New tool for improving switchgrass

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Scientists have developed a new tool for deciphering the genetics of a native prairie grass being widely studied for its potential as a biofuel. The genetic map of switchgrass is expected to speed up the search for genes that will make the perennial plant a more viable source of bioenergy. Here »

Waste fat from frying fuels hydrogen economy

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Don't pour that dirty fat from the fryer down the sink -- it could be used to make the fuel of the future. Here »

Researchers investigate effects of lightning strikes on aircraft

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:00:00 EDT

Scientists in the UK are researching the potential for damage posed by lightning for carbon fibre composites (CFCs), which are increasingly being used in aircraft manufacture, with a view to reducing damage and minimizing repair costs. Here »

Promise for nuclear fusion test reactors, findings show

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EDT

Researchers have discovered mechanisms critical to interactions between hot plasma and surfaces facing the plasma inside a thermonuclear fusion reactor, part of work aimed at developing coatings capable of withstanding the grueling conditions inside the reactors. Here »

Storm elves and sprites recorded on video

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

A team of Spanish researchers has made a high-speed recording of elves and sprites in storms, fleeting and luminous electric phenomena produced in the upper layers of the atmosphere. Here »

Researchers calculate the cost of CO₂ emissions, call for carbon tax

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EDT

Researchers are calling on policymakers to encourage the transition from coal-based electricity production to a system based on natural gas through a carbon tax. Here »

Nanowick at heart of new system to cool 'power electronics'

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Researchers have shown that an advanced cooling technology being developed for high-power electronics in military and automotive systems is capable of handling roughly 10 times the heat generated by conventional computer chips. Here »

Graphene organic photovoltaics: Flexible material only a few atoms thick may offer cheap solar power

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

A research team has produced flexible transparent carbon atom films that the researchers say have great potential for a new breed of solar cells. Here »

Charging up electric car batteries in environmentally-friendly way

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Electromobility makes sense only if car batteries are charged using electricity from renewable energy sources. But the supply of green electricity is not always adequate. An intelligent charging station can help, by adapting the recharging times to suit energy supply and network capacity. Here »

Bioenergy production can expand across Africa without displacing food, report finds

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Crops can be produced for bioenergy on a significant scale in west, eastern and southern Africa without doing damage to food production or natural habitats, according to a report produced by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Imperial College London and CAMCO International. Here »

Now you see it, now you don't: An infrared invisibility cloak made of glass

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

From Star Trek's Romulans, who could cloak their spaceships, to Harry Potter's magical garment, the power to turn someone or something invisible has intrigued mankind. Now one researcher is doing it for real. She has found ways to use magnetic resonance to capture rays of visible light and route them around objects, rendering those objects invisible to the human eye. Here »

Engineering researchers simplify process to make world's tiniest wires

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Surface tension isn't a very powerful force, but it matters for small things -- water bugs, paint, and, it turns out, nanowires. Here »

Nanotech coatings produce 20 times more electricity from sewage

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Engineers have made a significant advance toward producing electricity from sewage, by the use of new coatings on the anodes of microbial electrochemical cells that increased the electricity production about 20 times. The findings bring the researchers one step closer to technology that could clean biowaste at the same time it produces useful levels of electricity -- a promising new innovation in wastewater treatment and renewable energy. Here »

Quantum entanglement in photosynthesis and evolution

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Recently, academic debate has been swirling around the existence of unusual quantum mechanical effects in the most ubiquitous of phenomena, including photosynthesis, the process by which organisms convert light into chemical energy. In a new paper, these ideas are put to the test. Here »

New 'smart' metal could mean cool cash for consumers, less CO2

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

If a new "smart" metal could help cool your home or refrigerate your food 175 percent more efficiently than current technology, imagine what that would do for your electric bills. Here »

Toward room-temperature superconductors: Key advance in understanding 'pseudogap' phase in high-T_c superconductors

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Scientists have discovered a fundamental difference in how electrons behave at the two distinct oxygen-atom sites in a copper-oxide superconductor. Understanding this broken symmetry in the non-superconducting pseudogap phase may lead to new approaches to understanding the pseudogap, long hypothesized as a key hurdle to achieving room-temperature superconductivity. Here »

Reports detail global investment and other trends in green energy

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Investment in green energy in China, most notable in wind energy, leapt 53 per cent in 2009, bucking a trend during the recession that saw global investments dip 7 per cent overall from 2008 levels. However, if spending on solar water heaters (now used in 70 million world households) and total installation costs for rooftop solar were included, renewables investment worldwide increased last year. Here »

New system to reduce heating costs in cold climates

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

A new type of heat pump under development could allow residents in cold climates to cut their heating bills in half. Here »

New biofuels processing method for mobile facilities

Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:00:00 EDT

Chemical engineers have developed a new method to process agricultural waste and other biomass into biofuels, and they are proposing the creation of mobile processing plants that would rove the Midwest to produce the fuels. Here »

Miniature energy harvesting technology could power wireless electronics

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EDT

Newly published research focuses on miniature energy harvesting technologies that could potentially power wireless electronics, portable devices, stretchable electronics, and implantable biosensors. Here »

Pinpoint precision: Delivering a biochemical payload to one cell

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Researchers use precise electrical "tweezers" to place nanowires on predetermined spots on single cells. The technique eventually could produce new ways to deliver medication. Here »

Hydrogen distribution not an option in biomass gasification, researcher says

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

When using fuel cells to generate electricity from biomass, the best approach is to do so centrally, in combination with a gas turbine. The production and subsequent distribution of hydrogen is an inefficient process. Here »

Bridge to the quantum world: Darwinian concept of natural selection figures into theory about core of physical reality

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:00:00 EDT

Researchers propose an answer to one of the long-running questions in the study of quantum physics: the mystery of how the world of our sensory experience emerges from the cloudy realm of atoms. Here »

Thermal-powered, insect-like robot crawls into microrobot contenders' ring

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EDT

Engineers have built an insect-like robot with hundreds of tiny legs. Compared to other such microrobots, this new model excels in its ability to carry heavy loads -- more than seven times its own weight -- and move in any direction. Here »

Benchtop biofuels: Fine-tuning growth conditions helps cyanobacteria flourish

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT

Cyanobacteria are among the oldest living forms in nature, responsible for generating the atmospheric oxygen we breathe today. Now researchers are perfecting the means to culture these microbes -- potentially rich source of biofuels and biomaterials -- significantly greater abundance. Here »

Nanomachines in the powerhouse of the cell: Architecture of the largest protein complex of cellular respiration elucidated

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:00:00 EDT

Scientists in Germany have elucidated the architecture of the largest protein complex of the cellular respiratory chain.They discovered an unknown mechanism of energy conversion in this molecular complex. The mechanism is required to utilize the energy contained in food. Here »

Renewables account for 62 percent of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU in 2009

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

The "Renewable Energy Snapshots" report, published by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62 percent of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009. The share rose from 57 percent in 2008. In absolute terms, renewables produced 19.9 percent of Europe's electricity consumption last year. Here »

Switching off your lights has a bigger impact than you might think, says new study

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EDT

Switching off lights, turning the television off at the mains and using cooler washing cycles could have a much bigger impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power stations than previously thought, according to a new study. Researchers in the UK show that the figure used by government advisers to estimate the amount of carbon dioxide saved by reducing people's electricity consumption is up to 60 percent too low. Here »

Physicists explain why superconductors fail to produce super currents

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EDT

When high-temperature superconductors were first announced in the late 1980s, it was thought that they would lead to ultra-efficient magnetic trains and other paradigm-shifting technologies. That didn't happen. Now, physicists are helping explain why. Here »

New method for producing graphene paves way for mass production of nanomaterial

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Researchers have developed a simple new method for producing large quantities of the promising nanomaterial graphene. The new technique works at room temperature, needs little processing, and paves the way for cost-effective mass production of graphene. Here »

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