Tech

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- American energy use went back up in 2010 compared to 2009, when consumption was at a 12-year low. The United States used more fossil fuels in 2010 than in 2009, while renewable electricity remained approximately constant, with an increase in wind power offset by a modest decline in hydroelectricity. There also was a significant increase in biomass consumption, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

PITTSBURGH -- People attempting to lose weight won't need to track their daily food intake anymore, thanks to a wearable, picture-taking device created at the University of Pittsburgh. eButton -- a device worn on the chest (like a pin) that contains a miniature camera, accelerometer, GPS, and other sensors -- captures data and information of health activities, eliminating the need for daily self-reporting. The eButton prototype was the result of research from a four-year NIH Genes, Environment, and Health Initiative grant that ended this year.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- A new type of active metamaterial that incorporates semiconductor devices into conventional metamaterial structures is demonstrating an ability to have power gain while retaining its negative refraction property, a first in the world of metamaterials research.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists have found that carbon is stored in the soils and sediments of the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin for a surprisingly long time, making it likely that global warming could destabilize the pool of carbon there and in similar places on Earth, potentially increasing the rate of CO2 release into the atmosphere.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A recent report provides new ideas regarding carbon and energy benefits forests and forest products provide. The report, Managing Forests Because Carbon Matters: Integrating Energy, Products, and Land Management Policy, summarizes and analyzes the most recent science regarding forests and carbon accounting, biomass use, and forest carbon offsets.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Tiny wires could help engineers realize high-performance solar cells and other electronics, according to University of Illinois researchers.

The research group, led by electrical and computer engineering professor Xiuling Li, developed a technique to integrate compound semiconductor nanowires on silicon wafers, overcoming key challenges in device production. The team published its results in the journal Nano Letters.

Data mining Twitter "tweets" may produce a gold mine for two University of Cincinnati computer science students.

William Clifton and Alex Padgett have developed a web-based application called The Tweetographer that allows users to learn about events in their cities or neighborhoods. The app works by collecting tweets sent by large numbers of Twitter users and extracting information about events – parties, concerts, games, etc. – happening nearby. It's like a real-time events guide.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are leading the way in learning more about "biochar," the charred biomass created from wood, other plant material, and manure.

The studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at laboratories across the country support the USDA priorities of promoting international food security and responding to global climate change. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency.

Fuel made from wood could become a competitive commercial alternative to fuel made from corn by 2020 if the wood biofuel industry is supported, according to a new University of British Columbia study.

Corn ethanol is currently blended with gasoline to satisfy government-mandated targets to include renewable content in transportation fuel. Compared to corn, wood-based biofuel is considered more sustainable but is not currently produced in large commercial quantities in Canada and the United States because the costs are too great.

University of Constance physicists Daniel Mutter and Peter Nielaba have visualized changes in shape memory materials down to the nanometric scale in an article about to be published in EPJ B¹.

Metallic alloys can be stretched or compressed in such a way that they stay deformed once the strain on the material has been released. Only shape memory alloys, however, can return to their original shape after being heated above a specific temperature.

Prejudiced attitudes are based on generalised suppositions about certain social groups and could well be a personality trait. Researchers at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) have confirmed the link between two types of discriminatory behaviour: sexism and racism. They also advise of the need for education in encouraging equality.

The production of ethanol from lignocellulose-rich materials such as wood residues, waste paper, used cardboard and straw cannot yet be achieved at the same efficiency and cost as from corn starch. A cost comparison has concluded that using lignocellulose materials is unlikely to be competitive with starch until 2020 at the earliest.

High-performance loudspeaker manufacturers have been able to improve sound quality dramatically over the years, but still face the issue of dead spots.

Researchers studying the nature of crowds playing Foldit called some strategies "shocking" in how well they mimicked some of the methods already used by protein scientists.

Gamers made headlines in September for unraveling the structure of a protein central to research on AIDS. Today, in a paper published online at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Washington researchers reveal the creative power of Foldit players' strategies and compare them to the best-known scientist-developed methods.

CHICAGO – A web-based computer-tailored intervention aiming to increase physical activity, decrease sedentary behavior, and promote healthy eating among adolescents was not associated with positive long-term outcome measures, but may have positive short-term effects on eating behaviors, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.