Tech

Electrical engineers build 'no-waste' laser

Electrical engineers build 'no-waste' laser

A team of University of California, San Diego researchers has built the smallest room-temperature nanolaser to date, as well as an even more startling device: a highly efficient, "thresholdless" laser that funnels all its photons into lasing, without any waste.

Good timing: NIST/CU collaboration adds timing capability to living cell sensors

Good timing: NIST/CU collaboration adds timing capability to living cell sensors

Individual cells modified to act as sensors using fluorescence are already useful tools in biochemistry, but now they can add good timing to their resumé, thanks in part to expertise from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

With the added capability to track the timing of dynamic biochemical reactions, cell sensors become more useful for many studies, such as measurements of protein folding or neural activity.

Screening Africa's renewable energies potential

Screening Africa's renewable energies potential

The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published today a study mapping the potential of renewable energy sources in Africa. The report analyses the current energy consumption in Africa and assesses potential of renewable energy sources - solar, wind, biomass and hydropower - and their cost efficiency and environmental sustainability. Its publication coincides with the official European Launch of UN's Year on "Sustainable Energy for All" being held today in Brussels.

Charter service: Encasing the Magna Carta

Charter service: Encasing the Magna Carta

You often hear about the Framers of the Constitution, but not so much the framers of the Magna Carta. They work for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

New technology platform for molecule-based electronics

Researchers at the Nano-Science Center at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new nano-technology platform for the development of molecule-based electronic components using the wonder material graphene. At the same time, they have solved a problem that has challenged researchers from around world for ten years.

New battery could lead to cheaper, more efficient solar energy

A joint research project between the University of Southampton and lithium battery technology company REAPsystems has found that a new type of battery has the potential to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar power.

Study: Some formerly cohabiting couples with children keep romantic relationship

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When low-income cohabiting couples with children decide to no longer live together, that doesn't necessarily mean the end of their romantic relationship.

A new study suggests that about one in four of these couples who split their households still maintain some type of romantic relationship.

Amazing skin gives sharks a push

Skin deep

For swimmers looking to gain an edge on the competition, the notion that simply donning a different swimsuit – like a Speedo Fastskin II suit, with a surface purportedly designed to mimic by shark skin – can be the difference between first and last place is a powerful one.

It's also one that's almost completely misplaced, said George Lauder, the Henry Bryant Bigelow Professor of Ichthyology.

A mobile device for preventing and treating drug use