Author Archives: Science News Releases

Printed loudspeakers presented at Chemnitz University of Technology

At drupa print media fair, the world’s largest fair on print media technology, which takes place from 3 to 16 May 2012 in Düsseldorf, the Institute for Print and Media Technology of Chemnitz University of Technology (pmTUC) presents new research results, which truly make you prick up your ears: Loudspeakers that have been printed with flexography on standard paper.

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New carbon capture technique is highly energy efficient

metal-organic frameworks (MOF)

Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) (Credit: Texas A&M University)

Ask Texas A&M University chemist Hong-Cai “Joe” Zhou to describe his research in simple terms, and more often than not, he’ll draw on a favorite analogy from childhood: playing with LEGOs.

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Investing in the environment more efficient in decreasing childhood disabilities than developing medicine

The United States government would get a better bang for its health-care buck in managing the country’s most prevalent childhood disabilities if it invested more in eliminating socio-environmental risk factors than in developing medicines.

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Renewable energy needs smarter push: public and private funds will not be sufficient

In a post-Solyndra, budget-constrained world, the transition to a decarbonized energy system faces great hurdles. Overcoming these hurdles will require smarter and more focused policies. Two Stanford writers outline their visions in a pair of high-profile analyses.

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Closing in on African drought prediction thanks to climate and vegetation data

What might happen if droughts were predicted months ahead of time? Food aid and other humanitarian efforts could be put together sooner and executed better, say UC Santa Barbara geographers Chris Funk, Greg Husak, and Joel Michaelsen. After over a decade of gathering and analyzing climate and vegetation data from East Africa, the researchers, who are part of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET), say there is enough evidence to associate climate conditions in the region with projected rainfall deficits that could lead to food shortages.

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Revolutionary graphene-based material could change electronics forever

GraphExeterThe most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity has been invented by a team from the University of Exeter. Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players.

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Himalayan glaciers not melting as fast as predicted

GlacierSeveral hundreds of millions of people in Southeast Asia depend, to varying degrees, on the freshwater reservoirs of the Himalayan glaciers. Consequently, it is important to detect the potential impact of climate changes on the Himalayan glaciers at an early stage. Together with international researchers, glaciologists from the University of Zurich now reveal that the glaciers in the Himalayas are declining less rapidly than was previously thought. However, the scientists see major hazard potential from outbursts of glacial lakes.

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DNA and RNA have evolving artificial counterparts

Living systems owe their existence to a pair of information-carrying molecules: DNA and RNA. These fundamental chemical forms possess two features essential for life: they display heredity — meaning they can encode and pass on genetic information, and they can adapt over time, through processes of Darwinian evolution.

A long-debated question is whether heredity and evolution could be performed by molecules other than DNA and RNA.

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13,000 Brits die yearly due to air pollution

In a study appearing this month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, MIT researchers report that emissions from cars, trucks, planes and powerplants cause 13,000 premature deaths in the United Kingdom each year.

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New technique enables production of completely plastic solar cells and paper thin TVs

World's first completely plastic solar cell

World's first completely plastic solar cell (image: Virginie Drujon-Kippelen)

Imagine owning a television with the thickness and weight of a sheet of paper. It will be possible, someday, thanks to the growing industry of printed electronics. The process, which allows manufacturers to literally print or roll materials onto surfaces to produce an electronically functional device, is already used in organic solar cells and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that form the displays of cellphones.

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