Applied Physics

Fuel Cells From Lobster Shells

Discarded crab and lobster shells may be the key to prolonging the life of microbial fuel cells that power sensors beneath the sea, according to a team of Penn State researchers. To produce energy, microbial fuel cells need organic material for the microbe ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2007 - 10:40am

Geoengineering-- A Quick Fix With Big Risks

Radical steps to engineer Earth’s climate by blocking sunlight could drastically cool the planet, but could just as easily worsen the situation if these projects fail or are suddenly halted, according to a new computer modeling study. The experiments, desc ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 4 2007 - 5:38pm

Aluminum Foil That Shines Better Than Incandescent Lights

Researchers at the University of Illinois are developing panels of microcavity plasma lamps that may soon brighten people’s lives. The thin, lightweight panels could be used for residential and commercial lighting, and for certain types of biomedical appli ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 5 2007 - 9:07am

Miniature Robot For Precise Neurosurgery Wins Award

While recent advances in neurosurgery have made it possible to precisely target areas in the brain with minimum invasiveness-- using a small hole to insert a probe, needle or catheter-- there remains a disadvantage. The small size of the openings reduces o ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 5 2007 - 9:39am

Rutgers Geneticists Propose Biotech Crop Containment Strategy

Plant geneticists at Rutgers may have solved one of the fundamental concerns about genetically engineered or modified (GM or GMO) crop agriculture: genes leaking into the environment. In a recent paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy o ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 23 2012 - 11:49pm

MIT Demonstrates Wireless Power Transfer

MIT researchers were recently able to light a 60W light bulb from a power source seven feet away; there was no physical connection between the source and the appliance. The MIT team refers to its concept as “WiTricity” (as in wireless electricity). Various ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 7 2007 - 2:52pm

Study Finds Genetically Engineered Crops Could Assist Sustainable Agriculture

Genetically modified (GM) crops may contribute to increased productivity in sustainable agriculture, according to a new study which analyzes, for the first time, environmental impact data from field experiments all over the world, involving corn and cotton ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 7 2007 - 9:32pm

Have Bad Kids? Maybe You Can Blame Biology

If you have bad kids, it may not be your fault. Well, it could still be your fault, because it's biology and genetics is part of biology, but you can't control genetics. At least you then you wouldn't have to feel guilty about being a lousy ...

Article - Kimberly Crandell - Jun 15 2007 - 2:07pm

Super Fly May Lead To Healthier Humans

It may not sound like a great thing for your backyard festivities but scientists have figured out how to make the fruit fly live longer. Luckily, humans will get something out of the deal-namely the discovery that a single protein can inhibit aging means w ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 9 2007 - 8:26pm

Self-healing Materials Mimic Human Skin

Want to play the ultimate version of The X-Men's "Wolverine" this Halloween? You'll need self-healing skin after those claws come out. Researchers at the University of Illinois are here to help. They have invented the next generation of ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 11 2007 - 2:50pm