Futurity.org » Stanford University

Girls ‘rewire’ brain to beat depression

Brooke Donald-Stanford — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:52:22 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Using brain imaging and a video game, teen girls at risk of depression are being taught how to train their brains away from negative situations.

An ongoing study’s early findings using a small sample suggest such rewiring is not only possible, it is surprisingly easy.

Nanospheres trap light and hold on longer

Andrew Myers-Stanford — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:25:42 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Engineers have created photovoltaic nanoshells that harness a peculiar physical phenomenon to better trap light.

The results could dramatically improve the efficiency of thin-film solar cells while reducing their weight and cost.

As gas booms, calls for hydrofracking rules

Mark Golden-Stanford — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:49:40 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Disclosing chemicals used on federal land is only one step toward ensuring the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the booming technology that offers economic and environmental benefits, according to geophysicist Mark Zoback.

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama praised the potential of the nation’s supply of natural gas buried in shale and echoed recommendations for safe extraction made by an advisory panel for regulatory reform.

Charge the electric car while you drive

Mark Shwartz-Stanford — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:28:24 +0000

STANFORD (US) — New technology could lead to wireless charging of electric vehicles while they cruise down the highway.

The long-term goal of the high-efficiency charging system—that uses magnetic fields to transmit large electric currents between metal coils placed several feet apart—is to dramatically increasing the driving range of electric cars and trucks and develop an all-electric highway.

Social skills suffer when tweens multitask

Dan Stober-Stanford — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:16:39 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Tween girls who spend endless hours multitasking on digital devices tend to be less successful with social and emotional development, say researchers.

But these unwanted effects might be warded off with something as simple as face-to-face conversations with other people, a new study shows.

As global incomes rise, diabetes follows

Adam Gorlick-Stanford — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:49:26 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Health experts expect the number of diabetics in developing countries to increase as incomes rise around the world.

In China and India—two of the world’s most populous nations, both with fast-paced economies—the prevalence of diabetes is expected to double by 2025. Between 15 and 20 percent of the adult populations will develop the disease as household budgets increase, diets change to include more calories, and new health problems emerge.

Online project maps militant groups

Michael Freedman-Stanford — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:01:55 +0000

STANFORD (US) —A new online mapping project clarifies the complex relationships among terrorist organizations around the world.

What’s the difference between Hamas in Iraq, the Islamic Army in Iraq, and the Jihad and Reform Front? The three militant Islamist groups are based in Iraq, but they have different historical roots and leadership structures. And their goals and strategies do not necessarily align, say researchers at Stanford University.

First female professor’s archive goes digital

Dan Stober-Stanford — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:22:58 +0000

STANFORD (US) — The archives of Europe’s first female professor, Laura Bassi, will soon be available online.

Laura Bassi, a noted 18th-century Italian scientist, left behind 6,000 pages of intriguing documents that describe her life and work. They now rest in the archives of the principal municipal library in Bologna, Italy, safe but not accessible to the world at large.

‘Pack’ semiconductors to boost efficiency

Andrew Myers-Stanford — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:10:13 +0000

STANFORD (US) — A new way of packing molecules could boost the electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors, paving the way for foldable smartphones and clothing that uses sunlight to charge iPads.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, chemical engineers report that by packing molecules closer together as the semiconductor crystals form—a technique called “straining the lattice”—they more than doubled the record for electrical conductivity of an organic semiconductor and saw an eleven-fold improvement over unstrained lattices of the same semiconductor.

Can computers predict the next tsunami?

Dan Stober-Stanford — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:16:19 +0000

STANFORD (US) — Scientists have developed computational models of the earthquake and resulting tsunami that devastated Japan in 2010 in order to predict disasters of the same scale.

When the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan in March, it triggered a tsunami that killed more than 20,000 people and destroyed entire cities. It was the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the scale of the disaster stunned even geophysicists who specialize in earthquake science.