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. (PhysOrg.com) -- Abrupt average temperature changes of as much as 4 or 5 degrees Celsius over a few decades may have profoundly affected human civilization for cultures that occupied western Greenland over the past 5,000 years. http://phys.org/news226142090.html Space & Earth Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:15:40 EST news226142090 Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool for chemical analysis and, in the form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an indispensable technique for medical diagnosis. But its uses have been limited by the need for strong magnetic fields and big, expensive, superconducting magnets. Now Berkeley Lab scientists and their colleagues have demonstrated that they can do NMR in a zero magnetic field without using any magnets at all. http://phys.org/news224916059.html Physics Wed, 18 May 2011 05:42:31 EST news224916059 In a four-decade, Holy Grail-like quest to fully understand what it means to be in a "supersolid" state, physicists have found that supersolid isn't always super solid. In other words, this exotic state of frozen helium appears to have liquid-like properties, says a new paper published in the journal Science on May 13, 2011. http://phys.org/news224427393.html Physics Thu, 12 May 2011 14:00:07 EST news224427393 American football players may be able to avoid heat strokes by wearing helmets with specially made technology, an Austrian company that worked on the project said Friday. http://phys.org/news155574560.html Technology Fri, 06 Mar 2009 15:09:41 EST news155574560 (PhysOrg.com) -- Traditionally, magnetism and superconductivity don't mix. For more than 20 years, the only known superconductors that worked at so-called "high" temperatures (above 30 K, or about -406 degrees Fahrenheit) were almost all based on copper. Materials with strong magnetism, scientists thought, would disrupt the pairing of electrons that is key to achieving the frictionless flow of superconductivity. So when a group of researchers recently found high-temperature superconductivity present in a class of iron-based materials, their discovery shocked and excited the scientific community. http://phys.org/news155494328.html Physics Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:52:46 EST news155494328 From geckos and iguanas to Gila monsters and Komodo dragons, lizards are among the most common reptiles on Earth. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. One even pitches car insurance in TV ads. They seemingly can adapt to a variety of conditions, but are most abundant in the tropics. http://phys.org/news155333999.html Biology Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:20:19 EST news155333999 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU, Israel) researchers have developed a new, highly energy-efficient window technology, featuring two reversible panes that will save energy all year round in homes and office buildings. http://phys.org/news155283591.html Technology Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:20:22 EST news155283591 (PhysOrg.com) -- "With lots of methane in the atmosphere, it becomes clear why Pluto's atmosphere is so warm," says Emmanuel Lellouch, lead author of the paper reporting the results. http://phys.org/news155220047.html Space & Earth Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:41:26 EST news155220047 Three British explorers have set out on a 90-day skiing expedition to the North Pole, measuring sea ice thickness the whole way to find out exactly how fast it is disappearing, according to the Catlin Arctic Survey. http://phys.org/news155116027.html Space & Earth Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:47:58 EST news155116027 Clemson University space physicists have traveled around the world to launch rockets to test atmospheric conditions. http://phys.org/news154890259.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:05:04 EST news154890259 (PhysOrg.com) -- Global climate rapidly shifted from a relatively ice-free world to one with massive ice sheets on Antarctica about 34 million years ago. What happened? What changed? A team of scientists led by Yale geologists offers a new perspective on the nature of changing climatic conditions across this greenhouse-to-icehouse transition—one that refutes earlier theories and has important implications for predicting future climate changes. http://phys.org/news154883447.html Space & Earth Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:11:21 EST news154883447 Global airlines be forewarned: June 2010 could be a busy month for invasive plants, insects and animals seeking free rides to distant lands. http://phys.org/news154803740.html Biology Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:03:47 EST news154803740 (PhysOrg.com) -- Ferroelectric materials display a spontaneous electric polarization below the Curie temperature that can be reoriented, typically by applying an electric field. In this study, researchers from Argonne, Northern Illinois University, and The University of Pennsylvania have demonstrated that the chemical environment can control the polarization orientation in an ultrathin ferroelectric film. http://phys.org/news154799563.html Physics Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:53:16 EST news154799563 (PhysOrg.com) -- When squeezed, electrons increase their ability to move around. In compounds such as semiconductors and electrical insulators, such squeezing can dramatically change the electrical- and magnetic- properties. http://phys.org/news154789238.html Physics Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:01:25 EST news154789238 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has signed an agreement with Siemens Energy Inc. to provide high-resolution atmospheric modeling capabilities to improve the efficiency of wind farm sites, turbine design and wind farm operations. http://phys.org/news154704816.html Technology Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:34:40 EST news154704816 (PhysOrg.com) -- The paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) by a team led by professor Francesc Illas of the University of Barcelona's Department of Physical Chemistry and director of the Laboratory of Computational Materials Science (CMSL) will help to broaden our understanding of the nature of superconducting materials and of the origin of the superconductivity phenomenon in high critical temperature materials. http://phys.org/news154681879.html Physics Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:12:11 EST news154681879 (PhysOrg.com) -- Climatologists at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City have found that 2008 was the coolest year since 2000. The GISS analysis also showed that 2008 is the ninth warmest year since continuous instrumental records were started in 1880. The ten warmest years on record have all occurred between 1997 and 2008. http://phys.org/news154621784.html Space & Earth Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:30:26 EST news154621784 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London and the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) have found evidence that magnetism is involved in the mechanism behind high temperature superconductivity. http://phys.org/news154538523.html Physics Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:22:38 EST news154538523 Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found that dengue transmission in Puerto Rico is dependent upon local climate and short-term changes in temperature and precipitation. Details are published February 17 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. http://phys.org/news154079366.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Feb 2009 07:49:59 EST news154079366 Temperature is an important factor in the spread of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases, but researchers who look at average monthly or annual temperatures are not seeing the whole picture. Global climate change will affect daily temperature variations, which can have a more pronounced effect on parasite development, according to a Penn State entomologist. http://phys.org/news153931064.html Biology Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:38:10 EST news153931064 Imagine unloading a pile of bricks onto the ground and watching the bricks assemble themselves into a level, straight wall in only a few minutes. While merely a fantasy for builders in the everyday world, these types of self-assembled structures are a reality for those who build materials in the nanoworld. Michael C. Tringides, a senior physicist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, has shown that nanoscale "straight wall" lead islands on silicon are spontaneously and quickly created by unusually mobile atoms. http://phys.org/news153668283.html Nanotechnology Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:39:50 EST news153668283 The research focused on the bacterium Nautilia profundicola, a microbe that survives near deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Photosynthesis cannot occur in this dark environment, where hot, toxic fluids oozing from below the seafloor combine with cold seawater at very high pressures. http://phys.org/news153145518.html Biology Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:25:58 EST news153145518 This year's model isn't your father's nanocar. It runs cool. http://phys.org/news152796958.html Nanotechnology Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:36:23 EST news152796958 (PhysOrg.com) -- A research group in Germany has discovered a semiconducting material that can switch its semiconducting properties -- turning from one type of semiconductor to another -- via a simple change in temperature. This intriguing behavior may make the material useful in efforts to create better performing integrated circuits, which form the backbone of almost all electronic devices. http://phys.org/news152534700.html Physics Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:46:08 EST news152534700 (PhysOrg.com) -- Single atom quantum dots created by researchers at Canada’s National Institute for Nanotechnology and the University of Alberta make possible a new level of control over individual electrons, a development that suddenly brings quantum dot-based devices within reach. Composed of a single atom of silicon and measuring less than one nanometre in diameter, these are the smallest quantum dots ever created. http://phys.org/news152271696.html Nanotechnology Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:42:04 EST news152271696 More frequent freeze-thaw cycles in winter can increase biomass production according to the results of a recent study conducted by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), the University of Bayreuth and the Helmholtz Center in Munich. For their experiment at the Ecological-Botanical Garden of the University of Bayreuth the researchers installed underground heating on their plots, thereby enabling five additional thawing periods to take place in the winter of 2005/2006. http://phys.org/news152194273.html Space & Earth Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:11:38 EST news152194273 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey and involving the University of Colorado at Boulder indicates tree deaths in the West's old-growth forests have more than doubled in recent decades, likely from regional warming and related drought conditions. http://phys.org/news151856202.html Space & Earth Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:17:18 EST news151856202 (PhysOrg.com) -- Not only has the average global temperature increased in the past 50 years, but the hottest day of the year has shifted nearly two days earlier, according to a new study by scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, and Harvard University. http://phys.org/news151766660.html Space & Earth Wed, 21 Jan 2009 13:24:54 EST news151766660 (PhysOrg.com) -- New climate maps of the Earth’s surface during the height of the last Ice Age support predictions that northern Australia will become wetter and southern Australia drier due to climate change. http://phys.org/news151612069.html Space & Earth Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:28:21 EST news151612069 A French study reported in the 12th January issue of Archives of Internal Medicine has found a strong correlation between blood pressure and outdoor temperature in a large sample of the elderly.(1) As a result, the investigators advise that, during periods of extreme temperatures, careful monitoring of blood pressure and antihypertensive treatment "could contribute to reducing the consequences of blood pressure variations in the elderly". http://phys.org/news151325578.html Medicine & Health Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:52:58 EST news151325578