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. Biologists at UC San Diego have identified eight genes never before suspected to play a role in wound healing that are called into action near the areas where wounds occur. http://phys.org/news286037535.html Biology Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:00:15 EST news286037535 Every year thousands of people in Europe are paralysed by a spinal cord injury. Many are young adults, facing the rest of their lives confined to a wheelchair. Although no medical cure currently exists, in the future they could be able to walk again thanks to a mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton being developed by EU-funded researchers. http://phys.org/news281954619.html Technology Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:43:52 EST news281954619 A robot suit that can help the elderly or disabled get around was given its global safety certificate in Japan on Wednesday, paving the way for its worldwide rollout. http://phys.org/news281169347.html Electronics Wed, 27 Feb 2013 06:50:01 EST news281169347 A chance discovery that sea urchins use Nickel ions to harness carbon dioxide from the sea to grow their exoskeleton could be the key to capturing tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. http://phys.org/news279222394.html Chemistry Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:00:02 EST news279222394 The nighttime twinkling of fireflies has inspired scientists to modify a light-emitting diode (LED) so it is more than one and a half times as efficient as the original. Researchers from Belgium, France, and Canada studied the internal structure of firefly lanterns, the organs on the bioluminescent insects' abdomens that flash to attract mates. The scientists identified an unexpected pattern of jagged scales that enhanced the lanterns' glow, and applied that knowledge to LED design to create an LED overlayer that mimicked the natural structure. The overlayer, which increased LED light extraction by up to 55 percent, could be easily tailored to existing diode designs to help humans light up the night while using less energy. The work is published in a pair of papers today in the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal Optics Express. http://phys.org/news276860987.html Physics Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:49:55 EST news276860987 A new robotic space technology spinoff derived from NASA's Robonaut 2 project someday may help astronauts stay healthier in space and aid paraplegics in walking here on Earth. Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot in space, currently is working with astronauts aboard the International Space Station. http://phys.org/news269244161.html Space & Earth Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:03:00 EST news269244161 Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have recently shown that the legs of grasshoppers and crabs have the ideal shape to resist bending and compression. If human leg bones were built the same way, they could be twice as strong. http://phys.org/news266689216.html Biology Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:21:03 EST news266689216 (Phys.org) -- A disabled toddler suffering from Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC) is able to pick up objects and play, not only thanks to her research team of doctors at the Nemours/duPont Hospital for Children but thanks to the technology of 3-D printing, which enabled her to use a magical arms device to move freely for the first time. http://phys.org/news263486757.html Technology Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:46:23 EST news263486757 Male Cardiocondyla obscurior ants are diphenic (either winged or wingless). New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Ecology demonstrates that the dominant wingless (ergatoid) male is able to identify potential rivals before they emerge from their pupae. Constant patrolling of the nest ensures that this male is able to bite or chemically tag rivals as soon as they emerge from their pupae. Chemically tagged ants are quickly destroyed by workers. http://phys.org/news258913400.html Biology Thu, 14 Jun 2012 20:00:01 EST news258913400 Even though a single raindrop can weigh 50 times more than a mosquito, the insect is still able to fly through a downpour. Georgia Tech researchers used high-speed videography to see how the mosquito's strong exoskeleton and low mass render it impervious to falling rain drops. http://phys.org/news258044546.html Biology Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:02:41 EST news258044546 Nature sometimes copies its own particularly successful developments. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam and the Ben-Gurion University at Beer-Sheva in Israel has now found that the teeth of the Australian freshwater crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus are covered with an enamel amazingly similar to that of vertebrates. Both materials consist of calcium phosphate and are also very alike in terms of their microstructure. This extremely hard substance has apparently developed in freshwater crayfish independently from vertebrates, as it makes the teeth particularly strong. http://phys.org/news256389558.html Biology Mon, 21 May 2012 07:41:07 EST news256389558 (Phys.org) -- ExoHand, a glove designed to double the gripping power of the human hand, was a key attraction at this week's Hanover Trade Fair. So much for mechanical graspers or mechanical claws: one viewer who watched the demo said it was “un-nerving,” but the glove is designed to do quite the opposite than un-nerve. Once worn on the user’s hand, it provides enhanced dexterity in picking up difficult objects and provides power when needed too. The engineers responsible for ExoHand worked with the objectives to “enhance the strength and endurance of the human hand” as well as to extend the hand’s scope of action. http://phys.org/news254594333.html Technology Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:10:01 EST news254594333 It's difficult to find much unused table space in Michael Kanost's office. The university distinguished professor and head of the department of biochemistry has nearly all of it claimed by stacks of folders and papers containing published and pending journal articles, grant proposals, project notes, research data -- and jars filled with hundreds of live beetles. http://phys.org/news239006425.html Biology Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:41:04 EST news239006425 Scientists may soon be able to make pest insects buzz off for good or even turn them into models for new technologies, all thanks to a tiny finding with enormous potential. http://phys.org/news235823369.html Chemistry Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:31:43 EST news235823369 A new explanation for one of nature's most mysterious processes, the transformation of caterpillars into moths or butterflies, might best be described as breathless. http://phys.org/news233247782.html Biology Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:03:43 EST news233247782 Male adult helminthomorph millipedes usually have one or two pairs of legs from their seventh segment modified into sexual appendages. These specialized gonopods are used as claspers to hold the female during mating or to transfer sperm. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology has looked in detail at millipede development and the internal reorganization needed to produce functional gonopods. http://phys.org/news233152883.html Biology Sun, 21 Aug 2011 20:00:01 EST news233152883 (PhysOrg.com) -- A robot in a University of Michigan lab can run like a human -- a feat that represents the height of agility and efficiency for a two-legged machine. With a peak pace of 6.8 miles per hour, MABEL is believed to be the world's fastest bipedal robot with knees. http://phys.org/news232702254.html Electronics Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:31:21 EST news232702254 The extravagant headgear of small bugs called treehoppers are in fact wing-like appendages that grew back 200 million years after evolution had supposedly cast them aside, according to a study published Thursday in Nature. http://phys.org/news223832528.html Biology Thu, 05 May 2011 16:43:01 EST news223832528 By mimicking the structure of the silk moth's antenna, University of Michigan researchers led the development of a better nanopore---a tiny tunnel-shaped tool that could advance understanding of a class of neurodegenerative diseases that includes Alzheimer's. http://phys.org/news218134773.html Nanotechnology Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:01:02 EST news218134773 Scientists have discovered that insects contain atomic clues as to the habitats in which they are most able to survive. The research has important implications for predicting the effects of climate change on the insects, which make up three-quarters of the animal kingdom. http://phys.org/news217073821.html Biology Wed, 16 Feb 2011 10:17:13 EST news217073821 As every middle-school child knows, in the process of photosynthesis, plants take the sun's energy and convert it to electrical energy. Now a Tel Aviv University team has demonstrated how a member of the animal kingdom, the Oriental hornet, takes the sun's energy and converts it into electric power -- in the brown and yellow parts of its body -- as well. http://phys.org/news213449447.html Physics Wed, 05 Jan 2011 11:31:02 EST news213449447 In the December 7 episode of the TV hit Glee, the character Artie, a high school student who is confined to a wheelchair, gets up and starts walking. Was the device "just Hollywood magic or based on real science?" asks a recent Newsweek article. The good news for some 125,000 paraplegics in the U.S., is that the device, called ReWalk, got its start at the Technion incubator, and is very real. http://phys.org/news212245645.html Technology Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:07:37 EST news212245645 (PhysOrg.com) -- A paralyzed patient may someday be able to "think" a foot into flexing or a leg into moving, using technology that harnesses the power of electricity in the brain, and scientists at University of Michigan School of Kinesiology are now one big step closer. http://phys.org/news207896603.html Medicine & Health Tue, 02 Nov 2010 06:03:49 EST news207896603 Lockheed Martin recently began laboratory testing of an improved next-generation design of its HULC advanced robotic exoskeleton. The testing brings HULC a step closer to readiness to support troops on the ground and others who must carry heavy loads. http://phys.org/news207480562.html Technology Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:33:36 EST news207480562 (PhysOrg.com) -- Berkeley Bionics unveiled eLEGS exoskeleton at a press conference on October 7 in San Francisco. Berkeley Bionics' CEO, Eythor Bender stated that their mission is to provide people with unprecedented mobility options. http://phys.org/news206271115.html Technology Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:33:29 EST news206271115 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new version of what some refer to as the "Iron Man" suit was unveiled Monday by Raytheon at the company's research facility in Salt Lake City. http://phys.org/news204989352.html Technology Wed, 29 Sep 2010 14:30:05 EST news204989352 A disabled Japanese adventurer says he is planning to leave his wheelchair behind and walk up a medieval French World Heritage site next year with the help of a cutting-edge robotic suit. http://phys.org/news203860982.html Electronics Thu, 16 Sep 2010 13:03:24 EST news203860982 Two New Zealand inventors have produced what they claim are the world's first robotic legs to help paraplegics walk again. http://phys.org/news198475298.html Technology Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:01:58 EST news198475298 While Robocop and Iron Man can dodge bullets and crush villains, a new powered suit from Japan promises its elderly users more modest powers, such as pulling up radishes without getting a backache. http://phys.org/news190003386.html Electronics Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:20:01 EST news190003386 (AP) -- Coral reefs are dying, and scientists and governments around the world are contemplating what will happen if they disappear altogether. http://phys.org/news188750042.html Space & Earth Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:34:18 EST news188750042