Tech

Chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington have invented a method to quantify water content in solid pharmaceutical drugs that is faster, cheaper, more accurate and more precise than Karl Fischer titration, the method currently recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and widely used worldwide.

Quantifying water content is one of the most common chemical tests, with more than 130 million processes carried out each year globally. Testing pharmaceutical drugs is required by the FDA and represents an important and costly investment on the part of drug manufacturers.

Daejeon, Republic of Korea, July 29, 2016--With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) era, strong demand has grown for wearable and transparent displays that can be applied to various fields such as augmented reality (AR) and skin-like thin flexible devices. However, previous flexible transparent displays have posed real challenges to overcome, which are, among others, poor transparency and low electrical performance.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign have developed a new method for making brighter and more efficient green light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Using an industry-standard semiconductor growth technique, they have created gallium nitride (GaN) cubic crystals grown on a silicon substrate that are capable of producing powerful green light for advanced solid-state lighting.

In the first comprehensive work of its kind, a Michigan State University criminologist has completed a study on the implementation and outcomes of public safety consolidation - the merging of a city's police and fire departments.

In the study, released recently in a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, professor of criminal justice Jeremy Wilson details that while public safety consolidation can work well for some communities, it isn't the best solution for others.

It may be clammy and inconvenient, but human sweat has at least one positive characteristic - it can give insight to what's happening inside your body. A new study published in the ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology aims to take advantage of sweat's trove of medical information through the development of a sustainable, wearable sensor to detect lactate levels in your perspiration.

FARGO, ND - Petroleum-based spills on turfgrass can occur during lawn care and maintenance, primarily as a result of equipment failure or improper refueling. When these spills happen, hazardous hydrocarbons can contaminate soil and compromise the chemical balance of the grass and soil. The authors of a study in the June 2016 issue of HortTechnology found that application of mulching materials after soil remediation and reseeding was effective in reestablishing perennial ryegrass in 6 weeks after diesel and hydraulic fluid spills.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Like a whirlpool, a new light-based communication tool carries data in a swift, circular motion.

Described in a study published today (July 28, 2016) by the journal Science, the optics advancement could become a central component of next generation computers designed to handle society's growing demand for information sharing.

It may also be a salve to those fretting over the predicted end of Moore's Law, the idea that researchers will find new ways to continue making computers smaller, faster and cheaper.

Thermoelectric effects are a fundamental building block for the conception and development of new processes for information processing. They enable to re-use waste heat obtained in different processes for the operation of respective devices and thus contribute to the establishment of more energy-efficient, ecofriendly processes. A promising representative of this effect category is the so-called spin Seebeck effect, which became prominent within recent years.

Communities around the world are familiar with the devastation brought on by floods and droughts. Scientists are concerned that, in light of global climate change, these events will only become more frequent and intense. Water variability, at its worst, can threaten the lives and well-beings of countless people. Sadly, humans cannot control the weather to protect themselves. But according to Silja Hund, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, communities can build resilience to water resource stress.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- At a time when the video game industry has come under scrutiny for its low level of female employment and how women are depicted in its products, a new Indiana University study finds that sexualization of female primary game characters actually may be less than before.

Video surveillance is the most effective method for detecting animals flying around solar power towers, according to a study of various techniques by the U.S. Geological Survey and its partners at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System facility in southeastern California.

DURHAM, N.C. -- As palm oil production expands from Southeast Asia into tropical regions of the Americas and Africa, vulnerable forests and species on four continents face increased risk of loss, a new Duke University-led study finds.

The largest areas of vulnerable forest are in Africa and South America, where more than 30 percent of forests within land suitable for oil palm plantations remain unprotected, the study shows.

Drexel University researchers, led by MinJun Kim, PhD, a professor in the College of Engineering, have successfully pulled off a feat that both sci-fi fans and Michael Phelps could appreciate. Using a rotating magnetic field they show how multiple chains of microscopic magnetic bead-based robots can link up to reach impressive speeds swimming through in a microfluidic environment. Their finding is the latest step toward using the so-called "microswimmers" to deliver medicine and perform surgery inside the body.

Rice University scientists who analyze the properties of materials as small as a single molecule have encountered a challenge that appears at very low temperatures.

In trying to measure the plasmonic properties of gold nanowires, the Rice lab of condensed matter physicist Douglas Natelson determined that at room temperature, the wire heated up a bit when illuminated by a laser; but confoundingly, at ultracold temperatures and under the same light, its temperature rose by far more.

A new wrinkle on an old technology - solid-state thermophotovoltaics (TPV) - could provide a high-efficiency alternative for directly converting high-temperature heat from concentrated solar thermal to utility-scale electricity.