|  Spider silk coated with carbon nanotubes has multiple surprising uses  | Physicists have discovered that simple methods can result in surprising and environmentally friendly high-tech outcomes during their experiments with spider silk and carbon nanotubes. Spider silk coated with nanotubes can act as a humidity sensor, a strain sensor, an actuator (a device that acts as an artificial muscle, for lifting weights and more) and as an electrical wire, according to researchers. | Read More » Speedy chemical reaction captured in mid-stride  | In synthetic chemistry, making the best possible use of the needed ingredients is key to optimizing high-quality production at the lowest possible cost. The element rhodium is a powerful catalyst — a driver of chemical reactions — but is also one of the rarest and most expensive. In addition to its common use in vehicle catalytic converters, rhodium is also used in combination with other metals to efficiently drive a wide range of useful chemical reactions. | Read More » Balloon-borne astronomy experiment X-Calibur racing to hit wind window  | In a few days, a balloon-borne telescope sensitive to the polarization of high-energy "hard" X-rays will ascend to the edge of the atmosphere above Fort Sumner, N.M. Once aloft, the telescope will stare at black holes, neutron stars and other exotic astronomical objects that shine brightly in the X-ray part of the spectrum in order to learn about their nature and structure. After years of preparation, the X-Calibur team is racing to get the experiment mission-ready in time for the stratospheric wind event they hope to ride. | Read More » 'Grassroots action' in livestock feeding to help curb global climate change  | Scientists offer new evidence that a potent chemical mechanism operating in the roots of a tropical grass used for livestock feed has enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. | Read More » Achilles' heel of ice shelves is beneath the water, scientists reveal  | New research has revealed that more ice leaves Antarctica by melting from the underside of submerged ice shelves than was previously thought, accounting for as much as 90 percent of ice loss in some areas. | Read More » Quantum entanglement only dependent upon area  | Physicists have developed a new method for determining the amount of entanglement – a quantum phenomenon connecting two remote partners, and crucial for quantum technology - within part of a one-dimensional quantum system. | Read More » Approved cancer drug potentially could help treat diabetes  | Scientists have identified a molecular pathway -- a series of interaction among proteins -- involved in the development of diabetes. | Read More » Tropical forest carbon absorption may hinge on an odd couple  | A new study found that a unique housing arrangement between trees in the legume family and the carbo-loading rhizobia bacteria may determine how well tropical forests can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The findings suggest that the role of tropical forests in offsetting the atmospheric buildup of carbon from fossil fuels depends on tree diversity. | Read More » 'Wildly heterogeneous genes: New approach subtypes cancers by shared genetic effects; a step toward personalized medicine  | Cancer tumors almost never share the exact same genetic mutations, a fact that has confounded scientific efforts to better categorize cancer types and develop more targeted, effective treatments. Researchers propose a new approach called network-based stratification, which identifies cancer subtypes not by the singular mutations of individual patients, but by how those mutations affect shared genetic networks or systems. | Read More » | |
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