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. When people pick up Microsoft's Arc Touch Mouse, it's as if they've picked up a toy. The pop-up mouse curls and flattens, and they instinctively begin snapping it back and forth. http://phys.org/news224504624.html Technology Fri, 13 May 2011 12:30:01 EST news224504624 (PhysOrg.com) -- The NSLS-II Experimental Facilities Division achieved an important milestone in September when the conceptual design reports for the initial six project beamlines were completed and submitted to NSLS-II management. http://phys.org/news177061572.html Physics Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:02 EST news177061572 Buildings typically provide shelter from the elements, but one Ryerson University researcher thinks structures ought to relate more to the environment instead. To this end, she has created architectural "skins," which interact with the weather to ultimately create environmental structures that integrate form with function. http://phys.org/news176732821.html Other Sciences Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:27:46 EST news176732821 Florists and other retailers who sell flowers and plants can now add another tool to their marketing kit. A recent study of "consumption values" may help them understand what influences consumers' choices in regard to floral purchases, and how to better design marketing efforts and purchase stock that can increase customers and sales. http://phys.org/news176569398.html Biology Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:10:01 EST news176569398 NXP Semiconductors today announced three major developments in its portfolio of mains connected LED driver solutions: the success of its SSL2101 LED driver IC in matching LED lifetimes in an accelerated lifetime test; the introduction of the SSL 2102 integrated dimmable mains LED driver IC for SSL retrofit lamps and modules; and the launch of its online design tool for SSL applications, which makes it easy for engineers to test the behavior of LED lighting applications based on four NXP products. http://phys.org/news176624365.html Technology Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:30:02 EST news176624365 (PhysOrg.com) -- A robot powered by a computerized model of a rodent brain will help researchers from UC Irvine and UC San Diego understand how people recognize and adapt to change. http://phys.org/news176581936.html Electronics Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:34:30 EST news176581936 Those oft-maligned, and highly embellished, graphs and charts in USA Today and other media outlets may actually help people understand data more effectively than traditional graphs, according to new research from North Carolina State University. http://phys.org/news176550708.html Other Sciences Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:59:18 EST news176550708 Modern tissue engineering developed at the University of Michigan could improve the function of prosthetic hands and possibly restore the sense of touch for injured patients. http://phys.org/news174747079.html Medicine & Health Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:10:01 EST news174747079 Could sustainable architecture address pollution, climate change and resource depletion by helping us build self-sufficient, off-grid, housing from "waste", including vehicle tires and metal drinks containers? That's the question researchers at the University of South Australia hope to answer in the International Journal of Sustainable Design. http://phys.org/news174663218.html Space & Earth Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:20:11 EST news174663218 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new quick, easy to use and free software tool created by NREL developers seamlessly combines the building energy simulation of EnergyPlus with the popular drawing interface of Google's SketchUp, helping architects design healthier structures with fewer carbon emissions and lower utility bills. http://phys.org/news174564637.html Technology Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:20:01 EST news174564637 If you want to understand how evolution has challenged the constitutionality of the separation of church and state, Mano Singham from Case Western Reserve University provides a concise and chronological history in his new book, God vs. Darwin: the War between Evolution and Creationism in the Classroom (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009). http://phys.org/news174218128.html Other Sciences Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:56:41 EST news174218128 (PhysOrg.com) -- A European-sponsored programme that gives universities inexpensive access to state-of-the-art microchip design tools and fabrication techniques, and helps even small businesses fabricate novel microchips, is helping Europe remain competitive worldwide. http://phys.org/news174062633.html Technology Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:00:02 EST news174062633 (PhysOrg.com) -- The 500-teraFLOPS Advanced Simulation and Computing program's Sequoia Initial Delivery System (Dawn), an IBM machine of the same lineage as BlueGene/L, has immediately proved itself useful as several initial science results demonstrated ground-breaking science, enhanced code performance, and some of the highest resolution, largest simulations ever run in their respective scientific field. http://phys.org/news173548668.html Electronics Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:10:01 EST news173548668 In this week's PLoS Medicine, Liza Dawson (National Institutes of Health) and colleagues discuss the scientific and ethical issues associated with choosing clinical trial designs when there is no consensus on what constitutes usual care. http://phys.org/news173419133.html Medicine & Health Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:59:22 EST news173419133 (PhysOrg.com) -- A historic wind tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., has been pressed into service one last time to help test the prototype of a new, more fuel-efficient, quieter aircraft design. http://phys.org/news172505071.html Space & Earth Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:20:03 EST news172505071 An international team of researchers, including Monash University biochemists, has discovered evidence at the molecular level in support of one of the key tenets of Darwin's theory of evolution. http://phys.org/news172145598.html Biology Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:14:16 EST news172145598 Advances by the Rice University lab of James Tour have brought graphite's potential as a mass data storage medium a step closer to reality and created the potential for reprogrammable gate arrays that could bring about a revolution in integrated circuit logic design. http://phys.org/news171742062.html Nanotechnology Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:08:29 EST news171742062 Going back to the drawing board is much easier now that researchers have developed a new type of design program called FEAsy. http://phys.org/news171039417.html Technology Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:57:26 EST news171039417 In the 1990s, Professor Jan Jennings struggled to talk with her interior design students about design practices that had been used throughout history and across cultures. There were no names, for example, for a dramatic staircase in the lobby of a luxury hotel or for two similar chairs situated side-by-side in a large space. http://phys.org/news170525521.html Other Sciences Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:12:46 EST news170525521 (PhysOrg.com) -- For years, trials of pharmaceuticals have revolved around the double-blind test, controlled with a placebo, in which not even those conducting the investigation knew who was receiving what treatment. Tests moved through various phases, and months of evaluations were made between each phase. All the while, participants and investigators were kept from knowing who had what treatment, in the hopes that it would limit the bias involved. But now that traditional method of testing is being challenged. Instead, pharmaceuticals are considering "adaptive design", which allows them to change the trial's set-up to adapt it to the information being received. http://phys.org/news169478268.html Medicine & Health Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:18:57 EST news169478268 A new material developed at the University of Virginia - an oxygen nanosensor that couples a light-emitting dye with a biopolymer - simplifies the imaging of oxygen-deficient regions of tumors. Such tumors are associated with increased cancer aggressiveness and are particularly difficult to treat. http://phys.org/news169134170.html Nanotechnology Mon, 10 Aug 2009 14:44:25 EST news169134170 A guide* for designing buildings using steel moment frames to resist earthquakes has been published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as part of its support for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). http://phys.org/news168095757.html Technology Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:17:07 EST news168095757 New research suggests that current regulations have failed to remove misleading information from cigarette packaging, revealing that a substantial majority of consumers believe cigarettes are less hazardous when the packs display words such as "silver" or "smooth," lower numbers incorporated into the brand name, lighter colours or pictures of filters. http://phys.org/news167988818.html Medicine & Health Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:20:02 EST news167988818 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new computer game prototype combines work and play to help solve a fundamental problem underlying many computer hardware design tasks. http://phys.org/news167928385.html Technology Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:46:56 EST news167928385 Could straw houses be the buildings of the future? That's what researchers at the University of Bath will be testing this summer by constructing a "BaleHaus" made of prefabricated straw bale and hemp cladding panels on campus. http://phys.org/news167913104.html Technology Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:10:01 EST news167913104 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA is designing a mission to investigate one of the most fundamental and explosive physical processes in the universe - magnetic reconnection. Known as the Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission, it was approved for implementation on June 18, 2009 following a successful Preliminary Design Review in May 2009. http://phys.org/news167401286.html Space & Earth Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:22:20 EST news167401286 Hundreds of thousands of college students from around the world vied in a Microsoft challenge to find ways that technology can help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. http://phys.org/news166434575.html Technology Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:50:04 EST news166434575 Royal Philips Electronics today premiered the world’s first OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) -based interactive lighting concepts, created for both consumer as well as professional use, during the Euroluce International Lighting Fair in Milan. The concepts are intuitive and interactive in use, boast ultra flat shapes, soft light-effects and design possibilities never before seen in lighting products. The result is lighting that goes beyond mere illumination -- it becomes an experience in itself. http://phys.org/news159718652.html Technology Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:18:48 EST news159718652 Bob Pease is a genuine Silicon Valley rock star who I never would have heard of had he not lost his job, or left his job. It's not entirely clear which. http://phys.org/news159702678.html Technology Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:51:53 EST news159702678 A new type of eco-friendly residential house made of bamboo now stands in Changsha, Hunan Province, China. http://phys.org/news158409739.html Technology Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:42:43 EST news158409739