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Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Nanotech safety high on Congress' priority list
The House Science and Technology Committee today introduced legislation that highlights the growing attention on Capitol Hill to the need to strengthen federal efforts to learn more about the potential environmental, health and safety risks posed by engineered nanomaterials.
Pew Charitable Trusts
Contact: Colin Finan
colin.finan@wilsoncenter.org
202-841-5605
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Journal of Biological Chemistry
New family of antibacterial agents uncovered
In this week's JBC, researchers have found a potential new antibiotic agent in the tiny freshwater animal Hydra.
Contact: Nick Zagorski
nzagorski@asbmb.org
301-634-7366
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Science
A fantastic voyage brought to life
Tel Aviv University scientists develop a medical "mini-submarine" to blast diseased cells in the body.
Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Discovery of methane reveals Mars is not a dead planet
A team of NASA and university scientists has achieved the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. This discovery indicates the planet is either biologically or geologically active.
NASA
Contact: Dwayne Brown
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov
202-358-1726
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
High-tech solutions ease inaugural challenges
Transportation and security officials on Inauguration Day will have a centralized, consolidated stream of traffic information and other data displayed on a single screen using software developed by the University of Maryland. The Regional Integrated Transportation Information System gives officials a single real-time view far more comprehensive than previously available. The idea is to enhance officials' ability to monitor vehicular traffic, accidents, incidents, response plans, air space, weather conditions and more.
Contact: Lee Tune
ltune@umd.edu
301-405-4679
University of Maryland
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
The Science Coalition applauds House economic stimulus package proposal
The Science Coalition applauds the House for recognizing the vital need to include research funding in the economic stimulus and recovery efforts. Funding for targeted federal research programs will have the immediate impact of creating jobs and stimulating economic activity in communities across the country. This is an example that we hope the Senate will eventually follow.
Contact: Ashley Prime
aprime@qga.com
202-429-4002
The Science Coalition
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Science Express
Scientists solve longstanding astronomy mystery
New research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley has shown how a massive star can grow despite outward-flowing radiation pressure that exceeds the gravitational force pulling material inward. The study appears in the Jan. 15 online edition of Science Express.
Contact: Anne Stark
stark8@llnl.gov
925-422-9799
DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Applied Physics Letters
Spin-polarized electrons on demand
In the future spintronics could replace electronics, which in the race to produce increasingly rapid computer components, must at sometime reach its limits. Scientists of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt in Germany have developed a a single electron pump, in which electrons can be injected successively, and which is able to manipulate the spin of the single electrons.
Contact: Bernd Kästner
bernd.kaestner@ptb.de
49-531-592-2245
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB)
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Science
Next generation cloaking device demonstrated
A device that can bestow invisibility to an object by "cloaking" it from visual light is closer to reality.
US Air Force
Contact: Richard Merritt
richard.merritt@duke.edu
919-660-8414
Duke University
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Science
New study resolves mystery of how massive stars form
Theorists have long wondered how massive stars -- up to 120 times the mass of the sun -- can form without blowing away the clouds of gas and dust that feed their growth. But the problem turns out to be less mysterious than it once seemed. A study published this week by Science shows how the growth of a massive star can proceed despite outward-flowing radiation pressure that exceeds the gravitational force pulling material inward.
National Science Foundation, NASA, US Department of Energy
Contact: Tim Stephens
stephens@ucsc.edu
831-459-2495
University of California - Santa Cruz
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Science
Easy assembly of electronic biological chips
A handheld, ultra-portable device that can recognize and immediately report on a wide variety of environmental or medical compounds may eventually be possible, using a method that incorporates a mixture of biologically tagged nanowires onto integrated circuit chips, according to Penn State researchers.
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation
Contact: A'ndrea Elyse Messer
aem1@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
American Physical Society
Science
U of T chemistry discovery brings organic solar cells a step closer
Inexpensive solar cells, vastly improved medical imaging techniques and lighter more flexible television screens are among the potential applications envisioned for organic electronics. Recent experiments at University of Toronto may bring these closer thanks to new insights into ways molecules absorb and move energy.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
Contact: kim.luke@utoronto.ca
kim.luke@utoronto.ca
416-978-4352
University of Toronto
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Clinical Cancer Research
DNA repair patterns may predict risk of pancreatic cancer
Genetic variations in DNA repair patterns may increase risk of pancreatic cancer by as much as threefold or decrease it by as much as 77 percent, depending on the genes involved, according to a report published in the Jan. 15, 2009, issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Contact: Jeremy Moore
Jeremy.moore@aacr.org
267-646-0557
American Association for Cancer Research
Public Release: 15-Jan-2009
Science
Fish guts explain marine carbon cycle mystery
Research reveals the major influence of fish on maintaining the delicate pH balance of our oceans, vital for the health of coral reefs and other marine life. The discovery, made by a team of scientists from the UK, US and Canada, could help solve a mystery that has puzzled marine chemists for decades. Published in Science, the study provides new insights into the marine carbon cycle, which is undergoing rapid change as a result of global CO2 emissions.
Contact: Sarah Hoyle
s.hoyle@exeter.ac.uk
01-392-262-062
University of Exeter
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Environmental Science & Technology
Energy-efficient water purification made possible by Yale engineers
Water and energy are two resources on which modern society depends. As demands for these increase, researchers look to alternative technologies that promise both sustainability and reduced environmental impact. Engineered osmosis holds a key to addressing both the global need for affordable clean water and inexpensive sustainable energy according to Yale researchers.
National Science Foundation, US Office of Naval Research
Contact: Janet Rettig Emanuel
janet.emanuel@yale.edu
203-432-2157
Yale University
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Physical Review Letters
University of Toronto physicists resolve a paradox of quantum theory
University of Toronto quantum physicists Jeff Lundeen and Aephraim Steinberg have shown that Hardy's paradox, a proposal that has confounded physicists for over a decade, can be confirmed and ultimately resolved, a task which had seemingly been impossible to perform.
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Quantum Works, Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
Contact: Sean Bettam
sbettam@artsci.utoronto.ca
416-946-7950
University of Toronto
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New drug holds out promise of normal diet for sufferers of devastating PKU genetic disease
A new pharmaceutical being developed by researchers at McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre -- along with colleagues at the Scripps Research Institute and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. -- is offering sufferers of the genetic disease phenylketonuria the hope of being able to eat a normal, protein-rich diet.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Mid-Atlantic Connection for PKU and Allied Disorders
Contact: Mark Shainblum
mark.shainblum@mcgill.ca
514-398-2189
McGill University
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
Nature
Even stars get fat
Researchers have discovered evidence that blue stragglers in globular clusters, whose existence has long puzzled astronomers, are the result of 'stellar cannibalism' in binary stars. In other words, binary stars are eating each other and turning into a blue straggler.
Contact: Jane Christmas
chrisja@mcmaster.ca
McMaster University
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Environmental Research Letters
Nations that sow food crops for biofuels may reap less than previously thought
Global yields of most biofuels crops, including corn, rapeseed and wheat, have been overestimated by 100 to 150 percent or more, suggesting many countries need to reset their expectations of agricultural biofuels to a more realistic level.
Contact: Matt Johnston
mjohnston@wisc.edu
608-217-1424
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Nanotech in your vitamins
The ability of the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the safety of dietary supplements using nanomaterials is severely limited by lack of information, lack of resources and the agency's lack of statutory authority in certain critical areas, according to a new expert report released by the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.
Contact: Colin Finan
colin.finan@wilsoncenter.org
202-691-4321
Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
New report on science learning at museums, zoos, other informal settings
Each year, tens of millions of Americans, young and old, choose to learn about science in informal ways by visiting museums and aquariums, attending after-school programs, pursuing personal hobbies and watching TV documentaries, for example.
Contact: Sara Frueh
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
National Academy of Sciences
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Nature
'Stellar cannibalism' is key to formation of overweight stars
Researchers have discovered that the mysterious overweight stars known as blue stragglers are the result of "stellar cannibalism" where plasma is gradually pulled from one star to another to form a massive, unusually hot star that appears younger than it is.
Contact: Julia Short
julia.short@stfc.ac.uk
01-793-442-012
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Archaeological Institute of America
University of Leicester archaeologist uncovers evidence of ancient chemical warfare
A researcher from the University of Leicester has identified what looks to be the oldest archaeological evidence for chemical warfare -- from Roman times.
Contact: Dr. Simon James
stj3@le.ac.uk
01-162-522-535
University of Leicester
Public Release: 14-Jan-2009
Astronomy & Astrophysics
First ground-based detection of light from transiting exoplanets
This week, Astronomy & Astrophysics is publishing the first ground-based detections of thermal emission from transiting exoplanets. Up to now, detections of this kind have only been made from space. Two independent teams are now presenting detections with ground-based telescopes of the thermal emission from transiting hot Jupiters.
Contact: Dr. Jennifer Martin
aanda.paris@obspm.Fr
33-143-290-541
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Public Release: 13-Jan-2009
Journal of Neuroscience
News tips from the Journal of Neuroscience
The following articles are featured in the Jan. 14 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience: "Glutamate Binding Is Required for AMPA Receptor Trafficking," "Neurotrophins Differentially Affect Neuronal Firing," "Reconsolidation and Extinction Activate CREB in Distinct Areas" and "Loss of Doublecortin Alters Cortical Network Activity."
Contact: Sara Harris
sharris@sfn.org
202-962-4000
Society for Neuroscience
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