• Creating genetic replacement for oil

    Scientists previously established that oil and coal have their roots in the organisms that lived on the planet over 500 million years ago, but researchers only are sure of one organism that directly contributed to these natural resources — that organism is the algae Botryococcus braunii; this algae is very slow growing, so it is not necessarily a good source for biofuels; scientists offer an alternative

  • Virginia Tech team dominates robot soccer World Cup competition

    The Virginia Tech team dominated the international robot soccer competition known as RoboCup this past weekend, winning the Louis Vuitton Humanoid Cup, the competition’s version of the World Cup; the team also dominated with First Place in both the Adult Size class with the 5-foot humanoid robot CHARLI-2 and the Kid Size class with the miniature humanoid-robot DARwIn-OP

  • Sensors printed on wetsuits detect explosives, other hazards

    UC Sand Diego researcher has successfully printed thick-film electrochemical sensors directly on flexible wetsuit material, paving the way for nano devices to detect underwater explosives or ocean contamination; UCSD has a full U.S. patent pending on the technology, and has begun talks on licensing the system to a Fortune 500 company

  • World's first cardboard vacuum cleaner unveiled

    A U.K. vacuum cleaner manufacturer will market a high performance vacuum cleaner constructed out of recycled and recyclable materials; the device was designed by an industrial design student; the corrugated cardboard panels that form the body of the machine are easily replaced if damaged and cost just a tenth of the price of an equivalent plastic panel

  • New technology increase potency of beam weapons

    Laser scientists and engineers have long recognized that direct-diode lasers can offer significant advantages over other laser technologies due to their efficiency, reliability, compactness, and relatively low cost; applications for direct-diode lasers have been limited, however, owing to their low brightness — a combination of lower power and poorer beam quality relative to alternative laser technologies; a Massachusetts-based company, using wavelength beam combining (WBC) technology, is offering a way to solve this problem — allowing direct-diode lasers to be used in demanding industrial applications — and in effective beam weapons

  • Fire retardant shows promise -- if given space

    Scientists have demonstrated that the more widely and uniformly dispersed nanoscale plates of clay are in a polymer, the more fire protection the nanocomposite material provides; when polymer — a type of polystyrene, used in packaging, insulation, plastic cutlery, and many other products — is imbued with nanometer scale plates of montmorillonite, the combination can create a material with unique properties or properties superior to those achievable by each component — clay or polymer — on its own

  • Montana floods exacerbate Exxon oil spill

    Flooding in Montana has exacerbated the effects of an oil spill and made clean up more difficult for Exxon Mobil; it is estimated that roughly 750 top 1,000 barrels of crude oil have leaked into the Yellowstone River near Billings, Montana; the pipeline has been shut down, but flooding in the area has made it difficult for clean-up crews to find the source of the leak

  • A first: Flying car cleared for road

    The U.S. Department of Transportation gave Massachusetts-based Terrafugia two important exemptions which would allow the company to offer its flying car — the Transition — to customers next year; the exemptions allow the company to use different tires and different laminated protective glass, and come on top of a 110 lb. allowance the FAA gave the company last year; these allowance and exemptions mean the flying car will not be treated as plane by the FAA, and those who fly it will not have to obtain a pilot license

  • Roving robot can rescue people, detonate bombs

    Northeastern University student-researchers have created a roving robot that can locate and rescue victims of natural disasters or participate in military missions that are too dangerous for soldiers; students created a complex algorithm that would enable the robot to locate people — or even bombs that are detonated through mobile phones

  • Japanese discovery could undermine China's rare earth dominance

    A new discovery by Japanese researchers could break China’s stranglehold over rare Earth metals; Japanese geologists say they have found large deposits of rare Earth minerals on the floor of the Pacific Ocean; it is estimated that the mud of the Pacific Ocean contains 100 billion tons of these minerals

  • Microalgae : Texas' next big cash crop

    There are an estimated 200,000 to 800,000 species of microalgae — microscopic algae that thrive in freshwater and marine systems; scientists say microalgae offers a huge, untapped source of fuel, food, feed, pharmaceuticals, and even pollution-busters; it is set to be Texas’ next big cash crop

  • New technology makes textiles permanently germ-free

    University of Georgia scientist develops a new technology that makes textiles permanently germ-free, targeting healthcare-associated infections; the new material effectively kills a wide spectrum of bacteria, yeasts, and molds that can cause disease, break down fabrics, create stains, and produce odors

  • Quake-resistant superelastic alloy developed

    Japanese scientists added a small amount of nickel to an iron-based alloy, and found that the new material can recover its original shape at any temperature from -196 to 240 degrees Celsius; the material may be used in environments that are constantly exposed to extreme temperatures, such as joints and controls in cars, planes, and spacecraft; it may also help buildings cushion stress and violent movement in earthquakes

  • Flights increase rain and snow near airports

    Areas near commercial airports experience a measurable increase in rain and snow when aircraft take off and land under certain atmospheric conditions; when planes fly through certain mid-level clouds, they force nearby air rapidly to expand and cool; this causes water droplets to freeze to ice and then turn to snow as they fall toward the ground, often leaving behind odd-shaped gaps in the clouds

  • "Sensing skin" to monitor concrete infrastructure health inexpensively

    In 2009, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) assigned the grade D to the overall quality of infrastructure in the United States and said that ongoing evaluation and maintenance of structures was one of five key areas necessary for improving that grade; civil engineers recently proposed a new method for the electronic, continual monitoring of structures