Tech

A new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of California, San Diego indicates unique and changing microbial communities present during the decomposition of human cadavers look to be a reliable "clock" for forensic scientists.

ANN ARBOR--When heat travels between two objects that aren't touching, it flows differently at the smallest scales--distances on the order of the diameter of DNA, or 1/50,000 of a human hair.

While researchers have been aware of this for decades, they haven't understood the process. Heat flow often needs to be prevented or harnessed and the lack of an accurate way to predict it represents a bottleneck in nanotechnology development.

Researchers have found that the water supply of the Colorado River basin, one of the most important sources for water in the southwestern United States, is influenced more by wet-dry periods than by human use, which has been fairly stable during the past few decades.

Researchers from KU Leuven and Utrecht University have discovered a new approach to the production of fuels. Their new method can be used to produce much cleaner diesel. It can quickly be scaled up for industrial use. In 5 to 10 years, we may see the first cars driven by this new clean diesel.

The proportion of California public university and college students receiving treatment for mental health issues increased more than 10 percent in the final year of a statewide prevention and early intervention program, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

With the increase in students seeking mental health treatment, RAND researchers predict an additional 329 students will receive a college degree for each year the investment is made. Graduating from college has a direct result on lifetime earnings for an individual and a greater benefit to society.

The increasing use of plus-sized models in advertising campaigns may be contributing to growing rates of obesity, a new study from Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business suggests.

The study, published by the American Marketing Association's Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, found that as advertising campaigns increasingly use fewer images of models that are underweight and aesthetically flawless--instead utilizing non-traditional models with larger body types--the tactic can have a detrimental effect on the public's lifestyle and eating behavior.

Researchers have developed a new method for generating complex shapes, and have found that the development of form in nature can be driven by the physical properties of materials themselves, in contrast with earlier findings. The results, reported in the journal Nature, could enable the construction of complex structures from simple components, with potential applications in pharmaceuticals, paints, cosmetics and household products such as shampoo.

Can you imagine a future where your car is fueled by iron powder instead of gasoline?

Metal powders, produced using clean primary energy sources, could provide a more viable long-term replacement for fossil fuels than other widely discussed alternatives, such as hydrogen, biofuels or batteries, according to a study in the Dec. 15 issue of the journal Applied Energy.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Light and electricity dance a complicated tango in devices like LEDs, solar cells and sensors. A new anti-reflection coating developed by engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, lets light through without hampering the flow of electricity, a step that could increase efficiency in such devices.

Every city has abandoned industrial sites. Encouraging life to return to these barren areas is a challenge. It requires a healthy topsoil for plants and animals to flourish. Cities, with their heavily compacted and often contaminated soils, often struggle to restore blighted spaces. Quality soil is necessary--but not abundant in cities. Enter biosolids.

The Lake Calumet Cluster Site (LCCS) was the home of five U.S steel plants on the southeast side of Chicago. Now it's an 87-acre wasteland of glassy slag--a rocky byproduct of steel manufacturing.

Scientists have performed the first comprehensive genomic analysis of Ebola virus sequences from Liberia, one of three countries widely affected by the devastating outbreak that began in 2013 in Western Africa. Their work, published today in Cell Host & Microbe, traces the introduction and spread of the virus in Liberia and also sheds light on how the virus moved between the neighboring countries of Guinea and Sierra Leone.

TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2015 - Alcohol remains the most popular drug of choice for Ontario students in grades 7 through 12, with 29 percent of 12th graders engaging in hazardous drinking, according to the 2015 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) released today by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). More than one-quarter of high school students are allowed to drink at home with friends.

Explosives detection is important for ensuring the safety of public spaces, transportation and water systems, but it can be challenging to carry out. Now scientists report in the journal ACS Nano a new step toward a more efficient monitoring method that uses quantum dots to quickly sniff out and identify five dangerous compounds, including the powerful explosive hidden in 'shoe bomber' Richard Reid's footwear.

A new test for detecting multiple explosives simultaneously has been developed by UCL scientists. The proof-of-concept sensor is designed to quickly identify and quantify five commonly used explosives in solution to help track toxic contamination in waste water and improve the safety of public spaces.

Boston, MA - Although no reliable official data currently exist on the number of law enforcement-related deaths each year in the U.S., counting these deaths can and should be done because the data constitute crucial public health information that could help prevent future deaths, according to a new study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.