Technology

Japanese Scientists Make Micro-Sized DNA 'Sewing Machine'

Japanese scientists have made a micro-sized sewing machine to sew long threads of DNA into shape. The work published in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Lab on a Chip demonstrates a unique way to manipulate delicate DNA chains without breaking them. ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 10 2008 - 10:13am

Super-Resolution X-ray Reveals Buried Secrets Of The Nanoworld

A super-resolution X-ray microscope developed by a team of researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) and EPFL in Switzerland combines the high penetration power of x-rays with high spatial resolution, making it possible for the first time to shed l ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 18 2008 - 6:32am

Nanorotors Detected Doing The Molecular Hula Hoop

Humans have long been trying to make the dream of nanoscopic robots come true. It's getting closer each time nanoscience produces components for molecular-scale machines. One such device is a rotor; a movable component that rotates around an axis. Try ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 18 2008 - 10:24am

The End Of The Dentist Drill?

A new technology that spots tooth decay almost as soon as it’s begun promises to reduce the need for drilling and filling, writes Patrick Walter in SCI’s Chemistry & Industry (C&I) magazine. Drilling is one of the top dental phobias and puts thousa ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 20 2008 - 11:31pm

New: Paper-Based Transistor

Elvira Fortunato and colleagues from the Centro de Investigação de Materiais (Cenimat/I3N), at Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, made the first Field Effect Transistor (FET) with a paper «interstrate» layer. There is an incre ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 21 2008 - 6:37pm

Biomimetics Plus An Electronic Cerebellum Equals Robo Habilis

SENSOPAC, an EU-funded project whose goal is to create a robotic arm, hand and brain with human-like physical and cognitive capabilities, is bringing human-like robots closer to reality- their newest electronic brain is modelled on the human cerebellum. Ex ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 23 2008 - 11:28am

Polypterus Senegalus: The Dinosaur Eel That May Inspire A New Generation Of Body Armor

Knowledge of the structure–property–function relationships of dermal scales of armoured fish could enable pathways to improved bioinspired human body armor, and may provide clues to the evolutionary origins of mineralized tissues. Writing in Nature Materia ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 27 2008 - 4:10pm

Extinct Hadropithecus Stenognathus Skull Fragments Pieced Together By Computer Tomography

Penn State researchers have used computed tomography (CT) technology to virtually glue newly-discovered skull fragments of a rare extinct lemur back into its partial skull, which was discovered over a century ago. Alan Walker, Evan Pugh Professor of Anthro ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 28 2008 - 5:59pm

Aerogel 'Liquid Smoke' Gets A 3-D Image

Researchers have created a 3D image of a material referred to as "liquid smoke." Aerogel, also known as liquid smoke or "San Francisco fog," is an open-cell polymer with pores smaller than 50 nanometers in diameter. Aerogel is a form of ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2008 - 4:27pm

Europe Agrees To Be Guinea Pigs For Intelligent Vehicles Systems

Supported by the European Commission 7th Framework Programme of Information Society Technologies, the euroFOT integrated project launched in May and led by Ford involves 28 partners including major European vehicle manufacturers as well as leading automoti ...

Article - News Staff - Jul 29 2008 - 9:24pm