Transistors without semiconductors - the death of silicon
01 July, 2013For decades, electronic devices have been getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller. It’s now possible - even routine - to place millions of transistors on a single silicon chip. But transistors based on semiconductors can only get so small.
Microfluidic chip can help identify unwanted particles in water and food
24 June, 2013A new process for making a three-dimensional microstructure that can be used in the analysis of cells could prove useful in counterterrorism measures and in water and food safety concerns.
The green energy lab of the future
21 June, 2013 by Lauren DavisWhen Curtin University’s renewable energy research centre CRESTA closed in 2004, the university found itself lacking a facility devoted to renewable energy. So when Dr Sumedha Rajakaruna was asked to design and build a new lab, he made sure the full use of expensive renewable energy sources could be achieved.
Vampire bat venom evades the immune system
21 June, 2013Scientists led by The University of Queensland’s (UQ’s) Associate Professor Bryan Fry have found that vampire bat venom contains molecules capable of evading the victim’s immune system.
Fluorescent eel lights up the path to assay development
17 June, 2013 by Lauren DavisResearchers from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, led by Drs Atsushi Miyawaki and Akiko Kumagai, have discovered a fluorescent protein in the Japanese Unagi freshwater eel. Not only is this the first fluorescent protein found in vertebrates, but it could also be used to help save human lives.
Why water quality tests don’t always accurately capture health risks
17 June, 2013A toxin dangerous to humans may help E. coli fend off aquatic predators, enabling strains of E. coli that produce the toxin to survive longer in lake water than benign counterparts, a new study has found.
DNA brings materials to life
14 June, 2013Scientists have discovered a technique to control and direct the self-assembly of two different colloids.
Why was there a sudden drop in the incidence of leprosy at the end of the Middle Ages?
14 June, 2013Scientists have reconstructed the genome of medieval strains of the pathogen responsible for leprosy by exhuming centuries-old human graves to investigate why the incidence of leprosy decreased after the Middle Ages.
Fossilised amber proves that glass isn’t a liquid
31 May, 2013A common myth which has persisted around medieval cathedrals is that the stained glass inside them becomes thicker at the bottom because it moves over time. But a team at Texas Tech University has shown that the glass is not going anywhere.
Urine-based breast cancer test
30 May, 2013Dr Yinfa Ma of Missouri University of Science and Technology has developed a screening method that uses urinalysis to diagnose and determine the severity of breast cancer before it can be detected with a mammogram.
People with high IQs process sensory information differently
27 May, 2013People with high IQ scores aren’t just more intelligent - they also process sensory information differently.
First drug to improve heart failure mortality in over a decade
27 May, 2013Coenzyme Q10 has been found to decrease all-cause mortality by half in a randomised double blind trial.
Now you know what makes you itch
27 May, 2013Scientists at the National Institutes of Health report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as the sensation of itch.
Old voyage provides new insight into global warming
27 May, 2013 by Lauren DavisOver a century ago, the HMS Challenger set out on the world’s first global scientific survey of life beneath the ocean surface. Now, researchers at the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) have used this data to attribute the ocean’s rising temperature to human-produced global warming.
Don’t breathe your way to worse cholesterol
20 May, 2013Academic researchers have found that breathing motor vehicle emissions triggers a change in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, altering its cardiovascular protective qualities so that it actually contributes to clogged arteries.
