Nanotech, Chem and Materials
Purdue University engineers have developed a new aluminum-rich alloy that produces hydrogen by splitting water and is economically competitive with conventional fuels for transportation and power generation.
ScienceDebate2008 is looking more and more likely as the campaigns of two major candidates (Obama and Clinton) sent surrogates on short notice to a hastily pulled-together preliminary session at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston. Senator McCain's campaign sent regrets due to the short notice, while the Huckabee and Paul campaigns did not respond at all.
UCLA chemists report a major advance in reducing heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Science. The scientists have demonstrated that they can successfully isolate and capture carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, rising sea levels and the increased acidity of oceans. Their findings could lead to power plants efficiently capturing carbon dioxide without using toxic materials.
Nanotechnology researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a shirt that harvests energy from the wearer's physical motion and converts it into electricity for powering small electronic devices worn by soldiers in the field, hikers and other users.
When a swimsuit manufacturer wanted to create a better fabric for competitive swimmers, it sought out some unlikely experts -- aerospace engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton. NASA has decades of experience in fluid dynamics and drag reduction. However, aerospace engineers usually concentrate on the element through which airplanes and spacecraft fly, not the liquid through which swimmers travel. Still, some of the science is similar.
It's official. Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Barack Obama have been invited to ScienceDebate2008.
The location? Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, named after one of our nation's greatest scientists (and greatest patriots). The date? April 18, just before the Pennsylvania Primary.
If you thought ScienceDebate2008 was just a scientist's pipe dream, it's time to think again!
Organizations of scientists, industrialists, and business leaders have joined an impressive list of individuals and associations declaring that science and technology are too important not to know where the presidential candidates stand.
Does Michael Crichton wear a tin hat?
A new anti-sliding adhesive developed by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, may be the closest man-made material yet to mimic the remarkable gecko toe hairs that allow the tiny lizard to scamper along vertical surfaces and ceilings.
When it comes to Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure from polycarbonate plastic bottles, it’s not whether the container is new or old but the liquid’s temperature that has the most impact on how much BPA is released, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists.
The Department of Defense has commissioned a nine-month study from Rice University chemists and scientists in the Texas Medical Center to determine whether a new drug based on carbon nanotubes can help prevent people from dying of acute radiation injury following radiation exposure.
Like the physical universe, human knowledge is collectively growing at an accelerating rate. Will it end in heat death, or a big crunch?
A newly revised Recommended Practice (RP) from the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST), IEST-RP-CC018.4, provides guidance for maintaining a cleanroom at the level for which it was designed, including a new test procedure to establish frequency, monitor effectiveness, and determine appropriate levels of surface cleanliness.
Will Kaiser/CDC admit we are infected with this? How will they react in the litterbox?
Beyond its role as the elixir of all life, water is a very unusual substance: Scientists have long marveled over counter-intuitive properties that set water apart from other solids and liquids commonly found in nature.
