Tech | Page 1097 | Science Codex

Ground-breaking research could challenge underlying principles of physics

An international team of physicists has published ground-breaking research on the decay of subatomic particles called kaons - which could change how scientists understand the formation of the universe.

Professor Christopher Sachrajda, from the Southampton Theory Astrophysics and Gravity Research Centre at the University of Southampton, has helped to devise the first calculation of how the behaviour of kaons differs when matter is swapped out for antimatter, known as direct "CP" symmetry violation.

Greater potential for transport in climate mitigation

Some argue the transportation sector constitutes a major roadblock on the path to avoiding dangerous climate change. Yet, the sector has the capacity to nearly halve its CO2 emissions by 2050, and may therefore be easier to decarbonize than previously thought. Realizing such a major emissions cut would require further efficiency improvements in fuel consumption and, especially, the promotion of public transport in cities, alongside a large-scale shift to electric cars. These are key findings of the new article published in the journal Science.

UMD & Army researchers discover salty solution to better, safer batteries

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A team of researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) have devised a groundbreaking "Water-in-Salt" aqueous Lithium ion battery technology that could provide power, efficiency and longevity comparable to today's Lithium-ion batteries, but without the fire risk, poisonous chemicals and environmental hazards of current Lithium batteries.

Avoiding collision leads to common routes

Ants, when walking around in cluttered environments, are known to follow a limited number of common routes. Research published in PLOS Computational Biology and led by Olivier Bertrand (Bielefeld University, Germany) shows that similar routes emerge when an algorithm for collision avoidance, based on the apparent motion of obstacles, is combined with a target direction.

Danish cannabis is stronger than ever

The concentration of the euphoriant THC in cannabis has tripled in the space of twenty years. The reason may be a systematic processing of the cannabis plants, some of which are being grown in skunk farms in Denmark.

'Healthy' foods differ by individual

Ever wonder why that diet didn't work? An Israeli study tracking the blood sugar levels of 800 people over a week suggests that even if we all ate the same meal, how it's metabolized would differ from one person to another. The findings, published November 19 in Cell, demonstrate the power of personalized nutrition in helping people identify which foods can help or hinder their health goals.

Control of blood vessel formation

Scientists from Kumamoto University and The University of Tokyo, Japan have elucidated the control of cellular movement during blood vessel formation. Their findings show that cellular motion occurs not in only the direction toward the tip of the blood vessels, but in a dynamically changing manner!

Blood vessels form a large network with countless branches to supply sufficient oxygen and nutrients efficiently to all tissues within the body. Yet, both blood vessel growth and the formation of blood vessels from a collection of cells remains largely unknown.

Critical CO2 pretreatment of biomass increases glucose yield after enzymatic hydrolysis

New Rochelle, NY, November 19, 2015--The sugar obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis of empty fruit bunches (EFBs increased from 17% to 24% when supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) pretreatment of the EFBs was used, according to a new study. SC-CO2 pretreatment plus premixing of the EFBs with alkali further increased the glucose yield to almost 37%, as reported in the study published in Industrial Biotechnology.

Email security improving, but far from perfect

Email security helps protect some of our most sensitive data: password recovery confirmations, financial data, confidential correspondences, and more. According to a new report, published by Michael Bailey, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Michigan and Google, email security is significantly better than it was two years ago, but still has widespread issues.

Amphibian approach to help bones heal faster and better

Inspired by amphibians like salamanders, researchers from the University of Southampton are developing a new type of drug that may help bones heal faster and better.

Using bone samples from people undergoing hip replacement surgery, the researchers were able to show that the drug -- a protein that activates a molecular pathway called the 'Wnt' pathway -- causes stem cells found within bones to divide and to turn into more bone cells.

Preventing famine with mobile phones

There are different possible causes for famine and malnutrition--not all of which are easy to foresee. Drought and crop failure can often be predicted by monitoring the weather and measuring soil moisture. But other risk factors, such as socio-economic problems or violent conflicts, can endanger food security too. For organizations such as Doctors without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), it is crucial to obtain information about vulnerable regions as soon as possible, so that they have a chance to provide help before it is too late.

Powering the next billion devices with Wi-Fi

University of Washington engineers have developed a novel technology that uses a Wi-Fi router -- a source of ubiquitous but untapped energy in indoor environments -- to power devices.

The Power Over Wi-Fi (PoWiFi) system is one of the most innovative and game-changing technologies of the year, according to Popular Science, which included it in the magazine's annual "Best of What's New" awards announced Wednesday.

A simple, rapid test to help ensure safer meat

Deciding whether to cook or toss a steak that's been in the fridge for a few days calls for a sniff test. This generally works well for home cooks. But food manufacturers that supply tons of meats to consumers require more reliable measures. In a new journal called ACS Sensors, scientists report a simple method that uses nanotubes to quickly detect spoilage. It could help make sure meats are safe when they hit store shelves.

Could companies someday make a profit off unwanted CO2?

The world has a carbon dioxide problem, and to fix it, much attention has been paid to renewable energy sources, which don't emit the greenhouse gas. But what if we could turn waste CO2 into marketable chemicals and fuels before it escaped to the atmosphere? Would this help alter the climate change narrative? The cover story in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, parses this possibility.

Researchers find link between air pollution and heart disease

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found a link between higher levels of a specific kind of air pollution in major urban areas and an increase in cardiovascular-related hospitalizations such as for heart attacks in people 65 and older.