These optical images of a multiple-domain vanadium oxide microwire taken at various temperatures show pure insulating (top) and pure metallic (bottom) phases and co-existing metallic/insulating phases (middle) as a result of strain engineering. (Image from Junqiao Wu) Berkeley Labs found that structural irregularities in correlated electron materials – a phenomenon known as “phase inhomogeneity” – …
A study on the ethics of human enhancement has been completed. Entitled “Ethics of Human Enhancement: 25 Questions & Answers,” the 50-page report serves as a convenient and accessible starting point for both public and classroom discussions, such as in bioethics seminars. The 50 page pdf is here and is available for free download. Some …
IBM this week got an additional $16.1 million from DARPA for its Synapse project to make a computer hardware version of a human brain. The Synapse project : ‘SyNAPSE’ is a backronym and stands for Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics. The stated purpose is to “investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in …
In Russia, 59% of deaths in men and 33% of deaths in women between the ages of 15-54 were caused by alcohol. Most of these alcohol-attributed deaths were from alcohol poisoning, accidents, violence, or one of eight disease groups strongly related to alcohol, such as TB, pneumonia, pancreatitis or liver disease. Professor Sir Richard Peto …
The gold posts in this colorized micrograph, averaging 450 nanometers in diameter, are used to anchor individual biomolecules such as DNA for studies of their mechanical properties. The background surface is glass coated with a protein to prevent unwanted sticking. Credit: D.H. Paik/JILA Successful use of gold in optical-trapping experiments, reported in Nano Letters, could …
The Carnival of Space 105 is up at Discovery Space This site contributed an article with details on the space elevator hoop variant. Spacex Falcon 9 rocket launch has been delayed from summer 2009 into 2010 because of delays complying with air force regulations. 21st Century waves discusses how useful Mercury could be in the …
Business news network has an eight minute video on Petrobank THAI oil process. Inject steam first to heat up the bitumen.Then inject oxygen to ignite the bitumen like a charcoal briquet.Proven oil technology must have 6-12 months of uninterrupted operation.Ramping up its 100,000 barrel per day operation. Almost 6 minutes of video on ET Energy’s …
Nanofountain pen can use functionalized nanodiamonds for many applications. The placement of nanodiamonds is one thousand times more precise than previous methods. Nanodiamonds are rapidly emerging as promising carriers for next-generation therapeutics and drug delivery. However, developing future nanoscale devices and arrays that harness these nanoparticles will require unrealized spatial control. Furthermore, single-cell in vitro …
An early demonstration model of the St Andrews air cell. Air enters and leaves via the porous circular membrane in the centre (Image: Peter Bruce/EPSRC) The team’s prototype device has a capacity-to-weight ratio of 4000 milliamp hours per gram – eight times that of a cellphone battery. Even a 10-fold improvement is possible, but tweaking …
Transformational energy technology projects can be submitted to the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E or ARPA Energy) from May 12 to June 2, 2009 for the first round of funding. The agency defined as “transformational” a technology that “so outperforms current approaches that it causes an industry to shift its technology base to …
Productivity Future Vision The main aspects of this vision are superior computer displays like OLED and improved LED. * Displays are in every glass or flat surface. This would require displays to become 10 to 1000 times or more cheaper than they are now and to use 10 to 1000 times less power* The interactive …