Tech | Page 1441 | Science Codex

'Super' yeast that turns pine into ethanol

Athens, Ga. – Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a "super strain" of yeast that can efficiently ferment ethanol from pretreated pine -- one of the most common species of trees in Georgia and the U.S. Their research could help biofuels replace gasoline as a transportation fuel.

"Companies are interested in producing ethanol from woody biomass such as pine, but it is a notoriously difficult material for fermentations," said Joy Doran-Peterson, associate professor of microbiology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Training in 'concrete thinking' can be self-help treatment for depression

The study suggests an innovative psychological treatment called 'concreteness training' can reduce depression in just two months and could work as a self-help therapy for depression in primary care. Led by the University of Exeter and funded by the Medical Research Council, the research shows how this new treatment could help some of the 3.5 million people in the UK living with depression.

Multidisciplinary team of researchers develop worlds lightest material

Irvine, Calif., Nov. 17, 2011 – A team of researchers from UC Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology have developed the world's lightest material – with a density of 0.9 mg/cc – about 100 times lighter than Styrofoam. Their findings appear in the Nov. 18 issue of Science.

Microfabrication breakthrough could set piezoelectric material applications in motion

MADISON – Integrating a complex, single-crystal material with "giant" piezoelectric properties onto silicon, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers and physicists can fabricate low-voltage, near-nanoscale electromechanical devices that could lead to improvements in high-resolution 3-D imaging, signal processing, communications, energy harvesting, sensing, and actuators for nanopositioning devices, among others.

Researchers watch a next-gen memory bit switch in real time

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—For the first time, engineering researchers have been able to watch in real time the nanoscale process of a ferroelectric memory bit switching between the 0 and 1 states.

Smart swarms of bacteria inspire robotics researchers

Much to humans' chagrin, bacteria have superior survival skills. Their decision-making processes and collective behaviors allow them to thrive and even spread efficiently in difficult environments.

Micro-cavity arrays: Lighting the way to the future

It was not too long ago that basic science lectures began with the three forms of matter: gases, liquids and solids—and somewhere along the line plasmas were occasionally added to the list. But to be precise, a plasma is an ionized gas; thus, a subset of the big three. But this subset has coexisted with the other forms since the Big Bang and actually makes up 99 percent of the universe. It is found in our Sun and all the other stars, and in more down to earth applications: in neon signs, Plasma TVs, Cathode Ray Tubes, and the ubiquitous fluorescent light.

Notre Dame survey of African American Catholics offers important insights

A new, unprecedented national survey of African American Catholics by University of Notre Dame researchers reveals several significant insights into individual religious engagement and identifies several notable demographic trends facing the church. The survey was sponsored by the National Black Catholic Congress and Notre Dame's Institute for Church Life and Office of the President.

Job market for college grads has 'legs'

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- After last year's rollercoaster ride, the job market for college graduates has settled down and appears braced for slow but steady growth, according to Michigan State University's annual Recruiting Trends study.

The survey of more than 3,300 employers nationwide – the largest of its kind – found that hiring is expected to increase a modest 4 percent, across all degree levels, for the current crop of students.

Study details links between climate, groundwater availability - will help states prepare for drought

Everyone knows that climate affects our water supply, but new research from North Carolina State University gives scientists and water-resource managers an unprecedented level of detail on how climate and precipitation influence groundwater and surface water levels in the Southeast.

Researchers found that the groundwater, primarily from unconfined aquifers, available in any given month is directly influenced by the amount of precipitation that fell in that watershed three months earlier. For example, groundwater levels in April are affected by precipitation that fell in January.

Indevr launches breakthrough colorimetric detection for microarrays using core technology from CU

BOULDER, Colo. – November 2011 – InDevR, a Boulder-based biotechnology company that develops advanced life science instrumentation and assays for analysis of viruses and other microorganisms, announced today the launch revolutionary new technology for microbiological analysis. ampliPHOX, a colorimetric detection system that incorporates core technology licensed from the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office, will enhance laboratories around the world by offering a cost effective and easy to use alternative to fluorescence detection.

Personal electronics' next revolution: Home printers that make 3-D objects

Just imagine: Instead of sending Grandma a holiday photo of the family for her fridge, you call up the image on your computer monitor, click "print," and your printer produces a three-dimensional plastic model ready for hanging on the holiday tree. Scenes like that — in which homes have 3-D printers that build solid objects on demand – are fast approaching reality, according to the cover story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News, the American Chemical Society's weekly newsmagazine.

New material can enhance energy, computer, lighting technologies

Arizona State University researchers have created a new compound crystal material that promises to help produce advances in a range of scientific and technological pursuits.

ASU electrical engineering professor Cun-Zheng Ning says the material, called erbium chloride silicate, can be used to develop the next generations of computers, improve the capabilities of the Internet, increase the efficiency of silicon-based photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electrical energy, and enhance the quality of solid-state lighting and sensor technology.

New screening method can detect a range of clinical conditions from a single dried blood spot

Scientists have developed a rapid method that can be used to simultaneously screen patients for a range of genetic and acquired clinical conditions from a single dried blood spot.

The test uses a highly sensitive and specific technique, known as mass spectrometry, to simultaneously analyse proteins, enzymes and metabolites in the blood, without the need for the large liquid blood samples currently used. Collection of dried blood spots is less invasive for patients and the costs and biohazards associated with sample transport, processing and storage are minimised.

WTC workers exposed earlier to dust cloud have higher risk of atherosclerotic lesions

In the first study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate cardiovascular risk in World Trade Center (WTC) first responders, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that the responders who experienced high levels of exposure to the initial dust cloud on September 11, 2001, demonstrate high-risk features of atherosclerosis (plaque in arteries). The data was presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2011 in Orlando, Florida.