Even though it doesn't have a head, you can still tell what kind of animal it is: the robot is definitely modeled upon a cat. Developed by EPFL's Biorobotics Laboratory (Biorob), the "cheetah-cub robot," a small-size quadruped prototype robot, is described in an article appearing today in the International Journal of Robotics Research. The purpose of the platform is to encourage research in biomechanics; its particularity is the design of its legs, which make it very fast and stable.
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The noble gases get their collective moniker from their tendency toward snobbishness. The six elements in the family, which includes helium and neon, don't normally bond with other elements and they don't dissolve into minerals the way other gases do. But now, geochemists from Brown University have found a mineral structure with which the nobles deign to fraternize.
Despite the reputation of online marketplaces being distant and impersonal, through social technologies such as instant messaging, they can create the sense of personal and social relationships between buyers and sellers, termed "swift guanxi" in China, to facilitate loyalty, interactivity and repeat transactions, according to new research by Temple University Fox School of Business Professor Paul A. Pavlou.
MADISON-— As spring warms up Wisconsin, humans aren't the only ones tending their gardens.
At the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Bacteriology, colonies of leaf-cutter ants cultivate thriving communities of fungi and bacteria using freshly cut plant material.
While these fungus gardens are a source of food and shelter for the ants, for researchers, they are potential models for better biofuel production.
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Social phobias affect about 15 million adults in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, and surveys show that public speaking is high on the list of such phobias. For some people, these fears of social situations can be especially acute: For example, individuals with Asperger's syndrome often have difficulty making eye contact and reacting appropriately to social cues. But with appropriate training, such difficulties can often be overcome.
A new study shows that small websites, in terms of daily user flux based on number of clicks, have a disproportionally high impact when it comes to traffic generation and influence compared to larger websites. These findings, about to be published in EPJ B, have implications for estimating the value of sites and related advertising revenue. They result from the work of Lingfei Wu from the City University of Hong Kong and Jiang Zhang from the School of Management, at Beijing Normal University, China.
WORCESTER — Postmenopausal women who use antidepressant medication or suffer from depression might be more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI), larger waist circumference and inflammation—all associated with increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a study led by University of Massachusetts Medical School investigator Yunsheng Ma, PhD, MD, MPH, and published in the June 13 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
HOUSTON – (June 13, 2013) – Researchers at Rice University have come up with a new way to boost the efficiency of the ubiquitous lithium ion (LI) battery by employing ribbons of graphene that start as carbon nanotubes.
Out in the wilds or anywhere off the grid, sophisticated instruments small enough to fit in a shirt pocket will one day scavenge power from sunlight, body heat, or other sources to monitor water quality or bridge safety, enabling analysis in the field rather than bringing samples and data back to the lab.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In order to keep pace with the burgeoning demand for renewable energy, forest management policy in the U.S. must change to address environmental sustainability issues, according to an article by a University of Illinois expert in bioenergy law.
It's not reruns of "The Jetsons", but researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale features. Combining the best features of optical and scanning electron microscopy, the fast, versatile, and high-resolution technique allows scientists to view surface and subsurface features potentially as small as 10 nanometers in size.
District policies and state laws help reduce the availability of sugar- and fat-laden foods and beverages in elementary schools, according to a study published online in JAMA Pediatrics.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at the association between established policies and laws and the availability of candy, baked goods, ice cream, chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, and soda sold outside the school meal program. More than 1,800 elementary schools in 45 states responded to surveys during the 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 school years.
Japanese manufacturers have practically cornered the world market on components for lithium-ion batteries, films for LCDs and other advanced materials — with almost no competition from abroad. The secrets to their success are the topic of the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN). C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.
A new material has the potential to improve the sensitivity of photographic image sensors by a factor of five. In 2011, an EPFL team led by Andras Kis discovered the amazing semi-conducting properties of molybdenite (MoS2), and they have been exploring its potential in various technological applications ever since. This promising candidate for replacing silicon has now been integrated in a prototype of an image sensor. This sensor, described in an article appearing in Nature Nanotechnology, has five times the light sensitivity of current technology.
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Pixie dust may be the stuff of fanciful fiction, but for scientists at UC Santa Barbara's Department of Materials, a commonly used sugar-based additive has been found to have properties that are near magical. By adding minute amounts of it during the fabrication of organic semiconductors, they have been able to dramatically increase yield and control crystallization, which could, in the near future, make the technology not only cheaper and more accessible, but also enhance its performance.