Tech

To make the conversion of biomass to biofuels more cost-effective, new technologies are essential, according to Dr. Richard Hess from the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls in the US and his team. Their cost-analysis1 of the steps involved in the corn stover* supply chain is published in Springer's journal Cellulose, in a special issue dedicated to technological advancements in the conversion of corn stover to biofuels.

RICHLAND, Wash. – A new method for capturing significantly more heat from low-temperature geothermal resources holds promise for generating virtually pollution-free electrical energy. Scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will determine if their innovative approach can safely and economically extract and convert heat from vast untapped geothermal resources.

Dr. Chunlei Guo and his team of researchers discovered a way to transform a shiny piece of metal into one that is pitch black, not by paint, but by using incredibly intense bursts of laser light. The black metal created, absorbs all radiation that shines upon it.

"With the creation of the black metal, an entirely new class of material becomes available to us, which may open up a whole new horizon for various applications," said Guo.

A team of researchers has mapped patterns of illicit drug use across the state of Oregon using a method of sampling municipal wastewater before it is treated.

Their findings provide a one-day snapshot of drug excretion that can be used to better understand patterns of drug use in multiple municipalities over time. Municipal water treatment facilities across Oregon volunteered for the study to help further the development of this methodology as a proactive tool for health officials.

According to a study recently published in Psychological Science, when feeling sad, counting our money, rather than our blessings, might be a more useful activity. Psychologists Xinyue Zhou, Sun Yat-Sen University, Kathleen D. Vohs, University of Minnesota, and Roy F. Baumeister, Florida State University, investigated the psychological, physical, and social impact of money.

AFOSR-funded research in imaging may lead to advancements for the Air Force in data encryption and wide-area photography with high resolution.

Researchers are reporting evidence from tissue culture experiments that the popular dietary supplement carnosine may help to prevent and treat cataracts, a clouding of the lens of the eye that is a leading cause of vision loss worldwide. The study is scheduled for the July 28 edition of ACS' Biochemistry, a weekly journal.

A joint experiment by researchers at the University of Haifa and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. succeeded in solving a 40 year riddle: Could cannon balls from the early 19th century sink warships?

At first glance, the hull of the warship that sank off the coast of Acre seemed strong; but a unique experiment indicated that the thick timbers could not withstand the cannon balls.

Computer scientists at Newcastle University are about to give office workers a perfect excuse to play games: it's all in the name of research.

Dr Jeff Yan, together with his PhD student Su-Yang Yu, has created 'Magic Bullet' as an effective solution to a problem which no known computer algorithm can yet solve.

This simple computer game turns a tedious manual labelling task into a form of light entertainment and could soon help companies improve their chances of tackling online spammers.

While attending university, men are equally likely as women to have been victims of physical or emotional violence, and that violence is often linked to drinking, according to a new study led by University of British Columbia researcher Elizabeth Saewyc.

Remotely sensed imagery is the acquisition of images by satellite and is interpreted through the application of algorithms. These mathematical equations are used to convert light measurements observed by satellites to other types of parameters, such as chlorophyll concentration.

Research in imaging may lead to advancements for the Air Force in data encryption and wide-area photography with high resolution.

Lead researcher Dr. Jason W. Fleischer of Princeton University and his team used a special optical device called a nonlinear crystal, rather than an ordinary lens, to capture images. Every image is made up of a collection of light waves, and a lens bends (refracts) the waves towards a detector. In contrast, in the nonlinear material, these waves "talk" to each other and interact, generating new waves and distorting themselves in the process.

For structures that function in harsh environments like coastal regions or support sensitive equipment, such as magnetic resonance imaging units; the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is emerging as a valuable option. Because of its natural resistance to corrosion, its high strength, light weight, transparency to electrical and magnetic fields, and ease of manufacturing and installment.

Alexandria, Va. – On July 14, the American Association for Dental Research released its policy statement titled "Oral Health Care within Health Care Reform," which focuses on the scientific base of oral health and its associations to other aspects of health.