A fantastic voyage brought to life

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Ever since the 1966 Hollywood movie, doctors have imagined a real-life Fantastic Voyage –– a medical vehicle shrunk small enough to "submarine" in and fix faulty cells in the body. Thanks to new research by Tel Aviv University scientists, that reality may be only three years away.

Discovery of methane reveals Mars is not a dead planet

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WASHINGTON -- A team of NASA and university scientists has achieved the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. This discovery indicates the planet is either biologically or geologically active.

High-tech solutions ease inaugural challenges

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Transportation and security officials on Inauguration Day will have a centralized, consolidated stream of traffic information and other data displayed on a single screen using software developed by the University of Maryland. The Regional Integrated Transportation Information System (RITIS) gives officials a single real-time view far more comprehensive than previously available. http://www.cattlab.umd.edu/index.php?page=research&a=00023

Easy assembly of electronic biological chips

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A handheld, ultra-portable device that can recognize and immediately report on a wide variety of environmental or medical compounds may eventually be possible, using a method that incorporates a mixture of biologically tagged nanowires onto integrated circuit chips, according to Penn State researchers.

New genetic model predicts plant flowering in different environments

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It has been known for some time that plants respond to environmental cues that guide their flowering. Chief among these signals are light, temperature and vernalization, when flowering is promoted by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.

The Science Coalition applauds House economic stimulus package proposal

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Bill Andresen, President of the Science Coalition (TSC) issued the following statement today in response to the House Appropriations Committee economic stimulus package proposal:

"The Science Coalition applauds the House for recognizing the vital need to include research funding in the economic stimulus and recovery efforts. Funding for targeted federal research programs will have the immediate impact of creating jobs and stimulating economic activity in communities across the country. This is an example that we hope the Senate will eventually follow.

Scientists solve longstanding astronomy mystery

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LIVERMORE, Calif. - Scientists may have solved one of the most longstanding astrophysical mysteries of all times: How massive stars - up to 120 times the mass of our sun - form without blowing away the clouds of gas and dust that feed their growth.

New research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley has shown how a massive star can grow despite outward-flowing radiation pressure that exceeds the gravitational force pulling material inward. The study appears in the Jan. 15 online edition of Science Express.

Fish guts explain marine carbon cycle mystery

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Research published today reveals the major influence of fish on maintaining the delicate pH balance of our oceans, vital for the health of coral reefs and other marine life.

The discovery, made by a team of scientists from the UK, US and Canada, could help solve a mystery that has puzzled marine chemists for decades. Published today (16 January 2009) in Science, the study provides new insights into the marine carbon cycle, which is undergoing rapid change as a result of global CO2 emissions.

U of T chemistry discovery brings organic solar cells a step closer

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Inexpensive solar cells, vastly improved medical imaging techniques and lighter and more flexible television screens are among the potential applications envisioned for organic electronics.

Recent experiments conducted by Greg Scholes and Elisabetta Collini of University of Toronto's Department of Chemistry may bring these within closer reach thanks to new insights into the way molecules absorb and move energy. Their findings will be published in the prestigious international journal Science on January 16.

New study resolves mystery of how massive stars form

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SANTA CRUZ, CA--Theorists have long wondered how massive stars--up to 120 times the mass of the Sun--can form without blowing away the clouds of gas and dust that feed their growth. But the problem turns out to be less mysterious than it once seemed. A study published this week by Science shows how the growth of a massive star can proceed despite outward-flowing radiation pressure that exceeds the gravitational force pulling material inward.