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. Physicist Ernest Moniz won unanimous Senate confirmation Thursday to be the new U.S. energy secretary. http://phys.org/news287935465.html Technology Thu, 16 May 2013 15:04:30 EST news287935465 Enzymes could break down cell walls faster – leading to less expensive biofuels for transportation – if two enzyme systems are brought together in an industrial setting, new research by the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory suggests. http://phys.org/news287165621.html Biology Tue, 07 May 2013 17:46:26 EST news287165621 The Energy Department did not realize for four months that troubled automaker Fisker Automotive Inc. had missed a crucial production target that was required as part of a half-billion dollar government loan, documents released Wednesday show. The mistake allowed Fisker to obtain an additional $32 million in government funding before the loan was suspended in June 2011. http://phys.org/news286036702.html Technology Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:38:31 EST news286036702 The first power projects under the Philippines' main incentive scheme for renewable energy should finally come online next year after a long regulatory struggle, an official said Wednesday. http://phys.org/news283605704.html Technology Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:23:21 EST news283605704 President Barack Obama on Friday spoke of future cars that can go "coast to coast without using a drop of oil" and urged Congress to authorize spending $2 billion over the next decade to expand research into electric cars and biofuels to wean automobiles off gasoline. http://phys.org/news282544283.html Technology Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:31:33 EST news282544283 (AP)—President Barack Obama's choice to lead the Energy Department advocates an all-of-the-above approach to energy and favors natural gas as a "bridge fuel" to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming. http://phys.org/news281679263.html Technology Tue, 05 Mar 2013 04:14:35 EST news281679263 The chief executive of electric car maker Tesla Motors says his company plans to pay back an Energy Department loan in half the time required by the U.S. government. http://phys.org/news281165125.html Technology Wed, 27 Feb 2013 05:40:01 EST news281165125 A Washington state firm with a 27,000 square foot manufacturing and design facility in Mukilteo has signed a license agreement with Battelle to further develop and commercialize a type of advanced battery that holds promise for storing large amounts of renewable energy and providing greater stability to the energy grid. http://phys.org/news268468262.html Technology Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:31:13 EST news268468262 New energy-efficiency standards for residential clothes washers and dishwashers were announced by the U.S. Energy Department. http://phys.org/news259853440.html Technology Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:40:01 EST news259853440 Global demand for meat, milk and eggs has tripled in the past four decades and is expected to double by 2050. Increased global livestock production has great impacts on the environment and increases global warming. A major new European research project at the University of Copenhagen aims to identify and develop innovative solutions and technologies to handle and utilise the huge quantities of animal waste from livestock production. In Denmark, 34 million tons of animal manure are produced annually. http://phys.org/news250512317.html Space & Earth Fri, 09 Mar 2012 10:45:22 EST news250512317 (AP) -- Leaked documents from a prominent conservative think tank show how it sought to teach schoolchildren skepticism about global warming and planned other behind-the-scenes tactics using millions of dollars in donations from big corporate names. http://phys.org/news248634681.html Space & Earth Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:14:49 EST news248634681 The United States is offering technical assistance to Spain to clean up land contaminated by radiation from undetonated nuclear bombs that accidentally fell on the area in 1966, the US State Department announced Saturday. http://phys.org/news247643170.html Space & Earth Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:46:18 EST news247643170 Congress has dodged a government shutdown, agreeing to a $1 trillion spending bill that features a variety of rare compromises. Both Democrats and Republicans won some concessions, and it's too early to say who came out on top. But there's one issue where the GOP seems to have won lights-out: the battle of the bulb. http://phys.org/news244145393.html Technology Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:11:15 EST news244145393 Researchers from the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) jointly launched today a groundbreaking new online tool called the Materials Project, which operates like a "Google" of material properties, enabling scientists and engineers from universities, national laboratories and private industry to accelerate the development of new materials, including critical materials. http://phys.org/news239548931.html Physics Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:30:03 EST news239548931 The White House Friday ordered a probe into US government loans to clean energy firms, after a solar panel company took a half billion dollar Energy Department loan guarantee and then went bankrupt. http://phys.org/news239084648.html Technology Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:26:38 EST news239084648 During a visit on Wednesday to MIT, Arun Majumdar, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), discussed the global energy challenge and the role his agency plays in trying to foster transformational energy research and development. Majumdar’s presentation to a standing-room-only crowd in Bartos Theater served as both a wake-up call (the U.S. spends more on dog-food R&D than it does on electrical-power R&D, he noted) and a source of inspiration (Majumdar discussed some of the very real and exciting energy projects his agency is funding, including several here at MIT). http://phys.org/news206352900.html Technology Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:15:11 EST news206352900 (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency says it will wait until this fall to decide whether U.S. car engines can handle higher concentrations of ethanol in gasoline. http://phys.org/news196057289.html Technology Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:22:11 EST news196057289 President Barack Obama Thursday unveiled a 2.4 billion dollar boost for electric vehicle development, vowing to compete with foreign nations in the race to be world leader on renewable energy. http://phys.org/news156703825.html Technology Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:50:49 EST news156703825