News
£1 million project to produce safer oxygen
May 21, 2013 1:05 pm | by EurekAlert! | CommentsA SAFE way to use oxygen during chemical processes would bring enormous economic benefits to manufacturers in fields such as pharmaceuticals. But the high flammability of oxygen means that the risks often outweigh the advantages. Now a University of Huddersfield professor (pictured) is to collaborate in a £1 million project which aims to unlock the potential of oxygen.
Building a better team -- on Mars
May 21, 2013 12:55 pm | by EurekAlert! | CommentsSometime in the next quarter-century, NASA plans to send the first humans to Mars, a mission that will push the boundaries of teamwork for a handful of astronauts who will spend as long as three years together in a tiny capsule. A Michigan State University project, now wrapping up its third year, aims to arm the crew....
New study finds blind people have the potential to use their 'inner bat' to locate objects
May 21, 2013 12:48 pm | by EurekAlert! | CommentsNew research from the University of Southampton has shown that blind and visually impaired people have the potential to use echolocation, similar to that used by bats and dolphins, to determine the location of an object. The study, which is published in the journal Hearing Research, examined how hearing, and particularly the hearing of echoes, could help blind people with spatial awareness and navigation.
New study recommends using active videogaming ('exergaming') to improve children's health
May 21, 2013 12:45 pm | by EurekAlert! | CommentsLevels of physical inactivity and obesity are very high in children, with fewer than 50% of primary school-aged boys and fewer than 28% of girls meeting the minimum levels of physical activity required to maintain health. Exergaming, using active console video games that track player movement to control the game (e.g., Xbox-Kinect, Wii), has become popular....
Fueling fitness on the final frontier
May 21, 2013 12:43 pm | by EurekAlert! | CommentsThink keeping in shape is an uphill battle? Try staying fit in space, where living quarters are cramped and prolonged weightlessness withers muscle and bone. That's the challenge a group of Michigan State University researchers will address with a new three-year, $1.2 million grant from NASA.
High court upholds FCC power in cell tower disputes
May 21, 2013 12:40 pm | CommentsThe Supreme Court has affirmed the authority of federal regulators to try to speed local government decisions on proposals to build or expand cell phone towers. The court voted 6-3 Monday to uphold an appeals court ruling in favor the Federal Communications Commission.
Should we let wunderkinds drop out of high school?
May 21, 2013 12:37 pm | by BETH J. HARPAZ, Associated Press | CommentsThomas Sohmers, 17, of Hudson, Mass., has been working at a research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since he was 13, developing projects ranging from augmented reality eyewear to laser communications systems. This spring, his mom, Penny Mills, let him drop out of 11th grade.
Apple's Cook to face Senate questions on taxes
May 21, 2013 12:32 pm | by MARCY GORDON, AP Business Writer | CommentsApple's CEO is disputing assertions by a Senate panel that the company avoids billions of dollars in U.S. taxes by shifting profits to foreign affiliates. Tim Cook testified at a hearing Tuesday by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a damning report Monday on Apple's tax practices.
Penn engineers’ nanoantennas improve infrared sensing
May 21, 2013 11:10 am | by The University of Pennsylvania | CommentsA team of University of Pennsylvania engineers has used a pattern of nanoantennas to develop a new way of turning infrared light into mechanical action, opening the door to more sensitive infrared cameras and more compact chemical-analysis techniques.
Researchers perform fastest measurements ever made of ion channel proteins
May 21, 2013 11:00 am | by Columbia University | CommentsThe miniaturization of electronics continues to create unprecedented capabilities in computer and communications applications, enabling handheld wireless devices with tremendous computing performance operating on battery power. This same miniaturization of electronic systems is also creating new opportunities in biotechnology and biophysics.
Opening doors to foldable electronics with inkjet-printed graphene
May 21, 2013 10:45 am | by Northwestern University | CommentsNorthwestern University researchers have recently developed a graphene-based ink that is highly conductive and tolerant to bending, and they have used it to inkjet-print graphene patterns that could be used for extremely detailed, conductive electrodes.
Iron-platinum alloys could be new-generation hard drives
May 21, 2013 10:26 am | by EurekAlert! | CommentsMeeting the demand for more data storage in smaller volumes means using materials made up of ever-smaller magnets, or nanomagnets. One promising material for a potential new generation of recording media is an alloy of iron and platinum with an ordered crystal structure.
NASA builds unusual testbed for analyzing X-ray navigation technologies
May 21, 2013 10:20 am | by NASA | CommentsPulsars have a number of unusual qualities. Like zombies, they shine even though they’re technically dead, and they rotate rapidly, emitting powerful and regular beams of radiation that are seen as flashes of light, blinking on and off at intervals from seconds to milliseconds.
Softbank to revise or cancel Hokkaido megasolar power plant
May 21, 2013 10:04 am | by The Associated Press | CommentsSoftbank Corp. may revise or cancel its plan to build three megasolar power plants in Hokkaido as Hokkaido Electric Power Co. has rejected its electricity sales application, industry sources said Tuesday. The local utility in April vowed to limit its electricity purchases from solar power plants to 400,000 kilowatts...
iCampus Student Competition yields online tools for improved on campus experiences
May 21, 2013 9:57 am | by Massachusetts Institute of Technology | CommentsThe MIT Council on Educational Technology (MITCET) and the Office of Educational Innovation and Technology (OEIT) announced the winner and runners-up for the 2013 iCampus Student Prize competition at the Office of Digital Learning retreat held on May 17. The annual competition is offered each year to all current MIT undergraduates and graduate students (both individuals and groups) to encourage development of technology to improve aspects of MIT’...
