http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (Phys.org) -- The Whitewater-Baldy Complex fires burning and rugged terrain in the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico have been generating a lot of smoke. The smoke has now been swept up by a cold front pushing through the central U.S. and has swept it over at least six states, as seen in a NASA satellite image. http://phys.org/news257413393.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 09:40:01 EST news257413393 (Phys.org) -- Dolphins may learn harmful or undesirable behaviors, such as begging for food from humans, from each other, Murdoch University researchers have discovered. http://phys.org/news257413278.html Biology Mon, 28 May 2012 09:30:01 EST news257413278 (Phys.org) -- What’s in a name? Quite a bit in climate science, where the term teleconnection refers not to digital communications, but rather to a recurring and persistent large-scale pattern of pressure and circulation anomalies that spans vast geographical areas. Recently, environmental researchers at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies reframed the discussion around the linkages between land changes and underlying urbanization dynamics by introducing urban land teleconnections as a conceptual framework for studying the multivariate nature of these processes in an integrated and productive manner. http://phys.org/news257409175.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 09:20:01 EST news257409175 (Phys.org) -- Astronomers used to think that star formation simply involved the gradual coalescence of material under the influence of gravity. No longer. Making a new star is a complex process, among other things assembling a circumstellar disk (possibly preplanetary in nature) and at the same time ejecting material as bipolar jets perpendicular to those disks. These outflows help the young star balance its growth as new material accretes, but at the same time they disrupt the environment. Although jets from young stars have been known for over twenty years, their influences on the environment have remained uncertain, in part because the dusty natal clouds in which stars form obscure optical light. http://phys.org/news257412917.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 09:10:02 EST news257412917 (Phys.org) -- Testing of the next-generation J-2X rocket engine continues to set standards. Last fall, the engine attained 100 percent power in just its fourth test and became the fastest U.S. rocket engine to achieve a full-flight duration test, hitting that 500-second mark in its eighth test. On, May 25, NASA recorded another first during a 40-second test of the engine on the A-2 Test Stand at John C. Stennis Space Center. For the first time, test conductors fired the J-2X in both the secondary and primary modes of operation, 20 seconds in each. Previous tests were run in one mode only; combining the two allowed operators to collect critical data on engine performance. http://phys.org/news257413253.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 09:10:01 EST news257413253 In the hunt for cancer treatments, researchers have had some help from higher authorities -- way higher. The International Space Station, orbiting the Earth at more than 200 miles in the sky, houses scientific experiments that have led to advances in several medical fields. http://phys.org/news257413221.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 09:00:01 EST news257413221 Using Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM) expertise in the design and fabrication of micro- and nanoscale devices, a new strategy for engineering low-frequency noise oscillators capitalizes on the intrinsic nonlinear phenomena of micro- and nanomechanical resonators. A fundamental limitation of such resonators was addressed by a team of researchers from the Nanofabrication & Devices Group working with CNICT, Argentina. http://phys.org/news257412971.html Nanotechnology Mon, 28 May 2012 08:50:10 EST news257412971 Japanese researchers developed the world’s first O2 molecular beam which enables designation of the alignment of the molecular axis and spin direction. http://phys.org/news257413692.html Chemistry Mon, 28 May 2012 08:48:43 EST news257413692 New research shows that the efficacy of delousing efforts is greatly affected by the materials used in constructing a well boat’s tank for mixing the delousing agent. This knowledge has now led to improvements in conventional delousing methods. http://phys.org/news257413529.html Biology Mon, 28 May 2012 08:45:55 EST news257413529 A team of Australian and New Zealand researchers have discovered fresh evidence that could finally unravel the mystery of what killed Tasmania's giant marsupials over 40,000 years ago. http://phys.org/news257413145.html Other Sciences Mon, 28 May 2012 08:40:03 EST news257413145 The larger the reaction vessel, the quicker products can be made – or so you might think. Microreactors show just how wrong that assumption is: in fact, they can be used to produce explosive materials – nitroglycerine, for instance – around ten times faster than in conventional vessels, and much more safely as well. At the ACHEMA trade fair, held June 18-22 in Frankfurt, researchers will demonstrate microreactors they use for a very broad range of chemical processes. http://phys.org/news257412797.html Technology Mon, 28 May 2012 08:33:29 EST news257412797 (Phys.org) -- A University of California, Davis, geologist is appealing for public help in tracking down pieces of the meteorite that blew up over El Dorado County on April 22. http://phys.org/news257412605.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 08:32:40 EST news257412605 (Phys.org) -- Ubi Interactive has developed a display system that will convert virtually any surface to a touchscreen display using a conventional projector, a Microsoft Kinect device, and proprietary software running on a Windows based computer. The company, which is currently just three guys, Anup Chathoth, David Hajizadeh and Chao Zhang, is one of eleven startups that have been given $20,000 by Microsoft to develop Kinect based applications. http://phys.org/news257412622.html Technology Mon, 28 May 2012 08:31:10 EST news257412622 Giant cells called "titan cells" protect the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans during infection, according to two University of Minnesota researchers. Kirsten Nielsen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of microbiology, and recent Ph.D. recipient Laura Okagaki believe their discovery could help develop new ways to fight infections caused by Cryptococcus. http://phys.org/news257412154.html Biology Mon, 28 May 2012 08:26:18 EST news257412154 Kazakhstan, which hosts Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome, is blocking three upcoming Russian satellite launches because of a dispute over the drop zone for rocket debris, reports said on Monday. http://phys.org/news257409346.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 07:35:57 EST news257409346 (AP) -- A conservationist says she is releasing 100 short-haired bees into the wild, 20 years after they were wiped out in the British countryside. http://phys.org/news257409325.html Biology Mon, 28 May 2012 07:35:34 EST news257409325 Intel Corporation has recently previewed its first DOCSIS 3.0 cable gateway solution that is capable of 1 gigabit per second (Gbps). The Intel Puma 6 technology solution will help enable service providers to meet consumer demand and offer new services while extending their extensive network investments. A test program by South Korea’s SKbroadband is targeting production deployment of 1Gbps in 2013. http://phys.org/news257406679.html Technology Mon, 28 May 2012 07:30:01 EST news257406679 (Phys.org) -- In a recently published paper, the LHCb Collaboration has reported on a possible deviation from the Standard Model. Theorists are now working to calculate precisely this effect and to evaluate the implications that such unexpected result could have on the established theory. http://phys.org/news257408731.html Physics Mon, 28 May 2012 07:25:42 EST news257408731 Thanks to TV shows such as The Jetsons and Star Trek, many Americans grew up dreaming that homes of the future would be equipped with fantastic high-tech features. From automatic food dispensers to sliding doors, to Rosie the Robot doing the household chores, the imagined homes of the future seemed to be driven by an unlimited supply of energy. http://phys.org/news257408333.html Technology Mon, 28 May 2012 07:19:01 EST news257408333 The devastation of Black Saturday bushfires gave researchers an unparalleled opportunity to come up with bushfire answers. http://phys.org/news257408181.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 07:16:29 EST news257408181 The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a concept that's been slowly growing and evolving since 1991. But recently this ambitious project took a giant leap towards reality with the announcement of a SKA site decision. http://phys.org/news257408025.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 07:13:55 EST news257408025 (Phys.org) -- Consumer confidence improved in each of the past nine monthly surveys, rising to its highest level this month since October 2007, according to University of Michigan economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. http://phys.org/news257407736.html Other Sciences Mon, 28 May 2012 07:12:49 EST news257407736 (Phys.org) -- Swiss researchers at EPFL have developed a device intended for monitoring and saving the energy consumed by large data centers. It was developed in collaboration with Credit Suisse, which has used it to equip the power of its server racks. http://phys.org/news257407552.html Technology Mon, 28 May 2012 07:06:00 EST news257407552 (Phys.org) -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the spiral galaxy known as ESO 498-G5. One interesting feature of this galaxy is that its spiral arms wind all the way into the center, so that ESO 498-G5's core looks like a bit like a miniature spiral galaxy. This sort of structure is in contrast to the elliptical star-filled centers (or bulges) of many other spiral galaxies, which instead appear as glowing masses. http://phys.org/news257407302.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 May 2012 07:02:20 EST news257407302 There are certain things in life we'd rather not conjure up too vividly, and for this we have at our disposal a range of linguistic deodorisers, smokescreens and fig leaves. These are euphemisms. They are about taboos (those things that go bump in the night), they are about politeness - and sometimes they are about skeletons in cupboards. http://phys.org/news257406799.html Other Sciences Mon, 28 May 2012 06:53:41 EST news257406799 (Phys.org) -- For as long as people have coexisted with other animals, they have debated amongst themselves whether some animals have some of the same personality traits as humans or if it’s just anthropomorphism at work. Many believe dogs, for example, have unique personalities, e.g. a cranky disposition, laziness, or even signs of neuroticism. More recently researchers have argued over whether apes, which of course are much closer to us in most ways, are able to feel the things we feel and whether they have different personalities between them, as we people do, and if so, if they are like ours. http://phys.org/news257406452.html Biology Mon, 28 May 2012 06:48:28 EST news257406452 (Phys.org) -- Graphene is the wonder material that could solve the problem of making ever faster computers and smaller mobile devices when current silicon microchip technology hits an inevitable wall. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms in a tight hexagonal arrangement, has been highly researched because of its incredible electronic properties, with theoretical speeds 100 times greater than silicon. But putting the material into a microchip that could outperform current silicon technology has proven difficult. http://phys.org/news257400658.html Nanotechnology Mon, 28 May 2012 05:34:48 EST news257400658 (Phys.org) -- NHK this week placed on exhibit a shoulder-mount camera, developed in cooperation with Hitachi, capable of shooting what NHK calls super high vision (SHV) video in 7680×4320 resolution. Super Hi-Vision is NHK's preferred name for ultra high definition television (UHDTV). The powerful prototype was part of NHK Scientific & Technology Research Laboratories (STRL) Open House event in Japan earlier this week. The camera is an innovative development, as a compact Ultra High Definition camera using a single-chip color imaging sensor to produce “closest to being there” video. NHK says that the compact head is compatible with commercially-offered still camera lenses. http://phys.org/news257396706.html Electronics Mon, 28 May 2012 05:20:01 EST news257396706 A plucky penguin that was recaptured last week after nearly three months at large in the polluted waters of Tokyo Bay has conjunctivitis, an aquarium official said Monday. http://phys.org/news257396107.html Biology Mon, 28 May 2012 03:55:13 EST news257396107 Online social networks, a newcomer in Mexican elections, are making a mark on the country's presidential campaign, forcing candidates to respond to issues and protests enabled by the Internet. http://phys.org/news257396042.html Technology Mon, 28 May 2012 03:54:13 EST news257396042