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. German scientist Otto H. Warburg's theory on the origin of cancer earned him the Nobel Prize in 1931, but the biochemical basis for his theory remained elusive. http://phys.org/news150954448.html Medicine & Health Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:47:28 EST news150954448 A way to make wind power smoother and more efficient that exploits the inertia of a wind turbine rotor could help solve the problem of wind speed variation, according to research published in the International Journal of Power Electronics. http://phys.org/news150545203.html Technology Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:06:43 EST news150545203 A recent study shows that shade trees on the west and south sides of a house in California can reduce a homeowner's summertime electric bill by about $25.00 a year. The study, conducted last year on 460 single-family homes in Sacramento, is the first large-scale study to use utility billing data to show that trees can reduce energy consumption. http://phys.org/news150384050.html Space & Earth Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:20:50 EST news150384050 Scientists have identified an initiating molecular mechanism in sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study, published by Cell Press in the December 26th issue of the journal Neuron, provides new information about generation of damaging amyloid β (Aβ) plaques within the AD brain and underscores the importance of developing new preventative and disease-modifying therapies for AD, especially those aimed at interrupting pathological Aβ-production. http://phys.org/news149344720.html Medicine & Health Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:38:40 EST news149344720 Penn State's Office of Sustainability offers suggestions for saving energy this holiday season. http://phys.org/news149266434.html Space & Earth Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:53:54 EST news149266434 (PhysOrg.com) -- The more an animal walks during the day, the less energy it has to reproduce. Makes sense right? Not so fast, say two researchers at Washington University in St. Louis. http://phys.org/news149264750.html Biology Tue, 23 Dec 2008 14:25:50 EST news149264750 (PhysOrg.com) -- Access to modern forms of energy does not guarantee a reduction in poverty. Contrary to what current macroeconomic studies would have us believe, more than just electricity, gas or diesel is needed. The key factor is an efficient network with links to urban areas. This is the conclusion of Annemarije Kooijman-van Dijk in her thesis on the subject. She conducted her research in the Himalayas, obtaining her doctorate from the School of Management and Governance at the University of Twente, The Netherlands, on 19 December. http://phys.org/news149259735.html Other Sciences Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:02:15 EST news149259735 (PhysOrg.com) -- About 10 years ago, scientists reached the astonishing conclusion that our universe is accelerating apart at ever-increasing speeds, stretching space and time itself like melted cheese. The force that's pushing the universe apart is still a mystery, which is precisely why it was dubbed "dark energy." http://phys.org/news149190721.html Physics Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:52:01 EST news149190721 Earth's location in the Universe is utterly unremarkable, despite recent theories that propose toppling a foundation of modern cosmology, according to a team of University of British Columbia researchers. http://phys.org/news148885058.html Physics Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:57:38 EST news148885058 (PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, astronomers have clearly seen the effects of "dark energy" on the most massive collapsed objects in the universe using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. By tracking how dark energy has stifled the growth of galaxy clusters and combining this with previous studies, scientists have obtained the best clues yet about what dark energy is and what the destiny of the universe could be. http://phys.org/news148659036.html Physics Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:10:36 EST news148659036 (PhysOrg.com) -- MIT researchers are working with Portuguese colleagues to design a pilot-scale device that will capture significantly more of the energy in ocean waves than existing systems, and use it to power an electricity-generating turbine. http://phys.org/news148641540.html Technology Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:19:00 EST news148641540 Individuals with sleep-related breathing disorders appear to burn more calories when resting as their conditions become more severe, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. http://phys.org/news148583306.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:08:26 EST news148583306 (PhysOrg.com) -- While harnessing more energy from the wind could help satisfy growing demands for electricity and reduce emissions of global-warming gases, turbulence from proposed wind farms could adversely affect the growth of crops in the surrounding countryside. http://phys.org/news148582981.html Technology Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:03:01 EST news148582981 (PhysOrg.com) -- The University of California, San Diego plans to store power produced at night from a planned 2.8 megawatt "green" fuel cell and use the energy during peak-demand hours the following day when electricity rates are highest. Implementation of the advanced energy storage system at UC San Diego, one of the greenest universities in the nation, was made possible by the Nov. 21 approval by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) of a measure designed to lower peak demands on the state’s electrical power grid. http://phys.org/news148582496.html Technology Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:54:56 EST news148582496 (PhysOrg.com) -- UK scientists have successfully demonstrated energy recovery on the ALICE advanced particle accelerator design, potentially paving the way for new accelerators using a fraction of the energy required under conventional methods. http://phys.org/news148576456.html Physics Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:14:16 EST news148576456 A global energy supply based on biomass grown to generate electricity and produce fuel is a real possibility. According to Prof. Jürgen O. Metzger from Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in Germany and Prof. Aloys Huettermann from the University of Goettingen in Germany, it is both a sustainable and economical scenario, contrary to current thinking which suggests it is unrealistic. Their findings are published online this week in Springer's journal, Naturwissenschaften. http://phys.org/news148561778.html Biology Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:09:38 EST news148561778 Astronomers are recruiting the physics laboratory to unravel the high energy processes involved in formation of stars and other critical processes within the universe. Experiments with high energy radiation and plasmas in the laboratory involving temperatures and magnetic fields over a million times greater than normally encountered on earth are also producing spin off benefits for important applications, notably in the drive towards nuclear fusion as a source of clean carbon-neutral energy. http://phys.org/news148315822.html Physics Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:50:22 EST news148315822 Models of the universe that place us near the center of a large, sparse region don't jibe with astronomical observations. Cosmologists at the University of British Columbia reached the conclusion through a new analysis that reaffirms the presence of a perplexing dark energy. http://phys.org/news148152748.html Physics Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:32:28 EST news148152748 (PhysOrg.com) -- The best ways to improve energy security, mitigate global warming and reduce the number of deaths caused by air pollution are blowing in the wind and rippling in the water, not growing on prairies or glowing inside nuclear power plants, says Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. http://phys.org/news148149704.html Technology Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:41:44 EST news148149704 The results of a new U.S.–U.K. study published in this week's journal Nature Nanotechnology show that ordinary people in both countries hold very positive views of nanotechnologies and what the future of these technologies might bring. Participants in both countries indicated a significantly higher comfort level with energy applications of nanotechnologies than with applications used in health treatments. http://phys.org/news148062316.html Nanotechnology Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:25:16 EST news148062316 A technology that is adapted to the special conditions for wave energy places the wave energy technology from Uppsala on the absolute cutting edge in the world. In his dissertation, Rafael Waters presents the findings from the experimental facility located in the sea outside Lysekil, Sweden, in which he has played a leading role in designing and constructing. He is publicly defending his dissertation at Uppsala University on December 12. http://phys.org/news148054304.html Technology Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:11:44 EST news148054304 (PhysOrg.com) -- Today, scientists understand pretty well how life evolves, by mechanisms based on Darwin’s theory of natural selection for survival of the fittest. However, Darwin’s 1859 classic, On the Origin of Species, somewhat ironically doesn’t answer that very question – how species actually originated. And to this day, how that first tiny pool of chemicals twitched to life remains a puzzle. http://phys.org/news148050302.html Biology Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:05:02 EST news148050302 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dean Kamen, best known as the inventor of the Segway scooter and a thought-controlled prosthetic arm, has taken a personal interest in reducing energy consumption. http://phys.org/news147963387.html Technology Mon, 08 Dec 2008 12:56:27 EST news147963387 A Duke University study suggests that evolution can behave as differently as dogs and cats. While the dogs depend on an energy-efficient style of four-footed running over long distances to catch their prey, cats seem to have evolved a profoundly inefficient gait, tailor-made to creep up on a mouse or bird in slow motion. http://phys.org/news147529301.html Biology Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:21:41 EST news147529301 China’s escalating energy consumption places increasing stress on the world’s energy prices, leading to mounting global pressures to seek potential energy supplies through technology and exploration. http://phys.org/news147096245.html Other Sciences Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:04:05 EST news147096245 (PhysOrg.com) -- A super-efficient system that has the potential to power, heat and cool homes across the UK is being developed at Newcastle University. http://phys.org/news147009502.html Technology Thu, 27 Nov 2008 11:58:22 EST news147009502 A surge in energy consumption resulting from increased uptake of broadband will further slow Australia's Internet, says University of Melbourne research to be presented this week at the Symposium on Sustainability of the Internet and ICT. http://phys.org/news146833360.html Technology Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:02:40 EST news146833360 New data, generated in mice, by Pierre Sonveaux and colleagues, at Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium, have identified a potential new target for anticancer therapeutics. http://phys.org/news146422595.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:56:35 EST news146422595 (PhysOrg.com) -- Slow-moving ocean and river currents could be a new, reliable and affordable alternative energy source. A University of Michigan engineer has made a machine that works like a fish to turn potentially destructive vibrations in fluid flows into clean, renewable power. http://phys.org/news146415507.html Technology Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:58:27 EST news146415507 You're starting with working equipment full of expensive parts. So you don't want to throw everything away and start over. You want to put together just the right combination of existing parts and new pieces to make the most cost-effective, sustainable and resilient machine possible. http://phys.org/news146406135.html Technology Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:22:15 EST news146406135