"We have shown that the Maritime Laser Demonstrator's design is as lethal at longer ranges as other previously demonstrated approaches," said Steve Hixson, vice president of Advanced Concepts, Space and Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman
For reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does tend to increase one's risk of dying, even when you exclude former problem drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers.
If you've eaten asparagus, you have probably smelled it. But if you are one of those who can eat asparagus without later experiencing sulfur-scented pee, is it because you can't smell it or because your pee really is asparagus odor-free?
Penguins didn't always boast tuxedo-like black-and-white markings, according to a new study. The discovery of the first ancient penguin fossil with evidence of feathers reveals the aquatic birds were once reddish-brown and gray. The 36 million-yea
Given the ever-increasing number of brain readout and control technologies available, a generalized brain coprocessor architecture could be enabled by defining common interfaces governing how component technologies talk to one another, as well as an
Alcubierre imagined a small volume of flat spacetime in which a spacecraft sits, surrounded by a bubble of spacetime that shrinks in the direction of travel, bringing your destination nearer,
The transport of ions in and out of cells is regulated by electronic security doors, or gates, that let in specific ions under certain circumstances. A role for sodium current in tissue regeneration had been proposed in the past, but this is the fir
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A new approach alleviates osteoarthritis pain better than any drug available.
In fact, most people over 50 have a hard time converting CoQ10 into its usable form. The lion’s share of the valuable CoQ10 enzyme disappears – making it impossible to give your cells the protection and nourishment they need.
The key to overcoming the theoretical limit lies in keeping sunlight in the grip of the solar cell long enough to squeeze the maximum amount of energy from it, using a technique called "light trapping." It's the same as if you were using hamsters
ould be safely stored on nuclear power plant grounds—whether in pools or dry casks—for "at least 60 years beyond the licensed life of any reactor." That is good news, because there is nowhere else for such waste to go.
University of Arizona researchers predict an enormous order-dependent quantum enhancement of thermoelectric effects in the vicinity of a higher-order ‘supernode’ in the transmission spectrum of a nanoscale junction.
Surgeons are pioneering a method of inducing extreme hypothermia in trauma patients so that their bodies shut down entirely during major surgery, giving doctors more time to perform operations.
To create their growing surface, the scientists tried out about 500 polymers with varying degrees of roughness, stiffness, and surface hydrophobicity (water-repelling behavior). While the first two variables seemed to make little difference, they dis
The technique will improve research on neuromuscular disorders and could one day help paralyzed patients.
The new design takes advantage of yet another quantum phenomenon: “superposition,” a condition in which objects have multiple values of the same property at the same time – the equivalent, in the classical world, of a ball that is simultaneously comp
Flexible yet rigid like a human bone, and immediately capable of bearing loads: A new kind of implant, made of titanium foam, resembles the inside of a bone in terms of its structural configuration. Not only does this make it less stiff than conventi
University of Arizona physicists have discovered a new way of harvesting waste heat and turning it into electrical power. Using a theoretical model of a so-called molecular thermoelectric device, the technology holds great promise for making cars, p
Perhaps it wasn't sex workers that launched HIV onto its deadly global rampage, but well-meaning doctors using dirty needles in the first half of the 20th century. Campaigns to eradicate tropical diseases in Africa might have helped HIV gain an footh
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have fabricated the first synthetic photovoltaic cell capable of repairing itself. The cell mimics the self-repair system naturally found in plants, which capture sunlight and convert it into e
On March 7, 2010, Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system - T cells - will not be
The cells that UB researchers modified show no signs of aging in culture, but otherwise appear to function as regular mesenchymal stem cells do – including by conferring therapeutic benefits in an animal study of heart disease. Desp
When you do that, you can set the powder size to be in the neighborhood of .65 {microns}, which we did. And when you do that you get exactly the size of a crystalite which they won't talk to each other. Then when you coat 'em, you've isolated ...
Scientists have found the toughest material made by life yet — the silk of a spider whose giant webs span rivers, streams and even lakes.
Scientists have discovered that the hormone oxytocin could help wallflowers overcome awkwardness in social situations The chemical dubbed "the hormone of love" is known to increase empathy and bonding – especially parents and their children.
In earlier work Skulachev showed that SKQ1 could penetrate into mitochondria and affect oxidants (most antioxidants, including the ones in your health supplements, do not enter mitochondria in dose amounts). He and his colleagues then demonstrated th
Scientists excited by experiments with $10B Big Bang machine, see discoveries coming soon
"We will eradicate malaria by 2010," stricken families were promised a few years ago. Well, 2010 is nearly gone and, instead of eradication, we have more malaria than before … and a new target date: 2015.
Now, however, a physicist in Paris and fellow researchers say they have found they can actually reconstruct complex images from light passing through these barriers. The key is to know precisely how the barriers' substances interfere with this light.
