Tech

Physicists have taken major step forward in the development of practical phonon lasers, which emit sound in much the same way that optical lasers emit light. The development should lead to new, high-resolution imaging devices and medical applications. Just as optical lasers have been incorporated into countless, ubiquitous devices, a phonon laser is likely to be critical to a host of as yet unimaginable applications.

New York, NY, February 22, 2010 – Of the 200,000 men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the United States, about one-third will undergo surgical treatment. Although open radical prostatectomy (ORP) is regarded as the standard treatment, laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) with or without robotic assistance is becoming more common.

ATLANTA--A new study has found that many male cancer survivors who develop testosterone deficiency after receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy have an impaired quality of life and reduced energy levels. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study suggests that young male cancer survivors with testosterone deficiency may benefit from testosterone replacement therapy.

For nearly half a century, scientists have been trying to figure out how to build a cost-effective and reasonably sized X-ray laser that could, among other things, provide super high-resolution imaging. And for the past two decades, University of Colorado at Boulder physics professors Margaret Murnane and Henry Kapteyn have been inching closer to that goal.

Policy makers in Europe and United States are markedly underestimating the changes needed to mitigate CO2 emission required to prevent dangerous climate change because they work in 'silos', according to pioneering research.

Dr Sebastian Carney, from The University of Manchester, discovered that the lack of communication between government departments, NGOs and other authorities has resulted in significant differences over who is responsible for what.

A Michigan State University professor says if the world is to make better decisions when it comes to developing new energy sources, it needs to have better methods of measuring progress toward its energy goals. Just how well are we doing at developing alternatives to fossil fuels?

Speaking at this year's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Bruce Dale said that appropriate metrics are needed in order to gauge our progress toward energy security.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A comparison of two types of minimally invasive surgery to repair kidney blockages that prevent urine from draining normally to the bladder found that robot-assisted surgery was faster and resulted in less blood loss and shorter hospital stays.

Root systems are the basis of the second Green Revolution, and the focus on beans and corn that thrive in poor growing conditions will help some of the world's poorest farmers, according to a Penn State plant scientist.

"Africans missed the Green Revolution of the '60s because they typically do not eat wheat and rice, which was its focus," said Jonathan Lynch, professor of plant nutrition.

By dipping ordinary paper or fabric in a special ink infused with nanoparticles, Stanford engineer Yi Cui has found a way to cheaply and efficiently manufacture lightweight paper batteries and supercapacitors (which, like batteries, store energy, but by electrostatic rather than chemical means), as well as stretchable, conductive textiles known as "eTextiles" – capable of storing energy while retaining the mechanical properties of ordinary paper or fabric.

Consumers need faster, more efficient ways of being notified when there is a recall of food products.

That's the message Michigan State University's Ewen Todd gave to a symposium at the 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting being held in San Diego.

Todd, a professor of advertising, public relations and retailing, spoke at a symposium titled "Tracking and Tracing Our Food Supply: The Way Forward."

Dust is a powerful thing.

Not the stuff that we wipe off the coffee table on a regular basis, but the tiny particles floating around in the earth's atmosphere, which originate primarily from deserts in North Africa and the Middle East.

It can affect the oceans, impact the carbon cycle and even have an effect on global temperature.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As Americans demand new and cleaner ways to meet the country's energy needs, researchers are turning to algae as a promising new fuel source. The approach has the potential to significantly reduce the nation's reliance on imported oil while contributing to rural economic development and lowering greenhouse emissions.

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's Edward S. Rubin will discuss U.S. energy strategies needed to mitigate global climate change Feb. 20 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Diego, Calif.

Rubin, the Alumni Professor of Environmental Engineering and Science and a professor of engineering and public policy and mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon, will discuss the need for a climate policy that effectively puts a price on CO2 emissions, which in turn would create incentives to reduce emissions.

Tempe, Ariz. - An international team of scientists, including two from Arizona State University, have taken a significant step closer to unlocking the secrets of photosynthesis, and possibly to cleaner fuels.

Yields of biodiesel from oilseed crops such as safflower could be increased by up to 24 percent using a new process developed by chemists at UC Davis. The method converts both plant oils and carbohydrates into biodiesel in a single process, and should also improve the performance characteristics of biodiesel, especially in cold weather.

A paper describing the method, which has been patented, is online in the journal Energy & Fuels.