Stem Cell Research: The Quest Resumes

www.time.com:
….
Melton’s confidence is testament to the extraordinary advances in stem-cell science, some of which have brought the promise of breakthrough therapies for conditions like diabetes, Parkinson’s and heart disease closer than ever before. The cells filling petri dishes in freezers and incubators in Melton’s lab and others around the world are so vastly different — in provenance, programming and potential — from the stem cells of just two years ago that even the scientists leading this biological revolution marvel at the pace at which they are learning, and in some cases relearning, rules of development. Until recently, the field has revolved around either embryonic stem cells — a remarkably plastic class of cells extracted from an embryo that could turn into any of the body’s 200 tissue types — or their more restricted adult cousins, cells taken from mature organs or skin that were limited to becoming only specific types of tissue. On Jan. 23, after nearly a decade of preparation, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first trial of an embryonic- stem-cell therapy for a handful of patients paralyzed by spinal-cord injuries.
….

Scientists discover ground-breaking material: Graphane

www.physorg.com:
Researchers at The University of Manchester have produced a ground-breaking new material, graphane, which has been derived from graphene.

Graphene, which was discovered at the University in 2004, is a one-atom-thick crystal with unusual highly conductive properties, which has quickly become one of the hottest topics in physics and materials science. It is also tipped for a number of future applications in electronics and photonics.

But research published today (Friday 30 January, 2009) by Professor Andre Geim and Dr Kostya Novoselov, who led the group that discovered graphene in 2004, suggests its uses could be far greater.

Laser fusion – the safe, clean way to produce nuclear energy

www.guardian.co.uk:
A multinational project led by British researchers aims to use a high-power laser to reproduce the physical reaction that occurs at the heart of the sun and every other star in the universe – nuclear fusion. If the project succeeds it has the potential to solve the world energy crisis without destroying the environment.

The scientists admit that a commercial reactor is a long way off, but
they believe the laser approach to producing fusion shows great
promise. The EU is considering a proposal to fund the set-up costs for
a seven-year research project called HiPER – high powered laser energy
research – that would build a working demonstration reactor. Preparing
for the seven-year project alone, which is a collaboration of 11
nations, is expected to cost over €50m (£34m). Actually building the
reactor itself will cost over half a billion euros.
…..
Problems
The biggest challenge will be to build a
powerful enough laser that can fire rapidly enough. The world’s most
powerful lasers need several minutes to reset for a second shot. A
laser fusion reactor will need to fire several times a second.
Scientists will also need to develop materials durable enough for the
laser bombardment.

Low-cost LEDs to slash household electric bills

www.physorg.com:
A new way of making LEDs could see household lighting bills reduced by up to 75% within five years.

Gallium Nitride (GaN), a man-made semiconductor used to make LEDs (light emitting diodes), emits brilliant light but uses very little electricity. Until now high production costs have made GaN lighting too expensive for wide spread use in homes and offices.

However, with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Cambridge University based Centre for Gallium Nitride has developed a new way of making GaN which could produce LEDs for a tenth of current prices.

GaN, grown in labs on expensive sapphire wafers since the 1990s, can now be grown on silicon wafers. This lower cost method could mean cheap mass produced LEDs become widely available for lighting homes and offices in the next five years.

Toshiba’s Fuel-cell Charger Is Coming This Quarter

www.pcworld.com:
Toshiba is set to deliver on its promise to commercialize direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology during the current quarter.

Outlining business development plans in Tokyo on Thursday the company confirmed that it would launch a DMFC-based battery charger before the end of March. It is also aiming to commercialize DMFC packs for cell phones and personal computers sometime in the year from April.

Samsung sets the stage for 32 GB DRAM modules

www.tgdaily.com:
Samsung said it has developed the world’s first 4 Gb DDR3 DRAM chip, enabling the company to double the maximum capacity of DRAM modules available today.

Fraunhofer claims world record in solar cell efficiency – 41.1%

www.tgdaily.com:
What makes this newly developed solar cell special is that the scientists were able to identify and correct defective areas within the non-electrical crystaline portion of the solar cell, thus creating a much more efficient cell; one that can be created virtually free from defects. 

NIF laser facility close to completion

www.nature.com:
The US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California, is almost ready to fire up its 192 laser beams to recreate the Sun’s fusion burn.

The last of the project’s 6,206 optics units — the mostly glass and crystal components that focus the lasers onto a tiny target — was installed on 26 January.

Se poartă fiţuicile cu microvibraţii

www.adevarul.ro:
 Fiţuicile obişnuite, ascunse pe mânecă sau sub tivul fustei nu mai sunt de mult timp la modă, şi chiar hands-free-urile tind să devină învechite. Pe lista celor mai convenabile metode de a copia se numără „apăsatele”: toate informaţiile se trec pe foi cu un pic subţire care are pasta consumată. La prima vedere, foaia va fi albă, dar înclinată în lumină se va transforma într-un prieten de nădejde.
Tot la categoria scrisului invizibil se numără şi
pixurile cu ultraviolete, prevăzute cu o pastă specială, incoloră. La
celălalt capăt, pixul are un led cu lumină ultravioletă care face
textul vizibil. Un astfel de instrument magic costă doar 5 lei.
….
O altă variantă este sistemul cu microvibraţii care
se montează în ureche, în apropiere de timpan. Închirierea unui astfel
de sistem costă 30 de lei, ofertele fiind numeroase în ziarele de mică
publicitate.

Gallery: Ten sci-fi devices nearing reality

NewScientist:
In this special feature, we assess the prospects of 10 of the coolest gadgets that in 30 years’ time may change our lives as much – or maybe more – than cellphones, iPods and the internet.

Opel Ampera, primul automobil electric european

www.24auto.ro:
Opel va dezvalui, la apropiatul Salon Auto de la Geneva, noul sau model electric, botezat Ampera. Automobilul in cinci usi, cu patru locuri, va fi primul din Europa capabil sa parcuga distante de ordinul sutelor de kilometri folosind exclusiv propulsia electrica.

New Yahoo Pipes YQL module

Pipes blog:

We just added a new source module: YQL.

YQL complements Pipes by allowing you to fetch, aggregate and mash
up data from many sources using a SQL-like SELECT syntax. To find out
more about YQL click here.

Western Digital lanseaza primul harddisk de 2TB

www.xtrempc.ro:
Western Digital a lansat primul harddisk cu o capacitate totala de 2TB.
Caviar Green integreaza patru platane, fiecare dintre ele stocand 500GB, 32MB memorie cache si o serie de tehnologii menite sa protejeze integritatea informatiilor stocate impotriva socurilor mecanice.
Turatia platanelor este modificata in functie de nivelul de solicitare, in acest mod consumul de energie fiind mult redus.
Cel mai mare harddisk din lume conceput pentru utilizatori obisnuiti este deja disponibil prin intermediul partenerilor Western Digital la un pret recomandat de 299USD.

Samsung prezinta noile monitoare ecologice care incorporeaza tehnologia “Touch of Color”

www.pcworld.ro:
Samsung Electronics a anuntat luna aceasta lansarea a trei noi modele de monitoare LCD, care se alatura familiei de display-uri cu “Touch of Color” (ToC). Noile monitoare P2070, P2270 si P2370 vor fi disponibile din luna martie 2009. Monitoarele LCD folosesc tehnologia Samsung de injectie duala, redau imagini de inalta definitie si sunt incadrate de o rama de plastic transparenta, colorata cu nuante de gri, ce ii confera aparenta unui obiect din sticla.
…
Noile monitoare Samsung ToC consuma jumatate din
energia altor monitoare prin folosirea a doua lampi cu consum scazut de
energie. Procesul de producere elimina aparitia culorilor neplacute si
duce la posibilitatea de reciclare a intregului monitor.      
….
Sustinut de un picior de sticla, monitorul da
senzatia ca pluteste. In plus, tastele de control nu sunt vizibile pe
supafata monitorului sau pe lateralele lui. In schimb,

As cells age, the nucleus lets the bad guys in

sciencenews.org:
As cells get older, they don’t lose their hair or teeth. Instead, they lose control over their nuclear membrane, the protective barrier that encases DNA in the nucleus, concludes a study published in the Jan. 23 Cell. This age-dependent leakiness may be closely tied to cell deterioration and age-related diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, the new work suggests.

“The implications of this study for our study of brain aging and for neurodegenerative diseases are potentially profound,” comments John Woulfe, a specialist in age-related diseases at the University of Ottawa in Canada. The new findings, he says, represent “an important step forward by bringing the gateway to the nucleus, the nuclear pore, into the fray.”

Scientists to tap vortices from slow river currents to create clean energy

www.physorg.com:
n the eerie green glow of flashing lasers in a darkened University of Michigan lab, a cylinder on springs moves methodically up and down in a giant tank as water flows over it, simulating a stream.

It looks simple, but it’s revolutionary. This is VIVACE, a device
to harness energy in slow-moving water currents across the globe and
turn it into electricity.

VIVACE, which mimics the way fish swim in currents, is to debut
next year in the Detroit River, powering the light for a new wharf
between Hart Plaza and the Renaissance Center.

Turritopsis nutricula: the world’s only ‘immortal’ creature

www.timesonline.co.uk:

Turritopsis nutricula may be the world’s only “immortal” creature.

Jellyfish usually die after propagating but Turritopsis reverts to a sexually immature stage after reaching adulthood and is capable of rejuvenating itself.

The 4-5mm diameter creature, technically known as a hydrozoan, is the only known animal that is capable of reverting to its juvenile polyp state.

Theoretically, this cycle can repeat indefinitely, rendering it potentially immortal.

Worldwide race to make better batteries

features.csmonitor.com:
Down in his basement laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Tech­nology, Donald Sadoway and his students are hunting for the perfect battery. Not for cellphones or laptop computers, but to power a future generation of automobiles or perhaps the electric grid.

Single Brain Cell Can Hold a Memory (RAM like)

www.livescience.com:
Memory has long been described as a function of brain cells getting together and forming connections. A new study finds single cells can remember things.

Individual nerve cells (called neurons) in the front part of the brain can hold traces of memories by themselves for up to a minute, perhaps longer.

The fleeting memories, which the researchers found in mice brains, are held in the most highly evolved part of the brain in a manner akin to the nonpermanent working memory of a computer.

“It’s more like RAM [random access memory] on a computer than memory stored on a disk,” said Don Cooper, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “The memory on the disk is more permanent and you can go back and access the same information repeatedly. RAM memory is rewritable temporary storage that allows multitasking.”

University of Miami engineer designs stretchable electronics with a twist

www.physorg.com
Jizhou Song, a professor in the University of Miami College of Engineering and his collaborators Professor John Rogers, at the University of Illinois and Professor Yonggang Huang, at Northwestern University have developed a new design for stretchable electronics that can be wrapped around complex shapes, without a reduction in electronic function.
…
Potential uses for the new design include electronic devices for eye
cameras, smart surgical gloves, body parts, airplane wings, back planes
for liquid crystal displays and biomedical devises.