Tech

Two Lehigh physicists have developed an imaging technique that makes it possible to directly observe light-emitting excitons as they diffuse in a new material that is being explored for its extraordinary electronic properties. Called rubrene, it is one of a new generation of single-crystal organic semiconductors.

Medical students who practiced on a patient simulator before assisting in real vaginal deliveries scored significantly higher on final exams than students who only received a lecture at the start of an obstetric clerkship.

University of South Florida researchers did a randomized, controlled trial and found that students receiving the simulation training were initially more confident of their ability to perform a vaginal delivery. The differences narrowed over time as all students participated in actual deliveries.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A catastrophic infestation of the goldspotted oak borer, which has killed more than 80,000 oak trees in San Diego County in the last decade, might be contained by controlling the movement of oak firewood from that region, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside.

Northwestern University rsearchers have created a new kind of cloaking material that can render objects invisible, even in the terahertz range, which means we are creeping closer to an invisibility cloak for the visible spectrum - but until then, this could have use in diagnostics, security, and communication.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Ten years after 9/11, researchers at Purdue University are continuing work that could lead to safer steel structures such as buildings and bridges and also an emerging type of nuclear power plant design.

The researchers are using a custom heating system and a specialized laboratory for testing large beams and other components and have created models that could be used in designs to improve fire safety.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– A new paradigm in quantum information processing has been demonstrated by physicists at UC Santa Barbara. Their results are published in this week's issue of Science Express online.

UCSB physicists have demonstrated a quantum integrated circuit that implements the quantum von Neumann architecture. In this architecture, a long-lived quantum random access memory can be programmed using a quantum central processing unit, all constructed on a single chip, providing the key components for a quantum version of a classical computer.

Almost two years ago Rainer Blatt's and Christan Roos' research groups from the University of Innsbruck recreated the properties of a particle moving close to speed of light in a quantum system. They encoded the state of the particle into a highly cooled calcium atom and used lasers to manipulate it according to equations proposed by the famous quantum physicist Paul Dirac. Thereby, the scientists were able to simulate so called Zitterbewegung (quivering motion) of relativistic particles, which had never been observed directly in nature before.

A digital dumping ground lies inside most computers, a wasteland where old, rarely used and unneeded files pile up. Such data can deplete precious storage space, bog down the system's efficiency and sap its energy. Conventional rubbish trucks can't clear this invisible byte blight. But two researchers say real-world trash management tactics point the way to a new era of computer cleansing.

Porphyrins are organic molecules that appear in the central region ofmacromolecules such as chlorophyll and hemoglobin, and have a metal atomat their center that determines their specific function. The importance of these moleculesin the field of molecular electronics lies in their "ease of transferelectrons from one region to another" explains the responsible of the work at the Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Research Center (a joint research center of the CSIC, the University of Oviedo and the Government of the Principality of Asturias) Víctor Manuel García.

DARIEN, Ill. – Insomnia is costing the average U.S. worker 11.3 days, or $2,280 in lost productivity every year, according to a study in the September 1 issue of the journal Sleep. As a nation, the total cost is 252.7 days and $63.2 billion.

A new hi-tech £1million-plus non-invasive disease detection facility, developed by the University of Leicester, has been unveiled today (Sept 1st 2011) for use in Leicester Royal Infirmary's A&E department.

It is designed to detect the "sight, smell and feel" of disease without the use of invasive probes, blood tests, or other time-consuming and uncomfortable procedures.

Scientists use three different types of cutting-edge technology in combination under a range of situations. All the methods are non-invasive, and could speed up diagnosis.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida researchers may help resolve the public debate over America's future light source of choice: Edison's incandescent bulb or the more energy efficient compact fluorescent lamp.

It could be neither.

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — UC Davis researchers have developed an accurate computer model to test the effects of medications for arrhythmia, or abnormal heart rhythm, before they are used in patients.

The new tool -- described in the Aug. 31 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine -- will help scientists screen anti-arrhythmia medications early in the drug-development pipeline and eventually guide physicians in prescribing those interventions to patients who could benefit the most.

A new saliva test that can measure the amount of potential carcinogens in a person's DNA could lead to a commercial version that helps determine risks for cancer and other diseases.

Solar or photovoltaic cells represent one of the best possible technologies for providing an absolutely clean and virtually inexhaustible source of energy to power our civilization. However, for this dream to be realized, solar cells need to be made from inexpensive elements using low-cost, less energy-intensive processing chemistry, and they need to efficiently and cost-competitively convert sunlight into electricity. A team of researchers with the U.S.