano Letters, shows how even disordered collections of nanoparticles in arrays as thin as 150 nanometers can be turned into waveguides and transmit signals an order of magnitude better than previous experiments were able to achieve.

From stem cells, grow patch to heal infant heart

Mike Williams-Rice — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:39:50 +0000

RICE (US) — Researchers have turned stem cells from amniotic fluid into cells that form blood vessels—a step toward patches to repair infants’ hearts.

“We want to come up with technology to replace defective tissue with beating heart tissue made from stem cells sloughed off by the infant into the amniotic fluid,” says Rice University bioengineer Jeffrey Jacot, who led the study.

Count votes by hand, and error adds up

David Ruth-Rice — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:07:53 +0000

RICE (US) — Counting votes by hand during a postelection audit or recount procedures may result in error rates of up to two percent, say researchers.

“These procedures are intended as a safeguard against computer and human error, but until recently, no research existed to tell whether these efforts helped or hurt the accuracy of the vote,” says Michael Byrne, associate professor of psychology at Rice University.

Caught in scandal, Wall Street plays blame game

Amy Hodges-Rice — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:23:09 +0000

RICE / UC IRVINE (US) — Companies under investigation tend to use others’ bad behavior to excuse their own.

Among corporations involved in the 2006 stock-option backdating scandal, those implicated earlier were more likely to dismiss their top executives than those that surfaced later on, according to new research from Rice University and the University of California, Irvine.

Perfect nanotubes glow the brightest

David Ruth-Rice — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:25:53 +0000

RICE (US) — Researchers have identified the qualities that account for brighter fluorescence among single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Rice University chemist Bruce Weisman and his lab work to understand how the lengths and imperfections of individual nanotubes affect their fluorescence—in this case, the light they emit at near-infrared wavelengths.

Protein’s arm controls iron-sulfur cluster

Jade Boyd-Rice — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:53:41 +0000

RICE (US) —Scientists have learned how a protein that plays a role in diabetes, cancer, and aging uses entwined arm movements to control a potentially toxic payload of iron and sulfur.

“We scrutinize proteins with an unconventional approach,” says José Onuchic, professor of physics and astronomy and co-director of the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics at Rice University.

Replica of Trojan asteroids fits in single atom

Jade Boyd-Rice — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:43:21 +0000

RICE (US) — Physicists have built an accurate model of part of the solar system inside a single atom of potassium.

In a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the Rice University team showed they could cause an electron in an atom to orbit the nucleus in precisely the same way that Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids orbit the sun.

Water sees right through graphene

Mike Williams-Rice — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:16:46 +0000

RICE (US) — Graphene is largely transparent to the eye and, as it turns out, largely transparent to water.

A new study by scientists at Rice University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has determined that gold, copper and silicon get just as wet when clad by a single continuous layer of graphene as they would without.

Carbon fibers yield graphene quantum dots

Mike Williams-Rice — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:54:22 +0000

RICE (US) — Scientists have developed a one-step chemical process to turn carbon fibers into graphene quantum dots.

The Rice University researchers say the new method is markedly simpler than established techniques for making graphene quantum dots—tiny specks of matter expected to prove useful in electronic, optical, and biomedical applications.

Racism may harm your health

Amy Hodges-Rice — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:45:11 +0000

RICE (US) — A new study finds 18 percent of blacks and 4 percent of whites report emotional and/or physical distress due to racial discrimination.

“Discriminatory behavior very well may be a ‘missing link’ in the analysis of racial and ethnic health disparities,” Rice University sociologist Jenifer Bratter says. “It’s important to acknowledge and study its impact on long-term health.