A giant leap to commercialization of polymer solar cell

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A polymer solar cell is a type of thin film solar cells made with polymers that produce electricity from sunlight by the photovoltaic effect. Most current commercial solar cells are made from a highly purified silicon crystal. The high cost of these silicon solar cells and their complex production process has generated interest in developing alternative photovoltaic technologies.

Publicly available imaging technology confirms oil slicks in Turkmenistan

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, publishers of Science magazine, have gotten into the analysis business and confirm the release of oil into the waters of the Caspian Sea off Turkmenistan to demonstrate new use of publicly available imaging technology.

Researchers develop unique method for creating uniform nanoparticles

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University of Illinois researchers have developed a new way to produce highly uniform nanocrystals used for both fundamental and applied nanotechnology projects.

"We have developed unique approach for the synthesis of highly uniform icosahedral nanoparticles made of platinum (Pt)," explained Hong Yang, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "This is important both in fundamental studies—nanoscience and nanotechnology—and in applied sciences such as high performance fuel cell catalysts."

A KAIST research team developed in vivo flexible large scale integrated circuits

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Daejeon, Republic of Korea, May 6th, 2013–-A team led by Professor Keon Jae Lee from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST has developed in vivo silicon-based flexible large scale integrated circuits (LSI) for bio-medical wireless communication.

More than a good eye: Carnegie Mellon robot uses arms, location and more to discover objects

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PITTSBURGH—A robot can struggle to discover objects in its surroundings when it relies on computer vision alone. But by taking advantage of all of the information available to it — an object's location, size, shape and even whether it can be lifted — a robot can continually discover and refine its understanding of objects, say researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute.

High home ownership can seriously damage your labor market, new study suggests

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Government policies that boost the amount of home ownership in a country are likely to inflict severe damage on the labour market, new research from the University of Warwick suggests.

Medical innovation/quality improvement platform featured in Health Affairs

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Boston, Mass. –A quality improvement platform developed at Boston Children's Hospital could help health care provider groups continuously improve their medical practice, curbing costs and improving patient outcomes. Successful outcomes associated with the platform, called Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plans (SCAMPs) and supported by a consortium of Massachusetts payers, are featured in the May issue of Health Affairs.

Spotlight on super machines and more

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Computer aficionados now have a new virtual encyclopedia focused on high-performance computing trends, architecture, software, applications, facilities and sponsors.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff researcher Jeff Vetter's book, titled "Contemporary High Performance Computing," examines the growth from terascale to petascale computers and the influence of the TOP500 and Green500 lists.

Study shows so-called cougars, sugar daddies more myth than reality

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DENVER (May 6, 2013) – Despite the popular image of the rich older man or woman supporting an attractive younger spouse, a new study shows those married to younger or older mates have on average lower earnings, lower cognitive abilities, are less educated and less attractive than couples of similar ages.

EARTH: Lofted by hurricanes, bacteria live the high life

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Alexandria, VA – With cold temperatures, low humidity and high levels of ultraviolet radiation, conditions 10 kilometers above Earth's surface may seem inhospitable. But, next time you're flying consider this: The air outside your airplane window may be filled with microscopic life that affects everything from weather and climate to the distribution of pathogens around the planet.