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Technology/Engineering/Computer Science
Key: Meeting Journal Funder
Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Association for Computer Machinery's Conference on Electronic Conference
Second Life data offers window into how trends spread
Do friends wear the same style of shoe or see the same movies because they have similar tastes, which is why they became friends in the first place? Or once a friendship is established, do individuals influence each other to adopt like behaviors?
National Science Foundation

Contact: Nicole Casal Moore
ncmoore@umich.edu
734-647-1838
University of Michigan

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Lab on a Chip
Integrated optical trap holds particles for on-chip analysis
A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform.
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health

Contact: Tim Stephens
stephens@ucsc.edu
831-459-2495
University of California - Santa Cruz

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Diabetes
Natural compound stops retinopathy
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States.
American Diabetes Association and the National Institutes of Health

Contact: Diane Clay
diane-clay@ouhsc.edu
405-271-2323
University of Oklahoma

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Printable batteries
For a long time, batteries were bulky and heavy. Now, a new cutting-edge battery is revolutionizing the field. It is thinner than a millimeter, lighter than a gram, and can be produced cost-effectively through a printing process.

Contact: Andreas Willert
andreas.willert@enas.fraunhofer.de
49-371-531-32109
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Cell Death & Differentiation
Gene's novel role may provide key to treating liver and neurodegenerative diseases
Singapore scientists have made a novel discovery about how gene, "Fas-apoptosis inhibitory molecule", protects both immune and liver cells from programmed cell death. Their research is published in Cell Death and Differentiation.

Contact: Cathy Yarbrough
sciencematter@yahoo.com
858-243-1814
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Science
Pinpointing origin of gamma rays from a supermassive black hole
An international collaboration of 390 scientists reports the discovery of an outburst of very-high-energy gamma radiation from the giant radio galaxy Messier 87, accompanied by a strong rise of the radio flux measured from the direct vicinity of its super-massive black hole. The combined results give first experimental evidence that particles are accelerated to extremely high energies of tera electron Volt in the immediate vicinity of a supermassive black hole and then emit the observed gamma rays.
US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, STFC

Contact: Henric Krawczynski
krawcz@wuphys.wustl.edu
314-803-8732
Washington University in St. Louis

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
Science
VLBA locates superenergetic bursts near giant black hole
Combining gamma-ray telescopes with the supersharp radio 'vision' of the Very Long Baseline Array showed astronomers the location from which very-high-energy gamma rays are emerging from the core ot the giant galaxy M87.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Dave Finley
dfinley@nrao.edu
575-835-7302
National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Public Release: 2-Jul-2009
New Journal of Physics
Researchers unite to distribute quantum keys
Researchers from across Europe have united to build the largest quantum key distribution network ever built. The efforts of 41 research and industrial organizations were realized as secure, quantum encrypted information was sent over an eight node, mesh network.

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

Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
Nanotechnology may increase longevity of dental fillings
Tooth-colored fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. A Medical College of Georgia researcher hopes a new nanotechnology technique will extend the fillings' longevity.
NIH/National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research

Contact: Paula Hinely
phinely@mcg.edu
706-721-3646
Medical College of Georgia

Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
Physical Review B
Unexpectedly long-range effects in advanced magnetic devices
A tiny grid pattern has led materials scientists at NIST and the Institute of Solid State Physics in Russia to an unexpected finding -- the surprisingly strong and long-range effects of certain electromagnetic nanostructures used in data storage.

Contact: Michael Baum
michael.baum@nist.gov
301-975-2763
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
Nature Physics
NIST develops novel ion trap for sensing force and light
A novel ion trap demonstrated at NIST could usher in a new generation of applications, because the device holds promise as a stylus for sensing very small forces or for an interface for efficient transfer of individual light particles for quantum communications.
Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity

Contact: Laura Ost
laura.ost@nist.gov
303-497-4880
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
DNA Repair
Genetically engineered mice yield clues to 'knocking out' cancer
Researchers from NIST, Oregon Health and Science University and the New York University School of Medicine have demonstrated that deleting two genes in mice responsible for repairing DNA strands damaged by oxidation leads to several types of tumors, providing additional evidence that such stress contributes to the development of cancer. The work may lead to the development of new measurement methods and reference materials for accurate and reproducible assessments of DNA damage and repair.

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

Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
Journal of Thoracic Oncology
Researchers find clear difference in quality, type of lung cancer info available in US and Japan
A study published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology revealed that internet-based lung cancer information was of a higher quality in the United States than in Japan. Dr. Yasushi Goto of the National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo and his team of researchers evaluated 150 Web sites, and determined noticeable differences in the quality and type of information on lung cancer available over the Internet in the two countries.

Contact: Bethany Fischer
bfischer@spectrumscience.com
202-955-6222
International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer

Public Release: 1-Jul-2009
Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
Microbial analysis, micropatterning methods featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols
The July issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols presents a method for quantifying populations of microorganisms in a variety of naturally occurring conditions such as plankton samples or biofilms, as well as a simple, fast and efficient method for generating micropatterns for cellular studies. Both methods are freely accessible on the Web site for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols.

Contact: David Crotty
crotty@cshl.edu
516-422-4007
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
New statistical technique improves precision of nanotechnology data
A new statistical analysis technique that identifies and removes systematic bias, noise and equipment-based artifacts from experimental data could lead to more precise and reliable measurement of nanomaterials and nanostructures likely to have future industrial applications.
National Science Foundation

Contact: John Toon
jtoon@gatech.edu
404-894-6986
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Langmuir
New lab-on-a-chip measures mechanics of bacteria colonies
Researchers at the University of Michigan have devised a microscale tool to help them understand the mechanical behavior of biofilms, slimy colonies of bacteria involved in most human infectious diseases.
National Institutes of Health, NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Contact: Nicole Casal Moore
ncmoore@umich.edu
734-647-1838
University of Michigan

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Lab on a Chip
Stirred, not shaken: Bio-inspired cilia mix medical reagents at small scales
Engineers used a novel underwater manufacturing technique to successfully build biomimetic cilia. The hairlike appendages mix tiny volumes of liquid to speed up biomedical reactions.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Hannah Hickey
hickeyh@u.washington.edu
205-543-2580
University of Washington

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Optics Letters
Zooming in to catch the bad guys
A new "perfection tool" from Tel Aviv University researchers enhances video to catch criminals and terrorists.

Contact: George Hunka
ghunka@aftau.org
212-742-9070
American Friends of Tel Aviv University

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Nature Biotechnology
Anti-biotech groups obstruct forest biotechnology
The potential of forest biotechnology to help address significant social and environmental issues is being "strangled at birth" by the rigid opposition of some groups and regulations that effectively preclude even the testing of genetically modified trees, scientists argue in a new report.
National Science Foundation

Contact: Steven Strauss
steve.strauss@oregonstate.edu
541-760-7357
Oregon State University

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Applied Physics Letters
University of Leicester researchers discover new fluorescent silicon nanoparticles
Researchers in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Leicester have developed a new synthesis method, which has led them to the discovery of fluorescent silicon nanoparticles, and may ultimately help track the uptake of drugs by the body's cells.

Contact: Dr. Klaus von Haeften
kvh6@le.ac.uk
01-162-523-525
University of Leicester

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Scientists create first working model of a 2-qubit electronic quantum processor
A team led by Yale University researchers has successfully implemented simple algorithms using a quantum processor based on microwave solid-state technology -- similar to that found in computers and cell phones. The new processor is far from conventional, however, in that it uses the potent power of quantum mechanics to bring the dream of quantum computing a small but significant step closer to reality.

Contact: Maria C. Zacharias
mzachari@nsf.gov
703-292-8454
National Science Foundation

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Nature Photonics
The sound of light: Innovative technology shatters the barriers of modern light microscopy
Researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the Technische Universitat Munchen are using a combination of light and ultrasound to visualize fluorescent proteins that are seated several centimeters deep into living tissue.

Contact: Sven Winkler
presse@helmholtz-muenchen.de
49-893-187-3946
Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health

Public Release: 30-Jun-2009
Acta Acustica united with Acustica
Spanish scientists develop echo-location in humans
A team of researchers from the University of Alcala de Henares has shown scientifically that human beings can develop echolocation, the system of acoustic signals used by dolphins and bats to explore their surroundings. Producing certain kinds of tongue clicks helps people to identify objects around them without needing to see them, something which would be especially useful for the blind.

Contact: SINC
info@plataformasinc.es
914-251-820
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology

Public Release: 29-Jun-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Stanford researchers find a quicker, cheaper way to sort isotopes
Stanford chemist Richard Zare and his research team have taken a novel approach to building a new device to determine the isotope ratios within a certain substance. It's a new twist on a old procedure used to solve crimes, identify chemicals and date ancient artifacts (think carbon-14 dating). In Zare's device, magnets are replaced with mirrors, and a laser is pointed into the gas produced by burning a sample of the substance.
Picarro Inc.

Contact: Dan Stober
dstober@stanford.edu
650-721-6965
Stanford University

Public Release: 29-Jun-2009
American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- June 24, 2009
The American Chemical Society Weekly Press Package with reports from 34 major peer-reviewed journals on chemistry, health, medicine, energy, environment, food, nanotechnology and other hot topics.

Contact: Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
202-872-6293
American Chemical Society