Tech

Cables made of carbon nanotubes are inching toward electrical conductivities seen in metal wires, and that may light up interest among a range of industries, according to Rice University researchers.

A Rice lab made such a cable from double-walled carbon nanotubes and powered a fluorescent light bulb at standard line voltage -- a true test of the novel material's ability to stake a claim in energy systems of the future.

The work appears this week in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

Philadelphia, PA, September 7, 2011 – As lifestyles get busier and waistlines get bigger; many people are turning to online nutrition programs. In promotion of healthful nutrition behaviors, computer-tailored nutrition education has been identified as a promising health education strategy, especially in the promotion of lower fat intake. However, a study in the September/October 2011 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior reveals no evidence of the efficacy of such computer-tailored education using empirical data based on blood cholesterol and lipids.

U.S. exports of advanced technology products (ATP) dropped less than other non-advanced technology exports in 2009, says a new report from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

NSF's National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics reports that ATP exports fell from $270 billion in 2008 to $245 billion in 2009. But this 9 percent drop was less than half the decline of non ATP exports.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers are making progress in creating digital transistors using a material called graphene, potentially sidestepping an obstacle thought to dramatically limit the material's use in computers and consumer electronics.

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Many older adults lose their independence as their health declines and they are compelled to move into assisted care facilities. Researchers at the University of Missouri and TigerPlace, an independent living community, have been using motion-sensing technology to monitor changes in residents' health for several years. Now, researchers have found that two devices commonly used for video gaming and security systems are effective in detecting the early onset of illness and fall risk in seniors.

Researchers at Michigan State University have unraveled the mystery of how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals. Details of the process in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could benefit sites forever changed by nuclear contamination, said Gemma Reguera, MSU microbiologist.

Researchers at the University of Warwick and Oxford University have developed a form of crystal that can deliver highly accurate temperature readings, down to individual milli-kelvins, over a very broad range of temperatures: from -120 to +680 degrees centigrade.

MADISON, WI, SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 -- Measuring the emission of greenhouse gases from croplands should take into account the crops themselves.

A protective delivery vehicle that shuttles friendly bacteria safely through the stomach to the intestines could provide a major boost for the probiotics industry. The new technology could also be used for the delivery of certain drugs and even increase calcium absorption, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of York this week.

Hamilton, ON (September 05, 2011) – You may think your lack of resolve to get off the couch to exercise is because you're lazy, but McMaster University researchers have discovered it may be you are missing key genes.

The researchers made their unexpected finding while working with healthy, specially-bred mice, some of which had two genes in muscle essential for exercise removed. The genes control the protein AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), an enzyme that is switched on when you exercise.

In a detailed assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers led by a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have determined that the blown-out Macondo well spewed oil at a rate of about 57,000 barrels a day, totaling nearly 5 million barrels of oil released from the well between April 20 and July 15, 2010, when the leak was capped. In addition, the well released some 100 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas.

Ten variants of the deadly Escherichia coli strain from Germany in May 2011 have been sequenced across the world - which may speed insight into how the outbreak arose.

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Chemists at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences have developed the world's first single molecule electric motor, a development that may potentially create a new class of devices that could be used in applications ranging from medicine to engineering.

Kyoto, Japan -- Detecting specific gases in the air is possible using a number of different existing technologies, but typically all of these suffer from one or more drawbacks including high energy cost, large size, slow detection speed, and sensitivity to humidity.

Every year, the world consumes 15 Terrawatts of power. Since the amount of annual harvestable solar energy has been estimated at 50 Terrawatts, students at Stevens Institute of Technology are working on a supercapacitor that will allow us to harness more of this renewable energy through biochar electrodes for supercapacitors, resulting in a cleaner, greener planet.