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. (AP) -- A major Yahoo shareholder believes the slumping Internet company would be better off without Jerry Yang on its board as it mulls a possible sale. http://phys.org/news239698347.html Technology Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:52:44 EST news239698347 Engineers at Case Western Reserve University have made an electrochemical cell that uses a plasma for an electrode, instead of solid pieces of metal. http://phys.org/news238323860.html Chemistry Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:04:43 EST news238323860 Researchers from UCLA and Japan have designed a synthetic synapse for use in computing equipment that mimics the function of synapses in the human brain. The silver sulfide, nanoscale synapse, or "atomic switch," demonstrates both short- and long-term memory to a degree not seen before in solid-state devices. http://phys.org/news230533254.html Nanotechnology Fri, 22 Jul 2011 06:01:35 EST news230533254 (AP) -- The parent company of GoDaddy.com, a top registrar of Internet domain names, has been sold to a group of private investment firms for $2.25 billion, a person familiar with the transaction told The Associated Press. http://phys.org/news228803137.html Technology Sat, 02 Jul 2011 05:26:02 EST news228803137 (PhysOrg.com) -- Two professors from the University of Illinois; one specializing in materials science, the other in electrical engineering, have combined their talents to take the idea of printing circuits onto non-standard materials one step further by developing a conductive ink that can be used in a traditional rollerball ink pen to draw circuits by hand onto paper and other porous materials. In their paper published in Advanced Materials, team leads Jennifer Lewis, Jennifer Bernhard and colleagues describe how they were able to make a type of ink from silver nanoparticles that would remain a liquid while in the pen, but would dry like regular ink once applied. The pen could was then used to draw a functioning LCD display and an antenna. http://phys.org/news228481557.html Nanotechnology Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:06:46 EST news228481557 (AP) -- Go Daddy, the domain-name registration company known for its racy Super Bowl ads, is close to being bought by two private investment firms for up to $2.5 billion, according to a person close to the deal. http://phys.org/news228146223.html Technology Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:57:29 EST news228146223 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using a new coupled mass spectrometry technique that employs multiple collectors, researchers in France have shown that it was not an influx of silver from the America's that caused high inflation in Europe from the early 1500's to mid 1600, as some historians have long believed. Their results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) show that the gradual replacement of coins made from Spanish silver to imported Mexican silver, did not occur until nearly fifty years later. http://phys.org/news225715623.html Chemistry Fri, 27 May 2011 12:20:01 EST news225715623 (PhysOrg.com) -- The separation of olefins and paraffin, two hydrocarbon compounds in petroleum waste streams, is a heavy expense for the petrochemical industry. The existing technology consumes a lot of energy because the olefin-paraffin pairs have similar boiling and evaporation properties, making it difficult and costly to separate them. Companies are looking for techniques that reduce energy consumption and that economically recycle such waste streams. http://phys.org/news224835530.html Chemistry Tue, 17 May 2011 07:19:39 EST news224835530 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nowadays, everyday life would be inconceivable without nanotechnology. It is also ever-present in medical technology – both in therapy and diagnostics. Researchers from ETH Zurich have now prepared silver nanoparticles in an interdisciplinary study in such a way that they offer further potential in this field. http://phys.org/news224431913.html Nanotechnology Thu, 12 May 2011 15:30:01 EST news224431913 Nanoparticles of silver are being found increasingly in the environment—and in environmental science laboratories. Because they have a variety of useful properties, especially as antibacterial and antifungal agents, silver nanoparticles increasingly are being used in a wide variety of industrial and consumer products. This, in turn, has raised concerns about what happens to them once released into the environment. Now a new research paper adds an additional wrinkle: Nature may be making silver nanoparticles on its own. http://phys.org/news224324119.html Nanotechnology Wed, 11 May 2011 09:15:41 EST news224324119 The value of silver soared to an all-time high last Thursday, and plunged dramatically yesterday, illustrating the constant volatility of the precious-metals market, which includes lustrous commodities like gold, silver and platinum. http://phys.org/news223891038.html Other Sciences Fri, 06 May 2011 08:58:00 EST news223891038 Buried hoards are the stuff of childhood dreams. Treasure Under Your Feet, an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum, brings together precious objects found all over East Anglia. Heaps of glittering coins, a collection of axe heads, a gold pendant set with diamonds, a penny bearing the image of a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus: each one tells a different human story of loss and discovery. http://phys.org/news223810073.html Other Sciences Thu, 05 May 2011 10:28:17 EST news223810073 Scientists from the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona have teamed up with Diamond Light Source to use a brilliant infrared microbeam to understand at the microscopic scale molecular processes affecting the decay or preservation of polychrome carved wood adorning churches and altarpieces depicting saints. http://phys.org/news222692229.html Chemistry Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:57:53 EST news222692229 (PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone who's ever polished silver knows that keeping the tarnish at bay is never ending work. But, you may not know that polishing also rubs away some of the precious metal, whether it's your grandmother's silver bowl or a 19th century museum treasure. http://phys.org/news221828619.html Nanotechnology Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:40:01 EST news221828619 Queen's researchers have discovered that nanoparticles, which are now present in everything from socks to salad dressing and suntan lotion, may have irreparably damaging effects on soil systems and the environment. http://phys.org/news221312309.html Nanotechnology Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:41:20 EST news221312309 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are developing a solid composite material to help cool small, powerful microelectronics used in defense systems. The material, composed of silver and diamond, promises an exceptional degree of thermal conductivity compared to materials currently used for this application. http://phys.org/news218187423.html Chemistry Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:37:27 EST news218187423 Disasters such as floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes often result in the spread of diseases like gastroenteritis, giardiasis and even cholera because of an immediate shortage of clean drinking water. Now, chemistry researchers at McGill University have taken a key step towards making a cheap, portable, paper-based filter coated with silver nanoparticles to be used in these emergency settings. http://phys.org/news217694536.html Nanotechnology Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:43:26 EST news217694536 Nanosilver is not a new discovery by nanotechnologists -- it has been used in various products for over a hundred years, as is shown by a new Empa study. The antimicrobial effects of minute silver particles, which were then known as "colloidal silver," were known from the earliest days of its use. http://phys.org/news215702402.html Nanotechnology Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:20:26 EST news215702402 Research by two Victoria University PhD graduates has advanced cutting edge technology that combines wool with gold and silver to create a new range of multi-functional textiles. http://phys.org/news214665004.html Chemistry Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:10:22 EST news214665004 Scientists are reporting development and successful lab tests of "killer paper," a material intended for use as a new food packaging material that helps preserve foods by fighting the bacteria that cause spoilage. The paper, described in ACS' journal, Langmuir, contains a coating of silver nanoparticles, which are powerful anti-bacterial agents. http://phys.org/news214662730.html Nanotechnology Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:32:20 EST news214662730 What started out as an ordinary instrument calibration task using silver turned into research gold for scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Contradicting nearly 40 years of measurement history, the team observed in vacuum a rare form of silver: Ag(III). Aiming to calibrate an atomic oxygen source, they deposited thin films with varying levels of silver and oxygen, then measured the oxidation range of silver with an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). The unexpected XPS signature gave researchers a silver surprise. This research was chosen as the cover of The Journal of Physical Chemistry C for December 16, 2010. http://phys.org/news212068349.html Physics Mon, 20 Dec 2010 12:40:01 EST news212068349 China plans to step up a weather-manipulation programme that has stirred debate about tinkering with Mother Nature, state media said on Friday. http://phys.org/news211786340.html Space & Earth Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:00:02 EST news211786340 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study from researchers at North Carolina State University sheds light on how a technique that is commonly used for making single-metal nanoparticles can be extended to create nanoparticles consisting of two metals – and that have tunable properties. The study also provides insight into the optical properties of some of these nanoparticles. http://phys.org/news211635968.html Nanotechnology Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:46:24 EST news211635968 They might just be the smallest Christmas tree decorations ever. Tiny spherical particles of gold and silver that are more than 100 million times smaller than the gold and silver baubles used to decorate seasonal fir trees have been synthesized by researchers in Mexico and the US. http://phys.org/news210605626.html Nanotechnology Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:34:06 EST news210605626 In many areas of the world, including California's Mojave Desert, rain is a precious and rare resource. To encourage rainfall, scientists use "cloud seeding," a weather modification process designed to increase precipitation amounts by dispersing chemicals into the clouds. http://phys.org/news207834495.html Space & Earth Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:48:28 EST news207834495 (PhysOrg.com) -- Nicole Heinley, a graduate student at Missouri University of Science and Technology, traveled to Guatemala twice in the past year to conduct research on ceramic pot filters that are used locally to remove bacteria from water. Now, Heinley's findings are about to be published in the Journal of Water Science and Technology. http://phys.org/news202572807.html Space & Earth Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:14:10 EST news202572807 Nuclear power plants produce a host of radioactive isotopes as by-products. One such radioisotope is Iodine-129 (129I). With a half-life of nearly 16 million years, the 129I produced by nuclear power plants will be sticking around for a long time. Because iodine plays a role in human metabolism, radioactive 129I is especially dangerous if it escapes into the environment. Researchers utilizing the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory have uncovered new information that might lead to improved long-term storage of Iodine-I29. http://phys.org/news202062194.html Chemistry Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:23:50 EST news202062194 Out of sight is not out of mind for a group of Hong Kong researchers who have demonstrated that burying a layer of silver nanoparticles improves the performance of their organic electronic devices without requiring complex processing. Their findings in a report published in the journal Applied Physics Letters, which is published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP). http://phys.org/news200655408.html Nanotechnology Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:30:02 EST news200655408 Whether it is a single rock being overturned or an entire mountaintop being removed, humans play a continuous role in environmental processes, and vice versa. Ecological scientists will discuss findings on human-ecosystem interactions -- from the effects of nanomaterials on plant growth to the diversity of insect species on green roofs, and even communities of airborne microbes in hospital buildings -- at the Ecological Society of America's 95th Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh from August 1-6, 2010. Here is just some of the research on humans and the environment to be presented: http://phys.org/news199992710.html Biology Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:20:01 EST news199992710 (PhysOrg.com) -- Swiss researchers have demonstrated how they can adjust process conditions to influence the properties of novel plasma polymer coatings containing silver nanoparticles. Tailor-made films can be generated through a one-step plasma process. The scientists developed these new coatings, which kill bacteria while having no negative effect on human tissue, in the frame of an EU project. http://phys.org/news197549900.html Nanotechnology Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:58:57 EST news197549900