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Technology/Engineering/Computer Science
Key: Meeting Journal Funder Dissertation
Public Release: 20-Nov-2009
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Conference
From toxic dust and algae to ill winds from Africa
Media tipsheet on USGS scientific presentations at SETAC conference, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
US Geological Survey

Contact: Kara Capelli
kcapelli@usgs.gov
703-648-5086
United States Geological Survey

Public Release: 19-Nov-2009
Applied Physics Letters
Nanotube defects equal better energy and storage systems
Most people would like to be able to charge their cell phones and other personal electronics quickly and not too often. A recent discovery made by UC San Diego engineers could lead to carbon nanotube-based supercapacitors that could do just this.

Contact: Andrea Siedsma
asiedsma@soe.ucsd.edu
858-822-0899
University of California - San Diego

Public Release: 18-Nov-2009
Angewandte Chemie
UCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells
Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. These cells, known as circulating tumor cells, or CTCs, can provide critical information for examining and diagnosing cancer metastasis, determining patient prognosis, and monitoring the effectiveness of therapies.
NIH/National Cancer Institute, NanoSystems Biology Cancer Center

Contact: Rachel Champeau
rchampeau@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-2270
University of California - Los Angeles

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology
Small nanoparticles bring big improvement to medical imaging
A joint research team, working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has discovered a method of using nanoparticles to illuminate the cellular interior to reveal the slow, complex processes taking place in a living cell.

Contact: Chad Boutin
boutin@nist.gov
301-975-4261
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Analytical Chemistry
'No muss, no fuss' miniaturized analysis for complex samples developed
NIST researchers have created a novel and simple way to analyze samples that are complex mixtures -- such as whole milk, blood serum and dirt in solution -- by adapting a NIST-developed separation technique called gradient elution moving boundary electrophoresis.

Contact: Michael E. Newman
michael.newman@nist.gov
301-975-3025
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Nature
Small optical force can budge nanoscale objects
With a bit of leverage, Cornell researchers have used a very tiny beam of light with as little as 1 milliwatt of power to move a silicon structure up to 12 nanometers. That's enough to completely switch the optical properties of the structure from opaque to transparent.
National Science Foundation, Cornell Center for Nanocale Systems, Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility

Contact: Blaine Friedlander
bpf2@cornell.edu
607-254-8093
Cornell University

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Nature
New study confirms exotic electric properties of graphene
First, it was the soccer-ball-shaped molecules dubbed buckyballs. Then it was the cylindrically shaped nanotubes. Now, the hottest new material in physics and nanotechnology is graphene: a remarkably flat molecule made of carbon atoms arranged in hexagonal rings much like molecular chicken wire.
Microsoft Project Q, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, US Department of Energy

Contact: David F. Salisbury
david.salisbury@vanderbilt.edu
615-343-6803
Vanderbilt University

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
NJIT engineer discovers why particles disperse on liquids
Even if you are not a cook, you might have wondered why a pinch of flour (or any small particles) thrown into a bowl of water will disperse in a dramatic fashion, radiating outward as if it was exploding. Pushpendra Singh, Ph.D., a mechanical engineering professor at NJIT who has studied and written about the phenomenon, has not only thought about it, but can explain why.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Sheryl Weinstein
Sheryl.m.weinstein@njit.edu
973-596-3436
New Jersey Institute of Technology

Public Release: 17-Nov-2009
Cortex
Monetary gain and high-risk tactics stimulate activity in the brain
Monetary gain stimulates activity in the brain. Even the mere possibility of receiving a reward is known to activate an area of the brain called the striatum.

Contact: Valeria Brancolini
v.brancolini@elsevier.com
39-028-818-4260
Elsevier

Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Cancer Research
Nanoparticles used in common household items caused genetic damage in mice
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
National Institutes of Health

Contact: Kim Irwin
kirwin@mednet.ucla.edu
310-206-2805
University of California - Los Angeles

Public Release: 16-Nov-2009
Nature Methods
Scientists guide immune cells with light and microparticles
A team led by Yale University scientists has developed a new approach to studying how immune cells chase down bacteria in our bodies. They used holographic optical tweezers to guide "artificial bacteria" -- microparticles that mimic bacteria by giving off a chemical "scent," stimulating immune cells to respond. By controlling the chemical patterns produced, they were able to study how immune cells respond to and interact with these chemical signals.
German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation

Contact: Suzanne Taylor Muzzin
suzanne.taylormuzzin@yale.edu
203-432-8555
Yale University

Public Release: 15-Nov-2009
Nature Physics
NIST demonstrates 'universal' programmable quantum processor
Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have demonstrated the first "universal" programmable quantum information processor able to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics—the rules governing the submicroscopic world -- using two quantum bits (qubits) of information. The processor could be a module in a future quantum computer, which theoretically could solve some important problems that are intractable today.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Security Agency, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity

Contact: Laura Ost
laura.ost@nist.gov
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Public Release: 13-Nov-2009
Science
Berkeley researchers take the lead out of piezoelectrics
By applying epitaxial strain to thin films of bismuth ferrite, Berkeley Lab researchers have produced a lead-free alternative to the current crop of piezoelectric materials.
US Department of Energy

Contact: Lynn Yarris
lcyarris@lbl.gov
510-486-5375
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Nanotech in space: Rensselaer experiment to weather the trials of orbit
Novel nanomaterials developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are scheduled to blast off into orbit on Nov. 16 aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. The project, funded by the US Air Force Multi University Research Initiative, seeks to test the performance of the new nanocomposites in orbit. The materials will be mounted to the International Space Station's outer hull and exposed to the rigors of space.
US Air Force

Contact: Michael Mullaney
mullam@rpi.edu
518-276-6161
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Optics Express
Invisibility visualized: German team unveils new software for rendering cloaked objects
Scientists and curiosity seekers who want to know what a partially or completely cloaked object would look like in real life can now get their wish -- virtually. A team of researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany has created a new visualization tool that can render a room containing such an object, showing the visual effects of such a cloaking mechanism and its imperfections.
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, State of Baden-Württemberg through the DFG-Center for Functional Nanostructures, European Commission, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

Contact: Colleen Morrison
cmorri@osa.org
202-416-1437
Optical Society of America

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Physical Review Letters
In touch with molecules
The performance of modern electronics increases steadily on a fast pace thanks to the ongoing miniaturization of the utilized components. However, severe problems arise due to quantum-mechanical phenomena when conventional structures are simply made smaller and reach the nanometer scale. Therefore current research focuses on the so-called bottom-up approach: the engineering of functional structures with the smallest possible building blocks -- single atoms and molecules.

Contact: Dr. Richard Berndt
berndt@physik.uni-kiel.de
49-431-880-3946
Kiel University

Public Release: 12-Nov-2009
Pushing light beyond its known limits
Scientists at the University of Adelaide have made a breakthrough that could change the world's thinking on what light is capable of.

Contact: Professor Tanya Monro
tanya.monro@adelaide.edu.au
61-883-033-955
University of Adelaide

Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
Nano Letters
New nano color sorters from Molecular Foundry
Berkeley Lab researchers at the Molecular Foundry have created bowtie-shaped antennae that function as the first tunable nano color sorters, able to capture, filter and steer light at the nanoscale.
US Department of Energy

Contact: Aditi Risbud
ASRisbud@lbl.gov
510-486-4861
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Public Release: 11-Nov-2009
Nano Letters
Understanding mechanical properties of silicon nanowires paves way for nanodevices
Silicon nanowires are attracting attention from the electronics industry due to the drive for smaller devices, from cell phones to computers. The operation of these devices, and an array of additional applications, will depend on the mechanical properties of these nanowires. Research from North Carolina State University shows that silicon nanowires are far more resilient than their larger counterparts, a finding that paves the way for smaller, sturdier nanoelectronics, nanosensors, light-emitting diodes and other applications.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Matt Shipman
matt_shipman@ncsu.edu
919-515-6386
North Carolina State University

Public Release: 10-Nov-2009
International Electron Devices Meeting
New 'finFETS' promising for smaller transistors, more powerful chips
Purdue University researchers are making progress in developing a new type of transistor that uses a finlike structure instead of the conventional flat design, possibly enabling engineers to create faster and more compact circuits and computer chips.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Emil Venere
venere@purdue.edu
765-494-4709
Purdue University

Public Release: 9-Nov-2009
Journal of Applied Physics
New nanocrystalline diamond probes overcome wear
Researchers at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University have developed, characterized, and modeled a new kind of probe used in atomic force microscopy, which images, measures, and manipulates matter at the nanoscale. Using diamond, researchers made a much more durable probe than the commercially available silicon nitride probes, which are typically used in AFM to gather information from a material, but can wear down after several uses.

Contact: Kyle Delaney
k-delaney@northwestern.edu
847-467-4010
Northwestern University

Public Release: 9-Nov-2009
Nature Chemistry
Engineers image nanostructure of a solid acid catalyst and boost its catalytic activity
Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and Raman, infrared and UV-visible spectroscopies pinpoint sub-nanometer clusters of tungsten oxide mixed with tiny amounts of zirconium as the active catalytic species in the catalyst. In lab tests, the clusters increased the activity of a poor catalyst by more than 100 times. Solid acid catalysts are more environmentally friendly than liquid catalysts, which evaporate, spill and cause corrosion. Tungstated zirconia's uses include the improvement of gasoline's octane content.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Kurt Pfitzer
kap4@lehigh.edu
610-758-3017
Lehigh University

Public Release: 9-Nov-2009
Journal of the Royal Society Interface celebrates 5th anniversary with £5000 ($8,400) EPSRC award
To celebrate its fifth year of publication, Journal of the Royal Society Interface in conjunction with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council honored the best research article published in the journal at an awards ceremony in London on Nov. 6.

Contact: Press Office
pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk
01-793-444-404
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Public Release: 8-Nov-2009
Nature Nanotechnology
Findings show nanomedicine promising for treating spinal cord injuries
Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident.
NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund

Contact: Emil Venere
venere@purdue.edu
765-494-4709
Purdue University

Public Release: 6-Nov-2009
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Magnetic nanoparticles to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat
The future for magentic nanoparticles appears bright With the design of "theranostic" molecules. mNPs could play a crucial role in developing one-stop tools to simultaneously diagnose, monitor and treat a wide range of common diseases and injuries.

Contact: Joe Winters
joseph.winters@iop.org
44-020-747-04815
Institute of Physics