MIT researchers have found a way to improve the energy density of a type of battery known as lithium-air (or lithium-oxygen) batteries, producing a device that could potentially pack several times more energy per pound than the lithium-ion batteries that now dominate the market for rechargeable devices in everything from cellphones to cars. Further work …
Carnival of Nuclear Energy 45 is at Idaho Samizdat Brave New Climate has an update on Fukushima from March 26. Foreign Affairs – Preventing the Next Nuclear Meltdown As Japan’s ongoing nuclear crisis shows, older reactors are the most vulnerable to failure. Aging nuclear plants pose a risk in the United States as well, and …
WHO estimates that better use of existing preventive measures could reduce the global burden of disease by as much as 70%. Affordable steps can be taken to reduce the burden of disease and accidents. More creativity is needed to identifying and better solve these problems. The problems can be more difficult to solve then expected …
25% of Sun-like stars may have Earth-like planets – but if they are in the right temperature zone, apparently they are almost certain to have oceans. Assuming terrestrial-like planets are indeed common – with a silicate mantle surrounding a metallic core – then we can expect that water may be exuded onto their surface during …
New research from the University of Pennsylvania demonstrates a more consistent and cost-effective method for making graphene Other methods make expensive custom copper sheets in an effort to get them as smooth as possible; defects in the surface cause the graphene to accumulate in unpredictable ways. Instead, Johnson’s group “electropolished” their copper foil, a common …
Researchers from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have broken one of the major roadblocks on the path to growing transplantable tissue in the lab: They’ve found a way to grow the blood vessels and capillaries needed to keep tissues alive. Journal Acta Biomaterialia – Covalently immobilized platelet-derived growth factor-BB promotes angiogenesis in …
A new algorithm spreads information (red) much more efficiently in networks characterized by sparse connections between densely interlinked clusters. Graphic: Christine Daniloff A new algorithm enables much faster dissemination of information through self-organizing networks with a few scattered choke points. Computer manufacturers are beginning to take seriously the decade-old idea of “smart dust” — networks …
The massive Global Observer built by AeroVironment Inc. of Monrovia is capable of flying for days at a stratosphere-skimming 65,000 feet, out of range of most antiaircraft missiles. The plane is built to survey 280,000 square miles — an area larger than Afghanistan — at a single glance. That would give the Pentagon an “unblinking …
MIT Technology Review – Thomas Webster, an associate professor of engineering at Brown University, has developed a nanomaterial that quickly solidifies at body temperature into a bone-like substance. This week, Brown announced a deal with medical device maker Audax Medical of Littleton, Massachusetts, to further develop the material and launch trials in animals. The material …
Ad Support : Nano Technology Netbook Technology News Computer Software A “forest” of molecules holds the promise of turning waste heat into electricity. UA physicists discovered that because of quantum effects, electron waves traveling along the backbone of each molecule interfere with each other, leading to the buildup of a voltage between the hot and cold …
Ad Support : Nano Technology Netbook Technology News Computer Software The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working to develop a “flying Humvee” that could be piloted by troops with about the same amount of training it takes to drive an armored truck. A working prototype could be ready by 2015. In the weeks to come, …